Chapter 11: The Null Bond
The collapse of the Order of the Obsidian Eye solidified Dawn's reputation not just as an anomaly, but as a metaphysical executioner.
The students now feared his silence more than any demonic roar.
Fenrir Alistair Blivixis, however, was not finished forcing the Academy to comply with their own obsolescence.
"The Catalyst requires a protective layer for Fold excursions," Fenrir stated to the petrified Shinigami Bonding Institute director.
"He requires a companion spirit. Schedule the bonding ceremony immediately."
The Director, a powerful Abyss Seraph whose career depended on the rigid laws of Marking compatibility, trembled.
"B-but, Mr. Blivixis… the Tier Null subject has no Markings, no lineage, no life force we can catalogue! Shinigami bonding is impossible—it will incinerate the spirit!"
Fenrir merely smiled.
A silent promise of pain.
"Then prepare for an unprecedented success, Director.
Chaos adheres to a superior form of contract."
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I. The Ceremony of Contradiction
The ceremony was held in the largest temple of the Institute—
a circular hall adorned with ancient sigils of Order and Causality.
The entire Platinum Tier staff and the most elite student cohorts were forced to attend, standing in rigid, terrified silence.
The ritual began with the summoning of a pool of purified arcane energy, designed to attract a compatible spirit.
The Director performed the ritual with frantic precision.
The pool glowed… pulsed…
and then died instantly upon nearing me.
"Impossible," the Director whispered, defeated.
"The energy is rejecting his very presence. He is non-local to the Shinigami realm."
Fenrir stepped forward, tapping his cane once—
the sound echoing across the chamber.
"The boy does not summon a familiar bound by your Order," Fenrir declared.
"He summons a Constant bound by my chaos."
He placed a hand on my shoulder, channeling a pure stream of Inversion Energy from the Blivixis Gradient directly into the ritual pool.
The pool did not glow.
It inverted—absorbing all light, frequency, and stability, collapsing into a small black-and-silver singularity.
From that singularity, the Cosmic Shinigami emerged.
---
II. Hush: The Null-Form
The spirit was no wolf or drake.
It was a perfectly flat silhouette of black-and-silver energy.
No face.
No sound.
No presence detectable by any demidemon sense.
To the Academy, the singularity simply vanished—
the air near me just grew colder.
But I saw it in my Echo Mapping.
Hush was an extension of my sight.
A Null-Form existing between frequencies.
A silent entity anchored to the Gradient.
The Director looked around wildly.
"Where is the spirit? There is nothing!"
Fenrir pointed his cane toward my chest—directly at the Inverted Mark.
"The Shinigami is a living void, Director," Fenrir announced.
"It is invisible and silent to your Order-based senses.
It is known as Hush.
And he has already established the bond."
---
III. The Inversion Anchor
The moment Hush fully merged with my Inverted Mark, the Academy's monitoring devices began to scream.
A high-frequency rupture tore through every sensor—
diagnostic constructs shattered, collapsing like overloaded circuitry.
The bond wasn't just unstable.
It was impossible—a violent marriage of realities.
My energy signature shifted.
I was no longer merely Tier Null.
I became a self-contained source of chaos.
The Inversion Energy within me was now anchored, controlled, and amplified.
I had become the Inversion Anchor—
a living conduit capable of wielding Fenrir's power without Fenrir's direct input.
The terror in the room was absolute.
They had just watched the birth of the Cosmic Shinigami bond—
a feat their laws considered unthinkable.
"Congratulations, Inverter," Fenrir said, withdrawing his cane.
"The foundation is complete. You now possess the capability for the Silent Strike. Hush will ensure your Inversion Energy is precise and utterly untraceable."
He turned to the frozen Director.
"The new assignment for the Inverted Phenomena Observation Wing is to document the development of the Null Bond.
Failure to record the impossible will result in the nullification of your entire lineage."
The Director nodded, terror sealing his face.
The Academy was no longer its own master.