Violent shockwaves rippled outward from Aizen as the epicenter. Dust and shattered stone rose in sheets, a storm that swallowed sky and sun alike, burying the ruins beneath layer after layer of sand and debris.
The body that had been torn apart by Moyu's destructive Reiatsu began to knit itself back together at impossible speed. Within a single breath the gaping wound closed into a grotesque cross-shaped cavity, and the Hōgyoku once again settled into its place, fused into flesh. At the center of his forehead a vertical slit opened, like an unblinking eye, exuding a sense of alien dread. From that moment onward Aizen was no longer human.
His Reiatsu had surpassed the boundary of Shinigami and Hollow, his strength and speed now existing in a realm where even the senses of captains could no longer follow. Purple beams gathered, enfolding him until he hovered suspended within a cocoon of brilliance. Behind his form unfurled three vast pairs of butterfly wings, translucent and luminous, as his long brown hair streamed like a banner in the storm. The figure that descended was no longer a captain of Soul Society—it was something closer to a god.
"I have won, Mr. Moyu." His words carried no weight of emotion, his white pupils still and shallow as a dead lake, as if all feeling had been stripped away. "It matters little whether the Hōgyoku resides within me or not. Its essence, its power, even my appearance itself, all belong wholly to me. You cannot take it, and so you cannot destroy it."
Moyu regarded him in silence, expression unaltered. Aizen's evolution had not followed the course he had foreseen, yet panic never touched him. Since pushing his Reiatsu into its new state, his perspective too had changed. He sought only to see if anyone at this stage could truly match him. Aizen, having breached the walls between Hollow and Shinigami, indeed had that qualification.
Stretching his arms, Aizen flexed against the surge of power, his tone as level as before. "Perhaps the Gotei places high hopes on you. But this alone is not the foundation of confidence. Show me greater power, Yū-kun. Only then are you qualified to stand against me." With measured steps he advanced, blade in hand.
"Let us begin."
In the next instant both figures vanished. Their departure carried no ripple of Reiatsu, no sign to track, only sudden absence. A moment later Aizen was upon him, Zanpakutō cleaving down with such force that the very air split apart in a thunderclap.
Boom.
The collision of their strikes unleashed an impact that shook the ruins, captains staring upward in stunned disbelief. None could follow the arc of Aizen's movement—his Shunpo had become so swift it resembled instantaneous teleportation. All present understood: he now towered beyond them, beyond everyone except Moyu.
"Impressive strength," Moyu observed, leaning slightly into his stance, Lanyin steady in his grip as his calm gaze met Aizen's.
"Pity…"
The words trailed, and the smile on Aizen's lips froze. His confidence fractured in an instant.
"…it is still so insignificant."
Pooh—
The hiss of steel through flesh cut the sky, blood erupting like molten fire across Karakura, the aftermath scattering scarlet through the storm winds. The captains, who had braced for Aizen's resurgence, stared upward in mute disbelief. The blood was not Moyu's. It was Aizen's.
Their blades clashed openly, not by trickery or ambush, but suddenly Aizen's chest was torn open as though by countless invisible edges. Blood mist and disintegrating spirit particles billowed, and under the weight of injury his arms dropped uselessly to his sides. His Zanpakutō slipped free, tumbling earthward like a dying star.
"What… what just happened?"
"Why is Aizen the one grievously wounded?"
"Captain Moyu… his strength is—too much."
Kyoraku Shunsui's eyes narrowed, but even his tongue failed him. Words could not match the spectacle.
Moyu's black Reiatsu coiled thickly around him, his presence vast and cold as a demon god risen from the pit. His voice carried through the storm, steady and merciless. "Do you recall what you said earlier? Where the wind flows, the domain is mine. Lanyin's ability is not weaker than Kyōka Suigetsu. Has the Hōgyoku's evolution dulled your reason, Aizen?"
For the first time Aizen's pupils contracted in naked fear. His body began to close beneath the Hōgyoku's forced regeneration, but Moyu's oppressive Reiatsu pressed down like the weight of the world itself. Every attempt at movement felt resisted by malice, every surge of power stifled before it could take form. His defenses would not rise.
Moyu's blade fell.
The sky split like canvas torn apart, a silent roar echoing through the heavens. When steel met flesh, the sound of rending came again.
Pooh—
Blood erupted in a storm, spraying high before falling as crimson rain, drenching the battlefield. The truth was plain: to transcend boundaries did not erase hierarchy. Between them lay a gulf of superior and inferior, and Moyu embodied the higher path.
The captains saw hope flare anew. It was one-sided, devastatingly so, and their hearts seized upon the dawn of victory. They believed again—Moyu would defeat Aizen.
Aizen's body split cleanly at the waist, the halves falling apart in the air, his vacant eyes bereft of life. Yet from the hollow cross of his chest the Hōgyoku blazed forth, violet brilliance bursting to dye the heavens lavender.
Boom.
A vast column of light speared into the sky, its force crushing Karakura beneath waves of destruction, spreading outward endlessly. Within that light, a white silhouette took shape, reborn in radiance.
{🥳 The Fanfic is now fully completed! 🎉
You can access 250+ advance chapters right now on Patreon—available for subscription or purchase! ✨
👉 patreon.com/Oreski
🥰 Your support keeps me motivated and eager to create even more amazing stories! 💖}