About a year had passed since my encounter with the Soul King.
Not much had changed since then, though I had at least found a decent place to settle down.
It wasn't anything grand like a perfect geomantic site, but it was a spot with a fair amount of trees and just enough water.
Unlike that gloomy place to the north that held nothing but sand, the south experienced actual day and night. That alone made keeping track of the date significantly easier.
Of course, while the cycle of light and dark helped, the biggest help in tracking time was the surrounding trees.
You might wonder how a tree helps count days, but it's actually quite effective.
You know that tally system you often see in American crime thrillers—drawing four vertical lines on a wall and then striking through them with a diagonal? By carving those into the trees, keeping count became a breeze.
Plus, I could lean my back against them when resting, use the roots poking above ground as a pillow when sleeping, and replenish my supply of branches whenever I needed. If there was ever a 'Giving Tree,' this one was well on its way to total bankruptcy.
Actually, wait. The tree in that story literally let someone cut down its trunk and eventually gave up its stump. That's real bankruptcy. I guess I can't really compare my situation to that level of sacrifice.
In any case, today marked the 365th day since I started carving tallies into the wood and began my training.
It was exactly one year to the day since I thought, 'Oh, something's happening over there? That looks unusual. I should check it out,' only to end up in a one-on-one interview with the Soul King.
It's only natural, but reaching the one-year mark didn't trigger any special event.
It would've been great to get some 1st-anniversary perks—maybe a specialized Zanpakuto or a 'Celestial Body' reward—but unfortunately, life isn't full of such conveniences.
Then again, it would be even weirder if something suddenly popped out just because a year had passed.
Still, a bit of a shame.
"Sigh..."
I can't believe they really didn't give me anything. What a cold, stingy world.
With a deep sigh, I carved the 365th notch into the tree and picked up a branch for today's regimen.
After doing this for a year, I'd grown considerably compared to the early days.
When I first started, I would collapse wheezing before I even hit 2,000 swings. Now, I'd grown enough to complete the full 10,000 without a single break.
And that's with proper form for every single one of them, mind you.
...Alright, fine. Honestly, about a thousand of them might have been a bit sloppy. What? So what? Isn't the point just to hit 10,000?
Regardless of my excuses, the fact remained that I was much better than before.
Feeling that progress, one way or another, gave me a sense of pride.
Ah, and I also learned how to clear my head while training.
It wasn't some high state of enlightenment or Zen 'No-Mind'; I literally just stopped thinking about everything.
It felt like training while half-asleep with my brain turned off.
The strange thing was that even when I trained like a vegetable, the training still worked perfectly.
Wow, auto-battle is the best.
* * *
980th day since I began my training.
In terms of years, I was fast approaching the three-year mark.
I had grown immensely during that time.
Branches eventually became too light, so I moved on to wooden rods. Now, even those felt weightless, so I had taken to swinging a massive wooden club that weighed about 10 kilograms.
At this point, the wooden club was thicker than my own leg.
I still couldn't bang out 10,000 swings in an hour like a certain Chairman I knew from manga, but through sheer grit and effort, I had managed to shave it down to under four hours.
But hey, if I can finish 10,000 swings in 4 hours while wielding a 10kg log, isn't that... like... pretty good? Right?
Whatever. Since my training finished earlier, I ended up with extra time, which I used to carve wood.
I wasn't carving Buddhist statues or anything; I was just tired of sleeping on the bare ground, so I started making things like a bed, chair, and desk for myself.
Oh, and I tried to see if I could fell a tree using a mere branch, but I wasn't quite at that level yet. I could chip away at the bark, but it wouldn't actually cut through.
'I'll pull it off soon.'
Who cares if I can't do it right now? Time is the one thing I have in abundance.
Actually, it's so abundant it's a problem.
"Sigh."
Letting out a sigh that had now become part of my daily routine, I approached the tree to carve the 980th mark.
I hadn't thought about it until now, but looking at it, I was running out of space on this tree.
There was a bit of room left, but it looked like it would be full in about 20 days.
I could make a ladder and carve higher up, but there were plenty of trees around, so there was no need to go that far.
Once this one is full, I'll move to the next tree.
Or wait. Maybe I should use this chance to head further south? Now that the Soul King has started his Eradication and the Hollow count has dropped significantly, that might not be a bad idea.
Scritch, scratch. After carving the 980th mark, I prepared to swing my club as usual.
Well, I tried to, but I felt something approaching and halted mid-motion.
"...?"
It's not that I'd learned some high-level sensory technique, but this area was the middle of nowhere. I was the only thing here.
No humans would ever come this far out, and ever since the Soul King passed through, no Hollows came near—either because of the lingering Spiritual Pressure or because they realized there was nothing to eat in these boondocks.
So, if someone approached, I couldn't help but notice.
The ground wasn't vibrating, so at the very least, it wasn't a Hollow.
That meant there was only one entity who would bother coming out to a remote place like this.
'But why are there two?'
I could tell one was the Soul King, but who was the one waddling along beside him?
Is he an attendant? Since he's a king, did he bring a eunuch or a minister?
Regardless, the appearance of someone new felt fresh. I lowered my club, sat on my chair, and waited for my guests.
Soon, with the sound of rustling grass, the Soul King emerged, accompanied by a young boy.
"Welcome, Soul King."
"...."
I greeted him with a bit of friendly familiarity, but no response came back.
I didn't expect one, but it was still a bit bitter.
If you aren't going to talk, you could at least give a nod. You're making me look awkward here...
I smacked my lips and scratched my head, glancing at him repeatedly, but the Soul King remained silent, merely observing the things I had built.
"These are entirely new things."
The words that finally came from the Soul King's tightly closed mouth carried a subtle hint of admiration.
Even though his pitch and tempo were so steady he sounded more like a machine than a person, I could feel it.
"What is?"
Wondering what had caught the man's interest, I followed his gaze. He was looking at the chair, the desk, and the integrated school-desk I'd made just for fun.
Ah, that cursed school-desk. I'd left it there to use as firewood later and just hadn't gotten around to burning it yet.
"Those are—"
"The chair, the desk, and the all-in-one desk? Or are you talking about the bed?"
Hm? It felt like the kid was about to say something.
I turned my head toward the boy who followed the Soul King, and our eyes met. He was staring at me, his eyes wide with shock.
Come to think of it, his face looks familiar... Someone in the Bleach universe who looks like this...
As I pondered where I'd seen his face before, the boy opened his mouth.
"How... How do you know the names of 'those things'?"
"Huh?"
I scratched my head at the random question.
The boy stared at me intently with his large eyes, as if he wouldn't back down until I gave him an answer.
His eyes were already naturally big, which was slightly intimidating, but being stared down by them so fixedly was genuinely uncomfortable.
However, his question was quite difficult to answer, forcing me to hesitate for a moment.
But the boy, seemingly unsatisfied with my hesitation or perhaps frustrated by the brief silence, spoke again.
"I shall ask you once more. How is it that you know the names of 'those things'?"
"Hmm..."
The words were the same, but the voice now carried frustration and irritation rather than surprise.
Man, what an impatient brat.
I smacked my lips and gave him an honest answer.
"If you ask me how I know something I already know, I don't really have an answer for you..."
The boy seemed to have lost his words at my response, simply staring at me blankly.
The Soul King, the nameless boy, and me.
There were several people present, but no one opened their mouth.
...I mean, why are you not reacting after being the one who asked the question?