Only in very special cases did Aizen emerge from the King's Realm. His interest had always been a dangerous honor to receive. The same was still true now. That he himself came down for the ritual meant that this new soul held some kind of promise in his eyes. But whether the soul could withstand the trials ahead, the strain of a god's scrutiny, remained to be seen.
Aizen's feet touched the ground like a benediction and his chosen followers gathered close, drawn by his presence like moths from kilometers or even worlds away.
Aizen assessed the new soul, brought his benevolent spiritual pressure to bear on it. Wind assaulted the hillside and the living still standing on it. In the distance, the people's food waved like many golden hands. Rows upon rows shining as far as the eye could see.
The silver-haired man dropped to his knees, tried to rise, and dropped again. Though he must have been determined, his composure never faltered. The illusion of sweat stood out on his brow, and his chain of fate dipped and swayed with his movements.
Nobody could stand against Aizen. The whole point of this was not to measure power, but capability. Would the instinct to survive outweigh everything else? Was this soul even worthy of its second life?
If not, it would be summarily executed and sent back to try all over again.
"Do you understand why you failed this time, Maikishima Shougo?" Aizen asked, using the soul's current designation. His tone was honey-sweet and swept over his followers with almost as much force as his reiatsu. HIs words seemed to echo into the distance and silence all other noises. Indeed, his followers quieted their murmurs and strained their ears for more.
Aizen kindly let the soul consider its reply.
"If you consider this a failure," Makishima said, a smile in his tone, "you must not comprehend my true motivation."
The system still turned and whirled at the whim of those controlling minds so similar and yet alien to his own. The people yet dreamt their dreams without ever fully waking. Those condemned by society remained locked in the tragedy of their circumstances.
And yet.
Something had changed. Makishima threw himself into the pond knowing full well he would likely drown but needing to break the surface of those placid waters and expose their dark depths anyway. His was the first sacrifice of many, but already it was clear that it was not in vain.
The system still turned and whirled at the whim of those in charge but it was no longer as opaque as it had once been. Possibility now loomed and crackled like thunderclouds. The people still dreamt but no longer could they fully ignore the dangers so very close to them. The evidence was everywhere, but especially prominent in those two he changed the most: Kogami Shinya and Tsunemori Akane.
"This is not the end."
Indeed, it wasn't.
Aizen's beautific smile shone down upon the one now worthy of his second life and Makishima Shougo stood to join his new peers.