"So, are you saying this corpse is just an illusion?" – Ritsu raised an eyebrow as she pointed at an empty medical bed, where in her eyes lay Aizen's body.
"That's right. From my perspective, you're pointing at an empty bed." – Ren shrugged indifferently as he sat nearby – "My eyes are special, illusions don't affect me. But it seems everyone else today was caught under the illusion of seeing Aizen's corpse."
"I see... so that's the strange feeling I had." – Ritsu muttered, running her hands over the body on the bed. She could see and touch it, even smell the blood. That meant all five of her senses had been completely manipulated to perceive the scene before her.
"Looks like something big is happening behind the scenes." – Ritsu whispered, pulling her gaze away from Aizen's body to look at Ren – "And it seems you know a lot more than you're letting on, especially since you're not affected by this strange illusion."
"Something like that. Urahara told me a few things before I came to the Soul Society." – Ren lied without hesitation, having decided to tell Ritsu the truth but making Urahara his scapegoat – "Rukia has something called the Hōgyoku inside her. Urahara planted it there to hide it from Aizen, who's been after it for over a hundred years. But either through carelessness or a deliberate scheme, Urahara allowed Rukia to be returned to Soul Society under orders from Central 46—or rather, from Aizen himself, who had already killed Central 46 and was controlling everything from the shadows."
Ren didn't stop there—he explained how Aizen planned to extract the Hōgyoku from Rukia's body and how destroying the Sōkyoku was meant to force Aizen into acting without killing her. As for the Hōgyoku itself, neither Ren nor Urahara desired it, as it was far too dangerous and would inevitably bring destruction upon its host.
Ritsu's eyes flickered, silence filling the room as Ren's words cast a heavy veil of shock over her. She stared at him, trying to read his face despite the blindfold, before finally speaking in a voice low but sharp as a blade:
"You… are you certain of this?"
"If I weren't, I wouldn't have said a word." – Ren answered calmly, his tone unwavering – "Honestly, I never planned to tell anyone. But since you've gotten tangled up in this mess, you no longer have the luxury of ignorance."
Ritsu closed her eyes briefly, processing the flood of information at inhuman speed. Then she murmured:
"Hōgyoku... I've read about it, nothing more than ancient rumors... something said to break the boundaries between Hollow and Shinigami. Something no sane mind—human or spirit—should ever approach."
"And that's exactly what Aizen wants." – Ren muttered – "That thing isn't just a source of power. It's a key to rewriting the very laws of this world."
"And Rukia..." – Ritsu stared into the empty air before her – "Her body was used as a vessel… without her knowledge?"
"Innocent, unwilling." – Ren replied coldly – "And now they want to kill her, to extract the Hōgyoku in the only way possible: by destroying her soul completely at Sōkyoku Hill."
"This is not justice." – Ritsu whispered slowly, then fixed her gaze on Ren – "Tell me, what do you intend to do?"
Ren smirked faintly, then rose to his feet, brushing dust off his sleeve with casual indifference:
"I only planned to watch... but it seems the time has come for me to step in."
"You mean saving Rukia?" – Ritsu asked, her tone carrying more than a simple question, a hidden challenge to uncover his true intent.
"Not for justice." – Ren said as he walked toward the door – "Not for the Soul Society. Only for her. And for someone else I still owe."
Before opening the door, he paused and cast a look back:
"Now you know too much. Either face the truth… or remain in the shadows."
Ritsu slowly lifted her head, a different glint in her eyes:
"I don't run from shadows, Ren... I simply choose when to step out of them."
Ren chuckled lightly, then left the room, leaving Ritsu standing in silence, her mind reeling with the realization that Soul Society's chaos was far greater than she had imagined. With every passing moment, the threads grew more tangled… and the danger drew ever closer.
Minutes after Ren's departure, Ritsu still stood there, staring at the bed that only moments ago had seemed to hold her captain's corpse. Her hand still trembled slightly—not from fear, but from suppressed anger.
"He's been manipulating us all..." – she whispered, her face cast in a dark shadow.
Light footsteps sounded behind her. She turned to find one of the 4th Division assistants approaching cautiously:
"Ritsu-Taichō... is everything alright? We heard noises... shouting."
She looked at him for a moment, then nodded:
"Yes. But tell everyone this room is sealed until further notice. No one enters without my direct permission. Understood?"
"Yes, Taichō!" – the assistant bowed and quickly left.
Ritsu closed the door behind him, walked over to the window, opened it, and gazed at the eerily calm sky of Soul Society… as if it were hiding a storm only those who saw behind the curtain could sense.
She knew full well that knowing the truth had already made her a target, and her next step would not simply be personal—it would be a choice between loyalty to the institution… or loyalty to what she believed in.
"Well then, I suppose it's time to get some help." – Ritsu muttered, a dangerous smile curling on her lips as she headed off to bully two poor souls into assisting her.
...
To get more chapters please visit my p@treon :
[email protected]/Akasaki_Ryujin
For support :
https://ko-fi.com/akasaki_ryujin