Are you scared?

【 Bleach || Chapter 549 】

He’s out! Captain Hitsugaya got him!

"Predestined… to live as mere puppets."

Why did this feel so familiar? 

"Are you saying those fears we cannot control ourselves are what we thrive off of?" She replied simply, wheels in her head still turning, "We should fear things like the future, we have already done the past… Death is inevitable for all, and suffering, well. That cannot be helped.

"But… what we should truly fear- what the real threat to us, is the innate and immediate response we give. The knee-jerk reaction to something. The thing we share with every living being: instinctual fear. The thing that tells us to duck when a sword swings our way, the thing we stride to overcome to become so-called good warriors…

"Is this what you speak of?"

Once more her attention focused on him, lips taught.

"Does this tie into the idea we cannot fight our fate? No matter how many times we struggle, no matter how loud we scream… we cannot stray from those things we fight unless an act of cruelty or god strikes us off course - which never happens outside of the exceptionally rare…"

Doomed to forever be something she never wanted to be… Her struggle with the topic became readable over her entire physique, as if a weight pulled her down. Shoulders drooped, hands relaxed once more to her side, fingers still trembling. Her voice quieted, eyes sullen.

"Indeed, it is what gives us structure. That which we cannot escape...the enemies that are chosen for us...the battles that are already lost before they begin. Only the Gods can dictate our outcome. Fear is just that; retaliation against them. We all strive for humanity. For independence. At the core of our very beings is the truth, however, and nothing makes us more scared than the things we cannot understand."

"When we come to accept our fate and let it guide us, there is no fear left to dwell on. Nothing holds us back. It is then we discover our true fate; the one always aching to be released. What is it you fear? What is it you believe will never set you free?"

It was something she enunciated with her words. A monster of charm and wit, the Quincy would prey upon it, already seeing his weakness and swooping in for the kill. Without the fluff of his influence, his message was simple: give in to your impulses. It was only then that a person could truly be set free from the fear keeping them in place-- after that, instinctual fear was all that was left, and such a thing could only be released under certain circumstances. He knew she felt it currently, thanks to his power, though his way was not the only one.