Pitch black, endless pitch black....
'Where is this....'
Taka walked through the boundless dark void, trying to distinguish up from down, left from right, north from south, east from west.
'Am I dreaming again? But wasn't I on a mission? How did I fall asleep?'
He curiously crouched down and touched the pitch-black ground.
So cold. A cold that pierced the soul.
"Such a realistic sensation... Different from my usual dreams..." Taka murmured.
He noticed that both his five senses and his Reiatsu Fluctuations were normal. There was neither that dazed feeling nor the powerless exhaustion.
'What was going on here....'
As he thought, the darkness ahead writhed without warning.
A figure, as if emerging from an ink painting, gradually became clear.
A dark green kendo uniform covered in sword scars, a high ponytail, and a black-and-green Nichirin Sword in his hand that emitted a dazzling cold light even in this pitch-black space.
This was the first time Taka had seen this man, but almost the moment he saw him, he recognized him.
Arasaki Tetsushin.
No matter how much his appearance had changed, Taka could instantly tell from the soul aura emanating from him that this was his teacher.
At this time, he still had both arms. He looked to be in his early thirties, with a lean, powerful build and a commanding aura.
"Sensei?" Taka tentatively called out.
His answer was only the flash of a blade.
This former Wind Hashira's speed was like a raging gale. In the blink of an eye, he was upon Taka!
Shing!!
The Nichirin Sword swept past with a howl. Taka dodged by sidestepping, but the mere wind blade it raised was enough to tear Taka's skin!
Taka's gaze sharpened. He felt this matter was not simple.
This was the first time he had encountered battle in a dream, and the first time he had felt such realistic pain in a dream!
"Sorry, Sensei."
A grey light flashed. Taka drew the Asauchi like lightning, and the serrated blade instantly released its form!
Clang—!
Tonan was drawn. The blade hummed.
Tetsushin swung his blade. The sword forms of Wind Breathing in his hands were like green dragons tearing through the sky, rolling through clouds and seas. Every move, every form was a killing blow!
But Taka was no slouch either. Even without using spiritual pressure slashes, relying solely on his sharp eyes that could see through Tetsushin's techniques, plus his increasingly proficient swordsmanship, he could easily parry every attack!
At this moment, Taka thought that perhaps this period of swordsmanship training had made him think so much during the day that he dreamed of it at night, actually dreaming of Tetsushin in his prime.
So he didn't rush to end the fight. Instead, he used the other's genuine killing intent to further temper and hone his own sword skills.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two clashed. The sparks from the fierce collision of the Nichirin Sword and Tonan were enough to illuminate this pitch-black space.
After a huge opening appeared, Taka thought it was about time to end it.
"Fourth Form: Rising Dust Storm!"
Tonan swung violently from below! The explosive blade wind howled upward, like ten thousand demons wailing!
Rrrip—
The grey-black blade light perfectly merged with the invisible wind pressure, forming a spiraling shockwave that distorted space, directly tearing Tetsushin's figure apart.
As Taka had expected, once this figure was shattered, it dissipated into this pitch-black space in just a few seconds, leaving not a trace of red.
'It was all just a dream.'
He slowly calmed the raging storm within his chest, savoring the sword techniques of the younger Tetsushin.
But he regulated his breathing for a long time, waited for a long time, and this dream showed no sign of ending.
Still endless darkness, still inexplicable.
Clap... clap... clap...
A clear and steady applause, as if it had been prepared for a long time, suddenly sounded from the depths of the darkness.
Taka frowned, searching for the source of the sound, but felt it came from all directions, omnipresent.
He tightened his grip on Tonan again, waiting for the next possible attack in the dream.
Tap, tap, tap-
Footsteps, unhurried, came from directly in front of Taka.
Taka perked up, his gaze fixed ahead, and then stopped.
Soon,
His pupils contracted.
His teeth chattered.
Rage began to surge.
The dark curtain seemed to be lifted by an invisible hand, and a figure strolled out gracefully.
The other party had a tall, upright figure, wearing a black kimono. Under that slightly wavy brown short hair, he wore a pair of most ordinary black-framed glasses.
But the gaze behind those lenses was deep as an abyss, as if able to perceive all the secrets of the world, and also seemed to carry a condescending, almost compassionate observation.
"Beautifully fought. But is this your wish, Subject No. 78? Your desire to escape my obsession is so strong... You can actually tear open the rift in the world...."
"Ai—zen—!!!"
Taka's calm, waveless expression was completely shattered. The arc of rage and hatred flickered across his face. Swollen veins writhed hideously on his forehead like earthworms.
The voice roared through clenched teeth, as if wanting to tear the refined man before him into pieces!
"I am truly astonished.... I never thought we would meet again one day, Subject No. 78."
The man called Aizen adjusted his glasses, a gentle smile appearing on his face, as if merely greeting a long-lost junior.
"Hyahhh—!!!"
Taka roared explosively, leaping high. Every muscle in his body began to pound, erupting with limitless power!
"Wind Breathing: Ninth Form: Idaten Typhoon!!"
As Taka exerted himself recklessly, Tonan began to roll up a destructive storm!
The dim blade light howled without cease, forming a huge, high-speed rotating tornado of wind blades! Charging straight at Aizen!
This was the strongest sword form Taka could use! Mixed with his surging, tearing Reiatsu, it made space itself tremble and wail!
The darkness plowed by the blade wind was torn into chaotic void by him, shattered and distorted!
The dreamscape began to rapidly transform, sometimes becoming a turbulent sea, sometimes entering a misty dense forest, constantly reorganizing and collapsing.
Seeing this awe-inspiring scene, Aizen's brow raised slightly. The gaze behind his lenses showed a flicker of playful curiosity:
".....So this is the power of this world? Even though it's just the swordsmanship of humans in the present world, yet it can stir Reishi...."
He didn't move a step, not even a strand of his brown hair was stirred by this gale.
Faced with this slash, enough to instantly kill a Lower Moon demon, the gentle smile on Aizen's face didn't change in the slightest.
Just as Taka's serrated longsword howled closer, the blade tip about to touch Aizen's collar—
"Bakudo #8, Seki."
A calm, waveless voice sounded.
Instantly, a pale blue Reishi shield formed before Aizen.
Clang—!!
A crisp impact sound exploded in the void!
The violent slash of Idaten Typhoon struck the shield and instantly shattered.
Due to the recoil from this strike, Taka's arms were in agony. His purlicue instantly split, dyeing the hilt red!
The next second, the shattered light shield emitted an irresistible repulsive force, violently flinging him away. He crashed miserably onto the cold, dark ground!
Pfft!!
A sweetness rose in his throat. He spat out a huge mouthful of scarlet!
"The power brought by anger only makes you lose your mind, becoming coarse and easy to predict, Subject No. 78."
Aizen calmly commented on Taka's slash.
But the next second, he realized something. His brow slightly moved.
He turned his head and fixed his gaze on his own shoulder.
It was the remnant of Taka's Reiatsu Slash. In the storm slash just now, it had stained him, tearing a corner of his Shihakusho.
This Reiryoku was like an inextinguishable wildfire, continuously gnawing at his clothing.
Aizen tried to touch this seemingly living flame. His gaze sharpened slightly.
"Oh? This is interesting...."