"The most dangerous adversaries are not those who bravely show their hand, but those who hide it behind a smile."
(POV: Ryomen Sukuna)
It was a nice afternoon, the sun wasn't too bright, its light filtered by the partial cloud cover.
I sat on a bench next to a vast ground, the grass on which glinted in a sweet yellow light.
I leaned back into the bench as I looked at two girls fighting in the middle of the field.
They were Eva and Nect, having a friendly spar.
From this far away, I could hear faint sounds of them shouting something at each other as they fought, probably some friendly banter.
Both of them had improved quite a bit, Eva was using her ice powers more efficiently, using them not just for attacks, but for other stuff like distraction and stunning.
Nect had improved her control a lot. Now, she could at least reduce the amount of mana she emitted, and consequently, wasted.
She does not have a particular fighting style right now, it's mostly brute force, but she told me something about 'liquifying' her mana.
This opens many new doors for techniques. Liquification of mana is something only a handful of people in the world can do, ones that have stupid amounts of control, or stupid amounts of mana.
However, there was something much more important right now.
I gave the girls one final glance as I started walking away, walking across the road to a car parked.
I had already called Winston, who got out and opened the back door of the car for me with practiced grace.
I got in, my face becoming serious and my eyes fixed on the road ahead.
I was going to meet Aiden Arceid.
This was an awaited day for everyone, me, my parents, even Winston seemed to be a little tense.
He started the car, not needing my command, and drove at a steady pace, going towards the heart of the city.
Even though my face was stoic, my head was churning with thoughts as we passed through the familiar roads.
But, I noticed something, the city was quieter than usual.
It wasn't just quiet, but there was an eerie tension in the air, coming from the people outside, and I knew exactly why.
At first, it was a few glares from passersby, their heads turning as they recognized me.
But soon, this hate came out, as a man, walking on the sidewalk, threw an empty bottle at our car, screaming with rage.
"Murderer!"
I slightly flinched, not expecting such a straightforward show of resentment.
This wasn't the first time someone had lashed out at me like this, the massacre had made me a public enemy.
The only reason I wasn't in prison is because of my parents and many other World Nobles who prevented it.
The man's seemed to excite the other people too, who started to throw their garbage at the car, following him.
"It's him!"
"Monster!"
"Killer!"
The hostility seemed to intensify with every passing moment.
A woman, who was walking on the sidewalk, picked up a large stone and hurled it towards the car, which struck it with a dull thud, making a dent on the side of it.
Through the rear view mirror, Winston glanced at me, his eyes concerned as he silently asked me what to do.
I merely nodded. "Ignore them," I said, motioning him to overtake the crowd.
Winston tightened his grip on the steering wheel, accelerating the car to go past the crowd.
The agitated screams of the people faded into the background as we approached the tall and luxurious building.
He dropped me off at the entrance of the building.
As I walked in, I got a few stares and many glances from the people present, filled with hate, curiosity, or intrigue.
Ignoring them, I walked to the elevator, pressing the button to the topmost floor.
The elevator beeped, and started moving up.
As it did its thing, I took a deep breath, correcting folds on my dress, looking at myself in the mirror.
The door opened slowly, into my view came a long, dimly lit hallway, leading to a pair of wooden doors.
I took another deep breath as I walked towards the doors, my footsteps echoing in the narrow hall.
Standing in front of the door, I readied myself, my hand hovering over the doorknob.
I pushed the door open, and what came into view was an extravagant office, shelves lay around, filled with books.
There were three couches and a table between them.
One whole wall of the room was replaced by a huge window of glass, letting sunlight in with a beautiful view of the city.
There was also a study table, on which he, Aiden, was sitting at the moment.
My eyes widened greatly the moment my eyes landed on him. His Soul was huge.
It was many times bigger than any I've seen, and much, much bigger than my own.
How did he know about the Soul? How is it so big?
These questions overtook my mind, but I composed myself to the best of my ability.
Next to Aiden, there was a man in a suit, his face stoic as he looked at me.
My eyes slightly widened once again, looking at him, his features were almost exactly the same as Eva told me about a certain person, but I couldn't be completely sure.
As I walked towards the table, Aiden stood up with a professional smile on his face, extending a hand to me. "It's nice to meet you, Sukuna."
He was quite an old man, wrinkles evident on his face as he waited for my next action.
I grabbed his hand, shaking it firmly. Something felt weird, and his smile seemed to widen for some reason, but I ignored it for now. "Likewise."
We sat down, and my gaze landed on the man next to him.
There was an almost imperceptible smirk on Aiden's face as he pointed to the man. "This is Zekuth, my trusted 'friend'."
My eyes slightly widened, before I found myself chuckling internally.
This was him...Zekuth, the one who was supposedly massacred Eva's family in her childhood.
"Nice to meet you, Zekuth," I said with a little bow.
He merely nodded in response, before walking away, leaving the room and shutting the door with a silent thud.
I turned back to Aiden, a smirk present on my face. "He has to go."
Aiden merely smiled in response, the same professional smile. "He's replaceable, do what you will."
I nodded, leaning towards him. "I guess we both know," I said, playfulness evident in my voice. "This meeting isn't just a casual one."
"Of course not, let's get straight to the point," he said, leaning back into his seat, his smile not wavering.
"You're clearly planning something, Aiden," I started, leaning back like him. "But what are your goals, exactly?"
Aiden's gaze remained steady as he replied. "My goals? I could ask the same for you, but I suppose I'll indulge you, my goals are like any other person in my position would have."
I raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing him.
"That's a little vague, don't you think?" I asked, my eyes locking with his.
His dark red eyes seemed to be slightly glowing, an ominous aura emanating from them.
"Vague?" He mused, almost slightly chuckling. "I suppose so. But isn't it better to keep things hidden from people, Sukuna? Especially from...someone like you?"
I noticed what he was trying to do, getting a rise out of me, digging for more information, but it wouldn't be so easy.
"I suppose you're right," I began, leaning towards him. "I don't care about your ambitions, as long as...certain people are safe. I suppose you know who all I'm referring to."
Aiden tilted his head in amusement. "I do know who you're talking about," he said, his voice carrying the most subtle hint of playfulness. "That's so noble of you, I expected more self-centered thoughts after the...actions you have done."
My gaze didn't waver at his words. I knew these were attempts to make me angry, referring to the massacre I did.
"Noble? Definitely not, but I hope we can come to an understanding...I won't hinder your plans, as long as they are safe," I replied, staring into his eyes, that stared right back.
There was a palpable tension in the air between us as I waited for his answer.
Aiden's smile widened.
"I respect that," he finally replied, his voice steady. "But power always comes with a price, even to your family."
My eyes darkened as I realized what he was doing. He was trying to find how much I cared about my family. I needed to change the course of this conversation...fast.
"What about you?" I said, looking straight at him. "You act like you're above all of us, but I see it, you've been hurt too, haven't you?"
His smile faltered for a brief moment, a break in his mask that I caught.
He quickly composed himself, back to the usual façade.
"That's an interesting theory," he replied, his voice slightly colder now. "But we're not here to talk about me, are we?"
I nodded in acknowledgement. "Indeed, so I'll just say, I'm willing to...cooperate, but only if 'they' stay safe."
Aiden leaned back, his eyes scanning my body, his scrutinizing gaze made me feel quite vulnerable.
"That can be arranged," he replied, straightening his posture. "But in return, I expect your...help, when the time comes."
I nodded hesitantly. "For now, I can agree to that, but I need to know something..." I began, leaning towards him, my voice dead serious.
"What exactly are you planning?"
Aiden lightly chuckled, his eyes glinting with amusement. "How brave of you to ask that right to my face, but I suppose there's no harm in indulging you."
He leaned in as our conversation continued.
My eyes widened to degrees I didn't know possible as he explained to me his plan. At the end, we both had smirks on our faces.
In the conversation, I tried to probe about his powers, while giving hints of my own, wanting to get more information.
But Aiden's mask seemed unbreakable, I knew something about him only when he wanted me to.
A strange understanding started to form between us. The more we talked, the more we realized how useful we are to each other.
"Even conquering England was planned, huh?" I asked, quite shocked by how much he had planned.
Aiden chuckled slightly, prideful for his actions. "Correct."
Today, I learned that Aiden Arceid...was someone extremely dangerous.
At the end, as I got up, I couldn't help but feel that this was no longer just an alliance, but something deeper.
As I began to leave, Aiden's voice called me out. "Sukuna."
I turned back, my gaze meeting his.
"There are things even I can't control," he said, his voice serious as he looked at me.
I nodded, knowing what he was referring to, my eyes darkening. "I understand."
As I walked out of the room, towards the elevator, I felt...no. I knew, that this was just the start.
.
.
.
(POV: Aiden Arceid)
Sukuna shut the door with a loud thud, which reverberated in the room.
I had taken a huge risk by revealing my whole plan to him, but I believe that it will help build our relationship more, so that he does not try to interfere at all.
I couldn't help but chuckle, the sound echoing in the silent, lonely room.
Two anomalies sitting in one room...that is something that would happen once in centuries, and Sukuna didn't even know how rare it was.
He had shaken me to my very core, not just his power, but also how he carried himself.
I found it actually difficult to keep my mask on at all times.
He even saw through my façade, saying that I had some form of painful past.
"Lucky guess?" I muttered. "Or something deeper?"
I don't have the answer to that, but I know that he is someone quite dangerous.
I got up from my seat, walking over to the window on the wall, looking down at the foot of the building, seeing his car shoot off.
When I shook his hand, I tried to put him into a subtle illusion, one which would do things that we won't even notice.
But, I couldn't, something seemed to be 'pushing' my mana away.
I had always wondered why and how, he had zero mana, but this observation changes everything.
He either has no mana, and depends solely on his physical abilities, which is very improbable.
He might have a special skill, completely independent of mana.
Or, he might have a completely different form of energy he can harness.
I will have to do more research and tests to get the answers for this question.
As I looked out at the scenery of the city, I thought back at our conversation, feeling quite satisfied with the results.
One more thing that I was surprised by, was his Soul.
His soul was much, much larger than a normal person's, and it can only be done manually.
I had wondered why he massacred that town, I doubted that it was for something petty, like entertainment. But now, I have the answer.
Ryomen Sukuna...he truly is someone special.
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500k views, 2k collections.
idk if that's a good ratio or not, but it's a milestone, YAAAAY.
We're 50% of the way to the goal for views :>
Also, I got a BAD cold, and now there are no prewritten drafts left TvT
2250 words :3
gimme POWER STONES :>>>>