⚜ NIGHT, 23RD JULY, 1990, HOUSE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE STAR ⚜
SONODA SHIGERU SMILED Sonoda Shigeru smiled conspiratorially at the assassin standing before him. "You're sure you'll be able to get close?"
"Of course," Kurasawa Ogami replied, her lips curling into a matching, sinister smile. "What do you take me for? Have I ever failed? All I need is the guarantee, Sonoda."
Shigeru leaned back in his chair, his smile widening as though savoring a private triumph. "Very well. Just out of curiosity, what do you plan to do, Kurasawa?"
Ogami's eyes narrowed slightly, a glint of dark amusement flickering there. "Are you sure you want to know? It might trouble your conscience."
Shigeru gave a low, humorless chuckle. "No action is too costly if it is done in the name of the Star."
Ogami's laugh was softer, but no less cold. "If you say so. I can't reveal everything, but let's just say that I have… connections. People with access to the noble families. People who can and will help." Her voice lowered, almost to a whisper. "As for how I'll fulfill my end of the bargain… well, no one ever suspects a child."
Shigeru nodded slowly, his face unreadable. "Alright, then. You'll have the 20% advance as agreed. The rest will follow when the task is complete."
Ogami rose gracefully, smoothing out the folds of her coat. "Then I'll take my leave to begin preparations. I trust this will be the first of many fruitful dealings between us."
Shigeru stood as well, escorting her to the door with a courteous nod. "I trust it will be," he replied, watching her disappear into the shadowy corridor beyond.
Once alone, Shigeru lingered by the door for a moment, lost in thought, before returning to his office. But rather than sit at his desk, he drifted toward the window, his gaze fixed on the night sky. The stars glittered coldly against the black expanse, distant and indifferent. A beautiful sight. A reminder.
The Star. His god. His object of worship.
His mind turned toward that ancient being, that revered deity of legend — killed, betrayed by that damned bloodline. A divine force that had once guided cursed sorcery to its pinnacle, only to be cut down by the ancestors of those who now dared to rule the magical world.
Blasphemy. Utter, unforgivable blasphemy.
The disciples of the Time Vessel Association knew the truth. They had always known. It was Master Tengen, the eternal guide of cursed sorcery, who should have led them to glory. Not the descendants of their god's murderers. Not those who basked in false praise while the faithful were cast into the shadows.
No, this world of lies could not be allowed to endure.
The Association lacked the power to strike directly — not yet. But chaos? Chaos was a weapon they could wield. If they could not restore their god's dominion, they would see the world burn instead, no matter the cost.
And the key to that chaos lay in a single girl.
Jasmine Potter. A child of cursed blood. The heir to a line that carried sin in its very veins. She represented everything the Association despised, and her death would be more than a mere assassination. It would be a sacrament. A holy offering. A sacrifice to the Star.
She might have carried her family's beauty and charm, but beneath that polished exterior, she was a living symbol of everything the Time Vessel Association despised. A descendant of those who dared to challenge the Star. Who dared to live after murdering their god.
Her very existence tainted the purity of sorcery. And yet, the world adored her. A Potter prodigy. A girl with everything at her fingertips, ignorant of the ancient sins that stained her family's past.
To Sonoda Shigeru, it all made perfect sense.
Jasmine Potter's death wasn't just necessary — it was inevitable, a divine reckoning long overdue. Her death would fracture the world's fragile balance, plunging sorcery into disarray with conflict. And in that chaos, the Association would find justice for their god.
Shigeru closed his eyes, imagining that glorious future. A world cleansed of blasphemers. A world where righteous vengeance was finally served. A world where the Time Vessel Association could rejoice in the death of their god's killer.
It was only a matter of time now.
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Meanwhile, calmly exiting the House of the Children of the Star, Kurasawa Ogami found her mind wandering to her task. It was a hit planned just like any other, only that the target in question basically owned the entire magical world.
She had assassinated a large number of people in her 40-year-long career — it would be no different this time. Sure, the world would probably fall into chaos, but Ogami wasn't in it for money, she was in this job for the pleasure of enacting suffering.
It was rather hard to imagine that she was only 9 when she got her first kill, but she would never forget the rush she felt as she watched her first victim, a bigshot business owner, begging for his life as the blood gushed out of his mangled potbelly.
The war had basically left the world in a violent chaotic state that had society cannibalizing itself, and it was in that time that Ogami thrived. Nowadays, the world felt too boring, too soft, too sterile.
There was no fire anymore. No edge, no spark, no rawness to life. Everything was smoothed over, wrapped in layers of false peace and empty politeness, like a polished blade dulled beyond recognition. It disgusted her.
Ogami remembered a time when things were different. When power didn't hide behind bureaucracy and masked civility. When dominance was earned through strength, cunning, and ruthlessness — not through shallow alliances and meaningless treaties.
She could still recall the rush of those days, in a world where power was earned through cunning, ruthlessness, and raw, undeniable force. Where alliances were forged in blood, not ink, and loyalty was built on fear and respect, not convenience.
Back then, the strong ruled and the weak feared them, as it was meant to be.
But times had changed. The old ways had been smothered beneath layers of false civility and political theater. Now, even the most powerful players in the magical world hid behind titles and treaties, whispering in backrooms instead of claiming what should rightfully be theirs. They had grown soft.
Ogami hadn't.
She had watched the world shift around her, watched as the cowards and schemers climbed to power, hiding their ambition beneath carefully polished façades. She had played along, adapting where she needed to, biding her time, waiting for the moment when the old ways could rise again.
Because they would rise again. She was certain of that.
All it would take was one spark. One well-timed strike to shatter the illusion of order and drag the world back into chaos. Back to the way things were meant to be. And if that strike came in the form of the Potter girl's death, so be it. A fitting catalyst, really.
Ogami's lips curved into a small, cold smile as she thought of Jasmine Potter. So young, so seemingly untouchable, surrounded by wealth, power, and all the protective spells money could buy. But even the most well-guarded empires had cracks in their foundations. All you had to do was find them — and she had spent her life finding cracks.
Soon, the girl would fall, and with her, the fragile balance that held the magical world together.
And when the dust settled, when the weak had been cast aside and the strong had reclaimed their rightful place at the top, Ogami would be there to watch it happen. To see the world remade in the image of the past she remembered so fondly.
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Author here. 🥸
So, yeah, I'm finally getting things going at a faster pace. I did my research, and Shigeru (the leader of that church-cult that ordered for Riko's death in JJK Zero) and Ogami (the sorcerer that reanimated Toji in Shibuya) should be in their late forties around this time, so, yeah. 🤷♂️
I kinda feel sorry for Jasmine, now, given how it seems that everyone wants to offer her up as some sacrifice to the gods of chaos or something. Why they gotta do my girl so dirty! 😭
Okay, I know I'm the one doing it because I'm writing, but can you blame me? It is a necessary sacrifice for your entertainment! 🥸
Hopefully you guys will like what I have planned, so please, enjoy. Also, don't forget to drop them stones and reviews! 😁👍
Anyway, that's all. Ciao! 👍