Age 12(Part-1)

After 5 years.

Somewhere in Tokyo. 

In a renowned middle school.

The final bell rang and the dispersal started. 

After a while, many children had gone to their home or cram schools.

And the teachers had gone to their homes. 

Some teachers remained to finish their pending work in the staff room on the first floor. 

Some students remained in the school for various reasons. 

The sun shone brightly, spreading a yellowish and orange veil over the sky. 

All the cleaned, marble floors of the building gleamed as the light rays fell over them through the clean windows. 

This school was normal. It was a school which suited the already discovered and normal side of the world.

However, if one would get the ability to see the other side of the world. They would see in that school something out-of-place, something bone-chilling, something eerie.

In the end of the deserted corridor of the third floor, a shadow loomed over a wall. 

If one would be present there, they wouldn't be able to find just who that big, flickering shadow belonged to. 

That shadow waved like an ominous black flame on the surface of the wall. 

Just at the opposite of the end of the corridor, a student stood. His uniform was an average school uniform. His shirt was properly tucked in and his clothes were worn finely, just like a gentleman.

His skin had a dark tan tone. 

And most of all, his eyes were like the sun.

He stood there as a child filled to the brim with unswaying confidence.

He was only 12 years old. 

He started walking towards the end of the corridor. 

With each step, his speed increased. 

It looked like he was going to intercept an enemy in a coming battle. 

After many such steps, his speed increased to a point where he could be seen running. 

He had already crossed half of the corridor. 

The flame-like shadow that was flickering on the wall, crept into the floor and vanished. 

Actually, it didn't vanish. It just moved towards the running boy at such a fast speed, that it looked like it disappeared. 

The shadow reached near the running boy in an instant. The boy's eyes widened, looking down at the shadow. 

The shadow 'raised' itself up. The black mass literally upped itself up in the air between the white ceiling and the floor. The huge, disturbing black, space-occupying mass, that was shadowing the boy, turned itself into a deformed monster. 

Sharp purple and black fur growed out of its body. Countless numbers of eyes that seemed to bawl out formed on its unnaturally shaped, big face. Two muscular arms formed from its body with large, gleaming sharp claws grown at its fingertips. Two sharp canine teeths grew downwards from the edges of its mouth.

This… was a cursed spirit. 

As the body of the curse occupied space, the boy's eyes which were widened with shock suddenly took a calm and calculative tone. His eyes followed till the head of the monster from the floor. 

And the monster brought its right hand with claws growing from it, gleaming in the sunlight, down at the boy in an attempt to kill him. 

Why did the curse decide to kill the harmless-looking boy?

The truth is that every being on Earth has something called survival instincts engraved in them since birth.

When they find themselves in a dangerous situation, their survival instincts activate, which tell them what to do next in order to save their skin. 

Humans are such creatures. And the cursed spirits are such creatures, too. 

And that black massed curse was no exception.

As it sensed the presence of the little boy, its very being shook. Indescribable fear crept like a snake in the very core of its being. Its still-developing mind was sent into a state of frenzy, caution booming all around in its body.

Why did the cursed spirit experience this?

Simple. Its survival instincts rattled and went to extremes. 

Why did its survival instincts go to such extremes?

It went to such extremes as when the creature was squirming through the walls of the school, the place of its birth, an overwhelming presence bore down on it. 

~~~

The boy noticed the creature's presence way before it did his presence. He waited for the students to clear the school and went to the third floor where the curse was. 

The boy was concealing his presence, his cursed energy. And as the boy faced the spirit, he stopped concealing, and cloaked his body in cursed energy. 

As he did that, a seemingly infinite and dangerous amount of cursed energy came into the picture, emanating from the boy. 

Even though the remaining students, teachers and workers in the school couldn't perceive curses, they still felt a bone-chilling shiver reverberate through their spine.

Anyways, the curse felt danger to its own life for the first time.

Since its illogical birth, the curse was growing strong in the school as it fed on the negative emotions swirling and emanating from the students, teachers and workers. 

It 'felt' itself growing strong.

A foolish misconception found its way into its mind which suggested that it is strong… stronger than any other creature in the world.

Normally, when the survival instincts of a creature activate, it runs.

However, when the survival instincts of the cursed spirit activated, its misconception led to an even more warped conclusion: that it could save its own skin by removing the 'abnormality' which threatened its life, using its unparalleled strength. 

This was a mistake on its part and it always will, as in the next instant, it will vanish from the hidden side of the world.