High above Las Noches, under its true, starless sky, the battle was turning dire. Byakuya Kuchiki's condition was worsening. He had unleashed the full might of his Bankai's final form, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi: Gōkei, attempting to crush Ulquiorra within a sphere of countless blades. But in response, the Cuatro Espada simply conjured a weapon of pure, terrifying energy—a massive, green javelin that hummed with destructive power.
The Lanza del Relámpago lived up to its name. When Ulquiorra threw it, the spear of lightning didn't just pierce through the dense cloud of petals; it obliterated it. The concussive force alone sent Byakuya reeling, blood spraying from his mouth as he was thrown backward. The attack hadn't even been a direct hit.
"A miss. It seems the aim is still difficult to control," Ulquiorra observed dispassionately, as if commenting on the weather. He calmly began to condense another Lanza in his hand, the green energy crackling ominously. "This time, I will not miss."
Byakuya struggled to his feet, his mind racing. 'A Vasto Lorde-level Arrancar… to possess such raw, overwhelming power…' His Senbonzakura was useless against an attack of such sheer, wide-scale devastation.
Ulquiorra raised the second Lanza, taking aim at the wounded Captain. Seeing this, Mayuri Kurotsuchi immediately drew his Zanpakuto, preparing to summon his own Bankai to intercept. But having just witnessed the first spear's power, even he wasn't confident he could stop it.
Just as Ulquiorra's arm tensed to throw, a figure flashed into existence between them.
Ulquiorra's hollow eyes focused on the newcomer. "You are…?" he asked, regarding the familiar yet strangely altered presence before him.
…
The continuous explosions and shockwaves from the battle above made Rukia Kuchiki's heart clench with anxiety. She could feel the distinct spiritual pressures of her brother, Captain Kurotsuchi, and the monstrous Arrancar, all clashing in a chaotic, violent storm.
"Brother…" Rukia whispered, her eyes fixed on the ceiling as if she could see through it.
"Do not worry, Miss Kuchiki," Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu said, trying to offer comfort. "If Captain Kuchiki and Captain Kurotsuchi are fighting together, even against the Fourth Espada, they will not be defeated."
"Yes… you're right. I was worrying too much," Rukia said, letting out a subconscious sigh of relief.
Amamiya Miyako, however, remained silent. 'Is that really true?' he thought. If Ichigo's Inner Hollow had fully taken over, then defeating Ulquiorra was a certainty. But a Ulquiorra who had revealed his Segunda Etapa? The outcome of others facing that power was far from guaranteed.
A long while later, with the combined efforts of Captain Unohana and Lieutenant Kotetsu, Miyako's spiritual pressure was almost fully restored.
"Thank you both very much," Miyako said, standing up and offering a grateful smile. "I've recovered most of my reiryoku. I should be going now to—"
BOOOOOOM!
Before he could finish, a deafening roar erupted from above. Alongside the two holes Miyako had created earlier, a third, massive breach was torn open in the dome. A spear of brilliant green light shot down from the opening, impacting the sands far from Las Noches and carving out a crater the size of a small town.
'That's… Ulquiorra's Lanza del Relámpago,' Miyako realized, getting a firsthand sense of the Espada's true, terrifying strength.
"Brother!" Rukia cried out, feeling Byakuya's spiritual pressure plummet drastically. She immediately turned to rush out, desperate to reach the upper level.
"Wait, Rukia!" Miyako said, quickly grabbing her arm to stop her.
"Let me go, Miyako! My brother, he's—!"
"I'll go," Miyako stated firmly, his expression serious. "You stay here and protect the others." With Rukia's current strength, she would only be a liability against such a foe. And Captain Unohana had expended significant energy healing him. He was the only one left with the power to intervene.
"Vice-Captain Amamiya," Captain Unohana interjected, her voice calm but insistent. "You have a more critical mission, do you not? Leave this to us…"
"Losing Captain Kuchiki and the others here would be a far greater defeat," Miyako countered. "Don't worry, Captain. I will be careful." With that, he flash-stepped away, leaping upwards towards the chaotic battlefield.
"I'll be back soon, Rukia," he called down, giving her one last confident smile over his shoulder.
Rukia could only watch his retreating form and offer a silent prayer. 'Miyako… please.'
When Miyako finally arrived on the topmost level, the scene was one of utter chaos. Captain Kurotsuchi and a wounded Captain Kuchiki were locked in combat—but not with Ulquiorra. Their opponent was a figure with spiky orange hair, clad in a tattered Hollow mask with a single, jagged horn. A gaping hole was visible in his chest, and he wielded a black longsword that dripped with dark energy.
Miyako knew instantly. This was Kurosaki Ichigo, but his Inner Hollow had fully taken the reins, creating a berserk Vasto Lorde-like entity. But where was Ulquiorra? Had he already been defeated?
The current situation made it clear that the berserk Ichigo was now attacking everything in sight, friend or foe.
"Hey, Kuchiki! What the hell is this thing?!" Mayuri Kurotsuchi yelled, his Bankai, Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō, struggling to keep up with the monster's impossible speed and power. "Is it a man or a Hollow?!"
Byakuya Kuchiki, already wounded from his brutal exchange with Ulquiorra, watched the monstrous, Hollowfied Ichigo with deep wariness. He had felt this terrifying, predatory spiritual pressure before—during their duel in the Soul Society. This was the same Hollow essence, now unleashed completely.
Miyako quickly flash-stepped to where Orihime Inoue was crouched, her face pale with shock.
"Inoue," he said, his voice urgent but low. "What did you say to Ichigo right before this happened? His Inner Hollow has completely taken over. He's in a full berserk state."
"I… I said…" Orihime stammered, her eyes wide and unfocused as she replayed the moment in her traumatized mind.
"The situation was critical," Uryū Ishida interjected grimly, having witnessed everything. "That Captain was being overwhelmed. Miss Inoue cried out for Kurosaki's help… and then he became… this."
"Inoue, listen to me!" Miyako said, turning her to face him. "You're the only one who can reach him now. Your voice has to get through to the real Ichigo inside there!" With that, he turned and rushed toward the rampaging Hollow.
"Captain Kuchiki! Captain Kurotsuchi!" Miyako yelled over the roar of Ichigo's spiritual pressure. "We need to restrain him! If we don't, he'll just keep rampaging!"
"Understood," Byakuya replied curtly.
"Bakudō Number Sixty-One: Rikujōkōrō!" Six bands of yellow light shot from Byakuya's hand, aiming to pin Ichigo's torso.
"Bakudō Number Sixty-Three: Sajō Sabaku!" Mayuri added immediately, chains of energy erupting from his fingertips to bind the Hollowfied boy's limbs.
The berserk Ichigo thrashed against the bindings, the spiritual chains straining to hold him.
"Tessai-san demonstrated this to me once… first time trying it for real," Miyako muttered, taking a deep breath and focusing his reiryoku. "Bakudō Number Ninety-Nine, Part One: Kin!"
Massive, black prayer beads and pins materialized in the air with a deep, resonant hum, slamming into Ichigo and further immobilizing him against the ground. With three Captain-level Bakudō layering upon him, the rampaging Hollow finally stilled, snarling impotently.
"Now, Inoue! Talk to him!" Miyako shouted.
But before Orihime could utter a word, a shattered figure darted from the shadows behind Ichigo. It was Ulquiorra, his body horribly maimed, half of his torso simply gone. Yet, with sheer, indomitable will, he still clutched a fading Lanza del Relámpago. With a final, desperate lunge, he drove the crumbling spear of energy into Ichigo's restrained form.
The combined Bakudō shattered under the point-blank blast, releasing the enraged Ichigo. New wounds now marred his body, but in his berserk state, he felt no pain. His single-minded focus immediately locked onto the source of this new attack. He flash-stepped, his hand closing around Ulquiorra's throat, a crimson Cero beginning to condense above his free hand.
"No, Kurosaki-kun! Stop! Please don't do this anymore!" Orihime's voice cut through the chaos as she rushed forward, throwing her arms around Ichigo from behind in a desperate embrace.
Hearing her voice—a sound that pierced the fog of his rage—the Hollowfied Ichigo froze. The Cero sputtered and died. A crack appeared in the white bone mask, then another, until it shattered completely, revealing Ichigo's own face, contorted in confusion and exhaustion. The gaping hole in his chest began to seal itself, his innate Hollow powers instinctively triggering a high-speed regeneration.
"High-Speed Regeneration…?" Ulquiorra rasped, his body failing him. He tried to summon another Lanza, but the green energy flickered and dissipated. "I see… This body has reached its limit." He looked down at his own limbs, which were beginning to lose their solid form. The excessive regeneration had drained the last of his reiryoku; he could no longer even maintain his Arrancar form.
Ichigo, now fully conscious, looked around, his gaze finally settling on the disintegrating form of his enemy. "Ulquiorra… your body?"
"You have returned… Kurosaki Ichigo," Ulquiorra stated, his voice losing its trademark monotone, becoming almost… wistful. "You won this battle. But it is a pity. Until the very end… I felt nothing from your sword. What are emotions…? What is a heart…?"
"Kurosaki Ichigo," he implored, his green eyes locking with Ichigo's. "Kill me."
"I won't!" Ichigo responded, his voice complex, a mix of pity and resolve. "That's not a real victory!"
"Is that so…? Until the end, you refuse to let anyone have their way…" Ulquiorra's tone was desolate, yet held a note of acceptance.
A heavy silence fell over the battlefield as everyone witnessed the final, lonely moments of the Cuatro Espada.
Within Amamiya Miyako's chest, a sudden, familiar warmth pulsed. The Hōgyoku was stirring, reacting to the profound emptiness before it.
'I see… So you're drawn to that,' Miyako thought. He stepped forward, his expression earnest.
"Ulquiorra," Miyako said, drawing the Espada's fading gaze. "I can give you a chance. A chance to feel what a heart is. To truly feel the will behind Ichigo's sword."
Ulquiorra turned his head, his hollow eyes showing a flicker of confusion. "Amamiya Miyako… what do you mean?"
"Give me your hand," Miyako said, extending his own. "And you will understand."
Ulquiorra looked at the offered hand. For the first time, a true unwillingness to simply vanish stirred within him. His hollow heart, which had known only nothingness, had finally been stirred. He wanted to understand that ripple. Even if it was the enemy's offer, it was his last, desperate chance to comprehend the human heart he had spent a lifetime observing. Compared to Aizen's cold commands, this yearning to feel was now all that mattered.
'And this feeling…' Ulquiorra thought, sensing a faint, familiar warmth from Miyako—a warmth that reminded him of the white forest he had known before becoming an Arrancar, the first and only time he had felt something akin to… happiness.
Slowly, he placed his disintegrating hand into Miyako's.
His body immediately began to dissolve, not into nothingness, but into countless shimmering, emerald-green particles of light. They flowed from him, swirling gently before converging towards Miyako. Before he fully vanished, Ulquiorra cast one last, long look at Kurosaki Ichigo. Then, the last of his form dissolved, and the stream of green light poured into Amamiya Miyako's chest—directly into the Hōgyoku nestled within.