"Director Ishida, this is already the tenth person to die from an unknown incident, and I heard the number of deceased is still increasing," a young nurse said to Ishida Ryūken.
"Is that so? I understand." Ishida Ryūken replied expressionlessly, but his hands holding the deceased's file gradually tightened, showing his inner turmoil.
'Is it the same cause of death again? What exactly happened that day? Are all those who died mixed-blood Quincy?' Ishida Ryūken pondered.
"Director Ishida, I heard that many deceased have been found in various places, and their conditions are extremely similar. Please, you must find out the cause of death. It would be terrible if it were some kind of virus," the young nurse said worriedly.
"I understand. I will personally perform an autopsy on him shortly and do my best to find the cause of death." Ishida Ryūken put down the file, preparing to begin his work.
This month, it wasn't the first time Ishida Ryūken had performed an autopsy, and each time, he found a special substance in the deceased's body, more or less. He named this special substance "silver."
Ishida Ryūken didn't know if "silver" caused their deaths or if "silver" appeared after death. Only by repeatedly dissecting these individuals could he gradually uncover the truth of their deaths. Ishida Ryūken believed this.
'Hae, I must find out the truth that led to your death…' Ishida Ryūken frowned, tightening his grip on the surgical scalpel.
"Indeed, this person also has 'silver' in his body. If nothing unexpected, he is also a Quincy." As the autopsy progressed, Ishida Ryūken discovered something different about this deceased.
"The silver content is too high, several times more than others. What's going on?"
After completing the autopsy, Ishida Ryūken picked up the deceased's paper file again. The deceased's name was Amamiya Miyako, 24 years old, with the estimated time of death being June 17, 200x, at his home.
'What is special about this person? Why is the silver content so high? It seems I need to investigate,' Ishida Ryūken thought.
Meanwhile, in Amamiya Miyako's home, a phantom lay on the ground, eyes tightly shut, brows furrowed, teeth clenched, and hands forming claw shapes, indicating the man's pain.
Pain, despair, unwillingness—a surge of negative emotions overwhelmed the man, causing him to quickly sit up. "Where is this?" He looked around the room.
'Why am I not in the mirror??' Standing before the mirror, the man looked bewildered. One moment he was working late, just resting his head on his desk for a bit, and the next, he woke up in this unfamiliar room.
The man explored the room, finding that he couldn't leave, nor could he pick up anything. When he looked into the only mirror in the room, he couldn't even see himself. 'Did I die suddenly? Why does this feel so much like a ghost?' The man wanted to cry but couldn't, and this wasn't even his own house.
The only information he could gather was that the original owner of this house should be named Amamiya Miyako. The house seemed a bit messy, with clutter on the table and some overturned water cups on the floor.
Just as the man wondered what to do next, the wind outside the window suddenly intensified, and faint, heavy footsteps could be heard. The man walked to the window and looked out. With just one glance, he immediately pulled his head back. What he saw in the night shocked him.
'What is that monster? Why is it out there? Where exactly is this?' The man tightly covered his mouth, preventing himself from making any sound, because outside the window, a black beast wearing a white bone mask was walking step by step towards the room. Notably, there was a hollow in the monster's chest.
'Wait, a hollow in the chest, a white mask… This couldn't be a Hollow, could it? Is this the world of Shinigami?'
The man immediately felt despair. This world was too dangerous. Ordinary people might be affected by the battles between Shinigami and Hollows, not to mention that he was currently in soul form. If he were devoured or corrupted by a Hollow, it would undoubtedly be a dead end.
He didn't believe he was some overpowered protagonist. Even if he became a Hollow, he would have to constantly devour and evolve, and evolving into even the lowest-level Menos Grande Gillians would only make him cannon fodder.
What he didn't know was that the Hollow outside had already pressed its head against the window.
"I found you, delicious, tasty, food," the white-masked Hollow opened its mouth and spoke haltingly.
The man felt his consciousness suddenly go blank. The Hollow extended its claw, and the sound of the window shattering immediately brought him back to reality. His survival instinct made him forget his fear, and he quickly used his hands and feet to move away from the window, finally escaping to the corner of the room before the Hollow's hand could touch him.
Only then did he have time to look at the Hollow. The Hollow in front of him, due to its immense size, couldn't fully enter, only extending one hand, trying to grab the man. But as the Hollow exerted force, its claw slowly approached the man, likely about to grab him.
'To think that at such a young age, I've not only died once but am about to die a second time, or even turn into a Hollow, which would be worse than death,' the man couldn't help but close his eyes, awaiting the arrival of the claw.
Just as the Hollow's claw was about to touch the man, a whooshing sound came from outside the house, as if something had broken through the wind.
After waiting for a while, the man didn't feel the Hollow touch him. He opened his eyes, and the sight before him greatly surprised him. The Hollow outside the window was impaled with pale blue, sharp objects, whether arrows or something else, and in a short while, the Hollow's body began to dissipate.
He stepped out the window and saw a white-haired man in a suit standing on a utility pole, holding a blue and white bow.
"This truly surprises me. I didn't expect you to still be alive in soul form," Ishida Ryūken said.
'I'm saved! I didn't expect to run into Ishida Ryūken. Does this mean this is Karakura Town? I'm still in soul form right now, how am I going to live the rest of my days?'
His silver hair and white suit immediately made the man recognize Ishida Ryūken's identity. Although he felt a moment of relief, thinking about his soul state, how could he possibly survive well in the Human World?
"Um, sir, could you please tell me what's going on? Why did this monster attack me, and what's my current state?" the man asked Ishida Ryūken outside the window.
Ishida Ryūken retracted the bow and arrow in his hand and leaped step by step from the utility pole into the room.
'Floating, leaping… this is practically flying, isn't it? Is this the Quincy's Hirenkyaku?' the man thought.
Ishida Ryūken entered the room. He looked around but found no trace of Quincy spiritual pressure. However, he still believed that the man before him, in his original body, had Quincy blood flowing through him.
"Amamiya Miyako, there is no doubt that you are dead. You are now merely existing in a soul state," Ishida Ryūken replied to his questions. "My name is Ishida Ryūken. The monster just now was called a Hollow. They are also spirits, but they are evil souls that harm other souls and humans."
'So I really am dead, huh? How unfortunate,' the man sighed. 'Wait, Ishida Ryūken just called me Amamiya Miyako. Am I the original owner of this room, this unlucky guy? But how does he know my name?'
Amamiya Miyako remained silent. He had too many questions but didn't know where to start.
"I have some questions for you," Ishida Ryūken said.
"Please ask, Mr. Ishida, if it's something I know," Amamiya Miyako replied.
"Before your death, did anything happen, or do you know what caused your death?" Ishida Ryūken looked at Amamiya Miyako.
Amamiya Miyako thought that although he regained consciousness in this room, there were still some lingering voices in his mind. Although he no longer knew what the original owner said before death, Amamiya Miyako understood that before waking up, the various emotions in his heart were the original owner's unwillingness and a desperate, almost frenzied, desire to live.
"I don't know what happened before I died, but my heart tells me that I was in great pain and very unwilling at that time. The desire to live is still vivid in my memory. As for other things, I can't remember."