The moment everything goes silent
Ethan didn't even feel the blow.
One second he was breathing hard, trying to steady his stance while Unohana approached with that death-angel calmness…
…and the next, his vision blurred as a warm hand pressed flat against his chest.
Unohana's Reiatsu poured into him like a needle threading its way into the soul.
Ethan gasped.
His knees buckled.
The world around him folded inward, like paper collapsing into a single point.
Unohana whispered, "You're resisting. Stop."
He didn't get the chance to object.
The ground vanished.
The sky vanished.
Then—
---
He fell.
Not physically — spiritually.
Like being dropped into an ocean with no water, no light, and no direction.
A downward spiral through the weight of his own consciousness.
Something tugged at him.
Voices.
Soft.
Layered.
Feminine.
As if multiple women whispered in unison:
"Finally…"
"You took long enough…"
"We thought you'd never come."
Then the darkness cracked, like glass struck by a hammer.
---
His Inner World bloomed into existence
Ethan gasped in the sudden brightness.
He stood on a vast plain of shimmering water — an infinite mirror that reflected the sky but didn't ripple when he moved. Above him, instead of clouds, there were drifting pieces of white paper, torn like shikigami, each glowing faintly with spiritual light.
The air tasted clean.
Still.
Pure.
But not empty.
Someone was watching him.
---
The First Spirit
He heard footsteps.
From the glowing horizon, a feminine silhouette approached — her reflection perfectly mirrored beneath her feet. She moved with the grace of a dancer, her long white hair trailing behind like silk ribbons.
When she stepped close enough to see clearly, Ethan's breath caught.
She was beautiful, yes — but in a way that felt unsettlingly familiar.
As if parts of her face resembled memories he didn't know were memories.
Her eyes were two shades of blue — the same unnatural blue streak his Zanpakutō emitted.
She smiled gently.
"Took you long enough, wielder."
Ethan blinked.
"Are you… my Zanpakutō?"
She laughed softly — a bell-like, crystalline sound.
"I am one of them."
Her voice carried no ego, but absolute certainty.
"You may call me Yoru-no-Hikari… the Light of the Night."
He repeated the name in his mind — Yoru-no-Hikari — but before he could ask more, another voice echoed behind him.
A completely different voice.
---
The Second Spirit
"Oi, move aside. You're hogging him."
Ethan turned around.
A second spirit approached, walking with hands behind her head, hips swaying lazily as if she owned the entire world. She had short, dark auburn hair, eyes like molten gold, and an expression that said she found everything either amusing or disappointing.
She leaned forward, inspecting Ethan with a grin.
"Not bad. Looks scrawny, though."
Yoru-no-Hikari sighed lightly.
"Be polite."
The auburn-haired spirit rolled her eyes.
"Please. If he wants me polite, he should train faster."
She flicked Ethan's forehead — and he actually stumbled back.
"Name's Akahana."
She smirked.
"Try not to embarrass us."
Ethan, still dazed, looked between them.
"How… how many of you are there?"
They glanced at each other.
Then, in perfect unison:
"More."
Before he could question that, the water underfoot trembled.
---
The Third Presence — the hidden one
A cold wind brushed Ethan's neck.
The light dimmed.
The floating paper fragments stopped drifting.
Yoru-no-Hikari's expression tensed for the first time.
Akahana clicked her tongue.
"Tch… she woke up?"
Something was approaching.
Not walking.
Not speaking.
But watching.
A faint silhouette stood far out across the mirrored horizon — too distant to see clearly, yet the pressure it emitted was unmistakable.
Ethan's skin prickled.
His instincts screamed.
The world itself seemed to lean away from that figure.
Yoru-no-Hikari stepped closer to Ethan protectively.
"Do not focus on her yet."
Akahana crossed her arms.
"Yeah. She's… complicated."
Ethan swallowed.
"Is she also—?"
"A spirit?"
Yoru-no-Hikari nodded.
"Yes."
"But not one you can handle."
Akahana added bluntly.
The distant silhouette didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
Didn't blink.
Just watched.
Waiting.
Ethan felt cold sweat gather at his temples.
---
Unohana's voice cuts through the world
Suddenly, reality trembled.
A foreign Reiatsu pressed from above like a surgeon's scalpel.
Unohana's voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere:
"Ethan.
Speak with them."
He nearly jumped.
Even his spirits reacted — Yoru-no-Hikari straightened, Akahana clicked her teeth in annoyance.
The ground pulsed with Unohana's spiritual pressure, as if reminding everyone who initiated this.
Her voice again:
"Understand them.
Or you will die to them."
Ethan shivered.
"Great," Akahana muttered. "Love her training style."
---
Understanding the bond
Yoru-no-Hikari touched Ethan's cheek, surprisingly gentle.
"We have watched you.
Every battle. Every hesitation.
Every time you nearly died."
Akahana nudged his shoulder.
"And every stupid decision. There were a lot."
Hikari smiled apologetically.
"What she means is: we care."
Ethan blinked, stunned.
"You… care?"
Yoru-no-Hikari nodded slowly.
"Of course. You are our wielder."
Akahana smirked.
"And someone's gotta keep you alive long enough to stop being pathetic."
"Hey—"
"Affection," she said flatly. "Learn to recognize it."
Before he could respond, Yoru-no-Hikari stepped back and extended her hand.
From her palm, light gathered — blue, white, silver — forming into shifting patterns of energy.
"You are not meant to wield a single power," she said.
Akahana snapped her fingers, forming sparks of golden flame.
"You're stuck with all of us."
Yoru-no-Hikari:
"Each with our own gift."
Akahana:
"Each with our own price."
Ethan stared at the lights in their hands.
Then he glanced toward the distant, unmoving silhouette.
"…Even her?"
They didn't answer.
Which was answer enough.
---
The spirits' warning
Yoru-no-Hikari's voice softened.
"Ethan.
To wield us, you must grow.
Sharpen yourself.
Strengthen your resolve."
Akahana leaned in close.
"And stop holding back.
We can feel it.
You're afraid."
He froze.
She jabbed a finger into his chest.
"You fear losing control.
You fear hurting people.
You fear becoming… something else."
Ethan's heartbeat quickened.
Yoru-no-Hikari took his hand gently.
"But power is not evil."
Akahana added:
"Cowardice is."
He exhaled shakily.
"…You're really something."
Akahana grinned.
"Damn right."
---
Accepted — but not complete
Yoru-no-Hikari raised her hand.
Akahana did the same.
Both touched his forehead with one finger each.
Energy surged — not painful, but overwhelming, like his soul was being rewired from the inside.
A bond formed.
A connection strengthened.
But not finished.
Yoru-no-Hikari whispered:
"We are not yet whole."
Akahana added:
"When you're strong enough…
you'll meet the rest."
Ethan swallowed.
"And that one out there…?"
Yoru-no-Hikari's expression turned solemn.
"Pray you meet her last."
Akahana cracked her knuckles.
"And pray you're not alone when you do."
---
Unohana's pull
The world trembled again.
Unohana's spiritual thread yanked tight.
Yoru-no-Hikari stepped back gracefully.
Akahana gave him a playful salute.
The distant silhouette didn't move — but Ethan could swear it tilted its head ever so slightly.
Unohana's voice:
"Time's up."
The Inner World shattered like glass.