Once Lilinet appeared, Fujimoto Tōma imdiately noticed the change.
Starrk’s pressure had weakened. Not by much, but enough to be asurable. Even so, it still surpassed the level of an average captain-class shinobi. Ordinary Hollows could still barely approach him without collapsing.
Which ant Starrk’s idea had failed from the start.
Splitting himself to gain companions was never going to work.
Tōma looked at Starrk, then at Lilinet, unsure what to say. He had spent his entire life thinking about how to grow stronger. Starrk, anwhile, had chosen to weaken himself instead.
Lilinet’s existence didn’t truly help Starrk. It only created a fatal flaw.
They were two bodies, but one soul. If Lilinet died, Starrk would die with her. If Starrk fell, she would vanish as well. No growth, no benefit, only risk.
Anyone rational would have rejected that choice.
And yet... when Tōma considered the crushing loneliness embedded in Starrk’s presence, the decision beca understandable.
Perhaps even among the elite Arrancar, Starrk was the type whose released form rely restored him to what he should have been from the beginning, rather than pushing him higher. Still strong. Still terrifying. Just not growing.
"If only he’d found soone earlier," Tōma thought. "If he’d ford a proper weapon, taken the normal path... he might’ve gone further."
Too late now.
"...What a waste," Tōma muttered softly, then shook his head. It wasn’t his place to judge another person’s choice.
Lilinet suddenly leaned closer, eyes fixed on him.
"You sll really good," she said, licking her lips.
Starrk froze in place, looking quietly horrified.
Tōma glanced at her. If a human had said that, it might’ve ant sothing else. Coming from Lilinet, it was literal. Hollows were drawn instinctively to dense chakra. Tōma was practically a beacon.
Starrk felt it too. He just cared more about companionship than hunger.
"Sorry," Starrk said awkwardly. "She doesn’t think before speaking."
"It’s fine," Tōma replied calmly. "She couldn’t do anything anyway."
Even rged, Starrk wouldn’t pose a threat to him. Lilinet alone was even less of a concern. Most of Starrk’s power clearly remained with the main body. Her pressure barely reached that of a mid-tier Hollow.
Lilinet clicked her tongue in annoyance but said nothing. She could feel it. The gap was real.
She glanced at Starrk. "Why did you even let out? There’s no point. Now that you’ve found a real companion, talking to yourself just looks stupid."
Before Starrk could respond, she dissolved back into twin pistols and snapped into place at his sides.
Starrk scratched his head, embarrassed, and looked at Tōma.
"She’s not wrong," Tōma said. "You’re still one person. You can’t truly keep each other company."
"I know," Starrk replied with a tired smile. "But even that is better than walking this place alone forever."
Tōma nodded. Everyone had their own kind of pain.
After a pause, Starrk asked, "My weapons ca from my own soul. Then where did the soul in your blade co from?"
The question hit like a hamr.
Tōma stared at Mirrorshard.
How had he missed sothing so obvious?
The woman within the blade had her own will. Her own personality. That ant she was a complete soul.
Souls didn’t appear from nothing.
When Tōma first held an unawakened blade, he’d sensed a dormant presence inside it. Back then, he hadn’t understood this world’s rules well enough to question it. Besides, he rembered blades having spirits, so he’d accepted it without digging deeper.
Now the truth was unavoidable.
The blade’s growth wasn’t mysterious at all.
Training a weapon wasn’t just pouring chakra into steel. It was feeding a soul with pieces of one’s own. Chakra was soul matter. Over ti, the spirit inside absorbed enough to form an identity shaped by its wielder.
That was why Mirrorshard shared his mindset.
Why she was just as obsessed with progress.
Different souls, similar cores.
And suddenly, the connection beca obvious.
Hollows grew stronger by consuming souls.
Weapons grew stronger by absorbing their wielder’s chakra.
Different thods. Sa foundation.
Which ant one thing.
Mirrorshard could beco a Hollow.
And when she did, the chakra she carried would follow.
If Tōma reclaid that chakra afterward...
"Fusion," he thought. "Release. Or sothing beyond it."
The entire path ahead snapped into focus.
He felt Mirrorshard tremble slightly in his hand.
Tōma smiled and brushed his thumb against the blade. "Relax. I’m not going to push you that way."
The trembling stopped.
He knew how despair could force transformation. Abandonnt would do it. Ti would do the rest.
But that wasn’t acceptable.
A Hollow born from hatred would one day have to rge back with him. That was not a future he wanted.
Better to wait. Better to let the change happen willingly.
He wanted to see what kind of Hollow a blade could beco without resentnt.
Starrk watched silently, sensing sothing important had just settled.
After a long while, Tōma looked up and smiled. "Thanks. You helped more than you realize."
Starrk returned the smile, relaxed and faintly lazy. "Glad to hear it."
He hesitated, then asked quietly, "So... you’ve found your answer?"
"An idea," Tōma said. "Whether it works, I’ll only know when I finish it."
Starrk nodded, then swallowed. "Does that an you’re leaving?"
The fear in his voice was unmistakable.
Tōma almost laughed.
"I won’t stay here forever," he admitted. "There’s nothing left for in this place."
Starrk’s shoulders sagged.
"But," Tōma added, "I’ll stay a while longer."
Starrk looked up sharply. "You will?"
"You helped ," Tōma said. "So I’ll help you. I’ll teach you how to control your power. Once you stop crushing everything around you, you’ll be able to approach weaker Hollows. You won’t be alone anymore."
"...Control?" Starrk repeated, uncertain.
"Co on," Tōma said, turning away. "I’ll explain as we walk. Maybe we’ll even find you another companion."
Starrk followed, hands in his pockets.
He didn’t believe it would be that easy. He’d searched for centuries.
But for the first ti, he felt like the desert wasn’t quite so empty.
They sparred along the way. Briefly. Repeatedly.
Each ti, Starrk went down before Tōma even ward up.
It made everything clear.
Starrk had power, but no control. No experience. No instinct.
Hollows died before reaching him. He’d never truly fought.
Compared to monsters who learned through combat, he was painfully inexperienced.
By the end of the day, Starrk understood sothing important.
If Tōma had been his enemy, escape would’ve been impossible.
And whatever lay beyond Tōma’s next step... it was far beyond his imagination.
Still, Starrk resolved to improve.
At the very least, he wouldn’t waste a companion’s ti.
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