"Shi…ni…ga…mi?" Jasmine blinked, genuinely at a loss. "What in the world are you talking about?"
She was seconds away from reconstructing his Profound Veins, yet he suddenly dropped a term that didn't exist anywhere in the vast library of knowledge she inherited from the highest family of the God Realm. Not in any scripture. Not in any ancient record. Not in any cosmic history.
Yun Che exhaled, unsurprised. Of course the language of his old world meant nothing here.
"Shinigami is a term from my world," he said, voice steady. "You've never heard it because that language doesn't exist in this universe."
Jasmine's eyes narrowed. "Our… world? Universe?"
"Yes," Yun Che answered calmly. "I come from another universe. A different plane entirely. And as for Shinigami… it means—"
He paused deliberately. Then dropped it cleanly.
"—a Soul Reaper. An angel of death."
Silence fell. Heavy. Awkward. Thick enough to cut through.
Jasmine stared at him, and he stared back.
And then—
"Pff—"
"Bwahahahahahaha!"
She doubled over, clutching her stomach, laughter ringing across the starry inner world like a mockery thrown at the heavens.
"An angel of death? You? This princess hasn't laughed like this in years! You certainly know how to amuse your master! Another world, fine—but an angel of death? Hahaha!"
She kept laughing… until she noticed something was wrong.
Yun Che wasn't flustered.
He wasn't embarrassed.
He wasn't joking.
He simply stood there—expression composed, eyes unwavering.
Jasmine's laughter stumbled to a stop.
"...You're serious?"
He didn't answer with words.
He stepped back, raised his gaze toward the glowing white System core, and spoke calmly:
"System. Access Shinigami Mode."
Light erupted.
A blinding wash of spiritual pressure rolled across the inner world, forcing Jasmine to shield her eyes. For a moment she felt a pressure—cold, ancient, oppressive—that had nothing to do with profound strength.
When the light faded, she lowered her hand—
—and her breath caught.
Yun Che stood there no longer as a crippled boy.
But in a black death-garb that swayed like shadows.
A khyber-shaped blade rested over his shoulder, enormous and absurdly shaped yet carried with ease.
A red strap crossed from his shoulder to his waist.
His spiritual presence—foreign, chilling, utterly unlike profound energy—coiled around him like mist.
Jasmine's heartbeat stuttered.
"What… are you?" she whispered.
Because for the first time since stepping foot in his world…
She sensed something she had never felt before.
Not Profound strength.
Not divine power.
Something older.
Heavier.
Darker.
Something that made even the princess of the higher planes feel a chill crawl down her spine.
She was shocked—utterly, completely shocked.
Jasmine couldn't feel any profound energy from him at all… and yet the moment Yun Che finished glowing, the air around her crushed inward as if an invisible mountain had settled onto her shoulders. Her breath hitched. Her knees nearly buckled. She felt like a mortal being stared down by the executioner of heaven.
And still—there wasn't a single wisp of profound aura leaking from him.
Just a suffocating, alien pressure that did not belong to this world.
"Is this convincing enough?" Yun Che asked, his voice calm… too calm, given the weight it carried.
He held back—intentionally. Jasmine could feel it. If he'd used even a fraction more, her soul might have splintered under the weight of his presence. Even without profound power, her will was iron, her pride unyielding… but even then her fingers trembled as she clenched them tight.
This feeling… this presence… what is he?
She could only stare, wide-eyed and pale, at the young man clad in black, a massive cleaver-like blade resting casually over his shoulder. He looked the same and yet entirely different—like a shadow of death given human form.
"Wha…what are you?" Jasmine managed, voice thin and cracking under the pressure.
The crushing weight lifted instantly. The world breathed again. Jasmine gasped and stumbled a half-step, finally getting a full, unobstructed look at him—this time without the brown cloak hiding his form. His black hair stirred in the ethereal breeze of his inner world, and Zangetsu's long blade glinted behind him like a fang of night.
Yun Che sheathed the sword, letting it vanish behind his back, and met her gaze levelly.
"We are called Shinigami," he said. "You may call us Soul Reapers. We guide the souls of the dead to the afterlife… and we purify those who have turned wicked."
He spoke with the calm certainty of someone stating a fact, not boasting. He even sounded… almost relieved to finally say it aloud.
"We?" Jasmine repeated, barely above a whisper.
"I'm not the only Soul Reaper in my world," Yun Che replied. "Where I come from, we are known as soul cultivators. We cultivate spirit energy—Reiatsu—to strengthen the soul and govern death."
"Rei…atsu…" Jasmine murmured, tasting the unfamiliar word as she pieced together what she'd felt moments ago. That pressure—it must have been that.
Her gaze sharpened. "But I checked. Your body is crippled. I confirmed it myself. You don't even have Profound Veins. So how can you wield this kind of power?"
Yun Che exhaled softly.
"To become a Soul Reaper," he said, "one must abandon the physical body and live as a soul spirit. This—" he gestured to his black-clad form "—is my soul."
A flash of light enveloped him again.
And when it faded, the black robes were gone.
He had returned to the familiar crippled body Jasmine saw in the forest—wedding garments torn, bloodstained, utterly ordinary.
"In this form," Yun Che tapped his chest lightly, "I'm just a cripple. No profound strength. No veins. Nothing."
Jasmine stared at him, speechless. A cripple that transformed into a death god. A mortal who became a soul.
A boy with two existences.
Her heartbeat quickened—not out of fear this time, but realization.
He truly is from another universe.
And the blood droplet hovering between them… was suddenly more meaningful than ever.
"So, if you can cultivate this 'spirit energy,' why do you even need the Heretic God's blood?" Jasmine asked at last, still holding that ominous, dark-red droplet between her fingers.
"I was reincarnated into a human body," Yun Che replied calmly, "but my soul is that of a Shinigami. A Soul Reaper. Unfortunately, the body I reincarnated into was crippled from birth. Spirit energy can't be used in a living human body unless body and soul are harmonized. Right now, I can only use my spirit pressure in soul form."
Jasmine narrowed her eyes. "That still doesn't explain why you require this blood."
"I was getting there, so calm your boobs. If you had any."
Smack.
He winced, rubbing the fresh red mark on his cheek. "Fine, fine. Listen. I need the Heretic God's blood because I need a functioning cultivator's body. If my soul continues to grow stronger while this physical body remains weak, my own spirit energy will eventually destroy it. And me along with it."
Jasmine's brows lifted despite herself. "But you claim to have the strength of a god."
"Nope. I'm no god, never will be." Yun Che said, shrugging. "I'm just a soul reaper with cheat-codes. I can still die like anyone else. And with my current level? I can probably fight someone at Earth Profound Realm if I push myself. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Hmph. This princess was beginning to think you truly were an angel of death. But in reality, you're just… weak."
"Hey, cut me some slack. I only started cultivating today. I was literally reborn into this body this morning." He tapped his chest. "I told you—I'm from another universe."
Jasmine's gaze sharpened. "Reborn…?"
Yun Che hesitated only a moment, then sighed. "Yeah. I might have accidentally killed the original owner of this body. His soul was too weak. When I reincarnated, my presence overwhelmed him, and I absorbed what was left. The Sky Poison Pearl came with him… and I guess it chose me instead."
"So, I became him and took his name. It was only possible with this thing's help." Yun Che lifted his hand and revealed the object that once belonged to the original owner of the body—the Mirror of Samsara. He let it dangle lazily from its chain while Jasmine's eyes widened to their limits.
"The Mirror of Samsara?!"
Her voice cracked. She lunged, trying to seize it. Yun Che casually raised his arm higher, far beyond her reach, before finally lowering it into her palms with deliberate slowness.
"Careful," he warned lightly. "It's bound to the System now. If you break it, it'll zap you."
Jasmine didn't even hear him.
Her fingers trembled as she inspected the divine artifact. She could feel it—its aura, its profundity, its unmistakable identity. The genuine Mirror of Samsara.
Another Heavenly Profound Treasure.
Her heartbeat spiked.
One was already unfathomable—two in the hands of one human was absurd.
Impossible. Unthinkable. Unreal.
Yet here it was, warm in her hands.
Her mind raced.
The mirror was supposed to reincarnate souls endlessly… yet somehow, it had pulled a foreign soul here. A soul from another universe.
And it didn't merely reincarnate him—it brought his System with him, fused the Sky Poison Pearl into his being, and devoured the original Yun Che's soul in the process.
This was not reincarnation.
This was usurpation through a cosmic loophole.
Yun Che snapped his fingers.
The mirror dissolved into light and reappeared obediently in his hand.
"You knew about it?" he asked, twirling the mirror by its chain.
Jasmine stared at him, her expression shifting from shock to gravity.
"How… how do you possess two Heavenly Profound Treasures?" Her voice was quiet but heavy with disbelief. "This is something even the Realm Kings of the Divine World would never dare dream of."
Yun Che only shrugged.
"Like I said—when the mirror brought me here, I absorbed the original owner's soul. After that, both treasures became mine. The System explained everything afterward."
She noticed his right hand glowing faintly green—Sky Poison Pearl's energy rippling beneath his skin. The mirror spun lazily on its chain, its surface shining with an otherworldly sheen.
Two Heavenly Profound Treasures.
In the hands of a boy who wasn't even from this universe.
Jasmine tightened her fists.
Her heart was still racing.
This man…
This unbelievable man…
What are you?
And what kind of future will you carve into this world?
Jasmine listened in silence, her expression unreadable beneath the weight of everything he had just said. Two Heavenly Profound Treasures, a foreign soul, a system that seemed to defy the laws of her realm, and now—this.
The realization settled heavily in her chest.
If he was truly reborn inside the body of a young man who carried both the Sky Poison Pearl and the Mirror of Samsara…
Then what kind of fate had the original Yun Che borne?
What kind of life… or death… did he meet?
"Hmph… even if you are a so-called soul reaper, it matters little to this princess." Jasmine folded her arms, turning her face away. Yet a faint tremor lingered in her voice. "However…"
She hesitated.
That alone startled Yun Che—Jasmine never hesitated.
She clenched her small fists, gathered her resolve, then faced him again. Her voice was softer now, trembling beneath a cold exterior she couldn't fully maintain.
"You… since you are a soul reaper… can you return those who died… to the world of the living?"
Yun Che froze.
Her eyes—those bright red eyes that had remained sharp, proud, and unyielding even while poisoned and bodyless—were filled with something he had never seen before.
Hope.
Small, fragile, desperate hope.
He had read her past. He knew the tragedies buried in that heart she refused to show anyone.
She wasn't asking out of curiosity.
She was asking out of longing.
And so Yun Che spoke honestly.
"Sorry, Jasmine." His voice softened. "Shinigami aren't gods of resurrection. We reap souls—not return them. Our duty is to guide them to the afterlife."
Her gaze dimmed. That faint, precious hope flickered and wilted.
"…I see."
Silence fell—heavy and suffocating.
But Yun Che wasn't finished.
"However…"
Her head snapped up immediately.
"I can reattach a soul to a new body," he said calmly. "As long as that soul isn't extinguished or passed on completely."
Jasmine's breath caught.
He continued, tone steady, gentle, patient—as if explaining something sacred.
"When a person dies, the soul separates from the body, but the two are linked by a chain—what we call a soul chain. Normally, once the chain breaks, the soul is reaped and sent on its way."
Jasmine hung onto every word.
"But if the body is destroyed," Yun Che said, "a Shinigami can rebind the soul to a new vessel. As long as the soul remains intact."
Jasmine's fingers trembled slightly—she quickly hid her hands within her sleeves.
He stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"In your case, Jasmine… your soul survived the destruction of your body. You might not see it, but a Shinigami like me can see your soul chain clearly."
He pointed gently toward her.
"And the poison is eating it. If I hadn't dragged your soul in here, the Absolute God-Slaying Poison would eventually have consumed it completely."
Her eyes widened, fear and anger and disbelief swirling together.
Yun Che concluded softly:
"Once you rebuild your body, I'll help you reattach your soul. Otherwise, the new body will be just a vessel… and you will fade away."
As Jasmine listened, the quiet glow of hope returned to her eyes—a hope she hadn't dared to feel in years. She wanted her body reconstructed, yes… but compared to the wish buried in her heart, even that felt small. Still, she knew the truth: he wasn't yet strong enough to grant the wish she truly longed for.
But her pride would not allow hesitation.
"Hmph. This princess has already given her word. Whether you're a Shinigami or a confused mortal, a promise is a promise. I will restore your profound veins. This princess does not go back on her vows."
Her voice carried that familiar imperial arrogance, but beneath it… warmth. For the first time since they met, Jasmine was genuinely in a good mood. If Yun Che truly possessed the abilities of a Soul Reaper then making him stronger was no longer just an act of repayment. It was an investment—a bridge toward the day her wish might actually be fulfilled.
Yun Che, watching her, knew exactly what that wish was. He couldn't tell her the truth about her brother—not yet. Not the part about his soul willingly moving on. But her mother… that was another matter. Maybe, one day, he could give her closure.
For now, though, he simply let things flow naturally.
He also couldn't help smirking at the way Jasmine struggled with the word Shinigami. Her arrogant tone clashed hilariously with the foreign syllables.
"What are you laughing at?" she snapped, noticing the grin on his face.
"Nothing," he deflected with suspicious innocence. "So—shall we begin?"
Her eyes sharpened with intent. In the next moment, her wrist lowered gracefully, luminous in the starlit glow of his inner world. Her fingertip flickered, and the droplet of "Heretic" blood responded—hovering upward, turning slowly, radiating a crimson brilliance as it drifted toward Yun Che.
With a sound like a heartbeat made of light, the blood pierced into his chest.
Instantly, the System reacted.
========================
[Ding...…. Discovered Heretic's Indestructible Blood]
[Initiate fusion with the host body?]
[Ding…Discovering upgrade modules from the Heretic's blood.]
[Notice of maintenance]
[Warning: During the fusion process, the System will undergo an upgrade from BASIC ➝ INTERMEDIATE.]
[During reconstruction, the System will erect a full environmental barrier to ensure Host safety.]
[Host body will enter involuntary HIBERNATION MODE for 10 HOURS.]
[Recommendation: Host should finish all external objectives before confirming fusion.]
[Connection to all Zanpakuto Spirits will be temporarily severed to prevent interference.]
[The System apologizes for any inconvenience.]
===============================
The notifications faded into Yun Che's vision like proclamations from the heavens themselves. An upgrade… a forced ten-hour hibernation… and temporary isolation from all of his Zanpakutō spirits?
His heartbeat kicked once, hard.
"Well… damn," he breathed, somewhere between impressed and horrified.
The System wasn't simply evolving—it was preparing to overhaul everything he was. And Jasmine, standing before him with that frosty, expectant expression, had absolutely no idea of the internal chaos that had just detonated inside him.
He exhaled slowly, gaze shifting to her. "This might get complicated," he muttered.
Jasmine blinked. "What are you mumbling about?"
Yun Che forced a faint smile. "Nothing terrible. Just… logistics."
The truth was, he trusted the System. It would protect his body, shield his inner world, and ensure Jasmine remained safe while he was unconscious. The only thing he had to worry about was waking up to Hoyuu fist in his face. Again.
He lay down on the soft patch of emerald grass, feeling the hum of the System core pulsing gently from above.
"Jasmine," he said, turning his head slightly toward her, "I'll be undergoing reconstruction for ten hours. The System's upgrade will take about that long. So… could you watch over my body while it runs?"
"Ten hours?" Jasmine frowned, her young yet regal features tightening. "Is reconstructing profound veins truly that lengthy?"
"No," Yun Che answered with a tired chuckle. "But the System needs to evolve. Think of it like a heavenly treasure entering a new realm. It needs time to… upgrade itself. I may even be constructing my ideal body in there, so—" he stretched an arm above his head lazily "—wish me luck."
She watched him, suspicious yet curious. "Hmph. This princess hopes you don't die in the process. Don't make me regret choosing a 'Shinigami' as a successor."
He smirked. "I won't."
With that, he tapped the confirmation.
==============================
[Initiating fusion and reconstruction process]
[Body reconstruction imminent. Hibernation Protocol engaged.]
Hibernating in—
3…
2…
1…
[SYSTEM: HIBERNATION MODE—ACTIVE]
==============================
Yun Che's consciousness collapsed instantly. His body went limp on the grass, chest rising gently in deep, enforced sleep. Above him, the luminous core dimmed, its light softening until it resembled a silver moon behind clouds—quiet, dormant, gathering strength.
Jasmine stood over him, red hair fluttering in the inner world's phantom wind. For a long moment, she simply watched him—this strange boy, this intruder from another universe, this death god who now lay vulnerable at her feet.
"A man who defies all logic, all natural law…" she whispered. "Soon, a hybrid of Heretic and Soul Reaper will exist in this realm. If you succeed, there won't be anything in this universe capable of stopping your rise."
Her expression darkened as a different face surfaced in her memory—cold eyes, a cruel sneer, and a hatred buried so deep it bled into her bones. The killing intent that leaked from her was sharp enough to sting the air.
"Not even him."
She drew a slow breath, forcing the rage back down. Then she knelt beside the unconscious Yun Che, her fingers lightly brushing the grass near his arm—not touching him, but close enough that the gesture betrayed concern she would never admit aloud.
"Hmph. Don't die," she murmured, her tone softer than she intended. "Don't you dare make this princess waste her time…"
With that, Jasmine sat cross-legged beside him, closing her eyes as she began to stabilize her own wounded soul. Outside, the System's barrier shimmered silently around the cave, isolating the world from the birth of something that should not exist.
A new body.
A new set of profound veins.
A reborn hybrid of divine blood and shinigami soul.
The universe had no idea what was coming.