Emotionally agitated and overwhelmed, I left the examination room and the infirmary behind me, walking towards the cursed storage, which was nearby.
As soon as I reached it, I slumped against the cold wall like a wet sack and looked furtively at my palm – at Sukuna's finger.
...
I should have anticipated this! I had completely overlooked this exception. That the curse spirit had already claimed one of the fingers, becoming much stronger than initially assumed.
I had only received the information about it the day before yesterday and, in my youthful recklessness, I had thought, 'Yay! This is just what Mayu needs!'
I thought it was a good idea, went ahead with it, and completely disregarded how dangerous it could become.
I, idiot! Complete idiot!
She had warned me...
Now, here I was, with the most dangerous evil possible, struggling with my guilty conscience, feelings of blame, and overwhelming fear for Mayu.
"Oh shit! 40.4."
"Are you serious?!"
"41.6°C! If we don't lower the fever now, her organs will collapse in a few minutes!"
"From here, I'll handle it alone!"
My breath caught in my throat.
A chill ran down my spine.
In the blink of an eye, an unprecedented, painful goosebumps took hold of me.
I got an immensely strong uneasy feeling in my stomach.
These words echoed like pure horror in my head. And they all screamed; Mayu will die. She won't make it. Shoko had lost her.
I clenched my free hand into a tight fist and shakily inhaled the cool air. I held it for a few seconds, then exhaled it unevenly from my mouth.
I turned my gaze up to the ceiling. I studied the light, flickering and emitting cold white light. Like an intangible glimmer of hope I would have loved to hold in my hands.
This couldn't happen. This just couldn't happen! It was never my intention to push her this far into danger...
Never!
Again, I looked at the stiff, rigid finger in my hand.
This damned catastrophe. This asshole! He wasn't even close to our timeline, and yet he was wreaking havoc and destruction. I was sure that if this ancient cursed object hadn't been involved, everything would have turned out differently.
Would have...
Had to...