𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐄 [JJK x OC]

18: The Forsaken/Honored One

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3rd person

A wretching sound filled the room, followed by a thud as the limp corpse was thrown to the ground, the faint remnants of blood within the body pooled from her wounds, dark, near curdled crimson splattered, staining the rich wooden floor. There was no grace or dignity afforded to the poor child who once dreamed of more. Like a slaughtered lamb brought forth for appraisal, three men stood around the corpse with not a single regret. "Here. I've delivered the corpse of The Star Plasma Vessel, as requested." Toji sneered, with a cocky smirk on his face.

Sonoda couldn't help but return his enthusiasm. Everything had gone well, beyond his wildest dreams. Just a few kilometers away in the tomb that held the idol of his worship, both the heads of the Kamo and Gojo clans were slaughtered, so too was the wrecked Star Plasma Vessel, which called itself Riko. A part of him wished to thank Itadori for pushing him to hire the Sorcerer Killer. Yet, that woman was ever like the wind, already having soared away, surely to never meet him again. But he didn't lament that as he kneeled down before the body, a turgid hand reaching out to brush aside Riko's bangs to admire the bullet wound placed at the center of her forehead. "Hmm. Indeed, you have." He said with barely suppressed glee.

At long last, the fervid and millennia-long dream of the Star Religious Cult had been achieved. A mandate and oath given to them by their founder, lost in the stream of time. 'The Star in the sky above shall guide us to oblivion, to nirvana. But before they may guide us, the illustrious Star must become enlightened, so that the path is made clear to them. Master Tegen must become our god, a god of curses.' The mandate rattled in his head as a long-standing promise had finally been fulfilled. However, its purpose had long since contorted, and the one that the cult swore it to was naught but an echo. Sonoda smiled, fully satisfied. "You'll get your payments as we previously agreed, and considering your stellar efforts and the complications you had, we'll add a sizeable bonus."

Hearing that brought a faint echo of satisfaction to Toji. He wondered how much more the cult would be willing to offer him. Were he still his younger self, the notion of a would have been enough to salivate over. Perhaps it was his age, but those words rang hollow to him. "How kind of you, mister Founder," was all he said in response, that same smirk as ever clinging to his lips.

"He's not the founder..." Kong muttered under his breath. His words caused Toji's eyebrow to furrow with curiosity. Though he had little interest in educating Toji about the cult's tumultuous past, all that concerned the handler was how amicable Sonoda was being. "But are you sure about that? You've already provided him with a significant amount of help. Frankly, I thought you'd nickel and dime us a little more."

Sondoa was silent for a while before he clasped his hands together and spoke plainly, dropping his holy airs. "We hired you assuming it would amount to nothing." He confessed before tossing a sheet of virgin white over Riko's corpse. It moulded to the girl's fragile body, its threads sullied with her blood, but Sonoda didn't seem to mind as he wrapped the girl in it even tighter and continued to speak. "Our group was formed a millennium ago in the golden years, where the Star preached Japanese Buddhism and laid the moral framework that would define Jujutsu sorcerers."

The fabric that encased Riko was pulled tighter, billowing out as it encased her, mummifying her until even the blood that stained it was covered by pure white. "But those two truths could never see eye to eye. It was from that disparity that our founder formed what would become the Time Vessel Association." Sonoda added his words, burning with religious fervor that was nothing but amusing to Toji. "We molded, positioned to be non-sorcerers, for even the Jujutsu sorcerers who acted with impunity were remanded for laying their hands on non-curse users. Such was the moral framework that Master Tegen taught them."