Chapter 18: The Blade of Unknown Origin

Chapter 18 - 18: The Blade of Unknown Origin After returning to his room, Nanatsuki immediately took out the extra reward—an Asauchi. After carefully examining it for a long time, Nanatsuki came to a conclusion—this was just an ordinary Asauchi. He couldn't find anything special about it; it looked identical to the ones distributed to students earlier that morning. Nanatsuki considered a possibility. He sat cross-legged, placed the Asauchi across his lap, and immediately began Zanpakutō Meditation Training. Once he settled into position, a status appeared on his Status Interface indicating he was meditating. With a thought, Nanatsuki poured all the Zanpakutō Meditation EXP he'd gained into it. In an instant, he entered a deep meditative state. His Reiatsu suddenly grew wild and violent. To his shock, his soul connected with the newly obtained Asauchi! He already had one Asauchi that he had used for meditation—based on his sensing, that Asauchi had already become a Zanpakutō. But for some unknown reason, he had never been able to enter his Inner World to communicate with it. Now, something unprecedented was happening. His soul was forming a connection with a second Asauchi. A brand-new Zanpakutō was about to be born! Nanatsuki's Reiatsu began to surge wildly. The sudden explosion in energy took on tangible form and burst outward, engulfing the entire room. Chairs, tables, and miscellaneous items inside were all swept away by the pressure. On Nanatsuki's Status Interface, his Reiatsu level was skyrocketing: 32, 35, 40, 45... Just as his Reiatsu surged uncontrollably, his shadow began to move. It was as if his shadow had come alive. Something seemed to be flowing through it—squirming in irregular patterns. Gradually, the shadow began to solidify and extend upward into the air, condensing. "Nanatsuki! What's going on...?" Katori Batsu'unsai was the first to notice the disturbance. She rushed over at once. The moment she opened the door, a blast of Reiatsu slammed into her. She hurriedly shielded herself from flying splinters of wood. The wooden floorboards had been torn up by the sheer pressure. Seeing the blade on Nanatsuki's lap, Batsu'unsai immediately understood—he was in Zanpakutō meditation. She also noticed the strange changes in his shadow. This had never happened during his previous sessions. This was the first time she'd seen something like this from Nanatsuki. But he had clearly entered a deep meditative state, and his soul was connected to the Asauchi. If she interrupted him now, he could suffer backlash. After a brief hesitation, Batsu'unsai decided to wait and observe. From Nanatsuki's shadow, countless black threads stretched out and condensed into a mass, its shape resembling a heart. Thump thump— The black heart began to beat. Thump thump— Thump thump— The sound grew louder, booming like thunder inside the skull. Thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump— The heart pounded faster and faster, like an endless war drum. Batsu'unsai covered her ears. The deep, resonating beats made her head spin. It became difficult to even stay standing. Then, after the deafening rhythm, the heart's beat suddenly steadied. Moments later, the black heart slowly sank back into the shadow. The thunderous sounds faded with it. All signs of abnormality in the shadow vanished as if nothing had ever happened. But Batsu'unsai knew what she'd seen wasn't an illusion. Her ears itched painfully. When she touched them, she found her fingertips stained with bright red blood. Her eardrums had been damaged by the sound of that terrifying heartbeat! Now, her ears were ringing so loudly, she couldn't hear anything. Nanatsuki awoke from his meditation. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Batsu'unsai's face covered in blood. His heart skipped a beat—he thought her Spiritual Pressure Core injury had suddenly worsened. But her demeanor didn't match someone suffering internal injury. "What happened to you?" "I can't hear!" Seeing her gesture to indicate she'd lost her hearing, Nanatsuki looked closer and noticed the blood was coming from her ears. "What happened? Your ears are injured?" Nanatsuki had no idea what had just occurred and immediately used Kaido to treat her. Her hearing was soon restored. "What happened to your ears?" Nanatsuki scanned her with his Reiatsu and found no changes in her Spiritual Pressure Core, finally allowing himself to relax. "You don't know? During your meditation, your shadow went through something terrifying!" Batsu'unsai recounted everything she had just seen. "My shadow... changed?" Nanatsuki had been completely unaware of the changes outside. His focus had been wholly on forming a connection with the Asauchi—and he had successfully entered his Inner World. It was strange—his Inner World was pitch black. But not empty. Everything in it was simply black in color. He hadn't seen the spirit of the Zanpakutō. He hadn't stayed long before waking. Though he didn't meet the spirit, successfully entering the Inner World was already a big breakthrough. His Reiatsu had increased to 52! Spiritual Pressure Rank Eleven! A massive leap! Every Shinigami undergoes a qualitative transformation at three key stages: when their Zanpakutō takes shape, when they achieve Shikai, and when they unlock Bankai. Nanatsuki's successful entry into his Inner World had triggered the feedback boost he should've received when his Zanpakutō first formed. "I managed to enter my Inner World during meditation," Nanatsuki said, looking at the Zanpakutō in his hand. This Zanpakutō had once been that extra Asauchi he received as a reward. He could feel it clearly—this blade was no longer an Asauchi. After connecting with his soul, it had transformed into his Zanpakutō. But now that meant... he had two Zanpakutō. There were cases of Shinigami wielding dual blades in the Soul Society, but none of them had obtained theirs the way Nanatsuki had—one after another, from separate Asauchi. "You entered your Inner World?" Batsu'unsai was thrilled. She knew Nanatsuki had long struggled with this, and now that he succeeded, she was genuinely happy for him. "You're a dual wielder? Then you should start learning dual-blade swordsmanship," she said, noticing the two blades. "Yeah, looks like I'll need to," Nanatsuki replied, not mentioning the origin of the second Asauchi. He couldn't explain where it came from. The truth was, even the first Asauchi he used for meditation had come from unknown origins. He had picked it up at the very spot where he'd first awakened after crossing into this world.