EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons-Chapter 237: Guidance

(A/N: This is a new Chapter. I accidentally gave the previous Chapter the wrong name xD...)

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"Oh, wow...and I thought I had a lot of Cursed Energy..." remarked Gojo, sporting a smile that didn't quite reach his shimmering eyes as he sized Subaru up for the first time.

"How about it? Do you think you can teach him to control or at least rein it in within the next three and a half months...?" asked Vahn, causing Subaru to swallow audibly while standing ramrod straight with his hands glued to his sides.

"Honestly? I have no clue," admitted Gojo, spreading his hands, tilting his head slightly, and shrugging as he contended, "There are unmistakable similarities, but I've never dealt with Cursed Energy from another world. I can teach him how Jujutsu Sorcerers in my world control it, but there's no guarantee we're playing by the same rules. Still, as long as he's willing to work hard, I should be able to figure something out."

"If it's just working hard, I'm willing to do whatever it takes, Sensei...!" exclaimed Subaru, holding up and gripping his right hand into a fist. He had no idea who Gojo was, but if he was a teacher Vahn recommended, he had to be exceptional.

"Oh, yeah, I can definitely work with this guy..." affirmed Gojo, his smile gaining undertones of expectance and appreciation. Any ordinary person would have succumbed to the amount of Cursed Energy plaguing Subaru long ago, so Gojo was genuinely impressed by his ability to stay positive despite dying and even taking his own life 38 times.

"Then I leave him in your capable hands," said Vahn, nodding. "And if you need anything to that end, just let me or someone in the Dragon's Pavilion know, and it will be provided."

Seeing Vahn preparing to depart, Gojo stopped him, stating, "There is one thing. The best way to familiarize oneself with Cursed Energy and Jujutsu is by employing it against Cursed Spirits. This Corridor of yours seems to filter out or purify Cursed Energy like a massive shrine, so if we're going to train in Jujutsu, we need a proper training ground."

"Hmmm...there aren't any places like that here or in the Tower, but there are a functionally infinite number of worlds that have been subsumed by Cursed or Demonic Energy," stated Vahn, crossing his arms and raising his gaze to nothing in particular as he contended, "But I can't simply drop the two of you into another world and grant you free rein. Everything you did would affect the flow of the world's fate, and if you interfered with events fundamentally unrelated to you, you could irreversibly tether your worlds, allowing curious Gods, extradimensional beings, and existential threats to pass freely between..."

"Mmn, that probably wouldn't end well for my world..." remarked Gojo, crossing his arms as he explained, "But there's a limit to the amount of Cursed Energy even a top Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer like myself can produce naturally. Much of our power comes from absorbing Negative or Cursed Energy from the environment and eradicating Cursed Spirits. That, in turn, allows normal people to continue living their lives, unaware of the monsters their collected psyches produce."

'That reminds me of one of the games Issei wanted me to try...' thought Vahn, prompting Sis to confirm he was thinking of a series called Persona. However, as the games took place in fairly modern settings, it wasn't the most conducive setting for training.

"A source of Cursed Energy..." muttered Vahn, causing Gojo to tense as he raised his right hand, palm facing upward, and produced a sphere of pale, ghostly blue and black flames, asking, "Is it something like this?"

"Right...you did mention that you could emulate other forms of energy..." recalled Gojo, maintaining his smile while simultaneously reaffirming his belief that Vahn was a monster—a being that shouldn't be antagonized...

"Then that settles it," started Vahn, dispersing the sphere by closing his hand before stating, "For now, the two of you should become acquainted with one another's capabilities and cover the basics of Jujutsu Sorcery. In the meantime, I'll retrofit a training room to accommodate a Dungeon with Cursed Energy, increasing as you move deeper."

"And how long will that take...?" asked Gojo, not bothering to question if Vahn could produce such a venue.

"It should be done before the day ends, but it will take at least a day or two to ensure it's safe to explore," answered Vahn, clarifying, "It wouldn't be ideal if Special-Grade Curses from the lower floors wandered up to the higher floors."

"Right~?" responded Gojo, his tone exuding humor while, internally, he felt that if Vahn could effortlessly produce even Special-Grade Cursed Spirits, the only thing preventing the Dragon's Pavilion from taking over countless worlds was the simple fact he didn't feel like it...

Feeling he should say something, Subaru inhaled deeply, raised his chin, straightened his back, and extended his left fist toward Vahn, stating, "I swear this now...if this training allows me to overcome the situation in my world and reach the good ending I'm striving for, I will devote the rest of my life repaying you and the Dragon's Pavilion."

Shaking his head, Vahn surprised Subaru by slipping into the young man's range and gently chopping his forehead, his expression a faint smile and his tone soft but final as he stated, "If you obtain the ending you desire, it will be because you worked hard to attain it. Save your devotion for those you're already risking everything for..."

Inhaling another deep breath, causing his eyes to water, Subaru, hands gripped tightly into fists, nodded and affirmed, "I understand..." with his voice becoming notably hoarse near the end. He still harbored the desire to repay the Dragon's Pavilion in the future, but before he could do that, he needed to reach the good end he had been building toward and dying for the past twenty months...

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[Day 17]

"That kid is really something..." remarked Gojo, seated next to Vahn at a bar tended by a trio of Sisters sporting vested barkeep outfits instead of the short-skirted Maid attire they initially tried to wear, reasoning it would bring in more customers.

"I'm guessing that means the training is going well?" asked Vahn, nursing a half-filled rocks glass of reddish-brown spiced bourbon with accents of cinnamon.

"Almost to an absurd degree," responded Gojo, quickly adding, "Don't get me wrong, he still has a long way to go, but the Innate Technique derived from his Return by Death is on another level..."

"What does it do...?" asked Vahn, his curiosity piqued. Due to Termina's transition and changing the number of Ascendees in each batch to four hundred, he had been significantly busier than in previous cycles.

"Do you know how Cursed Techniques and Innate Cursed Techniques work...?" asked Gojo.

"To an extent," responded Vahn.

"Well, to explain things simply, Cursed Techniques are structured around the concept of Lapse and Reversal. As long as you understand the basic principles, just about anyone attuned to Cursed Energy can utilize them to an extent," explained Gojo.

"As for Innate Techniques..." Gojo continued, "They're unique abilities congenitally engraved into the user's body, either due to genetics or traumatic exposure to the supernatural that causes the right prefrontal cortex of the brain to change. In Jujutsu society, this is called a Cursed Energy Baptism, and it most commonly affects children or those exposed to protracted psychological trauma."

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"I imagine dying thirty-eight times is pretty traumatic..." remarked Vahn, though, from what he had heard, he imagined Subaru's death count was closer to fifty after the hellish training he purposely subjected himself to.

"Right?" agreed Gojo, adding, "Well, that's where the kid's Innate Cursed Technique comes into play. Their form is often a reflection of the mindset or obsession of the Sorcerer, so Subaru-kun's manifests as the Rejection of Phenomena. It's similar to the Reverse Cursed Technique, which is how Jujutsu Sorcerers recover from or heal wounds, but it's far more powerful and dependent on Subaru-kun's emotions rather than being something he willfully controls."

"So it's similar to autonomous regeneration or a healing factor...?" asked Vahn.

"Not quite," refuted Gojo, shaking his head before explaining, "As I said before, Subaru-kun's Rejection of Phenomena is derived from his Return by Death. Now, instead of having to experience a reset, he can forcefully alter the outcome of an event, functionally rewriting causality to actualize a desired outcome. I'm certain it has limitations, one prominent one being that it requires Subaru-kun to be in an exceedingly desperate state, but it could theoretically permit him to rewrite his death or the deaths of those he refuses to let die..."

"Your tone suggests that's a bad thing..." noted Vahn, prompting Gojo to exhale faintly from his nose, take a drink from his glass, and set it down before explaining, "That's because Cursed Energy isn't something to be imposed on others. A junior of mine inadvertantly did something similar to a girl he was close to, and when he couldn't accept or come to terms with her death, she became a Special Grade Cursed Spirit that nearly got him and many others killed..."

"In other words, Subaru, whose suffering is the result of Cursed Energy being forced upon him, could inadvertantly lead others to suffer by using his power to save others..." concluded Vahn, his brows furrowing as the thought of simply purging the Cursed Energy from Subaru's body crossed his mind. Satella was unquestionably one of the most powerful entities in her world, but against his unique blood and Source Energy, there wasn't a curse or wound that couldn't be removed or mended...

"That's certainly a concern," affirmed Gojo. "But I'm more worried about this Satella who cursed Subaru-kun in the first place. She would probably be delighted to see him using her power for his benefit, but if he uses it to aid other people, particularly other women, my intuition tells me someone called the Witch of Envy won't just sit idle. And with her Cursed Energy in their bodies..."

"Right..." muttered Vahn, his frown deepening as he asked, "I'm assuming you've explained this to Subaru?"

"Obviously..." responded Gojo, giving Vahn an are-you-seriously-asking-me-that kind of look before appending, "One of the issues is that Subaru-kun's power is born from desperation. When people become manic, they don't typically think straight. But since its combat applications are pretty much limitless, I can't have him not use it. Especially if the alternative is to have him die and relive days, weeks, or even months."

"Hmmm..."

Believing that Gojo was hoping he could provide a solution, Vahn raised his gaze to the dim light lining the bar's ceiling. The simplest solution was probably to have Grayfia place mental blocks on Subaru that prevent him from using his Rejection of Phenomena on other people, but he had never been fond of such methods.

"No need to think too deeply about it," said Gojo, regaining his usual smile as he asserted, "Subaru-kun's persistence is something else, and we still have plenty of time before he returns to his world. I obviously can't make him the strongest in a world ruled by Dragons and Gods, but I'm confident the training he's going through now will allow him to overcome his current situation. Then we can pick things up during the next Tower cycle."

"Then I'll leave things in your capable hands..." affirmed Vahn, nodding. Gojo chuckled wryly at the comment, as he had yet to win a single one of their best-of-five bouts, but since he was growing stronger every day, he couldn't complain. Rather, after a lifetime of being the strongest, he found it a relief to have functionally infinite people, obstacles, and even Gods to overcome...

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After parting ways with Gojo, Vahn returned to his room to find Rias, Sona, Ravel, Akeno, Tsubaki, and Erza playing cards atop his bed in color-coded lace nighties and lingerie. Erza might have seemed like the odd one out at a glance, but after much consideration, she had agreed to become Ravel's Queen, complementing the latter's strategic brilliance with raw power and magical might. As such, Vahn was blessed to spend the evening with his three favorite Kings and Queens...

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