— — — — — —
[Observation of World No. 003 initiated.]
[Collecting faith from the gods....… collection complete.]
[To maintain stability in the Little Garden's central core system, distribution will be split 9.5 to 0.5. Allocation in progress.]
[Incorporating the Bleach World (holder-defined) into the Little Garden's observation network.]
[Reward: 30,000 points.]
...
Inside Arcadia HQ's conference room, Ryo sat in the leader's chair, staring at the forum interface displaying "31,000" points.
He let out a helpless sigh. "So if I hold back too much, the profits drop this low?"
"If it weren't for the special existence of Hollows, Quincies, and Shinigami, the reward probably would've been cut in half."
He sighed again.
Honestly, he wasn't that concerned about squeezing maximum profits from Bleach.
Once he knew this world was going to become public knowledge, he understood very clearly that he couldn't just do whatever he wanted there.
He actually believed it was better not to show too much of his real strength. Which was why, on his second return to that world, he barely used his cosmo and hardly even fought.
When even someone like Shirayuki could cause chaos in a world where "stepping into the five-digit realm" already meant peak-level power… well, the only ones who could truly crush her were Yamamoto, Yhwach, and Aizen.
Thinking about it, he really didn't need to do much. The enemies were simply too weak.
"But the fact that the Soul King reached the minimum threshold of a four-digit in terms of energy… well, that tracks. He was the center of an entire world's soul circulation. After a million years, it'd be strange if he wasn't that strong."
Ryo thought back to his last days in the Bleach world.
He had extracted a massive amount of information from Oetsu and Ichibe's souls: Zanpakutō mechanics, shikai, bankai, true names.
Then he added Urahara's experiments, Aizen's notes, Nemu's data from Mayuri, and also Soifon's "self-sacrificing" contribution to Zanpakutō research.
At this point, he had a very deep understanding of forging Zanpakutō, or more precisely, Asauchi.
He also fully grasped how Quincy bloodlines were formed, how souls were manipulated, even how Hollows were generated through twisted evolution.
Based on gains alone, he could now officially add "Asauchi" to Arcadia's list of specialty Gifts.
Although… right now that list had only one item, which looked a little sad.
"Well, the core goal is basically accomplished. Now all that's left is for the twin goddesses to show up…"
Before he could finish the sentence, the dimensional forum window abruptly popped up in his vision.
[Ding~]
[Detected: abnormal interference entering World No. 003. Locking target.]
[Target locked: 'Alpha.']
[Target locked: 'Omega.']
[Another abnormal target detected…... locking... 'The Buddha.']
[Block these three from interfering with the Bleach World?]
[Yes or No]
"That fast?"
Ryo stared blankly at the prompt.
Then it hit him: he had just said "time for the twin goddesses to step in."
Was it really because he said that out loud? Did they sense it immediately? And The Buddha just followed Omega the moment she moved?
Were the three of them… stalking him?
His mouth twitched. Half nervous, half relieved, he mentally tapped the option.
"No."
One second later—
A flood of memories crashed into his mind.
It started with the moment he first entered Bleach and met Aizen.
Unlike the real event where Aizen used the forum to summon him, the memory showed Ryo suddenly appearing, surprising Aizen. After one brief clash, the two shook hands and joined forces.
Everything from that point on had been rewritten.
Conspiring with Aizen. Infiltrating Soul Society. Pretending to be Fifth Division. Meeting Orihime while disguised as Ishida and getting immediately exposed. Infiltrating alongside the Ryoka. Fighting Unohana and winning. Drawing Yamamoto's attention and dueling him.
Winning on Sōkyoku Hill, retrieving the Hōgyoku from Rukia. Leaving Soul Society, going to Hueco Mundo to study the Hōgyoku.
Then came the scene of Ryo fusing with the Hōgyoku.
After that, he and Aizen created the Espada, launched a counterattack on Soul Society, only to discover Yhwach's own invasion.
Then he crushed the Sternritter, fought Yhwach head-on. Aizen and Yamamoto secretly teamed up to restrain Ichibē.
Finally, with the Hōgyoku, Ryo kept evolving mid-battle until his reiatsu surpassed Yhwach's by more than double. At that level, abilities no longer mattered; he crushed Yhwach outright.
And the ending: Ryo devouring the Soul King, becoming new Soul King, establishing a system of faith, and preparing to ascend to the four-digit realm.
"…"
When the memory finished, Ryo rubbed his temples, his expression somewhere between baffled and impressed.
"…Seriously? They can do that?"
These memories weren't illusions.
Or rather, they were fake—yet they had also genuinely happened.
"With two-digit power, they directly fabricate a parallel world. Then they move the Little Garden's causal records onto the fake timeline."
"That way, no matter which god checks my 'history' in the Bleach world, all they'll ever see is the fabricated version. My real experience is perfectly hidden."
"And if anyone from Bleach comes to the Little Garden and tries to expose me, their own memory will forcibly align with the fake record."
"…Is this the level of a two-digit?" Ryo sucked in a breath.
This concealment method, crafted by three two-digits working together, was something even other two-digits probably wouldn't notice. They'd simply believe he had risen to the edge of five-digit by fusing with the Hōgyoku and eating the Soul King.
"If I'd known they could do this, I would've just gone in and steamrolled everyone. Probably would've wrapped things up in half a day."
He muttered, venting a little of his fear and awe toward two-digit beings.
At that moment, he felt something touch his spirit rank.
A false spirit rank—like a thin, artificial layer—formed on top of his real one and slipped into his consciousness.
Then a woman's voice sounded in his ear.
{Use this mimetic spirit rank to receive the Little Garden's grant.}
Omega's voice.
A heartbeat later, the Little Garden's judgment finally arrived.
[Judgment: individual bears the title "Soul King" and has established preliminary faith.]
Ryo's pupils contracted. In the next instant, he felt his spirit rank being locked onto by some vast, unknowable power.
Then a question echoed into his awareness.
[Do you accept the "Soul King" divinity and ascend to the four-digit realm?]
.
.
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