Then, the Soul King asked again, "What do you think Yhwach is?"
Shin retorted, "Isn't he your son?"
The Soul King shook his head and said, "To be precise, he was once a part of me and inherited most of my scattered power."
A part?
Gerard is the heart, Pernida is the left hand, the right hand is with Jushiro, so what exactly is Yhwach?
Unfortunately, the Soul King did not elaborate.
Shin asked, "One last question. Why did the five great noble clan ancestors and Hyōsube attack you, and you didn't fight back?"
With the Soul King's power, if he hadn't wanted to, those guys definitely couldn't have done anything to him.
"Because I saw the future."
As soon as the Soul King finished speaking, a drastic change occurred in the chaotic world. Beyond the boundaries of the world, a dark red light mass was rapidly approaching. It wasn't until the light mass drew closer that Shin could clearly see that it was, in fact, a world.
"Is this Hell?" Shin narrowed his eyes.
He knew of Hell's existence, he just hadn't seen it with his own eyes. However, in the original timeline, Ichigo had once opened the gates of Hell.
The Soul King looked at Shin with approval. "That's right."
"This world initially faced not only the collapse of order but also the expansion of Hell."
Upon hearing this, Shin asked, "So you saw the future of this world being devoured by Hell, and that's why you chose to sacrifice yourself to resist Hell's expansion?"
The Soul King himself was a being born from the world's will to prevent its destruction, so it wasn't hard to understand that he would sacrifice himself for this world.
The Soul King sighed, "Not resistance, but merely a delay of the problem's outbreak."
Shin's expression changed. "You're not going to tell me that time is almost up, are you?"
What kind of joke is this? He had only been in this world for a few years, and now the world was about to be destroyed?
"Indeed, that is why I have appeared here." The Soul King stared intently at Shin.
"Are you suggesting I should resist Hell?"
Shin felt a chill run down his spine from being stared at. Was it really okay to throw something the Soul King couldn't do at him?
"Wait, wasn't your initial choice Kurosaki?"
Shin remembered the original protagonist of the Bleach world, he could be considered an artificial Soul King.
The Soul King said, "Before you appeared in this world, it was always Ichigo. I have been guiding him all along."
Shin was silent for a moment. "Resisting Hell... even you couldn't do it. Can it really be done now?"
The Soul King stated with certainty, "Yes, the current world is no longer the chaotic world it once was. By gathering all the power of Shinigami, Quincy, Hollows, and humans, we can certainly resist Hell."
"At that time, I will use my last strength to help you. Consider it my final effort for this world."
"So, what do you say?"
Shin was silent.
Did he even have a choice?
The Soul King seemed to see through Shin's thoughts, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Farewell."
With that, the Soul King's figure vanished, and the next second, Shin returned to the real world.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Ikaros waving her hand in front of him.
"Oh, Master, you're awake?"
"What do you mean awake? I wasn't asleep." Shin ruffled Ikaros's pink hair.
Aizen asked curiously, "Shin, what just happened?"
Shin's state just now was as if his consciousness had been stripped away, but he returned to normal within seconds.
Shin explained, "This is something that can't be explained in a short time. In short, I just met the Soul King. The situation has changed slightly, but the overall plan remains the same."
Yhwach still had to be eliminated. With external threats approaching, this guy still wanted to destroy the world and create a new one. How would they fight Hell then?
"The Soul King?" Aizen looked surprised.
He had always thought the Soul King no longer possessed his own will, merely a puppet. But now it seemed that wasn't the case?
"Yes, I'll explain the details later. Give me the seal. I'm going to deal with Hyōsube."
Shin knew Aizen would be very concerned about the Soul King, but the situation was urgent, and there was no time to explain.
Aizen nodded and took out a small square box. This was the seal he had prepared specifically for Ichibe.
Shin put it into Yogasa and headed towards Ichibe's location with Ikaros, while Aizen went to Yhwach in the Soul King Greater Palace.
—
Yhwach had dealt with Ichibe and was walking towards the Soul King Greater Palace, casually breaking the 'Seal' written by Ichibe.
"As I said from the beginning, I will deal with you within three steps."
Just as he was about to continue, he suddenly seemed to sense something and stopped.
"Aizen."
...
Shin looked at the scattered flesh and debris on the ground and said, "Hyōsube Ichibe."
At this moment, the Shinigami of Seireitei had arrived at the Soul King Palace through the gate built by Kisuke and Mayuri.
The outer perimeter of the Soul King Palace was now covered with the corpses of Soldats, Divine Soldiers, and Arrancars.
At the same time, they also saw the four members of the Zero Division battling the four Espada and the Royal Guard.
Yhwach and Aizen were in a standoff, while Shin stood before Ichibe's corpse.
This scene puzzled everyone. How were Aizen and the Arrancars in the Soul King Palace? Did Shin kill Ichibe?
Shin had always been on their side, and the Arrancars had helped them last time, but now they were attacking the Zero Division, and Aizen was fighting Yhwach.
This complex situation left them momentarily unsure whose side to help.
Shin noticed the Shinigami but had no time to deal with them.
"Hyōsube Ichibe, I know you're not dead."
"Oh my, your expression looks quite unpleasant."
A voice sounded from the void, and Ichibe's corpse began to reassemble, returning to its original state in the blink of an eye.
"You deliberately let Yhwach into the Soul King Greater Palace, didn't you?" Shin intended to expose Ichibe's hypocritical mask.
It could be said that the appearance of Shin and Aizen attracted everyone's attention, and even the battle became less intense.
Ichibe put away his smile. "What do you mean by that, sir?"
Shin said, "I mean you planned to use Yhwach to kill the Soul King, so you just pretended to be no match for Yhwach."
Ichibe said, "What nonsense are you spouting, sir? I just tried my best to stop Yhwach."
Shin scoffed, "Heh, I already know everything from the Soul King, so you don't need to keep up the act."
Hearing 'Soul King,' Ichibe's expression finally changed, becoming increasingly grim.
"Whether it is or isn't, we'll find out after a fight."
With that, Shin launched an attack on Ichibe.
While fending off the attack, Ichibe turned to the Shinigami and shouted, "Shin and Aizen have colluded to attack the Soul King Palace, intending to eliminate the Soul King! What are you standing around for? Get to it!"