...
The Morning After
The phone screen lit up on the glass table. October 29.
Ren stared at the date. Forty-eight hours until Halloween. Forty-eight hours until the Shibuya attack.
He sat on the very edge of the sofa, fully dressed in his dark jacket and boots. The air conditioner hummed in the background.
On the bed, Mai rolled over. The thick white blanket slid down, uncovering her bare back and shoulders.
Ren looked away. He squeezed his eyes shut, then snapped them open.
A glowing blue screen popped into the air. The scrolling text locked into place.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Condition Met: Inheritance Via Intimacy
Target: Mai Zen'in
Status: Maximum Intimacy Reached
Acquired: Innate Technique — Construction
Ren stared at the words.
He closed his eyes and pictured a 9mm bullet. The knowledge was just suddenly there. The density of the lead, the shape of the brass casing, the exact jujutsu formula to pull it from thin air—it all clicked in his head perfectly. He could feel the mental trigger, waiting to be pulled.
He reached inward, trying to spark the energy to build it.
Nothing.
He hit a dead end. The System had given him the perfect blueprint, but he had zero cursed energy to fuel it. .
He let out a quiet breath, shaking his head. Before the frustration could really settle in, the blue screen flickered. The words dissolved into a shower of gold pixels, rearranging to form a new message.
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED]
Milestone: First Innate Technique Acquired.
[REWARDS DISPENSED]
+15,000 System Points
Dimensional Inventory Upgrade (Level 2)
System Point Exchange Updated
Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees to read the fine print expanding underneath.
Dimensional Inventory Level 2:
Spatial Volume increased by 300%.
New Parameter: Cursed Energy Retention & Storage enabled. Inorganic spaces can now stockpile and preserve raw Cursed Energy indefinitely without leakage.
He read that last line twice. A quick tap in the air scrolled the screen down to the final alert
System Point Exchange Updated:
Currency usage expanded.
System Points can now be allocated to directly upgrade and modify acquired Innate Techniques, altering their efficiency, output, or activation conditions.
He sat back. Until today, points were only good for upgrading physical weapons. Now, he could literally buy improvements for his copied powers.
Opening the stat page for Construction, the flaw holding Mai back glared right at him. The base efficiency was terrible. It cost a massive amount of energy just to make one single bullet.
With this update, that flaw didn't matter. Dumping enough points into the technique would slash the cost. It meant any stolen energy he stored in his new inventory would stretch way further than it ever did for Mai.
Before he could do the math, the gold text melted away. The screen wiped itself completely clean. The comforting blue glow died, instantly replaced by a harsh crimson light that bathed the quiet room.
His muscles locked. He slowly lowered his hands. A single, massive alert bordered in heavy red dominated the empty interface, shoving everything else out of sight.
[SYSTEM OVERRIDE: CORE MODIFICATION INITIATED]
Condition Met: Intimate link established with Secondary Twin Soul (Mai Zen'in).
Process Started: Cursed Energy Drain to Absolute Zero.
Estimated Time of Completion: October 31st.
October 31st. The exact day Shibuya would fall into chaos. It was a tight deadline, but the smaller block of text scrolling underneath demanded his attention.
[Under Jujutsu law, identical twins share a single soul. The Host previously acquired Maki Zen'in's incomplete Heavenly Restriction. Because Mai Zen'in is alive and holding her half of the energy, reaching absolute zero was impossible.]
[By establishing a deep bond with the second half, the System has bridged the gap. Mai's natural cursed energy signature is now acting as a siphon.]
[Your remaining trace energy is actively draining through this twin-soul bridge. Once your internal energy hits true zero, the Complete Heavenly Restriction will unlock.]
Sinking back into the cushions, Ren stared at the words. He glanced over at the bed. Mai slept on, completely oblivious to the massive shift she had just sparked inside him.
"Absolute zero," he murmured. His fingers dug into the fabric of the sofa. He just had to survive until Halloween.
A quick swipe of his hand banished the red warning. The harsh light dissolved, letting the familiar, soft blue glow return to the dark room.
The clock was ticking, but he had new tools to work with. Leaning closer to the floating interface, he kept his voice barely above a breath so he wouldn't wake her.
"System. Explain the energy storage. How do I actually put cursed energy into the inventory if I don't have any to give?"
The glowing letters blurred, instantly shifting to answer.
[STORAGE MECHANICS]
Cursed Energy cannot be generated by the Host. To stockpile energy, the Host must utilize an external absorption medium. Once absorbed, energy can be routed directly into the Dimensional Inventory instead of being instantly consumed.
Ren rubbed his chin. An external medium.
His mind immediately went to his katana, Nightfall. Its Kinetic Absorption & Reversal skill allowed him to steal an enemy's cursed energy on impact.
"So, when I hit a curse or a sorcerer with Nightfall, instead of converting their energy into Positive Energy, I can just siphon it straight into the inventory?"
[AFFIRMATIVE]
Energy harvested via Nightfall can be wirelessly deposited and preserved within the Spatial Volume.
"Perfect," Ren muttered. That solved the supply issue entirely. He could use the upcoming Shibuya invasion as a massive battery-charging station. "Now, what's the cap? How much can this thing actually hold?"
[CAPACITY LIMIT]
Maximum Storage Capacity: 50,000 CE Units.
Ren frowned, shaking his head slightly. "That means nothing to me. Make it simple. Give me a scale I can actually understand."
The system paused for a fraction of a second before the blue text shifted again.