There were many things in life that one would naturally fail to understand: The concept of life, the meaning of existence, and even what the future may bring; however, such concepts had never existed for the King of the Quincy.
A-The Almighty, Yhwach of the Wandenreich.
Born without sense, nor thought, he'd began to understand the workings of the world by granting vestiges of his soul upon pious humans who thought him to be the incarnation of a deity. They prayed to him and made him offerings, and in turn, fortune would bless the weary and the desperate. They gained power, strength, and wisdom to tide through even the hardest of times, and in death, the karmic cycle would begin.
That which was granted to them in the form of Yhwach's soul would return to Yhwach and assimilate the gathered experience of all, thereby granting the King sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing.
Intellect and emotion were soon born along with benevolence. The people prayed, and in turn he never failed to grant out his blessings.
He saw them as his children. His people. He even went as far as granting his strength to combat the hollows that sought to devour them, and was in turn praised for his compassion and generosity.
All of it, everything came to an abrupt end as he saw his people slaughtered at the hands of the Shinigami. The world was rotten, cruel, and deplorable, built upon a system that should never have had naturally existed, but was instead forced into creation through the machinations of the oldest Shinigami.
It was a system controlled through the hands of a mindless puppet, one ridden of its own consciousness and body parts in order to serve as the world's lynchpin. World order? Keepers of the Balance?
It was all a load of bullshit propagated by the Shinigami. Everything was fabricated.
He sought recompense, change, and barring change, reformation not of the realms, but of a single united realm.
Destroy everything, and begin everything from the ashes of death. That was his goal, his very reason to continue the blood feud of a thousand years and liberate his father in order to garner the strength necessary to bring about an artificial world's ruin.
His father was the Soul King, and he, a rightful heir.
The only difference between him and his father, was that he had free will whereas his father's existence was nothing more than a husk to fulfill the selfish purposes of the Shinigami.
No longer. The Reich would rise once more and bring about revolution. Forgotten and written off as dead, there will come a time when the Shinigami will realize the error of their own arrogance.
That time was coming, yet not without preparation; the first of which was an existence that had troubled Yhwach since he'd first laid eyes on its form. It was an existence now known popularly by Shinigami and hollow alike as the Vasto of White.
It was only recently in the past few months that the reputation of the Vasto of White truly became notorious as a Lord of Hollows and an enemy on a level surpassing or equaling that of Aizen Sousuke.
Yhwach knew better. Just on the level of Aizen Sousuke? Ridiculous. Even if Aizen was strong, Yhwach was certain that Aizen could not do what he'd seen the Vasto of White do over a thousand years ago.
The Vasto of White had created a separate world, a new dimension bereft of the natural world's laws with the Vasto of White as its unmistakable sovereign. That world was called Hueco Mundo, the world of Hollows.
The Vasto of White alone was different to any other soul simply because he was not under the jurisdiction of the Soul King. He was different, he was free; a concept of which Aizen, a man with the goal of reworking the system of the Shinigami would undoubtably have had envied had he known.
Unlike Yhwach who sought the power through the throne of the Soul King in order to enact his world reformation project, the Vasto of White had the power to move worlds from the very beginning.
The Vasto of White overwrote the bounds of the world and replaced them with his own like a boundary line between fiction and reality.
It was the power of the King, and only those born from the blood of the Soul King or the Soul King himself should have had jurisdiction to alter the laws of the world.
The fact that the Vasto of White could so freely create Hueco Mundo led Yhwach to the theory that he somehow possessed a brother that he'd never known. The only glaring fault in his conjecture was that Yhwach had never foreseen a brother's existence in his depictions of the future.
It was a skill known as clairvoyance. Yhwach had it, and so too did the Soul King, yet neither had expected the emergence of the Vasto of White. No, perhaps his father had an inkling or an idea about who the Vasto of White truly was?
Even if Yhwach could see parts of the future, it was difficult to ascertain the future of family. That didn't mean that it wasn't possible though. He knew that he'd inevitably succeed in inheriting his father's power, and his father must be aware of this as well. Now the only question, was how much effort would he have to put in to glimpse the future changed by the presence of the Vasto of White.
Family was hard, and he didn't even know for sure if the Vasto of White was truly his brother. Either way, the future was bound to be troublesome.
Yhwach lifted a brow as he felt a connection to his power suddenly sever. Rather that return to him, it felt like it just abruptly disappeared.
Quilge was dead. The Jail was no more.
He recalled that he'd sent Quilge and Giselle to carefully scout the situation in Hueco Mundo.
It would seem as if he'd have to make a personal visit sometime soon, but not before the King's war song reached its completion.
The Seireitei would be first, then it would be time to confront his 'brother.'
Yhwach gradually closed his eyes.
The ninth year was nearing its end.
And from there, nine more days.
Shirou could see the fear within Giselle's eyes from the first time that they'd locked gazes. She looked like she was looking at a monster, and she couldn't be blamed for it. His spiritual energy was exuding from him in uncontrollable manner that were reacting with the ambient energy within Hueco Mundo. This was his world which meant to say that there was nowhere that his spiritual energy could not reach and pressure from within it.
He wanted answers, but more than anything, he just wanted to keep those that he'd created bonds with in this new world to experience a better life.
There was no doubt that Giselle's presence in Hueco Mundo spelled nothing but ill intentions. If they'd wanted peace from the beginning, they would have had made their presence known.
In which case, they were enemies.
His spiritual energy formed a spire around him, the grains shifting amidst the white sands swirling up into a storm that revealed a mass of swords buried beneath and poised to strike. The world moved, guided by a higher calling.
Baraggan noted the ambient spiritual energy in Hueco Mundo suddenly spike to unbearable levels. The average hollow would perish under such power, and it was precisely because of this that Hueco Mundo had remained dormant for so long.
A world of ash, a flame unkindled and left forgotten in the dark.
Embers were once again wafting within the air of a furnace whose spark was on the verge of igniting in full. The weaker hollows of the past had either perished or had already grown strong enough to endure the true awakening of an Unlimited Blade Works and a bronze coloured sky.
The time of awakening was drawing near.
"Who are you?" Shirou's voice was stern and without compromise. He was averse to taking away life, but he was not incapable of doing so after many years whetting out the naivety of his ways.
Giselle opened and closed her mouth, visibly stammering yet unable to voice out anything. There was no way that she could. It was overwhelming. From the ground beneath her feet, to the wind blowing in her face, she wasn't looking at Shirou, but at the phantom images manifested behind him.
Eyes, power, strength, fortitude, a plethora of various personalities and dispositions all gathered and one and apparently, only she could see them. Centered at the heart of Shirou's focus, Giselle was being pinned down by Shirou's spiritual pressure, which in turn was related to the energy of Hueco Mundo.
From the very beginning, Hueco Mundo was the physical manifestation of a Nameless Hero's inner reality. It was the world of his mind and soul. Kept within Shirou was not just his own person consciousness, but the amalgamation of the various denizens representing the ideals and beliefs of their counterparts.
Spears carried souls.
Bows carried souls.
Shields carried souls.
Swords carried souls
Weapons of all sorts carried souls, and that was all a Nameless Hero's Reality Marble ever was. A land of blades, iron, and steel.
Shirou's stern stare was not the only stare being directed at Giselle, but one of many.
It was the true ramifications of an unexpected crossover of a Sword from one world to another. Laws were different, and life granted through the presence of a Soul.
One soul to house over a thousand.
The pressure was unimaginable, worse, no matter how much Giselle willed her power of the Zombie to aid her, it refused to answer her call even as the phantom edge of a scythe pressed up and pierced her skin. The name of the spirit impassively wielding the scythe held across Giselle's throat was Harp, Slayer of Immortals.
Rather than get any sort of answer from Giselle, Shirou could only watch in confusion as Giselle's eyes gradually rolled over and she passed out into unconsciousness.
Barragan grunted in derision, but said nothing else. He expected nothing less from an opponent he deemed unfit to even harbour the courage to continue facing him after a single mishap. Rather, what had most of Barragan's attention was another matter.
Coyote Gingerbuck and the prospect of the Second Release.
When Coyote's matters with Shirou were over, Barragan would find time to inquire about the specifics of the transformation and surely achieve his own awakening. Till then, there was no use in remaining. Even if Shirou had earned his respect, he wasn't just going to change the way that he treated his supposed rival.
Small talk was for the weak and unconfident; an activity beneath Baraggan's status. "I will be off," he said gruffly. "When next we meet, I will not be the same as I am now. I will obtain my Second Release."
There was not a trace of doubt in Barragan's tone. He didn't even wait for Shirou's response before directly buzzing off in a burst of Sonido, leaving Shirou behind to deal with a downed Giselle and Silent.
It was a problem that Shirou didn't take long to decide on a course of action for.
He first sent out a message using his spiritual energy to inform Harribel and the rest who were still out searching for an intruder to cease their activities since Giselle was already apprehended.
Thereafter, he picked up both Silent and Giselle on either arm and directly sped off to first deposit Giselle for Aizen to detain, and then back to where he'd left Coyote waiting. The process of reaching Aizen took longer than he had expected because Aizen suddenly took interest in the properties of Giselle's blood and asked him to stick around to help him conduct a few preliminary tests.
It was only after cautioning Aizen to leave Giselle alive that he was able to make his way out of Aizen's dwelling created deep within an obscure rockface.
The only problem remaining now was that Coyote had not stayed alone where he'd left her on the hill where he'd met Starrk and Lilynette for the first time. This was to say that Coyote had been waiting at the heart of the Lands of the Vasto of White.
It was only natural that others would take notice of her. After her display of power in the Fake Karakura town, the other Vasto Lorde-Class Arrancar were flocking to her out of curiosity. Oddly enough, Ulquiorra was present and looking at Coyote as if she shared something in common with him, a trace of emotion flickering across his impassive features.
The way that Grimmjow was demanding a fight with Coyote wasn't out of Shirou's expectations though. Grimmjow had always been a brawler of instinct and impulse, but he was being ignored and the man actually looked cowed into submission.
What truly caught Shirou's attention was the fact that Coyote was standing across from Harribel, Nel, Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun as if she in some sort of Mexican stand off. It was no wonder that Grimmjow's demands were falling on deaf ears, the man didn't dare think himself capable of forcibly intervening in the current issue.
Grimmjow clicked his tongue and promptly decided that he was out and called it quits. He'd challenge Coyote another time.
Shirou wouldn't be getting that choice because Coyote's attention locked in on him from the moment that he drew near, and from there, Harribel and the other's gazes followed suit.
Suddenly Shirou felt as if staying with Aizen might not have had been as bad an alternative compared to what he was currently getting himself into.
On one hand, he wanted to discuss future plans and preparation, but on the other, he could see that Harribel and the rest were too distracted to remain focused on the issue.
Clearly, he was going to have a lot of explaining to do.
The Seireitei was in the pits of a somber mood and there was nothing that Yamamoto could do to change it. The main forces deployed to the artificial dimension hosting the Fake Karakura town had been pulled back, and along with them, the experience of a nightmare.
The enemy was strong. Far stronger than anything that anyone could have had ever imagined.
Death tolls were high, and injuries were beyond the expected number. Worse than anything else was the damage to morale.
What could any Shinigami do when even he, the Head-Captain, could not contain the might of the enemy? What's more, now there were two such existences that could contend against Yamamoto.
The Vasto of White, and the First Recorded Vasto Lorde.
Yamamoto was weaker than he had ever been before, and he suddenly felt as if his age was finally catching up to him. He was no longer in his prime, and he no longer resorted to any means necessary to defeat his opponents. Grudging as it was for him to admit, he'd grown soft in the years of peace constantly surrounded by those that he cared for.
No longer could he exhibit the full strength of his spiritual energy: The Seireitei and the Shinigami and souls living within it would burn. For the same reason, he did not dare enter the human world to hunt Hollows as freely as he had done in the past, rather, fierce restrictions were set for the safety of mankind.
He could not fully release his strength in the Soul Society, nor could he do so in the Human World. He'd stagnated, no longer able to combat against old enemies. The only real positive news was that his only true enemy had long since been defeated almost a thousand years ago, and never to return.
It was a time of bloodshed and heartless cruelty for the sake of future peace.
It was a war won in blood, and where the Thirteen-Court Guard Squads were not the prestigious protectors of souls as they were in the present date, but instead were Thirteen Divisions of hardened killers.
Yamamoto stood at its head, the number one slaughterer of thousands. He'd treated his own men as expendable ashes so long as he could complete an objective.
Somewhere along the line of the past millennium, the men and women that he'd treated as expendables had shifted to become individuals that he wished to protect-Shinigami that he himself had taught and raised.
Shunsui and Jushiro were the most memorable students to come to his mind.
Peace was good, and for the sake of the peace that he could no longer uphold with his own strength, Yamamoto had come to a decision whilst giving a moment of silence to the deceased in the fourth-division's barracks.
He could no longer carry the weight of the burden alone.
"In all the years that we've known each other, Head-Captain, this is probably the worst situation that either of us have ever experienced," Unohana spoke solemnly while treating a patient in front of her.
"And I believe that it's far from over." Yamamoto sighed wearily.
He was near the door overlooking the temporary training areas now used to accommodate for the number of injured. In contrast, the dead lay with white fabric laid over their faces on the opposite hill while construction of mass graves were in progress to lay the valiant heroes that perished in battle to rest.
This wasn't even accounting for the hundreds of Shinigami unfortunate enough to encounter Barragan on the field before Shunsui had intervened. There was nothing left of those Shinigami, not even dust or ashes.
A third Hollow had made its way into the Seireitei's priority target list. Only Captain-Class Shinigami or higher were to engage, and even then, only Kyoraku Shunsui or Yamamoto himself should be the ones to do so. All others were to flee from Barragan until a method to counter Barragan's time rot could be discovered by Urahara and Captain Kurotsuchi.
This wasn't even accounting for Aizen Sousuke and the other Captains that had defected.
The entire situation was a mess with too many powerful enemies to speak of, one of which Karin Kurosaki insisted was a neutral force among the hollows.
Ichigo Kurosaki was the name of the other Hollow that had released spiritual fluctuation on a level similar to Yamamoto's own. His status was somewhat special.
Ichigo Kurosaki was the son of Isshin Shiba and the brother of Karin Kurosaki who'd only joined the Shinigami in order to rescue her brother and mother, both of which were seen in the most recent battle.
Save, was not the word that Yamamoto would have had used. As far as he was concerned, Ichigo Kurosaki was a Hollow and danger that had to be detained immediately. It was no wonder that Ichigo was able to display such profound spiritual pressure. He was the son of one of the Seireitei's noble families. Which was all the more reason to defeat him before he grew even stronger or decided to join Aizen and the Vasto of White.
The situation though was complex.
Harming Ichigo in any way would immediately incur the protest of the Shiba family. With the re-emergence of Isshin Shiba and the revelation that he was a father, the Shiba clan's remaining two members instantly became five. Seven if Ichigo and the presumably revived Kaien Shiba were included.
Kukaku Shiba shared just as much determination as Karin Shiba to save their elder sibling. Moreover, Jushiro the Captain of the Thirteenth Division shared a similar goal.
Yamamoto was now forced to add internal dispute on top of all the problems that the Seireitei was already facing.
"Head-Captain, if you keep thinking too hard, your forehead creases will only grow more noticeable," Unohana advised after treating her current patient and moving onto the next. "Wasn't it you yourself who once said to look not on the number of deceased, but to focus on strengthening those that were alive? The Thirteen Divisions were not formed through peace, but through fierce selection of the strongest individuals to survive in a bloody conflict."
Yamamoto was still by the door so he could hear Unohana's voice. The former Kenpachi was correct. Yamamoto had indeed said such words back when he single-handedly led the Thirteen-Court Guard Squads through hell and back.
Although the past was over, lessons could still be relearned and followed. He had to look at the bright side of the situation rather than just the hardships that the future was bound to bring.
He nodded once to Unohana before finding himself entering the long wooden court hall of the First Division where the remaining uninjured Captains stood in two rows awaiting his arrival.
Sajin was still out of commission and Zaraki was under intensive care after a thrilling bout with an Arrancar named NNoitra Gilga that he'd met on the battlefield.
Regardless, most of the Captains were present, along with a few old faces.
Despite losing the battle of the Fake Karakura town, intel on the Vasto of White, the Espada, Aizen, and the condition of the other traitorous captains were obtained. Moreover, the vacancies in the Court-Guard Squads were now occupied after a grudging truce and compromise with the Visored.
Shinji and the ex-captains once stripped of their ranks due to their hollowfication were reinstated due to the direness of the current predicament. Of course, that meant the sharing of intel.
"You believe the Vasto of White to be something that Aizen created?" Yamamoto listened carefully to the conjectures of the Visored.
Shinji and the others nodded, but Yamamoto shook his head.
"Unlikely," Yamamoto's expression seemed distant, the hands that he kept over Ryujin Jakka clenched tightly. "The Vasto of White was around since the founding of the Thirteen-Court Guard Squads. He is a fellow peer of mine who I admit I had once battled and failed to subjugate in my prime."
The admission was met with a flurry of disbelief and widened eyes. None of them present in the battle of the Fake Karakura town could forget the way the Vasto of White had single handedly destroyed the space. He could have killed them all. He certainly had the power. The question now was why he hadn't?
Were Hollows really as Evil as they were made out to be?
The parting words of the Vasto of White were the most memorable in the entire battle.
Yamamoto struck his cane against the hardwood floor, calling for a cessation of all conversation. "The Vasto of White is not a person any of us can face on our own, including myself."
"…" No one spoke due to the gravity of Yamamoto's words.
Yamamoto continued anyway.
"However, this isn't the time to doubt. We have lost this battle, but we are not defeated."
The symbol of the winter Daphne that Yamamoto had once activated prior in the battle of the Fake Karakura town abruptly appeared on his person.
"The severity of the situation has been conveyed to the upper palace." Yamamoto's words resounded. "Reinforcements are already on the way."
Meanwhile, the walls of the Seireitei came crashing down from the heavens, sending deep tremors through the earth. From above, five figures descended from a grand pillar.
Zero Squad had arrived.
First off, sorry for the late update. It's shorter too, which wasn't something that I intended on making it be, however, I got stuck on a statistic's problem set and the whole thing took me longer than I intended on working on it for due to a number's crunch. Midterms and fourth year assignments this week were also more difficult than what they taught in class so it took some time to work through and study. Moving on though, I still wanted to get the update out so I just stayed up to do it.
Thanks for reading!
Next update: Fate Stay Cooking