Chapter 133: Suguha's Descent into Obsession
[Soul Blade](Growth-Type)
Rarity: Purple · Rare (Special Soul-Type Item)
Growth Rate: 0.1% (Requires the souls of 100,000 ordinary intelligent beings to level up; the stronger the soul, the greater the growth gain.)
Skills: [Soul Devour] [Spirit Seizure]
Soul Devour: Consumes the soul of the stabbed target.
Spirit Seizure: Seizes the target's soul memories.
Soul Devour + Spirit Seizure: Activating both skills simultaneously allows the wielder to devour the target's soul power and seize all their memories. Afterwards, the wielder can choose whether to merge with the target's soul vessel.
Description: A Zanpakutō abandoned by the Shinigami due to its ability's aberration. For special reasons, it did not dissipate but instead gained independence, evolving the power to devour souls and continuously grow.
When Franklin revealed the Soul Blade's data to Mith and Asuna, both women looked bewilderedly at him.
"Why are you showing us this? How's this supposed to prove you're really Franklin?"
Franklin directly pulled the Soul Blade from his inventory and plunged it hard into his game avatar's abdomen—the fifteen-centimeter blade sank in completely.
The indescribable agony of having his soul torn apart made his legs buckle, and beads of sweat formed visibly on his forehead.
"The simplest function of the Soul Blade is to verify a soul's identity and strength. You can touch the hilt—it'll confirm who I am."
Mith and Asuna both gaped in shock. Seeing Franklin's pale face, Asuna no longer doubted him.
"I was wrong, Mr. Franklin. Please, just pull the knife out quickly."
"Quit talking and just touch it already. It's already stuck in there—if you don't confirm now, wouldn't that stab be for nothing? If I pull it out and you change your minds, then what? Hurry up."
Mith looked both worried and amused. She stepped forward and placed her hand on the hilt. The moment her fingers touched it, she felt something strange stir deep within her. Somehow, without question, she knew—the person before her truly was Franklin.
The feeling was inexplicable, something no rational deduction or memory could replicate; it was pure instinct from the depths of her soul.
Just as she was about to release the hilt, she was abruptly pulled into a dark, mysterious void.
"Do you want to leave this game? Do you want to be my master? Pull the blade out… kill…"
"Ahhhhhhhh!!!"
A piercing scream rang out. Mith snapped back to herself, recoiling in alarm as she stared at the blade embedded in Franklin's abdomen with a disturbed look.
"This blade… it actually has a will of its own. Just now, it tried to tempt me into killing you."
Franklin's mouth twitched slightly. He'd already received feedback from the Dimensional Codex—it seemed forming a good relationship with the Soul Blade was going to be difficult.
"It's fine. The contract's backlash already punished it. Asuna, your turn. If you don't hurry, I really am going to die from this pain."
Without hesitation, Asuna quickly stepped forward and touched the hilt just like Mith. Two seconds later, she drew her hand back.
"Mr. Franklin, what's happening? I feel like… someone inside my heart is telling me that you really are Franklin. No matter how I try to reason otherwise, that feeling doesn't change."
Franklin yanked the blade free. The searing pain vanished instantly. After storing it back in his inventory, he let out a deep sigh of relief.
"I can't really explain it clearly. You can think of it as your true self speaking to you. Beyond that, I don't know either."
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed down the inn's hallway. Kirigaya Suguha rushed down the stairs, panic written all over her face. When she saw Franklin and the two women in the lobby—but no sign of Kirito—she lunged straight at Franklin.
"Where's my brother? Where's my brother?!"
She grabbed his collar and shook him violently. Franklin didn't resist. Bulma, seeing this, tried to step forward to help, but Franklin raised a hand to stop her, and she could only sigh helplessly.
"That guy was never your brother. You should know that better than anyone."
Hearing that, Suguha froze. Her hands slowly loosened, and she collapsed weakly to the floor, her face pale as death.
Bulma tried to approach again, but Franklin stopped her once more.
"You knew the truth—so why stay by that guy's side? Was it really just for emotional comfort? Or is it that as long as he looked like Kirito, it didn't matter who he really was inside?"
Franklin's blunt words made Bulma, Asuna, and Mith glare at him angrily.
Suguha, however, suddenly pounced on him again, knocking him to the floor and pounding his chest with both fists.
"What do you know?! What do you know?! My brother can still be saved! He said—he said if I did what he told me, he'd bring my brother back! But now you've killed him—everything's ruined!"
Huge tears fell onto Franklin's avatar, their sorrow piercing through the data and into his consciousness. For a brief moment, Franklin felt her grief as if it were his own.
Realizing his emotions were being influenced, he quickly suppressed the feeling and waved his hand, projecting the Soul Blade's information before Suguha.
"He wasn't lying when he said that. He might be able to bring your brother back—but only the version who's already dead. Kirito's soul and consciousness have both dissipated."
"This is the proof. That said, it's not completely hopeless. There's still a fragment of his base soul left. Maybe, someday, that could be used to restore him."
Suguha froze mid-sob. "My brother… can still be saved?"
"Read through the Soul Blade's description first. Think about what I said after that. Otherwise, we'll just be talking in circles."
Holding onto that faint glimmer of hope, Suguha read the description carefully. The longer she read, the paler she became—until all color drained from her face.
When she finally looked back at Franklin, still pinned beneath her, her voice trembled as she asked, "If what this says is true… how could my brother still be saved? You're lying to me too, aren't you?"
Seeing her expression—caught between despair and the desperate wish to believe—Franklin didn't waste words. He reached into his inventory and handed her a small Kirito figurine.
"This contains what's left of your brother's soul fragment. With this, there's at least a chance—a tiny one—to bring him back. Remember, it's only a chance."
Suguha stared blankly at the small figurine in her hands. Franklin sighed inwardly.
The death game had driven her to place all her hopes on Kirito—her brother and, secretly, the one she loved. After that, Kirito's body had been taken over by a transmigrator, leaving her mentally shattered and consumed by obsession.
Now, Franklin needed to redirect that obsession—give her a new focus, a new goal. Only by stepping out of that madness could Kirigaya Suguha have any hope for the future.
Even if she later discovered that Kirito truly couldn't be saved, at least she wouldn't destroy herself in her delusion.
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