Chapter 12: One Step Ahead

Ethan walked toward the river’s edge, his boots crunching against the broken earth.

Mist rolled across the surface as Cyan slowly rose from the water — drenched, trembling, yet still standing.

He grinned.

So this is it? Aiden was being dramatic... one finger’s worth isn’t worth anything.

Then her breath hitched.

The left side of Cyan’s face bloomed with dark tattoos — marks that pulsed like living ink.

Her heartbeat thundered in her ears until it no longer sounded human.

Then came the surge.

A torrent of cursed energy exploded from within her, tearing through the riverbank like a storm.

The air howled — the trees bent under the pressure — and Cyan screamed, clutching her head as if her mind itself were splintering apart.

Jaden’s voice slithered into her consciousness, calm and cruel.

“Calm down! You’re not dying. It’s mind over matter.”

Cyan gasped, “I can’t— it’s too much—”

Ethan lunged forward, arm cocked to strike — but the moment he crossed the boundary, he was blasted back by an invisible wall of pure cursed energy. 

The ground cracked beneath him as he landed, staring in disbelief.

“Pathetic,” Jaden’s voice echoed. 

“And here I thought you said youwanted to be the strongest… maybe I was wrong about you.”

Those words hit harder than any blow.

Through the chaos, Cyan’s mind flickered — flashes of her training, her failures, the people she couldn’t protect.

She had always imagined being strong… but never imagined what it would feel like to hold power beyond reason.

Her shaking slowed.

The winds began to calm.

And then — she opened her eyes.

They glowed crimson, the tattoos pulsing once more before settling like veins of fire under her skin.

“No,” she whispered. 

“I’ll show you you’re right.”

Her aura steadied — immense, controlled — and the river beneath her feet stilled as if bowing to her presence.

Part II: Monarch of Shadows

Each blow cracked like thunder.

The earth shook beneath Cyan and Ethan as their fists collided — shockwaves rippling through the valley.

Megumi and Amanda watched from afar, shielding their eyes from the debris.

Amanda whispered, 

“That pressure... it’s like two disasters colliding.”

Then a ripple appeared in one of Cyan’s shadows — and Kevin stepped out. 

His uniform was torn, his knuckles bleeding, but his grin was still intact.

Megumi: “You good?”

Kevin: “The corpses were easy work.”

Then he saw Cyan.

The tattoos burning like fire, the crimson eyes, the godlike calm in her movements.

Kevin clenched his fist. 

“Tch… she’s not leaving me behind.”

Before he could step forward, Megumi grabbed his shoulder.

“If you do anything irrational, I’ll knock you out myself.”

Kevin narrowed his eyes. 

“Is that a threat?”

Amanda stepped between them.

 “Enough! We need to be ready for anything.”

Back on the field — Ethan clapped his hands together.

“Let’s raise the stakes.”

Two new corpses burst from the ground, wrapped in cursed talismans. 

They hurled toward Cyan — but before they could touch her, she vanished.

The next instant, both corpses’ heads were crushed into the ground — their bodies dissolving into dust.

Ethan’s eyes widened.

She moved faster than my senses could follow—

He leapt backward, midair — but a dark tendril whipped out from his own shadow, wrapping around his leg.

Cyan’s voice echoed, layered and cold.

“I’ve got you now.”

The shadows dragged him down like gravity itself, slamming him into the earth.

Cyan appeared above him in a blur — her hand glowing with violent cursed energy — and struck his chest with an open palm.

“Black Flash!”

The impact shattered the ground.

A burst of black and red energy erupted outward, swallowing the valley in silence.

When the smoke cleared, Ethan lay unconscious — his aura gone.

Cyan stood still, breathing hard. 

The tattoos across her face began to fade. The third eye blinked once, then vanished; the mouth along her cheek whispered one last line —

“See you soon.”

Then it laughed — and disappeared.

Cyan’s body went limp.

She collapsed onto the dirt, unconscious.

Megumi, Kevin, and Amanda sprinted toward her.

Amanda fell to her knees beside her, hands already glowing with RCT.

Megumi looked at Cyan — her calm face now just human again — and exhaled.

“It’s over… for now.”

Kevin stared at Ethan’s broken form, his jaw tight.

“No,” he muttered. 

“It’s just beginning.”

Darkness.

Then the sound of soft dripping — water — echoing endlessly through stone halls.

When Cyan opened her eyes, she was back inside the throne room of her mind.

The air was thick with shadow, heavy with whispers that weren’t hers.

Ahead of her stood a shrine — made entirely of skulls. 

Thousands of them, stacked like bricks, each one grinning in silent agony.

And in the center, on a throne of skulls, sat Jaden Ryumen.

Eyes closed.

Cross-legged.

Dressed in a simple white gi that somehow made the crimson marks along his arms glow brighter.

Cyan approached cautiously, her footsteps echoing across the black marble floor.

Cyan: “What kind of power was that?”

Jaden opened one eye, the faintest smirk curving his lips.

Jaden: “The kind you’re still too naïve to wield. Next time, if you lose control like that again… I’m taking over your body.”

Her fists clenched.

“I won’t let you.”

He chuckled softly — a sound too calm for someone so terrifying.

“We’ll see.”

He stood from the throne, his movements eerily fluid, almost graceful.

His gaze bored into hers.

“You can’t think one step ahead. That’s why you’ll never reach Elle… or me.”

Cyan frowned.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jaden tilted his head.

“Why should I explain it to you? You’re still wet behind the ears.”

Then, after a long sigh —

“Being the strongest isn’t just about raw power. It’s about how you use it — until your opponent’s spirit break. The strongest don’t just win by force, Cyan… they win by overpowering their opponent’s will.”

Cyan crossed her arms.

“Oh, thank you, oh wise one. I’ll be sure to remember that next time I’m getting punched into a river.”

Jaden smirked again, eyes closing as he sat back down on the throne.

“Don’t forget…” he murmured.

“I’m possessing you soon.”

Cyan’s heart skipped a beat.

The throne room began to dissolve — skulls crumbling into ash, shadows swallowing her whole — and his laughter echoed in her head until—

She gasped awake.

Her body jolted upright.

White ceiling, clean sheets, & the faint smell of antiseptic.

She was back in her dorm room at Jujutsu High.

Kevin was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, pretending not to worry.

Amanda sat beside her bed, relief washing over her face.

Megumi stood near the window — silent, but alert.

And sitting in the chair across from her — calm, poised, and unreadable —
was Elle.

Her presence filled the room like quiet authority.

“Welcome back, Cyan,” Elle said softly.

 “You’ve caused quite the stir.”

The air in the briefing room felt heavy, like the weight of everything they’d just survived had followed them back to Jujutsu High.

Elle stood by the window, arms folded, her expression carved from stone.

Megumi leaned against the far wall, quiet as always.

Cyan sat at the center table, bandages along her arm. Kevin and Amanda flanked her — both still slightly bruised but alive.

No one spoke until Elle did.

Elle: “So… Ethan was the corpse user.”

Megumi nodded.

Megumi: “Yeah. But something’s off. Each corpse had its own technique — fire, wind, & lightning. That shouldn’t be possible.”

Amanda added, voice calm but firm.

Amanda: “Normally, manipulation users only get control of movement. But it doesn’t account for the corpses possessing cursed techniques.”

Elle’s gaze sharpened.

Elle: “Which means someone’s giving them those techniques.”

She turned toward the group.

Elle: “Aiden must’ve found a way to extract cursed techniques from one person and implant them into another."

Silence. 

Even Kevin didn’t joke this time.

Elle’s eyes softened slightly as she looked at Cyan.

Elle: “And you. I heard about your… partial transformation.”

Cyan’s jaw tightened. She looked down.

Cyan: “I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

Elle raised an eyebrow.

Elle: “Nothing? You channelled cursed energy at a level that could’ve killed you. Do you even realize what that means?”

Cyan looked up, defiant.

Cyan: “It means I can fight him. That I can end this. Even if it means being possessed at this point— that’s the kind of power we need.”

The sound of the slap echoed through the room.

Cyan froze — her cheek stung, her eyes wide.

Elle: “That kind of thinking is exactly why sorcerers die young,”

“You’re not thinking one step ahead, Cyan.”

The words hit her harder than the slap.
Because they were the same words Jaden had told her.

Her eyes flickered, then dropped to the floor.

Cyan: “...I’m sorry.”

Elle exhaled through her nose, then turned toward Megumi.

Elle: “And your team?”

Megumi crossed his arms, clearly frustrated.

Megumi: “They’re reckless idiots.”

Kevin: “Hey!”

Cyan: “Excuse me?”

Megumi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Megumi: “But… they’re strong. And skilled. They covered for each other’s weaknesses pretty well under pressure.”

Amanda smiled faintly.

Amanda: “We still have a lot to work on. But they adapt fast.”

Cyan turned toward her.

Cyan: “Amanda was incredible. She was analysing and forming counter-strategies mid-battle.”

Kevin added with a grin:

Kevin: “And those flowers of hers? Super soothing. Ten out of ten battlefield vibes.”

Amanda rolled her eyes, and the group let out a collective laugh. Even Megumi’s stoic expression cracked for a second — a ghost of a smirk appearing on his face.

Elle watched them quietly, then straightened her coat.

Elle: “Then it’s decided.”

“I’ll recommend the three of you — Cyan, Kevin, and Amanda — for First Grade Sorcerer evaluation.”

The room went silent again.

Amanda: “Wait… what?”

Kevin: “You’re serious?”

Cyan: “First grade?”

Elle’s lips curved into the faintest, proudest smile.

Elle: “You’ve earned it. Welcome to the big leagues.”

The laughter in the room faded into a quiet hum — the kind that lingers after adrenaline finally burns out.

Elle turned toward the window again. The Cape Town skyline stretched in the distance, calm and deceptively peaceful.

She said nothing, but her hand tightened around her sleeve — as if she could still feel the cursed energy that had shaken the city hours earlier.

Cyan looked down at her hands. 

Her fingers trembled faintly — not from fear, but from something she couldn’t name.

Power.

The kind she’d tasted.

The kind that whispered back.

Kevin leaned back in his chair, grinning.

Kevin: “First grade sorcerers, huh? Guess we're in the big leagues now.”

Amanda smirked.

Amanda: “Don’t get too confident. It’s a recommendation, not a promotion.”

Megumi sighed.

Megumi: “God help me if I have to babysit you two again.”

Cyan smiled weakly, but her eyes drifted toward the window — toward the faint reflection of the extra eye she thought she still saw on her forehead.

And for a heartbeat… she swore she heard him laughing.

Jaden (distant, echoing): “You’re one step closer… my vessel.”

The wind rattled the glass.

Elle turned back to face them, her expression unreadable.

Elle: “Rest up. Aiden Liebert won’t stay hidden for long.”

The faint echo of cursed energy rippling through the clouds.

Arc II End.
— “The Corpse Puppeteer Arc”