A Dismantled Dream

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men"

As I stood there, looking at the faintly glowing System screen, I felt something inside me… something dark.

It was something trying to engulf me, making my stomach churn.

My brows furrowed at this sensation. This was Cursed Energy.

Even though I had no techniques at the moment, this absurd amount of cursed energy was just a potential waiting to be unleashed.

I slowly walked to a chair placed next to a table, sitting down and placing my hands on the armrest. I will master this energy..

My vision slightly blurred, perspiration formed on my forehead as I tried to push cursed energy outward, to every single part of my body.

I closed my eyes, and gradually started to get the hang of it, it was a weird feeling, one that I cannot express in words, but it felt as it something… foreign was moving inside me.

My hands gripped the arms of the chair as I continued to circulate it around my body.

It felt like ants crawling on my skin. The energy moved like it had a mind of its own, and I had to force it to bend to my will.

As I continued doing it for a few minutes, it was getting easier, I was getting more and more used to the feeling.

I opened my eyes, letting out a loud, long sigh as my body relaxed, sweat falling down my face due to the slight exertion.

[Cursed Energy (Shrine) Proficiency +0.05%]

"That's pretty neat," I muttered, looking at the translucent screen displaying the message.

It wasn't too big of an increase, but it'll slowly add up.

I tried to focus cursed energy onto my hand, which I was able to do, though it took a few seconds.

Looking at my hand, it was as if there was nothing on it, but I could feel it… something swirling on top of it, waiting to be released.

I suddenly heard footsteps outside the door, making me slightly jump, as I pulled the cursed energy back into my body.

My eyes were glued to the door as the footsteps got louder, then came right in front of the door, but soon, faded away.

I exhaled, it was probably someone just walking by.

My eyes slightly widened as I remembered something… my 'parents' had called me.

I sighed, getting up from the chair slowly, walking towards the door with light steps.

"Dad, and mom, huh?" I muttered, searching through 'my' memories, trying to see what 'I' referred to 'my' parents as.

As I passed by the mirror, I took a final look at my new self, it was a weird feeling for sure, I don't know if I like it or not, but it feels like… I belong in this body.

.

As I opened the door, a long, brightly lit hallway came into view.

The floor was polished, reflecting every bit of light that fell on it, almost like a clean mirror.

Luxurious chandeliers hanged from the roof, the walls were adorned with beautiful paintings, support by a frame made of pure gold.

I looked around, taking in my surroundings. "Woah," I couldn't help but mumble as my eyes went from one item to another.

Precious vases were placed on tables, in them were beautiful, almost perfect flowers, grown with utmost care.

A weird feeling started to grip me, this wasn't my life anymore, I was an intruder in this world, I had to get used to my new identity.

The hallway led to a large living room. The ceiling high enough that it seemed to extend to the sky, the room so big that my footsteps echoed multiple times, reflected by the walls.

Large, clear windows allowed sunlight to enter, giving the place an almost ethereal glow.

In the center, on a couch, sat my 'parents.'

I took a deep breath as they turned to me, acknowledging my presence.

"Here goes nothing," I muttered as I walked towards them, their gazes fixed on me as I slowly moved to the couch in front of them and sat down. "You called?"

My 'father' was leaned back into the couch, his body relaxed, but his eyes were sharp. Looking at me though, they softened a little.

He had short, deep black hair, contrasting with his pale face. His eyes, too, were a deep black, staring right at me.

My 'mother' was next to him, their arms interlocked as she, too, looked at me with a sharp, yet loving gaze.

Her hair was a glossy black, almost like my father's, falling to her waist, kept next to her body neatly.

Her eyes were a bright red, sending chills down anyone's spine who looked at them for even a second. But, looking at me, these eyes were filled with nothing but love.

My father was the first to speak up.

"Sukuna," he said, his voice deep and authoritative as he leaned forward, his eyes not leaving mine. "It's coming… what are your plans?"

I gulped silently, I had to act well, or there could be consequences. He was referring to the academy entrance exams, probably, I saw that they were in a month on the news when I was searching the internet.

I took a deep breath, steeling my resolve as I spoke. "I want to join the combat sector."

My father raised an eyebrow, while my mother leaned forward, her eyes filled with worry, and this time, she spoke.

"But you…" she hesitated, before changing the wording. "There are many better options for you, aren't there?"

I sighed, knowing what she was referring to… all my life, I've been weak, how could I survive in the most competitive environment of the continent?

"She's right," my father interjected, his voice commanding, but there was a hint of worry in it, what if I didn't agree? What if I hurt myself in the process?

I closed my eyes, I had to somehow convince them.

The combat sector was where all the main characters were, and no matter what, I had to get into it.

How else am I supposed to have fun?

I took a deep breath once more, opening my eyes as I started emanating Cursed Energy from my body, as much as I could manage.

I had learned about it only a few minutes ago, there was no way I could show them anything more, but I'll do my best with this.

There was no discomfort on their body, however, both of their eyes widened simultaneously.

I stopped releasing cursed energy, a sharp gasp escaping my lips as my breathing turned ragged.

My father's expression turned into a smirk, while my mother was still looking at me wide-eyed.

They both were frozen, looking at me for a few seconds, before my mom spoke up. "What was that?" She asked, impressed, yet confused.

I closed my eyes, weighing all my options, and it didn't take me long to realize that it would be best not to tell them.

"I'm sorry, mom, but I can't tell you," I said in an apologetic tone.

My mom didn't say anything, her eyes still widened, while my father raised an eyebrow at the revelation, chuckling slightly.

"This was what you used on that day, wasn't it?" He asked a rhetorical question, referring to the day I, or more appropriately, the previous owner of the body, used cursed energy.

I nodded, a drop of sweat falling down my forehead to the floor.

"Please, let me join the combat sector," I requested, slightly bowing.

My father looked at my mother, still smirking. Their eyes met, and they seemingly had a silent conversation.

My mother turned to me first, her expression soft yet worried. "You can give the exam for the combat sector, but just… be safe," she said, trying to put up a forced smile.

"First rank or nothing," my father said, leaning back into the couch.

I nodded, a small smile forming on my face as I got up from the couch, making no sound.

"Thank you,' I said, my voice filled with genuine gratitude.

My parents simply smiled in response.

I walked away, back into the extravagant hallway I came from.

"Maybe," I muttered, my eyes slightly watering as I looked at the floor. "Maybe this is what parents truly are."

In my last life, parental love was something I could only hope to get, and in this life, my parents seemed to love me more than themselves, it filled me with the warmest feeling.

I closed my eyes, calming myself down.

This wasn't the time to get emotional, I had barely a month to train for the entrance exams.

I took a deep breath, my resolve unbreakable.

"Let's do this," I muttered, going back into my room, shutting the door with a loud thud.

.

.

.

(Two Days Later)

I was sitting cross-legged on the grass in the garden of our mansion.

I had just finished practicing cursed energy control and there was a large pool of sweat under me.

In front of me was a hovering blue screen only I could see, the System screen.

[Cursed Energy (Shrine) Proficiency: 2.2%]

I had made quite aa lot of progress, and unlocking Dismantle by the entrance exams seemed very possible.

Dismantle unlocked at 20%, by the way.

I had also found out that I could coat certain of my body parts in Cursed Energy, making them stronger and harder, similar to mana hardening in this world.

Doing this makes it harder for sharp objects to pierce the part of my body I have coated, I tested it, stabbing myself with kitchen knives.

Anyhow, the knowledge from the original owner of this body is really helpful in understanding the internal workings of mana in this world.

In the game, the concept of mana was not very well outlined, it was basically "Use a spell," or "You ran out of mana!"

"Especially when you ran out of mana potions," I said, smiling, remembering the times I could peacefully play it with my friends.

However, there was nothing telling us about how the spells actually worked.

Everything in this world contains mana, even inanimate objects like trees.

This was quite interesting to me, since cursed energy was not on good terms with mana.

I once tried injecting Cursed Energy into a tree, and it exploded from the inside, even though it took a lot of it.

I wonder if I can do that with a human, watching someone pop like a balloon in real time might be fun.

I'm also curious whether their body will blast open as a whole, or if each of their body parts will blast open individually.

Sad thing is, it took a lot of Cursed Energy to blast the tree open, and it would take a lot more to blast open a human.

Maybe it will take less for a child though, since a child's body is much smaller, what about a baby then?

…

Cutting off that line of thinking, one thing I learned about mana is that every person needs to use some of it on a regular basis.

This is because everything they eat and drink contains mana, which increases the concentration of mana in their body.

Sometimes, this concentration can become too much and lead to damaging of the body.

Mostly, these are only minor cases like pain and headaches though.

But, if the mana concentration in a person is forcefully increased, it might lead to lethal consequences, like organ failure or death.

Good to know... hehe.

Thinking of this, I smiled a little, a little chuckle drowning in the silence of the forest.

Coating my right hand with Cursed Energy, which felt like a dark mass eager to be unleashed, pulsating with a foul feeling.

Looking at my arm, I smirked and said in a voice, so soft that it was barely a whisper.

"Dismantle by the entrance exams? Let's try it, shall we?"

Unknown to me, far away, there was a certain man, sitting atop trees, observing my every move.

"What's he doing?" The man muttered silently, his binoculars fixated on the figure of the boy sweating by just sitting on the ground.

He sighed, taking the binoculars away from his eyes. He rubbed his eyes with his fingers, very unwilling to do this.

"Why's the security so strong?" He muttered in exasperation.

He sighed again, seemingly done with all this. "Gotta get this over with," he said in a complaining voice, putting the binoculars back to his eyes.

"Just one chance," he muttered again, continuing to observe the boy sitting on the grass.

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The rewriting run begins :>