After a kiss, all things ceased to exist.

In a brief instant, a cold voice sounded in Lod’s mind.

"Keep going, you have to keep going."

"No matter what happens, no matter what you see, no matter what you feel."

"Please, please... persevere."

"Don’t give up on yourself. I will always be by your side until the end of time."

...

...

...

Cold, damp, suffocating, and pain.

In a boundless, pitch-black sea, Lod drifted aimlessly like a floating tree.

However, his eyes were tightly shut, and his brows were tightly knitted together with a pained expression. He looked like he was unconscious.

No, he was not unconscious!

Lod’s consciousness was still very clear, but he was unable to move, and he could not even feel anything.

His five senses seemed to have been blocked. There were eyes that could not see, nose that could not be smelled, ears that could not be heard, mouth that could not be said, hands that could not be touched, and even the spiritual energy in his body had disappeared.

This feeling was simply terrible!

After losing his five senses and spiritual energy, he became an ordinary person again.

However, an ordinary person like him was immersed in this cold ocean. There was no way for him to borrow strength under his feet. No matter how hard he tried to stand firm, he finally fell into the water in a few seconds.

The almost suffocating water flowed into his mouth and nose, filling his nose and throat, invading his lungs and stomach.

The cold water filled his stomach. The long period of suffocation made his lungs burn with pain. Due to the desire to survive in his heart, Lod struggled several times and finally reached the surface of the water before his physical strength was exhausted.

"Ah...wheeze...wheeze..."

A mouthful of fresh air poured in.

Following that, Lod’s stomach began to spasm and he spat out the water he had just poured in.

However, a wave suddenly rose on the calm surface of the sea, once again throwing him, who had just been freed, into the deep water.

The sudden wave made Lod completely unprepared. Caught off guard, he choked even more water, and his whole body seemed to be torn apart. Although it was water, it became like a fire, burning his lungs and brain.

Finally, he suffocated.

Darkness enveloped him, and his consciousness gradually sank.

Lod died. He was drowned to death and experienced the pain of suffocation and choking water. His face became distorted because of this.

...

Cold, damp, suffocating, and painful.

In the endless black sea, Lod drifted aimlessly like a floating tree.

The consciousness of sinking was awakened, and he woke up again.

However, this time, he felt that something was missing, but he could not remember.

The feeling of suffocation came again. It was like a burning fire that was full of erosion. The water rushed into his body from his nose and mouth. His lungs and brain became muddled. This pain aroused the will to live. Lod struggled again.

He did not have time to think about why this happened.

He also did not have time to find out the truth of his resurrection. He just wanted to live!

Plop. plop.

Water splashed everywhere. He flopped about in the water like a dry duck.

However, this sea did not have any buoyancy. Even if he tried all the methods, he could not get out of this desperate situation.

On the contrary, he was continuously dragged down.

There was no light in the dark water, and the bone-chilling temperature made his body gradually stiffen.

His consciousness was once again shrouded in darkness, sinking into the depths of this unknown ocean.

Lod was dead.

...

Cold, damp, suffocating, and painful.

In a boundless, pitch-black sea, Lod drifted aimlessly like a floating tree.

His perception had dropped to the freezing point. His consciousness was on the verge of dissipating. Lod, who was struggling bitterly, repeatedly choked and drowned in the water. The intense feeling of death was like being tightly wrapped around by a poisonous snake, taking away all of his oxygen.

Countless thoughts began to emerge one after another.

They were like volcanic lava bursting out, recklessly destroying and trampling on his will.

Lod tried to sum up his experience, but it was useless. The summarization experience was useless. The new methods he tried were useless. His will to survive was slowly worn out. The endless torture and pain slowly pushed him to the edge of cliff.

He died again.

...

Cold, damp, suffocating, and pain.

In the endless black sea, Lod drifted aimlessly like a floating wood.

There were countless struggles, countless attempts, and countless resurrection.

He finally knew what he had lost.

As he died time and time again, his emotions were gradually stripped away. It was as if he was peeling silk from a cocoon, little by little, pulling out from his brain.

The dark water was as silent as a dead.

Lod, who had lost everything, hugged himself like a baby.

A voice gradually grew louder in the sea of his brain, echoing in the dark water, regardless of whether he was willing to listen.

Kill yourself.

Kill yourself.

Kill yourself.

I’m so tired. I’m really tired.

As long as I die, everything will be better.

I don’t need to endure this pain anymore. I don’t need to be tortured anymore. I don’t need to work hard anymore. I don’t need to struggle anymore.

Yes.

As long as he died, everything would come to an end.

The silent urging seemed to stab sword’s sword into his heart and ruthlessly erased his will to live.

A faint flame seemed to be extinguished in the wild wind.

Was he still dead?

No, he couldn’t die!

Why was he struggling?

Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!

Chi, he looked like he was showing off. He was clearly in so much pain that he wanted to die, so why didn’t he give up?

He wouldn’t give up, he couldn’t give up.

He already couldn’t figure out whether he wanted to struggle to live or to die of relief.

Even the belief of trying to survive seemed to be gradually being stripped away.

"No! No! No!"

"It’s not like this, it’s not like this, it’s not like this!"

"I can’t die! I can’t die! I can’t die! I can’t die! I can’t die!"

"Hold on! Don’t give up!"

"I remember. I remember those times."

"When I am happy, when I am sad, when I am in pain, when I am lonely. No matter what kind of suffering I am going through, I will never give up on myself. I will look up at tomorrow’s sunshine and search for something I love!"

"Even if you are trapped in a quagmire, do not give up on ’struggling’."

"No!!"

Along with a hysterical roar, Lod finally opened his eyes.

The dark ocean that imprisoned and tortured him silently disappeared along with this roar.

What replaced it was a pure and clear world.

The clear water reflected the color of the sky. The vast blue sky stretched as far as the eye could see. White clouds dotted it like a rarely seen canvas, reflecting the most clear and beautiful scenery in this world.

A never-before-seen peace soothed his pain.

There was a lingering sadness in Lod’s eyes that could not be wiped away. Tears seemed to slowly fall from the corners of his eyes.

He seemed to have died once, but he came back to life again.

It was just that pain, powerlessness, exhaustion, and even the feeling of wanting to give up his life and use death to free himself made him unable to forget it.

tick-tick...

A drop of tear fell into the clear water surface, instantly creating ripples.

Lod slowly lowered his head. The clear water surface reflected his face. It was a young man with short black hair and looked a little decadent. His appearance was not handsome, but his eyes had a kind of determination.

"Long time no see. Lod."

He looked at that strange face, and tens of thousands of thoughts flashed through his mind: "So this is my Bankai, no wonder you stopped me, now... I finally understand."

...

In this clear water, countless corpses and bones were piled up.

They were buried in the deepest depths like mountains.

A pair of beautiful eyes that flickered with cracks, like the dazzling light of the stars, silently watched him through this clear mirror-like water surface.

One up and one down, but it seemed to be separated by a world of its own.