"Why are you so powerful?"
Barragan asked with genuine confusion.
"I haven't quite figured that out myself~"
Sōya Azashiro shrugged, feigning ignorance.
"Now… can we talk about what comes next? I actually have a favor to ask you. Here's the thing… Little Skully!"
Azashiro slung one arm over Barragan's shoulder, grinning.
"Little… Skully?"
Barragan ignored most of what Azashiro had said, his focus caught on that nickname. What the hell is a 'Little Skully'…?
One month later.
Under the blazing sun, three beach umbrellas and three lounge chairs sat in the sand.
"Ah! Praise the sun~"
Azashiro lounged under his umbrella, blocking the harsh sunlight and looking utterly content.
"I don't get it!"
Lilynette, reclining beside him, voiced her protest.
"What's wrong, Lilynette?"
"If you went through all the trouble of making the sun, why are you hiding from it with an umbrella? That's totally contradictory! I don't understand! I completely don't understand!"
"You just don't get it, Lilynette. This is called romance."
"Romance?!"
"Exactly. And you've got a lot to learn. Romance can't be explained—it has to be felt. You'll understand one day."
Azashiro stretched lazily on his chair, sipping chilled juice.
"Romance…" Lilynette muttered, still baffled.
Nearby, Harribel was jotting in a small notebook, diligently recording Azashiro-sama's 'wise sayings.'
"Azashiro-sama, how's the sunlight?"
Szayelaporro appeared with a sonído, speaking softly.
"Perfectly realistic. Well done!"
"Heh… as long as you're satisfied."
"Speaking of which—where's Little Skully? Haven't seen him lately."
"You mean His Majesty Barragan Luisenbarn? He said he hates sunlight, locked himself away in the highest part of Hueco Mundo, and now spends his time gazing at the moon. He left the entire palace under my management."
"Congrats on the promotion~," Azashiro said, slightly stunned. That was basically an instant leap to king status.
"Without your help, I never could have taken control so smoothly," Szayelaporro replied with a polite smile.
Elsewhere, in Barragan's domain…
Alone on his throne, Barragan stared at the moon. Silence filled the night sky—there was no one left here but him.
From his robe, he pulled out a single silver hair that shimmered in the moonlight.
"How bright… I really hate shiny things," he muttered. His tone was calm, perhaps too calm for the words he spoke.
"Disappear."
Black mist seeped over the strand, dulling it instantly—yet as soon as he withdrew his power, the hair regained its gleam, brighter than before.
"So… you don't age," Barragan whispered.
And so he sat there, just a man, a chair, a single strand of hair, and the moon above—beside him, the control switch for the great sky-dome.
After losing his bet to Azashiro, he had reluctantly agreed to protect Hueco Mundo's artificial sunlight. From then on, Barragan became its eternal guardian.
Fifty years passed in a blink.
During that time, Azashiro—aside from building a massive luxury water park with Szayelaporro's help—did absolutely nothing productive. He spent his days playing.
"I think soon I won't need anyone to suppress my spiritual pressure," Azashiro mused, drifting lazily in a pool float. He was close to completely surpassing the limits of a Shinigami in every sense. Once he broke through the last barrier, suppression would be unnecessary.
"That's wonderful news, Azashiro-sama," Harribel replied from the poolside, wearing a bikini and gently kicking her bare feet in the water.
On the deck, Lilynette devoured a watermelon noisily.
"That really is worth celebrating, but please believe me—my research is about to make a breakthrough," Szayelaporro said, appearing suddenly in a butler suit.
"Breakthrough? It's been fifty years!" Azashiro splashed water in protest. He suspected Szayelaporro had been slacking off—especially since a few years ago, the scientist had completed his own Arrancar transformation and even gifted Harribel a one-use glass orb that could trigger the process.
When Azashiro asked what the orb was made of, Szayelaporro refused to answer—a first. The truth, which he'd never dare say aloud, was that the orb was crafted from the essence of the entire 10th Division of the Gotei 13, including its captain and vice-captain.
"Almost there. Just one more trip to Soul Society, and I'll crack the mystery of the Shinigami," Szayelaporro declared.
And so, the little, useless, everyday moments rolled on…