Memories from childhood flashed once again in his mind—those images that haunted countless nights. He hated those people, but he also hated his powerlessness as a child.
Is this self-loathing?
Gusion pondered. Indeed, guilt had tormented him for a long time, but he had already moved past it.
Because he knew his master and senior wouldn't want to see him stagnate. He would avenge them, and—more importantly—reach the pinnacle of martial arts.
But if it isn't self-loathing, and he's sure he's still human, why does he see such visions deep within his soul?
Even after class, Gusion made no progress in resonance. He could only decide to try again tonight, more deeply.
There were too many people and prying eyes in class. Aizen, that guy, had a lot of secrets he couldn't just share, even though he'd confessed to Gusion that he'd already mastered Shikai. But he certainly hadn't shown that to the teacher or classmates.
...
That night, dragging his slightly tired body back to the dorm, Gusion climbed straight into bed.
But he didn't intend to sleep. Today, he'd only had a brief taste of things with Unohana-sensei, so he still had plenty of energy left.
He decided to study the problem of his Zanpakutō tonight—or rather, the problem of his soul.
Before starting, he glanced at his current stats panel.
[Explorer No. 404040404, your base stats are as follows:]
Constitution: 17 (+2)
Strength: 16 (+1)
Agility: 17 (+2)
Spirit: 22 (+2)
Charm: 6
Luck: 1
[]
His stats had changed significantly. The constitution increase was thanks to being slashed by Unohana repeatedly over the past two months; his body had gained resistance from constant injury and reconstruction.
The agility boost came from developing and practicing Shunpo. After adapting to high-speed movement, his reflexes had significantly improved.
Strength saw the least increase since he hadn't focused on training it separately.
As for the spirit, even though he hadn't trained much, the meditation techniques passed down in the academy were indeed a good way to boost spiritual pressure and spirit. Unlike other forms of training, training spiritual pressure was simply a process of increasing numbers, so the stat change was more obvious.
It's worth explaining that all his stat improvements were related to spiritual pressure increases, though the Spirit stat was the most directly tied.
Currently, the Academy rated him as Grade 16 spiritual pressure, but Gusion felt he'd just barely reached that threshold.
Aizen claimed he learned his Zanpakutō's true name and achieved Shikai at Grade 17 spiritual pressure. That was probably a lie, but judging from Aizen's subtle expression, Gusion felt that if he had a shallow hit at Grade 17, using Shikai wouldn't be an issue.
So there was no reason he couldn't do it.
With this thought, Gusion calmed himself, using the Academy's resonance method to send his consciousness deep into his soul.
Aizen saw Gusion had entered the state, so he turned off the lights early and started his own daily reading.
At this moment, Gusion felt himself walking beneath a pitch-black sky—no path forward, no way back.
He wasn't sure if he'd grasped something, but this resonance felt different from any before.
After taking one step forward, he felt a sudden sense of weightlessness. Immediately, he sensed the entire world trembling.
Whispers echoed in his ears, mingled with bone-chilling wails.
Falling, falling endlessly—he'd never dropped this long into the abyss before.
His instincts warned of danger, making him want to stop the resonance, but curiosity about the secrets in his soul urged him to endure and keep descending.
It was as if he'd pierced some barrier—his vision blurred for a moment then cleared. He saw… purgatory.
A purple-black purgatory. Endless purple-black flames rolled in rivers of magma, twisting like living things, devouring the air with deafening roars.
The sky was covered by thick smoke. Occasionally, dark red lightning split the heavens, illuminating the anguished faces of tormented souls.
Amid boundless heat and pain, a massive cage formed from solidified lava stood silently. Its surface was covered in purple-black demonic runes, like vines.
At the bottom of the cage, a dark red door slowly opened, revealing unfathomable darkness. The sound of chains clashing echoed from within.
As the door opened, Gusion suddenly couldn't hear the noisy wails anymore. The world grew quiet, leaving only the sounds of magma surging and flames rolling.
That door seemed to possess a strange magic, drawing Gusion irresistibly forward.
Strangely, with a single step, he crossed the magma and flames, arriving before the cage's door.
A cage?
Gusion wondered, why he instinctively felt this was a cage.
The structure before him was just an irregular mound built from lava, but even before the door opened, he'd thought of it as a cage.
He stepped forward and peered into the dark red door—only to see profound blackness.
Just then, a giant wave surged behind him, flames erupting like pillars. The dark red light shone into the pitch-black cage.
In that instant, Gusion saw what was inside.
A pitch-black figure was bound by countless chains, like they were forged from the strongest divine metal, glowing faintly.
The chained body was like an abyss—dark and deep. As if sensing Gusion's gaze, it slowly raised its head.
Bathed in the dim light of the flames, Gusion saw its sunken eyes, radiating a cold and cruel light—a hatred that even endless ages couldn't erase.
Right then, the wind rose. The wind of purgatory, hot and sulfurous, swept up ashes and scorched earth, whirling through Gusion's seemingly intangible body into the cage, finally covering the figure within—but unable to hide its imprisoned majesty.
So this… is my Zanpakutō?
Gusion felt both realization and confusion. He couldn't help but ask, "What is your name?"
The figure deep in the cage met Gusion's gaze but did not answer. Instead, a roar erupted.
Roar—!
That roar could shatter the heavens, containing hatred and resentment that spanned countless eras.
It was savage, mad—and… lonely.
As the demon-god-like figure roared, the entire purgatory trembled.
The heavens collapsed, the earth split apart, magma surged like a tsunami, and flames shot up like meteors.
Gusion stood before the cage, with a towering wall of magma behind, purple-black flames swirling around him like dancing spirits.
In the face of this apocalyptic scene, Gusion didn't move, calmly meeting the gaze of the figure in the cage.
Just as he was about to ask again, a wild wind rose from beneath, sweeping him into the sky.
The world spun, and he suddenly opened his eyes in bed—he'd been kicked out by that demon-god-like figure.
He looked up—it was already dawn.