Chapter 98 : Slumber
"...Cough, cough cough..." Jiang Lai didn't reply. After being suddenly stuffed with half a crystal, he was still coughing uncontrollably.
To be honest, at this moment his mind was also in a daze, not knowing what to say in the confusion.
However, Ryomen Sukuna seemed not to need his reply either. He just quite arrogantly and dictatorially announced the ending he'd decided, doing whatever he wanted. Indicating he would neither let Kenjaku have his way nor let Jiang Lai have his way.
After watching Jiang Lai swallow the half red crystal, Ryomen Sukuna released his hand, casually throwing him to the ground.
Jiang Lai adjusted his form, supporting himself with one hand on the ground, not letting himself fall too pathetically. He raised his brown eyes to glare back, strongly condemning in his heart this sudden person-dropping behavior.
The cherry pink-haired man grinned, his torso's two arms crossed in front of his chest: "Not bad, that expression. Work harder, work harder!"
...What a pervert. Though objectively his actions helped himself, subjectively he was still bone-deep sinister.
Jiang Lai had no energy for verbal arguments. He concentrated on mobilizing the power in his body, calming the suddenly fused divine status aura.
The Ryomen Sukuna before him also didn't seem to intend to keep staring at Jiang Lai's misfortune, since the current situation wasn't suitable for casual chatting.
He turned his head toward the noisy area outside the shrine, snorting contemptuously through his nose:
"A bunch of twisted maggots also dare challenge me." The King of Curses' face pulled into a fierce, cruel smile, clicking his tongue: "Then let's see what level they can perform at!"
Jiang Lai mentally complained: They can perform at the level of sealing you.jpg
Ryomen Sukuna looked down on most jujutsu sorcerers in the world, but little did he know that under fame and profit's lure, people would take desperate risks, achieving the effect of many ants killing an elephant. Moreover, among those coming would be Six Eyes prodigy Gojo Satoru.
Speaking of which, Gojo Satoru still hadn't arrived, probably temporarily blocked by barriers outside Heian-kyo city. It seemed his earlier speculation was correct—those were barriers targeting individuals.
If the city massacre had truly occurred, jujutsu world higher-ups would definitely seize on Geto Suguru's residue, sophistically explaining the barrier problem as Geto's doing. In reality, the barriers had been tampered with by jujutsu world rotten tangerines.
Ryomen Sukuna strode away toward the battlefield outside the shrine. He didn't bother with the grounded Jiang Lai anymore, probably thinking the other's current condition couldn't mount any counterattack, planning to go kill to his heart's content first, then return to grab the black-haired youth for cooking.
Jiang Lai in the ruins steadied his breathing. Though his human form no longer showed dissipating tendencies, the thick fatigue hadn't decreased much.
He made his thinking operate, barely resisting wave after wave of drowsiness.
...He hadn't expected Ryomen Sukuna to stuff that half-piece of mostly consumed divine status into him, but thinking carefully it was quite reasonable. Fortunately, the other's accumulated karmic bonds didn't seem to transfer to him.
After this incident, Jiang Lai could understand why the future Supervisory Committee initially searched for [Clock] focusing on objects.
Because Kenjaku, not present at the scene, would only hear afterward about "Heian-kyo city showing miraculous space-time reversal and stellar fall, with the [door] completely sealed never to return."
Based on his condition just now, after such massive power consumption and burning divine status, he would be unable to maintain human form, probably changing into a more compact, stable object shape—like leaving only a sundial (clock) the size of his heart.
Kenjaku probably couldn't imagine that Ryomen Sukuna would stuff the dim divine status from his body into Jiang Lai's mouth. This operation let [Space-Time] continue maintaining human form.
Connecting past and future clues, Jiang Lai exhaled, thinking of Brain-kun taking a detour made him slightly curl his lip corners.
Then he withdrew his thoughts, again attempting to gather strength to stand from the ground.
...What should he do now? The long dormant period was unavoidable, but where was safe at this moment?
First find a safe temporary shelter nearby, then after Gojo Satoru or other friends arrived...
As he struggled to plan in his mind, Jiang Lai felt faint detectable warmth at his waist.
He paused, then noticed the pagoda tree wooden pendant hanging at his waist was now faintly glowing.
"......" Jiang Lai's warm brown eyes widened slightly. He paused, his extended hand trembling in small movements. He tried to keep his fingertips steady, taking the pendant from his waist.
The pendant that was part of [Origin]'s main body now felt like a family head's hand, transmitting warmth through skin to his heart. The light green radiance wasn't glaring but miraculously illuminated the shrine altar.
In the night's faint light, ruins and debris responded with "crackling" and "rustling" sounds. Underground seeds cracked, tender shoots grew, saplings broke through soil—everything accelerated in the space of a breath.
Under Jiang Lai's incredulous gaze, plant tendrils both gentle and unstoppable pushed aside broken stones and ruins. Tree saplings rose from the wreckage all around, growing upward at visible speed, straight and proud! Branches stretched toward the night sky above with all their might, shaking out flourishing layers of green leaves.
First the shrine altar, then the entire shrine area—countless forest trees grew at this moment. Jiang Lai among the woods widened his eyes slightly, feeling [Origin]'s aura in this process.
"...!"
Before he could call out, the ancient, deep voice spoke first, gently reaching his ears:
[I know you're tired, child. Then sleep well. I will always guard you.]
"...Wait, wait!" Jiang Lai didn't immediately fall asleep. Sensing the surrounding, abundant divine status power of [Origin], he carefully and keenly spoke: "You're clearly not nearby. This is releasing divine status power from a distance? But..."
[I've scattered my divine status.]
"Scattered... scattered?" Jiang Lai was shocked for a moment, suddenly thinking of the light green fragments from a thousand years later: "No, no, if you do that, then you..."
[Don't worry about me.] That voice belonging to no language communicated directly with Jiang Lai's consciousness, laughing: [Actually, I've been trying this for a long time.]
[After all, I can't rest easy about you brothers and sisters. Of course, I won't interfere with any of your decisions, just thinking perhaps I could provide a resting harbor when you're weary.]
"...If divine status scatters, wouldn't that be equivalent to shattering? Then you..." Jiang Lai's upper and lower eyelids were about to stick together, but he still forcefully clenched his fists, digging fingertips into his palm's soft flesh to stay awake and speak.
The ancient tree's kind voice carried laughter: [As we discussed before, as you said—we originally belong to the world.]
[Born from nature, returning to nature. Void everywhere, yet present nowhere] He said, [It is dissolution and also eternal life—I've found my path.]
[But your journey hasn't ended, has it? Then rest well, then continue on your way.] The ancient tree said gently: [Your eternal life isn't here.]
"......" Jiang Lai's heart pounded in his chest as he opened his mouth.
He seemed to understand [Origin]'s meaning. He knew the other had voluntarily shattered divine status into countless pieces, scattering them everywhere, merging with the infinitely vast nature.
[Existence] wasn't immortal, but merging with nature—as long as the world existed, nature would be eternal.
But knowing of Brain-kun's future widespread search for fragments, he wanted to say: there would always be greedy humans exploiting nature's power. Perhaps such eternal life wouldn't have the imagined peace.
But at this moment Jiang Lai barely had strength left to speak. He could only grip tightly the pagoda tree pendant in his palm.
His lips and teeth rubbed together making faint meaningless "pop" sounds. The trees rising behind him opened their arms like mothers, gently embracing the swaying black-haired youth in their trunks.
A vine gently opened Jiang Lai's clenched hand, rehinging the pagoda tree pendant at the black-haired youth's waist.
The miraculously split tree trunk accommodated Jiang Lai within, like a custom-made warm bed, then closed layer by layer.
[Origin]'s voice sounded beside his ear: [Sleep, good child. No matter how long the years, I will silently accompany you.]
"......" In the warm tree embrace, Jiang Lai could no longer control the drowsiness surging upward. He closed his eyes.
Before consciousness withdrew, Jiang Lai thought silently: See you again in a thousand years. He would definitely achieve final victory with friends, find fragments returning to nature, giving [Origin] the peaceful rest he wanted.
The closed tree withdrew the last trace of moonlight lingering on his cheeks. The black-haired youth entered long slumber.
The white-haired youth left the clamoring behind, his magnificent kimono-clad figure showing slight haste. He landed among this forest that had suddenly risen from the ground, his azure eyes taking in everything around.
Long-haired Gojo saw his close friend lying on the ground—Geto Suguru's chest rising and falling, his uninjured body, and peaceful sleeping expression indicated his safety. Just like others in Heian-kyo city, pulled back by massive space-time reversal power.
He also saw scattered residue, collapsed ruins, trees and shrubs radiating magnificent life force.
But he didn't see the figure he wanted to see.
Six Eyes' feedback informed Gojo Satoru that the magnificent meteor shower and Heian-kyo city's miracle had all been that person's doing. The not-yet-dissipated aura in the air also marked that person's lingering presence.
Some sixth sense combined with Six Eyes let him vaguely sense the other was here, yet seemed not to be. Like wind, like rain, like flowing light of sun and moon—untouchable, ungraspable, yet always accompanying nearby.
Gojo Satoru didn't want to guess toward the bad side, but reason made him very clear—such brilliantly burning scenes could probably only be witnessed once.
Even legendary gods and spirits would have moments when power was exhausted. Nothing was truly eternal.
Night wind blew through treetops. The forest rang with continuous gentle rustling. Distant clamoring seemed particularly remote. Only nature's forest sounds echoed in his ears.
"......"
Gojo Satoru stood in place. His pure white lashes fluttered as his azure eyes rarely scanned around aimlessly. Under moonlight, his perfect lips pressed into a straight line. After a long while, he spoke in what sounded like his usual tone:
"Ah, at least tell the world's most handsome noble Young Master a story before leaving. I've been waiting many years, you know? And..."
And...
I still don't know your name.