𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐃𝐆𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖 || 𝐉𝐔𝐉𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐔 𝐊𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐍

Chapter 15: The Taste of Ash

Mina walked silently in a daze, unsettled by what had transpired. In her agitation, she didn't notice her shadow darkening and expanding in a pulsating mass.

The whole matter of Pyra's existence was something she tried hard to forget after his silencing, when he'd finally been suppressed, lying dormant within her, slumbering in its oblivion.

Like a dam that had finally burst, the memories slowly returned to her in the form of shards of memories of when she'd been forced to merge with him, they'd found a way to finally suppress his consciousness, killing dozens of people in the process.

In other words, a success for the magister.

She'd always wondered why people referred to him by that title; but then again, he didn't seem like a being that had something as intimate as a name.

A familiar headache was blossoming behind her eyes, causing her to frown.

Come to think of it, she'd never dwelled too much on her past, but she found that she couldn't really remember much beyond the last two years. Everything before that was a blur, not to mention nothing existed in her memory of her childhood before her incarceration at the institute. It's as if her life began in a nightmare.

Mina shivered at what she couldn't fathom about herself.

*** *** ***

That evening she returned to the room she had been renting, declining Gojou's offer of alternative accommodation.

When she finally fell asleep, she was thrust immediately into a nightmare.

The Magister was talking to her soothingly as she tried to resist another programming from the memory machine.

"Your blood is special Mina. You refuse to listen, and that's why you're suffering right now," he said sympathetically, his dark eyes looking sympathetically down on her shivering form.

"You can turn the universe upside down, do what the old Gods couldn't even imagine, you have no idea of what you are capable of. I trust when you wake up this time after your programming, you'll be more obedient." He nodded curtly to the scientist operating the machine.

"Commencing programming."

The Magister looked down at the crying girl, leaving the room before the screaming started.

The dream felt too real, and Mina felt her veins burn as she screamed, tasting ash in her mouth as she felt her mind being taken from her once more. The restraints holding her in place were no more than scraps of charred leather, but she was too far gone to be a threat in her current state.

Despite knowing it was a dream, the pain felt too real, rendering her immobile, forced to relive every second.

Suddenly the pain vanished along with the scene.

Mina blinked upon finding herself once again in Sukuna's domain. Sukuna sat high above the tower of bones in his throne of bleached ivory, looking disdainfully down at her. She raised an eyebrow.

"This is a dream right?" she asked carefully

"No need to thank me for saving you from your nightmare," Sukuna drawled.

She scoffed at his arrogance.

"Yes, thank you for replacing it with another one." She sneered at the king of curses.

"How are you in my dreams? I didn't eat any of your fingers."

"Your blood entered my domain, allowing me the liberty of entering your dream. Pity, it was only a drop; your blood is...quite something. Anyway, it was quite tedious appearing in your dream like this, so I doubt we will meet like this again."

"What do you mean the blood?" she demanded. Sukuna sneered at her.

"I had contact with your blood when we fought, and how interesting it was." Sukuna looked at her with an unknown glint in his eyes.

"It remains none of your business, you're just a curse with a big ego," Mina smirked. Sukuna merely frowned.

"I'd love to fight you at your full power, unfortunately, that Itadori brat is getting in the way," Sukuna frowned in distaste at the thought of the boy.

"I'm gonna crush you like a bug," Mina grinned, striding towards him purposefully, but Sukuna held a hand up, causing her to pause.

"Relax, I don't want you dead."

"In fact, I propose a truce. I'll even give you a clue as to where the codex you're after is hidden. The jujutsu academy has storage facilities designed to contain even the most powerful of curses."

"I suspect they hold a few of my fingers too," he nodded thoughtfully.

Mina cocked her head, turning to him.

"What do you want in return?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing."

"Sure." Her voice dripped scepticism.

"You're planning something, and I don't like it." Sukuna merely shrugged.

"I'm looking forward to the chaos you'll bring, and with any luck, that white-haired fool will die."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I won't be able to fulfil your desire," she sneered. Sukuna began to chuckle, sending a shiver of unease through her.

"I don't think you quite understand. I'm sure chaos and death will follow you wherever you go. You're practically a harbinger of death. I can smell it on you. Death and destruction will follow you. And I want to see it."

Mina's vision tinged red as her hands unconsciously curled into fists. But her vision began going blurry, with her surroundings fading in and out of focus.

"Leaving so soon?" he teased.

His voice faded away as Mina felt herself stirring awake, her clammy body clinging to the charred remains of the blanket, the cloying taste of ash in her mouth.

I have a location now.

*** *** ***

It was 9 am when her phone buzzed.

Meet me at xx, I want to introduce you to someone.

________________________________________________________________________________

A/N:

And that concludes part 1!!!

So far, Mina's travelled to this world full of Jujutsu sorcerers and has met all sorts of people and seen all manner of things she didn't expect. she certainly didn't expect to grow attached to some of them.

Now Sukuna has told her where she can find the codex, and all she needs to do now is get it.

But how is she going to do that?

And what did Sukuna mean by the chaos she'd going to unleash?

See you in part 2 as Mina battles her inner demons and slowly begins to find out more about her powers about the past she so desperately wanted to remember.

But she should be careful what she wishes for.

Some things come at a hefty price.

How long is she going to stay sane?

She follows her own rules and will do anything to achieve her goals. Even if it means that she will be forced to turn her back on her newfound friends.

See you all in Part 2!

Please don't forget to like and comment what you think about it so far!