411 Spiritual Awakening and Reality Marble - A Multiverse Interdependency!
Kai's pupils trembled, but he said nothing and only gawked at the sight, his thoughts unknown.
The giant Koffing slammed itself into one RizeGreymon's copy, and the giant Golduck's enormous tail shone red and white before it slammed into the other black RizeGreymon Shadow Creature.
Dementor's black cloak fluttered, and with one sweep, it closed the gap between itself and Red Sun's copy. It pressed its mouth on the Shadow Creature's mouth and sucked.
The Shadow Creatures possessed no soul, but the over 100 ft Red Sun's copy shattered under the might of Dementor's Kiss.
-You are the Sword Spirit,- Kai's hisses came out as a mumble. -But Reality Marbles…-
-Keke! Do you remember what Shinobu had taught you?- the Sword Spirit hissed back.
Dementor-Kai's eyes shone under the dark hood. -A Demon Slayer's journey is to tap into one's Spiritual Body, awakening both Reiryoku (Spiritual Power) and Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure),- he remembered Shinobu's teachings, hissing out his words. -That's why Breathing Styles are necessary to become Demon Slayers. Not only do they allow the Physical Body to transcend the humane limits but also stimulate the Spiritual Body, allowing the Demon Slayers to sense its presence. This stimulation is paramount… for the birth of the Sword Spirit.-
The moment Kai finished his words, his pupils trembled as they had when the Insect Hashira had given out this lesson.
-When the Spiritual Body awakens inside the subconscious world of a Demon Slayer, also called the Inner World, the Sword Spirit takes form,- Kai continued, eying the world-shaking battle of colossal creatures. -This is called Spiritual Awakening.
-A Sword Spirit's power is separate from that of its owner. Some say that a Sword Spirit is… ever present in the Inner World in one form or another, even before the Spiritual Awakening. But this has never been confirmed…-
A demonic cackle cut Kai's hisses short.
-Keke! Have you realized, then?- the Sword Spirit hissed carelessly. -In normal circumstances, and with the rate you were mastering Selfless Breathing, you would have never sensed my presence. The "stimulation" had just never been enough.
-Yet, the moment you pushed your body beyond the discernible boundary of return, both your Reiryoku and Reiatsu got stimulated, "awakening" me. I have always been in this world, but I couldn't interact with the outside world; the Reality. The Spiritual Awakening lifted a kind of shackles over the Inner World, granting me vast powers. But… I still couldn't bring you here. Neither your Breath nor Mana was enough. Not to mention, it didn't seem you were going to live another moment.-
Kai fell into a rare moment of contemplation. He looked down and saw that his missing body had already regenerated.
-Sword Spirits can bring their wielders into the Inner World,- Kai hissed, his voice cold and distant. -I never got a Nichirin Sword (-Demon Slayer's color changing swords-) from Verse Fusion Random World. Nor did I have an Asauchi (-the nameless Zanpakutō which all low-class Shinigami wield-) from Bleach World.
-Both are necessary for the Sword Spirit to bring me into the Inner World as per these two worlds. I am not Ichigo, the main character, who didn't need these initiator swords because of the hybrid presence of Shinigami, Quincy, and Hollow inside him. But…-
The Sword Spirit broke out in a feat of mocking cackle as Kai reached the end. However, this laugh was only for Kai, others weren't worthy to hear it.
-But…- the yellow-haired being hissed vilely, -… you are a Contestant. You aren't restricted by the laws of a Timeline. Your Stats assist you as much as they hold you back. This is the power of the Primordial Tower. The concept of the Inner Worlds… is vast enough to surpass Timelines, and it is spread across the Multiverse. I couldn't pull you in, true enough. So, I did the next best thing.-
BOOM!
Golduck's tail shattered the head of a Shadow Creature, and Kai hissed -You brought yourself out…-
-Keke! Reality Marbles are nothing but a projection of Inner Worlds onto Reality,- the Sword Spirit told Kai, repeating what Item-M had taught him, once. -Following the World Egg theory, the actualization of a Reality Marble results from switching the Self of the user with the Real World while keeping the same boundary. The size of the Self and the World is switched, enclosing the World in a small container, called Word Egg, while the Self is expanded.-
Kai's eyes narrowed, and once again, he looked over his shoulder, giving the hole in the sky a fleeting look. -This…- he mumbled back, -… shouldn't have been enough.-
-True,- the black being without a mouth hissed. -Three things made it possible for me to cast this beautiful but grand spell. First, I needed a significant amount of power. You couldn't have given it to me, anyway. Yet, the Spiritual Awakening bestowed an even greater strength, and this strength was independent of you and your Stats. This also means I can never cast a Reality Marble from my side ever again. This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of chance.-
How could mere Spiritual Awakening grants such vast power to the Sword Spirit? Kai asked the question to himself inwardly. It was especially so when he could see that this power had already crossed the discernible boundary of 3rd Set, even scaring Shadow Lord away from them.
'What just happened?' Kai's heartbeat quickened. 'What did the Sword Spirit do?'
-Second,- the Sword Spirit continued, -your stimulation had originated from Selfless Breathing. The discarding of Self made it easier for me to project your true Self onto Reality. This Reality Marble seemed to have no sense of your Self because you were using the Selfless Breathing Style. It is abstruse, but you can say that if your Breathing Style had been anything other than that of Selfless, then this casting of Reality Marble would have failed.-
Kai knew what was to follow. -Third,- he hissed, adding his own brilliance to the Sword Spirit. -The third thing was: Facelessness Second Contrast — the Quintessential Conversion of Inner Selves!-
A sound entered Kai's ears as if the Sword Spirit had licked its lips, an image of a long, snake-like tongue manifesting in his mind.
-Keke! The World constantly attempts to crush the Reality Marbles,- the Sword Spirit hissed, chuckling. -The moment I projected your Self onto Reality, I forced the Reality Marble to discard its Self once again. Otherwise, even with the powers granted by Spiritual Awakening, it wouldn't have been possible to maintain the Reality Marble for so long. It's ironic, right? The Primordial Tower allowed us to cast such vast magic, however, none of the three things that made it possible belong to the Systems.-
By now, Kai had calmed down, the anxiety in his heart vanishing bit by bit. He could see Cersei's transformation had stopped a long time ago. This, too, added to his calmness.
-You were listening,- Kai hissed, looking to his left, into the eyes of the eyeless being. -You have always been listening.-
-Keke! I quite like that girl, Cersei,- the Sword Spirit cackled. It took a step forward, almost stepping off the pillar's edge, and outstretched its long hands. -I know you are wondering why the Spiritual Awakening generated such absurd amount of Power, right? I also know you must have guessed the answer by now.
-So, what do you think of it? What do you think of the Power that you had thought you would never obtain? Not for a long time. What do you think of this Multiverse Interdependency… an Interdependency between Mana and Breath, the Primordial Laws! Kekekekekeke!!!-
Indeed, only such an illogical and almost impossible conjoining of laws, and too primordials, could have given birth to such power. But what was the extent of this power? No matter how shocked, Kai couldn't help but thought of this question.
As Kai looked at the swaying yellow hair of the Sword Spirit, and heard the ever-growing demonic cackle, Item-M's words rang in his mind inadvertently.
'Each Shinigami carries a Zanpakuto, and each Zanpakuto is unique,' the fallen Priestess of Hastur had told him. 'The Zanpakuto, or the Sword Spirit, are reflections of its wielder's power and soul, and sentient beings unto themselves. These beings can vary in appearance, and have distinct personalities, which are similar to their owners. Similar to their owner's… Similar to their owner's…'
It was then the Sword Spirit turned around, its demonic laugh vanishing. Still, when it hissed, there was a murderous vileness about it that refused to go away.
It was like a bloody taste that lingered in the mouth, after devouring a creature alive.
-You asked for my identity, my name,- the faceless being hissed. -Are you worthy?! So what if you are Kai Stormborn? So what if you are a genius? Are you worthy enough to wield me and slaughter your way up? ARE YOU?!-
Bang!
A tremendous bang rang in Kai's mind, and blood seeped out of the corners of his mouth. He staggered back, almost falling off the pillar.
-I have linked the concepts of the Spiritual Awakening from VF World and Bleach Random World with the Reality Marbles from the Fate Random World,- the Sword Spirit hissed, its voice like the edge of a sword, -This means, unless you have the power to cast a Reality Marble by yourself, you won't be able to come here. This is your opportunity, Kai Stormborn. And perhaps the last as well. If you can know my name, then my power will belong to you. I will help you in your obsession with obtaining Power. Otherwise… Keke!-
Kai said nothing, his bloodshot eyes under the sinister hood asking all the questions for him, showing his resolve.
The mouthless Sword Spirit seemed to sneer at this sight. -This Reality Marble is your Inner World,- it said, its hisses gaining an ancient air. -The Inner World is your Self. This Reality Marble is me as well. I will give you an opportunity to comprehend the true essence of this Reality Marble, Kai Stormborn. One opportunity. If you can understand it, learning my name, right here and now before the time runs out for us, then it will be your serendipity.
-If not, then not only you will lose the Book, but you will also lose your claim over my assistance. Dare you accept it? Dare you face this difficulty of my standards; our standards? Or… would you prefer running away as you had before, leaving your mother's corpse at the mercy of Brock Valeheart? Keke!-
Anger… pure wrath boiled inside Kai's heart, shaking his entire body. The end of his long, white hair under the cloak glowed yellow, his eyes burning, his breath quickening like that of a predator in heat.
Comprehensions, by nature, were spontaneous. None could force them upon oneself.
This wasn't just "difficult", anymore, for even difficulties gave the impression of success. Not of absolute failure.
The Sword Spirit didn't even look at Kai. It had put its hands behind its back, eying the distant horizon beyond the puny existences as if it had done so for countless ages. There was an extremely archaic presence about the Sword Spirit's stance that felt like billions of beings were prostrating under it, looking up at it with reverence.
Kai shut his eyes, and then snapped them open. With a trembling step, he approached the Sword Spirit, and stopped to its right, his back tall. He drew a sharp breath and looked at the sky.
The sky of his home.
-Only fools think running away from difficulties brings happiness,- Kai hissed, his gaze burning with desire. -No. This shit follows you everywhere you go. Like a fucking shadow. Letting yourself fall into the darkness of self-pity is a solution. A weak, temporary solution. But if you want to grow, ascending toward the Peak of Absolute Power, then there is only one way.
-Face the difficulty, no matter its size and nature, and crush it. Rip it from the roots and burn it to ashes. Only take the next step when you have made sure that not even the faintest shadow has been left alive behind you. This is… my Demonic Attitude. Hehe!-
Kai's tongue slithered out and ran over his decayed mouth.
-I will take on this opportunity. Otherwise…- Kai hissed, completing the sentence which the Sword Spirit had left unsaid. -… Otherwise, ashes to ashes and dust to dust!-
The yellow-haired being gave Kai a look before lifting its right hand and pointing upward.
It was then that the Blood World stirred.
It was then the sky changed color.
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ANNOUNCEMENT:
1. The next 7 chapters are 1 long chapter. Forming Interdependencies is not easy, and what this chapter covered is not even the tip of the iceberg. Belive me. I have tried my best to convery my understandings, and lay a very deep foundation for Kai's future progression, in 5 of the next 7 chapters (as 2 of these 7 chapters are pure carnage). As such, the content of these chapters might (or most probably) will confuse a few readers. It is especially so if you are not referring the images I am posting on Discord. So, it is highly recommended to read these chapters in one go, and not succumb to ask anything in the comments, unless you've read them all, for I will not reply.
2. On Patre0n, I had posted a Bonus Chapter after the 7th chapter, summarizing the powers gained, and limitations, by Kai in this period. It's a full length chapter (with points and images), and has comments by Patrons that also clear many doubts. After publishing the 7th chapter on WN, I will post a link of that Patre0n's post on Discord. All members with Readers role would be able to access it "for a limited period of time". This bonus post should clear almost all doubts by itself, for it is a very thorough summarization.
3. In light of this, and after putting so much effort in helping the core readers, I hope you will be understanding if I don't entertain the troll comments on these chapters, asking me to prove myself as if I owe them something. Since the 1st chapter of my novel I have been saying, it's not a children book. You will not get an answer immediately, as the fanfic will make you think of a possibilty by yourself. But you will get an answer eventually.
Note: All these chapters are now available on Patre0n's lowest tier. If you want to support the novel, and have a better experience, then do consider becoming a Patron. Thank you.
Good Luck.
