Chapter 15: Nothing is ever new under the sun

A Week Later – Jujutsu High, Cape Town

Cyan sat cross-legged in the garden, eyes closed, hands pressed together in a prayer seal.

Cursed energy leaked from her arms like loose threads. She exhaled, as she was trying to pull it back in.

A pebble tapped her shoulder.

She caught it without opening her eyes.

“Real funny, Megumi,” she said flatly.

Megumi stepped out from behind the tree, smirking. “If you’ve got time to meditate, you’ve got time to pack. We're leaving soon.”

Cyan finally opened her eyes. “I still can’t believe we’re going to Japan. The land of anime, ramen, and ninjas. I love ninjas.”

Megumi stared at her. “…I don’t know if I should be proud or offended as an actual Japanese person.”

As they were walking toward Elle’s office— a girl in a fitted tuxedo walked straight into their path.

Cyan leaned toward Megumi and whispered, “She’s really pretty.”

Megumi said absolutely nothing, which told Cyan everything.

The girl stopped before them. “Hi. I’m Ava. You’re Cyan and Megumi, right?”

“Yes,” Megumi said. Cyan nodded.

“I’ll be your escort for the trip,” Ava continued. “Think of me as your bodyguard.”

Cyan and Megumi traded the same worried glance—they both understood what that meant.

Cyan’s mind flickered back to four days ago: Dean and Elle warning her that assassins might target her in Japan, Dean handpicked her security detail.

One of them being Nathan.
The name alone made Cyan’s stomach twist.

Ava walked ahead. “You know, you’re pretty famous lately,” she said lightly. “Ever since you ate that finger.”

Cyan looked away.

“Must be nice… being popular.”

Megumi stepped forward. “Do you have a problem with her?”

Ava’s smirk sharpened.

She vanished—replaced by the streetlamp behind Cyan.

Ava burst from the shadow of the lamp, sword already mid-swing.

Cyan dropped instantly into Ava’s shadow, slipping through the darkness, re-emerging behind her.

The air shifted—every shadow in a ten-meter radius rippled in response to Cyan’s cursed energy.

“You call me popular,” Cyan said quietly, “like I’m enjoying any of this. Ever since I ate that finger, it’s been hell. I’m basically on death row. I have a curse squatting in my body. And now I’m being sent to a place where I might be killed.”

Her voice trembled only once.
Then hardened.

“And now I have to deal with you.”

Ava glanced around as the shadows deepened. “So this is the famous Shadow Garden, huh?”

A thin layer of shimmering light expanded from Ava’s feet—

A simple domain.

“Let’s dance,” she said.

Before either could move again—

“ENOUGH.”

A hand caught both their wrists mid-strike.

David Liebert, their hand-to-hand instructor, stood between them like an iron wall.

“One more move,” he said, “and I’ll report all of you to Elle.”

Ava immediately dropped to her knees, palms together in a begging pose.

“PLEASE don’t! Ms. Elle will be kill me! Or maybe I want her to kill me.”

Cyan and Megumi both blinked.
David sighed.

“Ava,” he explained to the other two, “is …. somewhat an Elle fangirl.”

Cyan was speechless.

Megumi’s internal monologue was loud: Elle? A role model? That rude, lazy, coffee-addicted idiot? Being the strongest is literally the only admirable thing she has.

Ava pointed at Megumi. "Don't you dare say that about Ms. Elle! She's the symbol of light,literally. " giggling to herself.

Then she turned to Cyan “And you! Stop judging me!”

“No one said anything,” Cyan said, lifting her hands. “Honestly? It’s kinda cute. Cool, even.”

Ava pouted. “It’s just—You gets to spend every day with Ms. Elle, while I’m stuck looking at Dean’s weird-looking face all day!”

They all burst out laughing—
even Megumi did.

.

Elle’s Office – A Few Minutes Later

Megumi pushed the office door open.

Elle was asleep on the couch—half under a blanket, half sprawled onto the floor, an empty mug on her stomach like a sad paperweight.

Cyan whispered, “How is she the strongest sorcerer again?”

Megumi whispered back, “At this point, it has to be the coffee.”

Cyan giggled.

But Elle didn’t hear them.
She was somewhere far, far away.

Elle's Dream — Seven Years Ago

The sky above Tokyo burned purple, split open by cracks of cursed lightning. 

A storm of curses swarmed the ruined streets- shrieking, & diving- piling over each other to reach a single point.

Elle charged straight through them.

Her Prism Eyes glowed like twin suns—
each curse that touched her light burst apart, disintegrating into shards of broken colour.

I’m almost there—
Almost—

She skidded to a stop.

And stared.

A crater.
Buildings peeled open like paper.
And in the center—

Jaden.

Standing alone.

Thousands of cursed spirits knelt around him like worshippers at a shrine—heads bowed, as if sensing a god.

Elle’s breath left her.

“…The King of Curses,” she whispered without meaning to.

Jaden slowly turned his head toward her.

His eyes were wrong.

They were red, blood flowing out of them.

They looked Haunted.
Full of something ancient and starving.

“Elle…”
His voice cracked.

“Please.” He stepped forward, shaking.
“Kill me.”

Her heart stopped.

“Elle.
Elle.
Elle—”

Present Day

“Elle. Hey—Elle!”

Her eyes snapped open.

She jerked upright on the couch, her cursed energy flaring before she could stop it—enough to rattle the windows.

Megumi stood over her, arms crossed but eyes slightly worried.

Cyan jumped back. “Whoa—are you okay?!”

Elle rubbed her face, forcing her breathing steady. “…Yeah. It—just a dream.”

Megumi frowned. “Sounded like more than that.”

She ignored him and sat up fully, grabbing her mug only to realize it was empty.

“Alright, brats,” she groaned, “let’s get this over with. We’ve got a flight to Japan and I need at least one more nap before we land.”

Cyan smiled softly, still watching her.
Megumi didn’t look convinced.

Outside, Ava waited patiently—arms behind her back, a perfect picture of composure.

Elle pulled herself together, though her hands trembled for just a moment.

Seven years ago… and it still feels like yesterday.

 

Jujutsu High – Interrogation Wing

The room was silent except for Ethan’s ragged breathing.

His body slumped in the reinforced chair, arms bound, eyes unfocused—drained from days of questioning.

Dean stood behind him, sleeves rolled up, one gloved hand hovering over Ethan’s skull.

“Last chance,” Dean murmured. You’ll only make it worse.”

Ethan whimpered. “I—I don’t know anything else—”

Dean placed his palm on Ethan’s head.

Information Overload.

A crackle of cursed energy.
Ethan’s body jerked violently.

Dean’s eyes glazed over as memory after memory flashed across his mind—
rotten corridors, stolen bodies, secret meetings in back alleys.

And then—

A rooftop.
A cigarette glowing in the dark.
Aiden.

Still alive.

Dean’s jaw tightened.

Ethan’s memory shifted—Aiden leaning lazily against a railing, Cape Town’s skyline behind him.

Aiden: “They’ll try to assassinate her, you know. It’s the perfect chance..”

Ethan: “Why does it matter?”

Aiden: laughs
“Because the chaos will open every cage I need opened.
And I already know who they’ll send.”

He raised one of Jaden’s fingers between two fingers.
“Everything is falling into place.”

Dean’s eyes snapped open.

He lifted his hand from Ethan’s head.
The boy slumped forward, unconscious.

“…So you’re alive, huh?” Dean muttered.

There was no shock in his voice—only a cold confirmation of something he feared for months.

He pulled out his phone and dialled instantly.

Charles answered on the second ring.
“Dean? What’s wrong?”

“Get Phillip,” Dean said, already turning toward the exit.

Charles hesitated. “For what?”

Dean walked down the corridor, cursed energy sharpening around him like a blade.

“We’re going to Japan.” he said flatly.

He ended the call.

Lights flickered as he passed—
a silent warning of the storm that was finally coming.