When I was a little girl, my Mother would tell me stories before bed—beautiful stories of heroes and villains, a magical world full of wonder and chaos. I would get lost in those stories, make my own, and imagine what would happen if the heroes lost if darkness won, and if evils might rule all.
That's what all our lives are; stories are still being told until the final chapter. I can see these stories; they guide me, shape my own and change others. I thought such stories of chaos and destruction were left on the pages of my books, but once I gained sight of my Cursed Technique, I saw it all. I saw it in my Father first, the untamed chaos seeding its way through his heart. Raw evil burrowed away, begging to be let out. I couldn't face him from that day; I couldn't allow my story to connect to his.
I think he knew that too; he cornered me off from the rest of the Family, and he stopped me from being with you. Your Sister forbidden to see her little Brother. When he died, I thought it was over; that potential chapter of chaos struck from the record, and we were safe.
But then I saw it in you. His story has been passed onto you; it was the same, no worse. His was untamed, unrefined; yours was bleeding. Ready, it was too much for me, and I ran from the Kronos Family. I was afraid, afraid of what you would become, what you are. I met others on my travels, those who helped me refine my own story and morph into one I was proud of. All for one purpose.
I know how your story ends; I see what happens if you are allowed to open that box. I know what comes, a story as my Mother told me before bed- horrific stories with no heroes nor villains, a cursed world full of death and chaos. We would all get lost in that story; I had to make my own and imagine what would happen if the heroes won if the darkness inside you lost, and if good stood tall.
That box is a curse, one that could bring the end of everything. There is no salvation with that box, no grand plan, just death and chaos. I've read enough stories to know the outcome.
My Mother would tell me stories before bed. It's how I got my name, Beowulf, and the story of a brave hero who defeated a monster. I knew from the day I saw you, Brother, that this isn't your story; it's mine.
I'm the hero, and you're the monster I must slay.
****
My hands were still trembling as I continued to stare at my Mother. She hadn't looked a day older since I last saw her, and she was in perfect health. I had 101 questions bursting through my head, but all I could get out was a single word.
"Why?"
Mother looked a little bleak. She tried to smile but quickly failed as she cupped her hands together, responding. "It was to protect you, dear, we..." She paused, the words leaving her.
"Protect me... Protect me? How is making me think you were dead for five years protecting me!?" I roar, slamming the table, my eyes twitching; I couldn't believe the words; all of this was bullshit; I couldn't accept it. "I was there, I buried your body, I mourned you, just what the hell were you doing this whole damn time!?"
Beowulf looked just as troubled, curling her fingers into her dress, only able to get out a muffled sentence. "We're sorry, Y/N."
Mother took a deep breath, looking at DK, uncomfortable having her present during this argument. "DK, dear, can you please give us some privacy? I wish to discuss the matters with my Son closely."
DK seemed hesitant about arguing like she always does, only for me to speak up. "It's alright DK, I won't be long. Start packing; we'll be leaving soon."
DK just nodded, leaving as it was just left with my two family members who betrayed me. "You look well. Have you been eating enough?"
"Aye, I eat. Am I going to have Father walk through the doors next? My dead cat? Please don't tell me you faked my cat's death."
"I understand if you are... Upset, you feel betrayed, and I do not blame you for that. But please, listen to Mum, she... We did what we did for a good reason."
"Yes, we did." Mother pauses again, the words having left her again. It takes longer than usual, almost like she has forgotten her lines before speaking. "The Christian Sorcerers of the Vatican would have come for you; they would have deemed you too dangerous to be left alive."
"Me? Why? Was it because I was the vessel of Bloody Mary? That ship sailed long ago; I'm clean."
"No, dear, because of the box you possess." This got me to fall silent. It hit hard; it was like right on cue. I could see the exact rotten box in the corner of my eye, trying to draw my attention. But Mother spoke up again, forcing my attention on her. "Your Father was obsessed with that vile tool as was his Father before him. The Madness of the Kronos Family has burned through for hundreds of years, and all sources point to an impossible box. One that appears and disappears, one that exists outside the realm of existence. A box of secrets, a box of lies, a box of truths."
"Father left it in my care when he passed... I don't understand; if it's a Family heirloom, why would the Vatican be so afraid of it?"
"It's not the box they fear, Y/N; it's you," Beowulf whispers. For hundreds of years, the box had laid dormant. No one had been born into the Family with the potential to open it—no one until you."
"M-Me? Wait, has no one else been able to open the box? Not one?"
Mother sighed, going to speak before stopping, unable to find the words. Beowulf stopped her from continuing herself. "Listen, Y/N, what we tell you is the truth; you are the first one with the potential to open that box. You're a catalyst with the potential to surpass even the likes of Satoru Gojo."
"What happens if I open the box?"
"W-We don't know. It's never been opened before, but if the Vatican is afraid, it cannot be good," Beowulf said, holding her hand out. "Y/N, hand me the box."
"What?"
"I won't ask again, give me that box."
****
DK began walking to her room, still stumped about the whole situation; she wasn't sure how to take any of it, nor if it had really sunk in Y/N's Family was alive. A few thoughts had blended around and cooked; the one that kept playing back over and over troubled her.
Does Y/N need me anymore?
She couldn't get this thought out of her mind. Even if Y/N was adamant about leaving, should she just let him? Or should she step in and say something? Passing the hallway, she saw Butler Jenkins standing staring at the wall; he was walking on the spot, getting strange looks from DK. She approached, clearing her throat. "Ugh, you alright pal? They're not working you too hard, are they? Or maybe not enough..."
Jenkins turned to DK, smiling. "Good afternoon, Master Y/N. Would you like some tea?"
"Huh, old geezer, you need to get your eyes checked; I ain't Y/N."
Jenkins paused, clearing his throat and smiling still. "My apologies, Master Y/N. ████ ███████ ██████ ████ ██ ███████ ██████."
DK was left even more baffled as Jenkins's words came out in a harsh, sharp-winded tone; he was just screeching with no words, no form, no sentence.
"I am not part of █████████ story. I have no part, █ ██ █████ I cannot help you."
She paused, more concerned now as Jenkins kept walking on the spot, holding his arm out, pretending to hold a tray. Before she could say anything, one of the guest rooms opened up, and Miwa poked her head out, having just had a bath wearing a towel around her head. "Hey DK, Y/N still talking to his parents?"
DK turned to Miwa, glancing back, and found Jenkins walking away. "Ugh... Yeah, they wanted to talk in private."
"Really, then, did you want to paint your nails with me? I brought a fresh coat in London."
DK smiled, nodding along. "Yeah, I do."
DK was about to enter when Todo stepped out, looking at the two girls with a judgemental look. "Have you girls seen the library?"
"I didn't take you one for reading Todo," Miwa said, surprised. "Isn't it just down the hall on the right? I read the map they gave us."
"That is a bedroom; every room I've entered is the same bedroom."
Miwa raised an eyebrow. "Maybe they have a lot of guest rooms?"
Todo shook his head, arms crossed, curious. "I visited the office, storage room, games room, cinema room and dining room. They are all the exact bedroom." Glancing over Miwa's shoulder, he confirmed it by nodding. "They're all the same as the guest bedroom you're staying in."
"T-Thats... Are you sure?" Miwa questioned, a little on edge.
DK also became suspicious, checking each room for herself and finding each one the exact same, down to the small stain on the floor in the same spot. "Something isn't right here..."
"What are you idiots yapping about now?" Mai questioned, leaving her room. "Some of us are trying to get some rest."
"Mai, have you noticed anything strange about the manor? Nothing is adding up here," DK questioned with a stern glare. Jenkins is acting strange, and the layout doesn't match what I remember from the building five years ago."
"Why are you asking me? I haven't left my room since arriving. Ask Kamo or Nishimiya."
Todo walked up to the room that Momo was staying in, knocking. No response. He knocked again, about to enter, when Jenkins appeared holding a tray with nothing but pig heads on it. Todo raised his eye, seeing this. "Good afternoon, Master Y/N. Would you like some tea?"
"What the..."
DK had enough and began to head for the stairs, ready to get Y/N, when she froze. Jenkins was already downstairs, waiting for her arms by his side, smiling as he looked up and caught her eye. "Good afternoon, Master Y/N. Would you like some tea?"
DK stepped back, confirming right away something was horribly wrong. She turned to the other side of the hallway where Noritoshi Kamo's room was to find Jenkins there, too, dusting the windows. He looked at her with the same blank smile.
"Good afternoon, Master Y/N. Would you like ██ ███?"
The Sorcerers all began to crowd together, seeing the multiple copies of Jenkins all approaching, all saying the same sentence over and over.
"Good afternoon, Master Y/N. Would you like ██ ███?"
"Good afternoon, Master Y/N. Would you like ██ ███?"
"Good afternoon, Master Y/N. Would you like ██ ███?"
Miwa came back out, now adequately dressed, her sword by her side as she looked around. "Is this some trick? The work of an enemy Spirit?"
Todo growled before laughing away. "Whatever this is, we'll crush their puny skulls."
Mai flicked her pistol around, more annoyed. "And here I thought we were just going to enjoy a peaceful evening in a posh manor..."
Curling her fingers together, DK fumed as she shouted, "What have you done with Y/N!?"
"Good afternoon, Master Y/N. Would you like ██ ███?"
"Good afternoon, Master Y/N. Would you like to die?"
****
"Give you the box?" I whisper, a little taken aback. "Why do you want the box?"
"Y/N, my dear, we want to protect you, of course. You're the catalyst; your very existence threatens the Vatican and the Sorcerer kind. Even Gojo would be willing to stop you if he knew the truth. Let us keep it safe, keep it secure. Trust me, Son."
My heart sunk as those words were spoken—not the fact that they were spoken, but the fact that Beowulf said it. That was Beowulf's voice coming from my Mother's mouth. Beowulf noticed this, letting a disappointed sigh. "I'm not very good at doing two voices at once. Writing dialogue and keeping it bouncing between two characters is always so frustrating."
I fell from my chair, stepping back as Mother's eyes turned black. The same smile kept going as she and Beowulf spoke in the same voice. "I-I... What the hell have you done to her?"
"I had hoped convincing you Mum was still alive might have been enough for you to hand over the box. I guess I overestimated my Cursed Technique." She sighed, arms crossed. "To be fair, I'm still getting used to my weave technique."
I stood up, my eyes constantly darting between Beowulf and the fake, a mixture of emotions building: fear, devastation, anger, sorrow, and something else.
"Y-You... You used Mother as a puppet to trick me?"
"Don't be foolish, Y/N, hand me the box and then we can be a family again. Me and you, no more Kronos Family telling us what to do, no more Father or Mother. I can be the Sister you need me to be. Just hand me the box."
"No!"
I turned to the manor, finding its appearance completely different. It wasn't what I was shown to begin with; it was exactly how I left it five years ago, or so I was led to believe.
The manor was crumbling apart. The wooden floor was rotten and had caved in, and mould stretched out all around the ceiling, with cobwebs decorating the horror. The walls had a faint, chalky look, a tell-tell sign of a fire. Inside the building, Jenkins stood, a dozen Jenkins smiling, their form distorted and caped in Cursed Energy. My eyes widened, knowing DK and the others were in there.
"What have you done!?" I kept stepping back, my heart rate not high enough to fight; I could only watch in terror as my home, my memories of this place, and my trust burned away.
Beowulf held her hand up as the dozen Cursed Spirits under her control surrounded me. She glared at me with a blank, judging eye. "I gave you a choice, Brother. I wish it didn't have to go this way, but you led me, and I have no choice."
"Why? Why the hell are you doing this!?"
"Isn't it obvious? My Mother would tell me stories before bed. It's how I got my name, Beowulf, and the story of a brave hero who defeated a monster. I knew from the day I saw you, Brother, that this isn't your story; it's mine. I'm the hero, and you're the monster I must slay. Time for the final chapter."