Sukuna showed me a stone shrine.

A shrine found within the temple I created in my domain expansion. I walked forward, through a crowd of kneeling men and women, all facing the front of the decorative stonework.

Sukuna stood there, next to two of my ancestors, a man and woman. The man was tall and broad with black hair pulled out of his face as it drifted towards the middle of his back.

The woman, she was radiant. A fiery glow seemed to shine from her like a hallowed aura.

Her eyes matched the golden, honey color of my own. Her hair the same shade of grey as it flowed freely.

Her smile curled up in a soft and soothing way as she stood tall, her height matching that of her two male counterparts.

I realized everyone in the crowd was watching her. Even though Sukuna and the man were the ones conducting whatever gathering this was, she was all anyone could stare at. Myself included.

I walked closer to the shrine the 3 leaders stood in front of, wanting to know who or what was revered so fully by my clan in their early years.

My fingers traced across the cold, engraved stone as I read the inscription.

It told of a story...

Izanami, the great creator who rules over Yomi, died giving birth to Kagutsuchi, the incarnation of fire.

Sato's are a direct decedent of this fire deity.

"Chiyoko, my dear," the beautiful name rolled off of Sukuna's tongue. "How would you like to proceed?"

My eyes snapped back into focus as I stared at Sukuna who was now pulling away from the kiss. His face so much softer than I had ever seen it previously.

"What was that?" I asked barely above a whisper.

He smiled, a soft almost genuine smile, "You look like her, don't you?"

I shook my head in confusion, trying to piece together what had happened as he replaced my mask. The memory was so simple, but the emotion it carried with it reflected almost a sacred reverence.

"Who is she?"

"Chiyoko Sato. Her power and beauty resembles your own. When she was born, your clan leaders revered her as a goddess, a daughter of Kagutsuchi."

"So you think I'm her?" I asked him confused. "Like a reincarnation?"

"Not necessarily. I do, however, think you are also a daughter of Kagutsuchi, sent here to restore the Sato clan to its original glory. A clan of sorcerers far more powerful and refined than any of the others."

"Sukuna, as beautiful as that is, I'm not sure I believe any of it. And I'm not sure how it helps me with rescuing Satoru."

He sighed, "It's not supposed to help you rescue him. It's supposed to help you forget about him, and focus on your actual purpose."

"Restoring the Sato clan?"

"Exactly."

He must be out of his damn mind. There was no way I could ever forget Satoru. Even if I did have some godly purpose...

I stood there silently as bits and pieces of the memory still flickered inside my mind, all of it infused with Sukuna's emotions since he's the one who shared it with me.

I looked up at his eyes that were still piercing dangerously into mine, "You loved her, didn't you?"

I watched as his whole body tensed up. His face rendered emotionless, "I did."

"What happened? I can feel it... It hurts you."

"She fulfilled her own purpose. Except hers was to protect the Sato clan."

"And how did she do that?"

"When the Kamo's attacked, I was gone along with other leaders of your clan. She kept everyone inside the temple you saw while she faced the entire army herself."

"She killed every single one of them, successfully protecting the village and clan, but she died in the process."

"Without her, the Sato's would have been extinct long ago. She ushered your people into a few hundred years of peace since the rest of the sorcery world was either too fearful or too in awe of her sacrifice."

I bit my lip as I stared mindlessly at the ground. I didn't know my clan had such a rich history. I didn't know we were spiritual and virtuous people. We valued self-sacrifice and innocence.

We took care of our own and risked it all for peace. A peace where we could just be left alone to prosper and grow. How things ever ended up this way, I would never understand.

"Why did the Kamo's hate us so much?" I finally spoke up.

"Sorcery's downfall has always been greed and envy. Simply put, they wanted the same power and same prestige. It was really no different than any other war."

"And every time the Sato clan rebuilt, the leaders of jujutsu came and knocked them down again. 3 against 1 isn't exactly a fair fight, no matter how powerful the 1 may be."

Everyone had their own version of the truth, their own version of this history.

I was told I was monstrous and dark and a blood thirsty killer, and I couldn't deny how often I felt those things coursing through my veins.

But seeing it from Sukuna's eyes, I wasn't any of that. I simply carried the rage and pain and horrors my people endured.

And after a thousand years, it was more than enough trauma to make anyone crack. Myself included.

Others might call it revenge. Sukuna was trying to convince me it was retribution and restoration.

So now I had a choice to make. Satoru or my clan. But I wanted it all, and I desperately wanted to save them both.

The girl known as Uraume cleared her throat softly, and I almost forgot she had been waiting there, "Master Sukuna. I'm here to escort you."

As she spoke, there was a shift in the air. Sukuna and I both whipped our heads towards the new wavelength of cursed energy.

"Let's go," Sukuna said. "This is urgent."

Without missing a beat, Sukuna was gone, not even bothering to fill me in on anything.

I looked over at Uraume, who looked disappointed at Sukuna's strange exit.

"I suppose I will just continue with the preparations."

"What preparations?" I asked her.

She sighed and closed her eyes, "Master Geto requested Master Sukuna, but I suppose it will all have to wait."

Master Geto... So she's on the wrong side too. How unfortunate for her.

•••••

"Uraume is dead," I heard Mahito sigh.

"What!? How?" Geto growled.

The prison realm was now movable, so I was swishing around in Geto's pocket, getting pieces of what was going on.

I could still hear. Occasionally, I could sense the drastic switch of cursed energy in the area. And when the prison realm opened its eyes, I could see the outside world, almost like looking through a window.

However, it had been silent for awhile. Mei Mei and Geto encountered briefly before she took off.

Otherwise, Mahito seemed to be the one reporting everything while Geto remained hidden.

I couldn't figure out why he was reluctant to join the fight since he was so eager to get this over with. Nor had I figured out quite what they were planning.

"This girl, she's become much more problematic. It seems Sukuna and her have entered an alliance."

Y/n and Sukuna? Is that who he's talking about? How the fuck would that have happened...

"And where the hell is Jogo?" Geto huffed. "I better not get anymore surprises."

Mahito audibly gulped, and I couldn't help but snicker to myself. Geto wasn't really all that scary. What kind of lies had he been feeding these guys?

"S-she killed him too," Mahito whimpered out. "Along with the last of the cursed users."

There was a loud smashing sound, presumably from Geto losing his temper. He was really playing the part of the villain here. It was annoyingly cliche.

Y/n exorcised the volcano head? I knew she was powerful, but I actually wasn't sure if she'd be able to defeat these special grades.

Geto finally spoke up, "You need to get going. End this. End everyone she cares about, and then end her. Before this gets out of control."

What the hell is going on out there? Y/n, I'm so sorry...