The blue and gold light faded. Axel and Olivia stood in the middle of a quiet street.
The air felt different here. It was heavy with a strange energy called Reishi.
To most people, this place looked like a normal town in Japan called Karakura Town.
But to the Morningstar siblings, it was full of ghosts.
"We are here,"
Olivia said softly. She looked around. The town had small houses, clean streets, and many telephone poles.
"Alright! Let's find Masaki,"
Axel said.
He closed his eyes to sense the life force of the people nearby. Even though they knew the story of this world, they didn't have a map.
"Grandpa Stan said she lives around here. We just need to find a woman with a very kind soul."
They walked through the town for a few hours. It was a nice walk. They saw kids playing and people going to work.
Finally, Axel pointed toward a small store.
"There! That's her."
Kurosaki Masaki was standing in front of a grocery store.
She had long, beautiful hair and a very warm smile. She was picking out fresh vegetables and meat. She looked very happy.
"She is buying groceries,"
Olivia whispered as they hid behind a wall.
"She probably wants to make a big dinner for her husband and her children."
Axel checked his watch.
"The plot says she goes to pick up Ichigo from his karate dojo later. It's a rainy afternoon in the story, but right now the sun is still up. We have some time before the monster, Grand Fisher, shows up."
"What should we do until then?"
Olivia asked.
Axel looked up at the sky. He saw a strange, white mask appearing in the air.
It was a Hollow, a mean monster that eats souls. It was moving toward a small ghost child—a "Plus"—who was crying by a street lamp.
"I think we should clean up the neighborhood,"
Axel said with a wild grin.
"It's boring to just wait. Let's see who can protect this town better!"
The Hollow opened its giant mouth to eat the small ghost child.
The child screamed and closed his eyes. But Axel didn't even move from his spot.
He just raised his hand and flicked his pointer finger.
Zip!
A tiny spark of God Fire flew through the air like a golden bullet. It hit the Hollow right in the center of its mask.
BOOM!
The Hollow didn't even have time to scream. It turned into white ash and vanished instantly. The little ghost child looked around, confused but safe.
"One for me!"
Axel cheered.
"That was too easy."
Olivia narrowed her eyes. She wasn't going to let her brother win.
She looked toward a nearby park. She could feel two more Hollows hiding in the shadows of the trees.
They were waiting for someone to walk by so they could attack.
Olivia pointed her finger like a gun. She didn't use fire. Instead, a small, swirling ball of purple and black energy appeared at the tip of her finger.
This was a Void Bullet.
"My turn,"
She whispered.
She fired the bullet. It didn't make a sound. It moved through the air, eating the space around it.
When it hit the first Hollow, the monster simply disappeared.
No explosion, no ash—just gone. The bullet then curved in the air and hit the second Hollow.
Pop.
Both monsters were erased from existence.
"That counts as two!"
Olivia said, giving Axel a small, playful look.
"I am winning now."
Axel laughed loudly.
"Oh, it's on! Let's make this a real game. The one who kills the most Hollows before Masaki goes to the dojo wins!"
For the next hour, the two young gods turned Karakura Town into their own personal playground.
They moved faster than any human could see.
Axel jumped onto the rooftops. He saw a group of three Hollows crawling on the side of a tall building.
He snapped his fingers, and three tiny fireflies of God Fire chased them down.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sky lit up with orange sparks.
"Twelve!"
Axel shouted.
Meanwhile, Olivia was walking through an alleyway. Four Hollows surrounded her, thinking she was a normal girl.
They growled and showed their sharp teeth. Olivia didn't even look scared.
She waved her hand in a circle, and a thin line of Void Power cut through the air. All four Hollows were sliced in half and sucked into nothingness.
"That makes eleven for me,"
Olivia said calmly.
"I'm catching up."
They weren't just having fun; they were making the town very safe.
Every time a Hollow appeared, it was gone in a second.
The "Pluses" and ghosts of the town felt a strange sense of peace.
They didn't know that two gods from another universe were fighting a war for them.
Axel landed back on the ground near the grocery store.
He saw Masaki coming out with two big bags of food. She looked up at the sky.
The clouds were starting to turn grey. It looked like it was going to rain soon.
"Game over for now,"
Axel said, his face becoming serious.
"The weather is changing. That means the Grand Fisher will be coming soon. Masaki is going to the river soon to find Ichigo."
Olivia stood next to him. She wiped a bit of dust off her sleeve.
"We have killed over twenty Hollows. The area is clear. Only the big one is left."
"Remember the plan,"
Axel reminded her.
"We don't just kill the monster. We have to make sure Masaki is safe and that Ichigo doesn't see anything too scary. We are here to change the future."
Olivia nodded.
"I will handle the protection. You handle the attack."
They followed Masaki at a distance.
She walked toward the riverbank where her young son was training.
The wind started to blow harder, and the first drops of rain began to fall.
The "Grand Fisher" was hiding in the shadows, waiting for its chance to strike.
But it didn't know that it was no longer the hunter. It was now the prey of two Morningstars.