In the wilderness beyond Karakura Town in the Soul Society, the ruins and collapsed mountains speak of a cataclysmic battle that has just taken place.
"Kisuke Urahara, I despise you!"
"With a mind like yours, why didn't you act? Why submit to something like that?"
The red sealing light intensified as Aizen screamed hysterically at Kisuke Urahara.
Ichigo Kurosaki, having used Mugetsu, sat slumped to the side, somewhat dazed, looking at the suddenly appeared Shopkeeper Urahara.
Faced with Aizen's accusations, Kisuke Urahara looked at him without expression and replied, "The Soul King is the Seal of the World. If it wavers, not just the Soul Society—"
"Human World, Rukongai, Soul Society, even Hell would be torn apart."
"The risk is too great; we can't take that chance."
Upon hearing this, Aizen grew even more furious: "Excuses, all excuses! This is just weak talk, I despise you… I despise you!"
He raged on, but the sealing light had already spread over his entire body, and the Kido-formed sealing shell continued to enclose him until it completely engulfed his figure.
A gentle breeze stirred the dust on the ground, and everything around was silent. Ichigo Kurosaki looked at Kisuke Urahara and exhaled a long breath.
This time, it should truly be over.
"Sōsuke Aizen, for committing heinous crimes, is sentenced to the Eighth Level of Muken, Muken, for a term of twenty thousand years!"
As Central 46 passed judgment, the gates to Muken Hell slowly closed. Having all Reiatsu sealed and being bound to the solitary throne, Aizen was completely engulfed in darkness.
Inside Muken, there was utter silence—not the usual kind of quiet, but a deeper silence where even the concept of sound seemed erased, a complete stillness.
In such an environment, an ordinary Shinigami wouldn't last even a minute without utterly breaking down.
Yet Aizen was unfazed. Compared to the silence of Muken, the loneliness within his heart was a deeper torment.
It's truly… lonely…
He opened his only unsealed left eye, seeing nothing but darkness, just like the void within his heart.
Gifted from a young age, he was always out of place with others. The geniuses admired by the world seemed laughable to him, naturally leaving them far behind without even trying.
Throughout centuries of the Shinigami life, hidden beneath a gentle exterior was a heart solitary as the heavens.
Along his journey, he encountered many people, most being insignificant mediocrities. Even if one or two geniuses gained his acknowledgment, they eventually failed to keep up with his pace.
The only one he acknowledged, Kisuke Urahara, willingly fell into depravity, joining forces with the bugs of the Soul Society.
"In the end, it's still just me."
He slightly raised his head, naturally unable to see anything, simply wanting to make the gesture.
Twenty-thousand-year sentence, even for the long-lived Shinigami, is an eternity, surpassing most Shinigami's lifespan limits.
Barring any unforeseen events, his future would be spent in this silent Muken.
He, wishful thinking.
Did those fools in Central 46 really think they could contain me?
But... even if I got out, what then? I would still be alone.
The outside world is no different from here; it's just a bigger cage.
Truly... lonely...
He sighed inwardly, a sudden longing welling up within him.
If only I had a friend I truly recognized.
If only I wasn't walking this path alone.
Would the outcome be different?
Once this thought emerged, it spread uncontrollably, the longing growing more intense.
But then, he raised the corner of his mouth slightly.
Could someone like me really have so-called equal friends?
He sighed, dismissing it as a momentary folly.
Yet at that moment, a searing, hopeful light suddenly flickered from where his heart was.
"Hōgyoku?"
Aizen immediately sensed the source of the power. The Hōgyoku, a device he created with his own hands for limitless evolution, can sense the deepest desires of its host and realize them.
At this point, the Hōgyoku had already become one with him.
"I see, it responded to the desire within my heart at this moment."
Aizen quickly found the answer and then shook his head with a light chuckle.
Even the Hōgyoku might be powerless against his current longing for a true companion. How could it possibly fulfill such a wish?
It couldn't simply create a "friend" using its abilities.
With his personality, he could never accept a "person" that lacks a soul as a true companion.
Logically, he dismissed it, yet deep within his heart, there lingered a nearly imperceptible glimmer of hope.
What if...
After all, it is the Hōgyoku.
The light of the Hōgyoku continued to flicker, seemingly containing endless hope.
These lights gathered, illuminating Muken, gradually forming a door of Emptiness before Aizen.
The gate of light shimmered, revealing nothing beyond it.
Aizen's left eye widened slightly, sensing with his Reiatsu, as a wave of familiar yet unfamiliar vastness washed over him.
"Is this the Senkaimon? Is it leading to a place I know?"
Aizen quickly concluded, a rare glimmer of interest appearing in his gaze.
"Interesting, then let me see where the Hōgyoku intends to take me."
He slightly raised the corner of his mouth, and his consciousness melded into the light of the Hōgyoku, instantly traversing the flickering gateway before him, arriving at a realm all too familiar to him.
The scorching sun hung high in the sky, while the ground was an endless stretch of yellow sand.
"Is this Rukongai?"
As the former King of Hueco Mundo, Aizen recognized the territory at a glance.
He stood mid-air, pinching his chin with an amused expression.
What does the Hōgyoku mean by this?
And as for my current state?
He reached out in front of him and clenched his fist, light passing unobstructed through his hand and body.
"My body is transparent, and my true form is still in Muken Hell. I'm an existence akin to a consciousness entity, invisible to most beings."
He made this judgment, looking down at Rukongai.
The endless yellow sands were filled with silence and desolation, no different from his memories.
But in his view, a pure white Palace stood not far in the sands.
Las Noches.
He pondered for a moment, then swiftly descended towards Las Noches.
As soon as he landed, he sensed something was off.
The outer walls of Las Noches were breached, with many places showing signs of battle, and some walls decayed by time.
Numerous Adjuchas were hauling materials, busily repairing the damaged walls.
"It's Baraggan's capability… have I returned to the past?"
"Or perhaps, arrived in another parallel World."
Watching the busy Adjuchas, Aizen speculated to himself.