Devour! - The Path of the Ascending Flame
AN: This chapter might get overwhelming, especially if you can't recall the last 6-7 chapters properly or have skipped something. In any case, I will highly recommend reading the bonus chapter on Patreon, whose link I am publishing on Discord. This bonus chapter lists both Reality Marble and Spiritual Awakening. Consider it as a detailed summary of the powers gained by Kai in these last few chapters, but it shares even more topics. [Link 1]
Note: The link will remain active only for a few hours. Good luck!
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Call my name!
The wind had sighed those words.
Call my name!
The broken sky had cried those words.
Call my name!
A serpent had hissed those words.
Red Sun lifted his neck, trembling all over, a primal fear coursing through his veins. His right arm was missing, blood dripping off the stump on his shoulder. His silver revolver was nowhere to be seen, his red trenchcoat was full of holes and tattered, and his Digimon, RizeGreymon, was missing.
Call my name!
The words entered Robin's ears as if someone had whispered them in the back of his mind, in his heart, and in his very soul.
In the distance, Moraine was lying face down in the blood ocean, almost floating. Her clothes were all but missing, letting her smooth skin out in the open. Her curves could have jolted the emotions if it wasn't because of the bones protruding out of her back.
It was as if she had wings and someone had pulled them out.
Call my name!
Moraine's lips trembled, her unfocused eyes stirring in response.
Towering with a colossal height, Shadow Lord's head seemed to surpass the sky, looking down at the 9 stars, shining white, blue, and yellow.
There was a massive hole in his waist to the lower left side, running through and through. It felt like some absurdly powerful cannon had blasted away that portion of Shadow Lord's body.
Seven-colored powder glittered within that hole, shattering the shadows that were trying to close up the wound.
Call my name!
Shadow Lord's gigantic eyes fumed, bloodshot. "HUMPH!" he snorted, ears ringing under his might. "THE DAY OF SHADOWS WILL RISE ON YOUR ASHES!"
And then the shadow titan sent a fist hurling at the spot where the puny existence had fallen.
Boom!
[
Congratulations Kai Stormborn…
You have unlocked two new Stats -
1. Spiritual Class: the measure of Spiritual Power (-Reiryoku-); a power aligned with the spiritual sensitivity and Willpower of the Contestant (Basic, Average, High, Great, Immense, and Immeasurable)
Contestant's Spiritual Class: Immeasurable
2. Spirit Class: the density of Spiritual Pressure (-Reiatsu-) within a Contestant (from 1 to 20 in descending order)
Contestant's Spirit Class: 20
The Spiritual Class of Contestant Blood Demon is the highest possible…
Error!
The Spiritual Class of Contestant Blood Demon surpasses the allotted levels…
Analyzing Contestant's Stats…
Processing experience, Projecting potential…
Analyzation complete…
Zanpakuto confirmed…
Zanpakuto confir…
Zanpakuto…
WARNING!
WARNING!
WARNING!
]
Call my name!
Every inch of Kai's body pained; all limbs, threads of muscles, marrow within his bones, and even his soul.
Yet, the moment Kai got the notification, his Reiatsu Vents opened, and power coursed through him from head to toe. It was as if some shackles placed on his very existence had been lifted.
His Spirit Class was still within expectation, depending upon his Breath which was less than 20 points. But Kai couldn't fathom what was wrong with his Spiritual Class. Immeasurable; only beings like Ichigo, the main character, were known to possess such Reiryoku.
The System must not have taken his temporary gaining of MP and SP in account, Kai knew. Still the System was telling him that his Spiritual Power was even above the main character?
Kai didn't have the time to think over it for long, though.
The leftover power of Spiritual Awakening had granted Kai almost 50 points in Intelligence and Breath. Mana had all but run out.
SP was all he had left.
Now, it all became his true Spiritual Power, his Reiryoku. If he was a fierce tiger before, this transformation bestowed upon him wings.
And those were the wings of a devil.
Reiatsu had many colors, depending on the individual. The moment Kai felt his Spiritual Pressure, bubbling out of him, it took the form of the very thing it came into contact with.
The Blood Flames!
No longer those flames were hovering between the boundary of corporeal and incorporeal. Those Blood Flames linked the concepts of Breathing Art and Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure), gaining true presence of their own.
As they soared high and high, the most hideous demonic face appeared within it, grinning ear to ear. It was as if the flames themselves had come together to birth this creature.
The Reiatsu had assumed a shape.
The most shocking sight was that the ends of those flames, as they melted into the space, were glowing yellow. To others, it seemed like the demon's face, a shape assumed by his Reiatsu, had a headful of yellow hair.
Call my name!
-… name…- Kai hissed, dense Spiritual Power coursing through him, his hazel eyes dazed and lost.
Little War Horn's effect had run out, the Iron Man Armor had shattered, and there was no Mana. Not anymore.
Yet, Kai felt drunk on his Reiatsu. This Power… was sweeter than Mana, spicier than Aura, and it stung, making his body tremble in excitement; and his swords along with him.
Boom!
The colossal fist came again, hitting him like a gigantic train had struck him from the front.
Dementor-Kai's figure skidded on the blood ocean like a flat stone over a body of water, hitting, jumping, rotating, and tumbling.
Call my name!
At first, Kai had thought that the starry constellation in the sky, taking the shape of the Tree of Life, represented the concept of Sefirot. Sefirot, the 10 emanations through which God the Creator revealed itself, continuously creating both the physical realm and the chain of higher metaphysical realms. [Image 1, 2]
Then, Kai had guessed that the name of his Zanpakuto could be nothing but Ein Sof, the Endless One; the God prior to any self-manifestation in the production of any spiritual realm. Ein Sof, the Nameless Being; the emanator of the ten Sefirot. [Image 3]
How else could his Sword Spirit create a constellation that resembled the Tree of Life, a form assumed by the 10 Sefirot?
Call my name!
Kai's figure came to rest. Using the swords, he propped himself up and looked at the vast, crumbling sky. There they were, the 9 stars. However, Kai could see even more; a meaning within them.
Boom!
Another fist arrived, sending him flying.
But, if one were to look carefully, they would have realized that the density of Kai's temporary Reiatsu was so high that the colossal fist just couldn't touch him, despite the power and momentum contained within Shadow Lord's punch.
Kai again rolled over the blood ocean, creating ripples wherever his body came into contact with the bloody sea.
Call my name!
At first, Kai had thought the words spoken by the Sword Spirit (-Know Whiteness, Maintain Blackness…-) were nothing but a way to force him into a state of Comprehension.
At first, he had thought that the yellow strokes joining the 9 stars were nothing but a way for him to gain an Epiphany of his Inner World's essence; to devour, to seal; the Parselscript!
He had thought that the 8 yellow strokes of Parselscript running in between the 9 stars, creating 8 channels, had taken the shape of the Path of the Flaming Sword; the order in which the 10 Sefirot were created by Ein Sof. So, this path must represent his Sword Spirit's ultimate technique. [Image 4]
And at first, Kai had thought that… the yellow-haired being's hisses belonged to a male.
-Call my name… I am the Pre-Existential Entity, the embodiment of Darkness, Evil, Impurity, and Chaos.-
Kai flicked his swords and resumed a standing position midair, his decayed, bare feet hovering three inches above the blood ocean.
Only after gaining Comprehension did Kai truly understand that what he considered his Tree of Life, for others, was a Tree of Death.
Sefirot were the emanations of God, and there was nothing holier than them.
Holy? What had this word had anything to do with Kai, his Individuality, his Imprint on the Vast Cosmos?
No. The starry constellation in the night was not holy, but something entirely opposite.
It was Ein Sof, who created the ten holy Sefirot. But Ein Sof was the God, and God said, "I Am That I Am."
Only later did Kai come to know that his Sword Spirit was darkness to light, evil to good, chaos to order; everything that God was and represented, she was Not.
-Call my name… I Am That I Am Not.-
The entire blood world was now fluctuating between the boundary of imaginary and real. A projection of a town, covered in shadows, was trying hard to collapse this world, replacing the Reality Marble with Reality.
Shadow Lord roared, black and blue lightning rumbling around him as the sky collapsed. He saw the tiny being, engulfed in blood flames, standing upright, and his blood boiled.
A massive foot descended, stomping Kai.
Boom!
-Call my name… I Am Nothing.-
Only after his Comprehension, Kai realized and remembered that his Sword Spirit had created his Tree of Life, marked by the 9 stars in the constellation, in the reverse order.
According to the Path of the Flaming Sword, Ein Sof, the source of boundless Divinity, had created the 10 Sefirot, starting from the Crown at the top to the Realm at the end.
Kai's Sword Spirit had instead begun with the 10th Star; Kai's heart.
She had used Kai's Limitless Demonic Will, and then she had proceeded to create the next 9 Stars in the reverse order, reaching the Crown, the pale yellow star that existed within the hole in the sky.
She was not Ein Sof.
The yellow path generated by 8 yellow strokes of Parselscript was not the Path of the Flaming Sword.
The starry constellation in the sky was not the structure of the 10 Sefirot.
Kai was lying over the blood ocean, his hands outstretched. His gaze went beyond the sky, to the darkness he had seen before the appearance of the stars.
-Your true form is said to be incomprehensible; a mass of absolute darkness that extends infinitely in all directions,- Kai hissed, his breath rattling. These words were etched in his soul as if he had always known them.
Then Kai stood up and hovered midair. The Blood Flames had become even denser, his Reiatsu burning the surrounding space.
-And when you show yourself,- Dementor-Kai hissed, looking at the vast blood ocean, -you take the form of an expanding field of blood; endless.-
Within the blood ocean, which was no deeper than ankles, one could see an endless rippling blood-like mass, almost as vast as the mysterious depths of the cosmos. [GIF 1]
-You… are not Ein Sof, the God,- Kai whispered out a frigid breath. -You were there even before him. And you were there… even before the universe was created..-
The moment Kai's hisses stopped, a figure took shape within the blood ocean, replacing Kai's blurry, bloody reflection.
This figure was entirely black, had long clawed arms and legs, and its hair was yellow, swaying high without wind. It had no face, either.
It was just a being.
She was Kai's Sword Spirit.
-Keke!- the Sword Spirit's cackle thundered evilly across the Reality Marble. -This one will be called Supreme Sounga.-
Instantly, a yellow stroke appeared under Sounga's hilt, just like the one under the hilt of Murasame.
And Kai let go of the swords.
The tip of both Limitless Murasame and Supreme Sounga's blades kissed the blood ocean and fell into it without creating ripples.
The Release Call appeared in Kai's mind, along with Zanpakuto's true name in his heart.
"Devour…" Kai mumbled, his Reiatsu finally reaching the might of a Contestant infinitely near the strength of the 10th floor.
"… Ayin!"
BOOM!
The moment the swords vanished into the blood ocean, the entire world shook.
The incoming, raging Shadow Lord trembled before pausing as if some kind of constraint had been placed on him.
Strangely, when the swords went inside the blood ocean, within his reflection, their hilts appeared first.
Ayin, the Zanpakuto, grabbed the two swords and instantly stabbed them back into the blood surface that was acting as a mirror between her and Kai.
Rumble!!!
Two massive hilts protruded out of the blood ocean.
Kai's scabbed hands grabbed those hilts, and he flew up, pulling the swords out.
Calling them mere swords would do them incredible injustice. These swords were massive, as long as Kai, their width almost wider than his waist.
In his right hand was Limitless Murasame, but it was no Katana anymore. It had become a curved heavy sword without a guard. It was half black and half white, and the white blade's edge was glowing bloody. The moment Kai's Reiatsu, the blood flames, drenched Limitless Murasame, they became sinister black flames. [Image 5]
Only Kai knew that those were cursed flames, ready to kill with one cut.
In his left hand was Supreme Sounga, its shape exactly similar to Murasame. But the white and black colors on it were reversed, its black blade's edge glowing bloody as well. When his Reiatsu drowned Sounga, it gained the form of purple flames; pure evil. [Image 6]
"HAHA!" Shadow Lord's laugh boomed. "SO WHAT? YOU THINK TRANSFORMING SWORDS WILL LET YOU LIVE?! THEY ARE STILL PUNY! THEY ARE…"
The colossal Shadow Lord got choked on his words. This?!
Others couldn't see Kai's Sword Spirit in his reflection, but they could see a reflection. And because of Shadow Lord's 1000 ft tall stature, he could see that reflection clearer than anyone.
That reflection didn't contain Kai, but it did have two swords.
Yet, these swords were so large, so gigantic, that they felt like two metallic mountains.
666 ft!
This was the length of the swords' blades, going endlessly deep into the reflection, becoming bloody darkness itself.
This was also the true size of Kai's Zanpakuto.
If Kai hadn't Comprehended his Inner World's essence already, he couldn't have controlled their size. Much less needed to be said about even wielding them.
"YOU…" Shadow Lord voiced, his enormous pupils trembling, "… MUST DIE!" The shadow titan raised his fists as if he wanted to hammer Kai, shattering the world along with him.
Kai, too, lifted the massive curved heavy swords in response, and poured his entire Reiatsu within them.
Shuuuu!!!
All the blood flames around Kai vanished, becoming black flames around Limitless Murasame and purple flames around Supreme Sounga. Endless cursed runic marks manifested within the black flames, and within the purple flames, three evil dragons roared, forecasting a world-ending tornado.
Kill him! Supreme Sounga's voice echoed in Kai's mind.
Kill him! Murasame's cursed intention seeped into Kai's heart.
-Keke!- Ayin's evil cackle shuddered his soul. -Kill him! Unleash me! Unleash my power! Kai Stormborn!-
"Path of the Ascending Flames…"
If the path of the flaming sword represented the flames that had descended from Heaven to Earth, in the order of the 10 Sefirot's creation by Ein Sof, then the twisting, serpentine yellow path created by 8 strokes of Parselscript represented the flames rising from Hell to Earth.
The 10th star in Kai's heart lit up as he fused his Demonic Will into the swords.
And as the shadowy, miniature sun-like fists darkened the sky, Kai hacked.
Purple and Black Flames soared like the most ominous flames from the netherworld, and in an instant, they reached Shadow Lord.
Almost at the same time, 9 stars lit up on Shadow Lord's titanic figure, in the formation of the constellation in the sky. The 9th star was yellow, and it was glowing hideously on his forehead.
Shuuu! Hisss!!
The purple and black flames slithered from one star to another as if someone was using a brush to draw strokes on paper. Their appearance was the same when the Sword Spirit had drawn 8 yellow strokes on the sky.
Shadow Lord couldn't even move. He couldn't say, see, hear, touch, taste, or feel.
As the purple and black flames slithered up, creating the illusion of a demonic, sinister snake coiling up a tree, everything about Shadow Lord got sealed.
In just a fraction of a second, the flames reached the last star, the 9th.
And… it ended.
RUMBLEEEE!
Shadow Lord's colossal body rumbled and shattered, his very existence getting sealed under the might of Zanpakuto, Ayin.
It was also then the swords in Kai's hands descended, and he finished his words.
"… Qliphoth Genesis!"