Carrying two mountains in his hands, Kai stepped forward.
There was an itch in his bones; a pain. He was looking ahead, but all he could see was what Akaza wanted him to see.
Not a demon.
Not the colors.
Not an inexplicable phenomenon.
Peak.
Kai's head slightly tilted up.
He could see the Peak rising higher and higher with every step.
Walking next to him, matching his gait, Mang Jian's head was tilted similarly.
"This is my fight…" Kai said, unable to look away from the Peak. Even the words that came out of his mouth sounded as if he were in a trance. "This is my opportunity."
"Bring out your clone," Mang Jian countered, his voice sounding the same. "You are pathetic by yourself."
Opposite them, solidifying his footing, Akaza smiled.
"Haha!" he laughed, not mockingly, but admiringly. "Now that's the sight I wanted to see. By yourself, either of you would have been… Haha!"
Kai's head snapped down, his brows scrunching.
Mang Jian frowned as well, his closed eyes twitching.
Then, together, they both stopped and blurred out of existence.
A BOOM rang out as Kai slammed two mountains on top of Akaza, Mang Jian's blade tracing a smooth, blind path to the demon's neck.
The earth sank.
Most of the Demon Slayers had already run away under the Hashiras' orders.
However, the Hashiras had remained, mostly to see if Kai and the other swordsman needed their help.
But, with the very first move, they realized that… they should have run as well.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!
Bolts of yellow lightning, carrying a bloodiness to them, slithered out as Akaza blocked the Kanshou and Bakuya Overedge with his right hand. His left hand grabbed Sento, the blade radiating a geyser of pitch-black Reiatsu, devouring all thoughts, emotions, and reasoning.
Then, the massive blend of black and white Reiatsu that was shooting into the space in the background collapsed… becoming one with Akaza.
Space shattered.
The Hashiras coughed up blood.
Kai and Mang Jian were thrown like dry, broken leaves in opposite directions.
As the cracks in space regenerated, their figures stormed across the vast plain, bombarding into the earth, going on and on for miles.
"Were you… always this weak, Kai?" Akaza asked, slowly, naturally, and confidently, reassuming his martial pose. "I would have never imagined you surrounding yourself with more weaklings…"
One question.
One comment.
And Akaza struck the nerve of both Contestants.
Retrace —
On one side, a redness seeped into the world, the growls of beasts echoing across the entire planet. Blood drenched the earth, making noses scrunch up. Buffs over buffs piled up as Kai, donning Venom, plunged the swords deep into the ocean of blood.
"Devour—"
— On!
On the other side, Mang Jian let out a breath, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth.
The cries of a baby echoed in his mind, a hand swatting him to death.
His right hand twitched to hold the blade again, but it also felt wet… This was a feeling he hadn't experienced even against Red. Not until that very last moment. It was like he had returned to that moment again… when he had lost everything.
Some Peaks can never be seen…
The words rang in Mang Jian's consciousness, like ghosts of the past shrieking for vengeance.
That was alright, though. If there were a Peak he couldn't see, then he would just erase it. He would cut all the unseen Peaks. He would do it again. Again and again. Until only he remained.
Because Mang Jian refused to open his eyes and… not see his daughter in his hands.
"Even if there's something worth seeing here…" A brilliant white glow erupted from his double-edged sword. "Close your eyes—Sento!"
"—Ayin!"
Space folded.
Tracing a curved path on that curved space, two figures blinked into existence some hundred meters away from Akaza simultaneously.
Behind them, shockwaves, so loud that they couldn't even be heard anymore, rang, upending the earth, creating walls as tall as hills. Not a hint of tree, stone, or water remained in either direction, getting absolutely annihilated just by the mere speed of these two figures.
There was a reason that the Cursed Vaults were more strengthened than the outside world.
There was a reason that the Fate timelines were regarded as more stable compared to timelines of other, lesser Bubbles.
Verse Fusion Bubble?
It wasn't even a proper Bubble… yet.
This was not only the first time that Kai had assumed his full, buffed transformation in a Bubble other than Fate, but this was also the first time that he had showcased it to the Hashiras.
Moreover, even if there was no cap on the Verse Fusion timeline's accommodation of a Contestant's level, it was largely because the Bubble itself wasn't complete.
So, it didn't come as a surprise that the mere release of Kai and Mang Jian's Shikai began shattering the laws.
In the wide, shocked eyes of the Hashiras, a seven-foot-tall figure had replaced where Kai should have been. This figure was black and lean, with red, blood-like veins pulsating over its body. Instead of granting strength, those veins looked more like seals, holding everything together. Then there were the huge swords, black and white, curved, and lacking guards. Even from afar, merely looking at them was enough to know that they were as heavy as mountains.
In contrast to this black-red demon, far into the distance was the swordsman, still looking the same.
But the sword he wielded now was… black? No. It was a color that would appear when all light would cease to exist.
Even Akaza let go of his stance as he looked at the two of them.
"Magnificent!" he praised, his bright, white eyes glowing brighter. "Shikai, I assume."
"If you have somehow learned a Breathing Style," Kai said, a hissing, growling voice escaping his throat, "then you must have materialized Zanpakuto as well."
"Take it out," the Blind Executioner demanded, wielding the Blade of Null. "Show your Zanpakuto."
Silence.
"Haha!" Akaza laughed, the sound of fireworks reverberating in his surroundings. "Breathing Style… If I have to name it, then — Soryu Breathing Style. Hmm… That sounds nice. But I cannot fulfill your other request."
Before Kai and Mang Jian's anger could erupt, Akaza crouched, putting his fist on the ground.
"I cannot take out my Zanpakuto because…" he said, white snowflake-like Marks appearing on his pitch-black body. "… I am Zanpakuto…"
"…"
Stunned beyond bounds, Kai and Mang Jian experienced a hallucination.
It was like they weren't looking at Akaza anymore, but a swirl — a snowflake — black and white in color, rotating, blending all the concepts that opposed each other.
Pure and evil.
Right and wrong.
Demons and Demon Slayers.
"Destructive Death…" Akaza said, grinning, releasing himself. "… Shura Yukihanabi!"