77 Chapter 77

Lightning flashed from up high, crackling into vibrant arcs roaring with thunder-like claps that reverberated within the chest.

The landscape was acrid, the air suffused with a potent blend of tranquil and malefic spiritual energies that clashed as opposites from Shinigami and Hollows alike.

Left sidelined for their own safety, a human pressed her palm up to an orange spiritual barrier before her, and grimaced darkly.

"What the hell is all this…?" Tatsuki balled her hands into clenched fists, trying to recall how everything had come to this.

It had come without warning, upending her views of reality as she knew it.

Tatsuki's eyes darted within the area around her designated as a 'safe zone' where the injured Shinigami were taking refuge under Unohana's lead.

Factions, medical camps, humans, and spiritual beings, it was like they were in a war zone.

Tatsuki shielded her face from the ensuing gales blowing from up high, the action doing little to relieve the bursts of spiritual pressure that would intermittently cascade over the entire area. If not for the spiritual barrier erected around her and the others, they would have long since been crushed into the dirt and suffocated.

"Tatsuki, what are you doing all the way there?! Get back here, it's too dangerous!"

A voice called out to Tatsuki, but it only served to agitate her further. To be honest, she'd been all sorts of pissed off and worried from the moment Orihime, Chad, and Ishida listlessly returned to Karakura highschool without Ichigo.

"Keigo, shut up!" Tatsuki rounded on her friend. She along with Keigo, Chizuru, and the others were taken along as their spiritual awareness put them in jeopardy.

Unlike Keigo, Chizuru, and the others who were staying clear of the boundaries of the spiritual barrier erected overhead, Tatsuki was just as stubborn as Ichigo.

Pursing her lips, Tatsuki just couldn't help it anymore. Her pent up feelings finally ended up bursting. "Do you think we should just stand here and do nothing?! Even Orihime's fighting out there in her own way!"

It was true.

From where Tatsuki was, she could see Orihime helping to heal the injured Shinigami, and even further away was Ishida firing spirit arrows at those shadow things. Even Chad was punching out fists of spiritual energy.

Then how about her? She was doing nothing.

Tatsuki shook her head, rounding back on her friends as her features grew pinched with the one thing that concerned her most. "Y-You guys saw it too right? He may have looked different, but, but that Ichigo! We saw him! I swear that was him!"

"..."

No one answered even though Tatsuki knew what they were thinking.

"Look at you all! Didn't you find it odd that no one would tell us anything about what happened to Ichigo?! They acted like he'd fucking died or was already good as dead! This is obviously what they've been hiding from us!"

"T-Tatsuki, don't you think they did it for good reason?" Chizuru flinched from the reverberations of another impact that traveled through the ground.

"Chizuru, not you too! Could you say those words if the one that had gone missing was Orihime?! Ichigo is our friend! H-He wouldn't have given up on us, and now just because the going gets tough, you all bail out!?"

"Dammit Tatsuki. That's not it at all!" Keigo gritted his teeth and spat out helplessly, stepping forward in a bid to convey the gravity of the situation and grabbing Tatsuki by the arm.

"Look. Actually look at that." Keigo pointed, features twisting in horror. "A skeleton freak that kills with a touch, a lord of those Hollows that nearly killed us before, and-and cracks. Black cracks everywhere as if the world is breaking apart!"

Tatsuki wrestled her arm free, glaring at Keigo. "Coward," she seethed.

Keigu clenched his jaw, but didn't deny it. Instead, he deflated, weary eyes staring right into Tatsuki's own. "Tatsuki, we can't go anywhere…we'd only get in the way."

Another blast rocked the surroundings, sending up plumes of ash and smoke.

Tatsuki swallowed, and wordlessly turned back to the others, much to Keigo's relief.

In the end, their only role here was to spectate, and judge for themselves who was good or evil.

/-/

Yhwach could no longer gauge the extent of Aizen's hubris.

It was one thing to constantly egg him on into losing a moment of rationality in the midst of anger, but it was another to be so conceited as to over-evaluate one's own capabilities. Whether it be in power or intellect, Yhwach knew that he did not lose out on any field, but in fact, far surpassed Aizen in terms of strength.

What Aizen gained by siphoning off the Soul King's energy from the Royal Guard was but a fraction of the whole which Yhwach had thoroughly supplanted. The difference was between an ocean and a lake, incomparable.

Standing before him, Yhwach could only say that Aizen would be a fool to believe that Yhwach would place his full attention on him when it was clear that Shirou was the priority target. In the end, a moment's curiosity got the better of him.

"What do you intend to achieve from this? Power? Fame? Wealth? Freedom?" Yhwach listed one by one, the spiritual energy seeping from his being distorting the area around him. "With but a simple action of mine, I could grant it all."

"False realities only lead to further disillusionment," Aizen remained unperturbed. "I would not have fought this long, and planned so thoroughly to merely transition from one cage to another."

Yhwach narrowed his eyes, the shadows that cast off from him growing in size in accordance to his own rising spiritual energy.

"You will die," he warned.

"You can try," was the swift answer.

Tension pervaded the distance between the two, and yet neither moved prematurely. Yhwach snorted, features twisting as he glanced from Aizen to Shirou, then back to Aizen. If Aizen truly believed that a man of his caliber could be withheld by petty tricks, then Aizen was going to have to understand that if power wasn't enough to overcome intellect…then you just weren't using enough of it.

"Your vanity knows no equal."

"Nor does yours."

If it was a battle of words, Aizen was never one to lose out in eloquence.

"Pft. Hahahaha, how amusing," Yhwach could give Aizen this. The haughtiness and confidence of his tone did not belie a trace of fear. Just as a calf does not fear the predator, this instance was the same. "You were listed as Special War Potential, but it's a shame that you've chosen to stand on the wrong side."

"That's something that's yet to be seen."

"Smug aren't you?"

"I prefer rational."

"Is it rational that you keep speaking if only to get the last word in?"

"Is it rational that you are doing the same?"

The two stared at each other in growing silence before soon shattering all pretense.

Neither Yhwach or Aizen were bantering for the sake of banter, but were readying their own means.

Around Aizen, numerous layers of mist created a mirage that distorted and concealed his true image, but this was besides the point.

Yhwach's goal was never to defeat Aizen, but to strike down Shirou who was busy behind him. In battle, it was always harder to protect than it was to strike without reservation. All that was needed to be done was to actively target Shirou, and force Aizen out to intervene.

In this exchange, Yhwach knew that he would have the edge solely because he had an immobile target.

Right as Aizen vanished, Yhwach charged right in, shooting down like a comet.

Darting his eyes to his left, Yhwach raised a blade of spiritual energy and parried an invisible strike.

Yhwach would admit that he could be influenced by Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu, but he as the King of the Quincy carried the power of A-The Almighty. Precognition was an inherent trait, and an unsurpassable wall in battle. It mattered not if Yhwach was caught in an illusion if he could realize it immediately from viewing a future timeline.

For instance, the strike to his left just now would have cut into his shoulder, but through the Almighty, Yhwach changed fate itself to work in his favor. He knew he'd get cut, so he simply chose a future where he wasn't.

The Almighty knew not of defeat, for defeat would be rendered impossible.

Pushing his spiritual sword against the tip of Aizen's unseen blade, the shadows stretching from Yhwach's trench coat formed hands that indiscriminately fired spiritual arrows.

Just because Aizen could conceal himself in a mirage didn't mean that Yhwach had no means to retaliate.

Sure enough, Yhwach's attention focused on the area his spiritual arrows met interference and he immediately launched a counter attack.

A clang resounded as Aizen was revealed blocking Yhwach's overhead slash with a forearm braced against the flat of his blade.

To begin with, Aizen knew his strength wasn't restricted solely to his hypnosis. His own strength wasn't to be belittled either. However, when compared to Yhwach's, Aizen was not irrational enough to pit himself against it directly.

Immediately, Aizen chose to angle his sword and divert Yhwach's force to the side, but even then, a large cut tore across the side of his chest from the trailing line spirit energy. Skin was shorn clean through, muscles and sinew seeping with blood.

Aizen uttered not a word, the Hogyoku that had melded over his chest shone brilliantly before immediately repairing the damage. Using the stimulus of combat, and the desire to overcome the wall before him, the Hogyoku would evolve.

Yhwach grunted, riposting with a thrust of his free arm, but grabbing only air.

Butterfly-like wings sprouted from Aizen's back, flapping and dodging Yhwach's reach.

Aizen hummed in thought as he felt the energy welling through him. Gripping tightly onto the hilt of his sword, he once more maneuvered to launch another strike when Yhwach again aimed for Shirou.

This wasn't a battle Aizen could skirt away from, and yet, his power was not enough.

What Aizen had in his possession was the Hogyoku that could sense the wishes of the user, and his Bankai which could turn even his illusions into reality.

If the him of the present wasn't enough to contend against Yhwach, then he'd imagine a future self with the means that can.

Aizen's body that was already on the verge of breaking apart gained clarity and stability, appearing directly in front of Yhwach who raised a brow. The difference in their power had already been established. To foolishly appear to bar his direct path now was foolhardy.

Yhwach swept out with his blade once more, only to knit his features when Aizen managed to successfully parry without giving an inch of ground.

An illusion?

Yhwach quickly swept his sight across the area before him, but found that the Aizen that had stopped his blow was truly Aizen himself.

Where did this rise in power come from?

Yhwach was no fool. There was no gain without a loss.

Scrutinizing Aizen, the answer became apparent.

"You are a fool," Yhwach grimaced. "Forcibly raising the level of your existence through your ego and the Hogyoku puts you on the boundary of death, no different from a deadman. Even then, your Bankai is deceiving reality by flipping the meaning of life and death."

"Do you need to state the obvious?"

"..."

Aizen and Yhwach slashed out simultaneously, a burst of light creating a shower of sparks that cascaded across the area. In the next second, the two disappeared in a flurry of speed and power.

Nothing but a blur could be seen.

Shockwaves and unrelenting spiritual energy gave rise to storms that trailed in their wake.

Aizen grunted, positioning himself into a two-handed grip and exerting strength from his shoulder and core to cleave through several arrows of spirit energy. Flash Stepping, he evaded an ensuing flurry, only to block a decapitation strike.

Yhwach had long since stopped moving at his leisure. Over his eyes, a thin sheen of blue spirit energy revealed the activation of 'the Almighty.' By this stage of the exchange, victory was already determined. However, praise was given where it was due.

There was no future in which Aizen was taken down easily no matter what method was tried.

Nevertheless, the duration of this exchange did not last more than a couple seconds, leaving more than enough of an opportunity to disrupt Shirou.

Shirou alone was the true target; Aizen the wall obstructing the way.

By this point, Yhwach was done.

"From the very beginning, this was the predestined result," Yhwach intoned, glancing off at a location bereft of any presence. In a single motion, he parried a strike and thrust an arm out in the empty space.

"Nothing you do can escape my eyes."

Blood abruptly spurted out in a river. The Aizen Yhwach was fighting fading to reveal it to be a fake all along. In which case, what did that mean for the empty space?

"No plot, no clever scheme, or maneuver changes the outcome!"

Aizen's true form gradually materialized, trickles of blood escaping the sides of his mouth.

Yhwach's hand had gouged into Aizen's chest and was grabbing at his heart. Red droplets smeared over the whites of Aizen's attire, his body slumping forward as a gurgling noise escaped his lips.

Yhwach's gaze was impassive. From the beginning and until now, he'd hardly taken damage. Moreover, from his perception of time, not but a scant few seconds had passed. He still had more than enough time to intervene with whatever Shirou was doing.

He was certain of this, as his Almighty would have warned him of a future where he didn't manage to intervene in Shirou's actions.

In the end, this was the limit between him and Aizen, one who stood on the threshold of spirit and soul, and one who was transcendental.

"A power limited only to the psyche of a single mind can never hope to contain the breadth of the world," Yhwach sneered, gathering spiritual energy into his hand and clenching the feeble resistance he could feel Aizen giving. "In the end, tranquility shatters and breaks upon the slightest deviation."

Aizen's complexion paled, but his eyes never lost their vibrancy. One could never truly know with him.

"Even so," Aizen chuckled, the light of defiance flickering across his features. "The images reflected upon the surface of a tranquil lake remain, reflecting the sky, the stars, and the earth."

Power gathered into Aizen's form, the sound of breaking glass endlessing dronning on as Aizen drew himself closer to Yhwach.

"What determines whether someone exists or not, does not lie with your perception of being. Tranquility may shatter at a touch. Tranquility may create a false image within its reflection, but nonetheless, there is no chaos without it."

The Hogyoku within Aizen's chest shone and encompassed Aizen's entire vision, something that alluded to another metamorphosis.

"That is the proof of its existence."

Yhwach did not fail to notice the change in the Hogyoku. He would not let the injury heal, but it wasn't Yhwach who would take the initiative here.

Aizen grasped the arm stabbed through his chest, his fingers clasping tightly around Yhwach's wrist, firmly holding him in place.

"Hadō #90. Kurohitsugi."

A black box began to form layer by layer around Aizen and Yhwach, fully enshrouding them from sight as if it were one last ditch effort. Caught in place, Yhwach didn't even seem to put in an effort to evade before the black box tightly closed.

Silence permeated the area.

When the black box eventually receded, all that was left to be seen was Yhwach standing on his own, arm still outstretched. There was no sight of Aizen as if his very being had been eroded away. Only particles of spiritual energy remained.

"How meaningless."

Yhwach clenched his right hand into a fist, the sound of shattering glass revealing fragments of the Hogyoku crushed within.

"…a foolish man unable to see reality even until the last breath."

Yet, was the effort useless?

-CLAANG!

Yhwach's eyes widened, the sound of striking metal abruptly ringing in his ears and stunning him.

The hairs on the back of his neck rose, his heart quickening in his chest.

He could feel it; a shudder traveling down his back as he turned himself towards Shirou's direction in an instant.

A thunder clap echoed as writhing arcs of lightning flashed within turbulent clouds.

Yhwach was appalled.

How did he not notice? Did he lose track? Did he grow complacent?

No, impossible. There was no way Yhwach would make such a trivial error, especially when he knew the capabilities of Aizen's hypnosis.

So then why?!

By his calculations, he should have had more than enough time! It had barely been a few seconds- a minute at the most!

Yhwach shielded his face from the gale of turbulent wind produced from another strike of the hammer upon an unseen anvil before it clicked.

Time? It all rounded back on this word rooted to his own perception.

Yhwach's breath hitched, veins popping over his skin in recollection of Aizen's words and composure right until the end.

Tranquility?

Yhwach had shattered that tranquility, and in doing so gave way to the brewing chaos veiled beneath?

A-The Almighty granted Yhwach the means to to alter the future into whatever outcome he desired. Utilizing this power, he often set up traps where he knew his opponents would be in a form of preemptive attack. By doing so, he could outmaneuver any defense and countermeasure his enemies could devise.

What the Almighty saw within the span of a few seconds was every possible future before him. To not have noticed the growing anomalies around Shirou, or the dilation of time itself, would have meant that he'd been deceived in every possible scenario.

It was absurd!

Worse, as the fluctuating powers continued to amass around Shirou, Yhwach knew that it was far too late to act or intervene.

Damn you.

"Aizen Sousuke!"

/-/

Do not waver.

Shirou's eyes hardened, tremors traveling through his hands and up his body with each swing of the forging hammer in his grip.

Clangs continued to echo in the droning din of a grand forge beyond the mortal means of flesh and blood.

Do not lose sight.

Up above, torrents of spiritual magic continued to swirl into the eye of a brewing storm; fierce winds giving way to unrelenting spiritual pressure; fragments of upturned sand drawn in from the suction force of the converging energy, sizzling and burning into fiery floating embers the closer to the center.

Do not allow emotion to cause sway.

He could hear the rhythm of battle from all around; the cries of anguish, helplessness, and resolve; the silent screams left unheard after each injury upon those who place their faith on hands that have never held anything; desperately waiting for a fleeting moment to overturn hardship, to overturn the battlefield's karma.

Good and evil.

Sparks grated from another blow, showering past his eyes and illuminating the profile of his face. His bangs were blown upward, widened eyes revealing the focused glow of shining bronze.

Righteousness and deplorability.

Sweat that seeped from his pores almost instantly evaporated from the growing temperature of the area around him.

Spirit and heart.

The air crackled, the hazy images seen through the movement of light, bending upon each impact.

To give up his very being was what was required of this sword.

Gradually, his eyes shut; the spiritual energy within him leaving his reserves, funneling through his arms, and focusing entirely within the confines of his creation. This left him weak, his spiritual body sagging; the presence of his aura rapidly deteriorating.

Remove all complexity, and return to the root of simplicity.

Hollow, Shinigami, the energies that both dwelled from his being were seeping out for the sole purpose of fulfilling the action before him.

There was no material between the hammer and the anvil. He didn't need it. The material was the world of his soul itself. That was the metal to be smithed.

Hammer the iron.

The hammer held aloft in his right hand lost its form, leaving only an ethereal outline. Even still, the reverberating din of clanging metal echoes.

Forge and temper it into an unbending steel.

A keening hum rapidly sounded in the chaos.

Heat and mold.

That which was intangible; that which could not possibly exist, would become reality.

Quench and dry.

The final strike hammered down; the entire world, the weapons, and the faded gears clanking up high, fading into billowing tongues of fire that congregated and condensed over the forged blade.

Set. Cooling.

A Zanpakuto was the manifestation of a Shinigami's soul…and his was now laid bare in his grasp.

The time bought for this forging would not be wasted-

The power of a world narrowed into a single tip of a sword that cries out its name upon a graveyard of failures and masterpieces surpassing the threshold of worldly convention.

A weapon that represents an armoury of infinite steel;

A weapon that does not exist in this world.

A sword belonging solely to 'Shirou Emiya,' was born.

"Sever."

The fire receded to reveal the weapon brandished beneath.

"Mugen no Ken."

A transcendental blade to slay a transcendental.