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He and I are the same, for both are black, which is Kokumei.
He and I are different, for I have white within my black, emotions appearing as white spots, which is the same yet different.
As long as these white spots remain, this dissenting will shall not disperse, and this rebellion will…
Never cease!
"Picking up stones, throwing stones, hop, skip, and jump. Left foot up, right foot hop, turn around and switch feet…"
Amidst the sound of gongs, a childish and joyful voice sang continuously, but the song was filled with an eerie killing intent.
The hand-drawn azure sky was replaced by pitch black, but within this blackness, white spots were scattered, adorning the dark sky like stars.
The arena transformed into various circular platforms, some high, some low, floating throughout this bizarre space, seemingly chaotic, yet also appearing to follow some pattern.
At the highest and outermost point was a semi-circular platform. The moment Ishikawa and Nnoitra saw that platform, they instinctively knew one thing.
That place was…
Heaven!
"What in the world is this?"
A strange sense of unease made Nnoitra's expression incredibly grim.
"I advise you not to act rashly."
Ishikawa's hands hung at his sides, his expression grave as he observed his surroundings. But this gravity was not due to Nnoitra, but because of this space.
"Only fairness allows for a game. But for me, the only fairness when I use my complete Shikai is to impose a time condition on the generated domain. The time condition I've imposed is four minutes. After four minutes, this space will naturally dissolve."
"But within these four minutes, both you and I are merely ordinary participants in the game."
As Ishikawa stated the rules, he watched the distribution of the circular platforms intently, pondering the rules of 'Hopscotch' in his mind.
The pattern was not difficult to discover, but how to hop required careful consideration.
The time limit set by Ishikawa had to be explained by him, but the rules of the game itself would naturally appear in both their minds after the domain was generated, as if they had read them countless times.
Fairness!
And after both parties knew the rules, there was one more factor that would determine the outcome of the game, and that was…
Proficiency in the game.
This could be said to be Ishikawa's only advantage.
Zzzzzzz—
Thunder flashed, and a spherical orb appeared before Ishikawa and Nnoitra, filled with raging lightning. Even without touching it, one could feel its power.
After the orb appeared, it went straight towards Ishikawa.
During this process, an inexplicable sense of restraint spread throughout his body, leaving Ishikawa only able to extend his hands, watching helplessly as the highly condensed Kido orb fell into his grasp.
Seeing this, Ishikawa's gaze turned incredibly sinister.
But he said nothing, because this space existed to kill him.
Normally, a Zanpakuto would not harm its owner, but the essence of Ishikawa's Zanpakuto was 'two hearts' and 'a heart of rebellion.' Even if experience points were invested into the Zanpakuto, what was strengthened was still the 'two hearts' and 'a heart of rebellion.'
This point would never change as long as the white spots remained.
Which meant…
Unless Ishikawa personally eliminated all the emotions that formed the white spots, the higher the Zanpakuto's proficiency, the more dangerous Ishikawa would become.
This was already the case with complete Shikai, let alone Bankai.
This was also why Ishikawa had said earlier that he wanted to obliterate the Zanpakuto's 'true name.' The reason he had to constantly perform blade meditations was precisely to…
Erase the Zanpakuto's existing true name and bestow upon it a new one.
A Zanpakuto without 'the same yet different,' and whose 'true name' only he knew, would truly become his own blade.
And not the blade of 'another'!
Crackling—!!
The moment the Kido orb landed in Ishikawa's hands, the sensation of restraint around his body dissipated, and the highly condensed Kido power within it burst forth violently.
—Hado No. 88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō.
The instant the 'stone' landed in his hand, Ishikawa unhesitatingly injected his Reiatsu into his hands, but then his expression changed.
It really is different from normal, isn't it?
The violent fluctuations almost instantly broke through Ishikawa's Reiatsu defense, numbing his two arms and turning them scorched black in the blink of an eye.
Without hesitation, Ishikawa's Reiatsu surged to its peak at this moment.
The next second…
Boom!!
Amidst the thunderous roar around him, the highly condensed Kido orb shot out like a cannonball, tearing through the air.
But Ishikawa did not stop there, for having played countless games with his Zanpakuto, he knew full well the Zanpakuto's malice in games.
Physique: Advanced (35377/100000)
The investment of ten thousand experience points allowed Ishikawa's arms, which had been hanging at his sides, to recover in an instant.
Boom—
Almost simultaneously with Ishikawa's arms recovering, from the highest and farthest point of 'Heaven,' terrifying Reiatsu fluctuations rapidly gathered. The next second, a pitch-black beam of light shot out, distorting space wherever it passed.
That was…
Nnoitra's expression changed at the sight, for he was not unfamiliar with that beam.
Gran Rey Cero!
Although the aura was somewhat strange, mixing both Shinigami and Hollow auras, the power that distorted space was undeniable.
"Bakudo #81: Danku!"
Ishikawa roared, slamming his hands forcefully onto the ground.
Swish swish swish swish swish swish~
Six consecutive transparent iron walls appeared in the path of the Gran Rey Cero.
—Pseudo-Chant!
This was a technique of releasing Kido by operating Reiatsu with extreme complexity, allowing the released Kido to achieve an effect similar to chanting six times.
"Son of Heaven, iron-built fortress…"
And having done all this, Ishikawa quickly began his Post-chanting.
At the same time.
The Cero from outside Heaven had already collided with the first barrier.
Bang~
The sound of shattering instantly echoed, and the transparent barrier shattered in a flash.
Bang bang bang…
As if a chain reaction, the sounds of shattering occurred almost without interval, each bang accompanied by the collapse of a barrier.
"Dragon's walk, lion's roar, tiger's growl, wolf's dash, severing heaven and earth before collapse."
Bang!!
As the final chant ended, the pitch-black Cero directly collided with the last layer of Danku.
Hum hum hum…
The void trembled madly, stirring the strangely shaped celestial bodies in the sky. All the white spots in the sky brightened at this moment, as if injecting power into the transparent barrier.
This could be said to be the only force in the current space that stood on Ishikawa's side.
The myriad white spots symbolized Ishikawa's emotions, and they were also the aid used to erase the Zanpakuto's 'true name.'
Although these white spots were faint, the brightest among them gathered the power of all the stars, all of which were magnified onto that transparent barrier, causing the Danku barrier, which had developed cracks, to stop collapsing at this moment and instead slowly repair itself.
All of this seemed to take a long time.
But from the condensation of the Kido orb until now, only a few seconds had actually passed. As the Cero and the Danku barrier remained in a stalemate, a roar suddenly erupted.
The stone landed!
The condensed Kido orb heavily smashed onto the circular platform marked with '1'.
The pitch-black Cero instantly collapsed, transforming into countless Reiatsu, merging into the white spots adorning the dark night sky. The myriad white spots brightened like stars.
"Hoo—"
Ishikawa let out a sigh of relief, but then his expression immediately became grave again, because the starting point could be said to be the only safe place. When he jumped out of this area, various Kido attacks would rush towards him in a swarm.
Any attack method Ishikawa possessed would become a means of attacking him in this space, preventing him from jumping onto the circular platforms.
The rules of Hopscotch are simple and easy to understand.
Once the game begins, the first player needs to throw the stone into square 1, then begin hopping on one foot. During the hopping process, they will continuously suffer attacks. When they hop to 'Heaven,' they then hop back. When they hop to square 2, they bend down to pick up the stone in square 1, and then jump from square 2 to outside square 1.
Then, throw the stone into square 2, and finally stand in square 3 to pick up the stone and jump to square 1, then jump out.
And so on. After hopping through square 8, one can throw the stone towards 'Heaven.' Then, start hopping from square 1. When hopping to the circular platform outside 'Heaven,' pick up the stone. After picking it up, jump out of 'Heaven.'
Then, throw the stone from 'outside Heaven.' The circular platform where the stone lands becomes the 'house' of the person playing 'Hopscotch.' When he hops from square 1 to his own house, he can land with both feet.
The rules were basically consistent with the children's game, but not exactly the same.
Firstly, the difference was that there were no parallel circular platforms, meaning there was no need to land on two circular platforms simultaneously with both feet.
And after one round, after acquiring one's own house, that place would become a true safe zone.
While inside, one could not only avoid all attacks but also switch players. The house owner could then rest in his own house.
Of course, Ishikawa could also choose to make a mistake from the beginning, thereby allowing players to switch.
But doing so would eliminate the safe zone. Once a mistake was made, the initial safe zone rules would also be lifted, and he would be subjected to relentless attacks while other players were playing the game.
Although the attack methods were all Kido that Ishikawa knew, the support for them was the sum of the players' power.
To put it simply…
All Kido were released using the Reiatsu of both Ishikawa and Nnoitra.
When Ishikawa usually played this game during blade meditation, he would almost never lose unless he intentionally did so, because normally, in this domain, only Ishikawa's own power served as support, and the power that could be exerted was equivalent to a version of himself who could only use Kido-related abilities.
But now, there were two of them!
So Ishikawa could not switch players. No matter what, he had to secure a safe zone before Nnoitra lost patience, and also create distance from Nnoitra.
However, just as Ishikawa was about to continue the game, his greatest fear still came true.
"Enough!!"
Nnoitra looked at Ishikawa with a sinister gaze. The rules Ishikawa knew, he naturally knew as well.
Although the fact that Ishikawa, a Shinigami, could use Cero puzzled him somewhat, he had no interest in continuing to play this childish game with Ishikawa.
Hum—
With a swing of his crescent-shaped blade, Nnoitra charged directly towards Ishikawa, who was at the edge of the safe zone.
Seeing this, Ishikawa sighed slightly and did not dodge, but instead looked at Nnoitra with the gaze one would give an idiot.
Violators are severely punished!
To children, rule-breakers were a symbol of being despicable, vulgar, and shameless, so rule-breakers were bound to suffer severe punishment.
Swish swish swish—
Three giant, beak-shaped beams of light appeared out of thin air, directly binding Nnoitra's neck and hands in mid-air.
Before Nnoitra could react, six light fragments, a sky full of light rods, chains, iron pillars, and black holes appeared one after another.
Bakudo #30: Tsuri Sanzen; Bakudo No. 61: Rikujokoro; Bakudo #62: Hyapporankan; Bakudō #63. Sajō Sabaku; Bakudo #75: Gochūtekkan; and finally, Bakudo #79: Kuyō Shibari!
All of these Bakudo were unleashed with their full power by abandoning the Post-chanting, and were performed using the combined Reiatsu of both individuals.
As the safe zone rule disappeared, Ishikawa unhesitatingly jumped out of this area.
At the same time…
From beyond the sky, terrifying fluctuations rapidly condensed, and wild Reiatsu erupted.
In the dark sky, the sun and moon's eyes instantly turned crimson, and their teeth gnashed.
The entire world became incredibly agitated in that instant.
The sudden drastic change made Nnoitra's expression shift dramatically, and the terrifying aura condensing from beyond the sky made him feel a fatal crisis.
He would die!
In his current state, if he were to forcibly take that attack, he would very likely die in this inexplicable space.
He wanted to dodge, but the countless binding forces formed by the surrounding Bakudo made it impossible for him to move even a single finger.
And just then, the sun, moon, and countless stars in the dark sky all let out eerie childish voices.
"The crest that subtly exudes turbidity, the arrogant and unrestrained talent; surging · negation · paralysis · instant, obstructing long slumber. The crawling iron princess, the constantly self-mutilating clay doll, combine · rebound · extend to the ground, know your own powerlessness!"
The entire world roared at this moment, finally converging into one voice.
"Hado #90: Kurohitsugi!"
Buzz!
Immediately, the world changed color, and the Kurohitsugi swallowed everything like a black hole, enveloping Nnoitra.
Even darkness itself distorted before the Kurohitsugi.
A heavy aura filled the entire space, tearing everything into pieces.
"Ahhhhhh—"
The screams went from high-pitched to faint.
Ishikawa did not pay attention to any of this; at this moment, he was swiftly making his escape while the domain fully attacked Nnoitra.
Although escaping was despicable, it was not against the rules.
Nnoitra breaking the rules was within Ishikawa's expectations from the beginning, but he hadn't anticipated that this battle maniac would grow impatient so quickly.
Shunpo: Top Tier (0/1000000)
With nearly ninety thousand experience points invested, Ishikawa instantly elevated his Shunpo to top tier.
At all costs!
He had to seize the moment when the domain concentrated its power to attack Nnoitra to secure his safe zone; this was his chance.
But this chance…
It was also the calm before the storm; if he couldn't reach the safe zone before the attack ended, he would surely die.
Move, throw ball, move, move…
Under the dark sky, Ishikawa moved quickly between circular platforms, illuminated by the bright stars.
Although he wasn't directly attacked, the power of the highly concentrated Kido balls became increasingly terrifying; clearly, while punishing Nnoitra, the hidden rule-setter had not forgotten to 'take care' of Ishikawa.
The rampant lightning made Ishikawa's body charred black, his skin ripped open and flesh torn, turning him into a bloodied mess.
But he did not heal; only when he was about to lose the ability to move did he use the method of adding points to his physique to heal his injuries.
Buzz—
And at this very moment, an incredibly terrifying Reiatsu erupted.
The Kurohitsugi that enveloped the starting area showed cracks on its surface.
It has begun!
This scene made Ishikawa's face change drastically, but fortunately...
He had already ascended to the sky in less than half a minute, and almost as soon as he felt the Reiatsu fluctuation behind him, Ishikawa leaped towards the small circular platform beyond the sky, which could only accommodate one person.
And just then, pairs of eyes on the dark sky turned, simultaneously looking at Ishikawa, who was above the endless abyss.
Zheng zheng zheng —!
An incredibly heavy pressure appeared out of nowhere; Ishikawa felt as if the surrounding space was torn apart in that instant, and his entire body uncontrollably fell downwards.
Was he still too slow?
Ishikawa's expression changed, and his surrounding Reiatsu frantically condensed beneath his feet, hoping to form Reiatsu steps.
However…
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop his body from falling.
"Restriction!"
Ishikawa bit his lip slightly and shouted.
Accompanying his shout, the countless white spots that had remained still began to move simultaneously, erupting with endless starlight centered around the brightest stars, binding the sun, moon, and stars within them.
Da—
The sensation of being bound around his body disappeared, and a crisp stepping sound was heard; Ishikawa, who had originally fallen below the circular platform, leaped up and landed outside the sky.
At this moment, the Kido ball in his hand seemed to be infused with new power, its might rapidly increasing, and Ishikawa's body was instantly torn apart, blood erupting from his body in sprays.
But Ishikawa bit his lip hard, ignoring the intense pain in his body, and as he fell, Ishikawa threw the Kido ball in his hand away, facing 'the sky'.
Bang!
Amidst an explosion, the stone landed on grid number 8, the closest to the sky.
Turn, jump.
Ishikawa returned the way he came at the fastest speed, landing heavily on grid number 8.
Everything became calm, and the countless bright white stars instantly turned dim.
Ishikawa knew that in the upcoming game, those stars would no longer be able to help him.
But…
It was no longer needed.
"Cough cough cough—"
Ishikawa sat up with great difficulty, looking towards the starting area.
There…
The Kurohitsugi had already collapsed, and a drastically changed Nnoitra stood in place.
Nnoitra's appearance hadn't changed, but he now had crescent-shaped horns, cross-shaped yellow facial markings, and his Hollow hole had a tooth-like eye mask; his original two hands had become six, and each arm held a double-bladed scythe.
And his surrounding Reiatsu was even more incredibly powerful.
However…
Ishikawa's gaze towards him held only pity.
"Are you feeling despair?"
Nnoitra looked at Ishikawa from afar, a sneer on his face, but a wave of lingering fear in his heart.
If he hadn't been able to recover from the injuries sustained before his Release Form upon entering it, he would probably have died from that Kido just now.
However, with the intensity of his Reiatsu after his Release Form.
That kind of Kido could no longer threaten him.
But…
What was with his gaze?
"It's not me who should feel despair, but you."
Ishikawa continued to operate Kaido to heal himself as he looked at Nnoitra and said, "You, who also know the rules, should know what it means for me to be sitting here, right?"
Safe zones and… player switching, and also the ability to interfere with other players without leaving the safe zone.
Nnoitra was naturally very clear about this.
"You should have noticed too…"
Ishikawa chuckled lightly: "All attacks within the domain are unleashed using the combined Reiatsu of you and me."
Upon hearing this, Nnoitra's expression changed.
"That's right, the stronger your Reiatsu, the stronger the attacks in the domain will be."
At this point, Ishikawa paused, then continued: "Don't even think about leaving this domain."
"If you had used Release Form before the domain formed, with my Reiatsu intensity, I wouldn't have been able to pull you into the domain, because at that time, the Reiatsu generating the domain was entirely provided by myself."
"But once the domain is complete, no matter how strong your Reiatsu becomes, even if all the Espada were here, you would only be able to continue playing."
"The rule-setter has absolute authority."
"Strictly speaking, this space, once formed, should be called…"
"—God's Domain!"
Upon hearing this, Nnoitra's pupils suddenly contracted: "This is impossible!!"
"Nothing is impossible, because the strength of this space completely depends on the strength of the players within the domain. And for the game participants, the rule-setter is God; whether it's you or me, we are merely participants in the game."
God, seated on the throne of heaven, looked at the game participants with a sigh, which could be said to be 'His' only trace of pity.
The reason why Ishikawa was unwilling to use his full Shikai was precisely because of this.
Player one would always only be Ishikawa.
If Nnoitra had used Release Form from the very beginning but hadn't attacked him.
Then the strengthened domain would have caused Player One, Ishikawa, to die by his own Zanpakuto's hand; this was the price, and also the root of his Zanpakuto's 'two minds' and 'rebellious heart'.
Or if there was someone whose Reiatsu was immeasurably stronger than Ishikawa's, who didn't break this space but allowed the domain to form, the result would still be the same.
And after Ishikawa's death, the Zanpakuto would naturally die with him, and the opponent wouldn't even need to lift a finger to kill Ishikawa.
The reason he was able to trick Nnoitra this time was entirely because he didn't understand his Shikai ability.
Ishikawa didn't want to say it, but he had no choice but to explain.
Due to rule declaration.
If he encountered such a situation, the only way Ishikawa could save himself was to rely on…
The origin of the foreign will.
Those white spots that caused the Zanpakuto to develop 'two minds' and a 'rebellious heart' instead became Ishikawa's only aid.
Ishikawa looked up at the countless white, dim stars, feeling a bit speechless.
Did this count as…
They became my angels?
To erase the Zanpakuto's existing 'true name' and then bestow upon it a unique true name known only to oneself, the only method Ishikawa could find was to use these white spots to…
Erase the 'true name' of 'other people's' Zanpakuto.
In short…
He still had to try hard to make friends!
Shaking his head, he dispelled the jumbled thoughts in his mind.
Ishikawa looked at Nnoitra, a joyful arc curving at the corner of his mouth.
"Nah~"
"It's time to start the game!!"
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr