As the chains of the seventeen pillars vanished, they swiftly retracted into the ground.
Then, before their eyes, a black vortex suddenly materialized in the air.
Shinya Genjirou signaled Shigure Segawa with a glance and stepped forward. Shigure followed him silently.
The moment he stepped into the vortex, Shigure felt an oppressive, twisted spiritual pressure bearing down on him. This pressure was unlike the distortion caused by Hollows. It was still the spiritual pressure of a Soul Reaper, but it was chaotically turbulent.
Frowning slightly, Shigure quietly enveloped himself in his own spiritual pressure, easily neutralizing the oppressive force. Only then did he take a closer look at his surroundings.
The place resembled a standard prison. At the center stretched an endless dark corridor, flanked by cells constructed from special materials.
The "Frenzied Ones" were imprisoned here, stripped of all personal freedom.
As Shigure followed Genjirou down the corridor, the chaotic voices of the Frenzied Ones filled his ears.
"My Zanpakutō wants to kill me! Please, get me out of here!"
"The Blood Moon is coming! The Soul Society is doomed!!!"
"So many corpses... can't you see them? A thick layer of them beneath your feet..."
Although Shigure found their words intriguing, with Genjirou present, he adhered to the rules of Black Ridge Hell and refrained from interacting with any of the Frenzied Ones.
At that moment, a system notification echoed in his mind.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for successfully reaching the sign-in location. Starting the sign-in process!"
"Sign-in duration: 10 seconds. Exiting midway will result in sign-in failure!"
"Ten seconds."
"Nine seconds."
...
As the countdown began, Shigure felt a sense of anticipation. He continued to follow Genjirou at a steady pace. The longitudinal length of this Black Ridge Hell was beyond his expectations.
Finally, the countdown ended.
"Zero!"
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, sign-in successful!"
"Reward: Soul Resonance!"
As the system notification concluded, Shigure's vision blurred momentarily.
"Segawa, what's wrong?" Genjirou seemed to notice Shigure's abnormality. He stopped in his tracks and frowned as he asked.
Shigure's heart skipped a beat. He quickly suppressed the system notification in his mind and replied calmly, "It's nothing. Please, continue."
It was too risky to examine the reward now. He needed to wait until Genjirou left.
Moments later, they reached the deepest part of the corridor. Only then did Shigure notice a figure sitting in the darkness ahead.
The man didn't appear old, but his gaze was particularly cloudy. As they approached, he raised his eyes, looking over with a hint of impatience.
Genjirou turned to Shigure and said, "This is Mr. Sugi, the warden of Black Ridge Hell."
"For the next week, Mr. Sugi will instruct you on your duties. If you make it out successfully, that's fine. But if you are influenced by the Frenzied Ones, Mr. Sugi will ensure justice is served."
Hearing this, Shigure immediately bowed slightly toward the figure in the darkness. "Mr. Sugi."
Sugi's cloudy eyes shifted, and the disdain in them disappeared, replaced by an odd smile.
"Alright, Genjirou, you can leave now." His tone was highly dismissive, but Genjirou didn't seem to mind.
He nodded lightly and said, "Segawa, one week from now, the Seireitei will send someone to pick you up. Until then, follow Mr. Sugi's instructions completely."
"Understood," Shigure replied.
Genjirou turned and left, and the prison gates immediately closed.
Before Shigure could speak, Sugi suddenly smiled oddly and said, "You... you're quite capable, aren't you? To be able to coat your body with high-density spiritual pressure to resist the Frenzied Ones' influence in this prison..."
Shigure smiled modestly and replied, "You're even more impressive, Mr. Sugi. To remain unaffected while residing here is remarkable."
"Haha, once you get used to the frenzy, you'll realize that isolating spiritual pressure is far more comfortable."
"Then... Mr. Sugi, is there anything I need to do here?" Shigure asked.
Sugi shook his head. "The so-called guarding is just to prevent them from escaping their cells. You don't really have to do anything; just sit quietly."
Shigure raised an eyebrow. "Understood."
"Genjirou must have told you the rules, right?" Sugi continued, "These Frenzied Ones can assimilate others because their spiritual pressure and words possess a dangerous assimilative nature. As long as you can isolate their spiritual pressure, you only need to avoid talking to them."
"Understood," Shigure nodded slightly.
"Alright, then stay away and don't disturb my sleep." Sugi closed his eyes and waved his hand dismissively.
Shigure bowed slightly, took a step back, and turned to walk toward the other side of the corridor. A smile curved his lips. This situation worked in his favor.
Now, he could finally focus on understanding the system reward he had just received.
Reaching a corner of the Black Ridge Hell, Shigure casually found a spot to sit.
"System, is there an explanation for this reward?"
The system remained silent.
Shigure paused slightly. It seemed this reward was different from the previous Source of Souls. It was something he needed to explore on his own, which was why the system provided no explanation.
"So... what does Soul Resonance mean..."
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