Book of the End

"Why are you shamelessly sticking around here? If you've got something to say, say it quickly. Once you're done, I'll throw you out again!"

The girl in red stood with her arms crossed over her chest and her back to the Rover. Her rosy cheeks were puffed out, and she was clearly sulking.

"Didn't you pull me in here?"

"Hmph!"

Phrolova suddenly turned around and shot him a fierce glare.

"You've only got two chances left to speak!"

"I..."

"All right, don't say another word. You'll waste the air in here!"

"Someone like you should learn to breathe carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. Then you might have just a tiny bit of reason to exist!"

As if that still wasn't enough, Phrolova picked up a broom and began furiously sweeping the floor. The dust she kicked up spread ahead of her like a sandstorm.

"Cough, cough..."

The Rover coughed and backed away repeatedly.

"Is this how you treat your guests?"

"The floor's dirty already. Could you stop casting your shadow here? Even the sun on the other shore doesn't want to shine on you!"

"Then should I leave?"

"Don't you dare!"

In an instant, Phrolova was like a cat with its fur standing on end. Hissing, she pounced on him.

She tore and bit at him wildly!

"What the hell!"

Caught off guard by the sneak attack, the Rover was pinned to the ground.

His pupils shook!

"Where's your elegance? Your restraint? Your sorrow? Why do your eyes look like you want nothing more than to bite me to death?"

"I can't worry about all that anymore. I've lost everything, and I no longer care to ask what's right or wrong. Take this!"

"You forced me to do this!"

The Rover took a deep breath. Did she think she could get the upper hand just because he wasn't using a weapon? How naive!

The four basic skills of a Soul Reaper—swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, movement, and demon arts—were no joke.

"Here's the Hakuda I just learned!"

With a lightning-fast roll, he seized the advantage and unleashed a series of moves.

A shoulder throw, a rear naked choke, a grapple, and finally an execution move: a tombstone piledriver!

"Got you!"

The Rover delivered his victory speech!

Phrolova was crying and drawing circles to curse him.

"Get out! Get out!"

The Rover slapped his forehead, snapping out of the heat of the moment.

"It's your fault for sidetracking me. I nearly forgot what I came for. Where are your villagers? I might have a way to restore them."

"Really?"

The girl's eyes lit up.

"I'll have to try first!"

"Follow me!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Phrolova grabbed the Rover by the collar and dragged him into the distance like a kite.

There was a group of Tacet Discords at their destination. They had no desire to attack people, always mechanically repeating the same unchanging conversations.

One of them had left a particularly deep impression on the Rover.

"Together... practice... perform... tasty food..."

The voice was bright and lively, but it made Phrolova tremble and unconsciously clench her hand.

"This child was called Triss, right?"

"Oh, someone's memory is pretty good after all. So how did you just happen to forget your promise to someone else? You didn't do it on purpose, did you?"

Phrolova instantly shook off her sorrow and began speaking sarcastically.

"Cut the chatter."

The Rover exclaimed, and a card appeared in his hand.

The moment Phrolova saw it, her attention was completely drawn to it.

"What a special frequency. I've never seen one like it..."

She reached out a slender fingertip and touched it lightly, then pulled her hand back as though she'd been shocked.

"Even I can't harmonize with this frequency."

She was somewhat surprised. She could tell for certain that this card was no ordinary object.

Immediately afterward, the card turned into a book.

The Book of the End!

Three heaven-defying abilities from the world of Bleach.

Tsukishima's Book of the End changed the past, Orihime Inoue's Santen Kesshun changed the present, and Yhwach's Almighty changed the future.

The next moment, the Book of the End turned into a longsword, and the Rover plunged it straight into the Tacet Discord before him!

"What are you doing?!"

Phrolova's face went pale, and she trembled all over, barely able to stand.

The scene seemed familiar.

Was this guy going to give her hope and then plunge her into despair again, just like before?!

Liar! Heartless bastard!

"Is this fun for you? How long are you going to keep tormenting me before you're satisfied?!"

But immediately afterward, an unexpected change occurred.

The Tacet Discord's shell shattered, revealing the human beneath.

The Book of the End forcibly inserted a fabricated past, rewriting the past in which the girl had been crushed by a meteorite and allowing her to escape the death that had already occurred.

At the sight, Phrolova's mind went blank. A tremendous, unreal joy swept over her like a tide, instantly washing away all her other emotions.

"Triss..."

She called out softly.

"Big sister..."

The little girl tried to leap out of the shell, but an invisible force bound her, and she couldn't break free. It made her extremely anxious.

"Look what you've done!"

The Rover looked at Phrolova with a stern expression.

"If you hadn't used the Tacet Discords to merge with these people's frequencies, she wouldn't have ended up in this chaotic state!"

"I... I..."

This time, faced with his scolding, Phrolova didn't talk back. Instead, she looked aggrieved, like a child who had done something wrong, at a loss for what to do.

"Save her. You must have a way, right? As long as you can save this child, I'll do anything..."

Before she could finish, the Rover's golden eyes turned a deep blue.

It was Imperator's omnipotence: separation!

In an instant, the girl's frequency was stripped away, becoming whole and pure.

Abu attacked at the same time, chewing in great mouthfuls until he had devoured the remaining Tacet Discord.

Triss fully regained consciousness, though she still couldn't be considered a pure human.

Even if she had escaped that death, several hundred years had passed since then. Under normal circumstances, she would have long since become a pile of bones.

But because she had merged with a Tacet Discord and was in the Lost Beyond, she had become a different kind of existence, just like Phrolova now.

"Big sister!"

As though she knew everything, the little girl burst into tears and threw herself into Phrolova's arms.

"Triss... thank goodness. I thought I'd never see you again. Fate was finally willing to show me mercy just this once. Now that I've been able to see you again, I need nothing else!"

The two held each other and wept, losing themselves in their tears and letting go of everything, as though they were holding tight to their whole world.

Phrolova was especially dramatic, her face drenched in tears. She looked both pitiful and a little funny.

After centuries of searching, amid boundless pain and endless despair, a ray of light had finally appeared, allowing her to see hope of redemption.

Even the Rover couldn't help the slight smile that rose to his lips at the sight.

Just then, the voice in his mind sounded again.

"Phrolova has gained hope. Mission complete. Reward: the foundation of Fullbring!"

Light intertwined in the air, then took solid form and landed in his palm.

"This is..."

The Rover's eyes widened, and Abu looked over curiously as well.

He hadn't expected it to be this!