Chapter 53: Hueco Mundo and Soul Society Tremble! |
Outside the Greater Soul King Palace.
Ichibei and the other members of the Zero Division raised their heads to the sky as a powerful tremor shook the entire dimension of the Soul King Palace.
Kirinji looked toward the Greater Soul King Palace, rolling a long straw between his teeth. "If I'm not mistaken... the Soul King's power is being absorbed! Should we really just stand by and watch?"
"Don't worry."
Ichibei tilted his head and said calmly, "The Soul King knew this would happen even back then. And besides... are we even capable of stopping it? The Hollow King's power is unfathomable..."
The final instructions the Soul King had left for the members of the Zero Division were a command to first escort the Hollow King to his palace, and then to do nothing regardless of what might happen between the two kings.
Today, the members of the Zero Division understood the reason behind that second command—because the Hollow King had come to devour his power!
To consume the power that served as the pillar and foundation supporting the stability of Soul Society and Hueco Mundo.
But.
Moreover, even if the Soul King had ordered them to interfere, the Zero Division likely wouldn't have been able to do a thing. Their opponent would be the Hollow King himself, the one who had forged this world alongside the Soul King.
Even for the members of the Zero Division, it was difficult to imagine the true power of one of the world's creators.
"We can only hope that the esteemed Hollow King wishes to preserve this world like the Soul King did, and not destroy it. Otherwise..."
Kirio Hikifune whispered tensely.
Wouldn't the power to create worlds also mean the power to unmake them?
Yeruashi would become the sole and supreme king of Soul Society and Hueco Mundo if he successfully absorbed the Soul King's power.
He would become the only true god standing above this world!
No one would be able to oppose his actions anymore, even if it meant the destruction of everything.
The life and death of the entire world would depend solely on Yeruashi.
Even the members of the Zero Division could do nothing about it. Although they were among the strongest beings in the history of Soul Society, here they could be nothing more than servants and guards.
Around the same time.
Soul Society.
The entire dimension was once again gripped by powerful Reishi fluctuations. But this time, they were far more intense than those that had occurred several years ago when Yeruashi returned after a million years!
Nearly every member of the Gotei 13, including the Captains and Lieutenants, abruptly stopped what they were doing and looked around in shock as the vast dimension of Soul Society was engulfed by the Reishi waves.
"What on earth is happening?"
Yoruichi exclaimed, rushing out of her residence and looking up at the sky with concern.
Unohana peeked out the window in surprise and whispered in a voice only she could hear, "Is this... your doing again?"
Years ago, shortly before she met Yeruashi on the outskirts of Rukongai, all of Soul Society had been shaken by a similar Reishi fluctuation.
Back then, Unohana had judged there was a high probability it was directly linked to Yeruashi's appearance.
Just a few days after the shock that had rocked not only Soul Society but even Hueco Mundo, she had encountered an exceptionally mysterious and powerful individual.
Unohana still didn't believe it was a mere coincidence.
Rumors had circulated that Yeruashi was a monster, but his perfect soul form and his ability to achieve Bankai had completely debunked such suspicions and speculation.
All this time, Unohana had one theory regarding Yeruashi's true identity—one she not only didn't want to think about but didn't even dare to consider too deeply.
Now, history was repeating itself.
If what was happening was indeed directly related to Yeruashi, then he must possess an unimaginable power that defied all logic. In that case, it was entirely possible he was one of the two kings who created this world a million years ago—the Hollow King, a figure existing only in legends and myths!
But if that were true, why would the mythical Hollow King appear on the outskirts of Rukongai?
Why had there been no sign of him for a full million years after the world's creation?
Why did he decide to join the Gotei 13?
Unohana couldn't fathom the reasoning behind his actions.
If her bold guess was correct, then what... was Yeruashi planning to do?
What was his true objective?!
Following the Reishi disturbances across Soul Society, an emergency mobilization of the Gotei 13 Shinigami was declared. All Captains, including Unohana, immediately headed to the First Division headquarters!
Yoruichi Shihoin, Sosuke Aizen, Isshin Shiba, Jushiro Ukitake, Shunsui Kyoraku, and the Captain of the Twelfth Division, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who had recently passed the official Captain's exam, were all present.
Mayuri first inspected the trembling sky, then shouted irritably at the chaotic and unorganized Shinigami of his division, "Stop this useless noise... none of you can do anything about a problem of this scale, so panicking is pointless."
"Captain..."
The surrounding Shinigami grew even more tense.
Mayuri walked calmly through his division's grounds. "We can't yet say if this incident will lead to any real trouble, so calm down."
Aizen, dressed in his white Captain's haori, strode toward the First Division headquarters, whispering something unintelligible to himself in a voice only he could catch.
"This is very similar to the incident from a few years ago, but the Reishi fluctuations are even more intense this time. It feels as if these tremors are striking at the very foundation of Soul Society..."
A short while later.
Every official and acting Captain of the Gotei 13 had arrived at the First Division headquarters without exception.
Captain-Commander Genryusai Yamamoto stood calmly in the center of the hall, leaning both hands on his wooden cane.
His body remained motionless and his gaze steady, despite the earthquake gripping all of Soul Society.
He spoke only when every Captain of the Gotei 13 had arrived: "I am declaring a state of standby for all Captains of the Gotei 13, without exception!"
The Captains exchanged stunned and tense glances upon hearing this order from their Captain-Commander.
Every Captain had to be on high alert!
This command, which hadn't been heard in the Gotei 13 for several centuries, was considered the highest level of alert!
Nothing like this had happened even during the recent incident with the Hollowfication of the Shinigami!
"Captain-Commander, could you explain the specific details of what has occurred?"
Aizen asked respectfully, looking at Genryusai through his glasses.
Genryusai stared at Aizen for a moment, then nodded and spoke in a heavy voice, "This incident is related to the Soul King Palace."
"!"
All the Captains, Aizen included, were profoundly shocked by the Captain-Commander's words.
If one looked closely, Aizen was not only deeply shocked but also visibly excited at that moment.
An incident involving the Soul King Palace!
It was no wonder all the Captains had been ordered to remain at maximum combat readiness. No Gotei 13 Captain, including the Captain-Commander, was permitted to enter the Soul King Palace without an invitation.
Therefore, regardless of what was happening in the Soul King Palace, they had no right to enter without the permission of the Zero Division members or the Soul King himself.
Furthermore, it was impossible to reach the Soul King Palace without the King's Key.
But whether they could enter or not didn't matter; any unforeseen event directly linked to that place was ranked among the most potentially dangerous incidents.
An order from above could arrive at any moment, so they had to remain in a state of full readiness.
The priority of such an event was so high that the Gotei 13 had the full right to ignore the orders of the Central 46!
"The Soul King Palace..."
Yoruichi turned her head and took a deep breath, looking out the window at the trembling sky.
For some reason, at the thought of this incident, she couldn't help but recall Yeruashi's words about needing to go away for private training...
Yeruashi hadn't just managed to achieve Bankai upon his first contact with an Asauchi; his Reiatsu had reached the level of a senior Captain in a ridiculously short time, completely surpassing that of any average Gotei 13 Captain. Add to that the mysterious Nelliel with her unclear race, and Yeruashi's entire identity was shrouded in a thick fog.
And now, this incident at the Soul King Palace...
'Could Yeruashi be involved in this?!'
Hueco Mundo.
This incident affected not only all of Soul Society but also all of Hueco Mundo—especially Las Noches, located at its very center.
Amidst the dark and gloomy sky of Hueco Mundo above Las Noches, powerful waves and ripples were visible to the naked eye, as if the heavens had turned into the surface of a lake.
Harribel, standing in the throne room at the heart of Las Noches, raised her head and watched the sky with concern.
"The Reishi of all Hueco Mundo is trembling..."
"Only he is capable of such a thing... our Hollow King..."
Harribel whispered tensely.
Even as an incredibly powerful being who had surpassed the level of a Vasto Lorde by two full stages, Harribel was still far from being able to cause such a fluctuation in the Reishi of the entire Hueco Mundo.
In her opinion, only Yeruashi could do this!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
At that moment, accompanied by powerful spatial distortions, Starrk and Ulquiorra descended from the sky into the open throne hall.
Ulquiorra first looked around, then addressed Harribel. "What is happening here, Harribel?"
"The world has been shaken."
Harribel took a breath and gestured with her hands, looking at Ulquiorra. "What is the situation at your palaces?"
Starrk said gravely, "The same... the entire dimension shuddered. It seems this affects not just the palace, but all of Hueco Mundo—no... even Soul Society is impacted."
It was as if someone had begun to methodically shake the very foundation upon which their worlds stood, causing a tremor in every single particle of Reishi.
Harribel, Starrk, and Ulquiorra even felt a vague sense from this tremor that it could trigger the complete collapse of both Hueco Mundo and Soul Society.
"I don't know exactly where our King is right now, but all this commotion must be directly related to him. Perhaps we should go to Soul Society to try and find him?"
Harribel suggested thoughtfully, hovering in the air beside Ulquiorra and Starrk.
Starrk gazed thoughtfully at the trembling sky of Hueco Mundo for a while before finally shaking his head. "Our presence at the epicenter of an incident of this magnitude would be pointless. Besides, the King hasn't summoned us yet, so let us continue with our assigned tasks."
"Agreed."
Ulquiorra nodded calmly.
Harribel raised her hand and opened several small spatial rifts. Through them, she clearly felt the tremors not just in different corners of Hueco Mundo, but in Soul Society as well. She did it with such ease, as if it were perfectly natural for her current self.
"Let us await the Master's new orders."
Harribel nodded and whispered, then continued to observe the situation in Hueco Mundo alongside Starrk and Ulquiorra.