After reaching the end, the four-colored beams of light swirling around Sora disappeared.
However, he had already adapted to this wondrous world. Even after the phenomenon around him vanished, he could still sense his own consciousness space.
At that moment, the darkness behind the torii gate faded rapidly, revealing a winding path leading upward.
It was narrow enough for only one person to walk. Patches of moss grew in the cracks of the stone steps, covering the winding path with a layer of green fuzz.
Even though there was no light source, Sora could see the winding path clearly. Aside from the path, everything on both sides was total darkness.
"Go up. The Soul King is right ahead."
Ichibē Hyōsube's voice came from the darkness again.
Sora didn't hesitate. He passed through the torii gate and stepped onto the stone stairs.
This time, he didn't encounter any other trials. He walked up the stone stairs smoothly and arrived at a sea of clouds.
Sora turned to look back, but the path he came from had vanished. The stone steps beneath his feet had merged with the rolling, boundless sea of clouds.
In the sea of clouds, he could faintly see a black shadow.
Realizing that the figure must be the Soul King, he strode forward and arrived in front of it.
Sora finally met the Soul King.
However, the Soul King's form surprised him a little.
The Soul King before him was just a thin shadow.
On the entire shadow, only the eyes with four pupils had any color.
Seeing those eyes, Sora realized that at this moment, the Soul King's will resided within this shadow.
"Is this 'Sacred Domain' the Soul King's consciousness space?"
Sora recalled Ichibē Hyōsube saying that the consciousness space he entered was a 'Sacred Domain' that required the Soul King's permission. So, it was highly likely this was the Soul King's consciousness space.
"That is correct. You are currently inside my consciousness space."
"This is not the first time we have spoken in this form."
The Soul King's voice was very gentle. His four-pupiled eyes didn't focus on Sora, as if he were looking into a distant future.
"What was separated before was a part of the shadow. What you see now is the remaining part," the Soul King continued.
Sora examined the thin shadow. He indeed felt a sense of familiarity. He had felt this familiarity in the 'Shadow of the Soul King' contained within other Soul King fragments.
However, aside from the familiarity, he couldn't sense anything else.
"Yhwach has obtained the Hōgyoku fused with the power of Hell. He already possesses abilities that surpass the limits of a Quincy."
"Therefore, I intend to gift this remaining part of the shadow to you."
"However, after this part of the shadow left me, it also developed intelligence."
"It comes from the same source as you, but you cannot coexist."
"Devour him, or be devoured by him."
As soon as the Soul King finished speaking, the eyes with four pupils on the shadow quickly vanished.
The Soul King's consciousness left the shadow.
The 'Shadow of the Soul King' seemed very hostile towards Sora. The moment the Soul King's consciousness left, it launched an attack on Sora.
Suddenly, a dozen shadow tentacles shot out towards Sora.
Sora reacted quickly. His figure flashed repeatedly, dodging all the stabbing shadow tentacles and creating distance.
After passing the previous trial, he could now release his own power in this space.
In the next moment, the whites of Sora's eyes turned black, and half a mask formed on his face.
After his Hollow power improved, his Hollowfication changed. The mask that originally covered his whole face now only covered the left half.
A black blade made of shadows appeared in his hand.
A black streak of light flashed past, and the distant 'Shadow of the Soul King' was instantly sliced in half.
However, the 'Shadow of the Soul King' that was cut in half quickly changed shape, turning into two 'Shadows of the Soul King'.
Cutting damage was ineffective against it!
The two 'Shadows of the Soul King' moved in unison, sending more shadow tentacles towards Sora.
This 'Shadow of the Soul King' was not a Shinigami, nor a Quincy, nor a Hollow. Therefore, it showed no abilities of a Shinigami, Quincy, or Hollow.
"Bakudō #61. Rikujōkōrō."
Sora raised his hand, and dozens of meter-long Reishi bars instantly formed in the air.
With a wave of his hand, all the Reishi bars pierced into the bodies of the two shadows.
Sora's current realm was beyond the understanding of an ordinary Shinigami.
With a mere gesture, he cast 'Rikujōkōrō' multiple times.
Suppressed by the Reishi bars, the 'Shadow of the Soul King' tried to split into more shadows to break free from the suppression.
But Sora didn't give it a chance. The shadow beneath his feet expanded rapidly.
His shadow instantly spread and covered the 'Shadow of the Soul King'.
Through his growth over the years, Sora had surpassed this 'Shadow of the Soul King', which had been cut off at the same time as him, in every aspect.
In an instant, the outcome was decided!
The 'Shadow of the Soul King' seemed to realize its end and struggled desperately.
However, no matter how much it struggled, it couldn't escape Sora's shadow.
Subsequently, the 'Shadow of the Soul King' weakened rapidly and was absorbed by Sora's shadow.
After absorbing the 'Shadow of the Soul King', Sora's Spiritual Pressure didn't change, but he felt he had gained a new ability—Absolute Blind Spot.
He had become an absolute blind spot that could not be sensed, divined, observed, or read by anything!
"Isn't this the perfect counter to 'The Almighty'!"
Sora had been worrying about how to deal with Yhwach, who had allied with Hell. Now, with 'Absolute Blind Spot', his chances of winning had increased significantly.
With 'The Almighty', the future Yhwach saw was not a single straight line.
The future he saw was like grains of sand in a desert.
Each grain of sand represented a future.
Therefore, what he actually saw were countless possibilities.
The stronger Yhwach became, the more futures he could see and manipulate.
Changing the future was just jumping from one grain of sand to another.
Sora's 'Absolute Blind Spot' ability meant that in every single grain of sand, he was in a state that could not be sensed, divined, observed, or read.
In other words, even Yhwach's 'The Almighty' couldn't observe Sora's future, and thus couldn't change his future!
"The unobservable trait has solidified into an ability," Sora thought to himself.
As a transmigrator who also possessed the status of a Shadow of the Soul King, he already had certain unobservable traits. Now, this trait had become stronger and evolved into the 'Absolute Blind Spot' ability.
The passive effect of 'Absolute Blind Spot' made Sora's past and future unobservable. If he actively entered the 'Absolute Blind Spot' state, then his present could not be observed either.
Sora noticed the surrounding sea of clouds fading away. He soon returned to the room where Ichibē Hyōsube was.
With a thought, Sora actively entered the 'Absolute Blind Spot' state.
"You should have already seen..."
Ichibē Hyōsube stopped halfway through his sentence, suddenly stunned. He couldn't remember who he was talking to.
And yet, Sora was standing right in front of Ichibē Hyōsube.
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