Chapter 249: The World I Look Forward To (Part Four)
When Yhwach heard the report, his first reaction was disbelief.
He knew how absurd it was to judge others by his own standards. From the echoes of souls, he understood exactly how his subordinates felt about him, yet he had never cared. The part of him capable of sharing feelings with others had died in the bloodbath a thousand years ago.
The Yhwach reborn from corpses and flesh now pursued victory by any means. His purpose had crystallized into something sharp and absolute, leaving no space for sentimentality.
But Aizen Sōsuke being that kind of man?
He refused to believe it, not because he was naive, but because it did not fit any logic he understood.
Over years of observation, Yhwach had learned precisely what sort of creature Aizen Sōsuke was.
A hypocritical, terrifying monster, someone even more skilled at human psychology than Yhwach himself, someone who could toy with everyone at will.
Yhwach had long known what Aizen did to the Visored. Even if it looked hidden, Aizen relied on Kyoka Suigetsu and treated the countless surveillance devices throughout Seireitei as meaningless.
What kind of mind, what depth of malice, allowed a man to wear kindness for centuries, then calmly send friends, family, and superiors to their deaths?
Even the current Yhwach would not do something so wasteful. He had declared the Quincy his servants, and servants existed to be sacrificed when ordered. That was simple.
But Aizen Sōsuke had never claimed that role.
That shattered monster, the world's true supernova, cared nothing for such definitions. He cared only for experiments and ideas, for forcing them into every corner of existence.
There was nothing else to say. He was a thorough monster.
Yhwach admitted he was hardly better, but he would not tolerate Aizen Sōsuke judging him.
And now Kurosaki Ichigo, his Quincy offspring born from darkness, stood before him. In terms of potential, Ichigo might be the finest seed he had ever produced. Power, authority, talent, everything about him screamed ultimate value.
Only his reliability was lacking.
Yhwach revised his assessment again.
The boy lacked self knowledge.
Aizen Sōsuke acted for Kurosaki Ichigo? All this for a better world, with minimal casualties? Was the boy still dreaming? Did high school boys truly live without logic?
And yet, that confidence was not useless.
If Ichigo truly believed in Aizen, then he could become a blade aimed straight at Aizen's throat. Once Ichigo saw the hypocrisy, once the illusion cracked, he might turn on Aizen without hesitation.
Yhwach had seen futures where Ichigo struck Aizen down.
It was not overconfidence.
In many futures, Ichigo cut him down outright.
"If that is what you believe," Yhwach said quietly, "then hold to it."
He let out a short, derisive chuckle, pushed open the great doors, and strode forward.
At once, rips and tears opened all around. Countless slender fissures spilled streams of iridescent blue reishi, flowing like tired birds returning to their nest. They homed in on Yhwach and sank into him, becoming part of his might.
This power had always been his.
It had been loaned out, scattered into countless Quincy, left within them to grow.
Quincy abilities were shards of Yhwach's soul. When they died, when they acted, everything returned to him. This was the countermeasure he had forged against Aizen's terror.
No one could predict how a direct clash with Aizen Sōsuke would end, so Yhwach had prepared a fallback.
Now that fallback revealed its value.
The vanguard that had marched toward the Soul King Palace, the Sternritter one after another, all funneled their power back into Yhwach. Within the Wandenreich, the surging reishi became a spectacle like a rising tide, vast enough to feel like a tsunami contained inside stone walls.
And yet Kurosaki Ichigo showed no fear.
He stood straight with his arms folded, three Truth Seeking Orbs drifting behind him like silent witnesses, a declaration without words that he did not fear Yhwach's returning reishi.
"You claim Aizen Sōsuke offers you a future bathed in light," Yhwach said, voice low, eyes burning scarlet. "A realm without fear, without pain. That is the miracle you desire, the miracle you think he promised you."
He stared into Ichigo's eyes, and his tone turned colder.
"Then let me show you another path. A different world, one that can also be born from fate."
My foolish son, born of darkness.
Inside him, the tide roared. Outside, two iron wills collided, neither giving an inch.
A flicker of approval crossed Yhwach's gaze as he studied Ichigo's unshakable stance.
Good.
The firmer Ichigo's conviction, the greater the shock when it broke. Only the steadfast felt true dread when reality cut through them.
Shattering conviction was agony. Yhwach had suffered it long ago.
Back then, killing those who worshipped him never felt right. Then he grew used to it.
Now Kurosaki Ichigo would face the truth. He could be swayed by Aizen. He could betray everything. He could become nourishment for that monster's plan.
Of all the men Yhwach had encountered since awakening to his power, Aizen Sōsuke was the most terrifying. Ever since that man returned from beyond the heavens, too many futures bent toward ruin.
Only the unshakable Kurosaki Ichigo standing before him could break this deadlock.
Yhwach had foreseen it.
A future where Ichigo and Aizen fought to the death, with the world itself trembling on the edge of annihilation.
Victory, therefore, was natural. Before omniscient foresight, Aizen's illusions were fragile.
"Good," Yhwach said. "You do not hesitate. Come with me."
Ichigo's brow tightened. "Why?"
"Did you not want to see more of fate's weave?" Yhwach's gaze sharpened. "Then I will show you the world I envision."
He stood in the doorway, studying Ichigo as if weighing him.
"I promised everyone a world without death, without pain. You doubt it, don't you? Aizen Sōsuke surely told you nothing."
His voice dropped further.
"Follow me, and see."
"To where?" Ichigo asked.
"To a place where you can feel history," Yhwach replied, "learn who you truly are, and understand how this world turns."
He paused, then added with calm cruelty, "After you left, Aizen Sōsuke hurled a meteor at the Wandenreich. By chance, it broke something."
Ichigo's expression flickered.
"I intended to erase it," Yhwach continued, "but since you still do not know the truth, go read the records I left. The documents I have hidden among the Shinigami for centuries. The real secrets."
Yhwach turned, stepping deeper into the Wandenreich.
"Then you will understand why I act as I do, Kurosaki Ichigo."
Ichigo held his gaze for a long moment.
Then he nodded once. "I understand. Let's go."
Clad in white robes, Ichigo followed with steady resolve.
Yhwach moved without hesitation, leading the high school boy through the corridors and deeper into the ruined fortress, ignoring the curvaceous Sternritter trembling in Ichigo's room, Bambietta.
Could the two of you at least pretend I exist?
Bambietta did not dare show the slightest disrespect to His Majesty. Yet she feared Kurosaki Ichigo just as much.
For reasons she could not name, her heart hammered whenever she looked at him. Heat rose in her chest. Her breath caught. Simply staring too long made her dizzy.
Is this love? Am I falling for someone at first sight?
Quincy aged, and she was still young enough to be called a blooming maiden, but if this was love, why did it feel like stepping toward an execution?
Why did romance feel like dying?
And why, sitting beside Kurosaki Ichigo, did she nearly suffocate from nerves?
With memories half erased, Bambietta blinked in confusion, glanced left and right, then slipped out on her tiptoes and scurried away.
Far ahead, Ichigo glanced back as if sensing something, then turned again toward the unfamiliar man in white uniform and crimson cloak.
According to what Aizen had once shown him, Ichigo had already seen Yhwach's face in the end. The incarnation of his dormant Quincy power, the shadow that suppressed everything else to keep his body safe.
But now, after mastering Chakra, he no longer needed that protection.
He could even sense that if he truly willed it, no one in this world could stop him.
That was the instinct Chakra gave him.
Ichigo did not indulge it. He reminded himself that Chakra was a universal power, and he kept his pride leashed. He followed quietly through the devastation.
When Aizen struck earlier, Ichigo had taken Bambietta to shelter in his room. He never witnessed the full outcome of Heavenly Obstruction Quaking Star.
Now, walking among the ruins of the Wandenreich, he saw the main structure still standing, yet colossal meteoric stones jutted up like mountain peaks throughout the realm.
Countless buildings were shattered. Quincy officers directed teams to clear rubble and pull survivors, supplies, and secrets from beneath the wreckage.
Sensing Ichigo's gaze, Yhwach looked toward the work crews and spoke in a low murmur.
"Aizen Sōsuke's power defies common reckoning. His meteor failed to erase the Wandenreich, but it still brought vast calamity. Shattered fragments turned our realm into a field of wounds."
Ichigo's voice tightened. "How many died?"
"None," Yhwach answered.
Ichigo's eyes widened slightly.
"My Sternritter are not useless," Yhwach continued. "One you have already met. Askin, The Fatal Dose."
Ichigo's expression shifted. "What are you saying?"
"The man who drugged you and brought you back," Yhwach said evenly. "He looked as if he kept his distance, but with Hirenkyaku he adjusted the lethal dose inside your body and knocked you out. He is Sternritter."
Ichigo fell silent.
"Wondering why I tell you?" Yhwach's lips curved into a cold smile. "In time, you will stand with us."
Ichigo did not answer.
Watching the silence, Yhwach let out a quiet laugh and continued forward alone, his steps steady amid the ruins.