Echoes of the Forgotten Bond [Solo]

TAGS; - here NOTES; - here WORDS; - here MUSE; -

Barren rocks and dust, naught but a deep red sky and dark clouds swirling above, and the scent of thick heavy ash... This was a site all too familiar to Shura. But this was not Soul Society, this was Shura's Inner World. A single tall structure, a tower, stood before her. It was a sight she was all too used to seeing, but today was different... It would have to be different! As she walked towards the tower she had a much different outlook on everything, and her face showed a fire that burned within her that hadn't been ignited in almost three centuries.

But as she approached the tower she felt a weight bear down upon her, a weight that had held her back for too long... the weight of denial. She'd been denied this for too long, and as the weight bore down upon her she could feel it getting harder and harder to move with each step she took. The normally short staircase felt more like a mountain to climb just to get to the doors of the massive tower, and by the time she'd reached the top it was a struggle to even stay on her feet.

Each step took more than a moment to make, and as her hands pressed against those doors they felt so much heavier than ever before. But... she had to push forward, had to open these doors, and as they opened she could see the looming, ever-imposing figure of Hakaishin. Clad in its intricate, metallic armor, the glow of the writhing flames that draped from his head. However unlike every time before, he wasn't facing away... No he was turned to face Shura with arms draped at his side.

The electricity that crackled in the air ever more present now, and as the doors swung open and she stepped inside that weight faded. Hakaishin stood motionless even as Shura continued to move towards him, his face a blank slate, giving no indication of his thoughts or intentions. But Shura knew what his intentions were, he needn't say anything for that to be obvious. Shura moved until she was only 30 feet from him before raising her hand.

"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws!! Hadō Sanjyusan Sōkatsui"

A blast of blue torrential fire erupted forth, engulfing the figure of Hakaishin, but even as it faded down he was still standing in the same spot, unmoved by the Hadō.

"Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! Hadō no Rokujyusan Raikōhō"

Another blast of energy erupted from her hand, this time yellow in coloration towards Hakaishin. It was a direct impact, an explosion erupting outwards... But again Hakaishin was unmoved and unphased by it. Shura however was likewise unphased, instead her eyes narrowed "Stand there all you want, Hakaishin, act like none of this phases you... Like I am still unworthy! I'LL FUCKING SHOW YOU WHO IS WEAK!" Her anger exploded outwards, her palm flattening now with her thumb folding inwards. The air around them beginning to tremble as the energy began to coalesce in front of her.

"By Ancient forces summoned and merged, Ancient and Divine heralds that reign destruction and consecrated with divine lightning, I call forth the twinned dragons to shake the foundations of heaven! Hadō no Hachijyuhachi, Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō"

The most powerful Hadō she could muster... Difficult in its own right to even use, let alone control properly, but as the incantation completed and the words spoken unleashed the energy, a roaring torrential explosion of Reiryoku erupted forth and slammed into the hulking Hakaishin.

No longer could he ignore it however, no longer could he simply stand there as if Shura was doing nothing, he had to act and the energy released from him alone was enough to tell anyone that Bankai had been released. But even that was not enough to nullify the Hadō in its entirety, and the backside of the tower was blown out as he was sent flying backwards.

But Shura did not simply allow him to recover, not even unsheathing her Zanpakuto as she aimed to bring her foot down square against his chest. But Hakaishin did not simply remain there, swiftly vanishing from the spot as Shura slammed into the ground and caused the dirt around her to erupt upwards and leave a small crater in the ground. Once again she didn't stand still, charging forward towards Hakaishin as he reappeared.

However he was not simply standing there, having raised one of the dual axes into the air "Tenbatsu" The blades each began to glow dark purple as Hakaishin rushed forward towards her, but Shura understood this well... She knew how powerful such a technique was. "Seal the void, Bakudo no Hachijyuichi, Danku" A flat wall emerged in front of her, stopping, for just a moment, the axes that swung towards her... But that moment was all she needed to Shunpo backwards.

The axes of Hakaishin smashed through the barrier and slammed into the ground where she had been standing, causing its own small crater to form as the sand and dirt was thrown into the air "By celestial might, eight voids of twilight enclose, with the ninth abyss to bind thy soul, Bakudo no Nanajyukyu, Kuyō Shibari!" Eight holes appeared around Hakaishin, with the ninth forming in the center of his chest. Hakaishin roared with fury, his arms pushing outwards and muscles flexing as he worked and aimed to shatter the Bakudo that bound him. Shura panted heavily already, never before had she used this many high-level kido back to back before... But she couldn't simply waver yet.

"Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six, Bakudō no Rokujyuichi, Rikujōkōrō" With one finger pointed at Hakaishin, six rods of light pierced into each of his sides to act as further restraint as Hakaishin's roar of anger increased and began to shake the world around him "It's best... to give me... your loyalty, Hakaishin!" Shura roared in return through her heavy panting as she raised one hand into the air "O chains of heaven... woven by... the gods' decree.... bind the sinner in unbreakable law. Shackles of iron, forged by lightning’s fury... descend upon the condemned! Bakudō no Rokujyusan: Sajō Sabaku!"

Heavy was the crown to bear, and difficult was it to use so much energy all in rapid succession as her hand closed. The thick yellow binding rope wrapped around Hakaishin who by this point had their arms pushed out almost a full inch against all of the restraints, threatening to shatter them at any moment now. "I... will... not... Fail again..." Shura fell to one knee as sweat poured down her face, she was used to expending large amounts of energy for sure... but never this much in such rapid succession.

All on its own it was difficult to stand with how much Reiatsu she'd expended already, but she could see the effectiveness of her Bakudo before her, immobilizing Hakaishin even as he continued to push against the restraints that bound him still. But for all her spent energy, Hakaishin was not completely immobile and she could see that as even the golden rope cracked and strained to hold him back. She had to act fast, or he'd break free, and so she pulled her Zanpakuto from its sheathe and held it aloft in the air, taking one step forward and slamming that foot down into the ground.


Shura pushed herself forward as she uttered that phrase, the little bit of energy she had left exploding outwards.


The same technique he used, the penultimate ability of this Bankai... The strongest version of it that she could muster as she charged forward. As she got within fifty feet, Hakaishin's roar erupted once more and the golden rods piercing him shattered, then came thirty feet, when the golden threads wrapped around him shattered, twenty five and the first black void shattered, twenty, fifteen, ten, every bit closer she got another hole shattered and another and another, until she was right upon him and the final one shattered.

Hakaishin's arms brought the axes up to smash into Shura's attack, their respective cries for victory echoing out within the barren wasteland around them before an eruption exploded forth from the center of the two and sending them both flying backwards with Shura skipping against the ground like a rock over a lake before sliding to a stop.

Hakaishin himself likewise skipping but managing to recover at the last moment and sliding backwards himself leaving a good fifty feet between each of them. But Shura did not remain on the ground, slowly forcing herself back to her feet in spite of her exhaustion. But Hakaishin did not advance on her, he watched her instead rise back to her feet slowly over the course of almost a minute before dismissing the Bankai and giving a slow clap towards Shura


Those were the final words that Shura heard before she fell forward again and falling unconscious, exhausted from the overexertion, Even with no visible wounds.

made by RR of DD, steal and i will sentence you to the true death!