Chapter 163: Jade, Sword, Mirror
At the same time, in a certain space.
The azure sky hung overhead like a curtain, dotted with leaden clouds and giving off a brightness that was, in truth, utterly lifeless.
The ground below was carved through with canyons and jagged rock spires.
Even from the highest peak, the horizon remained out of reach. Beyond the endless rocks, there was nothing. No plants. No animals. Just desolation so complete it was suffocating.
And yet, at the boundary between heaven and earth, above the canyon, there existed something that resembled the center of the world.
It was a floating city in the shape of a great disc.
At first glance, it looked almost identical to the Detached Palaces of Squad Zero.
However, the architecture rising above it was unmistakably modeled after Las Noches.
At the very heart of this floating city, within a magnificent palace likewise named the Throne Room, a Garganta suddenly opened.
"Welcome back~"
Starrk and his Fracción stepped out first.
Along with Harribel, Nelliel, and Ulquiorra, they immediately saw a grinning, slippery looking merchant waiting outside.
His official title was Chief Technician, but his identity as a surrendered general made it hard for anyone to fully trust him.
That said, most of his requests were still being fulfilled.
This capture operation was one of them.
"Wonderweiss is dead, but we brought back the person you wanted."
Starrk rubbed his head, looking as languid as ever, though his deep eyes remained fixed on Urahara.
"I was never especially close to that guy, but since you made us pay such a price for this, I really do want to know what you plan to do with this Shinigami."
"Ah, now then, please allow me to keep that secret just a little longer. You will understand soon enough."
Urahara glanced at Rukia, unconscious in Nelliel's arms, and replied lightly.
"As for Mr. Wonderweiss, I do feel rather sorry about what happened to him. I'll have Miss Loly recover his soul and revive him later."
However, because the Hōgyoku has other uses, and because he is a rather special case, it will be impossible to revive him in the same way we did the Espada. Miss Loly restores the soul, the Hōgyoku activates the death information preserved in its depths, and then, through the limited symbolic meaning of the schrift, completes a kind of Hōgyoku adaptation, something close to an Arrancar's Shinigami-fication."
"That is irrelevant."
Ulquiorra kept both hands in his pockets, his voice as cold as ever.
"The target has been secured. Carry out the operation immediately. The Shinigami will trace us here sooner or later."
"Agreed."
Harribel nodded deeply.
"When we entered the Human World, I could vaguely feel something watching us. We left through a Garganta, but that does not mean this base cannot be exposed in a short time. Their commander in chief is no ordinary person."
"During the Hueco Mundo war a year ago, if not for Ichimaru, we might not have escaped at all."
"Mr. Ichimaru truly has made outstanding contributions, in more ways than one. Please rest assured, everyone. I will not waste the hard won preparation time he fought so hard to secure."
Urahara's tone was sincere, but no one fully believed him.
Perhaps noticing that, he offered no more explanation. Instead, as if to prove himself through action, he politely asked Nelliel to help move the captive into the laboratory.
Once the two of them left, Harribel stared in the direction they had gone and said, "Urahara Kisuke... this man is dangerous. Even now, I cannot guess what he is truly thinking."
"One moment he saves his comrades. The next, he betrays them. What exactly matters most to him? Is he sacrificing himself, or is he willing to sacrifice others to realize some hidden ambition? Even after helping him this much, I still cannot understand him."
"No words are needed. No thought is needed."
Ulquiorra turned and walked away, his cold voice lingering in the hall.
"Since Lord Aizen entrusted the plan to him, and even placed the Hōgyoku in his hands, then everything he does, and every thought he harbors, must already be within Lord Aizen's grasp. We only need to obey."
Harribel gave no answer and instead shifted her gaze to Starrk.
"As Number One, what do you think?"
"Number One is not the leader of the Espada. Loly is Number Zero, after all."
Starrk had never cared for authority.
Compared to that, he only hoped they would win this war in the end.
"Hmph. That spineless girl who only knows how to look pitiful deserves to be Number Zero? Seriously, is that position reserved only for people whose brains do not work properly?"
Lilynette snorted in contempt.
"You should not say that. She is the savior of the Espada. The number zero suits her perfectly. You should show more respect to someone ranked above you."
"..."
Watching Harribel leave, Lilynette puffed out her cheeks and glared at Starrk.
"Damn it, Starrk! I regret it!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I'm saying I should never have split off from you in the first place. Look at this now. Everyone acts like they can lecture me!"
"But I think what they said made sense..."
"Drop dead!"
"Ah! My waist...!"
While the Los Lobos pair were bickering as usual, Urahara and Nelliel entered the laboratory.
"Please put Kuchiki Rukia on that table over there."
"Alright."
Nelliel did as he asked, then saw Urahara take out a transparent, diamond-shaped container.
What was sealed inside it was something all Arrancar knew well, something they could never forget.
Just one glance at it was enough to make the soul tremble instinctively.
The Hōgyoku.
"Are you... going to implant it into her body again?"
Nelliel still found it hard to understand why such a supreme treasure had been entrusted to a man like Urahara.
But seeing him hold the Hōgyoku and approach the unconscious girl, she could already guess.
Perhaps re implanting this object into her was the very reason Lord Aizen had handed the Hōgyoku over to him.
If that were the case, then bringing Rukia back here had been inevitable from the start.
Still... why?
"Do you know Lord Aizen's plan?"
Urahara did not mind the interruption. He continued his highly delicate reishi surgery as he casually asked the question.
"That is top secret. I have no right to know."
"Miss Nelliel, you really are straightforward. Still, while it was indeed top secret before, at this stage, there is no longer any need to keep it that way."
"Because of this girl?"
"Yes."
Urahara admitted it readily.
"Lord Aizen's vision is grand. If it succeeds, the whole world will change. However, the early stages require immense power and consume a vast amount of energy. So I proposed a substitution."
"Someone else should complete it in his place, while he preserves his own power for unexpected situations. If someone tries to stop us, we need a backup plan."
"...So this girl is the one you chose? The one who will act in Lord Aizen's place?"
Nelliel frowned and looked from Rukia to the Hōgyoku in Urahara's hand.
"You intend to place the fully awakened Hōgyoku inside her and grant her the power needed for the plan...?"
"Correct. As expected of the most understanding of all the Espada, Miss Nelliel."
Urahara even had the leisure to give her a cheerful thumbs up.
But Nelliel was unmoved. If anything, her brow furrowed even more deeply.
"Do you really think she will willingly cooperate with us?"
"...Of course not."
Urahara's eyes sank into darkness beneath the brim of his hat, and his voice became strangely heavy.
"That is why we can only do this."
The method changed in an instant.
Another substance, like flowing mercury, began to spread over Rukia's body from the outside.
"These are the memories of countless souls."
As though he had already anticipated her next question, Urahara answered before she could speak.
Then he closed his eyes, hiding the complexity in them.
"Souls pass back and forth between the Human World and Soul Society. That cycle is what we call reincarnation."
"But in the course of passing through the Dangai, some souls are lost within the Garganta, and over time, this gave rise to what is known as the Jigokuchō. That is the space we are currently in."
"That explanation is accepted by most people now, but there have always been many theories about whether the formation of the Jigokuchō carries another meaning as well."
"What has been confirmed is this. Within the Jigokuchō, which itself is composed of souls, two things separate from one another."
"Soul energy, and memory."
"The energy turns into strange life forms known as Kōkon. They instinctively seek out concentrated masses of memory, which are called shinenju. Those shinenju can take on all kinds of forms."
"So I gathered those memory aggregates and am now pouring them over Kuchiki Rukia in this way. In doing so, I am turning her into a shinenju."
"Because she will be wrapped and submerged in the memories of countless souls, she will lose herself and enter a state of self sealing. The Hōgyoku's will shall then take the place of her spirit, dominate her body, and act instinctively to fulfill our wish."
"So there will be no issue of unwilling cooperation, or betrayal."
"And there is more. After becoming a shinenju, she will be able to influence this entire space like a god. With the Hōgyoku amplifying that state, the result will be terrifying."
"Calling it comparable to the Soul King may be an exaggeration, but under the right conditions, the power she can wield should surpass even Yhwach's."
Whether it was Urahara's words or Urahara himself that unsettled her, Nelliel could not help stepping back.
"This is no different from creating a god... and then controlling it."
"There is no difference."
Urahara opened his eyes again and calmly watched as the mercury like coffin slowly took shape around Rukia.
"Both Lord Aizen and I know exactly what we are doing."
Nelliel fell silent.
She found it despicable. But from her own position, especially as someone already complicit, she could hardly stand above the matter and condemn him.
"Will she die?"
"I can only say... that will be very difficult."
"?"
Nelliel looked at him in surprise.
Urahara shrugged as if it were nothing.
"Once the Hōgyoku's will possesses her, she will in effect merge with it. And the Hōgyoku cannot be destroyed. So even destroying her body will become nearly impossible."
"Otherwise, she would never be able to carry out this plan in Lord Aizen's place."
"...Then why not choose someone else? Plenty of people here would willingly sacrifice themselves for Lord Aizen. Why go to such lengths? Do you hold a grudge against her? Or are you trying to get revenge on the Shinigami? Or is there some strategic value, like making them afraid to act?"
Nelliel asked, lost in thought.
"I am just a technician."
Urahara sighed dramatically, as if he had been terribly misunderstood.
"Things like that are not for me to decide."
"As far as I am concerned, there is only one reason Kuchiki Rukia was chosen."
"It had to be her."
"What do you mean?"
Nelliel stared blankly at him.
She truly could not see what was so special about this girl.
Urahara read the question from her face and gave her the infuriatingly mysterious smile that seemed to come so naturally to him.
"Kuchiki Rukia is special. I cannot explain why, but aside from Lord Aizen, she is the only truly suitable choice."
His voice trailed off.
The mercury sarcophagus began to dissolve, releasing white vapor in violent surges like boiling steam.
Urahara and Nelliel were forced to retreat at once, all the way out into the open square beyond the laboratory building.
The white vapor was in fact spiritual pressure at the level of absolute zero.
Once frozen by it, the outcome would be far from pleasant.
The laboratory itself proved that.
In an instant it became a sculpture of pure ice.
And in the very next moment, it exploded with a deafening roar, breaking apart into fine ice dust no larger than grains of sand.
Within the thick white mist, a figure emerged.
Only the outline of a human body could be made out.
But just that much was enough to send a chill into the hearts of everyone present.
That spiritual pressure was simply too cold.
Merely releasing it had already created a region where life itself could not approach.
As if they had sensed the disturbance and the birth of an abnormal spiritual pressure, the rest of the Espada led by Starrk, along with Ichimaru Gin and Tōsen Kaname, arrived one after another.
"It seems... it succeeded."
Though Tōsen's eyes remained shut, spiritual pressure could not deceive him.
"Yeah..."
In contrast, Gin opened his eyes slightly, his snake like gaze fixed on the figure concealed within the ice mist.
"Mr. Ichimaru. Mr. Tōsen. It is time to bring out those two divine artifacts."
At Urahara's reminder, the two men did not hesitate.
They produced the blazing water mirror and the Eight Mirror Sword, just as arranged.
The instant those two divine artifacts appeared, they seemed to recognize their true owner and flew of their own accord into the freezing mist.
Everyone watching held their breath.
Even those who already knew part of the truth could not remain calm.
Because they all understood that something enormous was about to happen.
The figure in the mist took the sword in one hand and the mirror in the other.
Then something unbelievable occurred.
Both divine artifacts activated at once, unleashing dazzling brilliance.
And then the Eight Mirror Sword swung down at the blazing water mirror.
The fact that they responded to someone outside their bloodline was already shocking enough.
But what mattered more was that both artifacts brought forth their full power only to collide against one another.
The blazing water mirror shattered.
The Eight Mirror Sword shattered as well.
Yet the Soul King's Prophetic Dream sealed within them was forcibly extracted and, through the edge of the now blade less Eight Mirror Sword, cast outward in every direction.
The Jigokuchō, influenced by the figure who had become a shinenju, actively embraced and devoured that world between reality and illusion.
As though it had swallowed some supreme tonic, the entire Jigokuchō began to quake violently and expand without end.
And as for the figure at the center of it all, the one who had caused this upheaval...
Because the Jigokuchō itself was the original body of the shinenju, both it and the figure were now being driven to evolve together under the power of the Hōgyoku.
Together, they stepped into a higher dimension.
.....
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