"ROOOAR—!"
A colossal ape, formed entirely from glacial ice, beat its chest and howled toward the heavens. In an instant, the temperature within the barrier plummeted to absolute zero. Everything visible to the naked eye froze over, transforming into a vast, blinding expanse of ice stretching dozens of meters in every direction.
Rumble—!
Frozen currents in the sky, driven by raging winds, slammed violently against the surrounding glaciers. Shards and fragments of ice scattered through the air like a blizzard of falling feathers.
Fūjin Taichi stared at the surreal scene before him, exhaling frosty breaths as he squeezed out the last remnants of his spiritual pressure to resist the lethal cold.
But under the overwhelming force of Kazama Yoshio's spiritual pressure, his remaining strength was nowhere near enough.
The freezing aura crept upward from his legs—
Even the blood in his veins began to slow, as if the very moisture within his body was being frozen solid.
"Fūma! Since you insist on throwing your life away, I'll graciously send you to hell myself. Now then…"
A wicked smile curled across Yoshio's lips. He reversed his grip on his Zanpakutō, blade pointed downward, and plunged it deep into the frozen earth.
In a low, chilling voice, he intoned:
"Tonbokiri Final Form: Hyōfū Jūman-ri Kongō Daisō! (Ice-Sealed Hundred Thousand Miles Vajra Grand Funeral!)"
"ROOOAR—!"
With a deafening howl, the mountain-like ice ape dropped to all fours and surged forward, dragging with it the full fury of wind, snow, and frost from both heaven and earth.
And Taichi—
His body shackled by the freezing cold—
Could only watch as the monstrous beast opened its fang-filled maw and lunged straight at him.
"Heheheh…"
Victory already gleamed in Yoshio's eyes.
Farewell, Fūma.
"…Tch. Is this… the end? No…"
At that moment, Taichi suddenly closed his eyes.
Only when the gigantic ape loomed right before him did they snap open again, blazing with resolve as he roared:
"Heavenly No-Mind One-Sword Style—Final Form: Shinmusō-ken (Divine Dream Slash)!"
KRAAASH—!
A deep, soul-shaking thunderclap split the frozen sky.
A streak of golden light tore through the swirling snowstorm, piercing straight through the body of the giant ape. Without losing momentum, it stretched into a radiant trail and shot directly toward Kazama Yoshio.
"So fast—!"
Yoshio's expression changed instantly.
The light had already reached him in the blink of an eye—so fast he didn't even have time to react. With no other choice, he flooded his entire body with spiritual pressure, bracing himself head-on against the attack.
SHHK!
The golden flash cut past him.
Snow continued to fall from the sky.
On the ground, Yoshio's face tightened.
A sharp tearing sound echoed—
A one-foot gash split open across his dragonfly armor. In the next instant, a spray of crimson blood burst outward.
And yet—
He slowly turned his head, looking at Taichi now standing behind him.
Then, he grinned. "Heheheh… Fūma. You should've aimed for my head."
Huff... puff... huff...
Having exhausted the last of his strength, Taichi stood hunched over in the snow, his body trembling as he struggled to breathe.
His left arm hung limp, useless.
His legs shook violently.
Only by using his Zanpakutō—Kyūjūkyū—as a crutch beneath his right arm was he barely able to remain standing.
"Heheheh… honestly, Fūma, I gave you your chance—and you blew it."
Yoshio let out a string of eerie laughter as he began healing his wound with Kidō.
"You were this close. What a shame…"
"…Is that… so…?"
Taichi slowly straightened his body, turning his head to glance at the smug Yoshio.
Then, with a faint, defiant look in his eyes, he spoke again:
"Then… take a look… at this."
As he spoke, he pulled out a small, square object.
"What?! You bastard—!"
Panic flashed across Yoshio's face.
He frantically searched his body—but the item he was looking for was gone.
In an instant, his composure shattered. His voice turned sharp with desperation:
"Fūma! I'm warning you! The King's Seal is a sacred treasure of my clan—you—"
"DAMN IT!!! STOP—! STOOOOP!!! AAAAAAAAHHHH—!!!"
His face twisted in terror.
Ignoring the pain of his reopening wound, Kazama Yoshio charged forward like a maddened beast, crashing recklessly toward Taichi—his desperation laid bare.
Before that could happen, however—
Fūjin Taichi had already raised his Zanpakutō—Kyūjūkyū—high above his head with one hand, and brought it crashing down toward the King's Seal at his feet.
Shiiing—!
In that instant, the entire barrier froze.
As if someone had pressed pause on the world itself.
The wind stopped.
The snow ceased.
Time halted. Sound vanished. Even the scene itself stood perfectly still.
Kazama Yoshio was locked mid-lunge in the air—
And Taichi remained frozen in the exact moment his blade split open the King's Seal.
Crack…
No one knew how much time had passed before the silence was finally broken.
A sharp, glass-like fracture echoed through the space.
Then—
A blinding pillar of light shot skyward.
BOOM!
The King's Seal exploded.
Like a cataclysmic collapse of heaven and earth, an overwhelming surge of golden energy burst outward in all directions. Wherever it passed, the land trembled, the sky churned, and the world itself seemed to overturn.
In an instant—
Mountains crumbled.
The earth split apart.
And within the span of a single breath, the vast and thriving Menos Forest was reduced to nothing but ruins.
…
"I… had a dream.
A dream of an endless ice field…
Everything around me… was frozen…
Like it was going to crush me… bury me completely…
I heard something…
A distant echo…
Like thunder rumbling far away…
I didn't know where I was…
Or what I was supposed to do…
In that dream… I was powerless.
And yet… I could feel it.
Beneath that frozen wasteland…
Something was sealed there.
Something… stirring… trying to break free…
What was it…
What… is hidden there…?"
…
Two days later—
Inside Class 1 of the First-Year at the Shin'ō Academy—
A black-haired boy slowly woke from his sleep.
The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a breathtakingly beautiful face.
"You fell asleep again, Taichi!"
Saitō Mizuki puffed her cheeks in mock annoyance as she scolded her desk partner, who had just woken up and was now staring blankly at her.
"You seriously need to stop staying up so late! All you ever do is sleep in class—it's messing with my studying, you know!"
"Uh… Mizuki…"
"Hm?"
She blinked her bright crimson eyes at him, a mischievous smile curling at her lips.
"Don't tell me—you're about to ask to copy my homework again? Hehe! Not happening!"
"No… it's just… I think… I might have lost some of my memory…"
Fūjin Taichi rubbed his head hard, feeling dizzy and disoriented—like his brain had been smashed into a pulp.
"Taichi, you transferred into this class three months ago! And every time you want to copy homework, you use the same excuses. Seriously, at least try something new!"
Leaning close to his ear, Saitō Mizuki whispered with a playful grin:
"But not this time~ I'm definitely not letting you copy. Because… this class is taught by Instructor Ōunabara!"
"Instructor Ōunabara? Oh… Ōunabara Gengorō… our homeroom teacher?"
Taichi pulled his gaze away from her, shook his foggy head, and looked out the window.
Outside, cherry blossom trees bloomed in full glory—clusters of soft pink petals swaying gently in the breeze.
What's going on…?
The memories from the past two days…
They're gone.
His mind felt like a tangled mess.
And deep inside, there was this strange sensation—
Like something was about to hatch… about to break free.
But no matter how hard he tried—
He couldn't remember.
What exactly…
Happened over the past two days…?
"Good morning, everyone! I have an important announcement for this class!"
Dressed in a black kimono, the homeroom teacher of Class 1—Ōunabara Gengorō—strode into the room and quickly made his way to the podium. His sharp gaze swept across the students.
"This afternoon—at precisely 2 PM—all students of the Advanced Promotion Class are to assemble for a Soul Burial exercise!"
"The location will be the Mochizuki Platform behind Mirror Lake. At that time, the top three sixth-year students of this academy—Hisagi Shūhei, Aoga, and Kanisawa Hotaru—will jointly open the Senkaimon and guide you into the Human World for the exercise."
He paused, his tone turning stern.
"Let me make one thing absolutely clear—this exercise will have a direct impact on your future prospects."
"So—no one is to be late."
"No one is to be absent."
"Understood?!"