Rivals of Heaven

Winter, South Rukongai, Seireitei

There was a tremor in the atmosphere. A fold in space as a crack appeared in the air high above the South Rukongai. Light poured from an unseen dimension, and from it emerged a figure cloaked in shadow. As soon as it slipped through from the void the light snapped shut in a thin line and the shadows concealing the invader dissipated. The night returned to its silent slumbering, and aside from a subtle ripple of energy that radiated from that particular point in the sky everything had returned to the state it had been a few seconds before the mysterious appearance.

Cang Du stepped out into the Reishi-rich atmosphere of the Soul Society and breathed deeply, to the depths of his lungs. It had been much too long since he had last looked down upon the teeming mass of dead souls that sprawled out across the spiritual plane. In the distance he could see the faint, pale outline of the Seireitei rising prominently from the surrounding land. His lip twisted with contempt. He could not say he had missed the sight.

The moon was full, but its silver light was diluted by a thin mask of clouds that stretched across the sky. Flecks of snow spat around him, and he felt the cold bite at his mouth and nose. It was bitterly cold. Cang pulled the hood of his jacket over his head as he keenly observed the Rukongai below for signs of movement. His breath formed small white clouds in the air, but aside from that he was utterly still.

It was here in the Soul Society. He could think of no reason why it would not be. For nine years he had searched for it in the Human World, but to little avail. Now, however, he had at last found a way to migrate between the spiritual and physical realms, a discovery he had made only a few days before. A rift had opened near Beijing that served as natural Reishi converter, and while he did not fully understand the anomaly, he had at least discerned what it could be used for.

A gust of wind snagged at his back, and he was glad he had opted to wear the jacket. It was not as though he were typically concerned about his fashion, and as a result he somewhat comically resembled a punk-ass teen with a chip on his shoulder as he glowered silently at the Rukongai below. Cang’s eyes, however, were keen and bright as he drank in every detail around him, sensing the nearly imperceptible currents of Reishi that flowed in eternal concert throughout the surrounding world. He knew it would be impossible to find the fragment simply by feeling for it, and so he had decided the most efficient way would be to find a Shinigami, beat them into submission, and then question them thoroughly as to its location. Of course the plan was the furthest thing from foolproof, but at this point he could hardly care less about logistics. He was there, after all, to take back what was rightfully his. In this cause he was fully justified, and thus expected fate to submit to his will. And just as if he truly were on the right side of the universe, in that moment he picked out a pool of highly-concentrated Reiatsu from somewhere nearby. Cang smirked as he quickly determined the source of the spiritual pressure, and in the next instant he had vanished.