Empty Theater 07
From the house, you can see the sea not far away and hear the sound of the waves. The moonlight is very bright tonight, perfect for a walk.
But—"Miss Chu, it's best not to go out without permission. There are many poisonous snakes unique to Okinawa outside the house." The young man smiled calmly. He was meditating without opening his eyes.
Instead of calling the person in front of you "boy" or "girl," you chose the neutral "young man." You don't know whether he was originally male or female.
He had handed Kuroi over to someone else before taking the helicopter to Okinawa. You weren't supposed to follow him to Okinawa, but you were curious about what he had said to you earlier.
Why Okinawa?
[Miss Chu, don’t you want to see the sea?]
[Japan is an island country.]
[Because it's an island nation, it's even more important to see the sea. Okinawa is also an independent small island.]
What is he trying to tell you?
You followed him and changed trains of transportation one after another, and finally arrived at an extremely remote deserted island.
On the way, you asked him why he kidnapped Hei Jing, and he just said: "If the story doesn't have twists and turns, how can it be a good story?" He assured you that Hei Jing would be brought back safely, and kidnapping was just a way to add some fun to his peaceful life.
Only you know to what extent you believe these words.
You've been sitting in silence in this room for an hour—how come you're suddenly speaking in such an unnatural way? You've been sitting in silence for two hours, the whole time, without saying a word, as if you were playing a game where whoever speaks first loses.
Then according to the result, you win.
"What do I fear from poisonous snakes? They are my eyes."
"Can Miss Chu adapt to the snake's vision?"
"Unfortunately, it's just thermal imaging. I've experienced this many times."
"What an enviable technique." He was truly amazed and eager, even opening and closing his eyes for two hours.
"Miss Chu, do you like the world as seen through the eyes of the Six Eyes?"
"I don't like it. The Viper's field of view is too low, and the Six Eyes' field of view is too high."
He chuckled. "Then I haven't adapted very well. I'll go out for a while."
He closed the door politely.
When he opened the door again, he didn't close it, but invited you to go out for a walk under the moon. You had no reason not to accept, but when you left, you saw a pile of dead snakes at the door.
Your eyelids twitched.
You knew what he was doing as his vision fragmented. You just didn't expect him to have such poor taste, putting a colorful venomous snake at the door—you just wanted to understand the situation through the snake's eyes.
Is he warning you?
"I've cleared the danger. Miss Chu, won't you come out for a walk?"
You followed him to the beach and stood facing the wind.
The end of the sight is the sea, but the sea has no end.
Inside, I could still hear the roar of the waves, but outside, there was silence. The sea was calm. Under the moonlight, the sea looked like a shining mirror.
It's not blue, it's like the color of cursed power.
"Miss Chu, do you know where this is?"
You shook your head.
"There used to be a village here called Xiadi."
"Have you lived here?"
"Yes. That house is where I used to live here."
"But the house is new."
“I later built that new building on the original site.”
"That means all the other buildings are destroyed." This place is uninhabited and a paradise for poisonous snakes. On the beach, there are some wooden boards that have not completely disappeared and are still rotting.
"Tsunami?" Being so close to the ocean, it would be easy for a tsunami to destroy this place.
"Yes." He was in a good mood.
"Miss Chu, do you want to hear a story?"
He didn't give you any choice at all.
"Miss Chu may find this story quite strange, but it is indeed what happened."
"Your personal experience?"
"My personal experience."
You sat together on the beach, the tide reaching your feet and you shrank back.
"Miss Chu?"
“The water is too cold at night.”
"Then let's walk towards the shore."
You looked back at the dispersing tide.
"About 500 years ago, this place wasn't as desolate as it is now. There were many villages on the island, one of which was called Shimoji."
"There was a young man in the lower fields who was not welcomed by the villagers. He lived alone. Oh, and I was his neighbor at the time."
"You didn't talk to him?"
"Miss Chu, I'm not willing to give this honor to everyone." He showed a hint of displeasure at being interrupted: "Please let me continue this story."
You smiled and motioned for him to continue, pretending to be listening attentively.
"One day a young boy went fishing and caught a talking fish."
"The fish kept muttering 'return, return', and the boy said 'no return, no return'. The boy thought it was a rare and unique fish and wanted to invite the whole village to taste it, so he hung it over a charcoal fire and roasted it."
Seeing you covering your mouth, he took the initiative to speak: "What does Miss Chu want to say?"
"This young man is truly a unique person."
"I thought Miss Chu would think the boy was stupid."
"His thinking is obviously different from that of ordinary people."
He didn't comment on your words, but just smiled. "The boy didn't think it was weird that a fish could talk all the time while being roasted. He even chatted with the fish while roasting it."
"You talk as if you saw it with your own eyes."
"Of course I saw it with my own eyes. The young man invited me to observe."
"Aren't you familiar with him?"
"Some mysterious moments always need someone to witness them. The fish kept asking the boy, 'Do you want water?' And the boy kept saying, 'No, no.'"
"Then what."
"I thought it was funny and said 'yes'."
Showing the true nature of a fun-loving person.
You remained silent, and he smiled and continued in a reminiscent tone, "After I finished speaking, the boy angrily called me a 'bad person'. Not long after that, the tsunami washed away the entire village on the island."
"How did you survive?"
"I am a sorcerer, so of course I have some ways to save my life."
"Miss Chu, don't you think the most interesting thing about this matter is that the young man really doesn't know that I am a bad person? The people in the lower realms don't treat young people who are always talking nonsense very well."
"I actually think that the young man never invited you at all."
"Miss Chu, would you rather believe a young man you've never met than me?"
A resounding "yes" left him speechless. He was silent for a moment before smiling again and saying, "It is indeed as Miss Chu said. I didn't even get into the young man's room."
"You came here for that boy from the very beginning."
"Before answering Ms. Chu's question, I need to explain the background of this story. In Okinawa, 'talking fish' are considered 'sea spirits,' much like 'national spirits' and 'county spirits' refer to 'land gods.' In our country, 'sea spirits' often send young men to the human world."
"Are you saying that the boy in the story was sent to the human world by the Sea God, but the human world didn't treat him well, so the Sea God wanted to take him back and destroyed the island in the process?"
"'A strange boy from the ocean', doesn't Miss Chu think this is a very interesting story?"
“Survivors of a shipwreck?” You frowned.
"The boy is not a survivor of a shipwreck. I have confirmed this."
"You haven't spoken to the boy before."
"It's not like the boy hasn't spoken to the other villagers." He stubbornly replied. You don't believe he hasn't spoken to the boy. It's more likely that the boy ignored him.
but--
The boy and the fish both come from the ocean. They are enemies. The man in question is a "curse master."
A sorcerer cannot fight against both the curse spirit and the curse caster at the same time.
This is not a true story at all, but an allegory. Not a single word of truth comes out of this man's mouth.
"Is that all you wanted to tell me?"
"Miss Chu, didn't you already know that the advancement of civilization would lead to the continuous weakening of magical power?"
"I thought I was the only one who knew."
"There are very few sorcerers who are aware of this. In the past thousand years, the only sorcerers I know of who have discovered this are you and me."
"You're actually more perceptive than I am."
"Miss Chu, are you praising me? I'm truly grateful."
You're telling the truth. You'll discover this simply because you're able to look back from this point in time. During the Heian Period, not only Japan but the entire world was undergoing drastic changes.
And this person was able to foresee at that time that "magic was destined to decline."
"But... I'm not saying that people in the world are stupid. As a sorcerer, it's understandable that they can't accept the fact that the foundation of their existence will be shaken. 'It's too scary to think too deeply,' that's it." He acted extremely funny.
"Why don't you tell Master Tianyuan?"
"Are you so sure that my friend is Tianyuan?"
"Otherwise, how can you subvert the Tianyuan barrier?"
"What Tianyuan wanted to do was never going to succeed. Instead, I actually helped her build the Tianyuan barrier." He didn't think he was wrong. Instead, he boasted about his achievements: "The existence of the Tianyuan barrier made the combination of civilization and cursed power possible."
He was really proud of himself for doing that.
"Besides your own technique, the technique you're most familiar with, Miss Chu, is the Zenin family's 'Projection Spell'? What does the principle of 'Projection Spell' remind you of?"
Projection Spell is a new technique that was created in the last hundred years. The principle behind Projection Spell is... a technique used in anime.
"All techniques...can trace their origins back to human society."
"You catch on quickly."
All of these things have become part of the ocean.
The ocean is vast and subtle, embracing all things.
"Civilization should be like the sun, transforming the vast ocean into mulberry fields. Instead, you let the dark and boundless tide extinguish the sun..." You just muttered to yourself, and finally, you were speechless and asked, "Why do you do this?"
“Because it’s fun.”
Even if the spell fades, those like him and Tengen who possess the eternal and indestructible spell will continue to exist forever.
The world fell into darkness, but this person didn't care.
"Do you know how many people have died because of the cursed spirit? Do you know how much Master Tianyuan has—"
"It's none of my business. Useless garbage has no business existing."
He hugged you without warning. It all started when you extended your hand.
"Miss Chu wants to flirt with me, but I'm afraid my current status is not appropriate."
"You're crazy."
His face shone with a light brighter than the desert sun.
"I've already told you this, now's not the time to flirt."
Whatever you say now, this person will probably interpret it as "flirting" and using sexual relationships to make trouble.
"Haven't you achieved your goal? Why do you still want my technique?" You decided to tear off the hypocritical veil on his face.
"Humans live for desire. My desire is my curiosity. I am curious about your technique."
"That's all?"
"That's all."
“But…” You clenched your fists.
"That's because even I don't fully understand the mechanism of operation of this ocean. For example, "Heaven and Curse Binding". For example, "Six Eyes". He whispered in your ear.
"It's a pity that Miss Chu is unwilling to become a like-minded friend of mine."
It’s the mentality of destroying what you can’t get.
No, he really can get it.
"Your technique will turn you into a completely different person?"
"Even Six Eyes wouldn't be able to tell the difference," he declared confidently. He'd lived for thousands of years, and he'd known far more Six Eyes than you.
And you only know Gojo Satoru.
"I will have everything you have."
He is extremely frank and speaks to you with his heart as if he wants to give it to you.
That's why the desire to kill me is the strongest.
"Do you really think you can kill me?"
"Of course I can't kill Miss Chu. Otherwise, why would we be deadlocked until now? It's almost dawn, Miss Chu, go back."
You are now near the small boat you used to come here.
The sky above where fish leap is already dotted with sparse stars. On a moonlit night, when you can smell the tide and hear the gentle song of the waves, it's time to go out for a walk.
Otherwise you won’t see such a view.
"I won't go back with Miss Chu. Miss Chu, please think of another way."
"You might as well just push me into the sea and drown me."
"Is killing you really that easy?" He shrugged, watching the water plumes gushing out under the starry sky, surging with the whale's roar, turning into tiny particles of gold. Schools of dolphins leaped up and down amid the gold, gurgling like babies crying.
"The entire ocean is filled with creatures you can exploit."
"I didn't take advantage of them. I just told them, 'I want to go home.'"
They're willing to give you a ride.
The dolphins come to you and you walk towards the ocean.
The seawater is still icy cold, which you don't like. But icy cold is also a kind of temperature.
You have your back to him.
He tosses you a finger. The seal on this finger is still intact.
"Why does Miss Hatsu want Sukuna's finger?"
“A hunch,” you said slowly.
"A common plot in comics is the resurrection of the demon king, causing chaos in the world. But this time... I assume the remaining fingers are all in your possession, right?"
"Sukuna is useless to me. He failed a thousand years ago. Otherwise he wouldn't be like this now."
It’s the truth.
"We have nothing more to say, Miss Chu."
"That's right. Do you want to wait for me to die of old age?" He should have the same perception of time as Lord Tianyuan.
He gave a weird smile.
I can't wait that long, Miss Chu.
Enjoy the rest of your time.
This story is not long.
You had your back to him, unable to see his expression. He didn't respond for a long time, so you let the dolphins set sail.
Dolphins know where the bustling human ports are better than you do.
Beneath the rolling waves is a young man drifting with the flow.
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