Chapter 3

Day 1
From what I could remember, I passed out from releasing all of my spirit energy. I was surprised that Jikan didn't explode from the intensity. Now that I think about it, Jikan must have been in a coma or something because I couldn't get in touch with him or feel anything at all. It was the worst time to take a nap.
From what I could gather, it seemed that I was somehow in the future, in the middle of debris of an abandoned city.

This was no doubt the most horrific sight I had ever witnessed: there were numerous decomposing corpses, both human and soul reaper, lying in the street, and the smell was almost enough to kill me. Fire still smoldered amongst the bodies and debris. It wasn't exactly obvious what happened. I fell down on my knees, trying to hold back the depression and sorrow, but it was too overwhelming. I contemplated whether or not should I commit suicide. Even though this was a convincing vision, I had to face the hard facts. We lost. Even if I awoke from this hell, Jikan was right, in the end I couldn't save anyone, much less myself.

I pressed the tip Jikan lightly against my throat when all of a sudden, a voice spoke out to me, in a single word.

"Wait."

The voice was a woman's, almost angelic, clearly not Jikan. It could have been my own delusions. Regardless, I began to walk, with this strange voice as my guide. I had to believe that someone must have used Tenteikura and was coming for me. I walked through the silent, dark streets.

As i thought about it, the voice was right in telling me to wait. I had many options: if I waited, I would regain my strength and awaken Jikan to get me out of this hallucination. Either that or I could use kido to try and locate any survivors. Anything was possible, after all. The grim scene was still all new to me. Any soul reaper would rather risk their lives in a suicidal battle than witness than be trapped in conditions such as these.

It occurred to me that neither the sun nor the moon was out; the sky was covered in dense clouds, which shined with a light that was simultaneously beautiful and dreary. I couldn't tell what time of day it was. After a couple of hours, I hid inside one of the crumbling buildings and prayed to find a spot where i could escape the smell of a charred bodies. I failed to find one, but collapsed again from exhaustion anyway. My attempts to communicate with Jikan didn't go well at all. Still silent. I began to consider the thought that I might have well killed it. It was ludicrous to even consider at first, but then again, I had pushed my zanpakuto way beyond its abilities. The power that he had made me kinda sad for him. After all, he already witnessed these events and never wanted to go back, and yet I forced him. I didn't blame him at all for not wanting to return to life in this hell.

Day 2

I got some rest, despite the smell. My headache was gone, but I felt hungry and had an achingly dry throat. It came to my mind that whatever this vision was, it was definitely a convincing one. I had to get the thought out of my head that this was all real and there was no return.

"Like I need another reason to kill myself," I thought. I began to meditate and concentrate on using whatever strength I had to conjure up Tenteikura.

The result would probably turn up nothing, since I hadn't sensed any spiritual pressure whatsoever since I got there. The worst case scenario was that hollows were hiding their spiritual pressure, and I was trapped there with them, but that was highly unlikely. As soon as I finished the incantation, I pushed the signal as far as I possibly could; even the birds could my piteous cries of help.

I repeated the message in my head several times.
"Calling any and all remaining soul reapers. I'm Saido Eikichiro of the Stealth Force and I request your presence. This is not a trap. I repeat, this is not a trap. Please contact me as soon as possible."

After the 11th time, I realized that no matter how it was worded, it still sounded like an obvious trap. It would be a miracle if someone actually came looking for me, especially the mysterious voice.

Hours passed. I spent my time hiding inside the top floor of a building, observing the spot where I had sent my message from. No one came, of course. The sky had been transformed into a slightlydarker blue aura and I naturally assumed that it was night. I nearly fell asleep waiting. The thought that kept me from sleepiness was her voice. It is strange to assume that what kept me going on was merely a single word.

"Wait."
So far, waiting still got me nowhere. "How will long will I wait to be find anybody: a couple of days? weeks? years? Either way, I completely fu-"

A noise passed. I moved silently toward the spot, with a carefully placed kido blocking my presence.

A moment later I saw someone emerge from a building across from me and head toward the spot.

I didn't detect any spiritual pressure, and part of me immediately felt that I was to be rescued.

Another part of me felt sure that I'd sealed my own destruction.