Dark Golds

Hel-fire. Arishem pressed two fingers together. The green flame snuffed out instantly, collapsing into nothing. His vast voice rolled across the void once more. "You have not lied." "The aura of Helheim. Unmistakable." "Asgard must provide an explanation." The words settled. Then Arishem's colossal

The Senkaimon opened silently in the nighttime outskirts of Karakura Town. Reishi light poured through the seam, casting a faint blue glow across the wild grass. No wind tonight. The blades of grass were perfectly still. Only the faintest hum of reishi from inside the gate spread through the silence

Shinji Hirako walked out of the restaurant he'd been going to for years, hands tucked inside his sleeves, shoulder-length blond hair catching the faint afternoon light of the World of the Living. He stood at the entrance, looking down at the owner's apologetic face, making absolutely sure he hadn't

Emiri's Bankai — Zaiga Kyōsai. Its ability: for a quarter of an hour after activation, Emiri himself was drawn into Enbatsu's covenant system. He could make a vow to himself, trading a price for an equivalent rule-bound power. The core factors of the price were Reiatsu and the fulfillment of the pro

Ulquiorra raised his right hand. A Bala shot from his fingertip, its dark red orb of Reishi cutting a straight line through the gloom of the Dangai. Emiri Tsunayashiro flicked his folding fan open. Bakudō #39: Enkōsen unfurled before him, and the Bala slammed into the translucent curved shield. The

Seijūrō gripped Baraggan's wrist, Reiatsu still pouring outward without pause. The black cube of the Caja Negación shuddered violently under that pressure. Cracks spread across its surface, multiplying, densening, until the structure let out a groan of collapse and tore apart from the inside like a

After releasing seven or eight Kidō spells in succession, Seijūrō lowered his outstretched fingers. She was already struggling. He had used nothing but the most basic Hadō, firing them one by one at a standard pace, testing the limits of her defense. She hadn't deflected a single attack. Start to fi

Her name was Kano Aoi. She was born and raised in Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture, in a house on a hillside where you could see the Kumano Mountains in the distance. The village was small. Walking from one end to the other took no longer than smoking a pipe. At the village entrance stood an old cam

The Espada had been summoned for one reason: to await the return of Ulquiorra Cifer and Yammy Llargo from the World of the Living and hear their report. That was the intelligence Szayelaporro had passed to Seijūrō. Beneath his mask, he frowned. The 4th Espada and the 10th. Aizen had sent both of the

"The Annunciation. What is that?" Seijūrō leaned back into the sofa, one finger tapping lightly against his knee. Szayelaporro set down his teacup and interlaced his fingers at his chest, delivering each word like a curator presenting a prized piece from his personal collection. "The Annunciation, d

Seijūrō stood on the quartzite rock, surrounded by hundreds of Pícaro who had all spread their wings at once. Guerreros Alados. Their transparent wings beat at high speed, a dense, fine-grained hum rolling through the entire subterranean forest until the air itself trembled. After their Resurrección

Chapter 61: When Knowing Aizen Brings Bewilderment The Garganta sealed itself shut beneath the night sky of the Human World, its last faint wisp of eerie blue Reishi dissolving into the neon-lit shadows of Karakura Town. The Hollow Lilynette Gingerbuck had beaten black and blue had just delivered th

When Soi Fon woke up, the first thing she saw was the ceiling of the Squad Two barracks. Those familiar beams. Afternoon sunlight filtering through the paper doors. The shadow of the old pine in the courtyard swaying against the shōji screen. She could have walked every inch of it with her eyes clos

"You don't know anything." "You don't even know what his Zanpakutō looks like. You don't even know its name. You came here to fish for information and nothing else." Purplish-red Reiatsu erupted from within him like a waterfall, spreading fast across the desert floor in every direction. Where it pas

At the edge of the quartz deadwood forest, moonlight fell across Lilynette's sand-covered calves. She sat beside Starrk with her legs stretched out and ankles crossed, digging quartz sand from the seams of her shoes and flicking the grains forward one by one. Starrk leaned against the same stone pil

Ulquiorra Cifer. Seijūrō turned the name over silently in his mind. Capable of speech. A full name. A clear sense of self. He had spent decades investigating modified Hollow experiments, had combed through every Soul Society expedition file on Hueco Mundo, and not a single record had ever mentioned

[Volume 3: Sōkyoku Arc] Chapter 51: Passing a Message The eternal night of Hueco Mundo knew no end. A cold moon hung dead center in the sky, turning the white desert into a borderless expanse of silver-gray salt flats. Quartz sand crunched softly underfoot with every step, each footprint faint and q

At the Senkaimon in the southeastern corner of the Seireitei, Seijūrō ran through his equipment one last time. The reishi converter was already docked above the gate frame, humming low and steady. Kidō runes drifted slowly across the stone arch. He tucked the portable reishi analyzer into his sleeve

Seijūrō sat in his office with three sets of documents spread before him. The first was the Reishi circuit analysis data he had brought back from Hueco Mundo. White quartz sand still clung to the corners of the pages, and when he turned them, fine grains rustled down from between the sheets. The sec

The noren curtain of Nanamagari swayed gently in the night breeze. The old woman set out the sake and tea, then returned behind the stove. The sound of her knife was steady and monotonous. Seijūrō sat in his usual spot at the corner of the bar, back to the wall, facing the door. The Grand Kidō Comma

Rukia tucked her textbook under her arm and bounded down the stone steps in front of the teaching building two at a time. She was in a good mood today. In the morning's Kidō practical class, she had successfully released Red Fire Cannon with incantation abandonment for the very first time. The power

Morning light flooded the training grounds of the Kuchiki manor. The pale gray earth was pocked with dense clusters of small dents from wooden clogs, and the crisp crack of two practice swords rang out across the courtyard. Seijūrō gripped his wooden sword with both hands, shifting his footing rapid

Isshin Shiba's face was plastered with white medicated patches from forehead to jaw. The graze Byakurai had left on his left cheekbone still throbbed with faint heat, bandages wrapped his right shoulder, and ointment seeped past the edges where the wrapping disappeared beneath his shihakushō collar.

Byakuya Kuchiki drew Senbonzakura beneath the moonlight. He did not release his Shikai — after studying under Seijūrō, he had realized his Senbonzakura was ill-suited for countering Kidō. The blade slid from its scabbard with a crisp, cold ring, like a sheet of thin ice dropping onto gravel. He said

In an abandoned outpost in the East District of Rukongai, Seijūrō finished reading through the past few days' patrol logs, shut the notebook, and leaned against the ruined wall with his eyes closed. The chill of the rubble seeped through his plain clothes and into his shoulder blades. He had been si

6 days until Central 46's trial of Seijūrō Kidōin. Morning light crept over the walls of the Kidō Corps compound and fell across the stone path below. Seijūrō stepped out of his office with the Vice Kidō Commander's armband on his sleeve and the last barrier inspection report from the previous night

The corridors of the Twelfth Division barracks reeked of disinfectant and machine lubricant. It had been a while since Seijūrō last visited. The Technological Development Bureau hadn't changed much from what he remembered, sensor probes embedded in the walls, half-finished spirit tool components pil

This is my first time writing a novel. When I was dividing it into volumes, I miscategorized a chapter, and when I tried to delete it, I found out that contracted works on Fanqie Novel can't be deleted. So here we are. Might as well chat. I was born in 2000, and I'm currently an orthopedic surgeon.

Over several days of exploratory training, Seijūrō had formed a clear picture of Byakuya Kuchiki's foundation. His swordsmanship had been personally taught by Ginrei Kuchiki, the base was rock solid. His Shunpo had come from pointers by Yoruichi Shihōin, and among his peers he had virtually no rival

The Reishi crystals deep in the cave still cast their faint blue glow. Seijūrō leaned against the rock wall, his Shihakushō draped loosely over his shoulders, collar hanging open to expose several red scratch marks on his chest that hadn't quite faded. Yoruichi lay against him, her long purple hair

The Human World. Underground, beneath the Urahara Shop. The lighting was dim, casting a pale glow over several intelligence scrolls spread open on the wooden table. Kisuke Urahara sat cross-legged on the floor, his light blonde hair catching the lamplight in a soft gleam, his army-green eyes scannin

Pale morning light seeped through the gap of the laboratory's iron door, falling onto the flagstone floor in a narrow strip. Kisuke Urahara rubbed his aching eyes and stood up from the lab bench. A few tufts of his short pale-yellow hair stuck up where they'd been pressed flat, and his army-green ey

In the Squad Twelve Captain's office, Kisuke Urahara sat with the Reishi residue data report in hand. His army-green eyes moved slowly across the pages, start to finish, then finish to start, as if confirming something he already suspected. Then he set it down and tapped a finger lightly on the desk

Seijūrō stood at the lecture podium, a stub of chalk between his fingers. The blackboard held a Kidō schematic, the Reiatsu flow path of Hadō #20, Shining Sphere, mapped out in three layers of colored chalk: the condensation point of the light core, the curvature of the dispersion ring, and the oute

In the courtyard of Shin'ō Academy, white petals had begun to drift again. Seijūrō had stood in this classroom for too many years. Long enough that he could read which stage of spring had arrived just from how thick the petals fell. A thin layer of chalk dust had settled on the lectern. The Kidō str

The Onmitsukidō training grounds were quietest at dusk. The pine forest cut the setting sun into fragments. The gravel gleamed grayish-white underfoot. Seijūrō had just finished a set of Shunpo; he was on his knees in the gravel, sweat dripping from his jaw, soaking into the cracks between the stone

When Seijūrō walked back from the Academy Back Mountain Training Ground, the sky had already gone fully dark. The pine-needle-covered path had become a faint gray-white ribbon in the dusk. He had walked it countless times and could follow it without a misstep even with his eyes shut. A wide patch of

The Squad 12 Department of Research and Development laboratory sat in the northwest corner of the Seireitei. The entire Squad 12 barracks had always felt different from any other division. Corridors stacked with half-finished spirit tool components. Walls bristling with monitoring probes and cables.

The sentry Hollow's shriek still echoed through the pipes. Inside the reservoir, the three shell Hollows had fully awakened. All six eyes locked onto the intruders at once. Seijūrō's mind kicked into overdrive. Their retreat was sealed. The Denreishinki was jammed. Nobody outside knew what was happe

Six years. Seijūrō occasionally wondered what six years meant to a soul in Soul Society. The residents of Rukongai didn't age, and the faces of Shinigami changed only at an imperceptibly slow pace. Time here wasn't measured in aging. It left its mark in other ways, transfers between squads, promotio

Lucas instinctively closed off his mind and turned his full attention to reading the emotional ripples coming through. Snape was shouting at him: "You have that much faith in me — believing I could fight off a whole room of wizards, all just to rescue a reckless little brat like you!" And yet he had

His consciousness snapped back. Lin Feng's eyes flew open and he jerked upright from the bed. Darkness all around, but the air was thick with stench, like damp, rotting flesh tossed into a dehydrator. He barely registered the thought of opening the door before his hand was already on the knob. Lin F

Typing felt too slow. Yang Luoluo just called. It took a while before anyone picked up, and she figured they had probably made up some excuse to slip away from Peter Parker. "Hello..." Harry's voice came through hushed and small. In the background, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were still chatter

Leon leaned back against the wide leather sofa, legs crossed. Three women knelt on the carpet. The atmosphere was intimate and tense at the same time, like a wire pulled just short of snapping. Amber bit her red lip and made the first move. She extended two slender fingers, pinched the strap of her

"Long time no see, Lady Frieren." "Yes. Long time no see, Racine." "A full two hundred years have passed since you helped our clan deal with the magic dragon." "Has it?" Frieren gave a slight nod. She hadn't felt the time pass at all. "I thought I'd never meet you again in this lifetime. Yet here yo

Ever since that conversation about how "a Shinigami's battle is a battle of Reiatsu," Sōsuke Aizen started coming to Seijūrō's office more often. Not every day. Not always with a clear question. Sometimes he just stayed after class to help tidy up, making small talk while he stacked papers. Sometime

With the packing done, the two set out. In truth, there hadn't been much to pack. The white-haired elf had fit all her daily necessities into a single small case. Banxia pulled out the bone dagger dropped by the Great Demon Geist, scraped the feathers clean from the scattered chunks of shadow chicke

The second time Sōsuke Aizen stayed after class was a week later. That day, Seijūrō taught the fundamental structure of Bakudō. He drew a diagram on the blackboard showing how Reiatsu flowed through a binding technique, arrows tracing the path from the point of release to the target, marking the key

Lin Feng's scalp prickled for a split second before he snapped back to his senses. Flustered and furious, he kicked the walker on the ground and swore, "Fuck!" What was there to panic about?! These things hadn't gained intelligence. They'd just retained some instinctive behaviors from before the apo

The convoy rolled into the Industrial District. This was the Saviors' main base, the Sanctuary. A survivor settlement sealed tight by barbed wire and abandoned shipping containers. Once, this place had been Negan's absolute domain. Here, he had ruled like a warlord, holding the power of life and dea