Sora floated in an abyss...
His soul seemingly drifting.
Everything felt cold.
Not the gentle kind of cold, like a breeze on a winter morning.
No, this was the deep, bone-chilling kind—the kind that felt like it was dragging him into the abyss.
And somehow, this place felt familiar... it felt safe, as if he had existed in such a place for two years, as if this was the earliest feeling that his body could remember—this state between life and death.
Sora could hear Rukia crying.
He could feel Uryu's life flickering.
No.
No.
He didn't want this.
He didn't want them to cry.
Didn't want them to hurt.
Didn't want to be the reason they despaired.
He was okay.
He was alright.
He just...
Wanted to live.
Wanted to protect their smiles.
Wanted to be the light in their world.
Yet, the world was so cold.
So, very, very cold.
And then—
Everything shifted.
Sora's world turned into something else.
An endless void. A space that felt both infinite and claustrophobic.
And standing before him—
A man.
At first, Sora thought—Yhwach?
Every Quincy had a piece of him within their souls. It would make sense.
And Sora was already in a fighting position, ready to throw some hands if need be. After all, throwing hands with Yhwach wouldn't be that bad.
He got some decent martial arts training; he was ready to knock this unc to sleep.
But no—
There was no mustache.
No overwhelming hatred.
Instead, there was... warmth.
Sora frowned. "Okay, not gonna lie, I was expecting a bearded asshole, not some mysterious dude giving me fatherly wisdom vibes. Who the hell are you?"
Once again, his bluntness was on full display for the whole world to see.
The man smiled.
"You know who I am."
Sora squinted. "Uh, no? I really don't."
The man's voice remained calm. "I have always been with you, Sora. Since the day you were born. Since the moment your soul came into existence."
Not one of those people. Those cryptic people. What did Sora do to deserve this? How the fuck does he get out of here?
Sora narrowed his eyes. Well, that's not ominous at all.
"Okay, great, mysterious talk is fun and all, but I kinda need to go back," Sora said, crossing his arms. "My friends are out there crying, and I'm not really into the whole 'dead' thing, y'know?"
The man chuckled. "Time flows differently here. One year in this place is but a few minutes in the world outside."
Sora froze.
Was he about to turn into a 1,000,000,000,000-year-old guy in the body of a 16-year-old... No.
Rukia.
Nothing would stop him from feeling her gentle arms and her warm body against his.
He loved his girlfriend, okay? And he would not let anyone else enjoy cuddle time with her. He would be damned before he let that shit happen.
"...Oh. Well. Shit."
Still, though, this place didn't feel real.
Yet Sora felt like he knew who the man was.
It wasn't the king of bums.
Whatever the man was, he was hella strong.
The man raised a hand.
A scene unfolded before Sora, like a vision reaching across eternity.
"The world was once a vast, endless sea," the man began. "A primordial existence without form, without purpose. Stagnant for millions of years."
Sora watched as the ocean of existence remained still.
"Then... a soul was born."
A single figure emerged in the endless waters.
And in an instant—
The sea was split.
The world became three.
The Human World.
Soul Society.
Hueco Mundo.
Sora's eyes darted around the vision. And then he noticed—
Hell.
It had always existed. Always been separate.
"The cycle of life and death was formed," the man continued. "The world was in balance."
Sora frowned. "Okay, cool story. But where does all the bad shit come in?"
Because he knew for a fact he wasn't here just for some history lesson. There had to be a purpose.
And also, he had friends waiting for him on the other side. He had to join them.
The man turned to him, eyes unreadable.
"If good exists," he said, "then so too must—"
"Evil."
The moment Sora spoke, the vision changed.
A monstrous being appeared.
A creature of pure destruction.
Sora felt an instinctive chill run through him.
The world trembled before its existence.
The man continued. "To maintain the balance, the one who split the world allowed himself to be sealed."
Sora's eyes widened as he watched.
The being of light—the original soul—
Did nothing.
It allowed itself to be chained.
To be dismembered.
Sora's expression twisted in disgust.
"Okay, I gotta ask—did you have a pain fetish or something?"
The man turned to him. "What?"
"I mean, come on." Sora gestured wildly at the vision. "You're, like, God, and you just let them do that? Personally, I wouldn't let that slide."
The man chuckled. "Your attempts at gaslighting me will not work, child."
Sora clicked his tongue. "Dammit. Was worth a shot."
Yes... Sora had attempted to gaslight the Soul King. Bite him. He saw his chances and took them.
Sora crossed his arms, still frowning. "So... that means Yhwach is your kid, right?"
He wondered if the man would be against Sora hitting the griddy on Yhwach's grave. Yes, he hated him that much.
The man didn't confirm or deny.
Sora exhaled. "Welp. Hope you're not salty about me planning to murk him."
Well, at least he was honest.
The man's gaze didn't waver. "I would rather you speak to him first, before resorting to violence."
Sora tilted his head. "Yeah... no promises."
Sora had his ski mask at the ready. No talking shall be done—only hands will be thrown.
The man sighed.
He knew this was as much as he was getting from the boy.
A/N....oh my, wonder what that is