CH 132: ORIGINAL SIN (2)
"Fess up. What happened? You have been out of it today. Even Nemu could pick on your feelings, and you know she isn't the sharpest when it comes to empathy."
It had been a few hours since Senjumaru and Kirio went back to the royal palace, leaving Gojo alone and brooding as he ruminated on Senjumaru's last words.
Currently, he was laying down in the bathtub while Yoruichi laid down on top of him as well.
Normally, they would have been frolicking a little before ending their sex session under the shower, but Yoruichi had sensed way earlier that Gojo wasn't in the best state of mind.
Cupping her beautiful supple breasts in his hands, Gojo gently pinched her nipples as a way to distract himself.
"Nn~!"
He hesitated a little before deciding to simply ask the question that was burning a hole on his tongue. But, it wouldn't hurt to put her in a more receptive state, would it?
Thinking so, his left hand continued to caress her breast and pinch her nipple while his right hand gradually went down south until it reached her most intimate place.
It was time to let those magic fingers work to the delight of Yoruichi.
'Well, let's see how fast I can make her cum.'
….
….
….
"Nn~! Ahh~!!"
'Pretty fast, it seems'
Feeling Yoruichi's body spasm uncontrollably and hearing her high-pitched moan as she cried her release, Gojo grinned while hugging her.
Even for someone as prideful as him, having a woman like Yoruichi surrender completely to him was always an ego boost.
Slowly, Yoruichi's climax calmed down and she gradually came out of the haze of pleasure that was clouding her mind.
Panting, she muttered, "I don't know what you want to ask of me, but your way of bribing me is pretty awesome."
Yoruichi was not the kind to drown in pleasure and throw everything down the gutter. But she wouldn't say no to a good climax either. The pleasure Gojo brought her was quite heavenly.
"So, what's it about?"
This time, Gojo did not hesitate.
"Do the words, [Original Sin] tell you anything?"
He could feel Yoruichi grow suddenly rigid in his arms for an instant before she softened and released a sigh.
"I wonder who you heard it from?"
"Senjumaru."
"*Sigh* I am surprised those guys said anything. You must have left a good impression."
Standing, giving him a full view of her sexy naked body, Yoruichi walked out of the bathtub before looking at Gojo.
"Let's go to the bedroom. This isn't the kind of conversation we can have while bathing."
---
"What I am about to tell you is something very few people know. In fact, of the current captains, I believe that only Ginrei Kuchiki and Yamamoto know about it.
I am not even sure if Unohana, despite being one of the first captains, is aware of it. That's just how hidden this secret is. Kisuke also knows it, and he theorized that the same went for Aizen."
Gojo stayed silent as he listened.
"What I am about to tell you about is the sin and shame that all members of the five families and all Shinigami, by association, must carry. This is the story of how the Soul Society or rather, the universe as you know it, was created."
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"It hurts to say, but the Soul Society and the Shinigami themselves are based on nothing more than a treacherous fantasy."
Yoruichi then proceeded to tell her story.
Long long ago, a few million years ago, before the world took on its current form, in a chaotic place where there was no border between life and death, there was an original protector who stood up to protect. The Quincy, the shinigami, and also fullbringers. It could be said that he is the ancestor of them all. He was a Quincy and also at the same time a shinigami, and also just a normal person bearing countless abilities like a fullbringer. He was the symbol of hope that ruled over all in the chaotic world.
That’s the one who became known as Soul King.
That chaotic, primordial world was overrun by Hollows. To protect the original inhabitants of that world, the Soul King proceeded to annihilate all the Hollows that preyed upon them. However, these actions eventually started to destabilize the world.
In response, five powerful beings from that time decided to work together to fix everything. At first, everything was alright, the six supreme beings brought an era of peace.
But, one day, the ancestor of the Tsunayashiro brought a proposal. Even to this day, no one knows exactly how he managed to convince them but, for their own respective reasons, they sealed an unresisting Soul King inside a crystal and used his omnipotent powers to split their world into three new ones: Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the Human World, and in the process created the cycle of life and death.
Despite the Soul King's lack of resistance, the five beings were unconvinced of the Soul King's cooperation and feared his immense power.
As such, using the Shinken Hakkyoken [1], they proceeded to first tear off the Right Arm of Stillness and the Left Arm of Progress, before taking their time to carve out his heart, whittle away his legs, and mutilate and tear out his organs, leaving the Soul King trapped in an agonizing state for millions of years.
Currently, the Soul King is a being that is stated to be "neither alive nor dead", and exists in a state between Stagnation and Progress. Due to this, the Soul King could not die even while his body was mutilated and sealed away by the Five Ancestors.
The title of [King] is naught but a cruel mockery. The Soul King rules over nothing and the [royal guards] are naught but glorified jailers whose duty is not to protect the king but to guard the system that supports the three realms.
After all, he served as the very linchpin that sustains the three worlds. Should he die, the world as we know it would be destroyed.
Yoruichi finished her story with a shrug, her expression clearly upset and irritated.
"This is the [Original Sin] of our ancestors. Everything we know is nothing more than a lie. We speak of justice when we live thanks to the suffering of one selfless being. Suffering that lasted millions of years. We are nothing but ostriches who hide their head in the sand and act as if everything is alright because we fear changing the status quo."
She shook her head, “No, I guess not all of us were Ostrich. Out of the five ancestors, the one who will become the ancestors of the Shiba clan was the only one against the plan to seal the Soul King. Even though he was finally convinced, he was wrecked by remorse and gradually took his distance from the rest. Because of this, the following generation continued to push down the Shiba clan until it fell to its current state where few even remember that it was once one of the five great families.”
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When Yoruichi finished her story, she expected to see Gojo shrug and feel nothing. But she was surprised to see him pensive.
Gojo was just thinking about how similar this world was to his previous ones.
Even though to a lesser extent, way lesser, the stability of the Jujutsu world rested on one being. Master Tengen.
Master Tengen, also known as the "Star", was responsible for preaching the foundation of jujutsu sorcerers and spawning religious groups that worship the Star as their deity.
He was an immortal and eternal being that was constantly evolving and had to be "reset" every 500 years by merging with a specific human being in order to prevent him from evolving past humanity and into a potentially dangerous state.
Furthermore, he was basically isolated in one place with few possibilities of visit.
Before the resurrection of Sukuna in Yuki and the plot stirred by Kenkaju after he stole Suguru's body, the "peace" and secrecy of the Jujutsu world was kept thanks to the sacrifice of the life of those vessel, and the sacrifice of the freedom of Tengen.
It seemed that no matter which world, peace could never be reached without sacrificing something or someone.
'I wonder.. For the Soul King, perhaps death is salvation.'
Gojo sighed wistfully before shrugging, “I more or less understand why Kisuke addressed the Soul King as [it] or [that thing]. I guess it’s hard to feel any respect toward a being in such a situation. Either way, thanks for telling me your story. I have managed to get hints about the curse that is plaguing the Ise Family. What reward do you want?”
Gojo managed to sweep away the heavy mood with his last sentence. Showing a grin, Yoruichi pushed him on the bed, making clear what kind of reward she wished for.
[1]: For those who forgot, it’s the sword of the Ise clan (Nanao Family). Its power is the ability to take the power of a god into itself and disperse it in all directions.
For those who didn’t read the novel CFYOW, this story is 100% Canon.