I've always known that the jujutsu world is governed by the survival of the fittest and worships strength.
I don't care. I'm usually the strong one.
So I've always lived quite freely, doing as I please, making a mess and walking away without a second thought. Before I knew it, I'd made a name for myself.
The Six-Eyed Divine Child acts carefree and flippant around me, but in truth, we tacitly keep our distance. Between us, there's an unspoken sense that two kings cannot share the same territory.
The Cursed Spirit Manipulator is always gentle with me. He often invites me to drink and talks at length about his ideals, making it obvious he wants me to join him.
The young Special Grade with a massive cursed spirit at his side is always carefully trying to get close to me. The Zenin family's blond young heir calls me "Sis" every other word. Then there's the King of Curses, who makes no secret of his desire to conquer me, and the Heavenly Restriction who works part-time as a host and accepts every job I throw at him without complaint...
My life in the jujutsu world has always been a breeze.
Until one day, I lost all my cursed energy.
The sky was a dull gray-blue that day, and rain poured in torrents.
I lay in the mud, gasping for breath and struggling weakly, every bone in my body in searing pain.
My vision blurred. I couldn't lift my head, so all I could do was bluff, glaring fiercely at the pair of dress shoes in front of me.
The person walked over at an unhurried pace and stopped before me. Water splashed onto my face as he slowly crouched down.
He pinched my chin between his fingers and lifted my face.
Perhaps he wasn't used to doing this. His grip was awkward, squeezing too hard before loosening slightly.
I lowered my eyes coldly.
If this had happened before, I would have kicked him ten meters away.
My head spun, my vision swam, and even my teeth were chattering.
He seemed amused by the sight of me like this. His chest shook as he laughed for a long time.
"You're so interesting, Lian."
His voice drifted in and out through the rain.
He didn't seem to care that I was filthy. He pressed against my soaked hair and nearly bit my earlobe as he sighed softly:
"Seeing you in such a wretched state is the first time I've understood what it means when they say karma always comes around."
I know that, in some men's eyes, I'm arrogant and tyrannical.
But I never knew so many men hated me.
It doesn't matter.
I swear that one day, I'll make them pay for every bit of torment they've put me through.
Much later, I could no longer tell whose bed I was chained to, or remember whose bloodshot eyes had watched over me until dawn.
I only thought, bored and listless:
The Ship of Theseus... is it still the same ship after all?
Because I don't think I can ever be who I was again.
But none of it matters anymore.
XP unleashed, ridiculously melodramatic.
First person, dark and twisted, strong and tragic heroine, forced love, female-domme kink (I think), everyone gets their comeuppance.
(The blurb has been screenshotted.)
Theme: Strive hard to fight your way out of adversity.
