Post by Zephyros on Aug 16, 2009 11:02:43 GMT -5
So he stood there silently as if trapped within his own mind. The black locks of his hair settling from the cool breeze over his closed eyes. This teenage-looking Shinigami stood with his black robe tied shut by the white sash that matched the robe's edgings. Within this sash was his Zanpakuto to his side. The nearly four-foot scabbard glowed with a ominous crimson that upset the peacefulness of the surrounding area.
"Do you think you're up for this, Abra?" Inquires the voice deep within this teenager's mind.
The teen does not respond. He simply stands there with his right hand ready to draw the Zanpakuto by its one foot grip.
"Alright, You know what you have to do, then?"
Abra's honey brown eyes flash open with a deadly look of concentration in them as his right hand grips the hilt of his blade, then, with a ferocious tug he rips the rusty-looking steel blade from its scabbard and swings it in a wide arc to the right before bending his wrist and pulling the blade in front of him.
"Come out and play, Constrictor!"
His body pulses with a quick burst of spiritual pressure that it is not yet accustomed to handling and the ground beneath him forms a ring of dust and air. Suddenly, his body pulses and he begins to yell out; exhausting the power that surges through his body as the ring explodes around him in a purple light.
Abra was leaking such high-levels of reiatsu that it would be almost impossible to let him go unnoticed. The levels climbed higher and higher, almost as if somebody was unleashing their Bankai. "Ahhhhhhh!!!!" He screams at the top of his lungs as his Zanpakuto shatters into a million pieces that decintegrate in the purple light.
In his right hand, a collection of energy begins to concentrate while the purple tower of Bankai-level energy pours into the winds. A new weapon begins to form, one more twisted than any being can imagine. The blade is black as marble with an unholy cross that starts from the deformed guard, which arcs from the butt of the sword towards the outer point of the cross, and then the rest of the blade shoots out from the bottom of this cross into a sharpened point.
Suddenly, the purple tower of energy explodes away into the air, leaving Abra standing in the middle of the forested area panting heavily while purple reiatsu steams from his body and waves across his sword like a necrotic flame.
"Not bad, Abra. Not bad at all. But there is one tiny problem." Says the voice within his head.
"What... problem...?" Pants the tired Shinigami as he struggles to hold himself up. The large concentration of power that had escaped through every opening in his body exhausted the poor teenager to the point where retaining clear vision became a struggle.
"Well, when you were focusing on trying to expel as much energy as possible, you did just that. I'd say you released as much energy as a Captain would going into a Bankai."
"Hah...! That's good, right?" Abra says with a hopeful smile spread across his face.
"In any other instance that is unprecedented and a great achievement; however, in this instance you only released this level of energy and failed to retain a single ounce. In actuality, you just expelled all of your spiritual energy."
"So... basically I released all of the energy I would normally gain?"
"That, and some of the energy you had before you attempted to release. So technically, you are now weaker than before, but only with a sharper blade."
Abra couldn't speak. He was feeling his own failure dragging him down and his legs were beginning to shake like leaves. Darkness began to spread across his vision like a virus and his breathing was becoming extremely shallow. He was losing consciousness.
"Oh no you don't! You're not about to quit, are you?"
"I... can't..." He felt like if he stood up for much longer he would throw up, but his spirit kept him on his feet.
"You were the one who suggested we train more often. You were the one who wanted to get stronger. This was your idea, Abra. And I'll be damned if I let you quit just because you're at less than 10%. You want to reach a new level? You have to push. You have to learn how to fight even when at 0% performance levels."
"But that's-"
"It is only impossible when you let it be impossible! You shouldn't even be able to release that much spiritual energy at your level, yet you did. Some would view that as impossible, but you accomplished it, didn't you? Now hold yourself up!"
Abra was speechless. After all the annoying things Shinigami-sama has made him do; out of all the crappy pop quizzes and general 'parenting', he couldn't help but be thankful for having him as a guiding spirit. Abra plants his feet firmly and they spread out beneath him. He takes hold of his Zanpakuto's grip and his body stops shaking.
"Unleash your talons and ensnare your prey, Demonic Cage!"
The purple flames, which were fading from his blade just a second ago, explode into a roaring purple inferno that expands around the Shinigami. The purple fire licks across the trees, but no heat is produced by them. Slowly, the purple light begins to solidify and take the shape of serpent-like beings. Finally, they flash into silvery linked chains that wrap around Abra's Shikai blade several times before rearing up into the air like a mass of predatory serpents.
"Go!"
The chains rush off into random directions around the Shinigami, targeting trees, rocks, anything that gave off even a small hint of spiritual energy. Upon selecting a target, the chains collect together in groups and form a cage around their prey, and then they emplode on themselves, wrapping tightly around whatever they had selected. Once the chains lock, Abra's muscles clench tightly and sends a pulling strain through his body.
"Concentrate, Abra." The spirit says calmly to him.
"I... can't hold them..." Abra struggles to get out as he feels his muscles being stretched to their limits.
"This ability is not an attack, Abra, nor is it defensive, either. This is simply used to buy time. Now how much time is up to you. The more you ensnare, the more energy it takes to sustain the chains, am I right? You have to be able to hold these objects for as long as possible."
"Dammit... I... need to hold... on...!" The area around him looked like a steel spider's web with Abra's struggling body in the centerfold like a black widow.
"Fight it, Abra. You're working towards three minutes now. Try for five."
"It's too... much!" The chains around the area begin to slack, but are still held in place. Some of the trees and rocks had impressions made by how tightly the chains wrapped around them, but these chains were slowly beginning to shift from these indents as the concentration being applied to them weakened.
"Thirty more seconds, Abra. I forbid you to stop."
"Aagghh!!" The teen yells out as he feels every muscle in his body burst into flame. The chains, in an effort to stay tightly wrapped around their prey, tug against the black metal of his released sword, almost like they were pulling it out of his grip. The chains felt like they could do a much better job were they in the possession of anyone besides this rookie Shinigami, but they had no choice but to obey him. They wanted to feed. They wanted to devour the spiritual energy inside the objects they locked their fangs into, yet their wielder was not strong enough to even hold them in place long enough to start.
"Abra, release!"
Abra gasps as the pressure, all at once, explodes from his body and all of the chains shatter into thousands of tiny pieces that fade to purple before being absorbed back into his sword. The Shinigami stumbles about to hold himself up, but the darkness encroaching his vision takes over completely and his right hand releases his weapon.
The marble blade thuds into the ground point-up before flashing back into the five-foot weapon it normally was. Abra's eyes roll to the back of their sockets as his head tilts backwards, overthrowing his balance and throwing him into the grassy ground below, completely unconscious.
"Do you think you're up for this, Abra?" Inquires the voice deep within this teenager's mind.
The teen does not respond. He simply stands there with his right hand ready to draw the Zanpakuto by its one foot grip.
"Alright, You know what you have to do, then?"
Abra's honey brown eyes flash open with a deadly look of concentration in them as his right hand grips the hilt of his blade, then, with a ferocious tug he rips the rusty-looking steel blade from its scabbard and swings it in a wide arc to the right before bending his wrist and pulling the blade in front of him.
"Come out and play, Constrictor!"
His body pulses with a quick burst of spiritual pressure that it is not yet accustomed to handling and the ground beneath him forms a ring of dust and air. Suddenly, his body pulses and he begins to yell out; exhausting the power that surges through his body as the ring explodes around him in a purple light.
Abra was leaking such high-levels of reiatsu that it would be almost impossible to let him go unnoticed. The levels climbed higher and higher, almost as if somebody was unleashing their Bankai. "Ahhhhhhh!!!!" He screams at the top of his lungs as his Zanpakuto shatters into a million pieces that decintegrate in the purple light.
In his right hand, a collection of energy begins to concentrate while the purple tower of Bankai-level energy pours into the winds. A new weapon begins to form, one more twisted than any being can imagine. The blade is black as marble with an unholy cross that starts from the deformed guard, which arcs from the butt of the sword towards the outer point of the cross, and then the rest of the blade shoots out from the bottom of this cross into a sharpened point.
Suddenly, the purple tower of energy explodes away into the air, leaving Abra standing in the middle of the forested area panting heavily while purple reiatsu steams from his body and waves across his sword like a necrotic flame.
"Not bad, Abra. Not bad at all. But there is one tiny problem." Says the voice within his head.
"What... problem...?" Pants the tired Shinigami as he struggles to hold himself up. The large concentration of power that had escaped through every opening in his body exhausted the poor teenager to the point where retaining clear vision became a struggle.
"Well, when you were focusing on trying to expel as much energy as possible, you did just that. I'd say you released as much energy as a Captain would going into a Bankai."
"Hah...! That's good, right?" Abra says with a hopeful smile spread across his face.
"In any other instance that is unprecedented and a great achievement; however, in this instance you only released this level of energy and failed to retain a single ounce. In actuality, you just expelled all of your spiritual energy."
"So... basically I released all of the energy I would normally gain?"
"That, and some of the energy you had before you attempted to release. So technically, you are now weaker than before, but only with a sharper blade."
Abra couldn't speak. He was feeling his own failure dragging him down and his legs were beginning to shake like leaves. Darkness began to spread across his vision like a virus and his breathing was becoming extremely shallow. He was losing consciousness.
"Oh no you don't! You're not about to quit, are you?"
"I... can't..." He felt like if he stood up for much longer he would throw up, but his spirit kept him on his feet.
"You were the one who suggested we train more often. You were the one who wanted to get stronger. This was your idea, Abra. And I'll be damned if I let you quit just because you're at less than 10%. You want to reach a new level? You have to push. You have to learn how to fight even when at 0% performance levels."
"But that's-"
"It is only impossible when you let it be impossible! You shouldn't even be able to release that much spiritual energy at your level, yet you did. Some would view that as impossible, but you accomplished it, didn't you? Now hold yourself up!"
Abra was speechless. After all the annoying things Shinigami-sama has made him do; out of all the crappy pop quizzes and general 'parenting', he couldn't help but be thankful for having him as a guiding spirit. Abra plants his feet firmly and they spread out beneath him. He takes hold of his Zanpakuto's grip and his body stops shaking.
"Unleash your talons and ensnare your prey, Demonic Cage!"
The purple flames, which were fading from his blade just a second ago, explode into a roaring purple inferno that expands around the Shinigami. The purple fire licks across the trees, but no heat is produced by them. Slowly, the purple light begins to solidify and take the shape of serpent-like beings. Finally, they flash into silvery linked chains that wrap around Abra's Shikai blade several times before rearing up into the air like a mass of predatory serpents.
"Go!"
The chains rush off into random directions around the Shinigami, targeting trees, rocks, anything that gave off even a small hint of spiritual energy. Upon selecting a target, the chains collect together in groups and form a cage around their prey, and then they emplode on themselves, wrapping tightly around whatever they had selected. Once the chains lock, Abra's muscles clench tightly and sends a pulling strain through his body.
"Concentrate, Abra." The spirit says calmly to him.
"I... can't hold them..." Abra struggles to get out as he feels his muscles being stretched to their limits.
"This ability is not an attack, Abra, nor is it defensive, either. This is simply used to buy time. Now how much time is up to you. The more you ensnare, the more energy it takes to sustain the chains, am I right? You have to be able to hold these objects for as long as possible."
"Dammit... I... need to hold... on...!" The area around him looked like a steel spider's web with Abra's struggling body in the centerfold like a black widow.
"Fight it, Abra. You're working towards three minutes now. Try for five."
"It's too... much!" The chains around the area begin to slack, but are still held in place. Some of the trees and rocks had impressions made by how tightly the chains wrapped around them, but these chains were slowly beginning to shift from these indents as the concentration being applied to them weakened.
"Thirty more seconds, Abra. I forbid you to stop."
"Aagghh!!" The teen yells out as he feels every muscle in his body burst into flame. The chains, in an effort to stay tightly wrapped around their prey, tug against the black metal of his released sword, almost like they were pulling it out of his grip. The chains felt like they could do a much better job were they in the possession of anyone besides this rookie Shinigami, but they had no choice but to obey him. They wanted to feed. They wanted to devour the spiritual energy inside the objects they locked their fangs into, yet their wielder was not strong enough to even hold them in place long enough to start.
"Abra, release!"
Abra gasps as the pressure, all at once, explodes from his body and all of the chains shatter into thousands of tiny pieces that fade to purple before being absorbed back into his sword. The Shinigami stumbles about to hold himself up, but the darkness encroaching his vision takes over completely and his right hand releases his weapon.
The marble blade thuds into the ground point-up before flashing back into the five-foot weapon it normally was. Abra's eyes roll to the back of their sockets as his head tilts backwards, overthrowing his balance and throwing him into the grassy ground below, completely unconscious.
