“Urahara Kisuke, I disdain you!”

“You have such a brilliant mind; why don’t you take action? Why do you bow down to such things?!”

The red seal's light intensified, and Aizen shouted frantically at Urahara Kisuke.

Kurosaki Ichigo, who had experienced Mugetsu, sat nearby, somewhat dazed as he looked at the suddenly appearing Urahara.

Faced with Aizen's questions, Urahara Kisuke merely looked at him expressionlessly and replied, “The Soul King is the wedge of the world. If it shakes, it’s not just the Soul Society that will be affected.”

“The Human World, Hueco Mundo, the Soul Society, and even Hell will all fall apart.”

“The risks are too great; we cannot take that chance.”

Upon hearing his response, Aizen grew even angrier: “Excuses, all just excuses! This is nothing but the words of a coward! I disdain you... I disdain you!”

He shouted in anger, but the sealing light had already spread over his entire body, and the barrier formed by Kido continuously wrapped around him until he was completely submerged.

A gentle breeze stirred up the dust on the ground, and the surroundings were eerily quiet. Kurosaki Ichigo looked at Urahara Kisuke and let out a long sigh of relief.

This time, it should be completely over, right?

……

“Aizen Sōsuke, having committed heinous crimes, is sentenced to the eighth level of the Mōra Prison, the Abyss, for twenty thousand years!”

With the verdict from the Central 46, the gates of the Abyss slowly closed, sealing away all his spiritual pressure, and Aizen, bound to the lonely throne, fell completely into darkness.

Inside the Abyss, silence prevailed, not in the conventional sense, but rather a deeper kind of silence, as if even the concept of sound had been erased — a complete stillness.

In such an environment, an ordinary Shinigami would likely not last even a minute before completely collapsing.

Yet Aizen was unfazed; compared to the silence of the Abyss, the loneliness within him was a far deeper torment.

How lonely it truly is...

He opened his only uncovered left eye, and darkness filled his vision, just like the hollow emptiness within him at that moment.

A genius like himself had always felt out of place since childhood; the geniuses in the eyes of the world appeared to him as mere jokes, and he naturally left them far behind without even exerting himself.

Throughout his hundreds of years as a Shinigami, hidden beneath his gentle exterior lay a heart as solitary as the heavens.

Along this journey, he had encountered all sorts of people, most of whom were mediocre and unremarkable. Even if there were one or two geniuses whom he acknowledged, they ultimately could not keep pace with him.

And the only one he recognized, Urahara Kisuke, had willingly fallen into depravity, colluding with the insects of the Soul Society.

“In the end, I am still alone.”

He slightly raised his head, though he could see nothing; it was merely a simple action he wished to perform.

A twenty-thousand-year sentence, even for a Shinigami with a long lifespan, was still a lengthy period, exceeding the life limits of most Shinigami.

If nothing unexpected occurs, the rest of his life will be spent in this silent Abyss.

Ha, what wishful thinking.

Did those mediocrities of the Central 46 really think they could confine him?

But... even if he were to escape, what would it matter? He would still be all alone.

The outside world and here are not fundamentally different; it is merely a larger cage.

It’s truly... lonely...

He sighed inwardly, and suddenly a desire surged within him.

What if he could have a true friend who recognized him?

What if he were not walking this path alone?

Would the outcome be different?

Once this yearning emerged, it spread uncontrollably, growing stronger and stronger.

But then, he raised the corner of his mouth.

Could someone like him really have an equal friend?

He sighed, thinking it was just a fleeting whim.

Yet just then, a blazing light flickered from the area of his heart, seemingly containing endless hope.

“Hōgyoku?”

Aizen immediately sensed the source of the power. Hōgyoku was a tool he had created himself for infinite evolution, capable of sensing the deepest desires of its master and realizing them.

At this moment, the Hōgyoku had long since merged with him.

“So that’s it; it sensed my current heart and responded.”

Aizen quickly found the answer to his question, then shook his head and chuckled lightly.

Even Hōgyoku, faced with the depths of his current heart, would probably be powerless; how could it realize his desire for a true companion?

Surely it cannot create a “friend” directly using its abilities.

With his personality, he could never acknowledge such a “person” that lacked a soul.

He disdained it rationally, but deep within his heart, there remained an imperceptible glimmer of hope.

What if...?

After all, this is Hōgyoku.

The light of Hōgyoku continued to flicker, seemingly containing endless hope.

These lights gathered, illuminating the Abyss, gradually forming a void door in front of Aizen.

The light gate flickered, revealing no information beyond its threshold.

Aizen widened his left eye slightly, using his spiritual pressure to sense a familiar yet strange vastness rushing toward him.

“Is this... a dimensional gate? Is the place beyond familiar to me?”

Aizen quickly made a judgment, a rare interest appearing in his gaze.

“Interesting, let me see where Hōgyoku really wants to take me.”

He slightly raised the corner of his mouth, his consciousness merging into the light of Hōgyoku. In an instant, he passed through the flickering light gate in front of him and arrived at a realm he knew all too well.

The blazing sun hung high, and the ground was a boundless expanse of yellow sand.

“Is this... Hueco Mundo?”

As the former king of Hueco Mundo, Aizen recognized the realm he was in at a glance.

He stood in mid-air, stroking his chin with a playful expression.

What does Hōgyoku mean?

Moreover, what is my current state?

He extended his hand in front of him, clenched his fist, and the light effortlessly passed through his palm and body.

“My body is transparent; my true form is still within the Abyss, existing as something akin to an awareness; ordinary beings cannot see me.”

He made a judgment, looking down at Hueco Mundo.

The endless yellow sand was filled with deathly silence and desolation, just as he remembered.

But in his field of vision, a pure white palace stood amidst the yellow sand not far away.

The Palacio de la Noche.

He thought for a moment and quickly descended in the direction of the Palacio de la Noche.

As soon as he landed, he sensed something was off.

The outer walls of the Palacio de la Noche had been breached, with many signs of battle, and some walls had decayed with time.

Numerous Arrancars were carrying materials, fervently repairing the damaged walls.

“It’s Barragan’s ability... I’ve returned to the past?”

“Or perhaps, I’ve arrived in another parallel world.”

Watching the busy Arrancars, Aizen speculated quietly.