The wind whipped through the desolate streets of the Seireitei, carrying a chilling premonition. Silas's footsteps echoed against the empty buildings, each striding a beat in the rhythm of his steadfastness.

Central 46 loomed ahead, a skeletal monument of dead Souls that hardly anyone knew about. Its closed windows were vacant with unfilled rooms. As he approached, memories flickered: the warmth of his family, the sting of betrayal, and the cold fury that had consumed him since the day his car flipped over the bridge.

He pushed open the creaking gate, the hinges groaning. Inside, the air hung heavy with the silence of the dead. The once-professional courtroom, where officials held meetings, was now a graveyard of unattended corpses. Silas walked among the bloody floor, each step echoing along the wall.

He reached a dark hallway where a door was slightly open. It was the only room with lights on. Inside that room sat a lone figure, watching a scene on a small monitor: Aizen, the only Soul Reaper Silas obsessed over.

"I knew you would come."

"I don't believe you."

"Oh…"

How could Silas be impressed that Aizen knew he was coming? By no means was he hiding his spiritual pressure. Rather, he desired Aizen to sense him. Because if Aizen ran, then it would prove that he was more scared of Silas than expected.

Silas halted as Aizen slowly stood from his seat to face him. Their eyes met for the first time. Then silence. Unspoken words, a storm was brewing between them. In that moment, the world outside ceased to exist. It was only them.

"Your name is Aizen, right? Let's get this over with."

"Ichigo, you came here expecting something. Shouldn't you be off playing the hero?"

When Silas hadn't responded, Aizen stared into his menacing eyes. There wasn't a single trace of care or desire to play anything. "I see… Looking at you up close gives me the impression that you've killed someone."

"It's only a kill when the thing is alive. You things are not alive in my eyes."

Silas's movements then shifted, alarming Aizen's senses. Without making a face, Aizen brought his sword down on Silas's head, but he easily dodged with a sidestep. The sword twisted to cut his abdomen, but he flipped as if one with the wind.

Staying in range, he swiped his weapon at Aizen's head, only to have his wrist caught. The two whipped through the desolate halls of Central 46, going back and forth. When Silas thought he had cut Aizen's torso, it was revealed to be an afterimage, and when Aizen thought he'd sliced Silas's arm off, only the sleeve was cut.

Silas sheathed his sword, backstepping away. When he hit a wall, Aizen lunged his blade forward, only millimeters from stabbing Silas's forehead. His blade raced across the wall, cutting through it as Silas took off running. A confident smile from Aizen turned to doubt when he saw what Silas was planning.

Using both hands, Silas unsheathed two swords. He then stabbed relentlessly, but each attempt was being evaded like a man dancing between knives. Aizen flicked his sword to the side and stopped both of Silas's blades!

"Is that the best you can do?" The Soul Reaper taunted.

"Hmph…"

Not letting his words affect him, he tilted his body to deliver one swift kick to Aizen's chest, causing a booming impact. The Soul Reaper's body felt like it was made of steel. Using the momentum, he bounced off and backflipped, narrowly evading a swing from Aizen's sword.

With each attack came a quick dodge. Not a single fighter yielded to the other.

"Hadō #90. Kurohitsugi."

Onyx tiles stacked around Silas, generating a high level of spiritual pressure to conceal him inside a black box.

"Pierce the heavens, Zangetsu." A radiating white light clouded the room as the sword torrented outward. In one swing, he attacked. "Getsuga…" Spears began protruding from within the walls, ready to lacerate him. "Tenshō!"

A blast radiating with energy broke through the spell before it could close him in. Aizen's eyes widened, feeling impressed that a kidō spell in the nineties was broken with such intensity. And it wasn't just any spell; it was one of Aizen's strongest one!

Silas stood in the center, dust brushing past his robes, with the lengthy, thin blade of Zangetsu resting at his side. "That all you got?"

The white walls, usually adorned with bureaucratic pronouncements, now sported craters and scorch marks. There was no doubt that Aizen was fast, even faster than Yoruichi, but there was no way the Soul Reaper was giving it his all.

"Hadō #97 Denki Bōru."

Silas furrowed his brows, never having heard of this kidō spell before. A flash of amber electricity zipped past his cheek, his eyes snapping left to track its origin. He barely registered the movement before his blade blurred, deflecting another incoming orb. From the shadowy corners, five crackling spheres found their mark, exploding against his sides. Pain lanced through him, momentarily breaking his rhythm.

"Entertain me, Ichigo..."

Silas's feet shifted rapidly across the room, avoiding a plethora of electric orbs that left trails of light. When he destroyed one, more than five would hit him from different angles!

The entire central hub had sparks flashing along the destroyed columns. Impact upon impact sent shockwaves rippling through the chamber, dislodging marble tiles and sending shards of spirit particles raining down.

Silas, barely fazed, launched himself at Aizen. Their swords crashed into each other's. Just before the orbs could attack him, he unleashed his attack: "Getsuga tenshō."

A white light formed at point-blank range, illuminating Aizen's smug smile. In that split second, a large explosion detonated, destroying a large portion of the area, including the ceiling!

Aizen flew above within the newly formed gigantic dust cloud. Though the attack was grand, he hardly had any scratches on his captain's uniform. Sensing Silas's whereabouts, he shot a bolt of lightning from his fingertips.

"Hadō #4. Byakurai. Bakudō #9. Hōrin."

Silas prepared to simply sidestep away, but then an electric tendril emerged from the incoming lightning bolt to wrap around him, keeping him in place. Aizen then swiped his other arm, bringing Silas forward like a rag doll.

The lightning bolt slammed into his chest, sending electric currents all throughout his skin. He could feel his very bones grinding under the immense pressure. Aizen then swiped his arm down, shooting Silas over one hundred feet to the ground!

A large thud, followed by lightning, erupted into the air before the scene cleared. Aizen, ever so confident, slowly descended to see what had become of his enemy.

"Ichigo… You've yet to amaze me. What hope do you have of escaping from the palm of my hand?"

Silas rose from the ground without a hint of worry on his face. He knew better than anyone never to let enemies like Aizen try to use psychological tactics on him. "I admit it, Aizen... You're truly this world's formidable adversary."

"This world?"

"Yes… Some would go as far as saying you're overrated."

The scene then became quiet. Silas raised his head to the night sky. It had been a long time since he'd been pushed this far. The only thing on his mind were fluorescent images of his real family: the two smiling expressions of his children and the beautiful features of his beloved wife. Not a single day passed by that he had forgotten their faces. For in his heart, he believed he would see them again one day if he remained faithful.

Following this memory, an echo shadowed the area. "Bankai..."