Chapter 301: Shikai

"The Universe!"

H'el softly chanted. The sword in his hand began to turn ethereal until it vanished completely.

Behind him, a chaotic sphere began to rise, devoid of any color, which in human perception appeared black.

Initially, the black sphere was small, merely 3 centimeters, but it quickly expanded.

Three centimeters—three decimeters—three meters—thirty meters—three hundred meters, until the chaotic cosmic sphere behind H'el abruptly grew to three thousand three hundred thirty-three point three three three meters, then halted, suspended behind him.

The area darkened as the intensely black sphere blocked out the sunlight.

The three-thousand-meter sphere hovered behind H'el, casting a shadow over the forest and enveloping Aizen.

"What an intimidating presence..."

Aizen's advancing figure did not stop. As he walked, he looked up at the three-thousand-three-hundred-thirty-three-point-three-three-three-meter sphere behind H'el, his eyes narrowing slightly behind his black-rimmed glasses.

He had never seen such a colossal Shikai.

To turn an initial release into a universe.

How immense must one's spirit and conviction be to release something that transcends human comprehension, rules, and physics, achieving the creation of a universe?

In Aizen's eyes, this initial released universe still seemed weak. Though it appeared massive at three thousand meters, overshadowing the forest, the spiritual pressure it emitted was not vastly different from H'el's own.

Even if H'el's spiritual pressure increased tenfold due to the initial release, in Aizen's view, it was still far weaker than that of Unahara Ichirou and Masaki Seino.

It could be considered superficial.

However, what Aizen saw was not the current weakness. His eyes almost perceived the future of H'el's initial released universe—a budding form of a universe, containing rules, physical expressions, spirit, and conviction. If it developed fully, Aizen was nearly certain that H'el would become the next Soul King!

This had always been Aizen's ultimate goal.

No one starts at the top; whether you, I, or even gods, Aizen always believed he would ascend to the heavens.

But H'el directly created the heavens.

"A very impressive start, an enviable Shikai." Aizen's usually calm voice now held genuine admiration and amazement.

He wondered what experiences H'el had gone through to imbue his spirit and conviction into the sword, thereby releasing such an extraordinary initial form of the universe.

It was indeed an initial release he deeply envied.

"If it could go even further, it would be even better..." Aizen remarked, looking at H'el under the dark sphere, continuing to walk forward.

Before he could finish speaking.

'Boom——'

Suddenly, the sky above the dark sphere thundered, the blue sky trembling with a sound like glass about to shatter, spreading waves of shock down to the ground.

Aizen felt the ground beneath his feet continuously shaking.

It was as if the entire Soul Society was about to be overturned by this tremor.

It seemed like the Soul Society was a lid, covering a raging beast that now sought to break free.

Aizen's footsteps halted involuntarily, his expression changing slightly.

The blue sky above the dark sphere suddenly cracked open with a huge fissure, revealing a doorway in the sky.

The enormous portal stood across the sky, with colossal skeletons bound by chains on its sides, embracing scenes of hell—seas of blood, abysses, twisted evils, and all the infernal images that intelligent beings could imagine were depicted on the door.

"Hell's Gate!" Aizen's face changed slightly, the usual smile at the corner of his mouth disappearing as he looked at Hell's Gate in astonishment.

Why would Hell's Gate appear?

Typically, Hell's Gate doesn't appear in the Soul Society.

A Shinigami's weapon, the Zanpakutō, can cleanse the sins of humans after death, and Hollows that committed major sins in life will open Hell's Gate, which then receives them, sending them to hell to endure endless torment.

Hell judges the deeds of souls in their past lives.

Hell primarily deals with humans, or rather, souls and Hollows. Its main function, established by the Soul King and the five great noble families long ago, is to judge the sins of souls from their past lives to maintain the balance of the three realms.

Those souls that are guided into the Soul Society by the Zanpakutō's purification are considered to have committed no major sins in their past lives.

And the native souls of the Soul Society, who have not lived through the Human World, cannot be interfered with by Hell.

Basically, those living in the Soul Society cannot be interfered with by Hell.

Hell's Gate will not open in the Soul Society without someone activating it.

"You are a person of extreme evil." Aizen's pupils under his black-framed glasses showed surprise and doubt.

Even if someone were extremely evil, once they reached the Soul Society, Hell's Gate had no reason to appear.

Otherwise, those who have experimented on and harmed many people in the Soul Society would be taken by Hell's Gate, instead of just being imprisoned by the Gotei 13.

"No, you are someone who disrupts the balance; you don't belong here; you are someone from outside the three realms!" Aizen's eyes suddenly narrowed as he realized the truth.

No matter how evil, the Soul Society naturally has Shinigami to deal with them.

The only reason Hell's Gate would appear is to maintain balance when someone threatens the stability of the three realms, forcing Hell's Gate to intervene.

H'el's Shikai!

A newly born universe inevitably needs to absorb the spiritual energy of the Soul Society to grow, and in the future, it could possibly consume the Soul Society, the three realms, to fulfill its own existence.

This is something Hell cannot allow.

Nor can the three realms.

For Hell, H'el's Shikai is more grievous than any other evil.

H'el slightly raised his eyebrows, looking at Hell's Gate in the sky.

Hell's Gate emanated a vast and malevolent aura, enough to make one fall into endless despair. The skeletal doors were slowly opening.

H'el felt an extremely strange pressure and lock on him; as soon as Hell's Gate fully opened, he would be dragged into Hell, subjected to endless, eternal torment.

"It seems my Shikai cannot exist for too long."

H'el leaned back, and the dark sphere behind him split into a smaller, two-meter dark sphere. It floated behind him and automatically transformed into a chair-like structure, resembling dark metal with sharp edges, supporting him.

"Let's finish this battle before Hell's Gate fully opens."

H'el sat comfortably in the dark metal seat, leaning against the backrest, and looked down slightly at Aizen, smiling.

His expression seemed to say: Amuse me.

Aizen smiled, his usual expression returning, and said, "To avoid drawing the attention of the Gotei 13, I do need to finish this fight before Hell's Gate fully opens."

"Hado #31: Shakkahō!"

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