The temple bells had long since stopped ringing.
Sunlight now filled most of the small room, warming the wooden floorboards and the thin walls around Sora's futon.
He sat cross-legged near the window.
The bandages around his side felt tight, but the pain had dulled enough for him to think clearly.
His palm hovered above his knee.
Cursed energy gathered again.
Weak at first.
Then slightly steadier.
Sora closed his eyes.
Multiplying the negative energy among each other.
He tried to recall the exact sensation from the night before and the experimentations he had ran. Not the desperation, not the pain—but the flow.
The moment when cursed energy had collapsed inward and flipped into something warmer.
Something alive.
His breathing slowed.
The cursed energy circulating through his body thickened slightly.
Then—
A faint warmth flickered along his ribs.
Sora's eyes opened.
"…There."
It was subtle.
Barely noticeable.
But the sensation was different from normal cursed energy.
Instead of the cold heaviness of negative energy, this felt… gentle.
Like heat from sunlight after a cold night.
The warmth spread slowly along the area beneath his bandages.
Sora frowned in concentration.
He carefully guided the energy through his body.
Not forcing it.
Just circulating it.
For a moment, the sensation faded.
Then it returned again.
Weak.
But real.
The damaged muscle around his ribs tingled faintly.
The pain dulled slightly.
"So it works like this."
It wasn't full Reverse Cursed Technique.
Not like the explosive burst that had saved him during the fight.
This was slower.
Controlled.
More like guiding a small flame rather than igniting a fire.
Still…
It was healing.
Very slowly.
But healing.
Sora leaned back against the wall and exhaled.
"Guess that's progress."
It took nearly an hour.
Careful circulation.
Slow breathing.
And constant concentration.
By the end of it, the deep ache in his ribs had eased noticeably.
Not completely healed.
But better.
Enough that he could move without grimacing every few seconds.
Sora stood up.
The bandages tugged slightly as he stretched.
"…Yeah."
Definitely better.
Which meant there was no reason to stay inside anymore.
He slid the door open and stepped into the hallway.
The temple courtyard was already active.
Leaves rustled in the morning breeze. The sound of a broom sweeping stone echoed faintly across the yard.
The caretaker stood near the well, sweeping fallen leaves into a small pile.
The old woman, Miss Kasumi, immediately noticed him.
Her eyes narrowed.
"You should still be resting."
Sora rubbed the back of his neck.
"I already rested."
"Half a morning is not resting."
"I feel fine."
The caretaker walked closer, inspecting him carefully.
Her sharp gaze lingered on the bandages.
"You don't look fine."
Sora shrugged.
"I'm fine enough."
He started toward the gate leading out of the temple courtyard.
The Miss Kasumi's voice stopped him instantly.
"You're not going outside."
Sora turned slowly.
"…What?"
"You heard me."
She leaned slightly on the broom.
"Those injuries didn't come from 'falling during training.'"
Sora froze.
"…You said you believed me."
"I said I cleaned your wounds."
Her eyes narrowed further.
"That doesn't mean I believed your excuse."
Sora scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"…Right."
The caretaker pointed toward the room he had just left.
"You will stay inside today."
Sora frowned.
"I can't train inside."
"You shouldn't be training at all."
"I'm already healing."
"That's not the point."
"Yes it is."
The argument continued for several minutes.
Sora tried logic.
Then persuasion.
Then mild complaining.
Then puppy eyes.
None of it worked.
The caretaker remained unmoved.
Finally she sighed and pointed toward a small wooden building in the far corner of the courtyard.
"Fine."
Sora blinked.
"…Fine?"
"You can train there."
He followed her gaze.
The old storage shed.
Barely used.
Mostly filled with old tools and broken furniture.
"Inside the temple grounds," she continued firmly.
"You are not leaving the gate today. Who knows what kind of injuries you will bring back."
Sora stared at the shed.
Then at the closed gate.
Then back at the shed again.
"…That's basically a prison."
The caretaker resumed sweeping.
"You're welcome."
Sora sighed heavily.
"…Fine."
A few minutes later, he stood inside the small storage room.
Dust floated in thin beams of light cutting through the wooden slats.
Old boxes and unused tools were stacked against the walls.
It was cramped.
Quiet.
And far enough from the main courtyard that nobody would be disturbed.
Sora rolled his shoulders slowly.
"Guess this works."
He stepped into the center of the room.
Cursed energy stirred around his body again.
This time he focused on his technique.
Liquid metal.
A thin ripple spread across his palm.
The familiar silver sheen appeared almost instantly.
That part was easy.
Now came the difficult part.
Reversal.
Sora closed his eyes again.
If cursed energy reversal created positive energy…
Then theoretically, his technique could be reversed too.
Instead of manipulating liquid metal through negative cursed energy…
It should be possible to produce the opposite effect.
At least in theory.
He concentrated.
The liquid metal gathered over his hand again.
Shimmering.
Shifting.
Now—
He forced the cursed energy flow to invert.
For a split second—
The metal warped violently.
Then—
CRACK.
The entire construct shattered.
Liquid droplets scattered across the floor before dissolving into nothing.
Sora stared at his empty hand.
"…Again."
The metal formed again.
He repeated the process.
Concentrate.
Invert.
Stabilize—
CRACK.
The metal burst apart again.
"…Again."
Third attempt.
The result was even worse.
The metal destabilized instantly and collapsed before the reversal could even begin.
Sora exhaled slowly.
"Great."
He leaned against the wall for a moment.
Reversing cursed energy alone was already insanely difficult.
Trying to reverse an entire cursed technique on top of that…
That was on another level entirely.
Still—
He raised his hand again.
Liquid metal flowed across his knuckles.
"Fourth attempt."
The energy inverted.
The metal trembled violently—
Then shattered again.
Fragments splashed across the wooden floor.
Sora stared at the mess silently.
Then sighed.
"…Alright."
He rolled his neck slightly.
"Maybe a hundred more tries."
Outside, the quiet temple courtyard remained peaceful.
Inside the dusty storage room—
Sora continued training.
And every single time—
The liquid metal shattered.