In this world, maybe I wasn’t a spirit in the truest sense – but I was close enough, especially when considering the anatomy of the Zanpakuto. Indeed, if I wasn’t a spirit, my Zanpakuto certainly were. And when Zhao drew in the power of my Zanpakuto to his body, he was changed bit by bit.

The head of a bird man looked at me, not quite a bird but not quite a man; it screamed and screeched in agony. “What is this?!” he cried out at me, “What is happening to me?!” I wasn’t entirely certain if he knew, anymore. Wings burst from his back and flapped to thunder him towards me.

I swung down and clipped those wings instantly. Zhao didn’t know how to fly, not like I did. I swung my claws down on his broken form again, then again, then once more. Constantly, he drew from my Zanpakuto to heal himself and, in doing so, only further sealed his fate.

Mutated from the spirits within my Zanpakuto, Zhao was not the man he used to be. He was a creature that tried to grasp at me helplessly from its position on the ground. “You’ve lost, Zhao.” I said to him very simply as I finally, at last, reached down to grasp my swords, “Give it up.”

“N-N-Never…! Never,” Zhao shook his head and swung up the blades from my grasp, slashing at me with them and wreathing the Zanpakuto with more flames, “Never! I am…!” I caught the burning blades in either hand. Certainly they hurt, but past the fire I continued to hold them further. A quiet moment passed between us. “…what…?”

“You’re like a virus,” I explained, “You infest a body, convince other cells that you’re one of them, then start eating away from the inside-out. But, see, viruses aren’t really alive, are they? No, you’re worse.” I thought about it, “You’re a parasite. You attached your chi to my Zanpakuto to convince my body that my own flames were able to hurt me.” I glared at him, “You haven’t been using your flames. You can’t, not anymore. You’re too dependent on my swords.”

“Not… Not cutting… How…?” He rasped at me, “My swords aren’t…”

“They’re not your swords,” I hissed at him, “These are Zanpakuto. These are weapons forged by deities to protect a god of universal proportions – they are made from the empty facets of broken down souls belonging to thousands of people – they are the id and ego, the deepest parts of the personality of their wielder. And you’ve been violating them.” I finally pulled the swords free from his grasp, relishing in the sensation of holding them once more. Finally, I was complete. Their sheaths fell from Zhao’s hips and jumped to mine, affixing themselves to their rightful places.

“No…”

“The implications must be lost on you,” I said, “A monster like yourself wouldn’t care about doing something like that to other people. Maybe, then, you’ll care about what I’m going to do to you.”

“Not… Not your Zanpakuto…” He reached for the blades as I stepped away. His eyes watered as I sheathed them. “Mine… My Zanpakuto…”

“…Oi,” I tilted my head, “Did you even listen to a word I said? These are the expression of my soul. Zanpakuto don’t just belong to people, they are people. Their wielders and they are the same.” He just wasn’t getting it. My rage at all he’d done was disappearing now that I could see the shape of his body. I doubted he’d ever be able to stand, let alone exist in the world of humans in this place. Never again, not for Admiral Zhao–

“I am… P-Poe…”

“What?” a strange feeling came over me. “What else do you want?”

“I am… Poe R.R. Acti…”

And chills ran throughout my body. It wasn’t a cold feeling in my gut. It was the feeling of all the heat in my body excising itself at once. Something about me felt dead, “…what?”

“I… I have spat… in the halls of gods…!” Zhao reached up to me, to take my swords. He forced himself in a position to try and throw a desperate punch. “I’ve made deals with devils scarier than you…!” He threw fire at me and I felt it wash over my face. It did nothing. “…I… I am a failure… I’m worthless… Worthless…” blood seeped from his eyes and either ear as a strange, liquid substance drippled from his mouth as foam.