Chapter 41: Doomsday: Seraphim of the Myō'ō (Soul Healing, part 4: The Awakening)
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"Normal speech"
'Inner speech/thoughts'
'Inner spirit speech'
'Inner hollow/Zanpakuto speech'
xxx
Despite the distance separating him and Aizen, it was remarkable how loud the voice of the man echoed in his ears. But it did the trick. In a heartbeat, thanks to the rapid touch of reality, the fog inside dissolved and Ichigo's foggy, confused mind became clear. It was neither comfortable nor pleasant. The illusion of justified villainy disappeared and replaced itself by a vacuum of hysteria that made him sweat bullets. He realized where he was, and what he had done blinded him like a fallen angel's morning star against whom he had fought, whether this meant his Espada opponent or his own individuality. Through perseverance, he succeeded in not fleeing and standing in the same place. But his brain had a different plan. Against his wishes, it made him glance at the newcomer.
"Aizen-sama!"
He ignored Ulquiorra's startled lament and the fact that his opponent just emitted more emotions that he had had throughout the entire fight. It wasn't as if the Arrancar wasn't in his line of sight or that he was deliberately acting deaf. The reason for his inability to register his opponent was the sight of Aizen and the fact that the man standing at some distance beside the walls of Las Noches was not alone.
He gulped.
There, behind Aizen, arranged in precise rows, stood Arrancars. And it wasn't just five, ten, or twenty of them. It was the full power of Las Noches. An army of evolved Hollows; Aizen's armada.
"It truly pains me to hear you didn't want me to know about something so extraordinary, Ulquiorra. You are exceptional."
Aizen's tone was not accusatory, and the man did not sound as if he wanted to address Ulquiorra's non-existent guilty conscience, but Quatro Espada became even paler than he was. It was yet another exhibit of emotions Ichigo ignored. He still kept record of Ulquiorra's actions but he also realized the Arrancar was no longer the greatest threat to him.
"I apologize, Aizen-sama. I didn't want to bother you with something so trivial and non-essential."
He held his eyes firmly to Aizen's distant figure and was very aware of the countless looks that all stood behind the man and pointed right at him. But just like with Ulquiorra, he ignored them to the best of his abilities. They were a liability, a burden that could easily bend his emotions and expose him to an even stronger risk. Risk he couldn't afford. As if reacting to the thought, a mental snort reverberated in his hollow, panicked mind.
'Too little, too late Ichigo. You are already in big trouble.'
He was neck-deep in it and he knew it. No matter how much nonsense he could say or how many excuses came to his mind, he fought Ulquiorra with every intention of killing him and that wasn't an easily forgiven act.
"Nonsense, Ulquiorra. You know I always make time to listen to my fell-"
But whatever Aizen was trying to say drowned in the deep sound of a gong resonating through the area with so much force the air itself vibrated. It was such an unexpected interruption, Ichigo disregarded the potential threat to him and turned around to look for its source. As soon as he did, he became even paler and his hands trembled in worry and panic, which went up to an unhealthy level.
There, about the same distance away from him as Aizen stood; which made him literally a middle man, a gigantic Garganta gate towered over the sands of Hueco Mundo like the sword of Damocles with dozens, even hundreds Shinigami pouring out. Low-ranking officers, high-ranking officers, Onmitsukidō, few members of Kido Corps and Captains alike walked out, stopping only when they noticed the scene in beforehand.
Feeling numb to the core of his bones, Ichigo spotted the Captain Commander, and it hit him.
'It's an invasion.'
"Ah, Gotei 13. I'd welcome you to Hueco Mundo but I'm sure you are already familiar with this place. Some more than the others, isn't that right, Captain Commander?"
Even in face of danger, Aizen seemed to remain jovial and smug. Before anyone from the Gotei could react to his words, the man continued in a colder tone.
"Still, it was unnecessary of you to come here. I was planning on visiting you, anyway."
"So you could flee and then barricade yourself in Hueco Mundo by sealing the entrance? No, Aizen Sōsuke. We are bringing the war to you. Prepare yourself to get annihilated!"
Following the Captain Commander's exclamation, Ichigo saw Aizen blink. Then the man erupted in a loud, hearty laughter. Ichigo ignore it and, instead, focused on only one word from the exchange he found important. Word that came through Captain Commander's mouth like a spit.
War.
Realization dawning upon him, he felt his throat getting dry. He wasn't afraid; there was no time for it. However, with images and memories slowly filling up the void in his mind, he realized one glaring dilemma.
'Where do I stand?'
It was a conflict of interests. Where was his place in this war?
Was it to fight along the Shinigami so he could annihilate Aizen and his forces? Forces which comprised Espada he had befriended, Arrancars he had bonded with and others he had acquainted himself with?
Was it to fight along the Hollows so he could cleanse the Soul Society of the cancer that called itself the Death Gods? Death Gods which he knew to be corrupt, manipulative, full of schemes and underhanded evilness? Death Gods in whom he had found friends and colleagues, comrades and good listeners?
Or was it to stand at the sidelines and watch them all kill each other with feral viciousness while doing nothing to stop it?
Just thinking about it hurt his mind, his heart and his instincts. It hurt his soul and his whole being. How could he decide? It was impossible to do so. Neither side was just, but neither side was unjust. Hazily, he recalled what Kyōraku had once said to him:
Wars happen when both sides are fighting for a just cause.
'What a load of bullshit.'
Pulling himself out of the deep corners of his mind, his eyes were drawn towards the large group of Shinigami standing behind the Captain Commander. He recognized many but some of them stood out in the crowd. His father, Rukia, Renji, Hisagi, Rangiku and a few more with whom he had developed relationships. Even from the distance, he saw their expressions as they stared right at him.
Shock. Bitterness. Relief. Fury.
It meant one thing. Either they hadn't been told the truth and were in the right, or they had been and were being hypocritical.
On the opposite side of the soon to be a battlefield, Aizen finally stopped laughing.
"Do you honestly, truly believe you can annihilate me, Commander?" The man asked with mirth. Answer to his question came within seconds.
"Do you honestly, truly believe we cannot, Aizen Sōsuke?" The Captain Commander countered. In response, Aizen smirked. The man seemed to be doing that a lot.
"Seeing that you have decided to fight in our domain, in Hueco Mundo, where air itself is dense with reishi, I have to go with - yes, I believe you cannot, Commander. It's like you wanted to give yourself a handicap by going against my Arrancars in their natural habitat!"
"Hardly relevant. I alone could exterminate you all."
There were several obvious reactions to Commander's statement coming from Arrancars but the most important reaction came from Aizen. The man's smirk faded and replaced itself with a neutral expression that barely concealed the hatred hidden somewhere deep within it.
"You could. After all, you have done it before, haven't you, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto? Genocide is nothing new for you."
Silence.
In the wake of the harsh statement, nobody dared to speak up. Even if they could, they wouldn't know what to say. None of them had any idea what Aizen had spoken of.
'Or do they?' Ichigo noted when he spotted a glare coming from Barragan on the Aizen's side and a downcast grimace from Captain of the 4th Division, Unohana.
"Do not speak of matters you know nothing of, boy!" Yamamoto's voice was ice cold but also fiery hot and the air became heavy with his powerful reiatsu that felt like sun itself falling from the skies. Opposite of him, Aizen stood unaffected and his sharp gaze cut through the area like a razor blade.
"I know nothing of?! Commander, by now you of all people should know there is little I do not know. Do not question my intelligence, Balancer."
Aizen's words, which came out like a hateful spit, had an immediate and impressive effect and the Captain Commander of the Gotei 13 paled a little, though his reiatsu flared even stronger. He was staring at Aizen with an emotion that could not be described as anything else but pure, raw loathing.
"Enough! I didn't come here to argue semantics!" He exclaimed.
"You didn't but why stop now? Don't you think your subordinates deserve to know the truth? Not your truth, mind you. The real, true truth you have hidden behind the veil of lies and illusions so well, not even my illusions could have done a better job."
Almost as if he was watching a sports match, Ichigo's head rhythmically snapped from one side to the other in order for him to see reactions of both leaders. By now, he was lost in the translation, in the semantics behind the words pouring out of both men, yet he persistently continued to listen. Even if he was no longer sure what was the subject of conversation, he had a feeling the point of no return, when one of them would state something too close to the truth, was slowly but steadily approaching. Still, even having no one to translate it to him, Ichigo understood one thing.
He was getting tired of nonsense.
Genocide? Veil of illusion? Hidden truth?
In the conflict about to happen, none of those mattered. He firmly believed so. There was a time for talking and it wasn't now. The provocations were going for far too long and would only result in an even bigger bloodbath.
"For example, Captain Sui-Feng." Aizen continued, pulling Ichigo from his musings as soon as the name came out of the man's mouth. On the side of Shinigami, the Captain of the 2nd Division took a step forward and glared at Aizen with as much hate as she could muster.
"Traitor." She muttered quietly, yet loud enough for everyone to hear.
Aizen waved his hand.
"Yes, yes. Why don't we focus on something more important?" He said and glanced at the Captain Commander.
"Does she even know the true purpose behind the creation of her merry band of assassins also known as Onmitsukidō? Did any of the previous Commanders-In-Chief?"
Ichigo saw Sui-Feng's expression waver for a just a split-second before it settled on her previous grimace. Then again, the Captain Commander outright growled.
"Silence!"
Forming a small grin, Aizen clapped his hands once.
"Exactly! Silence! Their original purpose was to silence everyone and anyone who might threaten the freshly constructed truth about the current world we live in!"
At that moment, Ichigo felt a surge in Sui-Feng's reiatsu.
"You think you know everything, don't you, Aizen Sōsuke?"
Somehow, Aizen seemed pleased by the accusation.
"No, though I consider myself being better informed than the rest."
Sui-Feng's grimace turned to a sneer.
"Well, you don't know everything!" She exclaimed in a victorious tone and turned to look at Ichigo, who went rigid.
"Kurosaki! Your mission is officially over! You can come back!"
Ichigo gulped. He could feel, rather than see, every face on the scene to turn and stare at him. It made his stomach churn. He had thought he had long since become accustomed to staring, but for the time being he felt like a child again. A stare or a dozen he could take but hundreds, thousands of them? And each stare boring into him like a laser beam trying to pierce right through his skull? That was not something he could take and it made his knees weak.
However, a true surprise came only after Aizen spoke again.
"Ah, you mean the cute little attempt of Kurosaki playing a spy for the Gotei?" The man asked with a broad grin that threatened to split his jaw in two and caused hundreds of gasps to echo all around. It was almost as if the man was talking about a regular, mundane thing such as weekly weather forecast and it made the whole situation even more stressful.
"What the fuck?!" Seemed to be an appropriate reaction and Ichigo could hear it coming from so many sources, it mashed together into one mass of incomprehensible gibberish.
Ichigo himself couldn't mirror the reaction. He was far too preoccupied with staring at Aizen in bewilderment that betrayed his inner feelings. Aizen gave him a sideway glance and smirked.
"Oh, please. Do not insult my intellect. I admit, it was a good attempt and, for a just a moment, I almost believed it. Unfortunately for you, I am a man who has in his lifetime planned so many contingency plans, it became very difficult for anyone to come up with something I didn't already think of. Carefully, meticulously analyzing every single detail pertaining your sudden defection and your behavior during your stay in Las Noches I became eighty percent sure you are a spy. Give or take. The remaining percentage was a hope you truly changed your mind." He explained in a voice that made him look not even faintly angry at the betrayal. Instead, he was looking at Ichigo with something akin to a respect.
"You're lying, Aizen. Not even you are so arrogant to keep somebody you think is a spy so close to you for that long." Sui-Feng countered in a strong voice, though there was a lining of distress in it.
After so many surprising turns of events, Ichigo didn't think something could surprise him any further but then he saw Aizen's reaction to Sui-Feng's words. The man, ever so slightly that nobody aside from Ichigo noticed it, shifted his eyes to glance at one of his closest subordinates and formed a terrifying grin of amusement. The one he glanced at was a person Ichigo could have never brought himself to like.
Ichimaru Gin.
The snake-faced man did not react to Sui-Feng's words and didn't notice Aizen's glance.
Ichigo felt like he was missing something.
"Oh? But it is not arrogance, Captain Sui-Feng. Don't you know the saying, keep your friends close and your enemies closer? Besides, it is quite amusing to watch their efforts as they try to play the role." Aizen said, earning a set of narrowed eyes coming from many.
"You did it for amusement?"
Almost dramatically, Aizen sighed while negatively shaking his head.
"Do you truly not understand? Why would I not keep Kurosaki close? By playing a spy, he inadvertently gave me an opportunity to try to truly convince him of my way. Because of the role he played, he had to listen to me and act the way I told him to. I just took this opportunity to tell him what the truth is and to reveal things that had not been said before. Unlike you, I didn't truly try to manipulate him, only to make him see the world for what it is. A lie. Or did you think he's still the same person he was before he came here to play the spy?"
Ichigo shuddered. A chill crept up his spine and spread to his whole body. He could try to reject Aizen's words, to deny them, but deep down he knew it was the truth. His stay in Las Noches had changed him.
He had realized that Hollows could evolve into something more humane than humans themselves.
He had realized that Hollows could evolve into something more damaged and twisted than any Shinigami ever could.
He had realized that being a Hollow, a humane but also a damaged thing, was a part of him. That he could no longer reject it. It hadn't been easy though. Even in this moment, while keeping his mind clear, he could still see the abyss of madness into which he had almost plunged mere minutes ago.
'No! Don't think about it! Don't think about them!' He mentally berated himself when he noticed the mist of lunacy forming above the distant chasm, a residue of his guilt for the death of his two friends.
"You… what did you do to him?!"
Once again pulled out of his musing, Ichigo's head snapped towards the yelling Captain of the 2nd Division in surprise. Her voice, while enraged, held a tiny impurity of a different emotion he had never heard from her. He didn't dare to name it; he was almost afraid he was just hearing things.
"Nothing. I only showed him the way towards clarity."
"Enough talking!" The Captain Commander, for the past few moments silent, roared. In response, Aizen sighed.
"I admit, I don't want to kill you lot. Just you, Commander. Do you truly want to do this? Why not conserve your forces for what will soon come? For the real threat?"
"When it comes, I'll deal with it the same way I have dealt with other threats so far. I will crush it."
Aizen's face immediately lost its smirk, and the man formed a calculating gaze.
"And you call me arrogant. You cannot win this, Commander. You will not risk using the Bakkōtō in possession of the current Captain of the 3rd Division because you'd doom most of your subordinates to certain death. And without using it, there is no way for you to escape my Kyōka Suigetsu." He stated firmly. To his and Ichigo's surprise, the Commander formed a feral grin.
"Yes, you are an arrogant child. Did you think Amagai Shūsuke couldn't evolve his Bakkōtō and tame its special ability? My subordinates will be just fine."
Aizen narrowed his eyes.
"I see. So be it. Arrancars! On your positions!"
"Gotei 13! Take your picks! Attack with everything you have!"
Ichigo gulped.
It began.
The war.
War that would come to be known as the Two-Hours War of no Victor.
…
It all happened so fast.
One moment, both sides stared at each other with hard, penetrative gazes and in the next, they were at each other throats like there was no tomorrow. The distance separating them became non-existent and vanished in a flash. Roars, screams and yells filled the air and the area in front of Las Noches turned into a battlefield.
Blades clashed in a noise that almost shattered Ichigo's eardrums. It was nothing like the fights he had been in so far. Sounds of cries, pain, bloodlust, agony, courage and bravery, fear and stubbornness attacked him from every direction and made his whole body vibrate with intense fire of life and death. Blood spurted, entrails erupted and limbs were being sawn off in what seemed like a never-ending cycle of despair.
It was utterly and completely insane.
'This… is war?'
Ichigo felt like keeling over and puking his guts out. The sight of death repulsed him. Despite having killed many times, he found himself unprepared for the sheer extent of violence happening in front of his eyes. Lives lost, bodies mangled and turned into empty husks were not something he could stomach. It reminded him of his past and so he stood there petrified. It felt like he was slowly being pulled into the sand, never to be released again. Images of crimes against nature would haunt him for a long time that he was sure of. After only a minute of fighting, dunes of Hueco Mundo were already covered with many mutilated dead bodies, turning the dry sand into abominable lake of red mud.
He was horrified.
As a former diligent student, he had encountered of pictures and documentaries about the two world wars that had shaken the world of the living. They had been gruesome but easy to watch. In spite of the imagery, they were just echoes of the past he never had to be a part of. But seeing all of it happening in front of him was something different. The absurdity of a war hit him a lot harder than he could have ever imagined.
Glimpses of those he knew disturbed his thoughts and brought him back to the cold and grim reality.
A Cero blazed past him and caught his attention. It appeared to be aiming for a group of low-ranking officers. Ichigo didn't need to have great spiritual senses to know the energy blast would rip the men apart.
'Not if I can help it.' He thought and sped after the blast. In his mind, he didn't even register he didn't know who those men were. His body and mind acted on simple instinct. It was an impulse of preservation. He had the power to prevent more death and he would use it.
He pushed himself and soon reached his top speed. With barely a second to spare, he appeared in front of the group and brought his zanpakuto up just in time to redirect the Cero upwards and to the sky, where it harmlessly dissipated into a pure reishi. With a relieved sigh, he automatically turned his head towards those he had just saved to make sure they were fine when he noticed something powerful coming from the Shinigami side and aiming for a trio of Arrancars.
'Nel's Fracción!' He thought in panic and instantly kicked off of the sand.
Whatever was gliding through the air wasn't as fast as Cero, but it was a lot harder to spot. Ichigo was convinced the Arrancars did not notice it as they were otherwise engaged.
'Come on, Ichigo. Come on!' He mentally growled and pumped increasingly more reiryoku into his legs. It turned out he didn't need to and could perfectly overrun the attack with his current speed. Still, not knowing the attack, he was unsure what to do.
'Blast it!'
Bringing his zanpakuto down before the energy reached him, he spoke quietly.
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
A crescent-shaped wave of spiritual energy shot from the tip of his sword and smashed into oncoming attack with the ferocity of a tiger. The volatile quality of his reiryoku caused the foreign energy to explode. He took the brunt of it but, thanks to his Hierro, he escaped with only minor burns. In the end, he successfully neutralized the attack before it could do any harm.
He heard a voice from behind him but before he could even try to form an answer, another situation caught his attention.
For the next few minutes, he flashed across the battlefield like possessed to prevent as many deaths as possible, either on one or the other side. It did not matter to him whom he saved. He just had to. If he didn't try, who would?
"Your actions are pointless, Kurosaki Ichigo." Ulquiorra's voice entered his ears just as he was about to move towards yet another hopeless situation. He ignored it but when the Quatro Espada appeared in his way, he understood the situation; he couldn't ignore him for any longer.
"They will die with or without you doing anything. Look, the Shinigami you tried to save are already dead, the remnants of their bodies scattered across the area."
Begrudgingly, Ichigo looked at the spot Ulquiorra pointed at and felt his stomach drop. The Arrancar told the truth. The men's torn corpses were sprawled in a pool of blood. Whatever killed them did it brutally.
He wavered but only for a second. His eyes fell upon his opponent with a hard gaze etched into them.
"Shut up!" He snarled and lashed out against the Arrancar with a heavy slice across the torso.
But Ulquiorra was no longer in front of him. Without thinking, Ichigo spun around while moving his sword horizontally. Expecting Ulquiorra to strike him from behind, he suddenly felt something powerful hitting him to the side of his head.
His body sailed through the air like a rag-doll, the strike to the head causing him to see twice. There was a mild ringing in his ears.
'Damn it! He's too fast!' He thought, dazed. He climbed back on his feet to take a breath but his Pesquisa alerted him of a presence only a few feet above him. Panicking, he rolled to the side. A small shock wave lifted his body in the air. A shower of sand obstructed his vision as it passed through his position. Before he could stabilize himself, a strong gust of wind knocked him away.
"For a human, you fought well, Kurosaki. But it's time to end this. You cannot win this. True despair is the only thing awaiting you."
"Shut up!" Ichigo repeated and used the anger to clear his head from the dizziness. Tightening the grip on his zanpakuto, he sliced upwards just as something long and thin moved towards his face. It was Ulquiorra's tail. Nimble but tough, the tail withstood Ichigo's blade and pushed him backwards. Ichigo growled and when it tried to whip at him again, he pointed his index finger at it.
'Hadō #1. Shō!'
Silent Kido spell slowed the attack down, enough for Ichigo to briefly let go of his smaller sword and open the now free palm. Ignoring the stinging sensation from the hard contact, he grabbed the tail and pulled it with all of his might.
"?!"
His unexpected action caught Ulquiorra unprepared and allowed Ichigo to fling and smash the Arrancar into the wall of Las Noches. Yet he didn't allow himself a moment to relax. Ulquiorra was his toughest opponent so far and he knew the collision barely even fazed him. Therefore, he quickly lifted his free hand and pointed it at the point of impact.
"Cero." He muttered and let out a crimson blast energy that shot at his opponent in a wide arc. The blast crashed into the Arrancar and the thick solid wall with enough power to drill a hole in it.
He had to take a breath. He wasn't used to strong Cero yet, and it took the wind out of him. While he was composing himself, he heard Ulquiorra's voice that caused him to curse.
"Not good enough, Kurosaki. Let me show you a proper Cero."
"Shit!"
Black torrent of energy looked even more menacing than it had before. There was little Ichigo could have done. If he moved from the spot, he probably would have dodged it without suffering many injuries but it would have also opened the path for destruction within Shinigami's ranks. Setting his brow into a deep scowl, Ichigo slashed downwards.
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
This time, however, his crescent-shaped wave of spiritual energy proved to be less than enough to stop the Cero and, while it exploded at the point of contact, it could not prevent parts of the black energy from colliding with his own body.
"Gah!" A cry of pain escaped his lips when the energy crashed into him. He could feel his Hierro fighting against the onslaught but it was futile. Like a torrent of tiny blades, the remnants of enemy Cero grated his skin and left it burnt and bloodied. It hurt like nothing before. As if seeping through the wounds, the black energy entered his bloodstream and caused him to feel great discomfort along with despair that quickly tried to spread within his mind.
Then it was over.
He breathed out and stumbled. His knees shook, and he fell on one knee. The attack took a lot out of him. His body was bruised and for some reason his high-speed regeneration was lagging. Most likely because of the black energy now flowing within him.
'Get up.'
For a fraction of a second, he felt like just giving up; he wanted to curl into a ball and cry like a teenager he was. But then his inner voice roared and made him growl.
He refused to yield.
'GET UP!'
He got up. There was no point in thinking. No point in cowering. He had to fight. He had to win.
"Admirable, Kurosaki, but still pointless. True despair cannot be overcome with pure determination. Some things are simply out of your reach."
Oh, just how much he wanted Ulquiorra to shut up. Another growl escaped his lips.
"Like I give a damn. I know you are strong but does it really matter? No, it doesn't. I will defeat you like I did with everyone so far. Even if you kill me, I'll just come back to haunt you until you die."
For a moment, the two of them stared at each other, one of them impassive, while the other one filled with determination. The echoes of the war reverberated in the air but neither of them listened to them. Spiritual energy surrounded them from all sides. Fire, wind, ice, water, void, blades, arrows, pure energy; everything and anything that could have been used as a weapon had been used. Shinigami, Hollows, they all used every single thing in their disposal to slaughter the opposing side. A strong breeze from a nearby detonation blew around his face.
This was it. The turning point in his battle. A point at which one of them would die.
"So foolish." Ulquiorra muttered without a hint of emotion. Just as Ichigo readied himself for continuation of their battle, Ulquiorra put both his hands in front of him and clasped them together. Then, he slowly pulled them apart, revealing a thin javelin-like form of energy, so similar to the ones he had used before but also so different.
"Lanza del Relámpago. Stay there, Kurosaki. I don't want to set this off near me. It is very difficult to control." Ulquiorra stated and raised the energy lance above his shoulder.
"Time to join the oblivion and feel the true despair."
The lance shot forward and Ichigo felt the entirety of his body shiver. Was it a premonition of death? His instinct screaming at him to move? Gulping, he remained glued to his spot and reached for the smaller sword, still embedded in the sand near him. The lance was fast but so was he. He knew what he had to do. Raising both swords high in the air, he made a slashing movement with each.
"Getsuga Jūjishō!"
Two Getsuga of different compositions shot at the same time and fused together into a large, cross-shaped blast of energy that illuminated the area with its intense glow. The sheer amount of power behind the strike caused the surrounding battles to briefly die down. The air itself vibrated with the energy squeezed into it. His new Getsuga crashed into Ulquiorra's Lance of Thunder and Lightning with a deafening noise.
Explosion.
Drained of stamina, Ichigo couldn't do nothing against the shock wave and his body was hurled backwards, until it painfully crashed into a dune. His whole body hurt even more than before but still, he pushed himself up to his feet.
The air where the two attacks collided shimmered with pure energy. Ichigo quickly glanced at his surroundings. Relieved, he saw that most of the combatants that had been close to the explosion survived. However, his relief didn't last long.
"Preposterous. To think you could match even Lanza del Relámpago… but it doesn't matter. That ability took the remaining strength from you, Kurosaki Ichigo."
Ulquiorra survived and seemed to be none the worse for wear. But that wasn't the most horrifying thing that Ichigo noticed. It was the sight of a second lance of energy forming in his enemy's hands that made him feel like truly despairing.
'He can… he can fire more of those things?'
Breathing heavily, Ichigo knew just how tired he was. There was no way he could stop the second attack. Yet he didn't waver. He couldn't stop it; he had to stop it. With a determined frown, he raised his zanpakuto high in the air and when the second javelin shot towards him, he made a slashing movement.
Nothing came out of his swords. Stunned, he watched with wide eyes as the lance of energy sailed through the air and towards him. He couldn't even move.
However, just as he thought it was over, the lance passed him by and continued flying.
'He missed!'
The happiness lasted only until he realized the implications. Aghast, he turned around just in time to see the lance hitting a distant spot. Explosion of unreal size followed, and a lone tear fell from his eye.
There were dozens if not hundreds of Shinigami caught in the explosion. All most likely dead in a blink of an eye and all he could do was to watch. He had to save them yet he could not do so.
So many dead. So much death. The cold sensation of his heart being squeezed caused him to fall on both knees. Tears flowed freely.
You can't save them all.
He knew that. He had learned it on the day he failed to protect his sisters from death at the hands of one weak hollow and had relearned it again only a few days after he had come to the Afterlife. The Houses of Pleasure; the Houses of Horrors. Yoruichi herself had told him the same thing.
You can't save them all.
Even after gaining power to fight, he still hadn't been able to do it. Dead students at the Academy. Dead students at the hands of Espada in Karakura Town. Orihime and Tatsuki. They all died because he hadn't been strong enough, fast enough, determined enough.
You can't save them all.
The mantra, repeating itself in his mind brought back unpleasant memories and caused him to lower his head in shame. With wide eyes, he noticed dried blood on his hands. Was it his own or did it belong to all those corpses spread around him? There was just so much death. So many dead. Shinigami, Hollows, they were all dead. He had killed them. Because he was weak and because he was strong.
Blood on his hands.
He had killed so many. During his crusade in Rukongai, he had killed dozens. Back then, he hadn't counted just how many. At that time, he had thought it to be pointless. They all had had to die. It had been his mission to clean out the land, hadn't it? Killing them had been easy. Suppressing the emotions that had built up within him had been a necessity. Without it, he wouldn't have been able to go on. He almost forgot all about it; about all of those that he had killed after that. Yet now, it was all coming back.
All that blood on his hands.
Was he even human anymore? He was a first-class killer of the wicked, murderer of the innocent. He could remember their faces as he had cut them down. He remembered their terrified expression as he had mowed them down like animals.
There was just so… much… blood.
And he still couldn't save them all.
So.
Much.
Blood!
"Gyaaaaaaarg!"
He screamed. He yelled. He shouted to the heavens for the injustice done all around. Why him? Why did he have to suffer so much? What had he done to gain such malice from the gods? Couldn't they leave him alone and let him live his life? He wanted to roar and fire all those questions at the sky, but he couldn't. His mind was no longer complete.
Fractured.
Broken.
Empty.
'… mors... עֵזֶר... σκοτώνω…'
In a flash, his hands shot up and covered his ears. The voice was back and was whispering alien words to him once more. But he didn't want to hear it.
'… mors... עֵזֶר... σκοτώνω…'
Why? Why? Why?!
There was just so much blood.
It was the same as the night all those months ago when the blood of his sisters covered his whole body. Back then, he had heard the voice it too. Back then, he had ignored it. But now, he couldn't do that anymore.
'… MORS... עֵזֶר... ΣΚΟΤΏΝΩ…!'
Déjà vu.
…
He landed in his mindscape in a heap, a sudden pain spreading from the center of his chest to his whole body rendering him immobile and helpless. Like a poison of fire, it burned his insides in waves of flickering molten lava. His limbs spasmed, and he had to fight against the tidal force trying to blow him from within.
"… make it stop…"
He was tired. So tired. Both his mental and physical strength had been sapped. The only thing keeping him going was the sheer power of will. Desperate to fight, he forced his body to move and got on his knees.
"… it hurts. It hurts so much…"
A pair of hands squeezed his shoulders, one on each side.
"Breathe, Ichigo. Breathe."
"It will be over soon. Don't fight it."
His breath got stuck in his throat and, for the first time since who knows when, the presence of his spirits didn't calm him down.
"I don't understand." He wheezed.
Exhausted, he could not even lift his head to look at his companions. If he could, he would only see them staring not at him but at something in front of them, looming over the whole mindscape from afar.
"Instinct."
"Reason."
"Heart!"
A stinging sensation erupted in his limbs and almost sent him back to the ground.
"… so weak."
"Three parts of your being you had to understand. Three parts you had to take in. That effort wasn't in vain, Ichigo. You. Are. Not. Weak."
No matter what his spirit said, he knew it. He was weak. Far too weak to realize his dreams and to achieve his goals. As the thought ran through his mind, he felt his shoulder getting squeezed again, with more strength than before.
"Remember, Ichigo. Remember what I told you before."
"Remember, Ichigo. Remember what I showed you before."
A cry of pain escaped through his lips. The pain was getting stronger, and he was having problems taking a single breath.
"I… I don't…"
"Ichigo. Why do Hollows wear masks?"
It was a simple question, but he didn't answer. He couldn't. His brain was no longer working.
"They wear it to conceal and protect their lost heart. Unable to cope with their twisted emotions and lost feelings, they hide all of them into their masks."
Answer came without him having to even think about it. Yet, it did nothing to ease his suffering.
"You understood your reason, your heart and even your instinct. But whenever you had to fight to the fullest, when your raw emotions got the better of you, you still resorted to wearing a mask. Why, Ichigo?"
It was the truth. Even now, he felt the broken remains of his hollow mask grazing the skin of his face. They were all crumbling and turning into dust of reishi but they were there.
"There is a fundamental power binding everything in your spirit together. It is not love. It's pain, Ichigo."
"Your whole life has been filled with pain."
"Pain of losing your mother."
"Pain of losing your sisters."
"Pain of physical and emotional trauma."
"Pain of killing."
"Pain of letting others getting killed."
"From the day you were born, you had to fight against obstacles only a few could overcome."
"You are strong, Ichigo. Stronger than you can imagine. But that strength came at a terrible price. To use it to its fullest, you need to evolve."
"To ascend higher, you need to let go of your suffering, Ichigo. Let go of your past and accept the pain that came with it. Pulverize that mask of yours and let your spirit roar!"
There was a palpable urgency in tones of both his spirits. Like they were desperate to make him understand and to convince him of his own worth.
He hated it. He hated how much he had fallen. Wasn't it his own voice that had said he would never give up again before? Yet, there he was, giving up on everything because pain of loss paralyzed him again.
"Accept us, Ichigo. Accept us and let us reach enlightenment together."
"Accept us, Ichigo. Accept us and let us turn an unreachable dream into reality."
He raised his head and looked at the scene in front of him.
There, in a distance, he saw his own self in a form of a gigantic, pulsing orb of power, chained with corrosive seals preventing it from rotting.
Hollow.
Quincy.
Shinigami.
Human.
Four parts of a puzzle about to be resolved.
"Because of your fear of pain, you could not use my full power, Ichigo. Accept your pain and make us whole. Unleash the true power of Zangetsu. Your true Shikai."
Letting the pain consume him, he lifted his right arm and pointed his open palm at the orb of his soul. With a snapping sound, the chains corroded and turned into a dust of red particles. Swirling and spinning, all of them entered the orb and colored it with a crimson shade of blood.
He lifted his other arm and, repeating the process, let a blinding glow of white light wash over him like a touch of his mother. It brought a single tear to his eye then hurried towards the orb where it joined the others and turned its color lighter.
A torrent of black energy shot from his body and flowed into the orb, reminding him of the times when his father used to surprise him with sudden friendly spars.
Then he heard childish laughter that made him smile.
"… is it over?"
"No. He's coming."
"Do not be afraid, Ichigo. He is the one that will guide you."
Before he could ask for any explanation, a familiar voice reverberated in his mind and he had to fight the urge to shiver from the sheer power of its presence.
"… MORS... עֵזֶר... ΣΚΟΤΏΝΩ…!"
But then the words changed.
"… accipio… הוביל… μέλλον…!"
He didn't understand and felt an overwhelming stress on his mind but as per his spirits' words, he let himself being guided to the light. Flashing images of past, present, future and images of the unknown blended together in one singularity with a simple result.
Enlightenment.
…
His eyes snapped open, filled to the brim with understanding at last. Finally, he understood just what he had to do. It was only when despair of the truth reached his heart, mind and soul that he finally accepted who he was.
Kurosaki Ichigo.
The one who would bring an end to it all. He screamed in joy.
"GYAAAAAAAAAA!"
Through his opened eyes, he saw the energy swirling around him before exploding outwards like a small bomb. A pillar of reiryoku shot to the heavens and continued further. The noise of the war disappeared. The voice of his power overpowered it all. He could feel his energy rising, achieving heights of strength he had thought to be impossible. There was just so much power flowing within him, it was unreal.
A shroud of opaque reiryoku hid him from the rest of the world. It lasted for only a second but, when the energy dissipated, a different Ichigo rose to his feet.
No longer he had a hollow mask on his face. It had all but crumbled, yet there was something left for him to remember it.
There were two thick vertical black tattoo-like stripes, each going down from the top of his forehead and down through his eyes and cheekbones all the way to the lower part of his jaw, where they ended. His eyes remained hollow-like with yellow eye irises, black sclera and pupils.
One surprising addition appeared on the inner part of his wrist, where two large five-pointed crosses, each on both wrists, glowed in pure white.
The words coming to him subconsciously, Ichigo spoke.
"One more time. Bleach their souls, Zangetsu!"
The surrounding energy slowly settled down and withdrew back into his body. Opening his eyes, Ichigo took a deep breath.
Inner peace.
"I see it now, Zangetsu. Thank you. Now I can move forward."
His gaze fell on his Arrancar opponent and it instantly hardened.
"Let's end this, Ulquiorra."
…
It was incredible. It felt incredible.
Having finally unlocked the true potential of his Shikai, Ichigo felt that the visual transformation was not the only thing that changed. The power unleashed from within him invigorated his whole being, rejuvenated his mind and galvanized his body with so much strength, he felt like a new person. His wounds healed. His mind felt clean and clear. All of his senses became more acute, precise and powerful. The spiritual energy within him flowed at a different speed and in a new rhythm that made everything much easier. His Hollow reiryoku no longer needed his guidance and made his Hollow abilities sharper than ever. No longer he was afraid to use as much of it as possible. In the state of revelation, he knew his control over himself wouldn't allow him to go berserk. At last, he trusted his animal part of himself to do what was necessary without causing troubles for him. Everything that had been troubling him, the heavy thoughts previously present within his mind vanished and were replaced with an almost eerie equilibrium.
He was born anew, better, faster and stronger. He was at the top of the world and nothing could knock him down. Fear and despair held no power over him. The coldness turned into a raging fire, roaring within him like a phoenix of new life.
It was his turn to command the battlefield. He looked at his opponent that was watching him closely and opened his mouth.
"Despair, wasn't it? Taste it." He stated and blinked from the existence.
Moving at speed his past self would have considered ridiculous, he appeared in front of Ulquiorra with a determined expression that promised justified pain. With a downward slash, the blade of his zanpakuto slid across Ulquiorra's wings that his opponent barely raised in defense. It didn't matter.
Parts of wings fell, cut down like a shield made of glass.
He saw Ulquiorra flash away, but he was right behind him, following him all the way through his Sonído, having no troubles keeping up. Despite the impassive mask of his opponent, he knew the Arrancar was shocked. The hasty retreat was enough of an evidence.
A black blast of energy rushed at him; a hellish punishment brought by the devil himself. Ichigo didn't even flinch. There was no need to be afraid. Calmly, he raised both his swords and when the Cero was about to hit him, he brought both blades down. The black Cero did not stand a chance against the energy flowing within the glowing swords and was dispersed in one fell swoop.
"Don't fight it, Ulquiorra. I thought you liked despair."
He felt a slight tremor in his opponent's reiatsu but he kept his expression calm and collected. He was stronger than before but not cockier. Ulquiorra was still a tough opponent, and he didn't want to underestimate him. This decision proved to be a good one when he saw the Quatro Espada forming yet another lance of energy. At the same time as it shot towards him, he sliced the air in front of him.
"Getsuga Tenshō."
The wave of energy was unlike any he had released before. While only slightly larger, it was much denser and heavier than ever. It pushed back and demolished the lance of energy at the point of contact.
His Pesquisa, now enhanced, caught Ulquiorra's movements just as the Arrancar tried to flow around the battlefield with an intention to strike at him from above. Glancing up, Ichigo let go of his smaller sword and caught his opponent's outstretched hand before it could sink into his upper chest.
He saw Ulquiorra's eyes widen a little. With a deft slash of his larger sword, his opponent's arm got severed. Blood erupted from the stump and warmed his face. Ulquiorra immediately backed away.
"Tch." Was all the Arrancar said before a new limb grew from the bleeding stub. He gave Ichigo an even stare.
"Among the Espada, my high-speed regeneration is the best and allows me to regrow most parts of my body nearly instantaneously. I don't know how you gained this new power but it won't help you."
Ichigo watched Ulquiorra raise both his arms and point his opened palms towards him. Several pulses of red energy shot at him and reached him in no time. Narrowing his eyes, Ichigo let go of his second sword. Moving his hands fast, he slapped every single pulse of energy away. It stung but his enhanced Hierro survived sustaining no attention-worthy wounds.
"I already saw Yammy using Bala." He stated when Ulquiorra stopped firing.
Ulquiorra shimmered out of his sight but Ichigo knew where he was. Instantly, he grabbed a hold of his swords. In a burst of speed, he vanished as well and met his opponent in the middle of his Sonído. Ulquiorra's hands moved fast to deliver a series of quick hits, but Ichigo could deflect them all. Seeing his attempts bore no results, Ulquiorra tried to back away but Ichigo caught him by the tip of his tail and swung him around.
When the Arrancar crashed into the dune, Ichigo acted. Ramping up the speed of his Shunpo, he landed next to his opponent just as he was getting up. Silently, he spun around and delivered a powerful kick to his opponent's abdomen that lifted him in the air and blasted him into the wall of Las Noches. The wall cracked and sand swirled all around the point of impact in a dance of foreboding. Just as the Arrancar was getting himself out of the crater, Ichigo let go of his larger sword and pointed his opened palm towards him.
"Cero."
A bright crimson blast of energy obliterated everything in its path and crashed into the Quatro Espada in a blink of an eye. A large hole appeared in the thick wall of Las Noches but even that wasn't enough to stop his Cero. Only once he lowered his hand, the energy dissolved.
"Do you feel it yet, Ulquiorra? Despair?" Ichigo asked when he saw the battered and bloodied Arrancar slowly getting back on his feet.
"A foolish question, Kurosaki Ichigo. I always feel it. It was despair I was born from."
Hardening his gaze, Ichigo flashed towards him. Ulquiorra formed another lance of energy and with it parried several slashes of Ichigo's zanpakuto but, after a few more seconds, when the onslaught didn't seem to be stopping, one hit got through. It tore through his chest and opened a large gash, from which blood erupted in a shower of dark red.
"Damn you, Kurosaki."
An orb of black energy appeared in the corner of his eye and Ichigo cursed. Just as he was falling backwards, Ulquiorra formed one last Cero. Point-blank, it exploded right in Ichigo's face.
Feeling pain, Ichigo coughed and waved his arms to clear the smoke. He inhaled in small gasps until the blanket of blackness dissolved and revealed his heavily wounded opponent stubbornly clinging to life as the wound in his chest began to slowly close. With half of his face and upper part of his chest burnt, Ichigo's expression settled for an irritated scowl.
"Die already."
With that said, he increased the grip on his glowing swords and brought them towards the Arrancar in front of him from in a slash, with each blade coming from a different direction.
Ulquiorra's lower part of abdomen along with his legs fell towards him, while the rest of his body fell backwards. A large pool of blood formed around him only to be immediately soaked into the dry sand beneath him.
"Damn… you…"
Ichigo took a step forward and looked down at his broken opponent with an intense glare.
"No. Damn you."
In one swift motion, he brought his zanpakuto down and let it sink into his opponent's body.
Ulquiorra's head rolled away, no longer attached to the rest of his body. With that, the battle was over.
Quatro Espada existed no more. Only thing remaining after him was a tiny amount of reishi flowing into Ichigo's sword.
…
Ichigo remained in the same position, staring at the still, lifeless face of his dead enemy for a few more seconds. He did not feel guilty. There was no remorse. It had to be done. Not for the sake of the Soul Society.
For his own sake and for the sake of those he held dear.
However, despite his battle being over, the war still raged on. Noises, sounds of clashing metal and cries of pain, for the past few moments silenced and unable to pierce through his eardrums, came back to life with a vengeance. A frenzied onslaught of never-ending misery, it was not something he could have brushed away just like that. Blood still seeped through the crevices in dunes of never-ending sand. Shinigami, Arrancars, they were all still dying.
It was a gargantuan conflict that couldn't be solved with just one simple slash of his sword.
'… MORS... עֵזֶר... ΣΚΟΤΏΝΩ…!'
Or could it?
The voice shouted within his mind one last time before falling into a different tune, whispering words he had never heard before. They weren't filled with warmth or encouragement but, they weren't unkind. Plain and simple, they were words of truth. What they meant, Ichigo didn't know. However, deep down, his soul understood the sentiment.
There was something he could do. It made sense. The war started because of one man and one man only. It's not that he was wrong in his conviction; his intentions were well-meant. Yet at the moment, they weren't needed. Not yet.
A surge of energy and a deafening roar caught his attention. He quickly turned towards the source and, seeing the situation, felt a chill within his heart.
He was too far away to see the details but still, some things couldn't be missed. Like, for example, the torrent of energy that was so powerful, so thick and so heavy, it no longer felt like spiritual energy at all. It was more.
Something different.
Something on the edge of sanity.
It was like an invisible veil of oblivion, weighting down on him and numbing every single one of his senses. It became hard to see, hard to breathe, hard to hear, hard to taste and hard to feel. A presence of a cocooned creature, about to ascend to the godhood.
Aizen.
Watching the scene unfold, Ichigo dimly knew of one of Aizen's close comrades, Ichimaru Gin, slowly withering away. What had happened, he didn't know. But what was about to happen, he knew.
He felt something within him shift ever so slightly. This was it. The moment in which he had to act.
Forming a melancholic smile, he closed his eyes and waited until his two spirits let him know they were there.
'Zangetsu, old man Yhwach. You know what I have to do, don't you?'
'You DON'T have to do anything, Ichigo! It's not your job to sacrifice yourself for this lot!'
He let out a soft snort.
'Come on, you crazy bastard, you don't believe that. We both know who I am. And you've seen the images. There is nothing else I can do. To progress, we have to regress first. Not to mention it's the perfect chance to mask the transformation.'
Zangetsu did not respond but Ichigo could feel his conflicting emotions threatening to spill.
'If that is your choice, Ichigo, then I will do nothing else but support you. We are here for you, both of us.'
He nodded.
'I know. Besides, it's not like I'm saying goodbye. We will meet again soon enough. You aren't getting rid of me yet. It'll just probably take time to balance things out. I'm giving you a free hand in this.'
He raised his head and let a determined, hard look to settle on his face.
'You know what to do, guys. As soon as it starts, retreat as far as you can, as deep as you can and stay there. This will hurt but not as much as the possibility of me losing you. I WILL be back.'
With that said, he cut off their mental link and calmly put his swords on his back. He no longer needed them. He already had them within the palms of his hands.
He bent his knees and vanished in a burst of the fastest Shunpo he had ever used.
The world around him blurred into a canvas of spilled colors. He passed by Shinigami and Hollows alike without them even feeling his presence. He was so fast, a sonic boom remained in his wake, pushing away anyone too close to him. Sand swirled all around him.
Then it was over and he landed right in front of Aizen, who no longer looked like the man Ichigo remembered him to be. His hair was longer, his eyes almost black, his sclera purple and his outfit had turned into a pure white cloak. There was a diamond-shaped object embedded in his forehead and three sets of butterfly-like wings were coming from his back. In the center of his chest, a large, hollow-like hole screamed at him. And in the center of that hole, a Hōgyoku was glowing.
Aizen noticed him with a surprise etched in his eyes.
"Kurosaki. You are finally here to join us. Just in time to see the world chan- "
"Aizen."
Ichigo interrupted him sharply and without a warning, yet his voice didn't waver. Aizen stopped talking with his mouth still open. Behind Ichigo, several reiatsu signatures he recognized flared. He ignored them and directed all of his attention towards the man in front of him.
"This war brings nothing but despair. Your time will come. But not today."
Before anyone could interfere and before Aizen could recover from the surprise, both of Ichigo's hands shot forward and embraced the Hōgyoku within Aizen's chest. The orb was cold but as soon as he came into contact with it, it grew warmer. A large energy that was no longer just spiritual, poured out of Ichigo.
Almost as if he understood, Aizen's eyes widened in fear.
"What… what are you doing?!" He shouted and tried to pull away.
Ichigo did not let him. Keeping the man in place, he formed a warm smile at him.
"It's simple. I'm ending this war."
The energy around Ichigo flared with such intensity, the sand near him was instantly vaporized. Aizen's eyes bugged out, and the man screamed in pain. Ichigo did the same.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGH!"
Both Ichigo's and Aizen's energy exploded outwards. In a blinding flash, Aizen Sōsuke dematerialized and vanished from existence. He did not escape.
He simply ceased to exist, erased from the reality.
Ichigo's scream died down and the teen fell down, his body lifeless and with no trace of energy.
One last thought ran through his mind.
'Oblivion.'
Then his consciousness faded.
In that moment, the war ended.
End of Chapter 41.
End of Enlightenment Arc.
Longer than usual AN follows:
First, let me start by talking about my thoughts while writing the finale of this Arc a bit.
I have rewritten this chapter several times. There were many different things I put down, but in the end I decided I wanted this final part to be
personal for Ichigo. The whole arc was like that, so why not the last bit. The name of the arc, 'Enlightenment', even suggested so. That is the main reason
why I didn't include different POVs and focused only on him. I experimented on those but the chapter didn't flow well, so I cut them away.
But this war, even though it lasted only for a short time, will have different effects on people. On Ichigo... this effect will be for better. No more anxious, mopey or depressed Ichigo. I know I said that before but I mean it now. This was the last time he acted in such way but it was for a good reason.
There were several things in this chapter I will use in the future. Details you may or may not notice. My plans are grand and I hope can do them justice.
What is the fate of Arrancars? What of Aizen? What of Shinigami? All in due time.
The thing I'm proud of is Aizen. I always showed him scheming and manipulative but never did I portray him as a pure villain. Because in this story,
he's not. This war is the first time in this story that he's directly responsible for deaths and even then, you can see him arguing with the Commander about the fact that the Gotei came to Hueco Mundo not just as Captains but the weaker officers as well. That's not to say he didn't do things that are hard to forgive.
With this, the story reached the end of its first half, plot wise. I had plans for 4 more arcs, but as I was outlining them, I realized that the last arc has to be divided. It would be too long. So, there will probably be 6 more arcs spanning most likely more words than I have written so far so... bear with me.
I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter just as I enjoyed writing it.
Notes about title of this chapter:
Seraphim of the Myō'ō - Aizen.
Seraphim is basically the highest rank in angelic hierarchy. What does that mean, try to guess.
Myō'ō is part of the name Aizen Myō'ō - one of the Wisdom Kings in buddhism and (in my opinion) what Tite Kubo partly used as a basis for creation of Aizen Sosuke.
Soul Healing, part 4: The Awakening - should be obviously about Ichigo and his evolution. One meaning of this is him finally reaching the full power of his Shikai, second is... ? (Fill in the blanks)
To reviews: (I don't want to prolong this AN too much so I'll be brief)
Anontbhfam - thank you, this tidbit is what I realized I like about Aizen because it fits his character. So I used his habit of drinking tea anytime I could.
Nomadic Chaos - nope, didn't get the chance. Besides, as it was stated, Ulquiorra is unique ... and there is a reason behind it.
Dinner - I'm happy it got this much of reaction out of you. FeelsGoodMan.
the fandom wolf - actually, there is a reason for things happening solely in Japan (it will come into play later) and yes, there will be battles in other parts of the world.
D - it's really hard to guess Ulquiorra's power level compared to Aizen but, thankfully, I didn't have to, lol.
Blackstriker94 - twisted as in too many twists or too dark? (honestly curious)
Pyrofoxxx - care to elaborate? What part wasn't to your liking? (same as above, curious)
kaxipoptos - well, I hope this chapter matched your expectations.
MugetsuIchigo - what about now?
Harbinger of Kaos - Bankai is still a music of the future. Nono, Yoruichi part was just Ichigo doing one thing right amid the sea of wrongness. About the girls, you are not wrong but not right either. There is something wrong with Orihime and it mirrors in Tatsuki. But it's not Aizen's doing. Yes about Stark and Harribel and ichigo, somewhat about the other part.
To all of you, thank you! There is a bit of bad news, though.
Like I mentioned before, I have to take a break for IRL stuff. But the end of this break is set in stone and you can expect the next chapter at the beginning of the next month.
Next chapter: Chapter 42 - Cessation of Suffering (Boomerang effect) - will be published at the beginning of JULY!
Until then.