Part 9

All portals had been closed again. Ichibe had returned to Kamar-Taj. In his room, he sat down and entered meditation. His plan was simple. He knew about his power better than anyone.

So he wanted to fuse with his Zanpakuto and if his guess was correct, this should be quite simple. He was a special case. This had to be said once again.

His fusion with the Soul Stone was something that set him apart from the normal Shinigami. That and his origin too.

After a few hours, Ichibe managed to get into his soulscape. It was dark. Everywhere he looked he could see darkness.

This was logical for Ichibe as all the darkness in existence is his power and therefore that should also be how his soulscape looks like.

"You're here. Finally. I waited for so long to meet you this way."

Ichibe turned around and smiled. In front of him was an orange stone. It was not very big, only about the size of the real Soul Stone.

The stone was pulsating with excitement whenever it spoke. And from those waves, Ichibe felt warmth.

"Sorry that you had to wait so long. But in retrospect of things, 10 years is not that long for you right?"

"It's not just these 10 years. It's the millions and billions of years that this meeting took to take place. So, I got a bit restless."

"Fascinating. So my assumption turned out to be correct. You fused toge my Zanpakuto spirit."

"Exactly. I am your new soul spirit, I am your new Zanpakuto."

"And you are also me. We are the same."

"So you want to do it?"

"Yes"

What Ichibe and the Soul Stone/Ichimonji were talking about was nothing sexual you dirty-minded pervs.

They were talking about fusion. As they might have fused on a physical level and spiritual level, but they had not yet fused on the level of souls.

Shinigami could transcend and fuse with their Zanpakuto. Therefore gaining a better understanding and breaking limits that are set upon a Shinigami.

So, both of their 'souls', so to speak, we're going to fuse and truly become one. Never to be separated again, as they are no longer a fusion but a new being entirely.

The process was deeper and more complicated than words could describe.

Ichibe took a step forward and approached his Zanpakuto. He reached out his hand and took it in his hands.

At first, nothing happened. Then a very bright light shone from his hands and began to light up the soulscape. The darkness was not that happy about this and tried to attack it.

All the darkness that looked like ink clashed with the light that shone from the middle. Those were two properties that could not tolerate each other and despised each other.

But Ichibe knew that there is not one without the other. So he willed his powers to start fighting differently. From the frontal assault against each other to a different one.

They started to circle each other and the confrontations got less and less.

Their movement got faster and faster and more fluid. At one point Ichibe started to fuse them and make them coexist together in a constant and fluid motion.

And after what felt like years of fighting they finally gave each other their hands and settled for peace. They were in the end both Ichibe's powers and had to find common ground.

So the soulscape changed from a dark dimension to a place that was moving all the time. In one place there was more white and in another there was more black.

But both would meet in the middle to form Yin and Yang.

Ichibe opened his eyes. He looked around and saw that he was in the mirror dimension. In front of him sat the Ancient One. She was drinking tea and poured him a cup as well.

"Ichibe, you made quite the mess this time."

"What happened Ancient One?"

"Well, you started to emit massive amounts of energy during your meditation. It was pure life energy or spirit energy as you call it. That would have called very dangerous beings to our dimension, so I relocated you to the mirror dimension.

It was also to protect Kamar-Taj from the damage you were causing on our property."

"Is my room destroyed again?"

"Yes, you destroyed it again. This time you are going to fix it yourself. I told you to tell me when you're pulling such a stunt again."

"Hehe. I guess you did."

The Ancient One sighed deeply.

"What happened anyway? You told me that you were going to create a tool of sorts."

"That's true. I tried to create my Zanpakuto. That is a tool on which you can project your soul. So your soul manifests through the Zanpakuto.

I managed to do that luckily and even achieved to project my soul onto the Asauchi.

But then I wanted to try something else.

You see when you understand your Zanpakuto more and more and it tells you its true name, you will be able to get more proficient in using it.

That bond is something that has to be cared for. Now I am a bit of a special case, as I have fused with the Soul Stone. This led to it fusing with my Zanpakuto spirit.

So to truly fuse with it and my Zanpakuto, I went into my soulscape and fused all my powers. I have therefore transcended the normal means of Shinigami and reached a higher plane.

I am now no longer just Ichibe, I am a new person entirely."

"Fascinating. This Zanpakuto interests me greatly. So you created a weapon that grants you powers?"

"No. I had those powers before I created the Asauchi. An Asauchi becomes a Zanpakuto when I project my soul onto it. Otherwise, it's just a normal Katana."

"Would you be able to create this again?"

Ichibe thought about it. there were just too many threats in him giving others Zanpakuto's. Those were powers that he was not willing to just randomly give away.

Especially since he knew of a certain betrayal that was going to take place very soon.

"I'm not sure. You see creating an Asauchi needs souls. And that is not something that is that easy to get ethically. The souls I got had been collected carefully from those that did not deserve otherwise.

And even then, it is very hard to make. So before I don't find another way of doing it, then I won't do it again any time soon."

"I see. Yes, those are indeed concerns to consider."

The Ancient One was curious.

"I'm curious though. What can you do with your Zanpakuto?"

Ichibe smiled.

"Hehe, I thought you'd never ask."