Chapter 4: Judgements

Cyan slowly opened her eyes. 

The room was dim, lit by a few candles arranged in a circle around her.

She tried to shift, only to realize her wrists and ankles were tied. Panic bubbled up in her chest.

“Ah,” a voice said calmly. 

“You’re in some deep shit.”

Cyan’s head snapped up.

Elle Abrahams sat across from her, leaning casually against a chair. Even in the flickering candlelight, her presence was commanding.

“How so?” Cyan asked, still dazed, her voice trembling.

Elle’s eyes narrowed. “You ate a special grade cursed object. Not just anyone… you ate one of Jaden Ryumen’s fingers.”

Cyan’s mind reeled. She remembered the weight of it, the sharp taste of the cursed energy burning her throat.

“Fuck! I almost died twice today, and now you’re telling me I’m going to die?!”

Elle stood, her long silhouette stretching across the candlelit room. “Not quite.”

Cyan frowned. “So… am I dying, or what?”

Elle chuckled, the sound low and amused.

 “We’ve found fourteen of the fingers, including the one you swallowed. I plan on having you eat the rest.”

Cyan blinked. “…Why?”

Elle walked to a wall covered with tags, forming a barrier of intricate seals.

 “So I can resurrect him properly… and kill him off properly.”

Cyan’s eyes widened. “…Wait… don’t I still die?”

“Precisely,” Elle said, closing the distance between them.

 “Either you die now, or later. Your choice.”

Cyan sank back, processing. “All I wanted,” she said quietly, “was to be strong… to show my family I was worth something. I trained on my own. Got stronger on my own. But… today showed me how arrogant I was.”

Elle raised an eyebrow, impressed by the raw honesty.

Cyan continued, voice cracking, “I’m not strong enough… so maybe I’m… not worth anything.”

Something in Elle shifted.

Those words—not worth anything—stirred a memory she thought she had buried long ago.

She moved closer and placed a hand gently on Cyan’s head.

“The higher-ups want me to kill you today,” Elle said softly.

Cyan’s eyes filled with tears.

“But I won’t, instead I’ll protect you until the day I'll have to kill you myself ” Elle continued, a small smirk tugging at her lips.

Cyan looked up, confused. “But… how can you stop the higher ups & the big 3 families?”

“Because,” Elle said, voice low but firm, “I’m the strongest.”

A silence fell over the room, broken only by the flicker of candlelight.

Cyan let out a shaky breath, unsure whether to feel relief, fear, or awe.

 

For the first time, she wondered if surviving this nightmare was possible.

 

Parliamentary Session

Behind the heavy oak doors of the Parliament building, the heads of the Big 3 families had gathered with key members of Jujutsu HQ.

The room was tense, thick with the weight of authority and unspoken grievances.

Phillip Mowbray sat tall, his posture unyielding. Across from him, Charles Lieberts lips were pressed into a thin line, his eyes sharp.

Between them stood Elle Abrahams, exuding calm irritation that only highlighted the contrast.

Charles broke the silence. “You’re trying to use this… this power for your family’s benefit, Phillip. That girl, Cyan—don’t pretend you have control over her.”

Phillip’s voice was steady, deliberate.

“Careful, Charles. Remember your son is a main suspect in the killings. Perhaps you should focus on that before pointing fingers.”

Elle slammed her hand on the table, her voice cutting through the tension. “Stop being childish. Both of you.”

The room fell silent.

Even Charles and Phillip grudgingly cooled their tempers.

Elle continued, her tone grave. “The murders and the fingers are connected. We found one of Johan Venter’s fingers.He was a smuggler and trafficker who experimented with curse wombs, feeding them one finger each. That’s how Cyan came across one of them.”

Charles’ eyes narrowed. “And your daughter? You can’t even keep her in check. She’s a rebel. She should be dealt with immediately.”

The murmurs in the room grew louder. Members of HQ, representing the various Big 3 clans, shouted in agreement:

“She must be put to death!”

Ryan Mowbray, one of the youngest members present, spoke up defiantly. “Cyan is a misfit. She doesn’t know her place.”

Phillip remained silent, his face unreadable.

Then Cyan herself stepped forward. Her gaze swept over the room, sharp and unflinching.

 “Make her a sorcerer.”

The room erupted.

The Mowbray elders protested violently. “No woman will ever become a sorcerer!”

Cyan’s eyes shimmered as the light hit them—Prism Eyes, blazing like shards of crystal. The room fell silent in an instant.

“I’m a woman. I am the head of my clan, and the strongest sorcerer alive. Even if all of you came at me at once, it would not be enough.”

Her words, cold and unyielding, carried the weight of truth. Resentment rippled through the room because it was undeniable.

Elle stepped forward. “Cyan possesses the Shadow Garden technique. The first in her family in the last 300 years.”

Murmurs turned into shocked whispers.

Elle added, calmly, “And she’s a woman.”

Phillip reluctantly agreed.

 Ryan Mowbray, furious, stood to protest.

 But in a single motion, Phillip’s shadow expanded, engulfing Ryan’s body and forcing him to his seat. Silence reclaimed the room.

Phillip looked at Elle, placing a hand over hers. “Take care of my daughter.”

Elle shook his hand firmly. “I will.”

The Throne Room

Cyan stirred in her sleep, the room quiet except for the soft flicker of candlelight.

 Her dream unfolded—a tunnel stretching endlessly before her.

At the far end, a throne rose atop steps crafted from skulls, the entire shrine bathed in crimson flames that licked the walls like living fire.

On the throne sat a young man, around twenty-one, his body and face etched with intricate tattoos.

His dark hair fell loosely over his eyes, but as Cyan drew closer, one of his eyes opened and fixed on her.

A chill ran down her spine.

Even the special-grade cursed spirits she had faced paled in comparison to the presence before her.

“Don’t be afraid… at least, not yet,” he said, his voice calm but edged with an unshakable power.

Cyan swallowed hard. “What… what do you want to do with my body?”

He let out a dry chuckle. “You shouldn’t word it like that. Makes me sound like a sexual predator.”

Annoyance flared within her. “What’s your deal?”

Before she could blink, he was standing in front of her. 

The sudden proximity made her heart jump.

“I’ll only come out when all the fingers have been found,” he said. 

“Until then… you’re on your own.”

She frowned. “So you can’t switch with me by choice, then?”

He walked back toward the throne, the flames reflecting in his eyes. He turned slightly, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“Who knows?”

The world around her dissolved, and Cyan woke with a start.

Elle stood in the doorway, arms crossed, a faint smirk on her face. “How’d you sleep?”

Cyan rubbed her eyes, the memory of the dream still fresh. “I… had a dream about… about him.”

Elle’s expression didn’t change, but there was a flicker in her eyes—a mixture of curiosity and concern.

“Dreams reveal truths, if you know how to listento them.”

Cyan nodded slowly, still unsettled, the weight of what she had swallowed pressing in her chest.