Aizen's voice rang across the battlefield.
Qin Yi dove toward the ground, his icy gaze locking onto Aizen.
Hearing those words, Yhwach's eyes first widened in shock. Then came hesitation... and finally, temptation.
Following Aizen's outstretched finger, he looked at Qin Yi.
"Aizen, you've got guts," Qin Yi said coldly, his sword angled toward the ground. "But you're also unbelievably ignorant."
He had to admit it, Aizen was extraordinary.
His patience, his planning, his nerve... all of it was exceptional. Even after obtaining immense power, he had suppressed his own arrogance, staying hidden in the shadows without drawing attention. He had even gone so far as to call himself the weakest person present in front of everyone.
Such restraint could only come from someone with ambitions that reached the heavens.
And now, at last, he had stepped out from behind the curtain, openly declaring his goal to both Qin Yi and Yhwach, a terrifying ambition that left even Qin Yi astonished.
An Expert from a single world was actually trying to seize the world of a King.
Qin Yi had no idea whether something like this had ever happened in the King's World before, but it was certainly the first time he had seen it. Aizen's way of thinking shocked him.
It also made him feel something else: danger.
A chill ran down his spine. Only now did Qin Yi truly understand the danger every King faced.
When you stare into the abyss... the abyss stares back.
While Kings sought to conquer countless worlds and draw strength from them, those very worlds were watching them in return. One careless mistake, and everything could collapse.
No matter how powerful or mysterious a King was, Kings could still die.
"So, Yhwach," Aizen said with a cold smile, killing intent filling his voice, "he's alone, while there are two of us. Our chances are excellent. He may have killed that arrogant fool Chengdui, but there's no way he can defeat both of us."
Aizen didn't rush to attack. Facing Qin Yi alone, he wasn't confident, but if Yhwach joined him, their odds would improve dramatically.
To him, this was like walking a tightrope over a bottomless cliff. Every pore on his body tightened, and goosebumps rose and fell across his skin.
It was thrilling. And terrifying.
Yhwach narrowed his eyes, studying Qin Yi in silence. He was still hesitating.
"You want to kill me... and replace me?" Qin Yi's voice echoed across the battlefield. "You have no idea what lies beyond that gate. Your ignorance and arrogance will only end in despair."
Aizen's pupils contracted. Yhwach's expression turned serious.
"What's beyond the gate?" Aizen asked.
"A new world," Qin Yi answered calmly. "A world completely beyond your understanding."
"I don't need to understand it," Aizen sneered. "I only need to control it."
"A frog at the bottom of a well." Qin Yi slowly raised his blade, pointing it directly at Aizen. "Can you even see the sky beyond your little well? Hearing words like that is laughable."
He paused. "Even if you killed Chengdui... this world still doesn't belong to you. It belongs to me."
The instant those words fell, black-and-red energy erupted around him. The ominous aura surged violently, sweeping across the battlefield. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a hurricane that blasted outward in every direction.
Yhwach's pupils shrank.
He was still torn. A completely different world... a world unlike the one he knew... The temptation was overwhelming. If he could rule such a world, his life would reach heights he had never imagined.
Yet Qin Yi's warning also filled him with caution. It was true: he knew nothing about that world beyond the gate. He didn't know what awaited him there.
While he was still wavering, Qin Yi had already charged forward. His Zanpakutō crashed against Aizen's.
An explosion of dazzling light burst from the collision. Shockwaves rippled outward, sweeping across the battlefield as violent winds hurled shattered rocks like bullets in every direction.
Yhwach distorted through space several times, instantly escaping the blast radius. From afar, he watched the two figures flashing across the battlefield, clashing again and again.
His heart pounded uncontrollably.
Aizen's proposal was simple, but it was undeniably tempting. At the same time, Qin Yi, the unfathomable King, represented a power so vast that even Yhwach couldn't help but fear it.
Should he side with Aizen and gamble everything for a chance to become the ruler of a world... or follow Qin Yi, leave this world behind, and witness an entirely new future?
Either path promised enormous rewards. Either path carried enormous risks.
It was an impossibly difficult choice.
"Who do I choose..." Even Yhwach, a powerhouse in his own right, couldn't help but struggle. Unlike any decision he had made before, this one would determine the course of the rest of his life.
Just then, a streak of light descended from the sky.
Yhwach looked up, his pupils contracting as he recognized the newcomer.
"Li Yuanli!"
He wasn't particularly familiar with Li Yuanli, but he remembered him well. The aura surrounding this Qin Nation Expert had always felt strangely familiar, and only now did Yhwach finally realize why.
'The same aura as King Chengdui... and Qin Yi. This kid is a King too.'
As Yhwach was still thinking, Li Yuanli landed beside him.
"Yhwach. Our King's orders: come with me and conquer the Nie Kingdom."
Yhwach froze. "What?"
"Move. Now." Li Yuanli's tone left no room for argument.
Yhwach glanced toward Qin Yi and Aizen, who were still locked in fierce battle. "But... what about them? What about our King?"
"Our King's plan was complete from the very beginning. The outcome of this war was decided the moment it started. Come. As for Aizen... he doesn't understand anything. Even if he crossed that gate, all he'd accomplish is throwing his own life away."
Those few sentences shook Yhwach to his core.
Just as he had suspected, these outsiders possessed knowledge his world knew nothing about. To them, Aizen's grand scheme was nothing more than a joke.
Taking a deep breath, Yhwach finally nodded.
"...All right. How do we get to the Nie Kingdom?"
Li Yuanli pointed toward the Realm Gate. "Step through that gate with me."
The two of them headed toward it together.
At last, Yhwach abandoned his hesitation. He finally understood that Aizen's entire plan was a deadly trap. Anyone who followed him would only march toward certain death.
No matter how ambitious the frog at the bottom of the well might be, stepping out of the well didn't mean reaching the end of the journey. It only revealed another sky. Another world.
And if that world happened to be an endless desert, survival itself would become the greatest challenge.
Standing before the Realm Gate, Yhwach was overwhelmed by its majestic, mysterious presence. His soul trembled.
"Step through. Don't hesitate," Li Yuanli shouted.
Yhwach took a deep breath... and stepped into the gate.
Li Yuanli calmly followed him through.
(End of Chapter)
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