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‘What... what is this?’
Just by sensing the Spiritual Pressure, I thought I had transcended the dimensions of most beings, but I was clearly wrong. I felt it coming. I knew it was closing in on me. I tried to block it. So why was I falling? The amount of Reiatsu bleeding out of me was staggering. Compared to a mere wound on an arm, the spiritual energy hemorrhaging from my chest was on an entirely different scale.
‘I haven’t lost yet!’
The figure of the Captain Commander, clad in his crimson armor of flames, began to recede as I plummeted. Yet, I refused to accept defeat. I just needed a moment—a quick use of Life Absorption would mend this wound, and I could get back into the fray. But no matter how I reached out, the Captain Commander only grew more distant, a flickering ember in my fading sight.
THUD!
The impact of hitting the ground sent a jolt of agony through me, but even that physical pain was secondary to the void in my chest. Too much Reiatsu was escaping. No matter how much I tried to invoke Life Absorption, the rate of depletion far outpaced my ability to replenish it.
‘Is this... death?’
Death. I had always thought of it as a concept simultaneously near and far. In this new life, I never assumed I was immortal, yet I never imagined I’d end like this. Everything was supposed to be perfect. Everything was proceeding according to the plan. I had prepared for the Captain Commander’s Bankai. I had anticipated Aizen’s betrayal. I had even predicted the eventual demise of every member of the Espada. But I had never once factored my own death into the equation.
‘How pathetic.’
It was almost laughable. To think I was so arrogant as to exclude my own death from my calculations. To fail in truly analyzing the enemy's maximum output. To drop my guard while facing such a monster. I never suspected that, in the final moment, I would commit such a fatal, amateur mistake.
Amazingly, though my eyes were wide open, my vision was beginning to blur. I felt the torrential flow of Reiatsu finally slowing down. Like a body that had run out of blood to spill, I was reaching the absolute limit of my spirit energy.
‘This is...?’
I felt a familiar pressure. It was the power of Orihime’s Sōten Kisshun. It seemed she was focusing on me instead of healing Gin and Yoruichi, but it was already too late. However, hers wasn’t the only presence I felt. Halibel’s Reiatsu, Yeriel’s, and even Is’s converged upon me.
The three of them were funneling their own spiritual power into me, but I was still slipping away. No matter how much Reiatsu they poured in, if the core wound wasn't sealed, it would simply leak back out into the sands of Hueco Mundo. Death would claim me regardless. Orihime was clearly too exhausted to fully restore a wound of this magnitude. Yet, their efforts weren't entirely in vain; my vision began to sharpen again. The difference between having a supply of Reiatsu and being empty was night and day. As my sight returned, I saw the four of them surrounding me. Above us, in the sky, the remaining Captains, the Espada, and my brainwashed pawns were still locked in a chaotic dance of slaughter.
“Ah... what are you doing? Don’t waste time on me. Go out there and win.”
“Lucifer! You’re awake?!”
“Obviously. I don’t die from something this trivial. So get back to the fight. There are still plenty of enemies left, aren't there?”
“What are you even saying?! Who did we start this war for?! For whose sake did I have to kill my own friends?! Why did I do any of this?!”
Yeriel was the one shouting through her tears. She was right; she had joined this war solely for my sake. It was only natural. I had groomed her to be a piece on my board, so of course she moved according to my will.
“Then go fight. A wound like this will heal in no time.”
Now that my sight had cleared, I could inspect the damage properly. Since blood didn't flow in the traditional sense, the state of my body was terrifyingly clear: my upper and lower halves were barely held together. My legs were completely unresponsive, a testament to the severance. Only my fingers could give a faint, jerky twitch.
“Ruel, there is nothing in this world that can replace you. I refuse to let you be the sacrifice.”
Tibel, who usually remained stoic and detached, was weeping as she spoke to me. What a strange feeling. Should I call this happiness? Even as my spirit flickered near extinction, a smirk naturally crept onto my lips.
“There is no world without sacrifice. We only strive to minimize it. I told you before, didn't I? A goal achieved through sacrifice is all the more precious.”
I had told Tibel those exact words shortly after she became an Espada. Sacrifice makes the outcome valuable, and the greatest honor is ensuring that sacrifice wasn't made in vain.
“Hey, if all of you stay down here, we’re going to get slaughtered. Go help them. Besides, that old man is significantly more terrifying and powerful than I gave him credit for.”
To be frank, the battle in the sky was now a lopsided affair: the Captain Commander against everyone else. The other Captains had retreated to receive medical treatment, leaving the old man to stand alone as the undefeated Guardian of the Soul Reapers.
“Lucifer La El, I am a god. And you are a god’s lover. You haven't forgotten, have you? Our promise that I would rule the Soul Society while you ruled Hueco Mundo.”
Yes, I remembered making a promise like that. It was right before I fell asleep on our first night together. She had said she would take the Soul Society and cede Hueco Mundo to me. I remembered her laughing as she said it; I thought it was a joke, but it seemed she was dead serious.
“Of course. It’s only natural. Hueco Mundo belongs to me. I am its King.”
“Then wait here! I will bring you victory in this war, and Hueco Mundo shall be your reward!”
Damn. To think Is’s feelings for me were actually genuine. It was so unexpected I found myself at a loss for words. I had always assumed she’d stab me in the back at any moment. Well, I certainly felt like I’d been struck—not by a blade, but by a realization that hit just as hard.
“If you’re doing this for me, then fight! Win! Victory is all I desire!”
“If that is what Ruel wants...!”
“I’ll slaughter every single Soul Reaper to give you that victory!”
“Naturally. I, a god, have taken the stage. Defeat is a mathematical impossibility!”
Tibel spoke, Yeriel countered with determination, and Is Made her declaration. It was a beautiful sight. But my vision began to fail once more. The Reiatsu they had been giving me returned to them. I had said everything I needed to say, so I gave it back.
“So don’t you dare die. You aren't allowed to.”
“Yeah...”
The world went dark. Sound vanished. Sensation died. My sense of smell followed. I couldn't see, hear, or feel a thing. This was it. This was death.
Surprisingly, it was peaceful. It was different from all the 'deaths' I had inflicted or witnessed. There was no pain, no resentment, no despair, no anger, no loneliness, and no emptiness. Just tranquility. It felt as if I had finally dropped every burden I had been carrying. Yet, in a small corner of my mind, there was a pang of regret... If only I could have lived a bit longer... If only I could have seen the end of the road...
‘Ah... so this is what lingering attachment feels like.’
I never thought I was the type to harbor regrets. To think that I, who claimed to understand and accept death completely, would feel such a thing when it finally claimed me. How truly hilarious.
[I thought you were perfect... but perhaps you were a flawed existence after all?]
The voice wasn't that of a child, a woman, an old man, a human, or even a Hollow. It just... resonated. I didn't hear it so much as perceive its intent.
[If you are such a weak being... one who feels regret in the moment of extinction... then shall I lend you my aid?]
Every ounce of Reiatsu had vanished from my body. I had clearly passed the threshold of the end. And yet, somewhere deep within me, an ocean of Spiritual Pressure began to swell. An infinite, inexhaustible torrent of Reiatsu was manifesting inside me, far exceeding the amount that had bled from my wounds.
“The Hogyoku?”
My vision returned. Sound flooded back. Senses and smell were restored. I felt the nerves in my legs reattaching, and the gaping slash across my torso began to knit itself back together with rapid efficiency. Vitality surged through me, transmuting my death into raw life.
“I suppose this is what they call ‘Coming Back from the Brink’?”
I felt myself rising from the grave. Life blossomed within a vessel that had been overflowing with death. I was unequivocally alive. How could I have forgotten such a basic fundamental? Life and death are two sides of the same coin. I had focused so intently on the aspect of death that I lost sight of its counterpart.
Ssh!
I stood up. Below me lay an unconscious Orihime. Next to her was Gin, who had sustained a massive wound to his chest. Orihime had likely fainted from overexertion, while Gin had lost consciousness due to the severity of his injuries. Any other being would have been long dead, but Gin was hanging on by a thread.
Slither!
As I reached out and brushed over Gin’s wound, it began to seal. I was converting his death back into life. The agony etched into his features faded, replaced by a peaceful expression. After stabilizing him, I looked toward the sky. It seemed those fighting above hadn't even realized I had awakened.
“Time to bring this to an end.”
Whoosh!
I manifested in the very center of the aerial battlefield. They all looked at me with expressions of utter shock.
“Ruel?! How?!”
“You... what exactly are you?”
The Captain Commander’s brow furrowed in disbelief. This confirmed it: they couldn't even sense my Reiatsu. The overwhelming Spiritual Pressure of the Captain Commander, which had felt like a suffocating mountain before, no longer sparked a shred of fear in me. To me, his power—while vast—now felt pitifully insufficient. He couldn't even hope to reach the level where I now stood.
“I hereby declare: each and every one of you shall die here and now.”
I pointed toward the Soul Reapers as I made my decree. It was the Declaration of Death I hadn't used since becoming an Arrancar. But now, I could make it a reality.
I summoned my Death Scythe. Feeling the familiar weight of the handle, I gave it a sweeping swing.
“I kill your movement!”
Instantly, the Soul Reapers froze mid-air. Their bodies trembled violently, but it was clear they were paralyzed, trapped by a conceptual command they couldn't overcome.
“I kill your Reiatsu!”
With another swing of the Death Scythe, the Spiritual Pressure emanating from the Soul Reapers vanished without a trace. It was as if they had never possessed power to begin with, reduced to the state of ordinary, fragile souls.
“I kill your five senses!”
As I swung the scythe a third time, a thick black smoke began to envelop the Soul Reapers. They clearly wanted to resist, but with no movement and no Reiatsu, they were helpless as the shadows swallowed them whole.
“And finally... I kill your existence.”
This time, I didn't even bother swinging the scythe. I simply whispered the words. The Soul Reapers shrouded in black smoke began to disintegrate. One by one, they crumbled into ash, scattered to the winds of Hueco Mundo. With that, the war against the Soul Reapers was over.
“Victory is ours.”
“Ruel!”
The moment I turned around to announce our triumph, three women lunged into my arms. It truly was a satisfying victory.
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First of all, here is the conclusion! Phew, the protagonist of this 'Hollow Chronicle' was set up to be a 'bad guy.' He grew terrifyingly fast in a short amount of time and enjoyed weaving intricate plans. Knowing the original story's ending, he played with his opponents while setting up his strategy with precision.
The point where the dying protagonist is told he's a 'flawed existence' by the Hogyoku before it lends him its power—this establishes the Hogyoku's character in this story. While the original Hogyoku's will was never fully explored, I set it here as something that seeks to make the flawed 'perfect.'
The protagonist held the power of death and thus was perfect in his mastery of it, and since he knew the future, he was perfect in his predictions. However, in the moment he was killed by the Captain Commander and faced extinction, he felt lingering attachment—regret. Because of this, the Hogyoku judged him as 'incomplete' and granted him power.
Additionally, for Is (Aizen), the reason her Hogyoku didn't awaken similarly was because the protagonist filled her 'flaws.' Is desired someone to stand by her side as an equal, and that was the protagonist. Watching him die, she desperately wished for his survival. As a result, Is’s Hogyoku also channeled power to the protagonist.
Transforming the flawed into the perfect. That is the Will of the Hogyoku I chose for this series. Phew, with this, the main content of Hollow Chronicle is finished. I will write a brief epilogue to cover the events following the war and bring the curtain down officially.
I’m leaving the epilogue for next time and heading to sleep. I couldn't write yesterday, so I hopped on the computer right after my part-time job and knocked out two chapters in a row. I'm a bit exhausted.
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