Three days passed. The sky over Rukongai District 78 was still pale violet. An unchanging color. "I kept you waiting." In front of the Kawara inn. Rukia stood in her usual black kimono—the kagegomoro. A slender zangetsu blade hung at her waist. Her back was straight. Even her small frame had no openings. Her black hair, cut evenly at the shoulders, swayed gently despite the windless air. "[serious]Today, we go to Seireitei. There's something I want to show you." Yuuki swallowed. His chest tightened. "[scared]Seireitei... that's the city of Soul Reapers, right? Is it really okay for me to go?" "[gentle]It's fine. I'll be with you." Rukia said that and let her mouth soften, just slightly. But right after, her usual serious face returned. "[serious]But be careful. You're a living soul. To Soul Reapers, you're an anomaly. No matter what anyone says, don't leave my side." Yuuki nodded. Sweat seeped into his palms. --- They walked. From the outskirts of Rukongai, further west. The road gradually became paved. The scenery shifted. Crumbling wooden houses thinned out. Stone buildings grew more common. After about an hour of walking. The view opened wide. Yuuki lost his words. Before him, a massive white wall towered. Easily over ten meters high. A pure white rampart stretching endlessly. Beyond it, countless taller spires jutted out. At the center, one enormous white tower pierced the sky. "[surprised]This is..." "[gentle]Seireitei. The central city of the Soul Society." Rukia spoke while gazing up at the wall. Her violet eyes shone with pride. "It's about twenty kilometers in diameter. This white wall keeps hollows from invading. Roughly fifty thousand souls live inside. Most are Soul Reapers or affiliates. That central tower is the White Tower—the command headquarters of the Gotei Thirteen. One of our destinations today." Yuuki stared at the wall, dumbfounded. A magnificent sight he'd never seen in the living world. The white wall caught the sunlight and shimmered faintly. As if the wall itself were alive. They passed through the gate. Rukia showed something to the gatekeeper. They were let through easily. Her kagegomoro must be proof of a Soul Reaper. Inside the city was even more incredible. A white cobblestone boulevard stretched straight ahead. Countless stalls lined both sides. Pale blue lights called spirit lamps floated everywhere. Mysterious lights, as if trapping souls themselves. "Fresh spirit rice, how about it!" "We'll resharpen your zangetsu blade!" The market's clamor rushed into his ears. The merchants' voices. The black kimonos of Soul Reapers passing by. The endlessly flowing scenery. More vibrant than any city in the living world. Yuuki walked with his mouth hanging open. But. The Soul Reapers they passed glanced at Yuuki. Curious eyes. Wary eyes. Some even frowned openly. "Is that a living soul?" "He's with Rukia from Squad Thirteen." He could hear the whispers. Yuuki instinctively looked down. Suddenly ashamed of how out of place he was. "[cold]You don't need to worry about it." Rukia spoke without turning around. Her voice was calm. "[serious]They're just looking at something unusual. You've done nothing wrong." Yuuki gave a small nod. Still, the stares stabbing into his back hurt. --- They passed through the Kagenoichiba market. A good smell drifted from a restaurant called Tokiwa-tei. Apparently famous for spirit-recovery udon. A man named Genpachi, the owner, was vigorously pounding noodles. Next door was a weapon repair shop called Haganedou. The craftsman Tetsuzou was meticulously polishing a zangetsu blade. Yuuki almost stopped, but Rukia's pace was fast. He desperately chased her back. Before long. They arrived at the front of the White Tower. Up close, it was even more overwhelming. A hundred and twenty meters tall. The white tower stretched upward as if being swallowed by the pale blue sky. Two Soul Reapers stood guard at the entrance. Rukia pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. A tower entry permit stamped with a captain's seal of approval. But—Yuuki noticed. Rukia's fingers were trembling, just slightly. (She forged it, didn't she.) A sharp pain struck Yuuki's chest. But the guard Soul Reapers glanced at the document and let them through. "[whispers]No problem. Let's go." Rukia whispered. Yuuki exhaled in relief. --- They descended the stairs leading underground. With each floor, the air grew colder. Only the pale blue light of the spirit lamps illuminated their feet. The walls were white and cold. Third basement floor. They stood before the Chamber of Eternal Rest. Rukia pushed the door open. A heavy creak echoed. Inside was a vast stone chamber. The ceiling was high, at least ten meters. The temperature was even lower. Their breath turned white. And at the center of the room—a giant crystal pillar stood. Inside the transparent crystal, a man slept. His long black hair swayed gently, as if underwater. A rugged face. Both eyes shut tight. Countless scars were carved into his chest. Deep slashes. Burned and blistered marks. Old gouged wounds. Each one a memory of brutal battle. "[gentle]The hero Kagetsu Towa. A hundred and twenty years ago, he single-handedly stopped the Seventh Great Collapse. The strongest Soul Reaper." Rukia's voice echoed through the silent space. "[sad]He dove alone into the rift of the Hollow World. Cut down thousands of hollows. And sealed the rift. But the cost was most of his soul... Now he continues to sleep here." Yuuki gasped. Thousands. Alone. Against thousands of monsters. "[sad]At the next Great Collapse—the Eighth Great Collapse—the hero will awaken. And fight again. But... it's prophesied that this time, he will surely lose his life." Rukia held her hand over the crystal. Her spirit energy seeped into the crystal as pale blue light. "[serious]I'll show you. The hero's past. I want you to know it." —In that instant. Images flooded into Yuuki's mind. Countless white masks filling the sky. Hollows. Monsters of all sizes, surging in by the thousands, the tens of thousands. A city collapsing. Buildings burning and crumbling. Souls fleeing in panic. Soul Reapers dying. Screams being torn apart. Spurts of blood. In the middle of that hell—a single man kept swinging his blade. Kagetsu Towa. Every time his zangetsu blade flashed, dozens of hollows were cut down. But enemies kept swarming endlessly. His comrades kept falling. He couldn't protect anyone. He couldn't save anyone. And yet, he was smiling. Crying, smiling, swinging his blade. And at the end—he dove into the rift. 'I'll end it here.' Just those words. Light covered the world. --- The images vanished. Unconsciously, Yuuki was gripping the scar on his left wrist. His fingers dug in. It hurt. But that pain anchored him to reality. (I have to save this man.) The weight of the mission nearly suffocated him. In middle school, he had done nothing. Pretended not to see. As a result, one of his classmates transferred schools. This time, the hero would die. The man who saved the world would die alone, with no one at his side. "[scared]...Can I really do this? Someone like me, for someone this incredible?" His voice trembled. Rukia didn't answer. She just stared intently at Yuuki's face. "[scared]But I have to do it, don't I." Yuuki released his hand. The scar throbbed with pain. Rukia's violet eyes wavered. "[gentle]...Thank you. For now, that's more than enough." --- Ordina Academy. A Soul Reaper training institution located in Seireitei's eastern district. The grounds covered about two square kilometers. Eight school buildings. Six training grounds. Even a massive library. The underground training hall. The walls and floor were made of sturdy stone. Under the pale blue glow of spirit lamps, a single hourglass sat on a desk. "[serious]What we're doing now is retrograde control training." Rukia spoke with a stern face. "[serious]Feel your spirit pressure. Shape it with your will. Then release it toward the target. The image isn't 'rewinding time.' It's 'stopping time and pushing it back.' We'll repeat it as many times as it takes until you grasp the sensation." Yuuki stood before the hourglass. He closed his eyes. Focused his mind. Something was deep in his chest. Warm, yet cold. Was this spirit pressure? "Now!" He released the power. But. The hourglass didn't move. The sand just kept trickling down. "[cold]Do it again." He focused again. Stronger this time. BOOM! The training hall shook. Cracks ran through the walls. But the hourglass didn't budge. Yuuki's spirit pressure had exploded outward. "[cold]Your power is too strong. More delicate. If you can't do it, shall we just go back?" Rukia's voice was cold. But her eyes were different. Impatience and expectation swirled deep in the violet. Yuuki bit his lip. Third attempt. Fourth. Fifth. Sweat beaded on his forehead. His breathing grew ragged. His hands trembled. Still, he didn't stop. —Sixth attempt. Yuuki emptied his mind completely. He looked only at the hourglass. The sand falling. One grain. One grain. He wanted to stop that movement. (Go back.) He willed it quietly, strongly. In that instant. Trickle, trickle—. The sand flowed backward. The sand that had fallen below returned upward. One second. Two. Three... Six seconds. Time was definitely rewinding. "[surprised]I... I did it...!" Yuuki shouted. He grabbed Rukia's hand without thinking. "[surprised]Did I succeed?! I actually did it?!" Rukia's eyes widened. Her small hand trembled inside Yuuki's. "[surprised]...Yes. Six seconds. That's wonderful, Yuuki." For the first time, Rukia smiled. A genuine smile, fitting her age. Seeing that face made Yuuki's heart skip. Still holding hands, they gazed at each other for a moment. —In that instant. Yuuki's uncontrolled spirit pressure shot toward a recording device in the corner of the training hall. Beep. Beep. Beep. The device activated. Waveforms began etching into the terminal. The spirit pressure pattern of retrograde activation. Rukia's face went pale. "[scared]The recording device... Damn it!" She rushed to the terminal. Her fingers moved quickly, but the record was already being transmitted to the main system. "[scared]At this rate, the Gotei Thirteen will detect it. Retrograde is forbidden—if we're discovered, we'll be sentenced to erasure." A chill ran down Yuuki's spine. "[scared]S-sorry... It's my fault." "[serious]This isn't the time for apologies. We're erasing the record. Right now." --- Late night. White Tower, fifth basement floor. The Forbidden Archive. Roughly two thousand ancient texts were sealed here. Records concerning retrograde were also stored in this place. Rukia brought Yuuki along and slipped in secretly. "[whispers]The record management terminal is at the very back. But there's a guard." Rukia whispered. Her voice trembled faintly. "[whispers]If we're found, we'll both be erased. You're a human from the living world, so strictly speaking, you might be outside the law's jurisdiction. But... I doubt the Gotei Thirteen will take that into consideration." Yuuki nodded. His throat was bone-dry. They hid in the shadows of bookshelves and advanced deeper. They reached the management terminal. Rukia began operating it swiftly. Only the sound of her fingers tapping the terminal's panel echoed in the silence. Then. "Who's there!" A patrolling Soul Reaper spotted them. A man in a black kagegomoro drew his zangetsu blade. "[scared]Crap!" Yuuki moved on reflex. He shoved a nearby bookshelf with all his strength. CRASH!! Ancient texts spilled across the floor like an avalanche. The patrolling Soul Reaper's vision was blocked. "Run, Rukia!" Rukia struck the final key. The words "Record Erasure Complete" appeared on the terminal. The two of them sprinted at full speed. They raced up the stairs. First fl