Chapter 125: The True Cycle of Life and Death
In an instant, the world underwent an earth shaking change.
"This is…"
Yhwach looked around, his expression turning solemn.
Shino Ward was still Shino Ward. Seireitei was still Seireitei. There was no visible difference from the moment they arrived.
And yet, that was the greatest difference of all.
The First Division Barracks, which should have been reduced to rubble, stood shockingly intact. The motley alliance and the Sternritter were nowhere to be seen.
The battlefield had gone quiet.
No, it had fallen into a deathly silence.
It was as if, in the entire Seireitei, and even the whole world, only he and Takeru remained. No third spiritual pressure existed. No presence could be felt.
"An illusion…?"
It was the most reasonable explanation.
But it was far too real.
"This is a mental space I created, independent of the timeline," Takeru said calmly, as if reading his thoughts. "And since we're spiritual bodies, everything here is real and true to us."
"Real and true?" Yhwach raised an eyebrow.
"I see. I understand."
"The more real a space is, the more stable it becomes. A stable space, like Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, the Human World, and my Wandenreich, is difficult to traverse without special means."
"If I'm not mistaken, our bodies in reality are still in place. However, they are affected by this technique as well. They have been separated from the timeline, unable to be interfered with."
"In other words, you have brought me to an extremely distant battlefield. One no one can find, and one I cannot easily return from."
"And your reason is to prevent our battle from affecting others. More than that, you want to stop me from using methods to enhance my subordinates the way you did, correct?"
"Exactly." Takeru's expression did not ripple in the slightest. "I don't believe the one who founded the Wandenreich and raised such an army is incapable of that."
"A wise judgment." Yhwach praised without hesitation, then his tone sharpened. "However, you overlooked one crucial point."
"You want to say I shouldn't have dragged you in with me," Takeru said softly.
The corners of Yhwach's mouth curved.
"If this spell sealed me alone, or exiled me elsewhere, it would have merit."
"But dragging your opponent down with you is hardly clever."
"Especially since, to isolate the inside from the outside, you made this space so realistic and stable."
"It doesn't exploit the true value of an illusion, confusing or weakening my power. Even the reishi concentration is identical."
"And though we are spiritual bodies, in a space this real, death would likely cause mental damage. Even brain death is not impossible."
"So there is no difference from fighting outside."
"It's nothing more than killing you in a different place, then returning in triumph."
Yhwach raised his hand.
A deep blue light flashed and vanished.
A hole opened out of nowhere in Takeru's chest.
For a captain class powerhouse, it was too fast. Not the naked eye, not even spiritual pressure perception, could catch a trace.
"See? You should have lowered the realism of this world. Or at least reduced atmospheric reishi, or cut my power by more than half."
"There's no need to worry about me escaping. Even like this, my power still exceeds yours."
The smile on Yhwach's face burned, aggressive as a flame.
"Is that so?"
The instant Takeru died, the world changed again.
Like pressing replay, everything snapped back to the initial scene.
For Yhwach, it was only a brief daze.
"Hm?"
"Sprenger."
Takeru raised his hand, and without ceremony activated the [Cruciatus Curse].
Yhwach stared, stunned, at the unscathed enemy before him.
Then invisible curse power struck his body, and dense deep blue patterns, like blood vessels, bloomed across his skin.
Only then did he react.
But Takeru was already in front of him.
Sword light fell like a full moon, and once it entered his vision, everything else vanished. Only that thin line dividing dawn and dusk remained before his eyes.
Clang!
[Yuisen] clashed against the forearm Yhwach raised to parry.
His sleeve shredded into pieces, revealing the distinctive patterns of [Seikessen].
"…!"
The defense held, but Yhwach was still smashed down from the sky.
Boom!
Dust surged.
Yhwach stood in the pit, staring at Takeru with shock, anger, and suspicion tangled together.
"Just now… what happened?"
There was no time to think.
Takeru charged again.
They collided, blades and reishi tearing the air apart.
One minute later, Takeru died for the second time.
Three minutes after that, he died for the third.
By the fifth death, half an hour had passed.
Yhwach's expression grew heavier with every cycle.
Yet the one who had died again and again looked more fired up than ever.
"What's wrong?" Takeru taunted. "Already losing patience?"
"…I see." Yhwach's gaze sharpened. "This isn't resurrection. This is a time loop!"
Takeru no longer hid it.
"As expected of the Quincy King, your understanding of techniques is thorough. I thought I could stall a little longer."
"In short, I recorded a certain period of time and manifested it as a mental space. That's why it can exist independent of the timeline."
"Every world has its laws."
"Here, there is no future and no past. Only an infinitely repeating present."
"As long as either of us dies, the next cycle begins."
"I can also trigger it voluntarily."
As his words fell, the world shifted again.
Takeru, badly wounded a moment ago, appeared unscathed for the sixth time.
Catching Yhwach in a brief lapse, he activated [Shunkō Susanoo], summoned the Karasu Tengu, and unleashed a barrage of [Yasakani no Magatama].
The explosions hammered Yhwach into Seireitei's outer wall.
Takeru did not stop until his spiritual pressure was exhausted. Thick smoke swallowed the outer wall in a sea of flame.
A light arrow suddenly shot toward him.
But just before it could land, the world entered the next cycle.
The arrow vanished.
Yhwach, who had been blasted away in disgrace a heartbeat ago, returned unscathed before Takeru.
Furious at being toyed with, Yhwach did not speak. He flung a medium sized Heiligenschein. At this distance, there was no reason it should miss.
It did not.
Takeru was struck and hurled back hundreds of meters, smashing into the spire of the Palace of Penitence before finally stopping.
"…?!" A flicker of surprise flashed through Yhwach's eyes.
On the shattered rooftop, Takeru stood amid rubble, holding the Heiligenschein in his hand.
He hadn't neutralized it.
He hadn't parried it.
He hadn't destroyed it.
He had caught it, barehanded, as if it were nothing more than a thrown spear.
"Sorry," Takeru said, crushing the light arrow in his palm. "But your arrow speed, or rather, attacks at this level, I've basically adapted to them."
Those words made Yhwach's heart sink.
"You bastard…!"
He had killed Takeru multiple times.
Yet each kill took longer than the last.
He hadn't noticed it at first, but looking back now, Takeru had fought all those rounds the same way from start to finish.
He never drew his Zanpakutō.
He never used [Shunkō].
He relied solely on Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, Kidō, and raw physical ability.
And yet, despite not increasing his spiritual pressure, his actual combat strength was rising.
He was learning.
He was becoming accustomed to Yhwach's rhythm, his reach, his timing, his habits.
"Are you using your infinite life to sharpen yourself through live combat with me?"
Whether that was the intent or not, the opponent showed no sign of being shaken by death itself.
If this continued, it might not remain advantageous.
"You have the upper hand in this round." A fierce glint flashed in Yhwach's eyes. "When we return to the outside world, let's see if you can still face death so calmly!"
"A mental ability should be countered with a mental ability."
"I grant myself the privilege of returning!"
Spiritual pressure surged from the Quincy King, every grain of reishi packed with extraordinary force. His voice seemed to shake the space itself.
Takeru did not interrupt. He only watched.
Then, nothing happened.
"…How is it possible?" Yhwach stared at his palm in disbelief. "The power I granted myself is not enough to let my spirit leave this world and return to my physical body?"
When he attempted to break out, he could clearly feel resistance.
The method worked.
But the output was insufficient.
This alone could not push through.
"Why is it impossible?"
Takeru answered coldly.
"Even if you've plundered power from countless people and gathered innumerable techniques, you are only a spiritual body right now."
"Quincies are human. Your power depends more heavily on a physical vessel."
"You think you haven't been weakened, but in reality, the abilities you activate here are at most seventy to eighty percent effective."
"On top of that, since I struck first, for you to break this world and force your way out, the power you grant yourself must vastly surpass mine."
"It sounds simple, but whose disciple do you think I am?"
"With half baked power obtained through self granting, you think you can surpass me in this domain? That's naive."
"If it were a normal [Izanami], it probably couldn't stop you."
"But my [Shunkō Susanoo] amplifies Kidō. With it reinforcing the technique, escaping becomes dozens of times harder."
Yhwach's face darkened.
Takeru's smile widened slightly, and it was not a warm smile.
"Of course, I have no doubt you can still break this world easily."
"Because I know very well that you and I are alike."
"I still haven't used my Zanpakutō."
"And you also have a 'special form' technique like the two Quincies I killed, don't you?"
"So," Takeru asked, "will you use it?"
"…"
Yhwach's gaze sharpened.
He did have a power that could be called invincible.
The Schrift A, [The Almighty].
But using it before the nine year period for seizing power ended would cause it to spiral out of control, with unpredictable consequences.
It was not an option unless absolutely necessary.
Was this absolutely necessary?
"What a joke," Yhwach said, voice low. "I said I would treat you the way I treated Yamamoto Genryūsai. Back then, I didn't use that power and still believed I could eliminate him, until some meddling fool interfered."
"Your power is still inferior to Yamamoto Genryūsai's."
"And there are no meddling fools here."
"Why would I need to use it?"
"A mere infinite loop. I'll drain the power sustaining your spirit and see if this world can still exist!"
"The Antithesis…!"
Before he could activate it, the world refreshed.
Everything reset.
"Damn it!"
Yhwach finally understood.
This world was not kind to the weaker side, but the one who controlled its operation could begin the next cycle anytime. Any unstoppable attack could be interrupted and neutralized as easily as turning a hand.
Takeru saw his intent and pressed harder.
"Let me show you a way out."
"Before we came in, I advised you to surrender, didn't I?"
"As long as you accept it wholeheartedly, [Izanami] will be lifted."
"This isn't a threat. It's the effect of the technique itself."
"[Izanami] is a technique that determines fate."
"Only by awakening within the infinite cycles and accepting the fate I assign you can you leave."
"Fate?" Yhwach laughed with extreme rage.
The reishi in the air boiled and trembled.
"You dare speak of fate in front of me?"
"You think you can force my submission with such a shameless method? You underestimate me!"
"Power, spirit, will. The power I've gained from everything I've lived through is beyond your imagination!"
"I grant myself… a physical body!"
Dense reishi swarmed and wrapped around him. His body glowed faintly, mimicking the physical body he possessed outside.
"Now I have the right to reject the interference of temporal cycles!"
"…."
Takeru narrowed his eyes.
He hadn't expected this.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't a true body, but an imagined vessel.
Because of that, death would still trigger the loop and reset everything.
However, it also meant that when Takeru voluntarily restarted, Yhwach could maintain self independence using the body's "unaffected by external forces" nature.
In other words, it was no longer possible to forcibly interrupt Yhwach's techniques by resetting at will.
Even if Takeru restarted to dodge, the starting point was fixed. Yhwach could simply wait there.
It demanded caution.
If he slipped and had his power plundered, the consequences were impossible to predict.
And none of them would be good.
"In that case," Takeru said quietly, "I can't afford to die casually anymore."
Boom!
Spiritual pressure erupted as Susanoo formed again.
The majestic Karasu Tengu kicked down, instantly shattering the Palace of Penitence and the ground beneath it.
"Finally willing to show your true abilities?" Yhwach swept his arm grandly, cloak snapping in the wind.
Clang.
The Quincy cross sword was drawn and leveled at the Karasu Tengu diving from the sky.
"Sprenger!"
The halo's effect could not extend to the spiritual world, but Kidō activated through Susanoo was still greatly amplified.
Yhwach felt his body numb.
[Seikessen] was breached, yet the curse's effect had already weakened. It was no longer something to fear.
The next moment, they collided like Mars striking Earth.
The aftermath wiped out buildings across kilometers. The ground shook without pause, and the lead gray snow clouds overhead were blown apart with a roar.
The Karasu Tengu suffered heavy damage as well.
Its spirit blade shattered, and most of its frame was annihilated.
At the same time, the [Outer Shell Seikessen] Yhwach manifested shattered into fragments.
"Ring of Torment!"
Yhwach reached out and clenched his fist.
The Karasu Tengu froze in mid air, unable to move.
Its body would not regenerate. Tiny azure vein like patterns crawled across its remains, corroding it. The erosion came from fragments of the shattered [Outer Shell Seikessen].
Using that foundation, Yhwach activated a Quincy curse and restrained the Karasu Tengu completely.
Then, with a flash of impossibly fast reishi steps, he appeared before it and cleaved its head open in a single strike.
Takeru did not wait.
Like he had against the Mushroom Woman, he launched himself like a sword. The hands in his haori pockets transformed into long blades.
Double [Yuisen].
Two razor sharp silver blue beams slammed into Yhwach and sent him flying.
But when the light faded, Takeru's left hand was gone.
And his right hand was locked tight in Yhwach's grip.
"Now you can't escape." Yhwach's eyes burned. "The Antithesis…!"
Takeru understood instantly. Yhwach had severed his arm without killing him on purpose. He was trying to plunder power, and even if Takeru restarted to escape, [The Antithesis] would land at the initial starting point.
Boom!
Before Yhwach could activate it, another beam rose from below, striking his chin and forcing his mouth shut.
Not only that, even with [Seikessen], he was kicked away.
Because while he had focused on gripping Takeru's hand, he had neglected his feet.
"Swordsmanship isn't limited to what's convenient," Takeru snorted coldly.
Then he restarted.
The world reset. His body returned to its original state.
"So you can use your shoes as a scabbard," Yhwach admitted, returning to his initial position as well. "I was careless."
"But that kind of trick works once at most."
"I have plenty more," Takeru replied.
"It's nothing but deathbed struggling," Yhwach said. "My Sternritter has nearly thirty members, yet I only brought twenty five."
"What do you mean?" Takeru's brow twitched.
"Among those who didn't come, two were sent by me to Hueco Mundo." Yhwach's smile turned cruel. "You understand what that means, don't you?"
"Before you struggle in vain, hoping for victory outside, your base in Hueco Mundo will fall first."
"Those left behind there, for example, that girl who is a Substitute Shinigami, will fall into my hands."
"But rest assured, I won't kill her. I need her to complete something very important."
"However, you are destined never to see it."
"…You only sent two?" Takeru didn't look worried. If anything, his expression grew strange. "That's barely a threat."
"I can understand why you're confident in Orihime Inoue's power. She does have a special ability."
"However, among the Schutzstaffel I dispatched, one of them is far more special than her."
"Perhaps." Takeru shook his head and drew his Zanpakutō. "But I have one question."
"Since when were you under the delusion that I didn't arrange a backup plan in Hueco Mundo?"
Yhwach froze for a fraction of a second, then frowned.
"You actually found reinforcements?"
"You should keep your mind here," Takeru said, leveling his blade. "Focus. Grit your teeth."
"From this moment on, the true Cycle of Life and Death begins."
He did not answer directly.
Instead, he manifested the Karasu Tengu and pointed its blade at Yhwach.
The reishi surging from him felt painfully familiar to someone as versed in incantations as Yhwach.
"Sprenger?" Yhwach narrowed his eyes. "Your third time?"
"Even paired with [Shunkō] to maximize its power, it only paralyzes me for an instant."
"A technique already proven ineffective is less interesting than your unknown little tricks."
"This Cycle of Life and Death you speak of, is it really something so dull?"
"Eight Manifestations, Endonemī."
Boom!
A boundless torrent of reishi flooded through Takeru's body.
The Karasu Tengu ignited as well, radiating a blinding light that swallowed Takeru within it, making him look like a true transcendent being of flesh and blood.
"Sprenger!"
"?!"
.....
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