"...Is this the new Soul King, Monk?"
"Ah, yes. You're moving already? As expected of the Head Captain of the Gotei 13, hm?"
The highest point of the Soul King Palace.
Ichibe Hyosube greeted Shunsui Kyoraku, who had just arrived, with his characteristic boisterous laugh.
Kyoraku stared at the 'thing' before him with his one remaining eye, a bitter expression crossing his face.
A man encased in a translucent crystal, preserved like a specimen without even opening his eyes.
It was Yhwach.
"Whether he is 'new' or 'former' to us doesn't matter. The meaning lies in the fact that the one worshipped as the 'Soul King' remains here."
"...So, names have power, is that it?"
Shunsui looked at the second Soul King.
He gazed at Yhwach, deceased and trapped in that glass-like substance.
"In the worst-case scenario, Ichigo-kun might have been the one sitting in the place of that 'name.'"
"It's a relief that didn't happen, isn't it?"
Ichibe grinned, showing his neatly aligned white teeth.
Yhwach, whose consciousness had vanished in death while his body was used as a Wedge, silently took in the scene.
.
.
.
'...Am I dead?'
He couldn't move his body.
He couldn't even roll his eyes.
Yhwach simply realized that he had died and was trapped somewhere, and that only his consciousness had returned.
It sounded strange for a dead man to regain consciousness, but he didn't pay it much mind.
Soon, he was able to grasp the situation.
'I have become the Wedge...'
As the price for seizing the Soul King's power, he had ultimately ended up sitting on the throne of the Soul King himself.
It was resentful.
He felt bitter about everything—how, in the final moment, he was killed by Ichigo without being able to use his abilities for some reason.
Bitter toward Ichigo, who cut down the man who tried to eliminate death across the Three Worlds for the sake of his people.
And toward his father, Adonyeus, who had obstructed him until the very end before vanishing.
Yhwach could not hide his resentment.
Now that only his consciousness had returned, there was nothing he could do.
.
.
.
Decades passed.
For some reason, his 'eyes' returned.
His body was still immobile, his eyes wouldn't turn, and his mouth wouldn't budge.
However, his 'eyes' became able to look at the world beyond the crystal.
They say the position makes the man.
He, who had absorbed the Soul King's power in life to alter the future with The Almighty, had become the true Soul King only after death, gaining the ability to look not just into the future, but into the past as well.
'........'
Soon, Yhwach was able to directly observe events from any time period he desired.
.
.
.
'Ah...'
He had failed.
In a timeline where he defeated Ichigo, he succeeded in destroying the balance of the Three Worlds and returning to the primordial world, but he could not stop the constant mutation of souls and the Hollows that followed.
The power to alter the future cannot interfere with 'living beings.'
Even if he altered the world, he could not save his people from turning into Hollows.
His plan had been a failure from the very beginning.
.
.
.
Centuries passed.
His consciousness became firmer than ever, reaching a state of clarity far beyond what he possessed in life.
His resentment toward the world, his sense of injustice, and his doubts soon vanished.
And finally, he became able to perfectly observe the world across time and space.
.
.
.
"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki! Let's... pray this isn't the last time we say goodbye!"
"It's the same for everyone. The dead, and those left behind. Everyone is equally lonely. Don't go deciding you're the only lonely one!"
"Zangetsu!!"
"It’s not that I want to save them—I will save them!"
"I swore... that I would definitely save her..."
"Yo."
"Bankai. Tensa Zangetsu."
"I came here to... use you guys. We can't be allies... but I need to learn how to suppress the Hollow inside me."
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Ulquiorra. Let's go. This is the Hollowfication you wanted to see."
"I... I will protect them."
"Then cut off my left arm and left leg too!"
"The Final Getsuga Tensho is me... becoming Getsuga itself."
"Aaaaaaah!!!"
....Once.
"I'm asking if you're the one who turned the Soul Society into a mess!!"
Twice.
Thrice.
Dozens, hundreds, thousands of times.
History repeated over and over.
And the Soul King continued to watch.
He could observe any point in time he wished, and watch history unfold in any era.
He retraced the life Ichigo Kurosaki had walked.
He retraced the life Orihime Inoue had protected.
He retraced the life Yasutora Sado had spent falling and rising.
He retraced the life Uryu Ishida had felt.
He retraced the lives the Captains of the Gotei 13 had lived.
He retraced the lives the Sternritter had lived.
.
.
.
He retraced the life that he, Yhwach, had led.
.
.
.
"So, this is what I become... Soul King."
He locked eyes with the Yhwach of the past.
**
"At first, I was bewildered. Then I was enraged, and soon after, I felt empty. What I realized only after becoming the Soul King was... that I was trying to force my own people into a state where they could not die even if they wanted to."
"That's...."
"...The current Yhwach does not know this. Even if I were to tell him directly, he would dismiss it as 'my' failure and believe he would be different."
Ichigo looked at Yhwach, stumbling.
His expression was filled with confusion, pity, and questions.
Yhwach let out a small chuckle at Ichigo's complex expression.
"Are you pitying me? Me, your future nemesis who was defeated by Ichigo Kurosaki?"
"...It's not that. I'm just... curious. Why are you trying to help me? Have you... turned over a new leaf or something?"
Ichigo asked, clenching his fists tightly.
It was a question that acknowledged 'Yhwach's' sins while carrying genuine wonder.
"...No. I still hate the Soul Reapers. I have no interest in turning over a new leaf."
Yhwach—no.
Zangetsu gazed intently at Ichigo.
"I am simply trying to help the existence known as you, Ichigo."
"...Me?"
As Ichigo looked puzzled, Zangetsu slowly looked up at the blue sky.
"I have observed this world for countless ages. The primordial world, the Soul King, the Three Worlds, the Soul Society... in those long years, I have been worn down. My loneliness and solitude grew beyond measure."
As he spoke, Yhwach pointed a finger at Ichigo.
"And so, I entered your inner world, Ichigo. Is it not ironic that after all those eons, I have come face-to-face with Ichigo—the very being who cut me down?"
"...Yeah. How exactly did you enter my inner world? You're a real person, not just some power inside me."
At Ichigo's sudden question, Zangetsu pondered for a moment before speaking.
"In truth, I do not only represent the 'Quincy power' within you. I also hold the 'Fullbringer power'—the role of a Soul King fragment. I suspect that because Yhwach took a part of your soul in the future, a part of me, the Soul King of that time, became assimilated with you and was pulled back here."
"Fullbringers... that power is related to the Soul King?"
"Yes. The term 'Fullbringer' is only established in the modern era, so it is no coincidence you found nothing in your books."
Zangetsu then reached out a hand toward Ichigo.
"Take my hand, Ichigo. You must take my hand to overcome the Yhwach of the present. Since you have chosen the life of a 'Quincy,' you too are a target for 'Auswählen.' You must cultivate the strength to withstand that Auswählen. And you must master all the powers of a Soul Reaper, Hollow, Quincy, and Fullbringer to face him."
Ichigo shook his head with a bitter smile.
"...I'm sorry, but you already know. I've already lost my Quincy powers forever."
"No, Ichigo. Though it may not be known now, there is a way to restore the power lost through Letzt Stil."
"What...?!"
As Ichigo's eyes widened in shock, Zangetsu gestured toward the void.
"When you return to reality, go find Jugram Haschwalth. There should be something written in his notes. So... will you take it?"
After staring at Zangetsu's thick hand for a moment, Ichigo slowly raised his hand and grasped it.
"I'm telling you now, I still don't think His Majesty is evil. I'll show you that I can change His Majesty's choice. In a way that saves both him and the world."
"...Arrogant. But if it's possible, that would be a fine way to do it."
Zangetsu let out a small chuckle as his blurred form began to fade.
"Remember, Ichigo. My name is Zangetsu. It will be... quite a long time before we meet again."
And then, Ichigo opened his eyes.
.
.
.
"Hey, Ichigo! I was worried! You've been out cold for four straight days!"
Ichigo's eyes snapped open at the loud shouting.
A foreign ceiling.
The bleak scenery of an infirmary.
Standing before him was Bazz-B, his face a mix of worry and irritation.
Snapping out of his daze at Bazz-B's shout, Ichigo touched his own face and muttered.
"...Where's Haschwalth?"
"...Why is he the first person you look for the moment you wake up? He's busy. He's focusing on identifying the survivors. Besides, do you know where we are? This is the Silbern, inside the Lichtreich in the World of the Living."
"What?! Ah, that stings..."
Ichigo flinched, his wounds searing as if telling him to stay still.
"Sigh. I don't know the details, but Haschwalth said he set something up in advance. Like he thinks he's so special..."
After grumbling about Haschwalth's achievements, he looked at Ichigo with a serious expression and tilted his head.
"Follow me when you can move. Haschwalth said he knows a way to restore your Quincy powers."
"...!"
While Ichigo was frozen in shock, Bazzard simply walked out.
Left alone in the infirmary, Ichigo stared blankly at the door.
Everything Zangetsu said in the inner world was true.
...It wasn't over yet.
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