Dazed, just for an instant, when Shutara Senjumaru's awareness focused again, that false starry sky and those godlike eyes had already vanished.
What replaced them was endless, suffocating deep blue.
At this moment, it was as if she were at the bottom of the sea, ten thousand meters below.
Around her were the ruins of a magnificent city. The outlines of buildings long eroded by time silently told of the former prosperity of this place.
Yet here and now, there was only deathly silence.
This was a massive tomb, erased by disaster and sleeping in the deepest part of the world.
But what chilled her to the bone was not this silence, but the environment itself.
The laws of this place were actually no different from the living world, except for one absolute difference.
Here, there were no spirit particles.
In the living world, even if extremely sparse, spirit particles still existed. That was proof of the Soul King's creation of the world.
But here, there was absolute nothingness.
This space was a complete vacuum of spiritual power.
That also meant her spiritual pressure had become water without a source.
Once it was exhausted, she would completely fall into an ordinary soul, left to be slaughtered at will.
This realization made her tremble more than any blade ever could.
She tried to release Bankai, but discovered that her deeper resonance with her Zanpakuto had been completely sealed by an invisible wall.
As if this world did not permit the existence of that power at all.
Left with no choice, Shutara Senjumaru raised the silver needles with her remaining two skeletal arms. This was the Shikai form of her Zanpakuto.
This was already her final means of defense at this moment.
'Just where is this place... Not only are there no spirit particles, even the connection to the Soul King Palace has been cut off. If I die here, I might truly die... But how is that possible? What kind of thing could block the contract with the Soul King.'
Shutara Senjumaru thought to herself, her vigilance raised to the extreme.
After briefly searching the surrounding ruins and finding nothing useful, she gave up on the aimless search and instead headed straight toward the east.
She could sense that, not far to the east, there was an "existence" waiting for her.
It was an indescribable pull, and also an invitation sent to her by the other party.
Escape? She never even considered it.
In this area without spirit particles, her condition would only worsen. It was better to take advantage of the remaining spiritual pressure and fight the other party head-on.
She advanced about one kilometer.
Passing through the silent ruins of the city, Shutara Senjumaru finally stopped in front of an even more magnificent palace that had likewise been reduced to wreckage.
Her gaze passed over the collapsed giant pillars and shattered domes, locking firmly onto the towering figure standing like a mountain before the palace gates.
"So this is your royal palace?"
She broke the silence first, her voice carrying a trace of deliberately affected flippancy as she tried to seize back the initiative.
"Not much taste, is it. It's already a pile of ruins. But your face feels somewhat familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"
"Here?", The figure spoke, his voice low and magnetic, as if it could stir the resonance of the sea, "This was once a kingdom unwilling to submit peacefully. So it became ruins."
Rosse slowly walked forward. This time, he appeared before Shutara Senjumaru in his physical body.
This was also the first time he was prepared to use his full, unreserved strength to receive a guest from the world of Shinigami.
And the Fish-Man Island beneath their feet, now turned to ruins, was the guest room carefully prepared for her.
"As for the familiarity you mentioned, you should have seen me in Soul Society."
Rosse walked up before her and looked down at Shutara Senjumaru.
In front of his nearly three-meter-tall true body, Shutara Senjumaru, who was only of ordinary height, appeared somewhat too small.
As Rosse approached, Shutara Senjumaru finally saw his face clearly, and her pupils shrank sharply.
"You're the current Tenth Division captain of Soul Society, Rosse?"
"Correct, but not entirely. My full name is Jaygarcia Rosse. And at the same time, you may also call me the King of Hueco Mundo, or perhaps... the King of the World Government."
Rosse smiled faintly, not minding his identity being exposed.
From the moment Shutara Senjumaru was dragged into this world, her fate had already been decided.
Return? Absolutely impossible.
Even if she chose to submit, before completely dealing with the Soul King, he would not allow Shutara Senjumaru, who had been remodeled by the Oken, to leave.
Who knew whether a body altered by the Oken might have some kind of backdoor.
In his world, under the suppression of world consciousness, even the Soul King could not cause any influence.
But sending her back to the Shinigami world would be another matter entirely.
"I know of the King of Hueco Mundo, but what is this King of the World Government? A title for the ruler of the living world? Since you emphasized it, it must be an even more important identity, right?"
Shutara Senjumaru narrowed her eyes slightly, no longer carrying the arrogance she once displayed before the Espada.
Standing before her, Rosse gave off not the slightest fluctuation of spiritual pressure.
Yet just by standing there, he gave her a sense of fatal danger.
Even without fighting, she could clearly realize it.
Even at her peak, she would not be his match.
But thinking about it, it made sense. Her Bankai had not even lasted a second in his hands before being completely sealed.
"You should have felt it already. This is no longer the world you belong to," Rosse bent down slightly, the corners of his mouth lifting.
"Welcome to my world, Lady Senjumaru!"
"Your world..."
Shutara Senjumaru's breathing grew a little rapid.
Rosse's words completely confirmed one of her suspicions.
This was not Hueco Mundo, not Soul Society, and not the living world.
This was a world outside the three realms, a world unknown to all beings of the Shinigami world.
And the most terrifying part was that the people of this world had already invaded their world, and even blended in among them.
Just thinking of that possibility made Shutara Senjumaru's body tremble uncontrollably.
With almost no hesitation, the two skeletal arms raised the silver needles in their hands and stabbed toward her own throat and heart.
As a captive of outsiders, there was little she could do.
Perhaps she could not pass on information, but she would protect all her secrets with death.
Hueco Mundo had already fallen. If the secrets about the world in her mind were learned by the other side, then their world would truly be finished.
However, those two silver needles in Shikai form ultimately stopped at the surface of her skin, unable to pierce her body.
Shutara Senjumaru raised her head calmly and looked at Rosse's hateful smiling face, her tone cold and resolute.
"No matter what level of threat or torture it is, go ahead and try. Do not expect to get anything from me."
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