The next morning.
In a private Sternritter dormitory within Silbern, where warm light streamed through the window, Ichigo slowly woke up.
"Ow... my back..."
Ichigo tried to sit up but immediately clutched his lower back, groaning in sudden pain.
The combination of manipulating Reishi for the first time and manifesting a Heilig Bogen yesterday had taken a significant toll on his body.
"Better get changed first..."
Dragging his stiff body out of bed, Ichigo glanced around his still-unfamiliar room before approaching the wardrobe.
Inside, the closet was packed with nothing but the white uniforms of the Lichtreich.
.
.
.
"Morning, Haschwalth."
"...Morning."
Ichigo offered an awkward greeting to Haschwalth, whom he ran into at the cafeteria. When Haschwalth replied with an equally awkward response, Ichigo scratched his cheek.
Carrying a tray with steaming soup and freshly baked, moist bread, Ichigo quietly sat down across from Haschwalth.
"...Did you get back okay? I stayed behind to practice making the Heilig Bogen some more, so I didn't see how things went for you."
"......It was the same for me. I received some swordsmanship training..."
"...........Ah."
"......"
A heavy silence hung between them for a moment. Then, Hubert approached, yawning and wiping a stray tear from the corner of his eye.
"What's this? Bonded already? I guess being in the same recruitment class makes things move fast."
"...Do you want to eat with us, Mr. Hubert? It's pretty good."
"What's with this 'Mr. Hubert' to a superior... Hah, forget it. I won't even bother. And you have the nerve to suggest your superior eat at the same table as you?"
Though Hubert sounded exasperated by Ichigo's casually impudent tone, he slowly brought his tray over and sat down.
"I'll accept without hesitation, then."
Ichigo watched him, resting his chin on his hand with a look of disbelief.
"...Do you not have any friends to eat with?"
"...Friends?"
At Ichigo's question, Hubert's gaze briefly drifted toward a corner of the cafeteria.
There was Algora Lallau, eating and chatting comfortably with other Quincies.
"One guy is someone I can't find an opening to join..."
Then there was Johann Seydlitz, who was processing paperwork instead of eating, despite being in the cafeteria.
"And the other is a crazy old man who works while he eats."
Hubert briefly looked at a blonde woman, Nikita Deathrock, who was munching on bread while clutching a gun to her chest alone. He then slowly picked up his own bread.
"I know of an inferior crazy bitch, but I don't know about 'friends.'"
"...."
A moment later, a barrage of bullets flew toward Hubert, but fortunately, the meal ended in silence after that. Ichigo felt a sense of comfort, his stomach full for the first time in a while.
"I'm stuffed... Don't tell me we're training right away this morning?"
"Of course it's training. Get ready."
Hubert stood up and looked down at Ichigo.
"That bizarre Heilig Bogen from yesterday... Today, make it your goal to manifest it instantly without any fumbling."
"Got it!"
Ichigo answered confidently and was about to stand up when another Quincy approached and spoke to him.
"Are you Master Ichigo?"
"Huh? Yes. That's me."
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Ichigo answered hesitantly. The woman nodded and spoke.
"His Majesty is looking for you."
.
.
.
The audience chamber of Silbern was stiflingly quiet.
A staircase stretched seemingly without end.
At the very top sat the throne, occupied by the master of the world known as the Lichtreich.
"I have heard the news, Ichigo. Hubert reported to me last night. He said you successfully manifested a Heilig Bogen."
"Ah, um... yes. It was my first time, so I was still pretty clumsy."
As Ichigo mumbled while awkwardly scratching the back of his head, Yhwach's lips curled into a slight smile as he watched Ichigo with an unreadable gaze.
"The report said... you manifested your Heilig Bogen in quite an interesting way. It described it as 'forcibly dragging' the Reishi. Not calling it forth, but seizing it."
"...Yes. I don't really know the difference yet, but..."
He leaned back in his throne and rested his chin on his hand. His crimson eyes seemed to pierce into the deepest parts of Ichigo's soul.
"You must have many questions, Ichigo. About your Reiatsu, which is far more powerful than other Quincies. About your Reishi manipulation, which differs from theirs. And... about your parents as well."
"...!"
Was he really going to tell him the truth about his parents already?
Ichigo swallowed hard, his eyes shining as he looked up at Yhwach.
It felt like he was about to uncover his hidden secrets much sooner than expected.
"I shall put it simply."
Yhwach lightly raised a single finger.
"You are a being born because of me. Specifically, through my power, 'The Almighty.'"
"...Excuse me?"
The Almighty?
As Ichigo failed to hide his confusion at the unfamiliar term, Yhwach nodded.
"The Almighty is omniscience and omnipotence. It is the power to know all futures and perceive all truths."
He knows the future?
Ichigo couldn't hide his shock at such an overwhelming declaration.
'...That really is omniscience and omnipotence.'
Knowing the future meant knowing exactly which actions would lead to gain or loss. It was, quite literally, a god-like power.
However, Yhwach wasn't finished.
"Using this power... I combined the strength of my own kind, the 'Quincy'; the strength of the ferocious 'Hollows'; the strength of 'Humans,' who are ordinary yet possess unknown talents; the strength of the 'Soul Reapers,' who call themselves balancers; and finally, the 'Fullbringers.' I combined the powers of these five races to create you."
".....???"
Yhwach spoke calmly, as if reciting a verse from a book of genesis.
Ichigo's brain stalled under the sudden deluge of terms he had never heard before.
"W-Wait a second. Fu-Fullbringers? What's that? And does that even make sense? You combined the powers of five different races??"
"Simply accept it, Ichigo. There is no need for doubt."
Seeing Ichigo's confusion, Yhwach wore a strange smile—one that was both benevolent and arrogant—as if to reassure him.
"It is natural to be confused. You will be confused, Ichigo. But remember this. Your father is me—Yhwach. And your name, 'Ichigo'... I took it from the script of the East, writing it as Ichigo (一護). One who protects a single existence... a being who protects his father, Yhwach. That is what Ichigo means."
At that declaration, Ichigo felt his heart race for reasons he couldn't explain.
'I was... created to protect His Majesty?'
[You have talent.]
The words his grandfather had told him since he was a child.
He had talent.
To think that talent was for the sake of protecting someone...
To think it was for the sake of protecting his father.
It felt so surreal. It was so grand that it almost felt like a lie.
But the man before him didn't seem like the type to lie. Was he not the pinnacle of this world?
"..."
Ichigo slowly clenched his fists.
A genius created from the union of five races by someone who desired protection.
It felt as if he had been chosen by 'God.'
He felt like the hero from the stories he had read as a child.
His life as an ordinary boy in a cabin, unable to even manipulate Reishi, felt like it had come to a complete end.
Yhwach watched Ichigo quietly as the boy wore a complex expression.
"You possess infinite possibilities, Ichigo. My son, and my creation. By my side, you shall be the pioneer who alters a mistaken fate... the one who rewrites a mistaken story."
Before he knew it, Yhwach had descended the long staircase and placed a large, heavy hand on Ichigo's shoulder.
"You are my masterpiece, Ichigo."
.
.
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[Wow, he's really spinning a damn novel over there. It's all a load of crap, isn't it?]
[It would seem so.]
[Then what do we do about that kid? He's already been completely brainwashed. He's totally fallen for it.]
[...]
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