3rd Point Of View
"These...these will eventually manifest as special grade cursed spirits." Sukuna mumbled to (Y/n) as he squatted infront of one the unfinished paintings on the floor, eyeing her momentarily before staring back at the painting. It pulsed with cursed energy now that (Y/n) had released her jujustu, having been hiding it's power for her entire time at the temple. That must have taken a lot of cursed energy for her to so something so skillfully that even Ryomen Sukuna had no idea it had been done.
"There's more..." Sukuna mumbled, feeling more than just the two cursed paintings on the floor. There were seven more- the same seven he had moved into his chambers. That was why she'd panicked when she found out they were missing, because if they were too far from her, they'd simply just manifest into cursed spirits. She knew she'd have endangered everyone in the temple.
"There are nine cursed paintings all together in my temple...and I never even noticed." Sukuna muttered as he stood up.
"You..." Sukuna then said as he began walking towards (Y/n), "You can create curses spirits." Whilst human could create cursed spirits out of their negative emotions- it took time. The ability as a sorcerer to create cursed spirits was rare, and practically forbidden. Sukuna understood why she kept it a secret from him for so long.
"That's why you began panicking after you noticed that I'd moved them." Sukuna pieced together, "Without your cursed energy to supress them, they'd all turn into special grades."
(Y/n) stared down at the floor with embarrassment, feeling guilty that she'd kept this from him for so long.
"You didn't tell me." Sukuna said as he stood infront of her, towering over her.
"You keep things from me too..." (Y/n) mumbled, not knowing what else to say.
"I do. But to have kept something like this a secret from me for this long? I'm impressed, little (L/n)." Sukuna smirked.
"But these paintings... don't just contain my anger, do they?" Sukuna then asked, knowing that there was more than just his emotions in these paintings. His emotions were wild and powerful but she hadn't absorbed enough to make nine special grades?
"It's my mother's pain too..." (Y/n) mumbled admittedly, making Sukuna's head tilt with curiousity.
"When we were whores, I syphoned her pain into my scars. When we were released, transferred that into my paintings because it become too painful." (Y/n) admitted. Suddenly Sukuna had become even more happy that he'd erased those scars, it having meant much more than he ever realised.
"Are you upset with me?" (Y/n) then asked him, making Sukuna burst out in laughter. (Y/n) looked up with shock as Sukuna grabbed onto the girl's waist and pulled her closer.
"You're incredible- more incredible than I could have ever imagined." He grinned, making the girl pause. Had she heard him right? Was he praising her?
"You're not upset?" (Y/n) then asked the man hesitantly, her fingers wrapping around his arms for comfort.
"How could I be? You've exceeded my expectations as my queen." Sukuna told her with proud smirk, "You were truly meant to stand by my side as the queen of curses. I'm more sure now than ever."
The man then leaned down as captured the girls lips in a sweet but chaste kiss before pulling her infront of him and forcing her to face the cursed spirit that she'd been turning her back to this entire time. They'd almost forgotten about it in the heat of the moment, but it was time to face it- to face her fears and her past.
"Now," He began, leaning closer to her ear, "Show me why I chose you. Show me."
(Y/n) no longer felt the same fear or hesitation weighing her down as she stared into the curse's eyes, no longer reliving her mother or Yumi's death. She activated her cursed energy and reached her hand out toward the curse. In that same moment the curse began screeching, it's body pulling towards (Y/n) as if it were becoming liquified.
She'd syphoned every ounce of anger- every memory of every human that made it become this way, and within seconds, the curse had become nothing and (Y/n)'s fist had closed.
"How did that feel?" Sukuna then asked, staring at (Y/n) as her shoulders relaxed, now sighing with relief before saying,
"Cathartic."
(A.N ~ I had a great day today but like now I'm incredibly ill. And all I can think about is the essay I wanted to start writing tomorrow.)
Chapter 82 Quote Teaser :
"This one's name is Jin, which means tenderness. I wanted to paint a man who contrasted your anger."