The Yata Mirror

For a moment, Tengen thought he understood death.

It was not a theory. It was not the solemn end he had imagined during centuries of weariness. It was a hand around the soul, tightening without anger.

The room disappeared.

Only Ren's pale eyes remained.

Tengen's throat worked silently before sound returned.

"I do not want to die."

The pressure vanished.

Tengen bent forward, gasping. Sweat slid down his face.

Ren tilted his head. "I thought you were tired of living."

"I thought so too."

The admission came out hoarse.

For many years, Tengen had believed death was the final proof of humanity. To die was to stop being a function. To stop being a barrier. To stop being watched by people who no longer saw him as a person.

But when death truly stood in front of him, the longing collapsed.

Fear remained.

"I once wanted death as a stage of completion," Tengen said. "Now I know I fear it."

Ren did not look moved. He had not come to comfort Tengen or condemn him. Curiosity had brought him, and curiosity had been satisfied.

Whether he would truly have killed Tengen remained unclear.

That uncertainty was more frightening than a threat.

By the time sunlight touched the room, Ren was gone. The table vanished with him.

Tengen sat alone, breathing the calmer air.

The higher-ups. The Divine Kingdom Cult. His cast-off body.

They could all tear at one another if they wished.

Ren Zenin could kill him.

Could they survive being noticed by that man?

At three in the afternoon, Ren returned to the agency.

Toji Fushiguro was absent. Kento Nanami was at the front desk with the tired posture of someone who had discovered employment and responsibility were not enemies but close relatives.

"Someone from the Zenin clan delivered items to your room," Nanami said.

Ren nodded.

In his room, a dark red box waited on the table.

He opened it.

Inside lay a luxurious short blade. Red, yellow, and blue gems had been set into the hilt. The scabbard was made from fine nanmu wood wrapped with gold thread. It was the kind of gift that declared wealth before usefulness.

Ren picked it up and drew the blade.

The edge was good.

He moved it once through his fingers, then sheathed it and tossed it into the corner with the other expensive offerings the Zenin clan had sent.

Before that, he had something else to handle.

The Yata Mirror lay on the floor.

Ren released Six Vaults Devourer.

The mirror's ancient aura stirred. Dark energy rose from it like smoke trapped for too long.

A voice whispered from within.

Wealth.

Authority.

The top of the world.

Everything men bend their knees to obtain.

The voice grew smooth, then hungry.

Ren smiled faintly.

The hunger changed direction.

The power inside the mirror screamed.

Something vast woke in the dark and realized too late that it was not the predator in this room.

How are you still alive?

The voice inside the mirror twisted in shock.

No. Not yet. The next awakening should not...

Six Vaults Devourer pulled harder.

The presence of Yamata no Orochi collapsed into mist, then into Ren. The mirror became clean, bright, and ordinary. Valuable, but no longer dangerous.

Memory followed the absorbed power.

The Yata Mirror held Orochi's source. Even if the Kusanagi Sword and Yasakani no Magatama lost their power, as long as the mirror remained, Orochi could slowly be reborn. The person who once gathered the three treasures had never truly devoured Orochi. They had only been corrupted by the source.

Ren opened the internal panel.

Divine Forge had reached perfection.

Six Vaults Devourer had reached perfection.

Spirit Dominion had reached perfection.

Sovereign Wind Array had advanced to ninety percent.

Other techniques remained locked, waiting beyond the current threshold.

Ren's eyes lingered on Sovereign Wind Array.

That progress was the only part that interested him.

Elsewhere in Tokyo, summer heat pressed against the streets.

Two girls walked through a commercial district where every window reflected light. One wore her confidence openly. The other kept tugging at the hem of her shorts as if she could make them longer by willpower.

"Dorin, it is too early in the season for this," Koyuka Shufuku said. "My legs are cold."

Dorin Fuya gave her a scandalized look. "It is summer. Why hide what should be shown?"

"People are staring."

"That is the point."

Koyuka's discomfort deepened. She came from a temple lineage, and the elder of her family had warned her recently that the jujutsu world was becoming unstable. Avoid contact. Avoid dangerous young sorcerers especially.

The elder had shown her photographs.

Satoru Gojo.

Ren Zenin.

Both had been marked clearly.

Do not provoke.

Then Dorin suddenly grabbed her arm.

"Look."

Koyuka looked.

Ren Zenin was walking along the street with a bag of chips in one hand.

Koyuka's heart nearly stopped. "We should go."

"Dangerous men are still men."

"Dorin."

"I will talk to him, win him over, then dump him. It will be good for my confidence."

Koyuka wondered if fear could make a person faint while standing.

Dorin stepped forward with her brightest smile.

Ren vanished before she could speak and appeared several steps past them.

Dorin froze.

Koyuka grabbed her. "Now can we leave?"

The ground shook.

Cracks tore across the street. People screamed as black mist rose from bodies, windows, broken pavement, and blood. The mist gathered above the commercial district, forming a white phantom in the sky.

Eight enormous heads slowly took shape.

Someone screamed Yamata no Orochi's name.

Another person's head burst open in the crowd, scattering blood into the air. The blood crawled toward the forming phantom as if pulled by invisible threads.

At Jujutsu High, Yaga received the emergency report with a face that went gray.

"Suspected special-grade entity in the Tokyo commercial district. Civilians can see it. Multiple casualties. Possible Yamata no Orochi manifestation."

Gojo and Geto were away. Other sorcerers were too weak. The available personnel could only limit damage.

Yaga clenched the receiver until his knuckles whitened.

"All Tokyo sorcerers to the commercial district. Prioritize civilian evacuation. Contact Gojo and Geto immediately and have them return at full speed."

He paused.

"If Ren Zenin is nearby, find him."

After the call ended, Yaga sat down heavily.

If that monster of a man was there, the situation would not feel so hopeless.

In a sealed meeting room of the Jujutsu Association, candles burned again.

The higher-ups were already discussing the disaster before the serpent's body had fully formed.

"Ren Zenin absorbed the source in the Yata Mirror," one man said, licking his lips. "Then Orochi no longer threatens us."

"He is only an outcast from the Zenin clan," another said. "Does he truly think he can challenge the entire jujutsu world?"

"The Zenin clan does not treat him like an outcast now. They are sending gifts like dogs begging for favor."

Laughter moved around the table.

"Silence."

The elder at the head of the table spoke, and the room obeyed.

"The immediate issue is not Ren Zenin. It is Yamata no Orochi."

His mouth tried not to smile and failed slightly.

"Yaga has already sent personnel to the commercial district. They cannot kill it. We will bring Satoru Gojo there as quickly as possible and use him to remove Orochi."

The room brightened with cruel satisfaction.

"Having Gojo kill it. Clever."

"A strike to the heart."

"Should this be reported to Tengen?"

The name froze the table.

Everyone understood the problem. Tengen had once held authority. They had slowly taken it from him for the sake of their own power, and no one wanted that ugliness spoken aloud.

Finally, someone coughed.

"Tengen is in an important post-assimilation period. For the stability of the jujutsu world, I propose we report after the incident ends."

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

"Best choice."

The elder nodded.

"Then contact every sorcerer near Satoru Gojo. By any method necessary, bring him to Yamata no Orochi."

When the meeting ended, he remained seated and watched the candle flame.

Something bothered him.

That serpent did not seem to be only a cursed spirit.

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