Asuka quietly looked at the man before him.
Since the past, this man had always used this seemingly passive, fatalistic approach to seek a silver lining in desperate situations.
Although his resilience and wisdom were always proven in hindsight, Asuka truly disliked this method of passive acceptance.
"You... haven't changed a bit, Kagaya." Asuka downed a mouthful of tea. "You still love leaving everything to some illusory fate and turning point."
"However, since you, as her father, aren't going to make a desperate fuss over it, I don't need to say anything more."
Asuka looked at Kagaya, then glanced at Shinobu Kocho. "I will still do what I promised you."
"Whether it means forcibly tying her up or breaking her limbs, I will bring her back."
"As long as I chop off Aizen's head, all illusions will naturally shatter."
Hearing Asuka's simple and brutal declaration, Shinobu helplessly shook her head. Kagaya, though surprised, revealed a look of gratitude.
"...Thank you, Asuka," he said, bowing his head slightly in acknowledgment.
The night gradually deepened.
Because Shinobu had spent the last two days intensely accompanying Ichigo in his Bankai training, coupled with the massive amount of Reiryoku and mental energy she had expended at Sokyoku Hill during the day, she could no longer hold on. Lady Amane helped her into the back room to rest.
The small courtyard fell completely silent. Only the occasional chirp of insects echoed through the quiet night of the Rukongai.
Asuka sat alone on the edge of the corridor, leaning against a wooden pillar with his arms resting casually on his knees.
He tilted his head back, gazing at the cold, bright moon in the night sky. His eyes were profound, his thoughts unreadable.
Faint footsteps approached from behind.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki, draped in a thin coat, carried a small tray holding a jug of sake and two cups.
He sat down beside Asuka and placed the tray on the wooden floorboards between them, his movements unhurried and elegant.
"Can't sleep, Asuka?" Kagaya asked softly while pouring the sake.
Asuka picked up his cup and downed it in one gulp. "Yeah... It's been a long time since I came back here."
Kagaya also picked up his cup but was in no rush to drink.
He looked at the moon's reflection in the liquid and smiled faintly. "I still remember that winter night in the sickroom of the Ubuyashiki Estate. We chatted together just like this."
Asuka's hand, holding the empty cup, paused slightly as that memory instantly surfaced in his mind.
That man, exuding the stench of rot, staring at him with those blind eyes right before his death...
"At that time, I asked you if you were a god. You told me there were no gods in this world..." Kagaya turned his head, looking at Asuka's profile. "You also told me that after death, there is no beautiful heaven."
"There is only another world as cruel as hell, filled with deception and the struggle to survive."
"Back then, even though I said I wasn't afraid, I was actually quite terrified inside." Kagaya chuckled softly and shook his head. "I was afraid that a thousand years of atonement would only result in endless torment... I was afraid that my family would continue to suffer in that unknown world."
"But now..." Kagaya took a deep breath, embracing the cool night breeze. "After experiencing all of this, I feel that things are already fine the way they are..."
Asuka turned to look at Kagaya. "So, do you believe it now, Lord Kagaya?"
"Believe what?"
"Believe that there are no gods in this world."
Asuka's voice sounded somewhat ethereal in the night wind.
"In the World of the Living, ordinary people pray to the gods to protect them from illness and disaster, yet demons still ran rampant for a thousand years, and your Ubuyashiki family had to endure a curse worse than death."
"Gods have never appeared."
"And here, in this place known as the afterlife..." Asuka pointed toward the towering white walls standing high in the center of the Seireitei, tightly protected by barriers. "Those guys who call themselves Soul Reapers make the rules and control life and death... They look just like gods."
"But a single Sosuke Aizen can effortlessly tear their order to shreds..."
"There is absolutely no supreme being in this world capable of saving everything... If you want to survive, if you want to protect the things you cherish, the only thing you can rely on is the sword in your own hands." He touched Kakudatsu, which never left his side, his eyes resolute.
Kagaya listened quietly to Asuka's somewhat extreme yet realistic words.
He did not refute them; he merely smiled and downed the sake in his cup.
"You are right, Asuka." Kagaya set down his cup. "Perhaps there truly is no omniscient, omnipotent, and infinitely merciful god in this world."
"This is not heaven. It is just another mortal realm filled with flaws and contradictions."
"But Asuka, I have also seen something different in this 'hell'."
Kagaya pointed to the darkened room behind them, from which the sound of steady breathing could be heard.
"I saw Shinobu working tirelessly in the Fourth Division to protect us; I saw Gyomei give up martial force to seek inner peace through ordinary labor; I saw Hinaki's resolve as she swung her Zanpakuto to stop her sister from making a mistake..."
"Gods may not exist, but the brilliance of humanity—that power known as bonds and love—is truly real."
Love? Asuka rarely heard this word.
'Is it a synonym for affection and protection?'
Kagaya's gaze returned to Asuka, his eyes filled with gratitude and respect. "And you, Asuka."
"You clearly have no sense of belonging to the Soul Society, and you could have easily stayed out of it. Yet, to protect Shinobu, you didn't hesitate to cross through space and time to fight your way back into this world."
"Even though you always speak such cold words, I know that when you swing your sword, your heart is filled with the people you want to protect."
"So, to me, whether or not there are gods in this world no longer matters... In this flawed world, we can become each other's light."
Asuka was left momentarily speechless by Kagaya's words, unsure of what to say.
He had never been good at dealing with such tender confessions; it made him feel awkward.
He averted his gaze, coughed to cover his embarrassment, and picked up the sake jug to pour himself a full cup.
"Think whatever you want," Asuka said, downing the cup in one go. "Regardless, the Soul Society is no longer safe."
"Even though Aizen has escaped, this battle is far from over."
"When the time comes, the entire Seireitei, and even the Rukongai, will be reduced to scorched earth."
Asuka turned his head, looking at Kagaya with a serious expression. "I actually came today to ask about your future plans."
"If you're willing, I can take your family, along with Shinobu and Gyomei, to the World of the Living."
"The World of the Living?" Kagaya paused in surprise.
"Yes." Asuka nodded. "I know a guy in the World of the Living... Although he's a bit devious, he has immense capabilities."
"He has a way to forge legal identities for you in the World of the Living, and he can even set up barriers to evade the Soul Society's surveillance."
"Besides, the World of the Living doesn't have all these complicated rules and restrictions... The pace of life there might be a bit faster, but overall, it's very peaceful."
"For you all, that place might be the true heaven. With your near-immortal lifespans, you can live there peacefully and steadily, without having to live in fear anymore."