Chapter 7. Dungeon of Curses

Endlessly Leveling with Cursed Energy

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#. Credit:

Jujutsu Kaisen and its characters are created by Gege Akutami. This fanfiction is a transformative work inspired by the original series. Special thanks to the original creators and publishers.

---TheCursedMillennial---

Chapter 7. Dungeon of Curses

His very existence led to curses growing stronger, as the universe required a stable balance between curses and sorcerers. Gojo's birth shifted the balance of the world. Throughout Heaven and Earth, he ALONE is the honored one.

So why-

Just why was he telling me something that was absolute crap?!

Why was he acting like his importance was a thing of the past? I didn't like it one bit!

"When someone is special, they know it, and the world knows it," Gojo continued. "Throughout Heaven and Earth, I alone am the honored one, and it will forever be like that."

"There is no curse in existence that I can't exorcise," Gojo declared boldly with an assured smile. His blood markings and scars had disappeared from his face. He looked okay and was brighter, his aura adding to the dim light in the stomach.

We were still moving along the creepy tunnel, but no curses seemed to attack us. It was probably a result of Gojo's technique - the reason he was the strongest. Even in his sleep, nothing could harm him unless he wanted it to.

"Phew! I was thinking you were getting cold feet from what you've told me," I said with visible relief. "I wouldn't last a minute longer in this world if something was capable of actually scaring you."

"Ha," Gojo acknowledged my statement with humor. "I'm still not wrong about you and your connection to World Hunger."

"Hey, the minute I detect any hint of fear or cold feet in you again, I'm killing myself before I face a gruesome death," I declared seriously, meaning every word of it. If Gojo couldn't prevail, what chance did I have?

"There won't be a need for that," Gojo said with an amused smirk. "Everything will go according to my plan."

"There have been many types of curses throughout history, but none like World Hunger," Gojo explained. "While World Hunger has existed as long as humanity, it has never manifested as it is doing right now."

"What's so special about Drool?" I recalled the milk-thief instead of the fight. "I'm a hundred percent sure you can exorcise him just like that!" I gestured.

"The Tempo Famine was caused by a manifestation of World Hunger that led to poor weather conditions, disrupting agricultural production," Gojo continued, citing historical data. "It was unusually cold during the spring planting."

"While it was defeated, World Hunger re-emerged once again in another form," Gojo said. "This curse can take on many shapes, including a swarm of locusts, withering crops, or... Drool - the embodiment of Gluttony and Greed."

"Shape-shifting can't be what's worrying you about World Hunger, right?" I wanted to do my best to keep Gojo's spirits high. I couldn't let him look afraid even in the slightest. It was my current nightmare.

"It's not shape-shifting," Gojo corrected quietly. "It's manifestations."

He let his words sink in, then continued, "Currently, we are in Drool's Innate Domain - a hungry stomach."

"Alone, Drool is at most a First Grade Curse, but as a General of World Hunger, his rank and power rises exponentially," Gojo said.

"Wait! So Drool and World Hunger are two different things?" I asked. "Is he the General you were talking about?"

"Drool is just a part of World Hunger. There are many others I don't want us to run into right now," Gojo explained. "Maybe another day, when you've reached the level I'm telling you about."

"How do we defeat World Hunger, then?" I asked. Look at me already believing I was part of the solution. "I meant to ask how will you defeat World Hunger?"

"Think of World Hunger as a Dungeon," Gojo brought in another analogy. "Except it's a dungeon of curses ranging from Fourth Grade to Special Grade."

"But unlike most fictional dungeons, the number of Special Grade Curses is higher than the lower levels," Gojo said. "World Hunger is a definite sorcerer's graveyard. That's why no one has been to and fro."

"If you say it like that, then that means we have to clear out the entire dungeon to exorcise World Hunger!" I exclaimed. "And it also means there's a Boss in all of this. Probably the toughest curse of all!"

"Good catch on the Boss thing," Gojo said coyly. "But it's not as tough as you think."

"So, you have met it?" I asked hopefully.

"No," Gojo replied. "A bunch of Special Grade Curses - the Generals - kept me from reaching the core of this Dungeon, but I learned why."

'You actually fought against multiple Special Grade Curses in just those few minutes you fought against Droo-... World Hunger?' I nearly shrieked inwardly but kept my cool. 'Obviously, you must have had to fight the other ranks too! In Toji's words: you are a monster!'

"The Boss is the source of the highly condensed, higher form of cursed energy that holds this dungeon together," Gojo continued, then added reflectively, "After thinking about it, I figured breaking that highly condensed form will be enough to exorcise the entire dungeon and reduce World Hunger for a bit."

"Once your punch is perfected, it should be enough to do the job," Gojo said, a smile playing on his lips, edging toward a grin.

There he was again with that crap!

First, he had told me I was special, and well I don't like admitting it in the circumstances, it made me feel good about myself. But the thing about me having the potential to become the strongest - I would have preferred if he had told me another day, perhaps when I had enrolled in Jujutsu High.

However, Gojo was stubborn. When he said something, he stuck by it to the end, like the thing about me being the key to disabling World Hunger.

Gojo didn't specify how I was the key to disabling World Hunger. He just said that when the time came, I needed to throw a punch with all I had - especially with strong will. Beyond that, there was no real hope for humanity.

"If you won't succeed, I will be forced to fight against World Hunger until the Higher-Ups send reinforcements," Gojo had said, vividly and without ridicule in his tone. "Amanda and her forces will have to intervene too, as well as other sorcerers from around the world."

Knowing about Tengen's Barrier, I meant to ask why he even factored other sorcerers in the world, but realized it wasn't the right time. Hopefully, I would survive to ask him later.

"One after another, I will watch as my elders, peers, and students die at the hands of World Hunger," Gojo continued, his description feeling more like an imminent future. "It will continue until every sorcerer is dead, and I will be the last one standing."

"You have no obligation to anyone but yourself, Jamal," he had said after making me feel like the weight of the world was on my shoulders. "But you are special, as it is."

"And being special is a personal challenge," Gojo, a man who had been special his entire life, said. "It's about finding the answer to one simple question: why should you do anything?"

"Is it because you owe the world and have to give back, or is it because you want to do it?" Gojo had outlined the options.

I don't think I'm tough - I believe it. I believe that there is nothing the world can throw at me that I can't handle. I do things because I want to, not because I can or must.

But the thing is... this was just too much to swallow, especially on the first day.

"I don't think I can do it," I admitted genuinely while not even trying to keep my voice steady. "It's too much."

Gojo's eyes softened slightly, the glow dimming but not fading. He didn't say anything to reinforce my confidence or make me feel better, leading me to realize something crucial - Gojo wasn't afraid of World Hunger.

He was afraid of me.

He was afraid that I would back down and doubt myself. That's why he occasionally looked bothered when he looked at me.

He was probably wondering why it had to be me. An amateur who was having trouble exorcising low-tier curses. There were other better individuals suited for the task, all of them his students: Yuta, Megumi, Yuuji...

Was I like them?

Yuta was shaken up when his story began, but he had the Queen of Curses by his side. Megumi was reluctant and withdrawn, but he had the love for his sister to get him spirited. Yuuji...

Yuuji was something else. He just jumped right in without any sense of fear or worry - or dependence on the King of Curses!

Then, what about me?

'What about Gojo?' I couldn't help but wonder about the Honored One himself. Did he feel overwhelmed when he discovered he was special? Did he falter and feel insecure?

"I don't think so," I thought aloud after a moment of silence.

A small, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corners of Gojo's lips. Was he reading my mind?

But he didn't say anything. Instead, he let me make any decisions I needed to do on my own.

In that moment, I realized that I didn't need to be like his famed students. I just needed to be myself, the way I had pushed myself to become: someone who does things because he wants to.

Whether it was to walk away, or walk on, I would be content if it's what I wanted to do.

After a moment of prolonged silence, I finally said, "I'm not ready, but let's do this, Gojo Sensei."

Just then, a curse popped from the darkness. Or rather, a swarm of them.

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