BLEACH: Soul Infiltration — The Color Between Black and White - Scream from the Ruins

Before dawn broke, Souga opened his eyes. He couldn't sleep. His body was exhausted, but his mind kept racing. Staring at the water stain on the ceiling, that vision played over and over. Karakura Town crumbling. Himself standing at the center of pale blue light. Rubble and blood spreading all around. He couldn't stop it. He didn't know how to stop it——. The wound that ran across Rukia's right shoulder wouldn't leave his mind. The moment red blood scattered across the floor was burned into the back of his eyelids. (It's my fault.) He'd known it all along. From the very beginning, he'd known everything. Hollows came because he was here. People were targeted because he existed. Yet he'd eaten meals without a care, slept in his futon, and let those two protect him. The hallway beyond was silent. Ichigo and Rukia were probably asleep now. Souga slowly got to his feet. He pulled a sheet of paper from the desk drawer. With trembling hands, he began writing the sentence he'd been rewriting in his head all night long. ——I'm sorry for the trouble. If I disappear, the Hollows won't come. You two won't die. Thank you. After finishing, he looked at his own hands once. No light came out. Just ordinary hands. But his fingertips were faintly warm——if these hands would destroy the world, if this power would hurt someone. He left the paper on the desk. Quietly closing the door, he vanished into the dawn of Karakura Town. ＊ The sky was turning white, but the morning chill still lingered. He hadn't decided where to go. He just walked. Past the shopping district with its shutters still down, through the narrow alleys of the residential area, and before he knew it, he was standing on the riverbed of the Misato River. A first-class river flowing along the south side of Karakura Town——about twenty-five meters wide, with a jogging course and baseball field on the riverbed. At this hour, there were no people. Only the sound of the river flowing. Souga collapsed onto the stone pavement of the embankment. He hugged his knees and bowed his head. Something kept spinning in his mind. He'd only tried to help an old man, and when he realized it, he was in an unfamiliar town. The night he was first chased by a Hollow. Ichigo's angry shout in the abandoned factory. The moment Rukia's shoulder started bleeding——it all kept spinning. It wouldn't stop. I can't do anything. I can't fight. My power goes berserk. People get hurt just by me existing. A tear fell onto the stone pavement. One drop, then another. Without even noticing he was crying, Souga's consciousness drifted further and further away. The sound of the river deepened his solitude even more. (But there's nothing I can do about it……) Words spoken only in his heart, to no one. It had nothing to do with them. It was his problem. His power, his existence——that was what threatened this town. That was the only thing he was certain of. He didn't know how much time had passed. Suddenly, his fist moved. He struck the stone pavement. Once. Then again. In that instant——both his hands caught fire. Pale blue light spilled from his fingertips. Unintentional. His emotions overflowed, and the power came out automatically. That light from when they'd measured it in the abandoned factory. But this time, no one was trying to control it. The light kept spreading. The stone pavement beneath his feet made a sizzling sound. The smell of burning. Part of the pavement was gouged out. The air trembled with heat. "Stop……stop it!" He clenched both fists. It wouldn't stop. "Stop, I'm telling you to stop!!" The light continued spreading toward the riverbank embankment. The stone pavement burned and blackened again. The grass on the embankment touched the light and crackled. Souga pressed both hands against the ground. Still it wouldn't stop. The words of Mystery echoed in his mind. ——Power that only destroys the world. That's exactly what it was, he was certain now. The more he feared his own power, the more his emotions spiraled, the stronger the light became. A vicious cycle. He understood it, but couldn't stop it. "Please stop……I'm begging you……!" His voice trembled. He was screaming while crying. No one came. Only the sound of the river. The light kept spreading. Then. A cold that pierced the skin rained down from above. Not temperature. Spiritual pressure——that sensation he'd felt on the roof of the abandoned factory. A bottomless heaviness. Souga looked up. A figure stood on the opposite bank of the river. Silver-white long hair tied back. Eyes of different colors on each side——left red, right silver. A mask hung from the neck, and a line-shaped scar ran across the left eye. A tall frame of 185 centimeters looked down at him without a sound. This time was different. There was no relaxed smile like when he'd seen it on the factory roof. Battle stance. Center of gravity low. Gaze fixed straight on Souga. The existence slowly crossed the river. Its feet didn't sink even as they touched the water surface. Spiritual pressure spread like ripples, transforming the surrounding air. It drew closer. Souga tried to run. His body wouldn't move. After the rampage, there was no strength left in his entire body. Light still spilled from his hands, but he couldn't even control that. The existence reached out its hand. It placed its palm against the rampaging pale blue light. The light was sucked in. Like water being pulled into a drain, the light that had been pouring from Souga's hands flowed toward that palm. His body felt like it was floating. Being pulled away from the ground. His consciousness began to fade. "……This power was mine from the beginning" A low, monotone voice. Emotionless. As if merely stating a fact. "I'll recover you along with it" Souga tried to swing his arms. Tried to move his legs. He could do nothing. After the rampage, there was nothing left in his body. He was being pulled in. The space around the existence began to distort. A rift was opening between the present world and Hueco Mundo——the dark otherworld where Hollows dwelled. A black, deep darkness opened its mouth. (I ran away) His mind grew quiet. (Came alone……and couldn't do anything) Darkness began spreading from the edge of his vision. His consciousness grew distant. Then——a voice reached him from far away. "Don't you dare run away, you idiot——!!" Ichigo's voice. He knew it wouldn't make it in time. Mystery dragged Souga into the rift of darkness. For a moment, he heard the river's sound. He saw the whiteness of the sky. Then——everything disappeared. ＊ When Ichigo jumped onto the riverbed, there was nothing there. No, that wasn't right. The stone pavement was burned black. Several streaks of pale blue light ran along the riverbank embankment. The smell of burned grass. The remnants of heat still drifted in the air. But Souga wasn't there. His presence was nowhere to be found. Ichigo slammed his fist into the ground. Boom!! The stone pavement cracked. Blood seeped from his knuckles. He struck again. Blood seeped again. "Damn it……damn it!!" His voice echoed across the riverbed. When he'd found the note, he should have moved faster. He hadn't trusted him completely. All he'd done was watch, stay vigilant, keep saying the same things. It had all backfired. He couldn't stop Souga from going out alone. Footsteps sounded. Running. "……Ichigo" Rukia arrived. The bandage on her right shoulder was slightly stained. She'd run here even though yesterday's wound hadn't fully closed. Her short purple hair was disheveled. Rukia glanced at the riverbed and immediately pulled out her Denreishinki——the communication device that Soul Reapers used in the present world to detect Hollows and communicate with Soul Society. She ran her fingers across the screen. Scanning in all directions, again and again. "……There's no spiritual pressure response" Her voice was calm. But there was a tension in it that wasn't usually there. "I've run a full-spectrum scan. Souga's wavelength——the unique pattern of that pale blue light——isn't registering anywhere" Ichigo looked up. "What do you mean" "There's a high possibility he was pulled into the Hueco Mundo side of the boundary. The entrance to Hueco Mundo——the dark otherworld where Hollows dwell——can only be reached through a rift called the Garganta. But……" Rukia looked at the burn marks on the ground. The traces of pale blue light. "There's no record of where the rift in the Dangai opened. That existence completely erased the traces" "Contact Soul Society——" "The communication jamming is still ongoing. We can't ask for help from the Gotei 13" Ichigo fell silent. The two of them stood before the burn marks. Only the sound of the river flowed. The morning light was growing stronger. An ordinary morning in Karakura Town was beginning. But here alone, it was as if time had been left behind in another world. Where was Souga? They didn't even know if he was alive. Rukia ignored the pain in her shoulder and resumed analyzing the Denreishinki. She switched screens and began inputting something. "If I can pinpoint the source of the communication jamming……it might become a clue leading to Souga's location. The jamming signal has patterns too. If I trace it backwards" Her voice was quiet. But her hands didn't stop moving. That was the only possibility left in this place. Ichigo clenched his bleeding fist again. He looked at the burn marks. The traces of pale blue light reflected faintly in the morning sun. Only proof that Souga had been here remained.

日本語

What is Novelia? →

Episode 5

Name: BLEACH: Soul Infiltration — The Color Between Black and White
Author: Novelia

What is Novelia?

Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.

Learn more about Novelia →New sign-ups get 5,000pt