While Sōsuke Aizen kept the members of Squad Zero occupied, Sora arrived alone at the Greater Royal Palace.
The Soul King—the entity acting as the Linchpin of the Three Worlds—resided within this sacred sanctum.
This was Sora's first time physically setting foot in this place.
Previously, when he was invited to the Royal Realm for training, he had only met the Soul King within a metaphysical space suspected to be the King's consciousness; he had never physically entered the Greater Royal Palace.
The interior was vast and hollow. Rows of pristine white pillars supported the ceiling, and the floor was an endless expanse of white, devoid of any unnecessary decorations.
In the center of the hall stood a circular platform with a single step, surrounded by sheer curtains.
This platform was the resting place of the "Linchpin," the bedchamber of the Soul King.
However, the blue crystal encasing the King on the platform had already been shattered in two.
"Has he already succeeded? No wonder the Three Worlds are trembling!"
Sora's expression darkened. Yhwach had already destroyed the Linchpin.
If it were the Yhwach of the original timeline, he wouldn't have possessed the power to destroy the Linchpin outright. But having fused with the chaotic power of Hell, this version of Yhwach was a genuine Transcendent, strong enough to obliterate the King.
Standing with his back to Sora, Yhwach spoke slowly, his voice echoing in the empty hall.
"Even using two seal sites as bait, you caught up so quickly..."
"You know me well, Sora Katori."
Schwing!
Sora drew his blade instantly. A flash of flowing light severed the stream of blue energy extending from Yhwach's hand toward the crystal.
"Don't try cheap tricks while we talk. It's very rude."
Yhwach had clearly just destroyed the crystal and was attempting to fuse with the Soul King. Naturally, Sora couldn't let him absorb the entity and increase his strength right in front of his eyes.
"You cannot stop it. This is the only correct future I plucked from countless grains of sand." Yhwach opened his arms wide. "I will take everything from the Soul King and return the world to its primordial form."
Countless streams of blue light surged from the broken crystal, rushing to be absorbed by Yhwach.
He was devouring the Soul King's power!
If he were allowed to finish, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Even though Sora had become a Transcendent Being, he had no confidence facing a Soul King-level Yhwach.
At that moment, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Sora.
He realized the Soul King's true intention in gifting him the [Tenzui Shinkotsu].
Clang—!
His sword hummed. The blade, white as jade, slashed abruptly at the torrent of blue light ahead.
Rip—!
When the [Tenzui Shinkotsu] slashed into the energy, a tearing sound rang out through the hall.
The dazzling blue light was torn apart like cheap fabric.
Part of the severed energy dissipated into the air, while another part flowed into Sora's body, replenishing the consumption of the [Tenzui Shinkotsu].
"What is this?!" The multiple pupils in Yhwach's eyes dilated rapidly.
He hadn't seen this future at all!
Sora's [Absolute Blind Spot] ability could shield him against Yhwach's "The Almighty" and its foresight. The [Tenzui Shinkotsu] he held was also invisible in the future Yhwach perceived.
Therefore, the future Yhwach saw was one where he successfully absorbed the Soul King, destroyed the Three Worlds, and returned existence to chaos.
"It works!"
Sora didn't waste time. Seeing that the [Tenzui Shinkotsu] could shear away the Soul King's power surging from the crystal, he continued to swing his blade.
The sword light flashed rapidly, slashing dozens of times in a single second.
The stream of the Soul King's power was cut into hundreds of segments, disintegrating into Reishi and dissolving into the atmosphere before Yhwach could consume it.
"Don't think you can stop me!"
Yhwach raised his hand. Instantly, the air distorted as he condensed dozens of massive Heilig Pfeil (Sacred Arrows).
The Royal Realm already had an extremely high concentration of Reishi. Coupled with the Reishi leaking from the Soul King, the Quincy's ability to enslave spirit particles worked perfectly here.
Sora still needed to cut off the continuous flow of power from the crystal and had no time to defend against the arrows.
Squirm...
The shadow beneath his feet wriggled, rising up to condense into three dark silhouettes.
These three shadows took the forms of Gremmy Thoumeaux (The Visionary), Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, and Sōsuke Aizen.
The shadow of "Aizen" cast several [Dankū] (Splitting Void) barriers to block the Heilig Pfeil.
The shadow of "Gremmy" imagined spatial rifts into existence, sucking away the incoming bombardment.
And the shadow of "Yamamoto" pounced forward, grabbing hold of Yhwach in a suicidal embrace.
"Hadō #96. Ittō Kasō!"
BOOM—!!!
A pillar of red flame erupted into the sky, shaped like a massive blade tip, piercing directly through the roof of the Greater Royal Palace. The entire pillar-shaped structure was incinerated in an instant.
...
Royal Palace Main Avenue (Omotesandō).
Sōsuke Aizen, who was stalling the members of Squad Zero, looked up at the sky.
"The Three Worlds are collapsing..." Aizen murmured, feeling the violent tremors shaking reality itself.
"The worst has come to pass."
Ichibē Hyōsube broke free from a [Kurohitsugi] (Black Coffin) and landed in front of Aizen.
The cognitive manipulation affecting the Squad Zero members had faded. With the death of the caster, their minds had returned to normal.
"A formidable youth. To have evolved into a higher dimension at such a young age..."
Ichibē, the High Monk, scrutinized the young man before him with heavy, calculating eyes.
The Linchpin was destroyed. Reality was unraveling. To stop the collapse, a new Linchpin had to be created immediately.
Sōsuke Aizen, who had achieved complete Transcendence, possessed the qualifications to become the Linchpin of the Three Worlds!
"You flatter me, Monk. Sōsuke's achievements today are all thanks to Professor's guidance."
Aizen sensed Ichibē's hostility and immediately raised his guard.
Just then, Aizen's shadow wriggled.
The shadow, resembling a black slime, spat out a massive, grotesque left arm.
It was Pernida Parnkgjas, the Left Arm of the Soul King, previously captured by Mayuri Kurotsuchi!
Anticipating that the "Linchpin" might be destroyed, Sora had preserved Pernida for this exact moment.
As a part of the original Reio, Pernida also possessed the qualifications to become the Linchpin and stabilize the worlds.
After the shadow spat out Pernida, it spoke: "Senior Ichibē, compared to my disciple, the Soul King's Left Arm should be more qualified to become the 'Linchpin', don't you think?"
"Interesting. You even prepared for this!" Ichibē laughed, his voice booming. "Of course the Left Arm has the qualification. However, neither your disciple nor the Arm is enough to support the Three Worlds indefinitely. They can only delay the collapse."
The shadow asked, "If the Left Arm is made into the Linchpin, how long can it support the worlds?"
Ichibē held up two fingers.
"Two days?"
Ichibē shook his head.
"Twenty hours?!"
Ichibē shook his head again.
"Only two hours!"
The shadow's voice became heavy. Two hours was far too tight; it was uncertain if they could even defeat Yhwach within that timeframe.
"No," Ichibē smiled, revealing surprisingly good news. "Twenty years."
"However," the Monk added, his expression turning serious, "during this period, the world will continuously decay until it returns to its primordial state."