With a muffled shout from Tessai Tsukabishi, countless transparent threads extended from the formation before him, crisscrossing and weaving into an invisible, massive net that frantically spread in all directions.
Asuka felt his consciousness being forcibly extracted in that moment. His vision transcended the bounds of space, like a gust of wind sweeping across the earth.
His field of view continued to rise, piercing through the concrete jungle. He saw the myriad lights of the World of the Living and the endless, flowing crowds of people.
The massive cities unfolded before him like an endlessly stretching scroll. Countless living humans and untransmigrated souls flickered in his vision.
The light of Tenteikura swept across the sky, attempting to capture even the slightest trace of a soul signature belonging to Shinobu Kocho below.
Karakura Town, nothing.
Naruki City, nothing.
Even the surrounding villages, still nothing...
Asuka's consciousness trembled frantically. He almost tore his own soul apart just to see a little clearer.
But no matter how dense the net of Spiritual Pressure was, the feedback returned was always a dead silence.
That familiar figure, that butterfly hair clip he had seen countless times, never appeared.
"Urgh!"
In the center of the formation, Asuka suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed onto the ground.
Tessai retracted his hands and shook his head at Kisuke Urahara, his sigh carrying a trace of regret.
"I couldn't capture any similar soul wavelengths."
"She's gone..." Asuka muttered in despair, looking at his own hands. "Did she... really fail to make it to this world?"
"Is she really..."
Kisuke Urahara crouched in front of him, looking at the pale-faced youth. "There are only two possibilities as to why Tenteikura couldn't find her."
"First, her soul has indeed shattered and completely returned to the cycle of Reishi. If that is the case, there will never be another trace of her in this world."
Asuka's body gave a violent shudder.
"Second..." Kisuke Urahara lowered his voice, a flash of wisdom gleaming in his eyes. "She is in a location that Mr. Tessai's Kido cannot reach, which naturally means she cannot be detected..."
Asuka raised his head, a tiny spark of hope reigniting in his eyes. "You mean she might be in..."
"The Soul Society?"
"It's merely a guess." Kisuke Urahara stood up and patted Asuka on the shoulder. "Little brother, if you want to enter that place to find the truth, you are still far from ready."
Night fell.
In a southern city an unknown number of kilometers away from Karakura Town—Fuyuki City.
The night was deep, and the moonlight this evening was exceptionally cold. It spilled over the white walls, exuding an unsettling chill.
Inside a secluded alleyway, the faint scent of blood permeated the air.
"Cough, cough... Damn it, why has the number of these low-level Hollows suddenly increased..."
A low-ranking Soul Reaper, wearing a black Shihakusho with a Zanpakuto hanging at his waist, leaned against the corner of the wall, panting heavily.
His left arm had been torn open, revealing a wound so deep the bone was visible. His spiritual power was leaking out along with the lost blood, even emitting a faint blue glow.
This was a sign of a soul losing blood. If not treated in time, he would soon perish from the depletion of his Spiritual Pressure.
And right now, the roar of a Hollow was still approaching.
"Damn it! What the hell is going on..."
In the silent night sky, a cheerful greeting suddenly rang out.
"Hello there, are you alright?"
'Who?!'
The injured Soul Reaper vigilantly gripped his hilt, looking around for the source of the voice.
At that moment, the moonlight pierced through the clouds, spilling perfectly onto the Soul Reaper and illuminating his field of vision.
It was a petite woman, also clad in a pitch-black Shihakusho, standing atop a utility pole at the intersection.
The night breeze blew past, causing the hem of her Shihakusho to flutter slightly, like a butterfly spreading its wings to dance gracefully in the dark night.
"It's not time to give up yet, you know."
Her voice was incredibly light and gentle, carrying a reassuring magic, yet faintly exuding a sense of detachment.
The instant she appeared, the Hollow hunting the Soul Reaper also noticed her presence.
Roar!!
It charged forward with a roar, looking as if it wanted to tear the entire alleyway apart.
"My, what a disobedient child."
Facing this terrifying scene, the woman merely gave a light leap, dodging the Hollow's pounce from the utility pole.
Her figure shifted slightly as she drifted down gracefully.
Squelch—
The moment she landed, a spray of blood suddenly erupted from the Hollow behind her.
Immediately after, a twisted wail echoed from beneath the Hollow's bone mask, and its massive body abruptly stiffened.
The Reishi composing its body began to violently disintegrate, turning into black grit that was quickly scattered and dissipated by the cold night wind.
The entire process took no more than a few breaths. The injured squad member hadn't even noticed when the woman had drawn her blade!
"Hah... hah..." He clutched his injured arm, his breathing heavy.
The woman walked over to the injured Soul Reaper and crouched down elegantly.
"You're badly hurt," she said, her voice extremely light, her movements swift and professional.
Her slender fingers quickly tapped around the Soul Reaper's wound a few times, and a soft, pale green light flickered at her fingertips—
That was Kaido, the Kido spell specifically used for healing in the Soul Society.
An emerald green light surged from her jade-white palm, quickly covering the hideous wound on his arm.
At a visible rate, his body began to slowly heal, and that near-death sensation started to fade away.
The injured Soul Reaper stared blankly at the woman's beautiful face, dazed for a moment.
The woman did not speak, merely focusing on repairing his soul's pathways.
The moonlight shone on the side of her face and glinted off the exquisite butterfly hair clip on her head.
Once the treatment was finished, the woman stood up and gently smoothed out the wrinkles on her Shihakusho.
"Alright, your injuries are temporarily stabilized. Remember to go to the Fourth Division for proper treatment after you return."
"Be more careful next time. After all, life is a very fragile thing."
Enduring the pain and weakness, the Soul Reaper asked with gratitude and awe, "...Um, thank you! Are you... from the medical squad?"
"Eh? Are you a newly graduated Soul Reaper? To think you don't recognize me."
The woman smiled in feigned surprise, though it was actually to lighten the mood. "Nice to meet you. I am Shinobu Kocho of the Fourth Division, and also the Captain of the 14th Advanced Relief Squad. If you get injured often in the future, we might just meet again."
'Ah! It's actually Lady Shinobu Kocho! My stupid brain!'
The young Soul Reaper suddenly realized it. He really had been beaten silly by the Hollow. To think he hadn't recognized such an obvious hair accessory!
Decades ago, when he first enrolled in the Shin'o Academy, he had heard this name.
Rumor had it that she was a genius girl from the Inuzuri District. Despite being a wandering soul with no background, she completed the Shin'o Academy's curriculum in an extremely short time and displayed an outstanding talent for Kaido.
One had to know that being able to learn Kido did not mean one could learn Kaido. Such talent was quite rare, so upon graduation, she immediately entered the Fourth Division and served as the Sixth Seat.
Although he had never met Lady Shinobu Kocho himself, the squad members who had been treated by her all said she was a very beautiful and gentle woman.
To think he would actually run into her here today, he really lucked out... Ouch, it hurts...
Shinobu Kocho handed him some topical spiritual medicine and asked seriously, "What exactly is going on here? Why have the squad members in Fuyuki City been getting injured so often lately?"
"Captain Unohana asked me to come and observe the situation on the ground, but unfortunately, I haven't noticed anything unusual."
The questioned Soul Reaper shook his head in bewilderment. "I'm not sure either. I was just stationed in this jurisdiction with the other squad members this month... It just feels like there's a problem with the Spiritual Pressure here. Hollows are exceptionally active in this area."
After pondering for a moment, Shinobu Kocho looked up at the cold moon over Fuyuki City and shrugged helplessly. "Then I'll just leave it to the higher-ups to investigate... Anyway, thank you for your hard work. Make sure to stay safe."
"Y-You too!"
Under the young squad member's gaze, she extended a pale finger and gently swiped at the air in front of her.
A quaint, Japanese-style sliding door opened before her.
This was precisely the Senkaimon leading to the Soul Society.
"Take care."
She took one last look at the squad member on the ground whose injuries were improving, left those two words, and turned around without hesitation.
Her black silhouette gracefully vanished into the deep, dark doorway.
In the blink of an eye, she was in another world.