Kambei Shimada's thoughts were a mess, and though his body moved around, scouting the area for injuries, and he operated at his best, his spirit was not in it.

His spirit stood inside his soul, facing Mercy, Justice and a third figure, a blindingly white figure. Nameless.

"You have failed me." He mumbled. "And I have failed you. Mercy mislead me, and Justice did not help. And I let you."

Kambei's face slid into his hands. "I...I cannot do this any longer. I cannot walk around carrying two different, almost opposing beliefs on my belt. I would rather die."

Nameless's glow faded a tiny amount, and Mercy and Justice suddenly seemed to become a little less solid.

"Kambei." Nameless said in a strange, echoing voice. "You did what you thought best. And it wasn't. However, your last actions, the actions that led to you placing yourself under Satoshi, those actions were just and showed yourself mercy. Your course for wisdom is just beginning."

"But you represent ideals." Kambei moaned. "Ideals I cannot live up to, yet you make me."

"Ideals are our better selves." Nameless intoned. Again, it's glow faded and Mercy and Justice became even more transparent.

"Only through devotion to that higher cause can you attain your true power, Kambei. Yes, you achieved bankai nearly 150 years ago. That means nothing. Your bankai is flawed. Your zanpakutou is flawed. But now you can fix it."

Kambei's head snapped up, and suddenly he was gone from his mindscape. In front of him stood Satoshi. Everything was black.

"Sir." Kambei said with great respect. "Did you hear what my zanpakutou said?"