Bleach: The Convergence Tales Ch. 1

Chapter 1: Pilot

Humanity always has studied the meaning of life:

Why are we here? What are we supposed to do? Who created us? How are we supposed to go about our lives? When will our time come?

Many tend to forget the potential in which much of humanity has the ability to obtain, and constantly seem to destroy or displace such potential with the likes of war and tyranny. A depressing fact of life, but yet, there are many who seek to harness potential. Geniuses, prodigies, men and women with ambition and desire to know what lies beyond the surface of reality. To know the tricks of God, is to know the ideals behind the universe. When one person gets such a knowledge, only the supernatural can stop such a matter.

Kashgar, Northwestern China,

Kashgar has been a historical meeting place. It practically being a crossroads between Mandarin China, Russia, and Muslim states of Kyrgyztan and Tajikistan. Many would believe such a place would be kept under strict watch, it is. In the streets there is a mix of Chinese and Russian military personnel in heavy armor and patrolling infantry. At the same time, you will se a plethora of veiled women and bearded men of Islamic faith with many huge mosques rising in the distance. This is one of few points in the world where such an exotic mix of culture can be seen. It was quite beautiful, as well as dangerous.

Two such women were walking down the street to a large stone complex which bordered to a military camp. One was distinctively Chinese, the other was hidden under a long, black veil with eyes only being able to be seen. The Chinese lady carried a bag on her back, actually being dressed similarly to military personnel. She seemed to be escorting the veiled madam towards the complex, the Musilm lady seeming to have a large bulge in her abdomen, like she was pregnant. She was carrying life with her… but necessarily a child for that fact.

“Are you sure they will let us through, Sahti?” the Chinese woman spoke quietly in Arabic.

“Just remain calm, Xi. They won’t notice any difference with the metal detector. Nor will they act when we say we’re here to see Dao Din Jei.” The Muslim woman responded in the same language.

“I hope so.” Xi replied with a light sigh.

The two continued to approach the giant stone monastery that seemed to be the mix of a military fort and a mosque. It was both actually, and old mosque that was turned into a military base of joint Chinese and Military operations. The two women approached in a nonchalant fashion, not even fazed at the amount of firepower before them. The two Russian soldiers at the front gate noticed that with amused expressions.

“Oi, Nikolai, take a look at these two dames approaching.” The one soldier spoke in Russian, catching the attention of the other who was taking a smoke.

“Well, well, looks like she went curtain shopping.” Nikolai chuckled lightly, taking another deep inhale of smoke. “Wonder what this Chi-chi bitch is up to.”

“Well we’ll see.” The other mused as the two women approached them face to face, both soldiers baring their Ak-12 rifles while Xi only held a holstered pistol at here side.

“Greetings comrades.” Xi instantly changed her language to a fluent, accented Russian.

“Greetings to you madam. Wasn’t expecting you to speak something in Russian. I was ready to talk Mandarin.” Vyacheslav said with a small chuckle, causing both Nikolai and Xi to smile alone with him.

“On no, that is no problem. Mandarin, Arabic, and Russian I am all fluent in for I grew up here.” Xi said kindly to the guard, not showing any threat what so ever. Nikolai though, kept his eyes on the veiled woman, who just stood quietly as she stared at them.

“Understood. You would probably need that kind of knowledge to live around here.” He smiled to her now. “So there, what can I do for you and your mysterious madam?”

“Authorization: 143245. Word: Huang He. We are here to see Colonel Dao Din Jei.” Sahti spoke before Xi could even get out another word. She was in a hurry, she couldn’t hold this veneer for long. The two Russian soldiers though, seemed to be taken aback at the sudden words by the veiled women. They looked at each other in momentary shock, then gave a light bow to the women.

“Y-yes ma’am. Authorization received. Open the gates!” Nikolai yelled to the gatekeeper then stepped to the side for the women to pass. The gate slid open to the side, and all the other guards started to part ways for the women to pass. Xi looked at Sahti with incredulity, but the veiled woman just continued to walk on into the complex. Was she always like that?

Xi knew they had to have complete focus on the mission at hand, so she payed no mind to Sahti's mindset, thought she thought it was quite suspicious. Sahti played a vital role in the transportation. so it was to no surprise she was a little over focused. They were after all transporting such a renown discovery. A discovery only thought to exist in legend. Sahti kept her head in the game and focused on meeting up with Colonel Dao Din Jei. With focused eyes, one hand on her abdomen, and a partially hastened walk she continued into the complex with Xi to her right.

The two continued into the complex passing both building personnel and soldiers alike as they made their way through the giant stone threshold of the building. They made their way through the building, surrounded by visibly old stone walls and stone columns. After about thirty feet they turned into a corridor and down a staircase to their left. Xi kept an ever vigilant stare as she casually whipped her eyes around the corridor as they made the turn, she was after-all trained for such things. At the end of the corridor was another set of guards standing in front of a door way. This time the set of guards were visibly Chinese, the two approached.

“State your business.” The guard on the left spoke sternly in Mandarin as the women approached.

“We’re here to see Colonel Dao Din Jei, to discuss an important and most urgent matter.” Xi spoke in correspondence to the guards orders. “Authorization: 654912. Word: Origin.” Sahti quickly followed her last statement.

“Very well. Authorization confirmed.” The guard on the left spoke as he placed his left hand on the door, opening in for the two women. Sahti nodded as she allowed Xi to continue first through the door. Quickly after entering, the door was shut and a staircase lied before them.

“We’re almost there.” Sahit whispered to Xi as they made their way down the staircase. The staircase was winding a seemingly never ending as the two descended at least 6 levels below ground. Finally they came to the end, a doorless threshold they spilled into a rather large room. Xi’s eyes grew rather large as she marveled at the thousands of computers that made up the walls of the room. On each screen were images of different areas of the Asian continent. This was clear by distinct landmarks and tourist attractions they monitored. There were also people in the room, men and women alike dressed in lab coats that monitored the screens and took notes. The room was some kind of network. In the center of the room was a large rectangular table with many chairs surrounding it. A Chinese military man sat at the end of the table.

“It is quite amazing as to how arrogant human beings can be. Many indulge themselves to the point of obesity, such as the Americans. Or they into a drunken stupor, such as the Russians. Or even ourselves as a nation, where we overpopulate ourselves to the point where we stand shoulder to shoulder every time we walk into the streets of our capital city.” The Military Mandarin spoke in the native tongue in a rather metaphorical/philosophical tongue. The Mandarin sat at his desk with a knife in one hand and a piece of bamboo in the other, which had been sharpened into a impromptu knife. He turned his head to them both now, revealing a face that was not scarred, but was not pure either. There seemed to be a tattoo around his eye, it was that of the jaws of a mandarin dragon, as black as his thin beard and suave coif of hair. “Do you believe that, Xi? Humans just being a piece of indulgence?”

“It would not surprise me if that was the truth sir. We indulge and we crave with never a want of satisfaction.” Xi said in an equally philosophical tone, giving a respectful salute to her superior officer that was Colonel Dao Din Jei. The said colonel rose from his seat with the knives still in his hands.

“Indeed, indeed. Such as our economy and military. We continually, express our need to expand, consume, indulge. We eat, we digest, we excrete, and it all ends as waste.” Waste of time, waste of resources. For many do not see the light of rising above humanity.” He spoke to Xi but approached her veiled counterpart. He slid the metal knife into its sheath and held the freed hand out to her, “May I?” he asked the Muslim.

“You may.” Sahti said simply as se extended her hand to the colonel. With a suave smile, he gently took the hand brining up close to his face so he could kiss the hand in respect to the woman.

“It is always a pleasure to see the beautiful veils of which you adorn, Sahti. So I imagine that since you two have returned… you have recovered it from the Terra Cotta temple?” he asked, his eyes rising to the dark irises of the Tajik.

“Well of course. You didn’t think I’d dare return without it now did you?” Sahti spoke in confidence as she took the colonel’s hand in which he grasped hers and lied it on her belly.

The colonel’s eyes widened softly as his hand touched her belly. To his surprise it was warm and calming yet electrifying. As his palm made contact it began to glow a mysterious violet. He could feel energy surge through his body as his pupil’s glistened. He couldn’t help but let his jaw slightly drop at this unique phenomenon. He began to drift into almost a trance.

“Everyone out!” Dao Din Jei ordered as he quickly snapped out of the trance, snatching his hand away from Sahti’s stomach. Following his order’s, everyone in the room besides Xi, Sahti, and the colonel himself cleared out towards the staircase. “Now let’s get a look at it now, shall we?” the colonel spoke softly as he signaled the two women to head towards the table in the center of the room.

“Place it here.” He said as he activated a button under the table where Sahti and Xi had come to. A compartment on top of the table near the women almost immediately opened as a large cup-like stand soon arose. It was big enough to cradle the object that was under Sahti’s gown and still give it a little room for comfort.

“As you wish.” Sahti spoke as she reached both arms around to her back, unlatching some kind of strap under her dress. She then pulled up her dress revealing a uniform similar to Xi’s as a large orb, about the size of a large ball. It appeared to be made of stone before Sahti grasped it. Just as quickly as her palms touched the sphere, the stone-like shell dissipated and the sphere turned a deep violet as energy from where her palms where ripped throughout the orb, almost like water. She placed it on the stand and just as quick as her arms left the orb it turned to stone again.

“Magnificent.” Colonel Dao Din Jei marveled at the orb as his eyes grew large once again. He slowly approached the orb as Sahti parted from in front of it.

“Can finally get rid of this dress too…” Sahti murmured to herself. She quickly tore the mix of loose curtain-like dress drapes, revealing the similar military uniform in which Xi wore. However, her face was still veiled, but not by a shawl. The entirety of her head, including her hair, but excluding her eyes was covered by a tight balaclava, creating a mystique to the woman as well. She set the dress and shawl to the side as she looked back down at her bare hand, seeming to stare at it for a moment. She felt like she was holding pure power, like lighting in a bottle. Just the aftertaste of it was quite invigorating.

“As you can see, it only reacts to a touch. That is why no other former archaeologists have found it, because it was disguised in a pillar and looked like an unassuming piece of furniture in the tomb.” Xi added on to an explanation to her superior officer, obediently folding his hands behind her back while the colonel continued to speculate over the orb.

“The ultimate cover. It would not surprise me if each one has a different camouflage to adapt to each environment. Truly, an amazing piece of divine engineering.” He murmured, gently reaching his out for the stand again. There was another moment of silence before the stone turned into a glowing aura again, the purple light flooding the room in an illustrious light. “My intrigue grows each moment I gaze upon this… I wonder as to how much power these unassuming orbs can hold… what they can indulge me with.” A smile crossed the haired lips of the commanding officer.