The Challenge – Chap. 26
A/N: Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing, including anonymous reviewer QueenBlade for your kind comments about the last couple of chapters.
(Originally posted 8/18/12.)
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Somehow, a voice was issuing from that grotesque, severed head. It was… laughing, a creepy, high-pitched snigger. "You fools!" it cried. "It's already too late. And with my death… the balance can no longer be maintained! You're all going to die, and the world will die with you!"
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It shrieked with falsetto laughter until Aizen shot a bolt of light out of his palm and vaporized it.
Suddenly there was silence, and Orihime staggered back, wondering what the Vandenreich leader could have been talking about. She was still reeling under the impact of the colossal clash of energies as the two leaders had battled, their spiritual pressures colliding.
Aizen's power had grown far more than she had imagined. She had not realized how much more powerful he was now, but she remembered how devastatingly strong he had been even the first time Ichigo had battled him, stopping her friend's sword with a single finger.
And now… against the Vandenreich leader, who had led an army that had defeated the most powerful captains in the Gotei 13, who had completely obliterated the capital city of the Seireitei, the city which had stood for a thousand years… this man had himself been annihilated by a single spell of Aizen's.
She looked at the man beside her. His eyes were calm as he returned her glance. A wave of soldiers came running up to attack, and without even bothering to face them, he gestured and a score of them fell to the ground, lifeless.
In that moment, she understood what it meant to stand by the side of a god.
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They stood beside Yamamoto once more on the high land overlooking the ruined city below. The elderly shinigami bowed his head. With the death of the Vandenreich leader, the enemy forces had pulled back, but they could all see they were still regrouping.
Yamamoto exhaled harshly. "They will not stop fighting until the very last one is dead." His eyes went to Aizen. "But you have sensed what is happening, haven't you." It was not a question.
"The leader triggered a spell with his death that has sent the balance of souls within the worlds completely out of equilibrium," Aizen said calmly. "We don't have much longer."
"I estimate one hour, or maybe less," the elderly captain said. "One hour until the end of the world." His rheumy eyes scanned Aizen's face. "If our forces hold the Vandenreich here, can you make it to the fountain in the central courtyard of the spirit palace? The only way to keep the universe from imploding is for a king with sufficient power to utilize the primal power source of all the worlds. Are you aware of the necessary spells to perform?"
Aizen's voice was calm as always. "Of course." A faint smile appeared on his lips. "I broke into the archives of the Central 46 specifically to learn the royal lore and commit it all to memory."
Yamamoto's eyes darkened, but he said nothing.
"I will lead my forces now into the Spirit Realm, Captain-commander. I suggest you send your strongest fighters with me, and retain only just enough force here to keep the Vandenreich at bay."
Yamamoto slowly shook his head. "I will send them all with you; those who retain their bankais. I alone will stay here and hold off this horde." His eyes strayed to the still-vast Vandenreich army. "Good luck to you, Aizen-taichou."
Aizen nodded once at the honorific, understanding that Yamamoto did not believe he would survive this battle. "Good wishes to you as well, soutaichou. I will defeat that thing that calls itself the Spirit King and restore the balance of the worlds." He turned away.
Orihime hastened to follow him. In the distance, she heard calling, wailing, orders being given. Healers ran back and forth, carrying stretchers to the makeshift hospital which had been established in one of the buildings which had escaped most of the damage. Other fighters were regrouping, forming up into battalions, standing at attention. Ulquiorra, looking somewhat the worse for wear, his face stoic as ever, was, as always, waiting by the side of his lord. Behind him, Grimmjow and Szayel stood at the head of a platoon of Arrancar.
Aizen turned to the soldiers ranked all around them and spoke quietly, but his voice carried to the ends of the plateau. "I will enter the Spirit Dimension now and we will fight the Royal Guard. When I have defeated the Spirit King, I will rebalance the three worlds. We have one hour. The magic needed to accomplish these tasks is arcane and delicate. I will need you all to follow my orders accurately and instantly, even if they do not appear to make sense; is that clear?" His eyes traveled over the battle-weary soldiers. "If anyone disobeys, even in the smallest of actions, there is a risk of failure to the rebalancing." His voice hardened. "Therefore, I will destroy any fools who do not obey any of my commands at once. Understood?" There was some murmuring from the shinigami ranks, but eventually the commanders of each group acknowledged the instruction with a nod.
He glanced at the woman beside him and lowered his voice. "I know you are tired, Orihime. Do you wish to stay behind and rest?"
She shook her head vigorously, and he nodded in grim satisfaction. "Very well. Let us begin."
The Captain-commander nodded stiffly and Aizen returned a relaxed, confident smile. With a lazy wave of one hand, he cleared a space in front of him magically, lifted the rune-covered metal cylinder in his other hand and began the ritual of Opening.
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The gate took them directly to the base of the wide marble steps leading up to the Spirit Palace, its spires and arches rising impossibly high above them. Aizen stood at the head of their army, the King's Key uplifted, holding the dimensional portal open until everyone had traversed the gate. Beside him, Orihime gazed around her in wonder and amazement. The very air of the Spirit Realm was richer, heavier with power, more dense with spirit particles than any other dimension she had visited. Around them were the gardens of the palace; she could see the lush greenery and fragrant blossoms extending out into the distance, and at the very end of the long slope lay a brilliant blue lake.
There was a ripple in the ambient reishi and suddenly a score of figures materialized on the steps facing them, swords drawn. They wore robes reminiscent of the Gotei 13 uniform, but with a white kosode under a black hakama, topped by a white haori with an odd four-pointed insignia on the back.
A tall, red-haired woman stood at their head, a flaming sword in her hand, her hair pulled back in a bun with a few tendrils escaping to frame her stern, unsmiling face. Aizen stepped forward to greet her.
"Hikifune-taichou," he addressed the woman, smiling pleasantly. "It has been a very long time." His eyes flicked to her insignia. "So you are now captain-commander of the Royal Guard. Congratulations on your promotion."
Orihime sucked in her breath. So this was the captain she had heard about, who had been promoted to the Royal Guard over a hundred years ago.
Hikifune's eyes narrowed. "So you have maneuvered and tricked your way to the last defense of the Royal Realm," she retorted, her mouth a grim line. "I have heard tales of your evil, Sousuke, of how far you have fallen," she said sternly. She gestured to where the Hougyoku glowed in his chest. "I am aware of the infernal device you're using to sustain yourself, how it feeds upon living souls, and I know how to counter it. Do not think you will pass the Royal Guard. We are prepared to send you down to the Hell you deserve." She raised her sword and took a ready stance.
Rather than attacking, Aizen held her eyes. "I am quite certain you are familiar with this type of device, seeing as the Spirit King has been sacrificing thousands of living souls to maintain his existence this past century."
Her eyes darkened momentarily. "Do not dare speak of what is beyond you, evildoer."
Aizen shrugged. "Am I truly so evil in comparison to the one you serve?" he asked lightly. "What of the exiles and deaths we have seen in the past century, all to sustain a creature who has outlived his normal existence and now clings to the spirit throne, cowering behind the defenses of the Royal Realm? Why does the King make no move to restore the balance, to send troops to protect the Seireitei, his guardians of the three worlds?"
The tall woman's lips tightened. "The King's actions are not for us to question. We are bound to serve him; that is all."
"Even if those actions lead to the destruction of all the worlds?"
Her eyes narrowed further. "What do you mean?" she growled, gripping her sword more tightly.
Aizen made a nonchalant gesture. "Surely you have felt the soul imbalance throughout the worlds. Are you not aware that we are very close to the tipping point where it will no longer be possible to reverse the imbalance and prevent the destruction of our worlds?"
She took a step back, hissing. "You lie! We have felt nothing here."
"Why don't you ask His Majesty what the spirit fountain tells him?" Aizen's tone was mocking. "You know the King is the one tasked with maintaining the balance of the worlds. Ask yourself, has he been following his own rules lately?" He paused, searching her eyes.
She faltered visibly, then lifted her chin, "I—"
Aizen interrupted, pressing his advantage. "Has he ever truly taken actions for the benefit of the world? I would think that you, of all people, Kirio, would be aware of the harsh measures he has employed against individuals who oppose his rule. What was it that happened to your own family?" He tilted his head.
Hikifune flushed and raised her sword defensively. "That is ancient history. And we must obey the laws or our society will fall apart." Her chest heaved, and Orihime saw the muscles in her jaw clench.
"You are repeating well-worn words," Aizen retorted. "How many times have you repeated that mantra to support his injustice?" He took a step forward.
She shook her head. "Do not come any closer," she demanded, lifting her sword further.
Aizen halted, raising an arm and gesturing to Orihime. "Do you recognize this woman?"
Hikifune's face was puzzled, as though she did not expect such words from Aizen. She glanced at Orihime, and the girl felt the shinigami probing her reiatsu. She firmed her lips and returned the woman's gaze without flinching.
Something passed over Hikifune's face, but she said, shaking her head, "No. Should I?"
Aizen raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you don't?" He inclined his head toward Orihime. "Isn't there something familiar in her reiatsu?"
The woman sent Aizen a dark glance, but returned her scrutiny to Orihime, studying her face carefully and probing her reiatsu once more. She hesitated.
"Do you recall that incident, so many decades ago," Aizen continued softly, "when the king exiled so many members of the strongest noble families to the human world?"
Hikifune's face darkened and her eyes flashed to Aizen. "You will not break my resolve this way, Sousuke. No matter what my personal feelings are, my duty is clear. Something you have forgotten long ago in your selfish quest for personal glory and power!"
Aizen ignored her outburst. "Surely you remember two young nobles in particular. One of them was Masaki Shiba. And the other…" he paused for a moment, scrutinizing her, "your own daughter. Do you even remember her name?" he mused.
"Silence!" shouted the tall woman, lifting her sword.
Now Aizen had moved forward, but his sword remained sheathed at his side. He stared directly into Hikifune's eyes, his voice relentless. "Your daughter, forced to live the short remainder of her life as a mortal, simply because she had the courage to rebel against injustice. The injustice of the king."
"No," said Hikifune, shaking her head. Her eyes returned to Orihime, and an odd emotion was rising in them.
"Your daughter died," Aizen went on gently. "But before she passed on, she had a child in the human world. She died in childbirth, as humans do, and her child was put up for adoption. That child stands before you now."
Hikifune swayed, her eyes on Orihime, who drew in her breath sharply. "What…?" she began.
Aizen raised his voice, continuing. "Extend your senses, Kirio. You can tell what I say is true if you feel her power. Orihime is your granddaughter, Kirio, abandoned to the tender mercies of adoptive human parents who mistreated her. She lived a life of sorrow, overlooked and belittled by even the humans who call her 'friend,' until I found her and brought her away from all that."
"No," Hikifune cried. Orihime, shocked and upset, looked between Aizen and the tall woman confronting each other. The woman dropped her sword and buried her face in her hands.
Orihime thought for a moment Aizen would strike the defenseless woman, but he did not move for his sword. Orihime turned to him, fury building in her at how Aizen was still withholding information strategically in order to manipulate everyone in accordance with his schemes. "Why haven't you told me this before?" she demanded.
Aizen glanced at her. "You never asked me about your background."
Orihime's eyes narrowed, but before she could say anything, Aizen gestured for her to be silent.
The woman in front of them finally raised her head from her hands. Tears leaked from her eyes.
"Do you want to know what happened to Orihime, what cruelties were visited upon her in the human world?" Aizen pressed on relentlessly. "Is this the type of behavior you want to defend and condone?"
Hikifune squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head. "No," she whispered.
"Then step aside," urged Aizen. "Can you not feel the soul imbalance now? It has become too extreme to ignore. Allow us to correct this injustice at last. And once that thing on the spirit throne is finally gone, we can restore the balance of the worlds." He paused, looking at the trembling woman before him. "There is not much time left. You must let me through now." His voice was gentle, pitying.
Orihime stared at the woman—her grandmother? What did it mean about her heritage? She glanced at Aizen, but he was completely focused on the woman before him, and clearly would not be explaining anything anytime soon.
At last Hikifune raised her head and her eyes flashed. She took a step to the side and called out to the rest of the Royal Guard. "Step aside! Allow this man and his people to pass!"
There was a murmuring among the ranks of the men and women massed at the top of the stairs. Several stood to one side, but a few broke ranks and flash-stepped through the high portal behind them, entering the palace.
Orihime glanced once more at Hikifune, but the woman had vanished.
Aizen, an expression of triumph on his face, mounted the stairs toward the royal palace, his blade held high. "Come," he shouted as he made a sweeping gesture to the army below. Orihime scrambled to follow, pushing down all the questions that had arisen in her mind.
The battle to defeat the spirit king lay before them.
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Aizen strode through the grand, empty halls of the spirit palace as though he owned the building. Orihime ran behind him, and the others followed. The palace was luxurious and fantastically beautiful; their feet trod on intricately patterned marble floors inlaid with semi-precious stones, rhodochrosite, malachite, lapis lazuli. The walls were hung with ancient tapestries upon which fantastical figures of animals and humans cavorted or battled. Orihime wished she could stop and examine them, but Aizen did not pause nor even glance to either side.
At last they came to a huge, central courtyard. Vast doors with panes of glass a hundred feet tall stood open, framing a colossal circular fountain surrounded by a wall of stone. From the center of the fountain, a spectacular jet of water sprayed hundreds of feet into the air. Orihime looked up, and up, and up.
The walls of the palace surrounded the courtyard, graced by fragrant vines winding around intricately carved stone arches and spires embedded with specks of quartz or mica, glittering in the brilliant sunlight. Far, far overhead, a cloudless blue sky was visible above the arches and spires.
The water of the fountain glowed with golden light, brilliant even in full sun. And as Orihime watched, the color of the light gradually changed from golden to deep blue, as though sunlight were fading to twilight. The myriad drops of water shimmered, turning from a spray of a million tiny gems of topaz to ones of sapphire. And as it did she felt the jewel at her own throat quiver, a pulsating warmth rising from within to caress her skin. She touched it with a single finger and it quieted.
But there was no time for her to wonder what was happening. At the far end of the courtyard stood a huge throne. Carved of a single block of white marble, and inlaid in the patterns she had seen throughout the palace, semi-precious stones laying out a repeating border of graceful curls and strokes that almost looked like a script, words that perhaps once had meaning in a language written so long ago that even the sounds of it were forgotten. Orihime shivered.
And hunched against one vast arm of the throne was… a man? As they approached, she saw the dark, misshapen figure appeared more like a monkey, a tiny, wrinkled, gray-skinned creature with arms too short for its scrawny torso. Sightless eyes, yellowish sclera surrounding pale irises and pupils completely hazed over with a thick grayish film, a squat, pitted nose, and a slash of a lipless mouth protruded from seamed, deeply lined skin and Orihime swallowed.
The creature opened its mouth. "How dare you disturb the throne of the rightful King?" it squeaked, the voice cracking and wandering in pitch.
Aizen halted at the base of the throne, looking up at the King. "Are you aware that your worlds are crumbling?"
"Lies. All lies," said the King mechanically. It raised an arm and a dozen or more of the Royal Guard stepped forward from behind the throne to face the invaders.
Aizen said softly, "You have artificially extended your life with the sacrifice of human souls, but you have become weak and have failed to perform your duties to the worlds you rule. You refused to intervene when enemies beset the Seireitei. When I created a powerful race of soldiers to overrun your domain, you waited in safety and allowed the Gotei 13 and a handful of human children to defend your throne. And now, when the Quincies you ordered exterminated are wreaking vengeance not only on Soul Society but on the entire universe, you order the Royal Guard to defend your person."
He shook his head. "They call me evil and selfish, but no one has ever called me a coward."
The creature's sightless eyes flashed. "You are a fool to defy me. Your power is nothing compared to the divine power that flows through the spirit fountain… power that flows only to the rightful King."
Aizen smiled with utter confidence. "Then let us begin." He raised his sword.