"Lord Aizen, are you really going through with this?"
Aizen stood staring at the Hōgyoku hovering above his palm when Tosen suddenly spoke from beside him, concern clear in his voice.
"It doesn't simply give you power," Aizen replied without taking his eyes off the orb. "It fulfills the desires of the one who possesses it."
Cyrus had been right.
The power within that girl truly could accelerate the Hōgyoku's fusion, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that her ability shared a faint similarity with the Hōgyoku itself.
Either way, now that Aizen had obtained what he needed, there was no reason to hesitate any longer.
His goal was almost within reach, yet strangely enough, Aizen felt no joy.
"Send both of them back to the World of the Living."
He turned and left, tossing the instruction over his shoulder.
Tosen paused for a moment before realizing that Aizen meant Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue.
He left the deepest palace of Las Noches to carry out the order, but his steps slowed almost immediately when he spotted an unexpected Arrancar ahead.
"You actually dared to come back?" Tosen asked. "Aren't you worried that man might decide to deal with you?"
It was Baraggan, the former king of Hueco Mundo.
He had gone to the World of the Living with the other Arrancar, yet somehow he had returned.
"That is none of your concern. What I want to know is what that man is truly planning. Does he intend to destroy this world?"
Baraggan was currently in Arrancar form, and unlike usual, his unease was plain on his face.
"So you're afraid of dying."
Tosen sounded as though something had finally clicked.
Baraggan's expression immediately darkened. It might have been true, but there was no need to say it directly to his face.
"I know nothing about that. If you want an answer, ask him yourself."
"I want to see Aizen."
Baraggan obviously had no intention of questioning Cyrus directly.
He had returned because he believed Aizen knew more.
"Lord Aizen is not seeing anyone right now. If you insist on meeting him, then wait here."
Tosen walked straight past him after saying that. He still had Aizen's orders to carry out.
Baraggan remained where he was, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.
Just as he began considering whether to force his way inside, a cold voice came from nearby.
"Lord Cyrus said anyone could return. He didn't say you were free to betray him."
Baraggan spun around and looked up.
A tall, slender figure stood not far away, staring at him in silence.
"Ulquiorra. I didn't realize you were so loyal to him."
Baraggan's heart sank the moment he saw him.
Before recently, almost no one in Hueco Mundo had even heard of Ulquiorra; he had seemed to appear from nowhere, yet his strength was unquestionably dangerous.
His quiet nature only made Baraggan more wary of him.
"I acknowledge the strong."
Ulquiorra's expression didn't change.
His green eyes remained cold and indifferent as they rested on Baraggan.
"Then why are you here?" Baraggan shot back. "If you're so devoted to following his orders, shouldn't you be in the World of the Living fighting Shinigami to the death?"
"I received different instructions."
Ulquiorra began walking toward him, and Baraggan's body instinctively tensed.
"That lord also has no interest in controlling every choice you make."
"Hmph. If this world is really destroyed, you'll die with the rest of us."
Baraggan watched Ulquiorra pass him and stop in front of the palace entrance without going inside, then let out a mocking snort.
Ulquiorra turned back.
"The weak obey the rules established by the strong. Hasn't that always been the law of Hueco Mundo?"
His tone remained as flat as ever.
"No matter what you intend to do, you will not change what comes next."
"You'll regret that."
Baraggan left those words behind and walked away quickly, his retreat looking almost uncharacteristically hurried.
Ulquiorra watched him go without any visible reaction, then simply remained stationed outside the palace.
Farther out in Hueco Mundo, large numbers of Arrancar had begun gathering.
These were not the same group Cyrus had collected before.
They were Arrancar Aizen had produced after returning from the World of the Living, using the Hōgyoku to force their evolution.
They possessed real strength, but the difference between them and the earlier Arrancar was obvious.
For now, they gathered in silence, seemingly waiting for Aizen's next command.
Cyrus received reports of all of this from the great forest but showed little concern.
"Looks like he really is starting to think differently about you," Robin said with an amused smile. "You may have created a problem for yourself with everything you did."
"Coming all this way would be boring without a little trouble."
Cyrus waved dismissively.
"Besides, Aizen still has his uses."
"According to you, once he fully fuses with the Hōgyoku, he'll become incredibly powerful. Are you actually sure you can beat him?"
Robin's curiosity was genuine.
The power system of this world might work differently from their own, but its upper limits were clearly impressive.
Now someone was about to break beyond the normal limits of a Shinigami, and there was no telling just how powerful that transformation might become.
"You don't have confidence in me?"
Cyrus raised an eyebrow.
"I do."
Hancock answered before Robin could say anything, her gaze fixed firmly on Cyrus.
"Lord Cyrus has never lost."
"Mm-hm."
Baby 5 nodded enthusiastically beside her.
Robin shook her head in exasperation. Those two would agree with Cyrus no matter what he said.
"In the end, even if Aizen breaks through his limits, he'll still be doing it within the rules of this world."
Cyrus reached over and pinched Robin's cheek.
"He isn't going to suddenly gain power that exceeds the world itself."
He released her and glanced toward the surrounding forest.
"What I'm more curious about is what happens after everything in the World of the Living is over. Do the people here continue existing as they are, or do they disappear and enter the next cycle?"
His gaze moved toward the surrounding Hollows.
"These Arrancar, though… some of them could probably remain here. If they're preserved separately, they shouldn't necessarily be dragged into the cycle with everything else."
"There's not much else we can do."
Robin nodded. Ever since Cyrus had explained what he believed was happening with this world, her own view of the people living here had become strangely conflicted.
They clearly existed, thought, felt, and lived like anyone else, yet once the idea of an endlessly repeating cycle entered her mind, it became difficult to look at them in quite the same way.
"Aizen should be almost ready."
Cyrus rose and straightened his clothes.
"It's time for me to head out too. You three stay here. If everything goes well, we should be able to return home before long."
He looked over Robin, Hancock, and Baby 5.
"We'll deal with everything else after I get back."
With that, Cyrus took a single step forward and dissolved into fire, vanishing almost instantly.
"Lord Cyrus's power is getting harder and harder to understand," Baby 5 murmured.
"It was always like that."
Robin nodded thoughtfully.
"He's different from us. Really, he's different from everyone else here too."
Her gaze lingered where Cyrus had disappeared.
"After all, he came from beyond this world."
At this point, even Robin could no longer tell just how far his strength had grown.