Soulbound - reincarnated as a zanpakuto

As the Senkaimon closed behind us, Soi Fon and I emerged into the mortal realm. The moon hung high in the night sky, casting a silvery glow over the landscape. The village the ex-knights had pointed out lay ahead, nestled in a valley between two forested hills. The air was crisp, carrying the faint scent of pine and earth.

I glanced at Soi Fon, who nodded, her expression as stern and focused as ever. The 2nd Division Vice-Captain was a reliable ally, her skills in stealth and reconnaissance unmatched. We needed to be cautious as we didn't know what lay ahead. Hopefully, the being described by the ex-knights was indeed Suzuki Satoru, this could either be a fortunate reunion or a dangerous encounter.

As we approached the village, I noticed the signs of recent destruction. Burned-out husks of houses and scorched earth bore silent witness to a violent event. Thankfully it seems that the village was not wholly destroyed.

Many were left alive after the tragic event. Either they were rescued or enemies decided to leave. Both possibilities are probable, but I would rather want the first option to have happened since it would mean that Satoru or Momonga might really be around. That makes me think if he is here then do others as well?

Me and the goat were roleplaying hard as some arrogant world-ending entities and sometimes having PVP fights with him posing as a powerful demon that wants to destroy the world while I was maintaining the balance. As for Tabula, we both are lore, descriptions, and settings maniacs. I was often writing whole books of lore about our characters and storing them in the Nazarick library. I wonder if perhaps the lore I wrote there became real. That would technically put me as some sort of deity of balance and souls, but also bipolar as well as slightly insane.

...

... I am, aren't I? I mean, at one moment I want to kill someone for their souls and then pity the rest with the same circumstances. No need to bother myself. There is nothing I could really do about it.

No need to bother myself. There is nothing I could really do about it.

"Mortals and their stupid conflicts."

It seems she doesn't like people in general. Or maybe she is some sort of pacifist deep down inside.

As we ventured further into the village, I could feel the residual spiritual energy from the departed souls after the battle. It was faint, but definitely there. I also notice some dark powers around at play, there are barely any remaining to even take notice but are definitely there. If this was Satoru's doing, he had either learned to mask his presence well, or he had not used his full power.

We travelled further into the village ignoring burned houses which some parts still emitting heat signifying recent tragedy. There were some parts that seem to have been moved, most likely by the survivors to recover the bodies of the fallen.

After getting away from those few charred houses we saw a typical medieval western-style village. Small houses made with barely any engineering skills and city planning without modern qualities or luxuries. The villagers were walking around with gloomy faces in a tense, mixed atmosphere. Happy that they survived while at the same time grieving for the dead.

I glare at them while they don't notice me at all due to my form and their low power level. Meanwhile, my companion is watching everything around cautiously in case of an ambush.

"You don't need to be so on edge little bee. There should be nothing dangerous in this area at the very least."

"M-My lady! We need to be sure to stop any danger to you."

She stiffened and talked back while still glancing away from me. Don't think that I didn't notice that blush on your face. hehe

"If there is anything that could pose a threat to me then you would have no way of noticing it that easily."

At that, she sighed realising that I was right. If anything posed a threat to me then what about her? She would be useless and at most could stall with her life on the line for some time for me to run. Not that I would ever do such a thing, but the point stands. She is one of the stronger NPCs I made, around level 50 but compared to my 100 or the 'big sticks' like Unohana on 80, this is almost nothing.

The door to one of the buildings in the village opened and we saw an old man leaving it not even bothering to close the door behind him. A few minutes later more and more people like women, children or the elderly started walking in the same direction. For obvious reasons, there seem to be barely any adult or teen men among them. The grim atmosphere prevailed as they went silently not even uttering a single word to each other.

Of course, we followed and arrived at some sort of cemetery. In our world, all dead bodies were burned due to the lack of place to bury them and the fact that they would decompose quickly and poison the soil even more than it already was. From the state of soil and residual spiritual energy, it looked as if being made recently and quickly without any real idea, just bodies buried in dirt and covered in stones to mark the place.

I stood with the bee some distance away from them all as a sign of respect, but not too far to be able to hear in case they would start talking with each other.

Only now have I noticed how many people have died. The number of graves greatly outnumbers the amount of people standing near them. There is also a possibility of some of those being the enemies' bodies, but I honestly doubt any of the locals would willingly give them the same respect as their dead family. Some of them just stare at the piles of stone while the others cry next to the graves. I am considering resurrecting them, but it doesn't sit well with me. No idea why, might be the fact that I am keeping a balance of life and shit.

Even Soi Fon is standing completely quiet. She might not like them and the problems with 'simplistic' aggression and war of mortals, but will respect the grief after loved ones.

"Hm?"

Among crying locals I notice two girls, one is a teenager while the other is an adorable cutie. There is also some boy with... suspicious hairstyle standing near them. The thing that made me focus on those two is an item that the older one wears as a necklace. It's an item from the game, a low-level item that summons a bunch of goblins.

How did she get it? Did her cuteness strike bone-daddy's nonexistent heart? I hope not. I would not want my friend to be a lolicon.

Then from behind the building which was obstructing my vision two men came out. One seems to be a teenager while the other is an old man with a beard. The younger one has long hair and his attire consists of a plain white robe with a golden seed symbol on the side along with golden cuffs on the sleeves. The older one with brown short hair and a beard matching the colour is wearing similar robes but with a lantern symbol instead of a seed.

Who the hell are they?

Thanks to my new enhanced senses I can overhear their conversation.

"Marcel. Watch closely, I will perform 'The passage rite'. Remember it well."

Oh, I see. Some sort of priests and the younger one is a novice in training. Also, it seems that the villagers made some space for them.

"Yes, master Redu."

So the old one is called Redu and the younger one is Marcel.

"Great, then get the water and do as I taught you before."

The novice takes a big bottle from somewhere and starts to pour and sprinkle around its contents. I noticed that the liquid is blue and without a doubt will glow in the dark. I raised my brow and then realised.

There are a lot of spiritual particles inside this concoction. Not enough to cause any problems, but way more than should be.

Then Redu went further, then stood near the middle of a cemetery while chanting some sort of prayer which I didn't care about. I took several minutes and after around half of it, the spiritual energy started gathering in the middle right in from of him forming an orb that is visible to even low-level locals. All the villagers gasped at the sphere being formed in awe. Even Soi Fon was gaping at the fact that some seemingly weak mortals could shape and manipulate spiritual particles like that.

I was ready to intervene in case the priest decided to use this residual energy with evil intentions, but my worries proved to be unneeded when he just tapped the orb which dispersed nourishing all the nature and souls of the living nearby. The change is not much but certainly would make them live for a few days longer than they should and will make it easier for them to become shinigami after they reach the soul society.

That was the end of the ceremony. The priests went away and the villagers seemed to be more at ease.

The girl with the goblin horn turned to the boy with a very cultured hairstyle.

"Thank you Nphi for calling priests from the city. I hope that they reach afterlife and will be treated well by the soul queen"

(○□○)

"WHAT?!/EEEH?!"