The Final Countdown

Silas emerged from the laboratory, his hand over his head against the harsh sunlight. The air, though stale, felt strangely invigorating after hours spent amidst the cloying dust.

The blueprint for the Soul Reliquary had been read thoroughly and stored safely on his person. He reviewed the materials list one last time—soul steel, kyokuryu essence, and a special lens—and wasted no time going to gather them. Such materials were easier to compile, and after having traversed through the murky underbelly of the Soul Society, he knew exactly where to look.

His first stop was the precipice world. There, soul steel, forged from the very essence of lost souls, could be found in its rawest form.

He donned his dusty cloak and activated a Senkaimon on the side of the laboratory. This specific Senkaimon was linked to Kisuke's shop back in Karakura Town. Thankfully, the other portal on the other side wouldn't open so long as Silas didn't venture too far in.

He walked inside the shimmering light, venturing into the docile corridors. The walls seeped with purple goo like they normally did. And because he was wearing this cloak, the street sweeper wouldn't detect his presence. No one could.

'Bakudō #70. Kaito Essence.'

Using a complicated spell, the ground shuddered, and a fissure ripped open, revealing a shimmering vein of soul steel within the dripping goo. It pulsed with a faint blue light. With practiced ease, Silas chiseled off a fist-sized chunk, the metal very cold to the touch.

Next came the kyokuryu essence.

This one was more dangerous than the others. The Hollows that escaped Hueco Mundo and got themselves lost in the Soul Society carried them. These specific Hollows, known as "Adjuchas", were quite savage in nature but smart enough to hide themselves from Soul Reapers. Only in their most famished state did they cave to their instincts and seek lost Souls or whatever they could find outside the Rukongai to devour.

Due to having spent so much time in the Soul Society, a lot of their inner parts were moulded with the spirit particles in the air and turned into this natural substance. Finding one carrying kyokuryu essence wasn't easy since these Hollows are often hunted down for trespassing.

Silas ventured to the lowest district within the Rukongai, district eighty. There, he hid himself along the walls and in the dark alleyways, listening for any rumours of monstrous creatures lurking about.

Poor Souls and smugglers did indeed share rumours, but many of them were where to scour for food and clothes. After spending several hours here, his efforts were wasted. He could always try and scan open land for these Hollows, but there was a reason why they were rare to find: they cloaked themselves well.

Not even he could accurately pinpoint their location. Not giving up, he found a passing merchant. The Soul was taken aback by his appearance, wondering if he was some sort of noble. Silas, of course, didn't reveal any information about himself. Rather, he asked the Soul if he'd heard or seen any Hollows nearby.

To his surprise, the merchant began boasting of a devilish creature lodging inside a cave far outside of town. As long as Souls steered clear of that area, it was relatively safe to travel past it.

Their meeting ended, and Silas departed for that area.

Upon finding out where the cave was located, he wasn't at all surprised that he couldn't sense anything inside. So he walked in anyway and kept his guard up. A grunting noise could be heard as he ventured in further. When he came to an open space devoid of any light, he saw a pale creature sleeping on all fours.

It was at least ten feet in height, and it was easily identified as a Adjuchas because its oddly shaped form and Hollow mask. Silas unsheathed Zangetsu and carved the Hollow into many pieces, disposing of it without effort. Finding a green-coloured substance different from its body, he verified it to be kyokuryu essence.

Only, it didn't feel like kyokuryu essence. It was raw and tough to the touch. If anything, it looked like it had formed not long ago and needed time to ripen.

A week later, a vial containing a swirling, inky green liquid in the laboratory was formed—kyokuryu essence, potent and dangerous. Silas kept it in the vial until he could find his next and final material: a focusing lens imbued with spirit particles from the Seireitei.

Lenses' like these proved to be the easiest to acquire.

Silas could find it in none other than squad twelve's district. And because he had the cloak to hide his presence and blend in with the air, making him virtually invisible, entering the Seireitei would be like slipping a knife into a ripe melon—effortless and utterly devastating.

Two days later, Silas held the lens—a perfectly formed sphere that pulsed faintly with captured spirit particles. To say that it wasn't easy to obtain was an understatement.

As he returned to the laboratory, he felt a stinging sensation in his heart. Enrakyōten was attempting to take his life again. Only this time could he feel his Gigai decay. He had to hurry.

Two more weeks of tireless work followed. Days blurred into nights as he meticulously read through the blueprint's instructions. The laboratory was riddled with the sounds of clanging metal and the loud hum of activated tools.

The process involved shaping the soul steel into intricate coils, integrating the kyokuryu essence into a central chamber, and finally, embedding the lens precisely at the device's apex. It wasn't at all difficult to form, and the time spent fashioning it was used well.

If he were to guess, he likely had three, maybe four, weeks left before he died.

Finally, the day arrived. Silas stood before his creation—a small, metallic cylinder, roughly six inches in height, with a single push-button nestled on its surface.

'It looked far too simple', he thought, skeptical of its purported power.

Needing to test it, he pressed the button, and nothing happened! Disappointment clawed at him. Had he misinterpreted the blueprint? Was a crucial component missing?

For two more weeks, Silas toiled relentlessly.

He meticulously examined his work, his brow furrowed in concentration. Finally, after countless adjustments and sleepless nights, he identified his mistake. A minor miscalculation in the channeling of the kyokuryu essence.

He corrected the error and reassembled the device. This time, when he pressed the button, it whirred to life. A soft hum resonated through the room, and the device pulsed with an amber-coloured light. A faint blue glow emanated from the soul steel coils, and the kyokuryu essence within the chamber bubbled ominously. He could tell it was looking for another Soul in range to fully activate.

Then, with a pop, the device sputtered and died. A heavy silence descended.

Silas stared at the lifeless machine, a wave of despair threatening to engulf him. Too much time had been spent trying to craft this device. If he couldn't get the Soul Reliquary to work, he wouldn't be able to stop Enrakyōten from taking his life!