'I won't give up!'
'Why, after working so hard for so long, am I still so weak!'
'Not enough, I can still fight!'
Fragments of memory flooded into Taka's brain like a tidal wave, their sharp edges tearing open his scars—
The pungent smell of chemical gas and blood filled his mouth and nose. Looking around, he saw row after row of transparent glass tanks filled with unknown liquid.
Inside the tanks, there were adults, children, dwellers of Rukongai, and also... Shinigami wearing black Shihakusho.
Shinigami were the protectors of the Soul Society, the order maintainers who performed last rites for the departed souls, beings that stray dogs like Taka dared not provoke.
But he never imagined that even the powerful Shinigami would be locked up in this sunless place, just like him.
"After devouring so many, still not satisfied...?"
In front of the glass tanks, Taka vaguely saw two tall figures, one of them being Aizen in black robes.
"...Aizen-sama, we have already secretly collected hundreds of souls. If this continues...."
A Shinigami knelt respectfully before Aizen's back, his tone uneasy.
Aizen turned back to look at him, revealing a gentle smile.
"Good work."
Pfft—!
A flash of cold light.
The black-clad swordsman looked at him in disbelief, then fell to the ground, lifeless.
"Well then, let's see what you really are...."
Footsteps slowly approached. Aizen walked into Taka's field of vision.
Taka wanted to resist, but the cold metal restraints cut deeply into the flesh of his young body. He wanted to shout, but his mouth was stuffed with a respirator leading directly to his throat, preventing him from making a sound.
Aizen adjusted his glasses, his gaze deeply fixed on Taka: "Why did Chamber 46 go to such trouble to search Rukongai...? Could the answer be you, Subject No. 78?"
Then, as he pressed several buttons in front of the glass tank....
Unbearable, excruciating pain instantly swept through Taka's entire body!
Needles extending from everywhere pierced his skin, like countless streams of molten lava flowing through his blood vessels!
Cold iron claws clamped around his head, directly tearing his soul apart and then roughly stitching it back together!
Taka convulsed, struggled, and writhed in his restraints.
His skin tore from his struggles, blood seeping from his flesh. His eyes bloodshot until crimson oozed into the transparent liquid.
But he could not escape, could not resist. He could only let the man opposite him do with him as he pleased.
The man's gaze was calm and focused, as if observing the growth of bacteria in a petri dish, full of pure interest and inquiry:
"Hold on, Subject No. 78... Let me see where your limit is...."
"Tonan—!!"
Taka suddenly snapped back from the memories of the past, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. With a swift kip-up, he sprang to his feet. The Zanpakuto in his hand erupted with unprecedented pressure.
"Pack… Howl!!"
He roared and swung Tonan. A huge spiritual pressure slash, composed of countless howling grey-black beast shadows, tore through space as it left the blade!
Where it passed, the darkness was torn open, revealing the deep moonlight, as if they were standing in an open courtyard.
Aizen couldn't help but clap his hands again: "So this is your Shikai ability? Unexpectedly, you can independently release the Asauchi even when your Reiatsu is suppressed..."
"Bakudo #39, Enkosen."
Faced with this, Aizen calmly raised his left hand. A high-speed rotating golden Reishi Light Shield appeared before him.
Crack Crack Crack!!
The grey-black Pack Howl slash slammed heavily into the light shield! An ear-splitting explosion echoed throughout the entire consciousness space. Taka's slash and the pure light shield violently burst, forming a storm of energy with flying motes of light.
'Hmm? 'Aizen, who had expected to easily block this slash, had a flicker in his eyes.
'Enkosen... was shattered? No, devoured?'
Those grey-black Reiatsu really were like living organisms, actively gnawing at the light shield in Aizen's hand, causing it to rapidly disintegrate and shatter....
He dispelled the Kido in his hand and, for the first time, actively took a step back. He spoke again:
"Bakudo #81, Danku."
Hum—!
A huge square wall of light, crystal clear as if made of the purest crystal, instantly materialized before Aizen.
This was an absolute barrier specifically for isolating kido attacks!
Boom!!
The not-yet-fully-dispersed Pack Howl slash crashed into the Danku barrier and turned to ashes.
'A Zanpakuto capable of devouring Reishi? How interesting.'
Aizen was about to speak when he noticed the Taka opposite him had disappeared.
Whoosh—!!
A slash, fast and fierce, swept in from his side!
"Primary Gale Slash!!"
"Not a bad tactic."
Taking advantage of the disturbance caused by Pack Howl, Taka immediately decided to charge at Aizen's side.
His eyes were now bloodshot, crimson blood swirling within his sockets.
Taka had pushed his Reiatsu Perception to the limit. At this moment, he could even see the air currents in the atmosphere, the direction of shattering Reishi!
In his field of vision, Aizen's outline, his Reiatsu as dazzling as the sun, seemed to become clear!
He could see the immense river of Reishi flowing within the other party's body, could sense the faint omen of the next movement about to condense at his fingertips!
'I can do it! See through him! See through his movements! I can definitely cut this bastard!'
Clang—!!
Aizen drew the Asauchi at his waist and casually parried Taka's slash.
"It's not over yet!! Sixth Form: Black Wind Mountain Mist!!!"
Taka turned his blade momentum, delivering overbearing slashes from below, attacking Aizen with one relentless slash after another! But each was easily deflected.
"To achieve this level with mere mortal swordsmanship and insight instinct alone is quite impressive."
"However, the transparency that mortals can touch ultimately has its limits."
"Bakudo #61, Rikujokoro."
Golden Reishi transformed into six huge rods of light, carrying powerful binding force. In an instant, they pierced the space around Taka!
Shing! Shing! Shing!
The rods of light pierced through the darkness, directly pinning Taka, completely interrupting all his movements and breathing!
This was not only physical imprisonment, but also sealing at the Reiatsu-level!
They were like living chains, deeply embedded in his body surface, suppressing the flow of power within him.
"Puhhh!!"
This violent binding caused a blockage in his breath. He spat out another mouthful of blood.
He tried to struggle, but every muscle contraction was viciously rebounded by the powerful counter-shock force from the rods of light-
Completely powerless to fight back!
"Let's stop here, Subject No. 78." Aizen said calmly.
As his voice fell, his figure seemed to become somewhat blurred, the edges slowly dissipating like grains of sand, emitting faint specks of light.
This was not Aizen's true self descending, but a projection he had lodged deep within Taka's soul before Taka broke through the dimensional wall and came to this world.
Because Taka had begun to release his restricted Reiatsu, the projection Aizen used to observe him emerged, allowing him to witness all this.
"Live. Return to the Soul Society."
"Your wish should not be only this. I very much want to see your future...."
Taka gasped heavily, constantly trying to break free from the Rikujokoro.
He glared fixedly at Aizen's already dissipating form, the hatred in his eyes churning endlessly.
"I won't give up, Aizen!"
"Soul Society or Hell, I will go back! I will find you!"
"Just you wait!!"
As he roared, Tonan began to erupt with violent trembling. The entire Inner World was collapsing, as if something was about to burst through the obstacles and descend upon this world.
But this declaration of war only caused the corners of Aizen's mouth to curl upwards:
"I look forward to it, Subject No. 78...."
Suddenly, Aizen's already almost completely transparent hand casually grabbed into the empty air towards a dark corner—
"Ughh!!"
A short, bloodcurdling scream suddenly rang out!
A figure in a conductor's uniform, his face haggard, was forcibly dragged out from the void of shadow!
He was none other than the demon's accomplice sent by Lower Rank One to find the boundary of Taka's dream, intending to eliminate Taka's existence!
Aizen didn't even glance at him. His semi-transparent fingers merely gave a light squeeze—
Crunch!
The sound of bones breaking rang out. The conductor immediately fell silent, casually discarded aside.
Like crushing an ant.