{🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please support me.🥰 You can access upto 100+ advance chapter through Patreon by using the link:
"Rewind! Sui-Feng!"
Before the words had fully left her lips, Shihōin Yoruichi and Sui-Feng blurred backward, retreating a measured distance.
Above them, the rift in the heavens swelled at an alarming pace. The vast tear in space stretched wider, pulsing with an ominous rhythm. For a heartbeat, everyone could only stare, breath caught in their throats, as if movement itself had been forgotten.
"It seems the time has come."
Aizen spoke softly, his voice calm, almost serene. A faint smile curved his lips, his eyes unreadable.
The words were still hanging in the air when three colossal pillars of golden light lanced down from the rift, each enveloping one of the traitorous captains—Aizen, Ichimaru Gin, and Tōsen Kaname.
At the same time, enormous white claws erupted from the darkness above, tearing through the edges of the rift. Massive, black forms with bone-white masks leaned forward from the void.
"What… what is that?!"
"That's… Menos Grande—Gillian class?!"
The startled cries rippled through the onlookers. Even veteran Shinigami felt their composure waver.
Only Su Li remained unmoved. All around him, captains' expressions tightened.
"How many Gillian…?" Tetsuzaemon Iba's voice was low with disbelief.
"This feels like more than the last Menos incursion," murmured Ise Nanao, her hands trembling slightly.
The rift loomed over Seireitei like a wound in the sky, spanning nearly half the visible horizon. From within, an unending tide of Gillian writhed, their massive heads pushing through the breach.
A rough count put them at no less than four or five hundred—and deeper still, beyond the visible ranks, shadows of something greater shifted in the dark. The oppressive spiritual pressure marked them as Adjuchas or higher.
"Damn… that many big ones…" Kurosaki Ichigo muttered. Beside him, Ishida Uryū's face was pale.
When they had faced even a single Gillian during training in the human world, it had taken everything to hold their ground. Now, surrounded by hundreds, the scale of power was suffocating.
The question hung heavy in the air: why would such a force suddenly manifest over the heart of the Soul Society?
The answer came wordlessly.
The golden pillars surrounding Aizen and his allies flared, and the ground beneath them fractured. Slowly, the three began to rise, the light carrying them upward toward the waiting rift.
"Trying to run?!" Tetsuzaemon roared, drawing his Zanpakutō.
"Stand down," Yamamoto Genryūsai's voice cut through the tension like a blade. His eyes did not leave the figures ascending in the light.
"This light is called Negación. It is a technique used by Menos to retrieve their own kind. Once within its boundaries, the inside and outside are completely cut off. It forms an isolated world. From the moment it is cast, Aizen is beyond our reach."
The truth silenced the hilltop. Every eye followed the glowing forms rising into the heavens, the unspoken realization heavy in their hearts—nothing they did now could halt Aizen's escape.
Kompachika Sajin's roar broke the stillness. "Tōsen!!" He slammed his fist into the earth, shattering stone with each blow. The ground around him pitted with craters, but the fury in his chest found no outlet.
"To ally with Hollows… what is your aim?" Ukitake Jūshirō stepped forward, his gaze locked on Aizen's distant form.
"For a higher realm." Aizen's reply was flat, eyes cold as they met Ukitake's.
"Have you fallen so far, Aizen?" Ukitake's tone was heavy.
A faint chuckle came in return. "Fallen? No… The sky has never had an occupant to fall from." His words carried easily over the distance. "You, me, even the gods themselves… all beneath it."
Blood still marked his lips from Su Li's earlier strike. Slowly, he brushed it away, then smoothed his hair back with one hand.
"The empty throne above will not remain vacant forever," he said. "The time of that blank sky is ending."
Su Li's lips curved faintly at the sight. Handsome to the last, this one.
"From this moment…" Aizen's gaze swept the captains below, eyes brimming with superiority. "I stand in the sky."
The words struck like a blow. All present felt the weight of them—ambition sharpened to a blade. Only Su Li met his gaze with a calm smile.
"Goodbye, Shinigami." Aizen's eyes lingered on the assembled captains, finally resting on Su Li. "Goodbye… Su Li. And thank you for your parting gift. When next we meet… I will return it in full."
Su Li inclined his head in a slow, courteous bow, a gentleman's farewell.
Aizen held his gaze for one final moment, then turned and stepped into the yawning Garganta. The black maw closed behind them with a thunderous snap, and the sky above Seireitei was clear once more.
No one spoke. Faces were grim, the silence as heavy as the spiritual pressure that had filled the air moments before.
Three captains had defected. The Central 46 lay slaughtered. Two captains and a vice-captain had been gravely injured. Dozens of Shinigami lay wounded. This was the darkest hour the Seireitei had known in a thousand years.
For a long time, no one moved. Then Kyōraku Shunsui lowered himself to the ground, removing his straw hat with a weary smile. "Looks like… it's over. For now."
His quiet words stirred the others from their shock. Yes, it was over—temporarily. Aizen's retreat was not the end, only the close of this chapter. Whatever plans he carried into Hueco Mundo would one day return to haunt them.
But for now, the living needed tending.
At Unohana Retsu's calm direction, the surviving squads began aiding the wounded. Members of the relief corps and Fourth Division moved swiftly among the fallen, while reinforcements streamed up the hill to assist in the cleanup.
Sōkyoku Hill became a hive of activity.
Su Li watched it all with a faint, almost contented smile. For the moment, peace—however fragile—had returned.
A pale hand appeared in the corner of his vision, offering a folded handkerchief. He turned, meeting the delicate features of Kuchiki Rukia. There was gratitude in her eyes as she spoke softly.
"Here. Wipe it off, Su Li."
His brow lifted in mild surprise, then understanding dawned. She had been close to him throughout the chaos, sheltered each time by his presence. She alone had seen the small wound on his palm.
"Thank you," he said, taking the cloth and dabbing away the blood.
"It should be me thanking you," Rukia replied, bowing deeply.
"It was nothing," he answered with a light smile.
Her own lips curved in response, relief softening her features.
Neither noticed the glare fixed on them from a short distance away—an intense, simmering resentment.
"Captain! Please calm down! They're just friends!" Ōmaeda Marechiyo was clinging to Sui-Feng's leg, panic in his voice.
"Sui-Feng! Don't be rash—talk first!" Yoruichi interposed herself quickly, a hand on the smaller captain's shoulder.
Both sighed inwardly.
What a mess.
{ Enjoying the chapters? Please Support me on Patreon and unlock 100+ advanced chapters, with 3 new chapters released every two days!
The fanfic is also available for one-time purchase on Patreon – unlock lifetime access to the full collection, no membership needed! Don't miss out –support and own it forever!
patreon.com/Oreski}