Chapter 10: “Caeli… Lumen… Devora.”
The forest stretched under the clear blue sky, its lush green canopy swaying to the rhythm of brazen winds. Sunlight filtered through the thick foliage, casting golden hues on the forest floor. Birds chirped, animals rustled, and life buzzed in harmony
Lining the trees, opened a straight path wading through the shaded forest floor heading to the site of the Black Bulls HQ. Footsteps, dirt crunching under the heels of boots, splashed along the constant buzz of the forest life.
Following the footsteps, voices beset the forest. “It’s so hot.” The whine reverberated loudly through the tree trunks, silencing nearby fauna.
“Bakasta! We are still far off from the headquarters. How many times do we have to reiterate it?” The younger feminine voice admonished the previous speaker.
The white-haired royal tipped a lock of her hair over her ear, irately staring at the road ahead. Mops of orange and blonde hair walked ahead of them; eyes equally sunken from the grating drama unfolding behind them.
Ichigo tensed his eyebrows, lips thinning in displeasure. ‘That’s a frequency of 2 every 3 minutes. If that boy continues this, forget reaching the HQ, I’ll kill myself by the end of this afternoon.’ He closed his eyes.
The orange-head walked with a slight slouch, burdened by the loud, incessant whines of Asta. The group walked in slow, measured steps due to their own varying state of injuries. Ichigo continued to walk with the torched t-shirt, cool breeze brushing against his shoulder on occasion.
The fourth member of the group, their blonde-haired, short senior walked on in silence. The teenager displayed no outward flash of emotion, baring even the usual excitement set on his face.
“Asta. From here on out, we’ll be walking on for about an hour or so before stopping for lunch. Wait until then.” Ichigo arched his back, explaining slowly to the black-haired teenager.
The boy drooped in response, a small, sad nod following. Ichigo exhaled in relief. ‘Finally, I can have some time to myself.’ A small smile spread across his lips, disappearing in a similarly dexterous manner.
Closing his eyes, he focused onto his own being. A calm washed over him. He imagined himself falling yet standing firmly on the ground. A lone wind bristled past his legs.
He felt himself bottoming out, arriving sideways at the shiny glass of an upright skyscraper. He breathed in the familiar air, spotting the two spirits away in the distance.
He walked over to the two, questions tiding his brain. “You up for some chat?” He asked for the sake of courtesy. White straightened up, eyes glancing away from his partner. The old man, on the other hand, solemnly nodded.
“We were not aware that talking to you out in reality broadcasted our conversations.” The man started.
Ichigo crossed his eyebrows in confusion. “I know that.” He nodded. “We are the same, Zangetsu.” His eyes glided over the both of them. “How can I expect you to know something I could have no idea about?” He responded with understanding.
White piped up at the reply, a grin spreading over his face. “That is good to hear.” The old man nodded back.
“I wasn’t here to blame you. I’m here to talk about her. Any bright ideas about her identity?” Ichigo focused on the hollow. White shifted under his gaze, looking away from them.
The old man looked between the two, eyes crinkling in amusement. “None yet. While my counterpart may have suggested an unorthodox… option, we do not have more than simple theories on the matter.” He stated, palms resting atop an upright, jet-black cane.
Ichigo scowled in displeasure. Dark clouds slowly accumulated across the skies. A gloomy undertone spread between the three.
“Maybe someone’s suggestion of the lady being an angel is worth some thought after all.” Ichigo lips curled at the sight of a squirming White.
“I told you- it was an instinctual answer. And you’ve ridiculed me enough.” White gritted through his teeth, continuing to stare at the matrix of skyscrapers surrounding them.
The dark grey sky slowly lightened, streaks of sunlight breaking through to the ground.
“Au contraire, Shiro.” Ichigo stressed the nickname, earning a glare of hatred. “What will Orihime think when she hears that her hollow regards some random woman as his angel?’ The reaction fell short, White freezing in place. Silence ensued at the name of the orange-haired, bubbly girl.
Ichigo’s smile faded slightly at her memories. A sombre mood echoed around them.
“Do not be so quick to disregard the hollow’s answer, Ichigo.” The old man shifted slightly. “It may seem farfetched, but our knowledge of the divine may not mean much here, in another universe. For all its worth, the woman may just be… an angel.”
The man turned a mocking eye at the hollow, a hint of a smile fitting under the spectacles. “Wh-What!?” White sputtered, shocked at the scene. Ichigo burst out in splits of echoing laughter, doubling over himself.
“Ah- that was good, old man.” Ichigo subdued his chuckles, heaving heavily whilst clutching his sides. White had turned around completely from the two, muttering angrily to himself.
The meaning behind the old man’s words wasn’t lost entirely. The spirit was once the leader of Wandenreich. Words spoken with deep meaning for one yet classically mocking another was an art only learned through wisdom and perfected with practice.
Ichigo nodded at the old man, simplifying the words for his own use. ‘Do not be quick to assume in this unknown world.’
“Alright, we’ll stop White.” Ichigo placated the hollow. White turned back around with a small frown.
“It just escaped from me, that answer.” White muttered to himself. “Like something deep within me knew it as soon as we saw her.” Ichigo’s eyes narrowed at the statement. He had experienced no such urge.
Shaking his head lightly, he looked up at the old man. “We cannot converse outside of the mindscape as freely as we used to, then.” He supplied to the discussion table.
“That is a tricky situation.” The old man added quickly. “Our opponent displayed many capabilities, one of which may be hearing telepathic conversations. Assuming many are capable of the same is folly.” He inhaled lightly.
“On the contrary, not doing so also lands us on the edge of a sword as we may unwittingly broadcast our conversations to our enemy.” The old man concluded his summary.
Ichigo glanced at the ground thoughtfully analysing the problem at hand. “We will keep the mental connections to a minimum. Relaying important information will be done in the mindscape only.” He narrated his solution.
The old man nodded in approval. White responded with a deft thumbs-up.
Ichigo turned his gaze towards the lightly shrouded sky. “I should be getting back.” He did not feel the need to see the spirits nod. Focusing in a similar fashion, he felt his mindscape bend at the seams of vision swallowing him along.
He returned to reality with a snap. Eyes quickly dancing across his surroundings, he noted silence around the group. The sun had shifted to the west, heralding the arrival of evening.
Ichigo craned his neck, watching Asta and Noelle walk in slow, haphazard steps. The two were slouched in exhaustion, sweat lining their bodies in streams.
Turning back forward, he watched the blonde-haired Luck move in a similar dazed manner as before, quiet, and unsmiling.
“Alright.” He broke the prevailing silence, garnering the attention of the two teenagers behind him.
“We’ll rest for some time. Gather our wits and shade ourselves from the heat. Also, lunch.” Ichigo ordered the group, Asta piping up in vigour at the mention of food.
The two youngsters fell to the ground in exhaustion at Ichigo’s mention, sighing in relief as the tension slowly dissipated from their legs.
Ichigo could still hear the parting footsteps of their senior. “Luck?” He called out to the teenager.
Snapping back to the present, Luck whirled around, his smile returning in full force.
“Yes Ichigo?” He replied casually, unnoting of the two teenagers laying on the ground. Ichigo eyed him with frustration.
“We’ll be stopping for lunch.” He explained slowly. Luck crossed his eyebrows in confusion. “What do you mean? We can have lunch back at the HQ.” He claimed innocently.
Ichigo’s eyes slightly widened. “What do you mean? We’re still a couple of days out.” Luck shook his head, a hand fishing down his pant pocket.
He retrieved a circular device, flashing with a single red light. “This device can contact Finral who’ll come get us.” He showed the trinket to Ichigo.
Ichigo facepalmed at the boy’s antic, glaring at him in pained displeasure. He swiped the light sweat accumulated around his ear.
Flash-stepping to the teen, he chopped him over the head, hard. The blonde bent his knees under the force, hands clutching at the sides of his head.
“Ow!” He winced in pain before a smile threatened to overtake it. “You’re strong. You should fight me.” He challenged the orange-head, still slouching from the hit.
Looking back, he noticed the two of them spread on the ground, serene smiles on their faces. They couldn’t be happier at not walking anymore.
Luck fiddled with the device, calling for Finral through muffled voices. A silver portal immediately flashed through the dense, dark forest lighting up their vicinity.
The light-brown haired knight appeared through his portal, flashing them a bright, forced smile. “You all took your sweet time in the dungeon, ne?” He questioned the group, smiling incessantly.
Luck tilted his head in confusion, staring at his senior. “What do you mean? You dropped us off in the morning.” The teenager stated matter-of-factly.
Finral mirrored the blonde’s confusion. He tipped his hair in practiced form. “Unless you met someone this handsome in the dungeon, no I did not drop you off today. That was a week ago.”
Ichigo’s eyes widened as the puzzles pieces fell together “Heh!?” A loud gasp of surprise erupted from Asta. Ichigo stared grimly at Finral.
Finral shifted with unease at the intensity of the gaze. “What is it?” He stuttered.
“We need to go back, pronto.” Ichigo ordered. Finral shook a little at the disregard, muttering to himself. “I’m your senior, you know.”
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The group of five including Finral walked into the living room of the HQ. The scene of the room remained unchanged, bathing in yellow shine. The wall was repaired, once again, to no one’s knowledge.
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“The captain told me that he’ll hold the debrief in an hour. So get the week long grime off you.” Finral paraphrased the Captain’s order, exhaling a loud sigh.
“Well then.” Ichigo began. “We’ll part ways.” The group nodded instantly, each monotonically heading for their own room.
Ichigo slowly walked towards his own. Thoughts whirling around the recent revelation. ‘It must be the dungeon, right? The defensive magic on it was made to bend space and time.’ The placating suggestion did not satisfy his own worries.
Silence greeted the question. Ichigo pursed his lips, bitterly reminded of the plan he had hatched.
Opening the thick, dark oak door to his room, he rested the katana and tanto on the nightstand, quickly sitting down on the mattress.
In a flash, he arrived back at the shiny glass of his mindscape, hovering over a city of tall towers.
“Okay, we can talk if there’s no one around.” He began the moment his toes touched the glass. The old man stood unmoving, facing the open world of the mindscape. Ichigo approached the man, perplexed at the reaction.
“Old man? What is it?” Worry laced the question. The old man turned to his wielder; solemnity set upon his features.
“Ichigo. The woman repeatedly told you that she was not interested in a battle. Each time she iterated this; her eyes glanced across the surrounding area. We hypothesize that she was worried that our battle may destabilize the time-space continuum.” His stare pierced Ichigo.
“It seems that the time dilation we experienced, rather, the others experienced was a by-product of the power we released.” The old man informed the orange-head.
Ichigo’s eyes widened at the exposition. “A simple ShiKai, old man. Not even the other forms. How are we supposed to fight if I can’t even release a bit of my powers.” He complained, guilt accompanying his words.
The spirit nodded. “We believe that our opponent is equally to blame for this phenomena. Her own power matching our reiatsu doubled the deterioration process.”
Ichigo dropped his head. “It was upon my insistence that we fought.” He started. “She’d wouldn’t have followed if I didn’t threaten her in the first place.”
The old man looked up behind Ichigo. “That is up for debate. Do not despair, Ichigo.”
“We could have destroyed this world, old man. Simply because I wanted to have a good fight.” Ichigo stared bitterly at the dark grey sky reflected over the glass window.
A flash of a shatter, blue sky breaking in pieces like frail glass, flitted across his memories. Ichigo shivered at the reminiscence.
“Not all of it is our fault.” Ichigo looked up at the resounding call.
White apparated among the two of them, staring at Ichigo. “It means that you don’t have to take responsibility for this incident.”
Ichigo hardened his face. “I can’t help feeling guilty. I’m supposed to be better than this.”
The hollow shook his head. “Then listen to what the geezer has to say.” He continued, gesturing to his counterpart to follow.
The old man nodded, “No form of our ShiKai has ever disrupted the flow of time back in our world. It would be prudent to assume that the time-space continuum in this world is weaker than our own.”
Ichigo crossed his eyebrows, slowly looking up at his spirits. “That’s not possible. How can a dimension be weaker?” He asked, incredulity seeping into his tone.
“It can be made weak.” White replied seriously. Ichigo’s eyes widened in shock. A flash of memories, the poems, the monstrous tree, the pieces fit together well.
“It seems something is afoot in this world. Something beyond the simple machinations of mortals. It is completely your decision to bother with it, or not.” The old man stated grimly, hands perched on his cane.
Ichigo inhaled sharply, his face turning thoughtful at the options presented. His lips curled slightly. “We are stuck here for a while. Might as well get some training in.”
The old man nodded, pride glistening in his eye. White nodded with a knowing smile.
Ichigo took another breath, watching small rays of sunlight break free from the dark clouds above.
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Asta and Noelle glanced around the living room of the manor. The two had arrived early to the debrief. Footsteps echoed outside the room, earning the two’s attention.
The orange-haired man turned the corner, brown eyes quickly scanning the room before settling on them. He gave them a small wave, his usual scowl greeting them.
Noelle nodded back. Asta smiled at the man. “You’re here, Ichigo.” He greeted the man vigorously.
Noelle’s eyes narrowed at the greeting. “Does that brain upstairs, work?” She questioned with a sad, mocking smile.
“How would I know that?” The boy replied, eyeing the girl in confusion. Ichigo groaned, stepping beside the two. “Stop. The both of you.” He calmed his mind, silence pervading the three of them.
The accumulating tension slowly flowed out from his body. Before the calm could completely wash over him, the side door grated open revealing Captain Yami.
The captain walked through the door, a smoking cigarette in his hand, his other resting atop the handle of his katana. He eyed the three of them, his gaze landing on the missing space of the fourth. His face turned grim at the observation.
Reaching the sofa, he sat down with a loud plop. “Where’s the fourth one?” He asked menacingly. Asta squeaked at the tone, blurting out, “We don’t know, sir!”
Yami crossed his eyebrows in frustration. “If you don’t know, don’t answer.” He reprimanded the teenager. “Yes sir!” Asta affirmed, piping down. Both teenagers grew tense as the silence slowly settled on, time ticking by.
“Answer me, damn it.” The captain suddenly burst out, shocking all three of them. Ichigo stared on in dumb silence as Asta once again reiterated his words.
Yami simmered in anger. He breathed a long puff of his cigarette, turning to the trio once more.
“So? What happened in your week-long mission?”
Ichigo glanced away at the mention. His gaze landed on the squirming teenagers, each refusing to look at the captain. Before Asta could start babbling, Ichigo looked down at Yami. He started narrating from his own point of view, leaving out the antics of the blonde-haired knight.
He simply mentioned that Luck was busy warding off another threat. ‘Not that the Captain would take it seriously, anyway.’
Delving deeper into the story, he could feel the random nods from his younger comrades at intervals. At the beginning of their battle, he mentioned sensing a powerful enemy at the other side of the wall.
“My instincts deemed the enemy a greater threat than the other guy. So, I engaged her first. Gauging how powerful she was, I made the decision of taking the fight outside.”
The captain seemed interested at this. “How did you do that if she was so powerful?”
Ichigo deadpanned at the question. “I rammed her through the dungeon’s walls.” Yami smirked at the reply. “Serves her right.” He puffed another lungful of smoke, gesturing him to continue.
Ichigo explained further, how the fight progressed, his opponents unwillingness to battle and the deadlock between their powers. Yami nodded at each stage, eyes never leaving the orange-head.
“As the dungeon began collapsing, the woman vanished. I prioritized my comrades over the enemy, so I did not pursue her.” Ichigo bluffed. While he would have made a similar choice, the option to pursue her was not feasible in reality.
‘I’d have really broken this world if I had powered up further.’ Ichigo shivered at the thought.
Yami turned away, taking a final puff of the cigarette. He dropped the remnant of the cigar straight into the ashtray.
Ichigo turned to Noelle, gesturing at her to continue from their point of view. Noelle’s eyes widened slightly, before nodding solemnly. She stuttered during her narration but managed to explain in-detail, their battle against the white-haired soldier of Diamond Kingdom.
She concluded with Ichigo’s return, simply glossing over the collapse of dungeon in a couple sentences.
Yami stared at the trio in silence. Raising a questioning eyebrow, he threatened them. “That’s it?” The gruff tone grated on their ears. “That took a few hours at most. What about the rest of the week?”
Ichigo straightened up at the question. “The dungeon dilated space and time. For us, only a day had passed. However, in the outside world, as you say, a week has passed.” He explained the situation.
Yami gave a thoughtful look, hands reaching for his pants pocket. He fished out another cigarette lighting it up in a jiffy. Taking a puff, he looked up at the three.
“Well? Is there anything else to tell me?” His words rung through the room. Ichigo shook his head. Noelle rubbed her palm behind her back, quavering, “I have a doubt.”
“No doubts. If you have anything else to report to me, you can do that. Solve your doubts later.” Yami brushed off the girl. Noelle seemed flustered at the gesture. Nevertheless, she stood attentively.
“That’s that then. You’re dismissed. I’ll report to the Wizard King about this, and he can come to a decision about the magic artifacts you have retrieved.” Yami pushed himself up, turning on his heels and leaving three confused knights.
“What artifacts.” Ichigo asked out loud, only to receive shrugs from the two.
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Night fell and Ichigo slowly trudged to his room. His skin steamed prim, hot bath water slowly evaporating from his body.
He opened the door to his room, a chilly breeze brushing past him. He walked over to the window, hands outstretched over its pane to close them. The night’s dark allure beckoned him to the deathly silence settled outside.
He shut the windows tightly, latching them up. Rubbing the moisture off his hair, he trudged towards his bed.
Laying atop the mattress, Ichigo reminisced through the day’s machinations. His eyelids drooped as the exhaustion slowly creeped over him. Silent darkness greeted the orange-head sweeping him along with it.
Silence confused Ichigo. A similar inability to move washed over his body. Darkness beset him on all sides. A familiar sense of creep tingled down his spine.
Ichigo quickly recognized his predicament, prepared this time. Reaching deep into his power, he gathered any reiryoku he could.
The creepy music started, a faster tempo than usual playing. The notes weren’t just creepy, they churned happy notes with sadder, horrific undertones. A marked difference, Ichigo noted, upping the scare factor.
He laid in wait, the demonic voice clear in its tone now.
‘Littlest child o’ pure,
Struggle against the cold,
The emerald glows bright,
By the blue flames on a dark night,
The golden hour is nigh,
Remember, o’ little one,
…
The sound faded, leaving Ichigo in a confused daze. ‘That can’t be it. No ‘demon behind my ear’ scare this time? Even the poem seems incomplete…’
A cold sensation sprang through his back as a presence registered on his senses. His eyes narrowed in determination, this time, ready for payback.
He unleashed the accumulated reiatsu, covering himself in a shroud of gold. He still found himself unable to move, but he could speak now.
“Your plans, whatever they are, I’ll stop them all.” Ichigo declared in a loud voice, releasing more reiatsu.
The presence behind him did not move. It stayed, a cold distance away. Yet, Ichigo had never felt dread as he did now. A mere presence, he hoped, registering viler and more putrid than any before.
“Not your usual ending, eh? What happened? Did that guy get killed?” Ichigo taunted, receiving unending silence in reply.
“Well, don’t worry. I’ve got a present for you this time.” The space trembled in anticipation of raw power exuding from the orange-haired man. He looked straight ahead, black seeping into his sclera. His irises radiated in a golden form, burning brightly in the darkness that surrounded him.
The reiatsu burst forth around him, golden waves of light blazing over the dark. “Ban – Kai.”
A flash of blinding gold released from Ichigo’s being, the cold presence eviscerated by the wild flow of reiatsu.
Before complete erasure, a voice started
“Caeli… Lumen.” . A childish voice, sounding almost innocent in nature.
“Devora!”
It shrieked at the last word, the inhumanely, shrill voice grating on Ichigo’s eardrums.
With a start, Ichigo leapt from his bed sitting straight up, his body glistening with cold sweat. He heaved for air, drinking it greedily.
A cold breeze brushed across his shoulder, Ichigo shivering at the contact.
The sclera of his eyes slowly filtered out the black, the golden glow of his irises fading to an ordinary brown.
‘What in the world was that?’ Ichigo’s thought reverberated in his mind. He could feel a slight tug at the back of his mind. The spirits.
Laying back down, Ichigo flashed to his mindscape. A loud thunder boomed across the mindscape, as Ichigo touched down.
He noted the grim look on their faces. To his surprise, he found himself mirroring them.
“This is getting out of hand.” He started. “How do I stop it?” The old man regarded Ichigo with cold eyes.
“Ichigo, do you not recognize the final words spoken by the creature?” He asked, no emotions seeping into his features.
Ichigo crossed his eyebrows in confusion. “What do you mean? Do I know the language?” He questioned back, his mind racking through his memories.
“I hope so, King. You’d be lousy doctor if you didn’t.” White added, stilling Ichigo in cold shock. Another streak of lightning panned across the dark sky.
Ichigo’s mind flashed through all the books of medicine that he had read, the late nights, his own curses for the language.
“Latin.” Thunder exploded at the shocking revelation. “H-How.” Ichigo questioned himself, facing downwards at their reflections.
“How can- no, something from our world? Is that even possible?” He stormed his brain.
The old man blinked, face turning sombre.
“We do not know, Ichigo. It could be a language of this world. It could also be a lost language, spoken only by select creatures.” He stated coldly. Ichigo agreed with wide eyes, nodding at the insinuation.
“There is no evidence to disapprove that the thing isn’t from our world either.” The old man surprised Ichigo with his words. “For now, let us not assume any half-knowledge that may hurt us later. Tomorrow, you should ask around your comrades, see if they know Latin or have ever heard it.”
“I don’t remember there being such a creature in our world.” The orange-head took long breaths of air, attempting to calm his racing mind.
“We did not explore much, King. We were busy, after all.” White explained. The old man nodded, “There are countless worlds out there, similar to our own, Ichigo. The creature could be from any one of them.
How it could have chanced upon this universe remains to be seen if such a thing has occurred.” The old man concluded.
Ichigo sobered at the statement, eyes glowering at the glass below him. “What about the other voice?” He asked.
“We cannot say for sure. As I said earlier, something beyond the reaches of humans is afoot in this world.” The old man sighed.
Ichigo nodded, tiredness creeping up his being at slow fading of adrenaline. He yawned, shaking his head. “I should get back.”
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Ichigo opened his eyes back in the real world. Another cold breeze hit him, confusion gaining over his drowsy features.
He looked to his side, finding a wide-open window gazing out to the dark forest.
‘I swear I had closed it-‘ His thoughts drowned as sleep overtook his senses.
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A hooded figure stood atop the buttress of the manor, staring at the waning moon. The cloak stayed quiet upon his body, silence reverberating around him. A cacophonic giggle escaped his lips.
“Found you, little one.”
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