199 Chapter 170 - Beyond the Veil.

If you want to read ahead go to https://www.patreón.com/cornbringer

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Alright let's crunch numbers. I owe you all, 4 chapters due to the electrical problems, plus the 2 of the event you won.

Making a total of 6.

I post Sunday to Friday. So this week to make things easier for me, I will make double releases every day, that way I compensate, pay the event, and leave enough time to write on my schedule without killing me.

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[Adam C. POV.]

I was lost. 

In a world of nothingness.

In a world of black.

In this… blackness, there was a sensation of weightlessness, of emptiness. Everywhere I turned, there's an endless expanse of nothingness. Yet, despite this, it felt as if every particle of the void pressed against me, seeking entrance, trying to replace the space within me.

It wasn't long before I started to feel pain, agony.

The pain began as a distant throb. 

My body. 

My bones. 

They began to hurt gradually. Like a thousand burning knives are slicing into me at once. Why was I here? Why was I feeling this pain? 

The thoughts swirl inside my head, echoing the emptiness of the abyss.

Each thought pierced my mind sharper than the last. Memories? I didn't have any, or rather, I didn't have them right now. 

All I know is the present, the pain, my world, as consuming as the vast darkness that envelops me. 

"Am I dying?" I wonder. "Or am I already dead?"

Both options seemed within the reign of possibilities, right?

Then again, I had nothing to compare this to, so perhaps this was it when it came to life.

I chuckled through the pain. Despite my lack of awareness of… of memories, I knew that was wrong, I knew there was more to it than this.

But then... something changes. 

More pain courses through my veins, but this pain was different, this pain wasn't mine. 

However, before I could gather more about this change, the pain started to recede, as suddenly as it began, like a tide going out, revealing an untouched beach full of secrets. 

The intense burning that once threatened to destroy me, to consume me, becomes a gentle warmth, soothing my tired senses. And as the pain recedes, another sensation takes its place. 

Peace. 

Calm. 

From hell to heaven, I suddenly felt like I was floating on a calm sea, no waves, no wind, just the gentle rise and fall of the water beneath.

And in this newfound tranquility, this new world, I noticed something else. Far away, there was a glimmer. A pinprick of light at the horizon. It's weak, almost imperceptible, but it's there. 

It calls me.

The light seems to pulsate, growing brighter, then dimming, but the call is all the same, it wants me to go.

Drawn to it, I will myself towards the light. Every inch of my being is focused on reaching it. As I drift closer, the warmth intensifies, and the once tiny speck expands, filling my vision. 

It's inviting, promising something that I can't quite understand, but… somehow, I feel I need.

"Is this the reason I'm here?" The thought emerges as a whisper in the depths of my very soul. I paused, looking at the light. I don't know what waits beyond that light, or what will happen once I reach it, but the pull is irresistible.

Then, just as I'm about to cross into the realm of that enigmatic light, I hear something—no, someone—calling my name. The voice feels like a distant murmur against the backdrop of my head. 

Familiar yet strange, like an old photograph, worn and faded by time.

The light flickers, hesitating, as if it too heard the voice. 

I stop. 

Now torn between the captivating luminance ahead and the voice pulling me back, a wave of emotions crashes over me, as if two gravitational pulls were tugging me in opposite directions.

A thought rushes into my mind. Maybe the light wasn't the answer I was looking for. 

With one final, lingering look at the light, I make my choice. I turn away from its warmth, its unspoken promises. 

As I do, the light dims, flickering once before vanishing, shattering this new world, leaving me once again in the abyss.

But this time, I wasn't afraid. No, for the first time, I felt grounded, connected, alive. The voice calling my name becomes clearer, more distinct.

And in a burst of colors and sensations, I am pulled back, back to a reality I had momentarily left. My eyes flutter open, the pain gone, replaced by a profound tiredness and yet an undeniable sense of being.

"I…" I muttered, my hands shaking.

I was back at Urahara's shop, lying on a futon, covered in a few warm blankets. My clothes were different, suggesting someone changed them while I was out. The room smells like a mixture of herbs and something uniquely ethereal.

Sitting next to me was Urahara himself, straw hat slightly askew, looking down at some sort of ancient, ornate book. He sensed my awakening and looked up, eyes meeting mine through the thin rim of his glasses.

"Ah, you're back. We were worried for a while there," Urahara sighed, closing the book and setting it aside.

"Worried? What happened??" The questions spill out, barely giving him time to respond.

I remembered drinking his potion, then, nothing. Then, darkness, pain, and confusion.

Urahara leans back, hat casting a shadow over his eyes, "Well, you were somewhere in-between. Between life, between death, and something else. The boundaries of your soul were stretched thin, but it seems you've made it back, so all good."

"How?" I asked, still disoriented, yet relieved to be back in a world I recognized, in a world where I knew who I was, and what I was meant to do.

He smiled; a cryptic smile filled with unspoken secrets. "Hard to explain, but perhaps you had something or someone to come back for. And maybe, just maybe, that made all the difference, then again, that's just me, being a helpless romantic."

I snorted. 

Causing Urahara to pout.

"Everyone is mean to this handsome shopkeeper. Anyway, you should rest now. You've been out for a while," he said, standing up and adjusting his hat. "Your soul needs time to recover fully." 

"I'm cured?" I asked, wondering if this was the end of my situation.

"Not exactly," Urahara replied, his eyes unreadable. "But it's a start, a good one, the rest won't be as hard, kid. Now rest, doctor's orders."

I nodded, feeling the exhaustion pull me back into a deep slumber.

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[Third Person POV.]

The black cat known as Yoruichi walked into the shop, her eyes scanning the room before they settled on Urahara, who was meticulously rearranging some oddly shaped jars on a shelf.

"Kisuke," she began, her tone casual yet tinged with clear curiosity, "how's our mysterious guest doing?"

Urahara turned around, placing the last jar carefully on the shelf before meeting her feline gaze. "Ah, Yoruichi-san, perfect timing. Our guest is stable now. Took a little stroll between the worlds, so to speak, but seems to have decided that this one is more to their liking."

Yoruichi raises an eyebrow, intrigued. "Oh? He avoided Soul Suicide... Impressive. Most people would prefer to stick to the path of least resistance, head into the light, embrace the peace, and all that. Why do you think he chose to come back?"

Urahara tilted his hat back, revealing his eyes which look more serious than usual. "Well, isn't that the question of the day? There's something about them, something... different. I would even say there's more to them than meets the eye."

Yoruichi crossed her paws, now fully intrigued. "You're being cryptic, even for you. Come on, spill it. What did you find?"

Urahara moves over to a table cluttered with spiritual tools, scrolls, and manuscripts. He picks up a small piece of paper filled with symbols that continuously shift and change, as if alive. "I did some harmless research on him while he was sleeping. And well, to summarize my discoveries, his spiritual pressure fluctuates in a way I've never seen before. It's as if it has layers, like an onion, and we've only peeled back the first one."

"A fluctuating reiatsu? Like mine?" Yoruichi mused, her eyes narrowing in thought. "Or is he perhaps hiding his true power?"

Urahara shook his head. "That's what I initially thought, on both accounts. But no, he's not like you, and he isn't hiding anything, at least not intentionally. It's more like... something within him is fragmented, or... a piece of something."

Yoruichi hummed, her ears flopping back. "Well, isn't that fucking great, another mystery, we don't even know where he's from, and now this? Bah, who am I kidding, I down for this kind of thing."

"I know," Urahara chuckled.

Yoruichi grinned, baring her feline fangs. "Very well. Keep me updated, Kisuke. This could either be a boon or a curse for us."

Urahara smiled wryly. "Isn't that always the way for us?"

As Yoruichi prepared to leave, she paused and looked back at Urahara. "Do you think he would help us when the time comes?"

Urahara adjusted his hat again, obscuring his eyes. "Who knows."

With nothing more to say, the black cat blurred out of the store, leaving Urahara alone with his thoughts and artifacts. For a moment, he looked at the space where their mysterious guest had laid, now empty but for the traces of fluctuating spiritual pressure. 

A smile forms on his lips.

"Ah, the unpredictability of life," he mused, "it makes you appreciate the little things, doesn't it?"