Hello folks and welcome to chapter 16! Finally moving along with the plot a little now. We'll be moving on to meet new people as well as get stuck in new situations at last and this is the base for it~ All your reviews have been majorly motivating me so thank you so much and don't stop! xD
Enjoy!
That night a very exhausted Harry dropped onto his futon. Not only had his Hollow's instincts decided to take over and go for a snack but he had spent a fairly long time listening to Shinji chewing him out for allowing it to happen. He still felt that conversationringing through his mind as he laid down on his back, exhaling. As his instincts had simply taken over, he hadn't known how much of a big deal this was but Shinji had explained it to him at least. Even so, a part of him, his Hollow side no doubt, still wanted to consume more... He had a feeling this might not end so well if he didn't get those instincts under control.
Shinji led Harry inside and motioned him to sit down. The boy was obviously still shaken up from the control his hollow had taken but there wasn't much he could do about that, currently. Once they were more or less comfortable he levelled the teenager with a look, even though the boy looked completely unaware of the gravity of the situation. That was really the thing that irked him the most, Harry didn't seem to have the slightest clue what he had done wrong!
"Listen Harry, is is important. Ya can't just go 'round eatin' Hollows whenever ya feel like it." When Harry moved to interrupt, Shinji stopped him. "I understand that yer Hollow took over but that's no excuse. All of us 'ave fought with our Hollows an' have come out as victors. It's the only reason we're still alive right now. Doing things like that and losing yourself to your Hollow has a price, I need you to understand this."
Still confused, all Harry had been able to do was nod, promising he would at least listen to what Shinji had to say, even though most of it meant nothing to him, considering he lacked a lot of information the former Shinigami most likely took as granted.
"It isn't the fact that ya ate a Hollow, Harry. To you, ya probably jus' killed it an' who cares about how it died, right?" When the boy cautiously nodded, he could only sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose as he looked for the right words to express himself with. When he did find the words, he explained calmly and slowly, hoping to get through to the boy. He had shown much promise and it would be such a waste to have to kill him simply because he was uneducated.
"There's a balance to all things, including souls. Kisuke wrote about this stuff so I'll lend ya a book about it later but right now we'll talk about what happens ter Hollows. When a Hollow consumes souls, those souls become trapped inside the Hollow and are in the process of being digested. If the Hollow is allowed to exist long enough, those souls will become part of the Hollow and become lost. if a Quincy kills the Hollow then it's basically the same story, the Hollow and souls within cease to exist."
Harry was listening attentively now and Shinji's eyes shone with slight approval. He had a feeling the boy would be up reading all night to inform himself better on the topic.
"However, when a Shinigami purifies a Hollow with their Zanpakuto, the Hollow's original soul, as well as the souls of those it consumed, are judged and either sent to Soul Society or Hell, depending on their life prior to becoming a Hollow or being eaten. If a Hollow is eaten then just like with the Quincy, the souls within stop existing because you absorbed them with the Hollow you ate. Sure, it'll give ya a power boost and such, but you're ending the possibilities for several souls. Normally, when a soul goes to Soul Society, after a while they go back to the human world and become reincarnated. In essense, you've killed them permanently."
Though he shouldn't be pleased by it, the look of dawning understanding and shock on Harry's face pleased him. It was good to see his words were getting through to the boy.
"So, whenever a Hollow gets eaten, not only that Hollow dies permanently, but the people it ate as well?" Harry swiftly ignored the part of him that told him it didn't matter and focussed instead on the disgust his human half was feeling. He hadn't cared that a Hollow might have been destroyed because it was a corrupted soul and in the end didn't seem to matter much. However, he had never signed up to become a murderer and he felt that was exactly what he had done when he realised he had ended the life of several souls in one fell swoop. It was right then and there that he promised himself he would never do such a thing again.
Harry turned onto his side and glanced at the book Shinji had given him. He was still wrapping his head around the fact he had killed, albeit indirectly and decided that maybe reading would be able to ease his frazzled mind. Indeed he stayed up most of the night as he read the book. Not only did it give a clear and easy to understand defnition of what Hell and Soul Society were but it also explained the soul cycle in itself and the reincarnation process, stating that depending on the state and fate of a soul, they could end up anywhere.
Souls that had committed only minor or even no sins at all were sent to Soul Society, where they awaited their next chance at life during reincarnation. However, 'bad souls' that had committed vicious and unforgivable crimes were sent straight to Hell. Often such souls became Hollows first though, and devoured other Plusses during their time as such a creature. Only when they were killed by another Hollow, a Shinigami, or a Quincy, did their journey really end.
When eaten by another Hollow, not only did that Hollow gain more power, but the souls that were contained inside the eaten Hollow were consumed and destroyed as well, incuding the original soul the Hollow was made out of. When killed by a Quincy, something similar happened. The Hollow simply ceases to exist, thus exterminating not only the corrupted soul, but also the souls inside. The same happens when the Hollow's instincts drive the main soul mad, turning it into a beast whose sole purpose is to devour souls. These beings are permanently destroyed no matter what, although when a Shinigami kills it, the souls inside are still returned to their cycles.
Once a Shinigami purifies a Hollow, by slicing its mask in two with their zanpakuto, the Hollow's soul is judged upon it's actions as a human. Then, the soul will either go to Soul Society or Hell, based on its actions. The souls the Hollow has consumed are freed and sent either to Soul Society or Hell, based on their actions as well. Each single soul goes through this process of judgement. When a soul has either spent the alotted time in Soul Society or has endured its punishment in Hell, it is sent back to the human world to reincarnate into a new person, beginning its life anew.
That was quite a bit to take in, to be honest. Of course, Urahara had gone into a bit more detail but that was the gist of it and it made him feel guilty to know he had ended such an important thing, even though he didn't really understand why the cycle worked the way it did. Would he end up in Hell one day for having eaten that Hollow? He shuddered at the thought and got ready for bed. It was already 5AM and he still had things to do tomorrow, though he hadn't realised it had gotten so late.
The next day Harry had been allowed to sleep in until noon, when Urahara had come to wake him up. He was still expected to train with Shinji of course and after a good brunch and a quick shower, he was ready to continue his training. Though not before apologising to both Shinji and Urahara for his actions the night before, as well as stating he understood what he had done now and would definitely work hard to control his Hollow and its desires.
Once that was all done with, Shinji simply grinned at him. "Ready fer today then Harry?"
Relieved that no one seemed angry with him and that they had both accepted his apologies, he nodded. "Yeah. So what are we going to do today?" He was quite curious, as the look on Shinji's face told him things were going to go a little differently from now on. Though how differently, only time would tell.
"Well, last night me 'n Urahara had a bit of a chat ya see, an' we decided maybe it's time for ya ta see what Hueco Mundo looks like. We can continue sword training there, it'll be a new experience so ta say. Besides, you need ta master hardening reiatsu in the air ta stand on too." He added before turning to a gateway that Urahahra had set up for them. It was only when Harry turned towards the gateway that he noticed someone else standing there.
"Ah right. This is Ushōda Hachigen, he's gonna help us set up the passage to Hueco Mundo. After that we can see if yer able ta make a Garganta or not." Shinji said, now standing on the other side of one big stone gate.
"Hachi is fine, young man." Hachigen said, smiling jovially. Harry was of mind to ask what the hell a Garganta was but suddenly the information came to him in the form of a mental image, painting the picture of a hole tearing into the fabric of the sky, allowing Hollows passage from Hueco Mundo to the human realm and he simply nodded.
"Alright, are we leaving now then?" Harry asked, eager to see what the fabled Hueco Mundo was like in person. He had never seen it before after all, only read about it. And even if it really didn't sound like much, he knew there was a fortress out there somewhere he could explore and wouldn't that be fun? He had no idea if there was a Hollow king out there but he supposed it would be kinda cool to meet someone like that.
On the other hand such a venture was likely to put him into a lot of danger and he knew he wasn't strong enough to fight for survival if he got that far. He felt reassured in the fact that Shinji would be with him and was very unlikely to leave him alone near any other Hollows anytime soon. Not only did that give him protection, but it also offered the chance to stop him should his instincts take over again, especially since the Hollow seemed more present in his mind ever since he had taken over, despite his occlumency shields, which he still tried to work on every night.
Shinji chuckled softly at Harry's eagerness but was still quite worried that something might go wrong if he took Harry there. Tey still didn't know how to control and subdue the Hollow to HArry's will after all. They needed to find a sollution for that, and fast. "Yeah, we'll be leavin' now. Hachi an' Urahara will be openin' the portal an' then we'll be going through it. They won't be able to keep it open for long though so we'd better hurry." Getting trapped in that tunnel with the Cleaner just around the corner was not preferable at all...
Harry nodded in understanding and watched as the Shinigami and Visard touched the gate and started feeding it reiryoku. Harry was a little surprised he could sense that at all since usually all he would notice was a bit of a light show but he shrugged it off, watching and feeling how the gate was made. However, he could feel instinctively that the portal was artificial and dangerous, a passageway that wasn't meant to be there. Which meant he apparently somehow knew how to make a Garganta now… Maybe his connection to his Hollow was growing stromger already? Who knows...
Anyway, he focussed back on the barrier and stepped inside the moment it was open, figuring the more of an early start they had, the better. He felt incredibly cold and a little compressed when he stepped inside but pushed through. This was nothing like the pressure from the Hogwarts wards and he was used to a lot more now. He quickly began moving forward, using sonído to speed up his advances and Shinji was beside him in moments. "C'mon, let's hurry before this collapses!"
Once on the other side of the gate, the two were quite relieved to find the cold sand under their shoes and Harry breathed in the reishi-filled air. It felt amazing being here, like the air was fresher and cleaner and that things were right and that everything else had felt wrong the whole time. He hadn't expected it to feel like this… The Vacío appeared beside him, surprisingly enlarged a little even though he had not done so himself.
'The reishi here is strong… Rich.'
'You are absorbing some of its powers master.'
'You will be able to sense reiryoku and magic better now...'
'You can consume it now to strengthen yourself.'
'You'll soon be ready master.'
'Finally.'
And wasn't that just a shocker… He was absorbing the reishi in the air around him? It must be slow enough that it doesn't create a light show but this meant that his own reiryoku reserves would increase and the release of his mask would finally speed up… Great! The sooner his mask came free and he learned how to control his Hollow, the better, although he did wonder if other people could draw in little bits of reiryoku from the air as well. Still, he didn't think it would make a very big impact on him though. If he was lucky, it might help him increae his learning speed but he doubted it would be more than that.
They spent the morning practicing his katas before moving on to hardening reishi under your feet to stand on air, or fly as some people would call it. While it was proven that he could control the substance better than Ichigo could at least, he was still rather mediocre at it and found himself trying to sense just how the hell Shinji could do those things so easily, like it was nothing. He knew it had taken him practice as well but he'd had years to get used to it. Harry on the other hand...
Shinji snickered softly as he saw Harry sink through the air and lose his balance again. "Relax already Harry! You're not that high up and if you're too nervous you'll just keep losing focus and failing. Just believe in yourself." He knew he wasn't being very helpful but this was one of those sink or swim moments. Either you learn it or you don't. Spirits had a much easier time with it anyway, living beings however… It was impressive Harry could hold himself up like this already.
Harry rolled his eyes in Shinji's direction as he tried again. The man was utterly unhelpful, not that he wasn't used to such things though. At least Shinji usually explained himself so there was probably a good reason for his silence. He took a deep breath and focussed on the reishi in the air as well as his own reiryoku, sending some of it to his feet as if creating platforms directly under them. He had a feeling the small amounts of reiryoku wouldn't keep him up by themselves but adding in the reishi that already gravitated towards him…
He stumbled a little but found himself standing well enough, though the 'platforms' were still really weak and would likely shatter within mere moments. So he took a small step and recreated it, trying to get accustomed to the feeling of walking on reishi, because he certainly wasn't walking on air; that was for sure… He stumbled a moment again before catching himself lest he fell into the sand again. He didn't have a clue how long he had been practicing though, considering it was always night at Hueco Mundo, which didn't really make much sense to him at all. But oh well, not like he could change that, now could he? It certainly improved his night vision at least, making his eyes glow sometimes if he tried to see something further away.
Once balanced he took another step, and another, and another until he was more confident in being able to pull up the required reishi and reiryoku to keep him standing. At least he was able to walk now, more or less. He still wasn't completely stable but it was better than nothing. After that they moved on to sword fighing and that was how his days passed until he could use sonído in the air and not fall on his face.
A/N: Alright, for the people who are bound to be confused at my varying usage of Reishi, Reiryoku and Reiatsu(though I haven't used the latter in this chapter), here are some explanations:
Reishi: (霊子, Spirit Particles) is the main component material of Souls and all spiritual matter. Reishi composes the spiritual bodies of Hollows and Shinigami, and the two planes of existence, Hueco Mundo and Soul Society in their entirety.
Reiryoku: (霊力, Spiritual Power) is a power aligned with the spiritual sensitivity and willpower of the user. It is used by Shinigami and other spiritual beings to provide power for their various abilities.
Reiatsu: (霊圧, Spiritual Pressure) is the physical force/pressure that a person's Reiryoku creates when released. Most Shinigami and Arrancar, even Quincy and Bounts can manipulate the release of their Reiatsu.
