Senya felt his consciousness seized by an irresistible force, dragged violently backward.
Reality peeled away like poorly cured oil paint—layers stripping, dissolving, and blurring—until everything vanished.
What replaced it was a vast, heavy Void.
Boundless.
Silent.
Empty.
Absolute nothingness.
"Cognitive synchronization complete. Welcome to the System Space of the Family System, Host Senya."
A clear, serene voice echoed through the void—calm, yet possessing an inhuman penetrative quality, like icy water dripping onto polished jade.
Senya immediately turned toward the source of the sound.
A soft halo of light bloomed within the darkness, spreading outward.
From it, a floating figure gradually took shape.
A great beauty.
That was Senya's first thought.
She hovered in the Void, pale hair cascading down like an icy waterfall. Within those strands flowed dark red streams of light—like congealed blood intertwined with fragmented code.
Curved bone horns rose from her head, crimson electrical arcs crackling faintly around their tips.
She wore a pure white robe—neither silk nor cloth—its surface crawling with shifting black patterns that distorted the space around her body with every change.
The robe's sleeves and hem rippled silently, scattering crystalline waves of cold.
Her hands were encased in ghastly white bone armor, fingers extending into scythe-like claws.
Her face was veiled in a hazy glow. Only her eyes were visible—perfectly clear.
They held divine indifference.
An aloofness that transcended creation itself.
"Who are you?" Senya demanded. "Where am I?"
Despite himself, a trace of fear crept into his voice.
He had tried to move—only to discover an invisible barrier pressing down on him from all sides, completely immobilizing his body.
The woman's eyes—resembling a miniature galaxy of flowing data—shifted subtly. The flickering points of light accelerated for a brief instant, as if scanning and analyzing him.
Then she spoke again, unchanged in tone.
"I am the incarnated will of the Family System. You may understand me as the System. You may also call me—Truth."
"This location is the System Space bound to your Soul Core. The flow of time here differs from reality."
She raised one slender, bony finger and tapped lightly at the Void.
Buzz.
A holographic projection unfolded before Senya.
It displayed the outside world.
Displayed him.
The image of "Senya" stood in an inhuman posture, mouth twisted into an eerie grin. Pale bone claws swept past the three men at a speed far beyond visual perception.
Swoosh.
Though the image was silent, it struck Senya's soul like thunder.
He watched the light of life extinguish in an instant. The three bodies collapsed like rotting timber, then slowly disintegrated into drifting spirit particles.
"How did I become like that?!"
Senya's consciousness shook violently, like a lone boat tossed in a raging storm.
Fear—raw and self-denying—rose from deep within.
"Following the Family System's lowest logic," Truth replied calmly, as though explaining an established law of nature.
"The System must ensure the Host's safety during loading."
"Thus, all threats within the perception range were cleared."
"I'm asking why I became like that!" Senya snapped. "Will I change back? This is Soul Society! In that state, I'll be treated as a Hollow!"
He didn't object to the System killing for survival.
What enraged him was how it did so.
That transformation—
If the Thirteen Court Guard Squads saw him like that, he'd be dragged away for 'tea' immediately.
"Please rest assured, Host," Truth said evenly. "All detection was blocked during System loading."
"…That's good."
Senya finally exhaled, tension easing from his chest.
Truth continued, her gaze shifting toward the projected image of the crumbling house.
"The establishment of a Family requires a Family Residence as its foundation. Please select a suitable residence for Family development."
"Upon scanning, your current dwelling meets the minimum requirements and has been designated as the initial Family Residence."
A translucent interface unfolded before Senya.
[Initial Quest: Activate Residence Core]
Objective:
Touch and confirm activation of the Family Residence Core
(Location: A fixed point within the main beam or central ground of the residence. The Host may designate the mark as a carrier of Family memory.)
Reward:
• Source Quality ×100
• Constant States: Source Quality Transformation, Absolute Calm
Source Quality Transformation:
Your lifeform will be converted into Source Quality. Your lifespan will be permanently bound to it.
Absolute Calm:
Immunity to fear, panic, and terror-based mental interference.
"Activate the Residence," Senya said without hesitation.
"Immediately."
His voice echoed through the Void, burning with the will to survive.
The moment his consciousness locked onto the blurred mark within the residence—
Ding!
[Initial Quest Complete]
Rewards Issued:
• Source Quality +100
Statuses Applied:
• Source Quality Transformation — Active
• Absolute Calm — Active
Buzz!
A profound sensation surged through Senya's consciousness—like long-awaited rain soaking into cracked, lifeless earth.
The sickness vanished instantly.
Host: Shiba Senya
Family: Shiba Clan (Branch)
Source Quality: 156
Family Members: Shiba Isshin
Family Residence: East Rukongai, District 45, Soul Society
"Hoo…"
Senya gasped sharply.
His consciousness snapped back into reality like a drowning man breaking the surface.
He was still slumped on the cold floor near the shattered window.
The stench of blood and rot flooded his senses.
But it was different now.
His heartbeat—though faint—was steady.
No longer a fragile thread ready to snap.
A warm current wrapped around his collapsing life core like a stubborn vine, supporting it from within.
Source Quality Transformation…
He wouldn't die.
Not yet.
The realization invigorated him like a surge of adrenaline.
His gaze shot toward the doorway.
Yukimura.
The old servant lay motionless beneath the shattered doorframe, half his face grotesquely swollen. A dark streak of dried blood stained the corner of his mouth.
So fragile.
So unbearably fragile.
"Uncle Yukimura," Senya called out.
Silence answered him.
Panic surged.
He staggered forward and knelt beside the old man, hands trembling as he searched for a pulse at Yukimura's neck.
Cold.
Then—
One beat.
Then another.
Weak.
But persistent.
"He's alive…"
Senya sagged against the doorframe, breathing heavily.
Relief washed over him, bitter yet overwhelming.
He fumbled through Yukimura's clothes and retrieved the Fourth Division's secret medicine—the precious bottle purchased at the cost of an irreplaceable keepsake.
Originally meant for himself.
Now unnecessary.
Without hesitation, Senya carefully fed the medicine into Yukimura's mouth.
As the liquid disappeared past the old man's lips, Senya clenched his fists.
He had survived.
And now—
The Shiba Clan would survive too.