30 Break the Pas

Wisps of light flew before Rey's eyes as his vision changed. Vibrant trees and flowers lined his view. In front of him was Aizen, Riza, and princess Yu. Rey wished to call out to Riza and Aizen when Soma suddenly broke free.

\"Aizen!\" Rey cried out, but Soma took over his body in that instant. He teleported to Aizen and manipulated gravity just as Rey remembered. 'This isn't real, this isn't real!' Rey felt chills run down his spine as he watched in horror. He wanted to puke, but he couldn't even do that.

'I can't let Aizen die!' Rey's instinct to fight kicked in as he used his willpower and took his control back from Soma. After taking control and sending Soma back to his prison, Rey kicked the princess backward and fled with Aizen and Riza.

'I could have saved them and stopped all of this if I had more power back then.' Rey felt even worse. 'If only I was stronger… if only I could have protected them. It was possible.' Biting his lip until it bled, Rey thought he cleared the trial until time rewound and he was standing before Aizen and Riza again.

'I don't understand, I saved them! What else can I do?' Rey's back was drenched in a cold sweat. Looking at Aizen being pulled apart, his face paled and panic overwhelmed him. He pushed out of the prison and kicked Soma back into it, taking control. He killed princess Yu and kept everyone safe, but moments later, he found himself back at the beginning.

Each change he made seemed to be pointless. He killed Soma in one of them, yet that didn't stop the nightmare he faced. He suppressed princess Yu instead of killing her and stayed, but time kept rewinding. Rey knew within his heart that even if he tried to change what occurred that day tens of thousands of times, the result would still be the same. Aizen's death, king Sig'car's rage, the blood he had on his hands, he couldn't accept that reality.

After trying to change his nightmare several hundred times, Rey accepted it and stopped trying to change what couldn't be changed; he decided to focus and let it shape him. Rey gave way for Soma to do as he did in the past, and Aizen was killed before his eyes for the second time. Rey watched and wept, vowing to get his revenge tenfold.

The memory collapsed and Rey appeared back into priest Kioko's office. Tears continued to roll down his eyes.

\"Did you find your instinct to fight ye-\" Rey didn't give him time to finish that sentence and punched him in the stomach. Priest Kioko felt the air leave his body as he hunched over.

\"What the hell was that for‽\" Priest Kioko shouted, \"I'm helping you, brat!\"

\"You asked for my instinct to fight?\" Rey glanced up at him, \"there it is.\" Puzzled, priest Kioko stood blinking at Rey.

\"I see, very well then.\" he felt wronged, 'what kind of disciple punches their master after asking a question‽ Though he did ask and Rey gave him an answer…'

\"What's next in mental training?\"

Coughing once, priest Kioko continued. \"How have you been cultivating so far?\"

Rey felt uneasy, Hibari had told him not to tell anyone of that method otherwise it might bring harm to him. \"I can't tell you… It's a secret.\"

\"Then I'll find out for myself.\"

\"What are you doing?\" Rey instinctively backed away as priest Kioko moved closer.

\"Relax, this won't hurt.\" priest Kioko shoved his hand onto Rey's forehead and tried to force his way into his mind.

\"Weird, your willpower is far stronger than I had imagined. You want me to help? Stop resisting and let me see your consciousness.\"

\"A-alright. Just be gentle.\" Discomfort could be seen all over Rey's face.

'Why does this situation feel so wrong?' Priest Kioko felt reminded of something but disregarded it as he searched through Rey's thoughts.

\"I see… This is intricate, I suppose that Soma or someone like him designed this? Yes? Using your mind like that, converging your inhibited thoughts, establishing a mental connection to your soul, and forcefully uprooting your desires, this is an extremely complex technique. I'm surprised you can even use it right now.\"

\"Are you able to execute this technique too?\"

Priest Kioko looked at Rey strangely, \"I need preparation to use such a technique.\"

\"I see…\" Rey thought more about it, \"So I have greater willpower than you?\"

\"Listen, brat,\" He pointed his finger at Rey, \"there is more to it than just willpower. The things of this world are complex, and it depends on your talent whether you can learn something like that. You must be very talented.\" He nervously laughed, beads of sweat slid off his forehead. \"I can't have my own disciple knowing he can do something his master can't do.\" After thinking about how he phrased it, priest Kioko felt proud of himself. He really was a good, inspiring person!

\"You really can't do it. Does that mean you're talentless?\" Those words drilled into priest Kioko's mind as he almost coughed up blood.

\"You…\" He wanted to say no, but the more he compared Rey's growth compared to his own, he couldn't even refute it! Compared to Rey, who else could learn such a complex technique while only being an adept? He got up and looked out the window. \"Just keep doing what you're doing! And come back tomorrow for more training.\"

When he turned around, Rey had already vanished and left him twitching his eyebrow.

'Damn that kid.' Priest Kioko thought. After his experience today with disciplining Rey, Priest Kioko felt scammed. 'Who told me having a disciple was easy and a good way to learn more. Who's the disciple here‽' That day, unannounced to everyone else, priest Kioko had a mid-life crisis and decided to quit his job soon and join the frontlines of war.