Year 8 — cont.

"Hey! What the heck are you doing? Back off!"

Out of nowhere, a strong gust of wind whipped around us just as I was about to share my soul with the kid. It totally caught the Quincy guard off guard.

Zeidritz, who's kinda like a guardian in these parts, acted real fast, pushing the kid away from me and using his own body as a shield. I was left stunned, trying to wrap my head around the words echoing in my mind.

Amid the chaos, I kinda got that they were forcefully pulling the kid out of my reach, probably to make sure I don't get hurt.

I got their intentions; they just wanted to keep me safe. But I can't blame them entirely—they don't know what's been happening. Only I've got that intel.

Anyway, I needed to make it clear that when I do that soul-sharing thing, I've got no control over it. I just open this "Door" inside me and let my soul flow into the other person, but when their body's had enough, I shut it.

Pushing my soul on someone? That's a one-way ticket to their demise.

Throughout my eight years of soul-sharing with all sorts of folks, nobody ever needed more than a teensy 0.05% of my soul. But now, there's this kid who not only took 1% but a whopping 2.5% of my soul.

Who the heck is this kid?

While I'm wrapped up in that thought, some rustling snaps me back to reality. I turn my gaze and see them dragging the kid away. Quincy's got super strength or something 'cause the kid doesn't even flinch, just keeps staring at me.

Must've felt like some wild roller coaster ride, going by the look in his eyes. This kid's totally nuts about supernatural stuff.

"Hey, let him go," I try to butt in, but my words get lost in the noise. Zeidritz isn't anywhere near me; he's in on the act of dragging the kid off.

Exactly when I needed Zeidritz to pay attention to me, he's MIA.

If this keeps up, they might end up hurting the kid. Can't let that happen—I've got a bunch of questions for him. If my hunch is right, this kid's someone I gotta dig into.

Since yelling didn't work, I decided to let my Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure) do the talking. It's this powerful thing in the Bleach world that doesn't get the credit it deserves.

Before Aizen shook things up later on, people only saw Reiatsu as something to intimidate with, not as a weapon.

Everyone was all about the flashy Bankai, Resurreccion, or Schrifts. But none of those mean squat against someone with major Spiritual Power and control over it.

I'm still learning the ropes, but I can use it somehow. Objects nearby shake a bit like they're being moved around by magic, but I can't lift stuff—I'd just break it 'cause I'm not too good at controlling it yet.

"..."

I focus on letting out just a tad of my spiritual power, enough to let them know I'm here since my words didn't do squat.

But turns out I miscalculated. Even with just a bit of Spiritual Power, I didn't think about how different mine is from theirs.

Mine's way stronger than anyone else's here. Even a little of my Spiritual Power makes a big impact.

Before I can pull back, everything gets dark all of a sudden, like it's nighttime. Then everyone, including the folks who just got "healed," falls flat on their faces.

Bang!

Oh, geez...

By the time I get my Spiritual Power back in check, it's super quiet in the chapel. Pretty awkward. All eyes are on me, and I feel kinda guilty. Definitely not what I had in mind...

But saying sorry isn't gonna help either. If I apologize, who knows how Zeidritz and the others will react. Not like I think they'll turn on me, but I can't risk messing up the image I've been building.

So...

"Okay, okay, let's take it easy. Let the kid go; he didn't do anything wrong. Also, set up a room for him here. I gotta talk to him about something. Tomorrow, that is."

Zeidritz looks puzzled, his face a bit red. I keep myself from laughing; it's too funny.

"But—" he starts, like he's gonna ask something or argue, but I cut in quick.

"I'm not asking; I'm telling. Get it done," I say, gripping my gloves tighter. Ready to head upstairs to my room and think about the crazy amount of soul stuff that was almost shared with that kid.

"..."

Zeidritz doesn't say anything, which I figure means he's on board. But before I go upstairs, I look at the kid. Point my finger at him and ask, "What's your name, kid?"

He hesitates, mouth opening and closing before he finally answers.

"...Lille. I'm Lille Barro, Your Highness."

Lille Barro, huh? Got it in my brain now—

Wait, did he just say what I think he did?

Year 8, Month 2

It's been two months since the slave rescue gig, and I never thought I'd come across one of Yhwach's sidekicks from the series.

And this one's the big shot—the leader of Yhwach's Schutzstaffel, the one with the Schrift X, the X-Axis.

In the sea of characters in Bleach, this guy's the one everyone says is too strong. Fans got all mad 'cause it looked like Tite Kubo went crazy and messed up the power balance in Bleach.

Apart from The Miracle, The Balance, and The Almighty—already way over the top—the Schrift X is another level of crazy.

This Lille Barro dude can pierce through anything he sees, like an instant headshot in video games.

And if he opens his other eye, which he keeps shut for some reason, he can pass right through attacks, almost like cheating in a game. 

And now, here's this same guy who made Kyoraku Shunsui look bad, living in the same place as me. Even though he lost that fight, you can't deny Lille Barro's a beast.

Why else would Yhwach make him head of the Schutzstaffel?

But that's not the problem I'm dealing with now. No matter how strong he was in the series, I'm strong too. I'm Yhwach, and his strength came from me. Without my soul and Schrift, he's nothing.

The issue on my plate is whether I should go along with this whole Schrift thing.

Like I mentioned before, Yhwach's Schrift power system is crazy unbalanced. It's so strong that the author had to use plot tricks to beat characters with those superpowers.

If I take on this power, I'm pretty sure me and my crew would be unbeatable around here.

But, man, I'm kind of paranoid.

The Schrift system's got three weaknesses.

First off, I gotta give up a good chunk of my soul to give someone a Schrift. Leaves me feeling empty inside. Even though I've been sharing my soul for years, the amount for this is huge—like 2.5%. It's a massive deal.

The second weakness is I can only have one Schrift at a time, unless I kill the person I gave it to and take their soul and power. But that'd be a waste of their talents.

I'm different from the old Yhwach, who only cared about saving his dad, the Soul King. I want more than that. I want freedom and a real life. Plus, I care about my team and want to "protect" them. I can't just throw them away.

Plus, the Schrift power system doesn't let the user grow. Some might say you can use your powers in different ways, but that's not real growth. It's just being creative.

People might mention Vollständig, but that's not unique to Schrifts. Vollständig came from Letzt Stil, which the Quincy had way before Schrifts.

In this system, even though it's super strong, there's a limit to what you can do. There's no room to get better. I'm always thinking about what I should do if I meet someone stronger than me.

Then it's just death.

As I rub my forehead, I'm deep in thought about what to do next.