The Heart of Daku (Part 1)

As Sylvan flew through the air with Rain, he looked at the black cane in his other hand. The cane gleamed with a dark luster in the moonlight, and the fine patterns on its surface resembled some kind of sleeping vine, winding around the cane and extending to the handle. His fingers tightened slightly on the handle.

As he flew, Rain scanned Sylvan's moonlit face with his silver pupils. "What's wrong? Does being in charge of the Integration make you uneasy?"

Sylvan did not answer immediately. He lowered his head and looked at the cane—the withered Blade of Power, once a powerful weapon in Amber's hands that could easily suppress Aizen and even defeat Kaname Tōsen with a single blow. Now, in his hands, it was just a pitch-black cane that needed to constantly absorb his already meager Reiatsu to barely maintain its current form.

"All I was given was this Blade of Power and a few Zanjutsu techniques." His voice was soft, almost carried away by the evening breeze. "And because of the weak Reiatsu, even the only Blade of Power I was given has become like this due to insufficient Reiatsu. Can I really complete the Integration? Or rather—will they really be willing to Integration with me as the master?"

Rain's wings fluttered slightly in the air, adjusting its altitude. Its voice carried a calmness completely out of character for its species. "The right to use the Blade of Power is yours. Even though we share the same origin and my Reiatsu is higher than yours, I still cannot use it."

Didn't you already experience that in the previous battles?

Sylvan fell silent for a moment after hearing Rain's words. His gaze fell on the cane, its fine lines gleaming slightly in the moonlight, as if responding to something.

He closed his eyes and recalled what had happened that afternoon...

Rewind to this afternoon

Qinghui Clothing Shop

Sylvan, dressed in a gray Japanese-style casual outfit, was standing in the storeroom behind the Clothing Atelier, helping Keiko organize the newly arrived fabrics.

His movements were slow but meticulous. Arranging and classifying the materials was a huge undertaking—each piece of cloth had to be arranged according to its color shade, and each roll of silk had to be placed according to its grain.

This was the first thing he learned after waking up: to do things that didn't require Reiatsu, using this body with so little Reiatsu that he couldn't even use Shunpo.

From the day he was separated, he felt his own weakness. It was as if he had not been given any power. Apart from a tattered robe and a cane, even his Reiatsu was pitifully small.

To make matters worse, he ended up back at the location where Amber had traveled from. While the distance from Seireitei wasn't very far for Soul Reaper, for him now, it was practically a long journey.

Left with no other choice, he rushed to Bamboo Creek Plain, hoping that Keiko from Qinghui Clothing Shop and Shimizu, who had returned from school, could help him.

Unexpectedly, the cane assigned to him kept absorbing his Reiatsu for some reason, and he grew weaker and weaker along the way. The rain also kept falling, which greatly hindered his progress. Fortunately, he finally managed to reach Qinghui Clothing Shop.

His strategy upon arriving at the Clothing Atelier was simple: wait! If he couldn't wait at the Clothing Atelier, he would slowly move to the outskirts of Seireitei to wait!

He could vaguely sense that when Amber split him into five parts, powerful fragments would surely come knocking on his door in an attempt to Integration.

So, while recovering, he also started working at Qinghui Clothing Shop, helping Keiko organize fabrics, clean the shop, and water the potted plants at the entrance.

Keiko didn't ask him any more questions. After Sylvan explained the whole story to her and Shimizu, she prepared a room for him and some changes of clothes.

When the sky began to turn slightly red...

Shimizu pushed open the shop door and placed the book he was holding on the shoe cabinet next to the door.

"Shimizu, you're back?" Keiko looked up from behind the counter, startled by the voice, and smiled at him.

Shimizu changed her shoes by the door and said to Keiko behind the counter, "Yes, I'm back."

Shimizu walked to the counter and looked at Sylvan, who was arranging the merchandise.

Sylvan was facing away from him, carefully folding a piece of dark blue cotton cloth and placing it in the corresponding compartment. Shimizu's gaze lingered on him for a few seconds, then she turned her head and softly asked Keiko, "Keiko, is what Sylvan said true? Is he really a fragment of Amber?"

Keiko put down her needlework and looked at Sylvan's thin back. Her gaze was firm, carrying the confidence that only someone who had been a tailor for hundreds of years possessed.

"The tattered clothes he wore that day were indeed remnants from the one I made for Amber. I wouldn't mistake my own needlework. Besides, I even added the Fon Clan's hidden patterns to Amber's Shihakusho. There's no mistake. Moreover, his bone structure is exactly the same as Amber's. There's no doubt about that."

"Bone structure? You can even sense that?"

"How many years do you think I've been a tailor?" Keiko's lips curved into a very faint smile. "I can tell this kind of thing just by looking at it."

Shimizu glanced at Sylvan again; the thin young man was gently pushing the last piece of fabric into the compartment.

Shimizu stroked her chin. "But Sylvan and Amber aren't similar in personality."

"When a person is torn to pieces, their personality will change to some extent. Shimizu, matters of the soul are not so easy to explain." A voice suddenly rang in Shimizu's ear.

Shimizu nodded, his expression serious. "I see, is that so? I've learned something..." He turned his head, wanting to see who had enlightened him.

When he turned his head, he froze.

Standing on the counter was a Big Bird, a Blue-Violet Raven as big as a house cat!

Keiko remained in the same position, needle and thread clutched in her hand, staring wide-eyed at the large, talking Big Bird that had suddenly barged in, as if frozen in place.

"Yo! Shimizu," the Raven tilted its head, its voice carrying a faint, almost incongruous tone of mockery for its species, "My name is Rain, and like Sylvan, I'm a fragment of amber. Nice to meet you."

Shimizu pointed at Rain, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly. "Crow—the crow spoke!!"

Hearing Shimizu's call, Sylvan turned around, his gaze passing over Keiko and Shimizu, landing on the large silver-eyed Big Bird standing on the counter.

A subtle resonance emanated from the depths of their souls—a unique connection between fragments of the same origin, allowing them to confirm each other's identities without the need for any language.

"Rain?" Sylvan's voice was still soft, but his tone was much lighter when speaking to another person of his kind. "I didn't expect you to be like this."

Rain lowered his head and preened the feathers at the base of his wings with his beak. "I didn't expect this either. When I woke up, it took me a long time to get used to these wings."

Sylvan's gaze slowly swept over Rain's wings. The edges of those wings shimmered with a faint silver luster, and each feather was like an extremely thin blade. More importantly, Rain's Reiatsu was much higher than his.

He sighed, a sigh filled with disappointment, confirming once again that he was the weakest piece of the fragment. "Judging from your current form, the Blade of Power is not in your hands."

Rain stopped grooming himself, looked up, and a hint of confusion flashed in his silver eyes. "What are you talking about? The Blade of Power should only be in your hands."

This time, it was Sylvan's turn to be stunned.

Rain was puzzled. "You didn't get the Blade of Power? That's impossible. Out of the five of us, only your form can use the Blade of Power."

Sylvan looked down at his hands, which were so thin they were almost just bones. "All I got was a cane that kept absorbing my Reiatsu and a set of tattered clothes."

Rain was silent for a moment, then asked, "What about the cane?"

A few minutes later, in Sylvan's bedroom

A man and a bird stood before the bed, looking at the all-black cane lying quietly on the bedding. The fine lines on the cane gleamed faintly in the afternoon light streaming in through the window.

"You're saying this is the Blade of Power?" For the first time, a barely perceptible fluctuation appeared in Sylvan's voice.

Rain hopped closer to the cane, lowered his head, and carefully touched the cane with his beak. His silver pupils scanned every line on the cane up to the tip.

"Judging from its aura, this is indeed the Blade of Power."

It raised its head, tilting it to the side, "But why has it shriveled up like this?"

Rain extended his claws and grabbed the handle of the cane. He spread his wings and pulled upwards with all his might, but the cane did not budge.

"Um?"

It tried again, this time flapping its wings with all its might, its claws clenching so tightly they cracked, its wings making the sheets flutter in the wind, but the cane remained unmoved.

"Why is it so heavy?" Rain released his paws and landed on the edge of the bed, the feathers on his chest slightly ruffled from the exertion.

Sylvan looked at its panting appearance. "How could that be? It's very light."

He reached out, grasped the handle of the cane, and gently lifted it—he lifted the cane with one hand, even twirling it like a sword with it.

As Rain watched this scene, a thoughtful glint flashed in its silver pupils. It tilted its head and scratched the feathers on the top of its head with its wing:

"Perhaps you were the only one assigned the authority to use the Blade of Power? But the Reiatsu you were assigned was insufficient, which caused the Blade of Power to shrink like this."

Sylvan looked down at the cane in his hand. The patterns on the cane were slightly warm under his fingertips, as if something slumbering was slowly breathing. With each breath, the cane began to absorb his Reiatsu.

"Then why is it still absorbing my Reiatsu?" His voice was low. "It will continue to do so as long as I hold it."

Rain looked up at Sylvan's face, so thin it was almost skin and bones—deep shadows beneath his silver eyes, identical to Amber's, his cheekbones prominent from his gauntness, and the bones in his wrists almost bursting through his skin.

"Perhaps it's just trying to maintain its existence." Rain moved his wing from above his head to below the beak, making a gesture similar to chin-resting. "After all, this sword was forged from a broken Sparda horn. The Reiatsu required to power it is orders of magnitude less than what you actually possess."

Sylvan didn't speak, but simply gripped his cane tighter.

Just then, a loud thud came from downstairs—the dull thud of a heavy object hitting a wooden board, followed by the sound of Shimizu, filled with obvious panic and anger.

Sylvan and Rain exchanged a glance. Sylvan grabbed his cane and rushed downstairs, while Rain followed closely behind.

The staircase was narrow, Sylvan's footsteps tapped rapidly on the wooden planks. When he reached the first floor, the sight before him made him pause for a moment.

A creature made entirely of water is standing in the center of the shop.

Its body is transparent and fluid, like a giant drop of water that has been given life, constantly changing its shape.

It has no fixed facial features, but in a head-like area, there is a core radiating a deep blue light, which pulsates slightly with every movement it makes. The water that makes up its entire body circulates continuously, and occasionally a few drops of water splash off its surface, hitting the floor with a crisp sound.

Strangely, although it and Shimizu were in a standoff, both were extremely restrained—the blade avoided the fabric on the shelf, and the water flowed around the pile of clothes that Keiko had just tidied up.

Shimizu held Daku's blade to the swirling water. "It's not really convenient to fight here. Come outside with me, Daku!"

Daku's core lit up briefly and then followed the Shimizu outside.

Upon hearing Shimizu's words, Rain was somewhat surprised. "That creature made of water is actually Daku?"

Sylvan ran to Keiko was hiding in the corner, and asked, "Keiko, are you alright?"

He helped Keiko up, and Keiko said to him, "I'm fine, Sylvan Shimizu. Shimizu was just doing his daily Zanjutsu meditation when, I don't know what happened, that thing suddenly jumped out of his Zanpakuto and started fighting with Shimizu."

"It's alright, Keiko- nee. That's Shimizu's Zanpakuto materializing. If Shimizu defeats it, he'll become stronger, which is a good thing."

"Is that so?"

Rain flew down the stairs and landed in front of the two. "That's not necessarily true. Normally, a materialized Zanpakuto wouldn't attack its wielder right away. Something must have happened to them."

The sound of water hitting the ground came from outside. Sylvan went to the door and saw Shimizu standing on the muddy ground.

Opposite him was a water-like humanoid of similar build—its core pulsated within it, and each swing of its arms, formed from flowing water, carried the power to shatter the ground.

Shimizu looked at the water creature, her voice filled with an almost urgent confusion. "Daku, you're acting strange today—what's with asking me to relinquish my power!"

The core of the Daku lit up, and its voice came from the depths of the water, echoing in layers, like countless water droplets speaking at once, "Because it's meaningless."

Shimizu was stunned.

"Shimizu, this is for your own good." The core of Daku slowly rotated in the water, its voice growing deeper, "Give up your power, give me up. Live happily with Keiko in Soul Society, and stop fighting!"

"I refuse."

Shimizu's voice wasn't loud, but every word was enunciated with utmost precision. "Daku, you are half of me, a part of my soul. Have you ever seen anyone abandon half of their body, their soul, for no reason!"

Daku silent for a long time. Its body flowed slowly in the air, and the water that made up its body flowed even slower, as if it were being pressed down by something.

Then its core suddenly lit up, brighter than ever before.

"Shimizu, if I can't convince you with words—then I'll force you to give up myself."

Shimizu gripped the Daku Shimizu, the blade gleaming coldly in the setting sun. He stood ramrod straight, just as he always did when he stood in the Fon Clan's courtyard or in the classroom of the Shin'ō Academy.

"Bring it on! I will never give up my power, even if it means death."

The core of Daku erupted with a blinding blue light. "Is that so? Then you shall die."

The water flow transformed into a giant, transparent blade, rushing towards the Shimizu.