The War of Four: Seeds of Revelation

Previous Chapter

Breathe, A Tearful Reunion
"So cold."

Even though he had lost all sensation within his body as well as his life, Suna was still barely aware of himself. If he had a form, it would feel as if he was within a cold and dead weight, trapped and unable to move. Yet at the same time, he would feel himself floating aimlessly through what he presumed was a lifeless void. There was no sound within this state of limbo, with not even the whispering of the wind to keep him company. The touch of death had left him abandoned and without a soul, drifting in a sea of chilling blackness.

''I'm so damn cold. Haven't those big wigs up in the sky decided my fate yet? It's starting to get boring.''

The only thing that was entertaining him was his own semblance of thought, which produced weary and irritated complaints about his situation. A year could have gone by and he wouldn't have been aware of it. But did it really take this long for his ultimate fate to be decided and his judgement to be handed down to him? He had slaughtered innocents, destroyed the lives of too many and was unrepetent to the end. It should have been made clear to the Spirit King that his soul belonged in the hottest pits of Hell. So why wasn't he there, burning alive in the flames of Izanami's daughter? It seemed so much better than this empty abyss.

''I know what I am, and I know what I've done. I'm pretty sure you do to. Just end this farce and let me serve my sentence. I don't need to be stuck in this waiting room.''

In everything he was expecting to happen then, he didn't expect his own voice to answer back.

It is not yet your time, Tekketsu Suna.

If he had eyes, they sure would have opened wide at the sound.

W-what?!

Thanks to the actions of your fellow Horseman, your life is still your own. The voice - his voice - continued to speak to him. 'There are many lives who were ready to join the plains of eternal judgement. But because your ally gave his own life, all of you will be spared from the judge's fingers. You will not return to the dust, but to the world of the spirit from which you left.'

The hell do you mean--

All of a sudden, it hit him. The sensation of his form and mind returning to him made him stop his shocked questioning of the mysterious voice and focus his attention on himself as he began to "reboot". He could feel his heart beating within his chest again, his energy slowly flowing back into his system like water filling a glass.

'He has wished that you continue to fight against what is now your mutual enemy. To destroy the ones who betrayed you.'

He found his eyes slowly opening to a world of haze. Everything was a clouded blur, and he had to open and close his eyes a few times to get his vision back into gear. As that slowly came into focus, he could see the blackened skies that hovered over the Vandenreich fortress. He opened his mouth, letting out a weak groan as his nervous system turned on. Although he was severely groggy from his "nap", he could feel the energy exhausted in his fight with Shin'en burning within him once more. Thanks to Kyōaku's sacrifice, he was now alive and free.

'Fight on, Horseman of the apocalypse. Fight on...'

Slowly, he brought himself to a sitting position and looked over in what he knew would be his friend's direction.

"Seihai...?"

A tear-ridden Seihai would suddenly gasp, hearing Suna's voice. Her hands, splayed out in front of her in concentration on reinforcing the emerald lit barrier of Kidō that encased their proximity in a dome of sorts. Turning around, a relieved smile with tear-streaked cheeks turned to look at Suna gratefully, "Thank goodness. He was able to save your life as well..."

That was enough to confirm Suna's suspicions and the words spoken to him.

Kyōaku was dead. In a blaze of glory, he had resurrected the fallen soldiers of the Inner Circle and restored those lost numbers to a much more stable status. He could only guess as to how the majority of them would react upon seeing the war-torn fortress instead of the Rukongai and the Seireitei they had been patrolling. It was the most noble and humble thing to do for someone who had been parading himself around like a god, and that fact caused a slow, small grin to cross Suna's face. He lowered his head and slowly shook it, finding a grim humor at the irony.

"I think he just might have saved all of us..." He muttered, slowly pushing himself into position where he could rest his arms on his knees "I can't believe it. All this time, I kept telling myself that he'd never do it. But he just had to prove me wrong. A genius, a god, warrior and hero to the very end... what a show-off." Although his words possessed clear humor to them, there was the subtlest hints of mourning that only the ones close to him would've recognized.

"You don't need to be brave, Suna-san," Seihai softly replied back, keeping her gaze towards the barrier as tears poured down her cheeks anew, "he was a comrade of yours, Shikyo-san's, and Shūkurō-san's. He was a precious part of the organization and...and...he was precious to all of us...and...to me...!"

If there was one thing that Suna hated more in the world, it was the sound of a woman's grief... especially when it came from the likes of Seihai.

He raised his lowered head to look at her when he heard her voice crack. Seeing the tears run down her face suddenly made the most painful of sword wounds pale in comparison to the pain that shot through his heart right then. The scientist may have done a good thing for them when he gave his life up for theirs. But in doing so, he had to leave behind those that loved him the most. He may have given the Inner Circle a second chance to fight against their adversaries. But as a cost, he left those who carried him as a valuable with empty hands. That was displayed by Seihai herself as she broke in front of him. It almost made him want to shed tears alongside him.

But he still had his pride as a man. He still was aware of the fact that if he showed his sorrow, there wouldn't be any reassuring voice between them. If he wanted to ensure that she held hope and morale, he would have to become that voice for her if only for this moment. It was what allowed him to push aside Seihai's offer and move him to his feet. With a slow gait and a weary gaze, he approached her back. It didn't take long for him to get close to her, and when he did, he gently lowered himself down to a kneeling position. He took in a deep breath through his nose, mentally making sure that his chosen words would be the correct words.

Then, he raised his arms and embraced her, bringing him close to his form.

"If I ain't brave..." He whispered, his tone subdued but still holding a semblance of his casual self. "Who's going to tell you to be?" He closed his eyes for a moment, allowing himself to bask in her presence as he held her. "I'm not gonna lie to you, kid. I'm pretty sure nothing I say is going to make this situation any better. But I know that Kyōaku wouldn't have wanted you to sit here and crying over him. His sacrifice was made so that the rest of us could live on and carry out the fight. We'll have all the time in the world to mourn him after this is over and done with. But for now, we'll keep marching and personally make sure that Ywhach and Aizen pay for taking him. Are you with me?"

The warmth, the assuring strength, and his kind words didn't go unnoticed to Seihai. Tears slowly halted their heavy output, as she reached up and grasped Suna's hands. Raising his palms up, she comically used them to wipe away her dampened cheeks, sighing heavily into the calloused hands.

"I am. Just as he is...with me..."

As she spoke those words, something happened within Seihai. Eyes widened and her body seemed to spasm. Spiritual pressure exuded from her body in a steady rumble, rapidly increasing in intensity and output, causing the ground around her to crack as well as the barrier encased around her. An emerald pyre of light jettisoned from her body, as she found her form weightlessly levitated into the air, causing a cyclone of power to be unveiled before Suna but not thrust him back more than washing over his pores.

A violet hued dispersal of energy discharged from her linen, transforming it into an identical cloak that Kyōaku had donned as a Horseman. Lacking only the helm, her spiritual power seemed to transcend that of even her late beloved's, that much was clear. Gently, the cyclone vanished within her body as her now boot-covered feet landed upon the ground.

A crimson bird-shaped sign burned brightly upon her forehead, signifying the transfer of genetic and spiritual data that Kyōaku had stored within her. Looking at her gloved hands, she clenched them and opened them with a dazed look in her eyes, "I...I have...everything he had. Is this what he meant by me...continuing his legacy?"

It was needless to say, Suna did not see an event like this coming.

Even if the sudden release of energy didn't knock him back, the sheer existence of it and its abrupt appearance stunned him beyond belief. He took steps back in order to witness it with shocked eyes, his hair and cape billowing in the winds that had been generated. Although it wasn't affecting him, he knew. That kind of power was that even beyond what Kyōaku had been capable of. As he watched her transformation take place, thoughts were running through his head at a hundred and twenty miles per hour. "Incredible..." He thought to himself. "Something like this was waiting to come out at this moment? A power that leaps ahead of even the likes of us Horsemen? To think that Kyōaku had a wild card like this in his hands... I really am starting to think I underestimated his line of thinking..."

At her words, a grin slowly came across his face. "Apparently so, kid." He said, straightening himself up to look at her. "His memories, knowledge and all of his powers... they're yours to use. I guess he really did entrust you with the continuation of his legacy, to pick up where he had left off. Personally, I'd say it's a pretty darn reckless move. But hell, he always knew better than I did. With that being said..."

He took a few steps forward until they were standing mirror with each other, their cloaks billowing in the winds that blew. He wasn't just staring at a second-hand assistant, but an apprentice that claimed the throne of the master. Now they were standing before each other as equals, not as leader and subordinate. It was enough to send chills down Suna's spine. But all it did on the outside was widen his grin as he looked at her, finishing what would be a welcoming sentence.

"Welcome aboard... Third Horseman."

Death filled with Life.

That was the sensation that Hana felt. Looking around through the waves of liquid light that shimmered over her pores, like a mixture of a summer's warm rays and a bath in a sauna, without any dampness. It was beautiful and bittersweet to behold, but what was breathtaking was what came after the light disappeared. Hundreds, no, thousands of spiritual signatures rising to the surface. Gone was the maliciously blinding spiritual power of the Vandentei, only revealing the many unified and living entities that were raised back to life.

A smile graced her face. Despite the cut across her left cheek, she had managed to keep a good even-matched fight with Haschwalth. While she was content, she knew the Balance would be tipped soon, now that favor was falling upon her own side. She just hoped that she could do some lasting damage to the Quincy before that happened.

"Are you at a loss of words, Quincy?" Hana jeered, as she raised her ring blade in his direction.

Haschwalth stared out into the horizon, his once impassive gaze now one of disqust and frustration. In one simple motion, the Horsemen of the Inner Circle had nearly undone all of their plans, all of the Sternritter's hard work, and all of Yhwach's ambitions. He could feel his Majesty's power decrease, but steadily rise, and now he knew that they only had one option left.

"I am." he said plainly, looking back at Hana once more. "But not at this sudden change in the balance, rather, how quickly your Captain Commander fell at the hands of his Majesty." he continued as he glanced down at his Spirit Weapon. "And to think, he didn't even have to use his own power, but one that he stole..."

"W-What?" Hana choked out, as her sudden burst of resolve that rose within her chest stopped. The words, hauntingly off topic of what she spoke of, were regarding someone of the utmost importance in her life. Save for her beloved, it was the one man that held the Soul Society together for nearly four hundred years and beyond.

"The Head Captain has fallen? Impossible!" Hana refused to accept this, calling it a bluff as her eyes steeled with anger towards the Quincy.

"You're lying," She growled, her grip audibly tightened around the ring blade's inner bladeless frame.

"Don't be so childish." the Quincy responded calmly, staring at her in a blank manner. "I feel the balance at any point that it can turn. Your fortune briefly spiked, and now it is starting to fall once more; Your Commander's spiritual signature has completely vanished, as was anticipated. Not even he is capable of standing up to the power of His Majesty."

Hana couldn't deny his stoic words. If there was one thing that could attest to his claims, it was the fact she felt every signature of spiritual life within the Soul Society except for his. Even the Quincy King's, though dimmer than it was once before, she could feel and not the inferno that was Furuidenshō's spiritual power.

"N-No!" Hana felt her legs quiver, her eyes looking down as she realized with growing horror what just occurred. Falling to her knees, she felt her Zanpakutō clatter to her side. Tears began to form in her eyes as she felt the fire that kept her strong throughout this bloody war's skirmishes and tragedies.

"Y-You can't be dead. You can't be!" Hana shouted up into the air, not even registering Haschwalth's presence anymore. After sobbing for a few seconds, her cries turned into howls of agony, "HEAD CAPTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN!!!!"

Jugram simply stared down at Hana impassively. In this grief and sorrow stricken state, she was all but vulnerable to a death blow, and his fight would be over just like that. However, he had a strange desire to let her wallow in her own pity for a few moments longer; death for a Shinigami in this state would be far too merciful, in his eyes at least. But at that same time, he was now faced with a new problem: Yhwach's power had decreased as well, and in order for him to regain that power, possibly more, the Sternritter would all have to resort to their endgame, something that only he could do, as the Sternritter leader.

"As Grandmaster of the Sternritter..." he began, his body beginning to radiate an intense azure fire like aura, raising his sword up to point it in the sky. "I hereby initiate the final selection..."

All of it would bring nothing but stunned silence from both the barrier-entrapped Shikyo and Michiko.

The news of Furuidenshō's death was enough ice-cold water Shikyo's head had been dumped into. But seeing the seemingly invincible and relentless successor of his position break down and crumble was an even worse shock for both of them. They watched with widened eyes and slightly agape mouths as the young woman screamed to the heavens for her now-deceased predecessor. In just a matter of seconds, they had been brought together by Kyōaku's sacrifice and then hit hard again. It made Shikyo wonder if the ressurection of their forces would make a difference.

Then...

"Mommy, he's glowing!" Michiko cried, pointing at Haschwalth as he ignited himself with the flames. "He's glowing!"

"What the hell is he doing?!" Shikyo thought to herself, her shocked gaze focusing on the challenger Quincy. Immediately, she pushed herself up from her sitting position on the ground and staggered to the wall of the barrier. Her hands pressed themselves against it as she watched the "final selection" take place. This couldn't have been some sort of finishing move for Hana. In her weakened state, all it would've taken was a single sword strike and his enemy would be down for the count. It had to be something else, something much bigger...

And then it clicked in her head. Her eyes gained a horrified edge to their gaze, and suddenly she found her own confidence wavering.

"No..."

"What in the--?!"

Suna suddenly found himself gazing into the sky as he felt a sudden disturbance within the atmosphere. In the area where he had detected Shikyo, he could feel a Quincy's spiritual pressure as it rose. At the same time, he could feel a multitude of other Quincy signatures dropping from his radar. "The Stern Ritters' spiritual energies are dropping?" He asked rhetorically, gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes. "Oh, hell... I can't believe it. He's started it!" Like Shikyo, he had managed to figure out right away what was happening within the Vandenreich's ranks. Although the dwindling of their enemy's spiritual power would've normally been a good thing, only an idiot would've assumed such was the case here. But it took one who had a good idea of what Ywhach was to figure out what it really meant for all of them.

The conclusion was not a good thing.

He sharply turned his head towards Seihai, his expression showing urgency and alarm. "Seihai!" He barked. "Tenteikūra spell to all of their and our officers! The Stern Ritters are using their wild card!"

Seihai was in a daze of her own. The Captain that had spared and beaten the man who was closest to a father to her, the one she rushed to avenge his death against the Quincy who murdered and betrayed him in cold blood, was now dead. When she heard Suna shout her name, it was all she could do but follow orders.

"R-Right!" Clasping her hands, she immediately conjured the black writing along the length of her arms before pressing them out twards a blue cube that spread out black roots into the air, "Tenteikūra!"

Haschwalth then closed his eyes, as his entire body began to corrode away in the flames that he generated. With a solemn, echoing voice, his final words would be heard from all in the Seireitei.

"The Mask of the Ruler falls... revealing the Father of all Quincy..."

Within that instant, Haschwalth and the flames around him exploded into a massive pillar of light, ending in a wandenreich emblem shaped cross that scraped the skies above, and thus cleared away the darkening clouds.

-

"Our time has come..." Cang Du calmly said to himself, seeing the pillar of light that Haschwalth had generated. He himself had endured quite a bit of punishment in his battle against the 2nd Division Captain, but his ability "The Iron" had made him virtually immune to most of her attacks, and it seemed that he would win this fight, but then he heard Haschwalth's words.

His body too became engulfed in blue flames, and he turned his head over to look at the beaten Sazuke impassively. "Your fate now lies in the hands of His Majesty. Pray that he will at least let your death be swift."