After conveying the last piece of vital information to his colleague, in the mysterious realm of Wistaliss, a slender man with fiery red hair stood at the edge, ready to embark on his daring escape
His white blouse pulsed with cursed energy, the double agent from Westallis Intelligence, knew that every move had to be meticulous. Swiftly extracting the electronic card hidden within his badge, he left the imbued garment draped over a chair – a decoy for the eerie creatures lurking in the laboratory's corners. These creatures, referred to as curses by the director, with their dark blue skin and sinister eyes, added an oppressive weight to the air, making even the bravest shudder.
Navigating through multiple unguarded hallways, outsmarting traps with the electronic card, and ascending from the basement to the rooftop via a ventilation duct, Lightning ultimately arrived at the rooftop, where a parachute awaited his escape. Yet, as he attempted to pull the strap, an unexpected sensation rippled through his hands. Numbness crawled from his palms to his fingertips, leaving him disoriented. His mind raced for a logical explanation as his heart beats were getting faster, but nothing surfaced, that last was acting out of his will. Falling to his knees after succumbing to the feeling of dizziness, Lightning mumbled, 'What is happening?' Covering his burning, sightless eyes with his numb hands, he struggled to comprehend the surreal experience.
Despite the encroaching insanity, Lightning summoned the last ounce of strength to loop his arm through the strap. Gasping for air, each breath felt like his last. Tears eluded his dry eyes. Most would succumb to madness, but inexplicably, Lightning clung to the fragments of strength left within him. As he struggled for breath, the rooftop escape hung in the balance, and the unfolding mysteries deepened
After struggling with what it seemed like an endless agony, the spy x scientist was finally able to hold on to his parachute bag, before dragging his entire body with the strength of his other arm onto the edge of the roof that he couldn't attain because of a thin pair of slender legs that made him spit a woman's name, "Anissa", his most loyal assistant, a short blond headed of 27 years' old whom with a straight gaze took out a syringe from her blouse's pocket after murmuring something in the wind, which unfortunately wasn't strong enough to reach the poor man's ears that were too swollen to let a sound penetrate.
As motionless as a statue, Lightning remained frozen, even at the view of that syringe, his brain was obsolete, he couldn't give any more orders to his tired body that became a weary, dark blue shell with weary grey eyeballs, obscuring his view of the person before him. Despite the blurred vision, an unexpected surge in his sense of hearing occurred. The gentle patter of drops falling from the cloudy sky was enough to stir a dormant rage within him. However, this tumultuous emotion was instantly pacified by the soothing sound of waves emanating from another concealed creature beneath the rooftop floor.
"Come on now," the voice whispered with a wicked grin.
"Silently follow that young lady," the shadow urged, its tone carrying an unsettling weight. "Oh, love, what a twisted curse," it mused before departing, leaving the door ajar in its wake
"C'mon," she murmured through bleary eyes. Yet the beast remained oblivious to her plea, deaf to anything but the language of his kind. In desperation, Anissa reached out, gently grasping his hand, a silent plea for cooperation. The touch triggered a memory of their first handhold, flooding her with poignant nostalgia. Minutes later, the echoes of screams, sobs, and pain faded, leaving behind a haunting silence. Suddenly, the tranquility shattered as a heavy metallic clang reverberated through the air, marking the closing of a door.
That same reverberant sound could be heard near an old hidden house within the woods, a hitting sound that was similar to a hammer was followed by the feminine sound of a fighter
"Resonance" before adding "Itadori he is all yours" the red headed woman screamed after a nice clean landing.
"Aaaah" the pink headed guy shouted, following a series of strong punches that were abruptly stopped by the dissection of the cursed body. Yet, without a moment of hesitation, the enigmatic figure known as Itadori seized the opportunity to exploit what appeared to be a heart, aiming to obliterate it. However, in a last-second twist, the creature managed to transfer the organ to another lifeless vessel carefully hidden and stored within the only room of the house and have the cadaver attack his opponent from behind but the surprise assault swiftly turned into a monumental fail after having two of Fushiguro's dogs ripping off his two arms with the strength of their fangs, but that attack seemed to barely faze the aggressor, as if he had yet to reveal his full hand. But before he could attempt another self-dissection, a nail pierced through the left side of his chest, accompanied by a chilling utterance of one fatal word."
"Resonance"
The nail literally ripped his heart alongside his body into shreds.
"Do you think that the corpse that he took as a hostage was the owner of the house?"
"No way, from the intel that I was given the last owner died twenty years ago, that guy must have come to put an end to his life, he must have been the reason why that cursed was brought to life in the first place" Fushiguro said in his usual cool but almost annoyed way.
"I don't know about you but no matter how many times I kill those things; I still can't get used to how disgusting they are. Let's depart before the stench becomes ingrained in me," she remarked as her rose-shaped tattoos faded away
"Mister Ijichi must be waiting"
Sniff, sniff
"What is it divine dog? Did you smell something?" he asked without thinking too much about it. But the dog ignored his master's voice completely and started walking and on his own, suddenly the calm walk turned into a race, the black fury beast didn't waist a second to reach the source of that smell, he was so focused that he didn't even notice that Yujin was at his very right and that his master and Kugisaki were hardly able to move at his rate.
"Hey buddy what got you running like that?" Itadori asked
But the dog didn't even bark. It merely glanced at him before projecting an image— a little girl with pink hair, engulfed in what looked like a curse's blue flames.
"Not alone... again."
That heart-wrenching voice made him falter, his steps slowing involuntarily. The dog adjusted its pace to match, until it eventually came to a full stop. That brief hesitation gave his master and Nobara a chance to catch up.
Kugisaki was so out of breath she could barely form a sentence. She wanted to demand, "Why the hell did that damn dog run off?" but all that escaped her lips was
"Wy…da… dog…. Away?"
"I think it was because of that shrine," Itadori said quietly, still shaken by the lingering terror from the little girl's vision. He pointed toward what appeared to be an ancient, derelict shrine. Its age was evident in the thick moss creeping over its two front pillars, a silent testament to the years it had endured.
"I still don't get it, why did he run so fast to come here" added Megumi after getting his breath back.
"Maybe there is another curse in there "
"I don't feel anything though; do you think we should go in there?" Itadori asked
The dog Barked after nodding, as if he was able to understand Yujin and not only his master's words.
"What do…" He stopped at the moment the dog faded away
"What the hell Fushiguro, why did you release him?" he asked very annoyed by what he thought was his comrade's move
"That wasn't me" he added as pissed as him
"Hey you two, was that door always opened?" She asked perplexed by the inside of the building.
"I think I'll call mister Ichiji and ask him about an old shrine in this area, so don't…" he said before being abruptly interrupted by his two fearless comrade's absence.
"I can't believe those two" Fushiguro sighed before following them after sending a text message to Ichiji.