Hitting a cursed spirit wasn't like hitting a person. It went beyond simply punching something and receiving feedback—the clenching of the fists, the parting of the air, the brunt of the impact. Feedback from a person came in all shapes and sizes; blood splatter, a counter, or even thin air as the target ducked out of the way. In that regard, throwing a punch at a person was comforting.
Cursed spirits were different.
The manifestation of pure emotions; of negative emotions, was sickening. It was ironic, considering such emotions were on the same spectrum as emotions like joy and passion, operating as their antithesis. Such that the pure brilliance in feeling happy was identical to the sickening existence of a curse spirit.
What did it mean to punch anxiety, though? Punching the concept itself was naturally impossible, but what about its physical embodiment? Was that a despicable action, or would it fall under some guise of justice and or liberation?
"Straw…thatch," the spirit seemed to say. "Fire…fire…"
Steadying himself, Quinn nailed the creature in the only part it wasn't amalgamated—it's arm. With what looked like hundreds of fingers, the cursed spirit seemed to roll more than it walked, scuttling around the forest with a fluidity unbecoming of its size. Together with the enormous holes scattered through its chest, the only effective spot to punch it was its singular arm, which was located on its side, together with its head.
"This," he muttered to himself, "is a lot harder than it looks!"
Cursed energy wasn't just an aura or a bundle of literal energy. Unlike seeing it on the screen or on some pages, for Quinn it was now a palpable, yet intangible resource at his disposal. The paradox was an interesting conundrum to him; he could almost feel it coursing through him and around him, yet it was only a visible phenomenon until he could actually use it properly. For now, it was no better than simply having a piece of clothing on him.
I need to focus. I don't need to control it yet or even try to manipulate it, just focus on where it's going!
It had to flow through his body to each potential applicable area—which was a lot more stressful to categorize than he'd previously thought. Simply picking his four limbs was all he'd originally thought of, but then what about his vital points? Similarly, there were joints and specific muscle groups that, as Yuki had claimed, benefitted from being enhanced by cursed energy. Rather than using his energy to simply buff them, it was more efficient to soak them in it, similar to how meat was dry aged. By doing so, they'd reach a state of perpetual enhancement, as opposed to flipping a switch on and off by channeling the energy to the designated spot.
Of course, that was much easier said than done. Maintaining the cursed energy Yuki had forcefully released from him was already a challenge, let alone trying to keep up with the cursed spirits.
To his right, the spindly cursed spirit appeared from behind a tree again, its long hand swiping like a branch snapping clean from the tree itself. It swung in an arc across his peripheral vision, narrowly scraping his arms as he raised them to his face.
I need to do better…
Focusing, Quinn delivered a swift chop to the enormous spirit as it rolled towards him, swiping down at the creature's only arm as it swung for him. The blow slashed the arm clean off and continued down into the creature's torso, contorting the teal creature as his arm pressed down into it. Like a rubber balloon, the creature expanded, but it didn't pop. The force of the sudden expansion caught Quinn by surprise, blasting him away with unexpected force.
"Shit!"
Similarly, being hit by a cursed spirit wasn't at all like being hit by a person. Rather than being struck, it felt as though something else had been struck, and Quinn had received the blow through that surface. Almost as if there was a wall of water standing before him that stuck to him, the force of the blow felt as though it had been transferred into him, rather than actually onto him.
Shaking his head, he adjusted himself and watched the curses carefully. Yuki's technique wouldn't simply imprint itself onto him after learning about it, so he had to actively investigate both his opponent and his cursed energy. In a way, it was more like Quinn was locked in a cage with a tiger. There was no guarantee the tiger would pounce and try to kill him, just as there was no guarantee it wouldn't do so. In the same vein, this curse probably couldn't kill him, but then if he were to let his guard down then anything could happen.
It's about finding a balance, then? If I'm so caught up on one aspect, I'll completely forget about the other one and let the former consume me.
There was no need for perfection. Straddling the line between failing and managing was all he needed, it was all that was required to produce results. With that in mind, Quinn tempered his resolve and moved forward, fists raised once again.
Having already healed itself, the larger curse rolled towards him, screaming something incoherent as its only arm reached out, fingers wiggling sporadically. Rather than focusing on any one of its vitals, Quinn struck the creature square in the centre of its enormous chest. He had to focus enough so that he didn't slide his foot into one of the many holes that were scattered through the torso, all while maintaining a constant focus on the localized spots on his body. It wasn't easy, he was barely keeping up with the workflow, but he was managing.
As he struck the curse, something happened. Instead of sliding backwards across the woodland, the creature puffed out of existence as sparks of black and red exploded from the impact spot. A long, spindly floating curse appeared a moment later, slicing the second cursed spirit in half. Yuki followed suit, hopping down from a tree.
"That's fairly strange," she muttered, strolling up to him. "It could be a coincidence, but that in and of itself speaks volumes as to your potential. Although, landing a black flash is less of a feat and more of an inclination, if you ask me. "
Quinn glanced down to his arms, noticing a shake to them. He was jittery, almost too energetic. The black flash, he muttered inwardly. Was that how I was able to concentrate on fighting and maintaining the localization?
"How do you feel?"
Quinn looked back up, meeting Yuki in the eyes. "A little on edge, to be honest."
"That's normal," she chuckled. "You could say you've woken up a little. It's sort of like a backwards anesthetic! Whatever the case, what you just did was nice."
Quinn nodded. "What…did you mean by inclination as opposed to a feat?"
She shrugged. "No one can willingly land a black flash. It's like trying to balance something on the tip of a needle; not impossible, but then doing so repeatedly won't produce results. It's the sort of thing you see by mistake, not intention."
"I thought something was off…no, maybe not off—but different. I was focused, but I was also unfocused because I was so focused on trying to maintain my focus, you know? That feeling…that sensation seemed to wither away moments before I hit the curse, almost like a premonition."
Yuki started laughing. "The sparks of black! To be honest, landing one here rather than in a pivotal situation is rather unfortunate. I'd much rather land one amidst a fight than while exercising some curse…"
"I don't think that's the case," Quinn retorted, averting his gaze. He wasn't overly confident in his point, but he thought it better to be diligent and lay his intent out in its entirety. Better to be honest with the woman than to hide things from her. "I…think I understand cursed energy a lot more after that. Before, it was like I was trying to push my cursed energy out, but it's easier to…glide with it?"
She cocked her head. "Maybe. Outside of my own localization, finding a balance is all anyone can really do. Better you're comfortable with your technique than anything else; that's why you'll always see those jujutsu tech students struggling."
"Outside of…general cursed energy manipulation," he started, "what about innate techniques. How do those work? From what I understand, it's not a guarantee that you're born with one, right?"
Yuki shook her head as she watched Garuda swim around her, eying its smooth movements and delicate flight. "They manifest when they manifest. You can think of it as your body leaving a tap open while growing up; eventually, water will begin to flow through the tap, or it won't. As far as I'm aware, it's hit or miss."
Quinn nodded slowly. Grasping the fundamentals of jujutsu and cursed energy manipulation in and of itself was a good start, however depending how the tournament functioned, there was always the chance he'd get matched with someone on a completely different level. If what he suspected was true and that other combatants had been transported to similar worlds, then they'd all likely be doing the exact same thing he was doing.
I need to get creative…simply training won't be enough. I…I can't afford to die again!
Death was death. That was it; however he hadn't technically experienced death. Sure, he'd died on earth, but he'd immediately awoken in the void. Despite what he understood about his circumstances, his body refused to die. His instincts detested the very possibility of dying and so he had to operate against that looming prospect.
A month…I have a month to fight back against death!
"You should still be in a relatively focused state after landing the black flash, so you should keep training until you're exhausted," Yuki said, tone growing cold. "This isn't something I enjoy, Quinn—but it's necessary for you to grow. I've taken a liking to your cursed energy, so think of it as a gift for pleasing me!"
Suddenly, Quinn felt an enormous crushing sensation weigh down on him. It was almost like gravity had increased tenfold around him, dominating everything except Yuki and Garuda. A moment later, something popped out of the air…followed by another similar object.
"These should do the trick," Yuki muttered, placing the two fingers in Quinn's hands "These are special-grade cursed objects. Normally, they act as deterrents in warding off cursed spirits; however for this purpose, you'll be using them like beacons!"
These…are Sukuna's fingers!
A number of thoughts were running through Quinn's mind. What did he do with them? Was this some kind of test? Did she want him to eat them? He continued to ask himself these incredibly absurd possibilities, though Yuki appeared to have caught on a moment later as she leaned inward, smiling cheerfully. "They're pretty dangerous, so be certain not to let a cursed spirit grab a hold of it!"
Yuki vanished on the spot again, whisked away by speed Quinn hadn't realised she possessed. She'd moved faster than before, so much so that he couldn't feel her presence at all anymore. Instead…he felt multiple different senses enter the forest.
"This is…what she meant by growth," he muttered, facing the monstrosities as they crept towards him.