A couple more days had been spent training with Kisuke. The gains were worth it when compared to training with Rukia. Unlike her, Kisuke had the speed and power to match Silas's. Though Silas was holding back, the shopkeeper still proved to be a more than exceptional opponent.
Silas's use of the flash step had also improved. In truth, it was the first time he had used it without Zangetsu's Hollow powers. When he used his Soul Reaper powers being used without Zangetsu, he felt quite weak. The flash step was useful, but it was nowhere near as fast as how he could move if he were using sonído.
The training itself had been taken too seriously at times. Kisuke once felt Silas holding back, so he fired several of his Zanpakutō's crimson energy blasts in concession. This almost made Silas unleash a getsuga tenshō. The attacks were instead tanked, allowing Silas to put himself in harm's way so as to increase his spiritual powers.
During his time spent underground, he was permitted to leave the shop. It was necessary for him to communicate with Uryū and determine whether any of the neighbours had caught on to the deaths of Ichigo's family.
With no one batting an eye, the day finally came where they would enter the Soul Society.
Uryū arrived at the shop as instructed, having been informed of Silas's request: not to share any clues about Silas's Quincy powers. Not like Kisuke hadn't already known of Ichigo's origins, it was better for Silas to play the fool in case something was miscalculated.
The group met in the center of the underground training room. Tessai had expressed his concerns about letting only three individuals enter the Soul Society. They would be Silas himself, Uryū, and Yoruichi. Only after Kisuke placed his trust in Silas's strength that even Yoruichi began to believe the mission would succeed.
"Pay attention, please!" Kisuke said with a jolly tone. A senkaimon was then summoned right behind him. It was in the shape of a square connected by four rectangular prisms. "This gate leads to the Soul Society."
He then began explaining how his senkaimon worked. Much like Silas remembered, it converted matter into spirit particles. This would allow people like Uryū to travel to the Soul Society without needing to be a Soul, which was a requirement. Kisuke further added that the group would only have four minutes to pass through the area connecting the world of the living to the Soul Society.
This area was known as the "precipice world", a corridor-like dimension that was separated from time and space. It floats around a black void known as the "garganta", which in itself is an endless space in between the two spiritual worlds: the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo.
If Silas remembered clearly, a bullet train moulded by the slimy materials within the precipice world acts like a street sweeper that kills anyone and everything that makes contact with it. It was created to ensure no one took advantage of the time distortion—something Ichigo and Isshin did to awaken one of Ichigo's strongest forms. If a being is caught by the street sweeper, they'll be thrown out to a greatly different point in time from when they entered the precipice world.
No one except Silas knew that it was going to be unleashed once they entered.
Yoruichi hadn't wasted any time testing to see if the two were truly ready. With confidence, they were more than prepared. Specifically Silas, who had made the correct provisions. He popped a soul candy, separating himself from Ichigo's body. The artificial soul bowed, understanding that it was to hide in a remote location deep within Karakura Town.
As Kisuke opened the portal, Silas looked straight ahead, believing this was the last time Kisuke would see him as an ally. The group jumped in without hesitation, light covering their view. Silas opened his eyes to see the precipice world, a large, dark corridor dripping with ooze along the walls. The grey ground cracked with what felt like mulch beneath everyone's feet.
"Run now!" Yoruichi ordered. Uryū looked to see the walls closing in on them. Without spending more time, they each sprinted forward.
Silas was fully aware that the street sweeper would show up soon. So he ordered Uryū to run faster. Heeding his command, he managed to take the lead. Yoruichi turned to notice a shining light from behind. Like a train, the street sweeper rummaged through the ground, speeding toward the group.
"What is that?!" Uryū panicked. Yoruichi was even more confused since the street sweeper only appeared every so often. The only person not at all perturbed by its arrival was Silas. Yoruichi took distinct notice of that.
The group continued running without falling behind. Thanks to Silas's forewarning, they were able to get a huge lead. A shimmering portal was seen in front of them. Running through it, Silas's view was once again covered in light. All three of them then crashed and landed in the center of a modern town. They had successfully entered the Soul Society!
The air, vibrant with spirit particles, flooded Silas's lungs, a stark contrast to the choked, muted atmosphere in Karakura Town. It pulsed with power, so he closed his eyes with a lack of expression on his face, savouring the feeling of this alien sky.
Where they were was Rukongai, also known as the drifting town for newly arrived Souls. It made up a large portion of the Soul Society, being divided into three hundred twenty districts. Eighty districts in North Rukongai, eighty districts in South Rukongai, eighty districts in East Rukongai, and eighty districts in West Rukongai. In the very center of the Rukongai districts was the "Seireitei", a large city that served as a home for Soul Reapers and nobles.
Where Silas's group had landed was in West Rukongai. This area looked like an antiseptic lifestyle of early-Edo Era Kyoto. The citizens wore ragged clothes with no shoes. And the lower their district number, the poorer they were. If Silas's memories served him well, the group would have had to have landed in the upper district.
"This area looks different than the one over there," Uryū pointed, seeing the nearby lavish homes. He was correct, for the Seireitei's and the Rukongai's borders were separated by the materials the ground was made out of. And Silas knew exactly what was going to happen next.