The Templar Queen received nothing but a pitying look in response. Sayis had reached the limit of his tolerance for her games. Explaining that what she spoke of was not restraint would serve no purpose. Her ears and mind had already closed, and thus did he shift his attention. The more immediate threat at hand was the vizard Kenpachi, the truest example of the Third Division's moniker. Theron Ascania, Arcadian Kyuu... was a Harbinger of Death.
Distantly, Sayis recalled the first time they had truly spoken, when a friendly demonstration had rapidly become a battle to the death.
Such was Theron's nature; it always had been. Sayis knew that before he had ever drawn his sword, and knew that exceptionally well. One of his scars, and one of his 'fingers,' were courtesy of the enigmatic warrior. The man treaded an erratic line between stalwart ally and rabid monster, making deals with the devil to attain his station and titles but doing everything in his power to prove himself worthy of them.
Now that the echoing voice of primal wrath spoke in tandem with him, the voice of a hollow, Sayis wondered how much control he had. There had always been two Therons, two sides to the man's personality. Was he in control to begin with?
Sayis thought of the man drawing his sword, prepared to cut the tongue from one of the vizards at the Central Forty-Six's command. He thought of the heated arguments over whether to allow a squad to re-enter Hueco Mundo after the Vasto Lorde's appearance. He thought of the man, mere moments ago, threatening to kill both or either of them, out of a twisted goal to protect the men who saw him as a tool to be used, a weapon to be wielded.
Sayis took a step away from the wall, shaking his head. "You just witnessed the preeminent Hadou of the Way of Destruction, a spell which has not seen the light of day since before Faust became Soutaichou. Shinzui, Quintessance, the Wrath of the World, the Final Hadou. Shinigami across the whole of Seireitei will have felt that and be stricken with dread and awe." His dark grey hair was loose and now disheveled, hanging around his face and halfway down his back. The man's robes remained open, still displaying the tapestry of pain that was his body. "Even feeling that, the force of four avatars of pure malice and raw devastation, you accuse me of holding back?"
Streams of silver reiatsu began leaking out, mixing in with the aura of bright teal that engulfed him, that exuded from his every pore, rising into the air around the Soutaichou.
"You may know me better than I thought."
Two hands weren't going to be enough anymore. Sayis lifted Karil up, pointing the blade at Theron as the blade released, flashing brightly as it adopted its Shikai form. Reiatsu swelled, rippling like waves of raw heat before stabilizing, brightening to a rich, deep turquoise. One side of the blade was purely transparent, the other side a pure reflection. Lifting the blade before his eyes, he faced the mirrored side toward Theron. Then, he turned it around, looking into his own reflection, seeing in it his true self, with all of his strengths and all his flaws included.
"Ban... Kai."
Once he had committed to it, there was no hesitation. The aura of spiritual pressure around him grew, expanded outward and lightened further. The sword in his hand shattered, dispersing into millions of dust-like particles, filling the air around the three captains. The air around them all began to darken with the weight of their reiatsu. The specks of the zanpakuto glittered and flashed in the turbulent atmosphere, each flash accompanied by the piercing sensation of being watched, of being vulnerable. Teal, silver, and turquoise melded together, pushing back against the Kenpachi's golden reiatsu.
The Soutaichou's calm grey eyes took on a gleaming, mirror shine, glowing with silver light. From the angular, semi-circular guard in his hands, a massive blade appeared: nearly as long as Sayis was tall, and as broad across as the length of his forearm. Initially clear, the immaterial blade was replaced by hundreds, thousands of razor-sharp, flower-petal blades, each of them winking dully in the light of their warring reiatsu.
"Kagami-kiwa no Kariudo," Sayis announced as the air filled with a deep, growling rumble.
Lifting from the rubble, the translucent pseudo blade was still in attendance and as Sayis opened his left palm, the spear appeared once more, arcane symbols flashing at his touch. Already, he had exerted enough reiatsu to fuel a small captain, but the strength of spirit between the two men was very nearly equal.
With Tsubaki as the only reluctant witness, the Soutaichou squared off against the Kenpachi, Arcane Specialist against Herald of Death.
"For the first time, you remind me of Leon," Sayis said. "My whole nature, my whole soul, my very spark itself! Hadou ninety-nine part two, Zenrei!"
This time, it was his turn to warp reality around them. The broken and jagged lakebed, the crumbled walls, the shattered bridge... all of them disappeared from sight. The world turned to darkness, a blackness utter and complete, not even allowing the three captains to see one another, nor even the light of their unveiled spirits.
Sayis' voice broke through the blackness, distorted and wavery. It seemed to come from somewhere above, growing farther and farther away. "My whole life has been about moving forward! Even when I was not physically moving, I was advancing mentally, learning and mastering new ideas. When I halted in my studies, I pressed forward physically, ever seeking a higher plateau without ever knowing why.
"I could not handle kidou; I learned how.
"I could not handle zanjutsu; I learned how.
"That... is life. Struggle and movement, adversity and advancement: it is growth, it is life!" A roaring sound began to grow louder now, from behind the two. A red glow appeared, revealing the silhouette of the vizard captain. As he turned, he could then see the vortex, the ravenous firestorm that made the core of Sayis' inner world. Immense, unyielding, unstoppable, it grew ever closer, revealing the sloped landscape beneath them even as its powerful gravity crumbled the ground away, ripping at the inner world itself and leaving nothing behind, a never-ending hunger.
Here in this world, in the midst of this hadou, there was no opportunity to move, to flee. Theron Ascania, held by the heat of Sayis' very soul, could only watch as the path crumbled beneath his feet.
Just before the man fell, Sayis explained, "Complacency... is death."
Then the world returned once more.
[1115/4115]
Distantly, Sayis recalled the first time they had truly spoken, when a friendly demonstration had rapidly become a battle to the death.
Such was Theron's nature; it always had been. Sayis knew that before he had ever drawn his sword, and knew that exceptionally well. One of his scars, and one of his 'fingers,' were courtesy of the enigmatic warrior. The man treaded an erratic line between stalwart ally and rabid monster, making deals with the devil to attain his station and titles but doing everything in his power to prove himself worthy of them.
Now that the echoing voice of primal wrath spoke in tandem with him, the voice of a hollow, Sayis wondered how much control he had. There had always been two Therons, two sides to the man's personality. Was he in control to begin with?
Sayis thought of the man drawing his sword, prepared to cut the tongue from one of the vizards at the Central Forty-Six's command. He thought of the heated arguments over whether to allow a squad to re-enter Hueco Mundo after the Vasto Lorde's appearance. He thought of the man, mere moments ago, threatening to kill both or either of them, out of a twisted goal to protect the men who saw him as a tool to be used, a weapon to be wielded.
Sayis took a step away from the wall, shaking his head. "You just witnessed the preeminent Hadou of the Way of Destruction, a spell which has not seen the light of day since before Faust became Soutaichou. Shinzui, Quintessance, the Wrath of the World, the Final Hadou. Shinigami across the whole of Seireitei will have felt that and be stricken with dread and awe." His dark grey hair was loose and now disheveled, hanging around his face and halfway down his back. The man's robes remained open, still displaying the tapestry of pain that was his body. "Even feeling that, the force of four avatars of pure malice and raw devastation, you accuse me of holding back?"
Streams of silver reiatsu began leaking out, mixing in with the aura of bright teal that engulfed him, that exuded from his every pore, rising into the air around the Soutaichou.
"You may know me better than I thought."
Two hands weren't going to be enough anymore. Sayis lifted Karil up, pointing the blade at Theron as the blade released, flashing brightly as it adopted its Shikai form. Reiatsu swelled, rippling like waves of raw heat before stabilizing, brightening to a rich, deep turquoise. One side of the blade was purely transparent, the other side a pure reflection. Lifting the blade before his eyes, he faced the mirrored side toward Theron. Then, he turned it around, looking into his own reflection, seeing in it his true self, with all of his strengths and all his flaws included.
"Ban... Kai."
Once he had committed to it, there was no hesitation. The aura of spiritual pressure around him grew, expanded outward and lightened further. The sword in his hand shattered, dispersing into millions of dust-like particles, filling the air around the three captains. The air around them all began to darken with the weight of their reiatsu. The specks of the zanpakuto glittered and flashed in the turbulent atmosphere, each flash accompanied by the piercing sensation of being watched, of being vulnerable. Teal, silver, and turquoise melded together, pushing back against the Kenpachi's golden reiatsu.
The Soutaichou's calm grey eyes took on a gleaming, mirror shine, glowing with silver light. From the angular, semi-circular guard in his hands, a massive blade appeared: nearly as long as Sayis was tall, and as broad across as the length of his forearm. Initially clear, the immaterial blade was replaced by hundreds, thousands of razor-sharp, flower-petal blades, each of them winking dully in the light of their warring reiatsu.
"Kagami-kiwa no Kariudo," Sayis announced as the air filled with a deep, growling rumble.
Lifting from the rubble, the translucent pseudo blade was still in attendance and as Sayis opened his left palm, the spear appeared once more, arcane symbols flashing at his touch. Already, he had exerted enough reiatsu to fuel a small captain, but the strength of spirit between the two men was very nearly equal.
With Tsubaki as the only reluctant witness, the Soutaichou squared off against the Kenpachi, Arcane Specialist against Herald of Death.
"For the first time, you remind me of Leon," Sayis said. "My whole nature, my whole soul, my very spark itself! Hadou ninety-nine part two, Zenrei!"
This time, it was his turn to warp reality around them. The broken and jagged lakebed, the crumbled walls, the shattered bridge... all of them disappeared from sight. The world turned to darkness, a blackness utter and complete, not even allowing the three captains to see one another, nor even the light of their unveiled spirits.
Sayis' voice broke through the blackness, distorted and wavery. It seemed to come from somewhere above, growing farther and farther away. "My whole life has been about moving forward! Even when I was not physically moving, I was advancing mentally, learning and mastering new ideas. When I halted in my studies, I pressed forward physically, ever seeking a higher plateau without ever knowing why.
"I could not handle kidou; I learned how.
"I could not handle zanjutsu; I learned how.
"That... is life. Struggle and movement, adversity and advancement: it is growth, it is life!" A roaring sound began to grow louder now, from behind the two. A red glow appeared, revealing the silhouette of the vizard captain. As he turned, he could then see the vortex, the ravenous firestorm that made the core of Sayis' inner world. Immense, unyielding, unstoppable, it grew ever closer, revealing the sloped landscape beneath them even as its powerful gravity crumbled the ground away, ripping at the inner world itself and leaving nothing behind, a never-ending hunger.
Here in this world, in the midst of this hadou, there was no opportunity to move, to flee. Theron Ascania, held by the heat of Sayis' very soul, could only watch as the path crumbled beneath his feet.
Just before the man fell, Sayis explained, "Complacency... is death."
Then the world returned once more.
[1115/4115]
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