Trembling Memories! My Name

The beautiful oasis lay beneath a warm sun that lazily caressed the earth. Perhaps because of the scorching climate and abundant rain, the flowers, grass, and trees here had all grown exceptionally tall!

Ordinarily, anyone entering such a beautiful environment should have calmed down and leisurely admired the scenery. But that clearly was not the case now, because deep within this rainforest, a scene of rampant environmental destruction was unfolding—

Boom— With a thunderous crash, a massive tree so thick that five people could barely wrap their arms around it was ruthlessly split straight down the middle.

"Damn it! I refuse to believe that if I keep chopping my way through from beginning to end, I still won't find the exit to this forest?!" Gripping a huge cleaver-like weapon, Achill gritted his teeth and glared fiercely at the surrounding trees with an expression of deep hatred. In truth, he was lost again...

Having finally escaped that damned desert, Achill had not even had time to feel proud before becoming trapped in this rainforest. At first, he had not paid much attention to it, but after returning to the same spot for the nth plus yth time, he finally exploded in rage.

Without another word, he pulled out a Zanpakutō from his Requip space—the one he considered best suited for slaughtering pigs, cough, cough, chopping trees—and began wreaking havoc.

Simply put, this rainforest had suffered an utterly undeserved disaster. If anyone was to blame, it was the forest for being so ridiculously huge. Running into an epic-level directionally challenged fool like Achill truly meant it had been cursed for eight lifetimes...

"Crescent Strike—" Holding the blade with both hands, Achill let out an angry roar and swung with all his might. Instantly, a massive blue crescent detached from the broad blade and slashed diagonally toward the trees ahead!

Boom— Another stretch of forest was devastated. But after using that move, Achill was panting heavily like a dead dog.

"Damn, this sword really isn't meant for human use!" Slumped on the ground, one hand resting on Zangetsu's bare hilt, Achill muttered through a head full of sweat, "But it'd be such a waste to stop using it. Its destructive power is right there for all to see. Looks like I'll have to work on strengthening my magic power from now on..."

After resting, Achill returned Zangetsu to his Requip space. The magic power he had spent using Zangetsu to clear a path had mostly recovered by then.

It had to be said that although Crescent Strike consumed a great deal of magic power, its might was beyond question! Well, at least when it came to chopping down trees...

And so, Achill continued onward along the path he had carved out, occasionally stopping to slash a few more times and clear the way. Only when his magic power was nearly depleted would he take a break. Though this method was—stupid! Extremely stupid, in fact—it was still not a bad solution for someone as hopelessly directionally challenged as Achill. At least, for now.

Deep in the rainforest stood a hill about a hundred meters high. Though it rose a hundred meters into the air, it was utterly inconspicuous within the forest. It could not be helped; the trees here were all so tall. Towering trees over a hundred meters high were everywhere, so a mere hundred-meter hill naturally drew no attention at all!

"Anima has been appearing more frequently than before." Atop the hill stood a boy of around fourteen or fifteen. His brows were slightly furrowed as he stared gravely into the sky some distance away. There, an eerie vortex slowly rotated, occasionally releasing wisps of strange magic power that seemed to seize one's soul.

The boy had beautiful azure hair. His handsome face carried an indescribable sense of righteousness and resolve. Above the eye on his right cheek was an oddly shaped dark brown marking that extended from above his eye all the way down to his jaw.

It was worth mentioning that two wooden magic staffs resembling rolling pins were strapped to his back.

The boy frowned as he studied the strange vortex ahead, his face filled with solemnity and seriousness.

"This can't continue. I have to stop Anima before it absorbs the life of this world and converts it into magic power!" Acting immediately upon the thought, the boy no longer hesitated. He removed both staffs from his back and began casting magic where he stood.

Ten minutes later...

"Phew—It's finally resolved." Wiping away the sweat beading on his forehead, the boy looked toward the place in the sky where the eerie vortex had appeared. It had now vanished completely, replaced by pure white clouds. He nodded in satisfaction at first, but then his brows furrowed once more as he murmured, "I wonder when this will all end. Will Father abandon this plan...?"

Thinking of his father's stubborn personality, the boy could not help shaking his head with a bitter smile. He sighed again, helplessness flickering in his eyes.

Just then, the boy's expression abruptly changed. He could clearly sense an enormous fluctuation of magic power suddenly coming from afar! Without hesitation, he instantly turned his head toward the direction he had sensed! That was right! The magic power he had felt was coming from behind him!!!

Boom— At the very moment the boy turned around, a massive magical slash erupted from the forest! Its overwhelming power blasted every tree in its path into fragments!

"This is—" The boy's pupils shrank sharply. Ignoring the magic power he had expended sealing Anima, he immediately gripped his staffs tightly, staring ahead with the air of someone facing a formidable enemy.

"Cough, cough, cough... Damn it! This thing doesn't just use up a ton of magic power—it also kicks up an awful lot of dust..." Grumbling, Achill emerged somewhat disheveled from the cloud of dust, desperately brushing the dirt off himself while coughing hard.

"Who are you?" Looking at the disheveled figure below the hill, the boy asked sternly. Though somewhat puzzled, he did not dare lower his guard in the slightest. He was also filled with self-reproach, blaming himself for being too careless while sealing Anima earlier and failing to notice anyone approaching! If he had been interrupted by some unsuspecting person, the consequences could have been disastrous!

The thought of that terrifying possibility sent waves of lingering fear through the boy's heart. As he spoke, the magic power within his staffs began to stir unconsciously, as though it might surge forth at any moment.

"Huh?!" Achill instinctively froze. He had never expected that this godforsaken—cough, cough, no, this remote place where nobody would ever come would actually have other people in it?! He had never imagined it! His heart was so excited that he was practically on the verge of bursting into tears. He had truly had enough of this inexplicable forest!!!

"My name is Achill. May I ask who you are—" As he answered, Achill naturally raised his head toward the source of the voice. The moment he looked, his soul began to tremble violently!! It was as if he had heard a call! A call from his soul, deep in his bones—a call of unyielding defiance!!!

"Gerard—" A low roar slowly rolled from Achill's throat. His eyes closed involuntarily as fragmented images long hidden away emerged before him. Like a raging sea, they began madly piecing themselves together in his mind because of some unknown trigger!

The familiar scenes he had lost long ago began reassembling once more in Achill's mind, in the depths of his soul!!!

"Gerard..." In the blink of an eye, all the memories in his mind had rapidly come together. Achill slowly opened his eyes and quietly stared at the blue-haired boy atop the hill. A dazzling icy gleam suddenly burst from his calm, silent eyes, so brilliant that even the blazing sun seemed to fall still before it!

"Gerard!!!!!!"

Whoosh— Achill stomped heavily against the ground, his body shooting toward the top of the hill like an arrow released from its bow! The fierce gale whipped up by his terrifying speed even scraped the air into a piercing shriek!!!

"Reign over the frosted heavens—" Amid rippling cold air, a Zanpakutō with a long crescent-shaped chain attached to the end of its hilt appeared in Achill's hand. Without hesitation, his left hand pulled the chain as he spoke in an exceptionally icy voice, "Hyōrinmaru!!!" The instant his words fell, a blue divine dragon formed entirely from frigid magic power erupted from the chain!

"What?!!!" The boy was horrified. Though he had already gathered magic power in preparation for any emergency, his opponent was simply too fast! Far faster than he could ever have imagined!! By the time he reacted, Achill had already rushed in front of him! It was obviously too late to resist now!

"Let this already mistaken everything—" Icy light flashed in Achill's eyes as he said slowly, "—come to a complete end in my hands!!!" With that, he swung down the Zanpakutō in his hand without hesitation, without the slightest trace of mercy in his eyes!

"Dragon Ice Lotus! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!!!"

The instant his voice fell, a gigantic blue cross of ice, like a sacred ritual of execution, instantly sealed the blue-haired boy who had failed to evade it completely within!

That was right, Achill had regained his memories! The instant he saw the blue-haired boy's face, the memories that had slumbered in the depths of his soul had been awakened!

He had too many obsessions concerning his younger brother Gerard. That obsession was powerful enough to make him lose his memories in order to escape reality, and powerful enough to let him, even after losing those memories, completely awaken everything he had forgotten!!!