Infinity And A Fated Encounter

"So where does your superhuman strength come from?" one of the knights asked as we were walking.

He was on the shorter side in height, and he had green eyes and short light brown hair. He seemed like he was trying to make small talk.

"You could say I was born with it," I replied.

"You're so mysterious! I kinda like it..." a female knight chimed in. Her blonde hair was tied up in a high ponytail and her striking blue eyes looked at me inquisitively.

"Uh, thanks."

A small window of quietness seeped in, and as a hater of awkward silences, I quickly asked the brown-haired knight, "What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Mattias," he responded.

"And I'm Lina!" the girl chimed in.

"Nice. Why did you become a knight?" I asked Mattias.

"It was either that or staying at my old man's farm..." Mattias answered.

"I'm in it for the money!" Lina chimed in once again.

"Huh. Is the pay any good?" I asked her.

"For us recruits, not so much. But once we ascend through the ranks..." Lina squealed, jumping small steps while she walked.

"Right now we are being paid like... maybe the price of a day or two of commissions?"

"That's cool..," I commented.

'Better not tell them I'm getting paid three weeks' worth of commissions for tagging along...'

"Alright, time to pick up the pace! Our objective is to get to Dragonspine before noon!" Kaeya shouted from the front.

I could hear grunting and complaints from the knights, but they nevertheless complied and started walking faster.

Our hike to Dragonspine was uneventful and I simply continued to chat with the two knights I got acquainted with.

After some time, we arrived at a small settlement. It served as a resting spot before entering Dragonspine itself. There were already some knights here and other people like blacksmiths, researchers, adventurers and merchants.

"We'll rest here for an hour and then we'll venture into Dragonspine. I suggest you don't idle around and prepare yourselves," Kaeya said.

Kaeya normally looked quite laid back, always having a relaxed expression on his face, but when it came to work, it seemed he got serious. Well, it's nice to have a reliable person on the team.

Having been granted a small break, I sat on top of a wooden crate, my feet dangling above the ground. I closed my eyes and drowned out the background noise, focusing on myself.

'Let's try this...'

Concentrating deeply, I expanded my cursed energy outwards. I tried to apply what Gojo taught me. Using a cursed technique without intrinsic knowledge of it is something of an abstract concept. It's hard to get a grasp on, so there's nothing better than putting it in practice instead of just studying the theory.

Also, Jujutsu sorcery is all about subtraction. Making your technique usage as efficient as possible, trying not to rely on hand signs or incantations. For me, that's something of a tall task right now. I should rely on those things, at least for now. I'm sure as I grow in strength I won't need hand gestures or the like anymore, but for the time being...

Lifting my index and middle finger, still keeping my eyes closed, I tried to bring Infinity into reality. The neutral state of the Limitless... You could get into the mathematics and specifics of it, but it's basically an invisible barrier that slows down everything that approaches it until it appears to stop completely.

It's an extremely complex technique to use. I don't even remember how much time I spent on Gojo's Innate Domain trying to get the hang of it... Thankfully, time seemed to pass at a different rate in that space.

Slowly opening my eyes again, I felt gentle wind currents around me. I tried to keep the flow going for as long as I could.

"Hey, Dan— Whoa!" Lina had appeared suddenly, reaching for me. Her hand stopped midway through. I could tell she was trying to move her hand forward, but it just didn't.

I quickly dispelled Infinity. Lina's hand stayed midair for a second before she brought it down slowly and asked, "Um, what was that?"

"Uh, my... power?"

"You were messing with the wind itself..." Lina gasped, her eyes practically sparkling, and said, "Wait, you have a Vision?!"

Before I could respond, she excitedly continued. "That's so cool! Where is it? Can I see it?!"

"Lina, stop pestering him, will you? Come help me with this..." Mattias said, carrying some crates.

"Ugh, alright!" she said, quickly leaving to help Mattias.

He gave me a knowing look, and I smiled, giving him a thumbs up.

I crossed my arms and closed my eyes. I don't really mean to hide my powers or anything, but still... It's hard to explain.

As for Infinity... I don't know how well I'd use it in battle, but I'm confident in my ability to pull it off.

"It seems you're quite popular with the knights already," Kaeya said from behind, giving me a pat on the back.

"Ah, it's just these two."

"Well, that's to be expected. This particular batch of recruits is mostly timid. They're quite young as well, so being in a brand new environment is hard for them." Kaeya said.

"Hm, still, they seem like good kids," I paused for a moment and said, "I'll try and be more involved with them."

I can relate to being young and shy... At some point, I was like that. I don't think I'm particularly outgoing, but at least I can hold a conversation... I think.

Looking at the knights, I could tell that though they seemed nervous and a bit anxious, they were hopeful and excited about what was to come. I was once like that, hopeful for the future and for new experiences... In the end, all I got was a boring and monotonous existence.

'I hope they have a bright future...' I thought.

"Don't steal my spotlight too much, alright? I still have to uphold my title of Cavalry Captain..." Kaeya said.

"You'll have to earn it then, buddy."

_______________________________________________________________

We resumed our march onwards to Dragonspine and eventually, we were on the outskirts of the gigantic mountains. Snow served as a distinction to remind us that we had already arrived.

The air suddenly turned cold and icy, snow falling from the sky gently on my clothes. I shivered a bit, but wasn't too bothered otherwise. Still, it was quite weird, seeing the change in scenery and climate with just a small distance.

'I guess it's better than being too hot...'

We crossed a broken bridge and followed the main path. Suddenly, I heard a scream coming from behind me.

I turned around quickly and I could see a knight falling to the ground on his knees, an arrow piercing his lower abdomen.

Multiple arrows came flying by, hitting the cold ground below us. The knights were all in a state of disarray. Some panicked, some stood quietly in nervousness, while others just simply didn't know what to do.

"Knights! Get in formation, now!" Kaeya shouted, breaking the knights from their trance.

With discipline normally seen only in seasoned soldiers, the knights assumed a defensive position, with their shields up in arms.

Looking around, trying to find the source of the attack, I could see, in the distance, multiple people hiding behind rock formations.

They peeked for a split second and shot a barrage of arrows once again. Most of them were coming from the same direction, so I stepped forward, in front of all the knights. Making a hand gesture, I used Infinity. The arrows stopped in place, falling to the ground once I dispelled the cursed energy.

"Kaeya!" I screamed.

"On it," he responded, charging forward.

Multiple arrows were shot once again, but Kaeya skilfully dodged and sliced at them. 

From behind, I could hear some commotion. Turning around, I was greeted by multiple people charging at us from a distance. They wielded big hammers and small swords. Some stayed behind, with small bottles and vials of weird concoctions. All of them were masked, and it was easy to tell that we were dealing with Treasure Hoarders.

But something was wrong. The eyes of the hoarders were lost and unfocused, almost as if they were in a deep slumber or trance.

Leaving the arbalists to Kaeya, I rushed in front of the knights, glancing back at them for a moment, I said, "Don't be scared. I'm with you guys."

Assuming a fighting stance, I prepared my feet to charge forward, "Stay back and focus on all who get past me."

When the Treasure Hoarders were close enough, I ran forward. The hoarders were scattered all across the field so I couldn't get all of them, but I trusted the knights to take care of any leftovers.

A tall, burly man swung down his hammer at me. Sidestepping it, I punched his abdomen, sending him back a few meters to one of his colleagues, who was preparing to throw one of his concoctions, crashing into him.

From the side, one of the hoarders threw a purple vial, brimming with electricity. It exploded in the air near me, but I had managed to expand Infinity. The explosion contorted around the invisible barrier. As the explosion faded, I rushed to the potioneer, punching him in the face and knocking him out cold.

I heard steps from behind and barely managed to dodge a downward slash from one of the hoarders' sword. He followed up with a thrust of his word aimed at my head.

Experimenting mid-battle, I tried using Infinity while I attacked. As the sword was mere inches from my face, I managed to dodge it, the attack grazing my cheek slightly. Still, as the sword grazed my cheek, my fist was already on the Treasure Hoarder's face, knocking him unconscious.

I moved once again, going after the dispersed Treasure Hoarders one by one. As I did that, I thought about that recent interaction in the back of my mind.

The sword grazed me, even though I tried using Infinity. It seems I haven't gotten a good enough grasp on it to turn it on and off at will that quickly, especially when I'm more focused on attacking...

'I'm not too fussed up about it, though...' With enough patience and training, I'll make it automatic, just as Gojo did...

Refocusing all of my attention on the fight, I continued knocking out the Treasure Hoarders. Being close in distance to all of them, their state of almost sleepwalking seemed all the more apparent to me.

Eventually, we managed to defeat the remaining Treasure Hoarders. Approaching the knights, I saw that most of them were panting heavily. Some looked at the sky, sighing in relief, others sat down, trying to catch their breath.

I saw Mattias with a serious expression on his face, mostly unbothered, while Lina seemed way more relaxed than she should be.

"Everyone good? Where's the knight that got hit with an arrow?"

"He's..."

 I looked past some knights and the aforementioned man was sitting down, the arrow still stuck to his side. He looked pale and he was sweating a bit, even in this cold weather.

He didn't seem to be in any immediate danger; he was probably just in shock from the attack.

'Speaking of that, maybe I should investigate that ambush...'

"I apologize for my tardiness," Kaeya said, walking up to us from the side. "Those crossbow-wielding Treasure Hoarders were quite slippery. Is everyone alright?"

Kaeya took notice of the injured knight. Acting quickly, he ordered one of the knights to go back to the settlement to notify them of what had happened.

"Let's set up camp over there," Kaeya said, pointing toward a spot next to the main path, a few dozen meters ahead. "We'll treat your wounds, and send you back to headquarters," Kaeya told the injured knight.

"But..."

"No buts. He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day, remember that. Sometimes it's good to back down." As Kaeya said that, the knight fell silent and nodded.

"Mattias, Lina, restrain the Treasure Hoarders and bring them to the camp. Don't forget about the ones behind the rocks." Kaeya looked at me and smirked, "You help them too, Dani."

I clicked my tongue and said, "Fine."

As Kaeya walked away with most of the knights to set up camp, I was left with Mattias and Lina.

"You were amazing!" Lina exclaimed, getting on my face. "You stopped the arrows, and that electric thingy with so much ease! C'mon, show me your Vision already!"

'It wasn't that easy...'

"We'll have time for that later, let's first restrain these Treasure Hoarders," Mattias said.

"But...!" Lina protested, almost like a child.

Mattias just dragged her by the ear, a grumpy expression on his face.

"That girl has way too much energy..." I muttered under my breath.

After that, I approached one of the unconscious Treasure Hoarders. Kneeling down to inspect him, he seemed to be breathing normally. His breaths came in a relaxed and steady manner, almost like he was sleeping the nap of his life.

'So what was that trance-like state...?'

As if the heavens themselves answered my question, I felt a terrible presence approaching.

There was no doubt in my mind that whatever was coming had cursed energy. Immense amounts of it.

I took my gaze off the Treasure Hoarder and looked upwards. In a large mound of snow and ice, a man stood tall, smiling.

He had long silver hair, and his red eyes looked at me up and down. His skin was sickly and pale, and his brown, farmer-like clothes didn't help in giving him a less unhealthy appearance.

He jumped down, landing gracefully, and said, "You can see me? How exciting." His voice was gentle and low in volume, almost unnervingly soothing.

"You are... a curse."

"A curse? Hmm, yeah, I guess I am," he responded. He then smiled and said, "I'd prefer to be called Ananke, though."

I could feel it. Though the cursed spirit in front of me seemed innocent, the sheer quantity and nature of his cursed energy told another story.

"Could you tell me your name?" he asked, a smile still present on his face.

"Why should I? You're just a curse I have to exorcise," I said.

But even though I appeared confident, the truth was... 'There's no way I'm beating him.'

If it came to it, I was prepared to fight, but the possibility of me winning was simply zero.

"Aw, c'mon, don't be like that... I'm not here to fight, be nice, will you?" he said, the smile never leaving his face.

I stood in silence for a moment, before I said, "Dani."

"Dani, huh?" he mused. "That's a good name!"

"What do you want?" I asked, still in a tense and defensive position.

The curse, apparently named Ananke, laughed and said, "Don't be so tense..." He walked a bit, closing the distance between us.

I tensed up even more, preparing for a fight. Still, Ananke maintained a friendly, but unnerving smile on his face.

"Why don't we have a chat, Dani?"