WebNovels

Chapter 37 - Shadows Of The Father.

The Gashadokuro's hollow sockets burned with malice as it leaned closer to Renji. Its skeletal jaw creaked open, the words grinding out like boulders against steel.

"Your bones… will join… the choir."

Renji dropped to one knee, his body trembling. Blood pooled beneath him, slick on the shattered pavement. His lungs burned with each breath, ragged and shallow. The shadows that clung to him flickered weakly, like dying embers in a storm.

That was when Ayaka arrived. She skidded to a stop, her eyes going wide at the sight. "Renji…" The horror in her voice betrayed the battlefield mask she always wore.

Hikari darted to his side, dropping down and pulling his head into her lap. Her hands trembled as she pressed against his wounds. "Stay with me, Renji!" she pleaded. His lips moved, muttering words that were more air than sound.

"What? What are you saying?" Hikari leaned closer.

His cracked lips parted again. "No… casualties."

And then—everything froze. A shadow loomed behind Hikari, tall and steady. Renji's eyes widened.

"Father?"

Haruto stood there, or perhaps only the memory of him, framed in ghostly light. His presence was calm yet commanding, the way he had always been in Renji's childhood. A soft smile curled his lips.

"It's not your time yet, Renji. You made a promise… and you will fulfill it."

Before Renji could reach for him, Haruto's form surged forward—slipping into him like water into dry earth.

The world ignited.

Renji's scream tore through the night, a sound caught between agony and rebirth. The shadows erupted around him like wolves unleashed from a cage, snapping and twisting, devouring the light. Hikari recoiled, stumbling back as the gold amulet on Renji's wrist pulsed violently. Holy light flared, straining to keep the darkness from overtaking him completely.

But Renji's body was no longer his own.

The wound in his chest knitted itself shut as if swallowed by black fire. His frame stretched taller, broader, shadows bulking around him until he stood like a warlord pulled straight from nightmare. A massive cleaver of condensed shadow metal appeared in his hand, its jagged edges dripping tendrils of darkness.

The Kurogami had returned—but this time, it was different.

This wasn't just a vessel of shadows. This form seethed with rage, its eyes burning with both Renji's pain and Haruto's legacy. Each breath it took rattled the air like thunder. Soldiers who had moments ago been battling honegumos now faltered, their blades lowering in awe and terror.

The Gashadokuro staggered back a step, its bones creaking. "Stronger… but still… fragile."

The Kurogami tilted its head, and for a moment, a wry smile—Renji's smile—tugged at its lips.

Then it roared, charging forward in a blur.

The clash shook the night. The cleaver slammed against the Gashadokuro's ribcage, splintering ivory shards across the street. The skeletal titan swung its bony claws in retaliation, each strike like a collapsing building. The Kurogami ducked, weaved, retaliated with sweeping arcs of shadow, every impact detonating with black sparks that scarred the asphalt.

Even the honegumos froze. Their mandibles clicked nervously as the two titans tore into each other, the ground splitting beneath their feet. Buildings groaned, windows shattered. The soldiers stood rooted, unable to look away.

Ayaka whispered, "What… is he?"

The Gashadokuro bellowed, ramming its skull forward, jaws clamping down on the Kurogami's shoulder. Shadow ichor splattered the ground. The Kurogami snarled, then planted its cleaver into the monster's spine and shoved upward, cleaving a line through bone until the entire titan collapsed into a heap of shattered ivory.

For a heartbeat, silence.

Then laughter.

The bones rattled, shifting, crawling across the ground as if alive. Piece by piece, the Gashadokuro reassembled itself, each fragment clinking together until the monster stood whole once again.

"You will… have to… hit harder," it hissed, empty sockets blazing.

The Kurogami tightened its grip on the cleaver, eyes narrowing. Shadows rippled outward like waves, curling and snapping at the air.

A single growl rumbled from its throat. "Eclipse Fang: Shadowquake."

The ground detonated.

Darkness poured out in a shockwave, shredding the night. Honegumos shrieked, their bodies splitting open as old wounds reappeared, flesh tearing where blades had once struck. They collapsed, lifeless, as the blast rolled over the battlefield. Soldiers shielded their faces, Ayaka and Hikari bracing themselves against the surge.

And then—silence again.

Dust and smoke cloaked the street. From within, the sound of something massive falling struck the earth like a final drumbeat.

"Renji!" Hikari's voice cut through the haze. She sprinted forward, Ayaka trailing cautiously behind.

As the dust cleared, the Kurogami lay sprawled on the ground, shadows peeling away from its body in sluggish streams. With every wisp that vanished, Renji's true form was revealed beneath—bloodied, battered, and unconscious.

The cleaver evaporated into nothing. The last of the shadows seeped into the cracks of the street, leaving only silence in their wake.

Hikari fell to her knees beside him, pressing her hands against his chest. "Renji… please, wake up."

Ayaka stopped a few meters away, her gaze hard. She could still feel the echo of Haruto's energy lingering in the air, wrapping Renji like a faint aura.

The gold amulet on Renji's wrist flickered faintly, pulsing once… twice… before dimming completely.

Something had changed.

And Ayaka wasn't sure if what had come back was entirely Renji…

***

Renji met himself in an empty moving train, with a sharp intake of breath he checked his chest. Nothing. 

No sign of the spear injury that pierced there. " What am I doing here?" He muttered to himself. Suddenly darkness seemed to seep into the train, Renji took a step back watching the swirling mass of shadows coalescing while the interior lights of the train turned off. 

Then the shadow materialized into the kurogami. " What? What's going on here?" Renji said while the beast snarled at him in hatred. 

It summoned it's cleaver and came at him, Renji had no other alternative but to run, he ran as fast as he could and threw himself threw the window but not before the kurogami fired an arc of shadow at him…

Renji snapped awake, chest heaving from the nightmare, he attempted standing before a sharp flare of pain from his chest kept him down. 

" You're awake" A voice murmured, heavy with relief, Renji's head snapped to the position of the sound just as the lights snapped on. 

Hikari stepped forward, her silver hair untamed from her usual ponytail for the first time. The effect suddenly made obvious the fact that she was still a girl. 

Renji ignored the relief in her eyes and checked himself. His chest was bandaged up to his right arm which was supported by a sling. " How bad is it?"

" Well the bone pierced right through your lung then with the fact that you lost three and a half litres of blood –a normal person would have died at three– what do you think?" Hikari asked. " But your transformation earlier helped heal most of your wound. Why did you do it?"

" I said it before there shall be no casualties when I'm in a team" Renji said. " You didn't have to nearly get yourself killed because of me!" Hikari protested. 

" Of course I do, you said it yourself. Your role is to make sure I get to learn all seven currents so you dare not die before I do" Renji smirked while a tear rolled down Hikari's eye. 

" Thanks Renji" she muttered. " No pressure" He dis

missed. " No I mean it, thank you but if you ever die for me without my permission I'll kill you" She said 

More Chapters