"So," Yun Che crossed his arms, eyes narrowing with curiosity, "how did you meet them?"
Jasmine let out a slow breath—long, exasperated, and slightly embarrassed.
It wasn't a pleasant memory.
====================
She recalled those ten hours while Yun Che was unconscious—when his sea of consciousness had undergone its evolution. She had been sitting beside his fainted body, drenched in blood from rescuing that little girl, when she suddenly felt a shift.
A terrifying shift.
The kind that screamed intruders.
Only… they weren't supposed to exist.
No one—no one—should have been able to infiltrate his inner world except her.
When the figures materialized around her, Jasmine prepared herself for death.
Her strength was sealed by the System, her cultivation crippled, and her body frail—more fragile than mortal glass.
There was no way she could defend herself against what she sensed.
Their spiritual pressure was enormous—ancient, refined, powerful.
Compared to them, Jasmine felt like a candle facing a storm.
She expected them to tear her apart for being near Yun Che's unconscious form.
That was the logical reaction.
But instead…
The white-haired snow maiden, Sode no Shirayuki, simply crouched beside her and gently asked:
"Are you hurt?"
Jasmine blinked in disbelief at the memory even now.
"I thought I was dead," Jasmine admitted with a shiver. "But that snowwoman didn't attack. She asked if I was injured. She was… gentle. Far gentler than I expected from someone with such a cold aura."
She continued.
"When they questioned me, I told them I was your master. And they introduced themselves as your Zanpakutō spirits. Your powers. Your family." Jasmine shook her head. "I nearly passed out from relief."
During the ten hours while Yun Che remained unconscious, Sode no Shirayuki had noticed Jasmine's blood-soaked state. Without hesitation, she offered one of her own kimonos to Jasmine.
A beautiful snow-blue kimono.
Jasmine, despite her pride, had no choice but to accept—it was that, or let her own blood crust and stink while she waited for Yun Che.
"She said you rescued me," Jasmine muttered. "The spirits… were impressed. They kept calling you a hero."
Yun Che blinked.
"Hero points… from Zanpakutō spirits? That's a thing now?"
Jasmine ignored him and continued.
Because of the spirits' overwhelming power, Jasmine quickly learned to drop her princess attitude. Acting arrogant might've gotten her vaporized on the spot.
But surprisingly…
Things went much smoother than she expected.
Shirayuki treated Jasmine kindly, almost sisterly.
The twin Sogyō no Kotowari adored her immediately—calling her "pretty sister" and circling her like excitable puppies.
Zabimaru…
well, Zabimaru teased Jasmine about her body far too often.
Jasmine's eye twitched.
"That snake is lucky I'm sealed," she muttered under her breath.
Old Man Zangetsu was polite and respectful, treating Jasmine with a calm that reminded her of the elders from the Celestial Realm.
But Hoyuu—
Jasmine visibly grimaced.
"Hoyuu is impossible. He has your face and your voice… but everything about him is vile. His mouth is trash, his personality is trash, and if not for that snowwoman grabbing his collar every time he tried to insult me, I would've blasted him off the island."
Yun Che couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah… that sounds like Hoyuu."
Jasmine crossed her arms, cheeks flushing faintly.
"In short… your spirits were terrifyingly strong, ridiculously unpredictable, annoyingly affectionate, and completely overwhelming. But…" she admitted reluctantly, "it was… not unpleasant. Not entirely."
She looked away with an awkward cough.
"They all… care about you a great deal."
Yun Che's smile softened.
"Yeah. I know."
"That brat is so full of herself."
Hoyuu materialized again with a scoff, leaning on Yun Che's shoulder like an annoying older brother.
"How did you end up with this one as a master, King? You sure she's not just a prisoner?"
"Brat?!" Jasmine snapped, instantly bristling.
"This princess is not a brat! This princess is his master! And I am the Heavenly Star God—someone tens of realms above YOUR filthy existence!"
Hoyuu clicked his tongue.
"Brat is brat. Title changes nothing. Also—" he pointed bluntly at Jasmine, "—you don't even have breasts. Flat as a child's slate."
Jasmine froze.
Then trembled.
"Y-YO—YOU…!"
She launched into a flurry of angry shouts, but Hoyuu only smirked, enjoying her meltdown far too much.
It was a good thing Jasmine's strength was still sealed.
If not—
this entire world might have been vaporized by now.
Seeing disaster brewing, Yun Che quickly stepped between them.
"Alright, enough. Hoyuu, back to your world. I'll call you later."
Hoyuu smirked, victorious.
As he faded away, he made sure to leave Jasmine with one final goodbye:
A middle finger.
Jasmine stared at the gesture, confused.
"What was that? Some kind of… cursed hand sign?"
Yun Che coughed loudly.
"I-It's nothing. Don't worry about it. Just… do NOT copy it."
He silently prayed Jasmine would never learn what it meant.
He wanted to live.
Jasmine crossed her arms and huffed.
"Hmph! If that thing wasn't one of your powers, I would've smashed him into dust."
"Yeah, good luck with that…" Yun Che smiled wryly.
Hoyuu in full power could erase the planet before you blink, he thought privately.
Jasmine turned serious again.
"They said they are your spirits. And you called them… Zanpakutō."
She glanced at him, curiosity burning behind her eyes.
"What are they?"
Yun Che hesitated.
This wasn't a small question.
This wasn't something he normally wanted to explain.
Zanpakutō…
Shinigami…
Hollow…
Reiatsu…
His previous world.
His hidden identity.
His secrets.
For a moment, he considered deflecting her question.
Not out of distrust—but out of caution.
But then he remembered:
She gave him the Blood of the Heretic.
She trusted him with her life.
She watched over him for ten hours while he was helpless.
She protected his unconscious body alongside his own spirits.
She even lent him the Sky Poison Pearl as she believed.
And she was Jasmine—
the one character he admired deeply in the original story.
She deserved an answer.
He sighed softly.
"…Alright," Yun Che began, meeting her gaze steadily.
"You've earned the right to know."
Jasmine's red eyes sparkled—curiosity, expectation, and something softer all mixed together.
"Tell me everything," she said quietly.
Yun Che finally made up his mind.
If he was going to trust anyone with his secrets, it would be her.
He inhaled deeply.
"They're called Zanpakutō," he began. "Soul Slayer Swords. They represent my power… and my comrades. Every Soul Reaper is born with a unique spiritual force inside their soul. That force eventually manifests into a sword—and that sword has a spirit living within it."
Jasmine's eyes widened slightly.
"You mean… each sword has a consciousness? Like your Shirayuki? Or those twins?"
"Exactly. They live with us, fight beside us, grow with us. Most Soul Reapers only have one Zanpakutō spirit."
He paused, then added with a wry smile:
"And unlike cultivators who wield dead weapons, Zanpakutō spirits aren't just tools. They're partners."
Jasmine slowly sat down on the grass of Yun Che's inner world, her expression serious.
"Then… can they fight in the real world? That Shirayuki woman had powers… far beyond my understanding."
Yun Che sat beside her.
"They can—if I activate their power. Soul Reapers release their Zanpakutō using something called Shikai, the first release. It awakens the spirit's elemental abilities."
He gestured with his hand.
"Remember back at the wedding? That curved Khyber-shaped black sword I had?"
Jasmine nodded.
"That was Zangetsu's Shikai," he said. "His first release."
Jasmine frowned thoughtfully.
"So that foul-mouthed version of you also has a Shikai?"
Yun Che winced.
"That 'foul-mouth version of me'," he said dryly, "has actually mastered Bankai."
Jasmine raised a brow.
"Bankai? What is that?"
"The final release," Yun Che explained. "A Soul Reaper has to train to materialize their Zanpakutō spirit—bring them into the physical world. Once that connection is complete, they unlock the spirit's full power. That's Bankai."
"And its strength?" Jasmine pressed.
"It can change the flow of any battle," Yun Che said quietly. "Bankai is overwhelming."
Jasmine glanced away, digesting the information.
"Then… have you mastered any of theirs?"
"Only Zangetsu's."
He scratched the back of his head.
"I just received the others today. No time to master their Bankai."
Jasmine blinked.
"Today? But… you said a Soul Reaper only has one spirit."
Yun Che nodded, shrugging casually.
"They do. But I'm not exactly a normal Soul Reaper."
He pointed upward where the System Core slowly rotated like a star.
"The system gave me the others."
Jasmine followed his gaze—and her jaw nearly dropped.
"Unfair…" she muttered under her breath.
"The heavens are unfair… the system is unfair… and you are the most unfair of all."
She stood up abruptly, walked away in a daze, and muttered something that sounded like:
"How can one person… be blessed by so many freakish things…?"
Yun Che just smiled awkwardly.
He couldn't really deny it.
"Can you show me Zangetsu's Bankai?"
Jasmine's eyes shimmered with curiosity, anticipation, and a subtle challenge.
Yun Che shook his head immediately.
"No. I can't show it. Not right now."
Her brows furrowed.
"Why not? What circumstances?"
Yun Che exhaled and began explaining the chaotic mess that had become his cultivation:
How his levels were halved.
How his body was reset to the Beginner's Profound Realm.
How his soul and body had nearly failed to fuse.
How he now possessed the Heretic's Sharingan—his Copy Wheel Eye.
And how, despite all that overwhelming potential, his current strength was far too fragile to support the weight of Bankai.
Jasmine listened quietly.
But when he mentioned the Beginner's Profound Realm, her expression twisted.
"Beginner's… Profound Realm?" she repeated, almost insulted.
"This princess has never heard of a realm beneath Elementary Profound Realm. You are weaker than a child who just started cultivating!"
Yun Che smirked.
"True. But since my experience was halved… I was pushed into the Elementary and Nascent Profound Realms with the foundation of a Beginner. Meaning—" he tapped his chest, "I currently have the full power of those realms… without using Shinigami powers or Heretic Art abilities."
Jasmine stared at him.
Her eyes widened.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Her mind calculated—quickly, precisely, dangerously.
This disciple of hers…
A foundation built from scratch.
The power of multiple realms stacked together.
The Heretic legacy.
Four different Zanpakutō spirits.
A hollow counterpart.
A Quincy heritage.
And now the Copy Wheel Eye.
He wasn't just gifted.
He was monstrous.
And if the upper realms caught even a whiff of this…
He wouldn't be hunted.
He would be erased.
Jasmine's expression hardened instantly.
She grabbed his wrist.
"Yun Che."
Her tone was ice.
"You must hide everything—Shinigami, Heretic Arts, the Copy Wheel Eye, your Zanpakutō. Every secret you have."
He looked at her silently.
She continued, voice low and deadly serious:
"If the Realm of the Gods senses this kind of power… they'll want it. They'll want you. They might not kill you, but they will kill everyone close to you. The greed of the divine realm has no limits."
She let go, calming her expression.
"I promised I would train you until you reached the Sovereign Profound Realm—or beyond. You must have enough strength to protect yourself before your identity gets exposed."
Yun Che didn't respond at first.
His eyes lowered.
He understood.
This wasn't Earth.
This wasn't modern society where laws and politics protected the weak.
This world thrived on a single rule:
The strong devour the weak.
He clenched his fists.
Then slowly lifted his head, determination blazing in his eyes.
"Then let's get started."
A faint, terrifying smile formed on his lips.
"I'll become strong enough to step on those bastards from the Realm of the Gods."
Jasmine smirked—just barely—but it was there.
A spark.
A rare approval.
A sense of satisfaction.
"That," she murmured, "is the correct mindset for my disciple."
Maybe… just maybe…
Taking him as her disciple wasn't just the right decision—
It was the greatest investment she would ever make.