Chapter 8 — Voices in the Soul
Sōya Azashiro slightly furrowed his brow as he walked through the hall.
Elegant, silent — each of his steps carried the weight of someone who had seen too much.
— "That boy was looking at you with such gentle eyes... Could he be falling for your beauty? Hahaha."
Azashiro didn't respond.
But not out of arrogance.
The mocking voice came from his own Zanpakutō.
Azashiro was an anomaly.
Unlike every other Shinigami, he awakened his Bankai before even unlocking Shikai, without ever learning his Zanpakutō's name.
Sōya's story was soaked in sorrow.
Years ago, his family — the Azashiro Clan — was framed and sentenced to execution.
For a crime they never committed.
The true motive was greed — their vast wealth and lands had drawn the envy of other influential noble families.
No trial. No mercy.
They were cast into a coliseum, like animals for slaughter.
The nobles gathered in the viewing boxes to enjoy the macabre spectacle:
Hollows were released to massacre every last member of the Azashiro family.
---
It was in that hell that everything changed.
Sōya, still a young boy, stumbled across a fallen Zanpakutō — likely belonging to a relative who had already perished.
And then he saw her...
His sister.
The last one left.
Ripped away before his very eyes.
In that moment — the pain, the hatred, the helplessness — all merged into one.
And he awakened his Bankai.
The explosion of reiatsu was brutal.
All the Hollows were shredded.
The nobles responsible were executed instantly.
---
Sōya expected to be hunted down as a traitor.
Expected imprisonment, execution, the end.
But none of that came.
Not only was he declared innocent — the Azashiro family's properties remained untouched.
He later discovered the reason:
> Raien Kasumiōji — patriarch of the Kasumiōji clan — had used his influence to bring justice to the Azashiro family.
Sōya never forgot that act.
---
On the other side of the hall, Kaito was too deep in his own thoughts, still processing the revelation of the second login and the implications of his new ability.
But unlike most of the attendees, Kaito wasn't there to flatter the Tsunayashiro household.
In truth, he was bored.
These noble gatherings were nothing more than games of appearance — and he had no patience for useless flattery.
— "Time to take a walk..."
He rose quietly, slipping away from the cliques and their conversations.
He decided to explore the mansion's hallways.
And, if possible, find Tokinada Tsunayashiro.
The most dangerous figure in that entire place.