'I'm not willing to accept this!'
'Why am I still so weak after trying for so long!'
'It's not enough. I can still fight!'
Fragments of memory surged into Asuka's mind like a tidal wave, their sharp edges tearing open old scars—
The stench of acrid chemicals and blood filled his nose and throat. Before him stood rows upon rows of transparent glass chambers filled with unknown liquid.
Inside them were adults, children, wandering souls, and even… Shinigami clad in black robes.
Shinigami were the guardians of Soul Society, maintainers of order who guided the dead onward—existences that wandering souls like Asuka would never dare provoke.
And yet he had never imagined that even Shinigami-sama would be imprisoned in this sunless abyss, just like him.
"After devouring so many, it's still not enough…?"
Through the glass, Asuka vaguely saw two tall figures. One of them wore black—Aizen.
"...Aizen-sama, we've already gathered over a hundred souls in secret. If this continues..."
A Shinigami swordsman knelt respectfully before Aizen's back, unease thick in his voice.
Aizen turned slightly, offering him a gentle smile.
"You've worked hard."
Slash—
A cold flash flickered.
The black-clad swordsman stared at him in disbelief before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.
"Now then… let's see what exactly you are."
Footsteps approached slowly as Aizen stepped into Asuka's field of vision.
Asuka tried to resist, but cold metal restraints bit deep into the flesh of his small body. He tried to scream, but a breathing tube stuffed down his throat silenced him completely.
Adjusting his glasses, Aizen fixed his gaze on Asuka.
"Why would Central 46 go to such lengths to search through Rukongai? Is the answer you… Number Seventy-Eight?"
Then he pressed several buttons on the console before the chamber—
Unbearable agony flooded Asuka's entire body in an instant!
Needles extended from every direction, piercing his skin as if molten lava were racing through his veins!
An icy iron claw clamped around his head, tearing his soul apart before crudely stitching it back together!
Asuka convulsed, struggled, twisted within his restraints.
His skin split from the strain, blood clouding the clear liquid around him as his eyes reddened.
But he could not escape. Could not resist. He could only endure as the man before him manipulated him at will.
Aizen's gaze was calm and focused, like a researcher observing bacteria multiplying in a petri dish—pure curiosity and inquiry.
"Endure it, Number Seventy-Eight… Let me see where your limits lie."
"Nugata—!!"
Asuka snapped back to the present, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. With a sharp kip-up, he sprang to his feet, his Zanpakuto erupting with unprecedented pressure.
"Pack—Howl!!"
With a roar, he swung Nugata. A massive spiritual slash composed of countless gray-black roaring beast silhouettes tore free from his blade!
Where it passed, darkness split open, revealing deep moonlight as if they stood within a vast courtyard.
Aizen clapped lightly.
"So this is your Shikai ability? To think you could release an Asauchi on your own while your spiritual pressure is suppressed…"
"Bakudo No. 39: Enkosen."
Calmly raising his left hand, Aizen summoned a rapidly spinning golden shield of spiritual particles before him.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The gray-black Pack-Howl slammed into the shield! A deafening explosion reverberated through the mental space as slash and shield clashed violently, scattering luminous fragments in a raging storm of energy.
Hm?
Aizen's eyes flickered.
Enkosen had been shattered… no, devoured?
Those gray-black spiritual pressures behaved like living creatures, gnawing at his shield, rapidly breaking it down.
He dispelled the Kidō and stepped back for the first time.
"Bakudo No. 81: Danku."
Buzz—
A massive square barrier of crystalline clarity manifested instantly before him.
An absolute wall meant to block Kidō.
Boom!
The remnants of Pack-Howl crashed into Danku and disintegrated into dust.
A Zanpakuto that devours spiritual particles… How interesting.
As Aizen prepared to speak, Asuka vanished.
Whoosh—
A swift slash swept toward his flank!
"First Gale Slash!!"
"Impressive tactics."
Using the chaos created by Pack-Howl, Asuka had made his decision instantly, charging at Aizen's side.
His eyes were bloodshot, crimson pooling within them.
He had pushed his spiritual perception to its absolute limit. He could see the flow of air itself, the direction shattered spiritual particles scattered!
In his vision, Aizen's sun-like spiritual pressure outline seemed clearer than ever.
He could see the vast river of spiritual particles flowing within him. He could sense the faint precursor to the next motion forming at Aizen's fingertips!
This can work! See through him! See through his movements! I can cut him!
Clang—
Aizen drew the Asauchi at his waist, casually blocking the strike.
"It's not over yet! Sixth Form: Black Wind Smoke Storm!!!"
Asuka twisted his blade upward in a domineering arc, unleashing relentless waves of attacks. Each one was effortlessly parried.
"To reach this level with mere mortal swordsmanship and instinctual insight… beautiful."
"But the transparency mortals can attain has its limits."
"Bakudo No. 61: Rikujokoro."
Golden spiritual particles formed six massive light wedges, piercing through the surrounding space with overwhelming binding force!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The wedges nailed Asuka in place, halting all motion and breath.
This was not mere physical restraint—it sealed spiritual pressure itself.
Like living chains, they embedded into his body, suppressing the flow of power within him.
"Gah!!"
His breathing faltered violently as blood spilled from his mouth.
He struggled, but each contraction of muscle was rebounded by powerful counterforce from the light restraints.
Utterly powerless.
"That will be all, Number Seventy-Eight," Aizen said calmly.
As his words fell, his form began to blur, edges dissolving like sand, scattering faint light.
This was not Aizen's true body. Before Asuka shattered the dimensional barrier and came to this world, Aizen had left behind a projection deep within his soul.
As Asuka began releasing his suppressed spiritual pressure, that projection surfaced to observe.
"Live. Return to Soul Society."
"Your desire should not end here. I very much wish to see your future…"
Asuka gasped heavily, struggling endlessly against Rikujokoro.
He glared at Aizen's fading figure, hatred boiling in his eyes.
"I won't give up, Aizen!"
"Soul Society, Hell—it doesn't matter! I will return! I will find you!"
"Just you wait!!"
With his roar, Nugata trembled violently. The entire mental world began collapsing, as though something were about to break through and descend into reality.
But to Aizen, this declaration of war merely curved his lips slightly upward.
"I look forward to it, Number Seventy-Eight…"
Suddenly, Aizen's nearly transparent hand reached casually into the darkness—
"Ugh!!"
A sharp, miserable scream rang out.
A gaunt figure in a conductor's uniform was forcibly dragged from the void!
He was none other than the servant ghost sent by the Lower One to locate the edge of Asuka's dream and erase him.
Aizen did not even glance at him. His half-transparent fingers simply closed lightly—
Crack.
The sound of breaking bone echoed. The conductor fell silent, tossed aside without care.
Like crushing an ant.