DARK RED [ITADORI Y.]

―XLIX. UNIMAGINABLE

CHAPTER XLIX. LOVE MAKES YOU DO UNIMAGINABLE THINGS.

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"My sister raised Sukuna and I together, protecting us from the sorcerers in the village,"

My gaze fell onto Eris. She stood across from me, the water under our feet stilling as she began to speak. She wasn't looking at me; her eyes were closed, her hands in front of her. Her dress splayed across the surface of the water, but never got wet.

"As a child, I was blessed with an ability to heal wounds and protect me and my sister. Though, the sorcerers in our village called me a witch—cast us out and forbid us to come back. We hid in the woods, and my sister traveled alone back and forth when we needed supplies. They were always trying to kill us. Even my sister and she was normal, just as they were."

Eris twisted the ring on her dainty finger.

"She saved Sukuna from them as well. She hid him along with us, protecting us from any harm. She raised us together, and eventually, Sukuna and I fell in love. We both denied it at first, but as we grew together, we grew our love as well. He and I were by the stream when the sorcerers in the village came and burned our cottage down. They burned my sister alive. They held no remorse for her screams. And I killed them all. Sukuna was captured, but I managed to escape. For years, my hatred for them brewed. My strength grew as I got older, and I used every bit of it to my advantage. I burned their villages down and slaughtered wives and daughters. The only people I ever spared were children."

She lifted her head, meeting my gaze.

"That's when I came across you. Malnourished, starving, abused, and neglected. You watched the people who abused you crawl toward me and beg for my mercy. And it was you who finished them. I saw potential in you. I saw...myself. I saved you from that village and brought you with me. Sukuna and I raised you as our daughter. I had just begun to teach you elements of jujutsu when the damn sorcerers came for you. They snatched you from under our noses, and they murdered you. They fucking slaughtered you. A child. My child!"

I could feel her anger seeping from her. She was now clasping her hands tightly, her jaw clenching. Her chest rose and fell.

"I spared no one. Not even their children. They took my child so I took theirs. I spent years mourning you. Until your soul came back to me. I knew it was you the moment I laid eyes on you. It was no mistake. But the same thing happened. Over. And over. And over. And over again. I've chased you for a thousand years. And now that I have you, I won't let anything happen to you."

Her shoulders fell with her deep exhale.

"Sukuna promised me that we would find you again. And then, he was stolen from me. My love, the very thing that had been keeping me together. All of this—everything—is the fault of the goddamn jujutsu sorcerers. They say they are saving people, but they're murdering us. They're ripping us apart. They're destroying us."