Corvina's guard was down and her mind blanked out for a moment when she saw the strange man beside him. However, her body reacted before she could think about it. Her left arm instantly became covered with glittering light as she lifted and swung it towards the man.
The shining arm made a whipping sound as it traveled through the air, giving only the man a tiny fraction of a second to react and save his head from being cut horizontally.
The man bent his back to avoid the arm but it still wasn't enough as it still would be able to reach his chin. Thankfully, his arms were already on their way up and he was able to use his hands to deflect the attack.
The man was successful but he was also thrown back from the force behind Corvina's attack and flipped a few times in the air before landing on his feet some distance away from her, "Hey! That was dangerous! Is this how you treat your guests!?" He immediately complained while looking at his right hand which didn't have knuckles anymore and his fingers only dangling with a thin strip of flesh attaching it to his palm.
'Fuck. Although my Hierro is only partially active, to instantly cleave off my bones just like that... She was more terrifying than I heard.'
Behind the veil, Kisuke could feel Corvina's intense stare and the woman beside her had been releasing a massive amount of Spiritual Power that started fusing with the surrounding shadows.
"Is there any guest that would suddenly enter their host's room without permission? As far as I'm concerned, that's an intruder." Corvina retorted, still confused about how Kisuke reached this room, 'Through random chance? That's impossible. I would have felt the cracks in space. And both Adrenna and I couldn't feel his presence for a moment even though we were both directly looking at him.'
As Kisuke's hand started regenerating, Adrenna frowned while turning on all the monitoring devices in the room. They were already partially active and prepared for their guest's arrival but now he intruded like this, she turned it up to their maximum power.
Kisuke stood straight up while dusting his clothes and ignored the uncomfortable feeling of being openly scanned, "This is your room? Then I apologize. I must have entered the wrong door."
"Then care telling us how you reached this room without even going through the entrance? As the owner of this place, I'd like to know how you avoided security." Corvina replied while thinking, 'No matter how I spin it in my head, I still can't understand how he pulled that off... This man is way more dangerous than we all thought.' It was her duty to filter who was going to meet the Holy Mother and as it stands, she couldn't let him meet her now.
Kisuke didn't give an answer immediately and proceeded to dust his hat. Despite his actual casual appearance, he's actually very drained right now after the stunt he just pulled off, 'I didn't think it'd use this much Reiryoku.'
[What are you talking about? I'm actually surprised that you didn't turn into a withered old man.]
.
.
.
Going back a few minutes ago when Kisuke just veered off the path, Tiamat in his inner world immediately voiced out, [I thought you promised your lover that you wouldn't mess around?]
'It's clearly a different treatment from her. I'm just responding in kind.' Kisuke replied as he felt his footing disappear and he just started floating in this dark space. He turned back and immediately figured out that he wouldn't be able to go back anymore, 'Besides, I'm really curious how this space works. It's clearly created through Luxeux' [Shadow] but this is way too complicated and intricate for a race that doesn't allow research into Spiritual Power.'
[Maybe they were just being careful around you?] Thanks to Kisuke's influence, Tiamat also started questioning things around her and not just looking through the lens of a supreme and untouchable being. In this regard, she is a bit similar to Flanna, Ophis, and Lilith.
'That might be, but I still came with good intentions and I think Stralit made that very clear.' Kisuke flipped his body around but couldn't find the right orientation. He knew that he was moving towards somewhere because the air around had already disappeared and he already started expending his Magic Power to supply the necessary energy for his body to continue functioning, 'And you know how much I hate being told what to do from people who think they are the superior one when they haven't gained a single ounce of my respect.'
Corvina may be Stralit's mother, but to him, she's just another stranger with a slightly known alignment.
[Aren't you the same?]
Kisuke smiled, 'Yep~ I don't like a lot of things but that doesn't mean I don't like doing it to others. As you're saying, I'm just a big hypocrite~'
[That makes you a lot better than other people since you can actually admit it.]
'Well, enough about that. As expected, I can't figure out anything from here. I can't even find any trace of the one powering this space.' Kisuke tried sending out his Magic Power and Spiritual Power out but he couldn't feel any feedback. He could try twisting the space he's in, but decided against it since that's not really something he could do effectively and even if he's successful, Kisuke thinks that he'd just appear in a random spot. If he's not careful, he might become lost and waste his precious time just finding his way back home.
It was then a certain idea popped into his head after staying a bit in this dark space, 'Hey Tiamat, remember that experiment with the elements?'
[What of it?]
'I think I can do it here.'
The experiment of elements or Kisuke is called the [Prima Experiment]. It's not much of an experiment compared to other projects under Kisuke's belt but it's an important topic he wanted to explore if he wanted a card that he could use when he's cornered.
[Here?] Tiamat asked while watching through Kisuke's eyes, [Nothing worked when you tried sensing it. What's different this time?]
'Spiritual Power... This place is filled with it. I grew up with it so I'm intune with whatever changes happen to it.' Kisuke spread out his limbs while also closing his eyes to focus on his other senses, 'In addition to that, this is [Shadow]... Something that I also have.'
Pulling from the very vague experience he had when he was fighting against Ichibei, Kisuke released his [Shadow] while also taking note of its difference from the surrounding [Shadow].
'Prima Materia... A substance? A type of energy? I'm still not sure but I know for sure that it could transform into something that exists. I tried sensing its derivatives by comparing it to other Elemental Magic since 'Elements' are Tiamat's domain.' Kisuke then pulled out a knife from his clothes and unsheathed it, 'But all of those attempts failed... Because I'm not Tiamat.'
'While I'm borrowing the power to sense this elusive thing from Tiamat, I'm also not Tiamat and I don't have her senses unless I transform into something closer to her essence.'
'If that's really the case... Then maybe something will be different when I reference something that I already can use well?'
Kisuke immediately put this theory to the test.
Tiamat, who's sharing her senses with Kisuke, doubted that it would be that easy. However, she also momentarily forgot that Kisuke was someone who was able to use her Prima Elements instinctively when he possessed the same body as her. A monster with a potential as deep as the endless abyss.
[!?... What!? How!?] It only took a minute for Kisuke to mess with Tiamat's perception of reality.
Kisuke, on the other hand, didn't hear Tiamat's voice at all as he focused his senses on the foreign world that he was seeing right now, 'Is this it?'
Different from the [Shadow] surrounding him and the [Shadow] he released, Kisuke could vaguely point out the existence of a much purer form of [Shadow] lingering around. It looks like it's being emitted by the two [Shadows] with how few and far they are in-between, but upon closer inspection, it's actually the other way around. This very few and pure [Shadow] is transforming into the other two.
Naturally, Kisuke's next step is to manipulate this foreign [Shadow] but as soon as he attempted it, he could feel that his entire being was sucked into nothingness, "Kuh!!! What!?"
He instantly pulled back because he knew he'd die if he went further. Thankfully, that wasn't in vain because a bit of contact with the very pure [Shadow] allowed him to clearly differentiate the other two [Shadows] and even allowed him to find the source of the [Shadow] covering the dark space.
Before the feeling of touching the pure [Shadow], Kisuke's body meld into the dark space and followed its source. The next thing he knew, he was already standing beside Corvina and Adrenna, 'What? They haven't noticed me?'
Editors:
28th00: Supergenius Mad Scientists are basically living Deus Ex Machina’s, really. They can do whatever the fuck they want.
Goyya: That’s why Mayuri is too oppressive in the Quincy war. It’s funny because Yhwach only noticed Kisuke. Kisuke may be smarter, but Mayuri is so much more insane.
While fixing his ruffled clothes, Kisuke fixed his posture and made sure that the two women in front of him wouldn't notice that he was very drained right now, 'Why did they not notice me immediately?'
[The moment you assimilated with... Let's call it Prima Shadow for now. Your existence had to adapt to something close to it. Since it's normally impossible to sense anything that's a direct derivative of the Prima Materia, you slipped past their consciousness for the moment.]
'Assimilation, eh? Even though I'm the one who did it, I still can't understand how I actually did it.'
[That assimilation was also why I thought you'd become a withered old man. You are not simply being drained but you're changing into something that could use it. So don't expect it'll work how you normally handle Magic Power or Spiritual Power where those two will convert and assimilate themselves to something you could utilize.]
'Is that why you could only use the elemental types?' Kisuke asked. He had been wondering why Tiamat just settled for 'simple' fire or wind if she could use Prima Materia that could change into anything in existence.
[Probably? I'm also only learning about this power from observing you. I never really bothered in the past.]
While the two of them were talking inside Kisuke's head, Corvina and Adrenna were closely observing Kisuke's every movement while also secretly talking among themselves, [Corvina... How did he come in?]
[I'm still trying to figure that one out.] Corvina glanced at the shadow below her, [But I'm now certain that he used [Shadow] to reach this place.]
[Is that even possible!?] Adrenna is doing her best to keep a straight face, [I know he's the young lady's successor, but that's impossible if you're here!]
[He didn't just enter this place, but also hid his presence to the point that both of us never noticed his arrival.] Corvina saw the complete shutdown of the barrier she prepared to trap Kisuke for a bit and hesitated for a moment before adding, [...Unless-]
[Don't say it!] Adrenna hurriedly interrupted Corvina's words. She already knew what she was about to say and didn't want to hear it for the sake of her sanity, 'Unless he handles [Shadow] way better than one of the strongest [Shadow] owners in the entire history of their clan.'
That's impossible, both of them wanted to think that. However, they couldn't think of anything that would close that possibility forever, not even the tiniest of excuses.
Both sides silently stared at each other, trying to gauge what's the next appropriate set of actions.
The room was at a standstill for a whole minute and thinking that nothing productive would come out of it, Kisuke made the first move with a sigh, "I apologize for intruding. It wasn't really my intention."
Corvina was also of the same opinion and sent a message to Adrenna to prepare to receive their guest, "I'd like to know how you did it, but don't really have much time so let's set that aside for now."
Adrenna immediately moved and cleared out the room from distractions before quickly setting up a table and two seats. And while she was at it, Kisuke slowly approached Corvina, and making sure that he didn't appear threatening, he extended his right hand towards her, "I'm pleased to finally meet the illustrious Luxeux matriarch. Kisuke Urahara is the name."
Corvina first looked at his hand and then back to his eyes, 'Draconic Deus' greeting, huh...' A few seconds later, Corvina also extended her right hand to receive Kisuke's, "I was also hoping to meet you, my handful of a daughter's successor. You can directly address my name." She replied while gesturing for him to sit down.
Kisuke let go of her hand and smiled, "Then please call me Kisuke. Thank you."
The both of them sat down facing each other while Adrenna stood behind Corvina. There are no refreshments offered because it's not really a part of the Etoulde culture and they are here for a serious talk and not some snacks.
"Before we start, I first would like to hear it from you as to what really happened to Stralit back then. Yoruichi already told me the story but there are parts that she couldn't explain properly so I'd really appreciate it if you could give me a clear picture of my daughter's current state."
"Of course. I owe you the explanation for that." Kisuke then told the same story that he told Seraselbes, but a lot more obfuscated since he didn't want to allude to the existence of a new world. It is, however, difficult to hide the fact that there are others like him and Yoruichi out there.
It was still confusing due to all the omitted parts, but it's still better than Yoruichi's explanation of things, "So you're saying that Stralit just absorbed a unique Spiritual Ability?"
"She did. I already gave her a look and my partner, Benihime, is facilitating this absorption. I don't know how it'll end up, but I can't see anything bad to it." Kisuke replied while adding in his head, 'For now...'
Corvina was silent for a moment before saying, "Do you mind telling me all about this unique Spiritual Ability again? I think I heard some parts of it wrong." Adrenna also vigorously nodded behind her.
Kisuke chuckled and answered, "[True Name Manipulation via Ink]. The original owner of this ability is capable of manipulating the true names, the metaphysical representations of, among other things, sentient beings, which grants him power over those he targets with his power. One way he does this is erasing a part of his target's name and proportionally, that target will be weakened overall in power."
"He can also rename his target but I can't really explain how that works. All I can say is that if he rename you as 'Worm', you'll become an existence similar to that of a worm. There are still others, but those two are his main things."
When he described it like this, Kisuke also thought that it was a very terrifying ability. However, he also has a feeling that it won't be as effective outside of the world where the Soul Society is in, 'It's probably only that effective because everything originated from the Soul King. If I were to say in other terms, Hyousube Ichibei has some admin privileges in the system that the Soul King built.'
Corvina and Adrenna shuddered to hear about it again. They still couldn't imagine what this ability truly entails, 'Renaming someone and they will become the renamed existence? What sort of godly ability is that?' They really thought that they heard it wrong, hence asking about it again, "... Assuming that this ability indeed exists, will Stralit be able to use this too? And are there other practitioners of this power?"
"It honestly could mutate to anything and only Stralit will figure out what changed once the time comes." Kisuke answered the first question and thought, 'I should probably ask Ouetsu-san to make an Asauchi for her to contain that power.'
"And regarding your next question, you're misunderstanding something. We don't inherit our abilities like you guys. Not through blood nor through some ritual."
Editors:
28th00: They’re gonna have their minds blown.