The Vacuan closest to him charged at the figure when something that Ray least expected occurred.
The figure raised his right hand and formed a glowing purple bow. It was extremely similar to the Quincy Kojaku that Ray had. The figure drew and fired, sending arrows made of Reishi at the incoming Vacuan, killing it immediately. He then fired at a rapid rate, taking down the group of Vacuans without a hitch.
Ray watched on with a stunned expression on his face. He had no doubt about it when he saw the figure draw and launch the Reishi arrows in rapid succession. This man was definitely a Quincy.
The figure, after killing the Vacuans, turned around to leave when he spotted Ray staring at him. Immediately, he faced Ray and drew and launched an arrow at him.
Ray reacted just as fast and dodged with Hirenkyaku while drawing his Kojaku bow. He landed a few feet from where he was before, which now had an arrow embedded at that exact position.
"Scarily accurate," Ray noted internally as he prepared for a fight, but the figure didn't attack again. He was just standing there, not doing anything, probably observing. The figure then slowly raised his hands and dropped the hood of his cloak from over his head. That's when he saw his face.
The man looked like he was in his mid-30s, with a lean but imposing build. He had one golden, one black eye. He had regal cheekbones and a sharp jaw. But this man was paler, colder. His hair was long and pure silver-white, reaching his mid-back, wild and loose.
{A/N: IMAGE HERE}
The man spoke in a deep voice, one that held years of knowledge, yet couldn't comprehend the scene in front of him.
"Who are you? Why do you have those powers? Were you born with it? Are you a Cursed One too?" he asked in rapid succession, not giving Ray any time to answer.
"Whoa there, buddy. Hold your horses. Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Ray said.
The man nodded. "Indeed, you're right, boy. I made a minor mistake in my hurry to get answers. Very well, listen. I am Yhrael, a Cursed One. I was born with no magical powers but had the innate ability to absorb what I call Soul Particles. These particles strengthened me, and my abilities awakened when I reached the age of 15. Hence, I wanted to ask if the same applied to you," Yhrael explained.
Ray nodded a little while listening but felt something stir within him when the man told him his name.
'Yhrael... That sounds weirdly similar to Yhwach. Could this guy be the Yhwach of this world? The first Quincy?' Ray thought as he automatically replied,
"I'm Ray. And yes, I was born with this ability. However, before receiving my grimoire, I never really actively knew that I had this power. I simply thought I had extremely low magic power," Ray said.
The man nodded as it lined with his understanding of the power. "It seems you're also a Cursed One like me. Tell me, how did you manage to get a grimoire without magic power, though?" Yhrael asked.
Ray shook his head. "I wouldn't call it a grimoire." He raised his left hand and showed Yhrael his Quincy cross. "This cross, when triggered with Reishi, will collect the mana in the vicinity to FORM a grimoire." Saying this, he demonstrated.
Seeing the grimoire form, Yhrael's eyes widened. He was also born with the same powers, yet he didn't have any cross like that which could harness the mana in the air. Heck, this is not even possible for the Cursed Ones, as they are quite literally cursed by mana.
"This..." he muttered in shock. "This is an anomaly. Are you sure you have zero magic power?" Yhrael asked Ray, to which he nodded in affirmation.
Yhrael opened and closed his mouth, unable to make sense of the situation. Meanwhile, Ray's brain pieced the puzzle together.
'I see. So I was born in this world with the power of Quincies. It just activated when I turned 15. Also, I was able to get a grimoire thanks to the system, and probably because of the system's appearance, it became the medium through which the grimoire can harness the mana in the air. What a jackpot!' Ray smirked internally while he didn't make any change in expression on the outside.
Ray then asked Yhrael,
"What exactly is this Cursed One you keep speaking about?" Ray asked.
Yhrael took a deep breath and then explained, "This world is divided into two parts: the living and the soul. Those in the living world cannot interact with those in the soul world. They can only do so once they die. They will start passively affecting the area around them, creating what we call unnatural phenomena. These souls of the dead are harvested by a group called Grimm Reapers. These Grimm Reapers collect the souls of the dead and transport them to the Underworld, which is in another dimension entirely. There, the souls can't interfere with the worlds here. However, some souls, if not harvested properly or not harvested in time, will turn into Fallen Souls, or what we call Vacuans. They are these monstrous creatures with different features each. They are then killed by the Grimm Reapers. This is the basic working of this world," he said, looking at Ray straight in the eyes. Yhrael was risking a lot telling this to a stranger, but he decided to trust the similar abilities they shared.
"Then there are us. Usually, people from the living world shouldn't be able to interact with the soul world, but there are exceptions. And all of these exceptions never had a drop of magic power in them. They are known as the Cursed Ones since we don't have any magic power, which is said to be the effect of the curse of mana. For example, me. Once I reached 15 y/o and saw these souls floating around and Vacuans prowling the area I lived in, I was essentially interacting with the soul world. Also, another curious thing about the Cursed Ones is that we all have one ability or another that can replace the magic we lack. In your and my case, it was Soul Power, or as you call it, Reishi. It's the power that the soul world functions on. similar to how magic works in the living world. Do you get it now?" Yhrael said.
Ray nodded his head a bit.
'Holy... I knew about the Grimm Reapers and Vacuans, but... the soul world and the living world were new to me. Now that I compare them, this situation is basically the spitting image of the situation in Karakura Town from Bleach, where the Soul World was interacting closely with the Living World through Hollows and stuff. But Cursed Ones... that's new... could it be that Asta is also a Cursed One? Since he doesn't have magic power. But then what other power does he have that replaces the magic power?' Ray fell into deep thought. Yhrael just watched the boy as Ray contemplated.
After a few seconds, he looked up and asked, "Do all Cursed Ones have the ability to see the soul world and interact with it?" Ray asked.
Yhrael frowned a bit before saying, "I'm not sure. I've only met one other Cursed One beside myself and you. He was able to see the Vacuans like us, but his power was a bit... erratic. He had this notebook on him, which allowed him to make whatever he wrote into a reality. Heck, if he wrote just a person's real name, then that person WILL die. No fucks given. No hesitation. No turning back. He writes your name, and then you die within 5 seconds, either of a heart attack if he doesn't mention what you die by. Although he can only use it twice at full power, it's still amazing," Yhrael said with a nostalgic look on his face.
Ray looked absolutely dumbfounded though.
'HEY HEY HEY HEY HEY! REIO! ARE YOU FUCKING SURE YOU SENT ME TO BLACK CLOVER WORLD RIGHT? THEY HAVE A GUY WITH A FUCKING DEATH NOTE?!?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I CAN ACCEPT MERGING THE BLACK CLOVER WORLD WITH BLEACH MECHANICS BEHIND THE SCENE, BUT NOW WE HAVE A YAGAMI LIGHT RUNNING AROUND!?!? I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS!'
Ray screamed internally, yet once again he didn't let it show.
"Wow, that's... really broken..." Ray muttered to himself. Yhrael heard it and grinned.
"I know, right! Tsukishima is crazy good with it. But if someone pisses him off, he'll use that instant-kill mode of his book. Also, he can see the Soul World through his book. That's why I said I didn't know if all Cursed Ones can see the Soul World," Yhrael said.
Ray froze once again.
'REIO! I NEED A REFUND! THIS IS CRAZY! NOT ONLY DID YOU BRING A DEATH NOTE TO THIS WORLD, YOU EVEN MADE IT INTO A FULLBRING ABILITY!?!? GIVE HIM ENOUGH REISHI AND HE'LL SERIOUSLY START KILLING PEOPLE BY THINKING ABOUT THEM!'
Ray was absolutely overheating from all this information overload. He turned to Yhrael.
"Uhhh... give me some time to process this. Also, can I join you for the next two weeks if you're going to hunt Vacuans? I'm free anyway, and I need to work on my combat skills," Ray proposed.
"Alright. That's fine by me. I could use some help too," Yhrael replied. They exchanged their addresses and went their own ways.
Ray entered the Black Bulls HQ and headed straight to bed. It was afternoon, and everyone was doing work. Since Ray had just woken up today after two days of being knocked out, he hadn't been given a task. Hence, he headed straight to bed, his body exhausted mentally more than physically.
The moment he entered his room, he flung himself down and groaned out loud. Nero, sitting outside the window awaiting his arrival, heard it and flew in. The anti-bird landed on his bedside and gazed at him with a mix of worry and annoyance (idk, I feel like I'm destroying her character by making her show too much emotion...).
Ray groaned as he turned around, facing the ceiling and rubbing his forehead. "This is so fucking shit," he mumbled to himself—not loud enough to be heard by humans, but it was loud enough for a bird to pick up.
Nero landed on his chest and pecked it, getting his attention.
"Oh hey, Nero. Good afternoon," Ray said absentmindedly as he stroked her feathers. His thoughts were still on Reio and how to fuck him up the next time Ray sees him.
While he was mentally away, his body took comfort in stroking Nero's feathers, which in turn slowly lulled him to sleep.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_Author's Address_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
Guys, the update schedule is completely skewed for this week and the next week. i cant promise any chapters on the weekend since my exams are going on.
Extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused!
anyways, wish me luck!