Time began to flow again with faded colors.
The dust dancing in the sky changed its brilliance, like a rainbow after refraction, displaying neon-like radiance in a colorful posture at this moment.
The interweaving colors reflected in Seiya's pupils, making his gaze shift from dazed to confused, even bewildered.
He unconsciously reached out his hand, wanting to touch these scale-powder-like delicate things.
What was everything that just happened?
No one could answer his thoughts...
Perhaps the so-called sword soul's monologue was merely his imagination.
But for Seiya at this moment.
He wanted more, and was more willing to believe... that it wasn't mere imagination.
But the confession of a woman with her own will, thoughts, and emotions toward him.
Zanpakutō might not have tears.
But Seiya...
He did.
Two lines of clear tears flowed uncontrollably down both sides of his cheeks, the churning pain deep in his heart forming a stark contrast with the lightness in his hands.
The Zanpakutō shattered with a bang.
At this moment, only the hilt remained.
His eyes trembled slightly for a long moment, then violently split, becoming two intersecting pupils.
The familiar future sight returned to his hands, but for Seiya at this moment, this feeling was more like a fortunate coincidence.
Because in the next moment.
The clarity before his eyes was once again covered by confusion.
All efforts at this moment seemed to have no meaning. The dying fish struggled desperately, wagging its tail, stirring up waves that splashed fine foam on the water's surface.
Yet in the next moment, it was swept away and completely swallowed by the endless, rolling tide...
"..."
Yhwach, sitting on the royal throne, imperceptibly frowned.
For that instant.
Like a conditioned reflex blink, just in that fleeting moment... the future that Yhwach controlled showed slight signs of distortion and deviation.
But that was all.
Like branches extending from great rivers, it was just an insignificant change.
Without even needing to use the slightest bit of power, the current called 'general trend' would completely harmonize these discordant notes.
"You... Seiya."
"Did something again, didn't you?"
"How interesting. This is also why I chose to let you act freely."
After all, in this situation.
"Only people like you would struggle unyieldingly, resist, and do such self-righteous things."
"If it were the former me, I probably would have felt angry... after all, such disrespect is just reckless provocation."
"But now... it's somewhat different."
Yhwach adjusted his posture, showing a more languid expression at this moment.
Struggle a bit more.
Be a bit more ridiculous.
After all, for the current Yhwach, perhaps only this was his sole 'pleasure.'
He still controlled everything from above, though he didn't know clearly what the other party had done...
But what did it matter?
The current wouldn't change, the general trend hadn't been distorted.
Everything was still within his predictions. The tyrant perceived, controlled, and despised everything.
"Let me see you make fools of yourselves, embarrass yourselves completely, and finally show those expressions of despair."
Ichigo and Uryū were still crawling on the ground. This kind of gap in life forms made them completely unable to move even slightly.
But Seiya struggled to stand up.
Though staggering, though disheveled.
His knees still trembled as they stood firm and tense.
The bones in his body made grinding sounds, as the force called oppression struggled against will...
A terrifying sight appeared on Seiya's body.
His flesh collapsed inward in irregular shapes, constantly twisting and tilting, showing an inhuman appearance.
Crack crack crack crack crack crack...
The teeth-grinding continuous sounds connected at this moment.
This was the sound of Seiya's body being constantly ravaged and bursting forth—so miserable, so pitiful.
And precisely because of this.
It drew the tyrant's merciless laughter.
"Interesting... truly interesting!"
"It reminds me of experiences from my youth! That kind... oh right, circus spectators."
"Watching beasts forced to perform various pleasing acts, twisting their nature—such things... are very amusing."
And the current Yhwach was also experiencing past pleasures.
"I should thank you, Seiya."
The corners of Yhwach's mouth rose uncontrollably, watching the other party stubbornly raise his right hand, making a grasping motion in his direction.
The flow of time was being manipulated.
But this power was completely negligible.
Having absorbed, controlled, and fully accepted the Soul King's power, the gap between Yhwach and others was at a cliff-like level.
A thick barrier had already separated the two sides.
This was an absolutely unquestionable, absolutely inviolable hierarchy.
And at this moment, that mocking meaning became even more obvious.
"Such happiness will probably be hard to experience in future life... but regardless, thank you for the performance."
So then.
"It's time for the curtain call, Seiya."
"Truly delightful, an opponent like you..."
"From now on, there probably won't be any more."
Somewhat regrettable, but more than that, it was a sense of relief.
Yhwach calmly raised his right hand with an indifferent expression, as if bored with mockery and ridicule, lightly waving it down at this moment.
Soul King-level power instantly burst forth, like some kind of heavy pressure machine, pressing the air into something substantial, wrapping around the center fiercely.
Literal 'pressure' surged from all directions, crushing toward Seiya.
Pfft...
The once invincible strong man at this moment only made a brief sound before completely losing any shape.
Under Yhwach's gaze, Seiya was compressed into an indistinguishable lump of flesh.
It was over.
It should be so...
But.
A subtle sense of displacement surfaced in his heart at this moment, making Yhwach's expression freeze for a long moment.
A sense of wrongness.
As if what he touched was displaced from what he saw.
"What..."
After a self-talking-like low murmur, Yhwach's expression couldn't help but become dazed for an instant.
Then, he heard a certain mocking voice from beside his ear.
"I see..."
"Just by paying the price of one hand, you managed to deceive this proxy Soul King?"
"Is this because my methods are too strange, or are you just academically incompetent? Heh... this really is a troublesome topic."
As the words fell, the scene before Yhwach began to 'distort.'
The originally clear things changed shape in an instant.
Ichigo and Uryū, who had originally been lying on the ground, now stood vigilantly to the side with full alertness.
And before him stood Aizen, spitting blood and missing his right arm.
Even wearing 'prison clothes,' this guy's expression remained proud and resolute. His upward gaze showed no respect whatsoever, instead filled with mocking brilliance at this moment.
Like looking at a monkey dressed as a human.
"You bastard..."
Yhwach was briefly speechless.
Because in his future sight, Aizen's figure had never appeared.
Had this guy's power already transcended the Soul King's control? Such a thing was naturally impossible...
Even the person involved had this self-awareness.
"No need to be so surprised, Yhwach."
"Illusion itself is just a kind of deceptive method. Due to its special nature, it won't change the timeline you predict..."
"So not being observed is also a kind of flaw in a sense."
This was the advantage of illusion, but it could only achieve this much.
"But I must say... after mastering the Soul King's power, controlling your five senses really isn't an easy task."
Aizen coughed up a mouthful of blood, the corners of his mouth rising uncontrollably, showing a rather mocking smile.
"I needed your smugness, your complete loss of self-control."
"I also needed you to be in a state of triumph, thinking yourself invincible."
"Only at such times could I seize the opportunity and control all your senses."
...!!!
Yhwach's expression suddenly became serious.
He indeed couldn't predict anything related to illusions, but such things had never concerned him—after all, so-called illusions were essentially just deceptive methods.
Clowns who couldn't get on stage, how could they possibly warrant full vigilance?
But this moment... was different.
Because the originally clear future sight suddenly turned into something approaching a murky background.
Something had changed! Something he couldn't predict or calculate... but how was this possible?
All three worlds were under his command now. Everything in the world would no longer change even slightly. He was the ruler of all, he was the one who controlled everything!
How could something unknown suddenly appear?!
The unknown brought confusion.
And also anger.
No longer suppressing his true nature, completely surrendering to instinct, Yhwach almost reflexively sat up.
He grabbed Aizen's neck, his ferocious expression showing no composure whatsoever.
So the previous scene was also part of the setup?
Thinking it was a circus.
But the one truly being played was himself?
"Where is Seiya!"
Gurgle...
Aizen was choked until his face turned purple, but his expression still maintained that mocking foundation.
Can't speak?
No problem...
His control over reishi allowed Aizen to find the most suitable 'mouthpiece' at all times.
"Just a little accident made you, who claims to be king, panic to this extent? How laughable..."
"You're ultimately just a fragile person wearing a crown, with no real foundation."
"After all, you just need to look with your eyes... and you'll understand, won't you?"
Eyes...
Look...
Yhwach unconsciously raised his head, and then he saw the man floating in the air.
And before him, a small baby carrying a certain familiar aura.
From the space tunnel opened in the distance... two figures were looking at him from afar.
Both their gazes carried some sentiment and deeply hidden disgust.
These two people...
Yhwach was not unfamiliar with them.
Isshin and Ryūken.
But why would these two appear in this place?
They should be...
No, that's not right.
Yhwach suddenly discovered a 'blind spot' at this moment.
He found that no matter which timeline, he couldn't see half a trace of these two—not in the living world, Soul Society, or Hueco Mundo.
As if they had evaporated from the three worlds! Yet these two now appeared before him, clearly a premeditated action...
What were they planning?
Yhwach captured many timelines in an instant, trying his best to use his power to gather all information.
However, something surprising happened—Yhwach found he couldn't glimpse even the slightest bit.
Everything related to Seiya...
No.
Everything related to that baby was completely beyond his perception at this moment!
"What is this child!"
His voice became hoarse, the tone slightly distorted by anger, showing strong unease and fear at this moment.
No one responded to his inquiry at this moment.
The tyrant chose to act himself.
As the nominal controller of the three worlds, he didn't even need to make any movements—just through mental intention... he could completely control the other party!
It should be so.
"Why... is it useless?"
With a stunned expression emerging, Yhwach also missed the last moment of action.
Seiya made contact with the baby before him.
—Though there were no extra hints, and the person involved even lacked relevant memories.
But Seiya could feel that something within the other party was now resonating with his power at this moment.
This little one...
Was like the final piece to complete the puzzle.
Seiya unconsciously extended his right hand, quietly touching the other party at this moment.
Fingertips touched.
Light and heat were born at this moment.
A bright ball of light slowly rose, completely enveloping both figures.
Yhwach completely lost all 'timelines.' The three pupils in his eyes began rotating violently—this was a symbol of power being squeezed and forced to its limit!
But even so, he still couldn't see clearly even the slightest bit of the future.
Everything returned to chaos.
From 1 to 0...
"What have you... what have you done!!!"
Stripped of his composed facade, the appearance now revealed was the true nature of the tyrant called Yhwach.
Aizen was roughly thrown aside by his fury. Ichigo stepped forward, wanting to support the other party...
But the master stood steadily in place.
The power of the Hōgyoku had never ceased.
This power constantly transformed his body. Even when severely injured, it could fill them one by one until complete recovery.
A proud smile bloomed on his face... since Aizen's imprisonment.
This was definitely the happiest he had smiled.
"What did we do?"
"Such things... you can understand just by looking."
He spread his hands, speaking in a voice barely containing excitement at this moment.
"Seiya has found the last fragment."
"He..."
"Is complete."