Demon God in the Cage

Memories from his childhood flashed through his mind once more. Those scenes had haunted countless sleepless nights. He hated those people, and he hated his own helplessness as a child.

Self-loathing?

Lu Li pondered. He had indeed been tormented by guilt for a long time, but he had already moved on.

Because he knew Master and Senior Apprentice-Sister did not want to see him stagnate. He would avenge them, but more importantly, he would ascend to the pinnacle of martial arts.

But if it was not self-loathing, and he could be certain that he was human, then why had he seen such a scene in the depths of his soul?

Even by the end of class, Lu Li had made no progress with resonance. He could only decide to make another deep attempt tonight.

There were too many people in class, and Aizen had plenty of things he could not conveniently say. Although he had admitted to Lu Li that he had already mastered Shikai, he had never demonstrated it before the teacher or the other students.

That evening, after dragging his slightly weary body back to the dormitory, Lu Li climbed straight into bed.

But he was not planning to sleep. His session with Teacher Unohana today had only been a light taste, so he still had plenty of stamina left.

He decided to carefully investigate the matter of his Zanpakuto tonight—or rather, the matter of his own soul.

Before beginning, he glanced at his current status panel.

Explorer No. 404040404, your base attributes are as follows:

Constitution: 17 (+2)

Strength: 16 (+1)

Agility: 17 (+2)

Spirit: 22 (+2)

Charm: 6

Luck: 1

His attributes had changed significantly. The change in Constitution was because Retsu Unohana had cut him many times over the past two months; his physical body had gained a certain degree of resistance through its repeated destruction and reconstruction.

The change in Agility came from his development and study of Shunpo. After adapting to high-speed movement, his neural reflexes had also improved significantly.

Strength had increased the least, mainly because he had not done anything specifically focused on training it.

As for Spirit, although he had not trained it much, the meditation method passed down by the Spirit Arts Academy was indeed a good way to increase Reiwei and Spirit. Unlike his training in other areas, training Reiwei was inherently a process of simply raising numerical values, so its effects naturally showed more clearly in his attributes.

One thing needed to be clarified: all of his attribute increases were actually related to increases in Reiwei. Spirit was simply the attribute most directly tied to Reiwei.

At present, the Spirit Arts Academy considered him to possess Sixteenth Grade Reiwei, but Lu Li felt that he had only just reached the threshold of Sixteenth Grade.

Aizen had said that he learned a Zanpakuto's true name could be used for Shikai when he was at Seventeenth Grade Reiwei. That was most likely a lie, but judging from Aizen's subtle attitude when he spoke, Lu Li felt that if he had possessed an Asauchi at Seventeenth Grade Reiwei, using Shikai would not have been a problem.

Then there was no reason he could not do it.

With that thought, Lu Li calmed himself and used the Spirit Arts Academy's Resonance Method, sending his consciousness into the depths of his soul.

Seeing that Lu Li had entered the proper state, Aizen put out the lights early and began his daily scroll as well.

At that moment, Lu Li felt as if he were walking beneath a pitch-black sky canopy. He did not know what lay ahead, nor was there any way back.

He did not know whether he had grasped some trick, but this resonance was quite different from all the previous ones.

After taking one step forward, he felt a distinct sensation of weightlessness. Then, he felt the entire world trembling.

Whispers sounded by his ears again, accompanied by blood-chilling wails.

He fell, falling without end. He had never fallen for so long in this "abyss."

His instinctive warning of danger made him want to stop this resonance, but his curiosity about the secrets hidden in the depths of his soul made him endure and continue downward.

It was as though he had passed through some barrier. His vision blurred for an instant, and when it cleared again, he saw... Hell.

It was a purple-black Hell. Endless Purple-Black Flames churned within the Lava River. Like living creatures, the flames twisted their bodies, constantly devouring the surrounding air and unleashing deafening roars.

The sky was blanketed by thick smoke. From time to time, dark-red lightning tore across the heavens, illuminating the wailing faces of the tortured souls.

Amid that boundless heat and agony, an enormous cage formed from solidified lava stood silently. Purple-black demonic patterns like vines covered its surface.

At the bottom of the cage, a dark-red door slowly opened. Behind it lay bottomless darkness, from which came the clinking of chains.

After the door opened, Lu Li suddenly could no longer hear the chaotic cries. The world grew much quieter, leaving only the sounds of lava crashing and flames rolling.

That door seemed to possess some kind of magic, drawing Lu Li toward it until he could not help stepping forward.

Amazingly, with a single step, he crossed the lava and flames and arrived before the cage door.

A cage?

Lu Li felt puzzled. Why did I instinctively think this was a cage?

Clearly, the structure before him was merely an irregular mound piled from lava, yet even before that door had opened, he had felt that it was a cage.

He took a step forward and looked through the dark-red door. All he saw was profound darkness.

Just then, enormous waves surged behind him and flames erupted like pillars. Dark-red light shone into the pitch-black cage.

In that instant, Lu Li saw the scene inside the cage.

A pitch-black figure was wrapped in countless chains. They seemed to have been forged from the toughest divine metal, emitting a faint glow.

The bound body was like an abyss, black and unfathomably deep. As though it sensed Lu Li's gaze, He slowly raised His head.

By the faint light cast in by the flames, Lu Li saw His deeply sunken eyes. They radiated cold, savage light, as if not even endless ages could erase His hatred.

At that moment, the wind rose. The wind of Hell carried the scent of scorching heat and sulfur, sweeping up countless ashes and scorched earth. They danced through the air, passed through Lu Li's seemingly insubstantial body, and surged into the cage, eventually covering Him, yet unable to conceal that imprisoned majesty.

Is this... my Zanpakuto?

Lu Li felt partly enlightened and partly confused. Unable to help himself, he asked, "What is your name?"

The figure in the depths of the cage met Lu Li's gaze, but Lu Li received no answer. What answered him was a roar.

ROAR—

That roar seemed capable of shattering All Heavens and Myriad Realms, containing hatred and unwillingness that had endured through countless eras.

That roar was savage, crazed, and also... lonely.

As the Demon God-like figure roared, the entire world of Hell trembled.

The heavens collapsed and the earth split apart. Lava surged up like a tsunami, while flames soared like meteors.

Lu Li stood before the cage. Behind him rose a towering lava tsunami of immeasurable height, while Purple-Black Flames curled around him like dancing sprites.

Amid such an apocalyptic scene, Lu Li did not move. His expression remained calm as he stared at the figure in the cage.

Just as he was about to ask again, a gale rose from beneath his feet and swept him into the sky.

As the world spun around him, he abruptly opened his eyes in bed. That Demon God-like figure had actually "kicked" him out directly.

He raised his head and looked outside. The sky had already begun to lighten.