Chapter 31: Song of the End — Shunkan Mugen |
"You bastard!!!" Great Org roared in shock. He lunged toward Yeruashi with a beastly howl, but a moment later, he was snapped back to his starting position.
The King of the Panther Clan and the Rinnegan wielder tried every tactic at their disposal. Whether it was a coordinated assault, an attempt to flee, or any other maneuver, they were ultimately forced back to the same spot every time!
A time loop!
"Lieutenant... Hatake..." Soi Fon stopped weeping. Her voice trembled as she watched the ceaseless cycle repeat.
To her, Yeruashi was no longer a flicker of light barely warming her heart; he was the rising sun, gradually dispelling the impenetrable darkness!
There was hope!
There was still hope to save Yoruichi-sama!
Yoruichi would continue to live as long as the time loop remained active!
Even though it did nothing to heal the fatal wound, hope had finally blossomed within Soi Fon's chest!
Yeruashi gave Soi Fon a reassuring smile. "I told you, didn't I? She won't die while I'm standing here."
At that moment, his Zanpakuto, shaped like the hand of a vintage clock, emitted a magnificent golden radiance.
Whoosh!
With a light flick of his wrist, Yeruashi drove the Zanpakuto through Yoruichi's chest.
Soi Fon’s mouth dropped open in shock, a cry forming in her throat, but the Yoruichi in her arms suddenly turned ethereal and vanished without a trace.
Yeruashi spoke softly as he lowered his shimmering golden Zanpakuto.
"Shunkan Mugen, Second Verse — Kawa o Tomeru."
Silence.
Yoruichi's body materialized once more in Soi Fon's embrace. This time, however, there wasn't even a scratch on her, as if the impending death had been nothing more than a simple illusion.
"Yoruichi... Yoruichi-sama!"
Soi Fon stared blankly for a moment, dazed, before pulling Yoruichi into a fierce hug and sobbing loudly, unable to hold back the flood of emotions.
Tears of despair were replaced by tears of joy.
Yoruichi-sama’s looming death had plunged her inner world into pitch-black darkness, illuminated only by the faint embers of hope Yeruashi had provided.
Now, those embers flared into a brilliant sun, setting everything right and scattering the darkness to the winds!
"..."
Yoruichi raised her hand and stared at her palm, her mind slowly catching up with reality. She reached out and gently stroked Soi Fon's head.
Looking up at Yeruashi while continuing to pat the girl’s head, she asked in wonderment, "Is this also a power of your Bankai?"
"Yes. Second Verse — Kawa o Tomeru."
Yeruashi explained casually, "In essence, my Bankai records the state of an object’s time at the moment of contact. I can then replace the object's current time with that recorded state whenever I wish."
Shunkan Mugen had recorded Yoruichi's state back at the Shin'o Academy, when she had arrived before the other captains and touched the massive golden clock.
Yeruashi hadn't needed to rely on his illusory clock to save her; he simply released his Bankai and used Kawa o Tomeru to overwrite her current state with the one recorded that day. It effectively erased the fatal wound from existence.
"Just as I expected... Truly staggering power."
Yoruichi let out a breath and shook her head, soothing the weeping Soi Fon.
She had anticipated his Bankai would be strong, but she had never imagined it reaching such heights...
Mugen Rinne and Kawa o Tomeru were undeniably forbidden abilities that defied the very logic by which any ordinary shinigami perceived the world.
While his Bankai seemed to focus on support, any lack of direct offensive power was more than made up for by his overwhelming Reiatsu. Yoruichi could clearly feel that Yeruashi’s current spiritual pressure surpassed even her own!
She had wondered about this many times before.
How long would it take for Yeruashi to overtake her?
Her estimates usually ranged between three and ten years, but even her most daring guesses had proven wrong.
The reality was seven months.
"With a power like that, you could live forever."
"No."
Yeruashi let out a weary sigh and shook his head. "Kawa o Tomeru affects the physical state of the target, but not their mind."
He could indeed keep Rukia, Hisana, and Soi Fon in their 'loli' forms indefinitely, but it wouldn't affect their minds. While their physical growth could be halted through the repeated use of Kawa o Tomeru, their consciousness would continue to mature at a normal pace. They would become legal lolis like Tatsumaki, and after many years, they would 'die' due to the aging of their minds, much like what happened to Zero.
Time, space, reality, power, soul, and mind—these were the six fundamental components of the universe, with the mind being the most vital.
After all, the mind represented the essence and the meaning of existence for any sentient being.
"I see..."
Yoruichi whispered thoughtfully. She stood up, gently disentangling herself from Soi Fon's embrace, and turned her gaze toward Great Org and the Rinnegan wielder, who were still trapped in the loop. "How do you plan to finish them off? In that time loop, everything resets—wounds and death included."
Yeruashi watched his targets calmly. "The fact that the mind is independent of time is both a blessing and a curse."
Casting a nonchalant glance at Great Org, Yeruashi swung his clock-hand Zanpakuto in a smooth arc. "Song of the End — Shunkan Mugen."
Swoosh!
Following Yeruashi's calm declaration, the world around them shuddered. Time slowed to a crawl, as if a glitch had occurred in the flow of the universe, before settling back into its natural rhythm.
The time loop created by the Song of the Beginning was shattered by the Song of the End.
Great Org and the Rinnegan wielder stopped snapping back to their starting positions.
But.
They remained frozen in place, rooted to the spot instead of seizing the chance to escape or attack.
Their bodies were clearly unharmed, and their Reiatsu continued to radiate outward. However, that spiritual energy had turned stagnant, and their eyes were hollow and distant, devoid of any thought or emotion. Great Org and the Rinnegan user had become little more than living statues.
Silence.
Yeruashi smoothly sheathed his Zanpakuto as it returned to its standard form. The golden clock hovering behind him began to fade, vanishing along with his surging Reiatsu.
"...That's it?"
Soi Fon stood up and whispered in confusion, staring at the lifeless figures of the Panther King and his companion.
Yoruichi turned to Yeruashi, waiting for an explanation. She had her own theories based on their earlier conversation and the current state of their enemies, but she chose to stay silent.
Yeruashi stepped forward, followed by the bewildered gazes of the two women. "Shunkan Mugen—a moment of eternity... What was a mere second for you was an eternity to them, lasting tens of thousands of years."
What happens when you lock a person in a stationary world for thousands upon thousands of years?
First, they slowly lose their sanity.
Then, their psyche descends into absolute chaos.
Eventually, even the chaos and madness vanish.
The mind simply breaks.
Song of the End — Shunkan Mugen.
This was not only the sole offensive ability of Shunkan from its Shikai to its Bankai, but Yeruashi’s most devastating attack overall. Because it targeted the mind itself!