Chapter Text
Rex Caligo's slumber was peaceful and quiet. He was floating in the dark void of sleep, drifting into space, unconscious. However, his body was unaware, cold and unmoving on the marble slab.
That was his situation two months ago. His peace would have continued for approximately three more decades, until he was unwillingly awoken by an unknown force. The deep underground lair of this ancient creature has never been disturbed, not even the mightiest earthquakes have managed to do so.
Once he emerged from the darkness, he became a wandering figure. The mountains were no stranger to him, the green of the trees were familiar. So the real disorientation started as soon as he spotted the peaks of symmetrical, square structures from afar. He let the shadows engulf him, curious, as he stepped out of the place where the shadows let him out.
The soft pillowy soil he was standing on drastically changed into the sturdy and pale concrete. What ticked him off was the complete absence of nature. The air felt so tainted, it actually managed to make his lungs hurt. As a non-human being, he does not exactly have the need for functional organs, but as a Creation, it functioned as such.
The world does not feel the same as I remember. But I am glad that it has more...freedom to it.
The time he went into deep slumber, it was the New Year's of the 1950s. He felt assured that after the War, he could finally start his hibernation. It was supposed to last for a hundred year, yet here he is now, awake and eyes gazing at the people hurrying around the place.
What could have awoken me? No doubt the human race requires my assistance once more.
His tall imposing figure should have drawn the attention of the passersby already, the form that he had chosen stood at a proud 6'5 feet, He always used to tower over everyone, even the young men who had grown out of their teen years. He remembers how it used to bother the General at the military branch he used to assist.
Shigeru, are you still alive? Has your fiery will finally got passed down to your descendants?
He should have put more value towards his dear friend. But alas, the situation that the war had put the human race back then was less, of course, joyous. But in his memories, it did not stop the young fighters to have a couple of laughs over their "dinner".
"Mommy, look!"
A sharp cry snapped him out of his thoughts. His attention always seems to drift back to when he was awoken. The last time he had woken up from his hibernation, it took him only a month to gather his bearings, get familiar with the place and have the answer as to exactly why he had woken. By then, the land he resided in had completely changed, there were foreigners on the land and he could feel the suffocating tension between the people.
I should not dwell on those memories anymore.
That era completely drained him, people died, innocents even. He hoped that this world would greet him with much more peace and joy. But he knew that it would not be that case, he could feel it. The stench of an evil energy in the air. He was not always involved in Curses. He knew how difficult it was to deal with Sorcerers.
One even had the gall to excuse him from a fight, saying something along the lines of handling it.
Fine, then. Go fight Ryōmen Sukuna by yourself.
His jaw clenched at that reminder, had the arrogant sorcerer let him have his way with the malevolent Curse, he would not be here, hiding in the shadows because he can sense his spirit. That would mean that Ryōmen Sukuna is not entirely dead. Fools.
Then he felt it, a pull from an incoming danger, dangling right next to him. The danger was not to him, but it was towards the young boy. The one who called for his mother's attention. He was leaning over the pond, if he could guess correctly, the water would probably be around four feet deep. Rex Caligo sighed and turned to face the direction of the mother and the kid.
Just as the young boy was about to dip his hand into the water, a flabby and slimy aquatic curse leapt from the water and was headed straight towards the boy's head. No one batted an eye, how could they? It was only him that could see the monster. He lifted a slender hand, his long and black fingernails pressed into his palm and slightly dented the flesh as he clenched them together.
The aquatic curse let out a squeak, as an invisible force seemingly grabbed it in mid-air and squeezed it tightly. Rex Caligo raised a pointer finger and swiped them sideways, the following action made the curse explode into bits. He was glad that he sat far away from the spot, as the remains would probably splatter in his dark robes.
After a couple of minutes, his eyes widened at the realization of what he had done. This city was crawling with curses, that would mean sorcerers are also present in this area. He stood up and shifted over the darker shade of the tree beside him, he let himself merge with the shadows and left the scene.
I shall not doubt the ever bothersome presence of Sorcerers. Their vexing paranoia over the unknown will no doubt make them pester me.
As much as he dislikes sorcerers, he had one… acquaintance who told him about the "overwhelming aura of his energy".
"Your energy is unique, you see. You told me that you're not exactly a curse, nor a sorcerer, and neither a human. So if you truly want to be undetected, perhaps restrain yourself from revealing your powers."
He sighed at the memory. Another long lost friendship that drifted into nothingness over the time. He will never learn how to cope with losing the people close to him, but one thing he does know is how to keep them in his memories. Each person to him shines differently, thus he is able to keep them alive, in some way.
The rooftop was refreshing. It was quiet up here and the loss of multiple human presence was a relief. He decided to make rooftops his...nest? He also decided that he hated that word. He wanted to roam around and eliminate some curses, but he had to stay vigilant as he had already sensed the energy of a sorcerer. The rooftops were also more open and it had no crevices in which the opportunity for someone to sneak up on him is slim.
He would stay on this rooftop forever, but alas, he had a mission. One that would make life easier for him. And that is to steal one of those little rectangles that humans held in their hands. He sat beside a young woman in a park yesterday and watched as multiple information flashed across the rectangular screen. Of course, he did not care much about stealing, it was from a store anyway. No one owned it yet, so he was fine with stepping out of the shadows and hastily grabbing one from a glass shelf.
So now here he sat, pushing one of the three buttons that allowed the screen to light up. It flashed a symbol of a bitten apple for a moment until it opened to what he guessed was the opening screen.
Of course, he could always make himself visible already, befriend a human and ask for help, but he guessed that the humans are still as clueless as ever and would probably make assumptions once they see him.
At that thought, he looked down at his appearance. His two small horns are obviously inhuman, his complexion was too pale, his nails were long, pointed, painted black and his robes belonged to the Edo period. He noticed that yes, he looks strange. He was not unfamiliar with the clothing of the 19th century, but his clothes were almost part of his identity, so he felt an attachment to it. But yes, soon he needs to change. He started with withdrawing his horns into his head, the two peaks disappearing.
He grew frustrated at the lack of direction his path was leading to. It's been dragging out for too long and he needs to move quickly, lest he misses out on an assistance that he is needed with.
This seems to be a time of peace. Why did I even wake up from my slumber? Unless…
His gaze turned towards the direction of the sun. But it was not the sun that he was intently looking at. He can feel it, the King of Curses. But it was too faint to actually be him. He clicked his fingers.
Ryōmen Sukuna, even at death you wreak havoc.
It would be so unpleasant if the reason he is called to arms early was because of "assisting" sorcerers. The war may have been evil, but this curse, this monster, is the very epitome of it. Ryōmen Sukuna was not a mindless bullet grazing through the air, no, he was cunning, unpredictable and untrustworthy. With it came such power. Rex Caligo does not want to deal with him.
That was never his purpose. He was not created as an equivalent of Mother Earth so he could play protector for the world. He was just supposed to harmonize with nature, keep the balance of light, to be the mediator between heaven and earth. But of course, human beings just had to have mistakes, of course evil just had to take place. He walked towards a shade and let the shadows engulf his being.
Whatever the King has in store for the world, I am certain that I would have to take part in it.