Chapter 9: In-Coffin

A massive waving mass of water stretched as far as the eye could see. Above that massive, endlessly stretching water, Luo found himself floating. Although he was greatly surprised, he managed to stay reasonably calm.

"What just happened? I remember hearing Urahara muttering something... And now I am here... Wait, is this my knowledge sea? "

He was puzzled as he was unable to remember how he got there. Usually, he could only enter his knowledge sea when he concentrated and focused enough; however, this time was different. He was sure that it was not out of his own free will.

Suddenly, his line of thought was interrupted; he heard a strange, loud laugh. It was manacing, and as it echoed through the entire area, the blue water underneath Luo changed into a greyer shade. It was an event that he had not expected and had never experienced.

He quickly looked around to see what could have happened; however, it was no use; no matter how he looked around, he wasn't able to find anything or anyone.

As the laughter grew louder and louder, Luo clenched his fist. He was certain that something was off, and he was not alone. However, he was unable to feel anything in the vicinity.

He closed his eyes to enhance his focus, and at that moment, the water calmed down, and the laughter vanished. Everything grew quiet, too quiet for Luo. He knew that if something was going to happen, then that would happen soon.

How correct he was. Suddenly, a white hand emerged from the grey water without making a single sound, grabbed Luo's leg, and slammed him into the water with great power.

Despite what he believed would happen, the water seemed to have grown denser, and he was unable to sink. He felt as if he had hit solid ground. As he was slammed into the water, it sent waves across its surface, almost as if it was more than a jelly than water or solid.

Luo quickly jumped back up, standing on the surface of the hard water and glared right into the eye of a being who now stood on top of the water just like him. Luo was speechless; the individual standing before him was someone he could very well recognise, and it scared him greatly.

The man standing in front of him was the exact replica of him; however, he was white, inhumanly white, almost as if he had been painted white. The clone was grinning from ear to ear.

"Fancy meeting you finally, Luo! I have been waiting for this moment for quite some time!"

Luo didn't reply; instead, he first assessed the situation. Previously, he was unable to detect the white clone of himself, but now that he had shown himself, he felt his presence. Though he looked exactly like him, he couldn't help but have a feeling that he had only felt once before; however, he couldn't quite put his finger on that.

Luo once again clenched his fists and was ready to engage at any given moment. He slowly stepped closer as he glared into the man's eyes and then finally spoke up.

"Who the hell are you? And what are you doing here?"

"Straight to the point, ey? I am here to take control!"

The man laughed and dashed straight at Luo. Thanks to his high level of experience, he dodged the man's incoming fist and even delivered a quick jab to his side. Though the man fell, he quickly jumped up as if nothing had happened and, with ever greater speed, kicked Luo in the chest.

He managed to block the kick with his hands, but still, he slid back a few meters.

"Not bad, Luo, I will enjoy this!"

The man declared with loud laughter, and then the two of them kicked off simultaneously. The two engaged in a seemingly endless fight, as whenever one managed to land a hit, the other instantly countered and landed a hit.

They were perfectly equal in terms of raw power and speed, and as the two of them dashed around, Luo drew a blueish line behind him while the other man drew a reddish colour.

Suddenly, after being kicked in the chest, Luo realised something. He finally understood what the man before him was; now that he had been exposed to so many of his attacks, he finally remembered. 

The reason he felt something similar was that he only felt this type of power and energy before. As he slowly pushed himself up, a wide smile crawled onto his head, and he was hit once again. However, he didn't care; he knew what he was up against now and could deal with him easily.

"Hollow!"

As soon as Urahara uttered those words previously, a massive black box formed around Luo. The box had such great power that the stony ground cracked around it.

Urahara was worried for the first time. Although he knew that he had to do it, it was still cruel; Luo could have easily died within the walls of that black cube. For a brief moment, Urahara closed his eyes but almost immediately opened their eyes.

"What the..."

Urahar spoke up after a few moments. He noticed that the walls of his technique started shaking, and on the black wall, the shape of a massive. And soon, the massive black box crumbled. Its walls cracked and then shattered as if it were made of glass. However, the shards did not fall to the ground; instead, they vanished.

The sudden collapse of the cube caused a massive amount of dust to form a cloud around it. Urahara couldn't see anything; however, he felt something unusual, though he had no time to idle around, as almost instantly, a massive red palm, condensed of energy, hit him and sent him flying backwards.

A burst of loud, menacing laughter came from the dust cloud, and many more of those palms were launched at Urahara.