Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 88 - The So-Called Hogyoku

BOOM,

The tall, lean figure slammed into the wall. The force punched straight through it. Nnoitra Gilga coughed up another mouthful of blood, eyes rolling back, consciousness sliding toward the edge.

"Hey!" Dust billowed out in every direction. Ichigo Kurosaki tossed Nnoitra Gilga aside like a dead fish. "Long time no see, Aizen!"

The room held only a single throne, set high above everything else. Sosuke Aizen sat upon it, watching from below with an expression of leisurely amusement, like a god gazing down on mortals with contemptuous pleasure.

"Ichigo Kurosaki." Resting a cheek on one hand, Sosuke Aizen spoke without urgency. "I didn't expect you to actually break through the spatial seal and reach Hueco Mundo. What can I say—worthy of a Transcendent."

"That's..." Ichigo's expression shifted. He frowned. "Wait... you're not Aizen..."

"A projection?!"

He closed his eyes. Spiritual pressure pushed outward, senses stretched to their absolute limit. Ichigo carefully felt out every trace of spiritual pressure within Las Noches. The result only darkened his expression further.

"You bastard..." He ground his teeth. The spiritual pressure rolling off him surged. "You ran again?!"

"You should have figured it out by now." Sosuke Aizen smiled pleasantly. "By this point, I've already taken a step ahead—I've left Hueco Mundo for Karakura Town."

"How did you manage that..."

"I'm sure you're dying to ask exactly that." The projection of Aizen turned the equally projected Hogyoku over in hand. "Do you know what the Hogyoku is actually made from?"

"At first, I too assumed it was simply ordinary souls. But after realizing your power might surpass the Hogyoku's upper limit, I studied it more deeply—and discovered that its primary material is the fingertip of the Soul King."

"The Soul King's... fingertip?"

"You probably have no idea what state the Soul King is actually in right now." Aizen's expression turned cold. Even through a projection, his contempt came through without distortion. "The one said in legend to have created all things and ruled over the Three Realms, right now, the Soul King is nothing more than a wedge stabilizing existence. No limbs. No organs. Only a shell."

"And everything else the Soul King once was has scattered across the Three Realms, some transformed into strange creations, some hidden within ordinary souls, some taken shape as singular individuals."

"Did you find them... the Soul King fragments..."

"Once I realized that, in the time between your awakening and my sending Rukia Kuchiki to the World of the Living, I traveled the Three Realms collecting objects and individuals with unusual phenomena. Eventually I found far more Soul King fragments." A faint smile rested at the corner of Aizen's mouth. "I first used the majority of them to reinforce the original Hogyoku, otherwise it likely would have been destroyed by you at Sokyoku Hill."

"In the end, only two small fragments remained. One I used to accelerate the Hogyoku's fusion, once your arrival was confirmed, the fusion had already completed ahead of time. The other I used to have the Hogyoku lift Hueco Mundo's spatial seal early."

"...With the spatial seal gone, I can catch up to you quickly." Ichigo murmured. "All I need is to open a passage."

"I don't know whether you currently have the ability to open a passage between dimensions." Aizen's figure grew faint and translucent, the projection was nearly spent. "But to welcome you properly, I've left all of the Espada there."

"Help me appraise them. The Espada's abilities, the ones I took such pains to create."

BOOM!

With those final words, Aizen dissolved completely. At the same moment, eight immense spiritual pressures flooded the room. The Espada entered with varied expressions, all of them looking at Ichigo.

The spiritual pressure was fearsome. The killing intent was overwhelming. Yet nowhere near as paralyzing as they had imagined. A quiet ease settled through the Espada.

"Phew..." Ichigo let out a long breath and looked around at them. "Honestly, I'm pressed for time. I don't have the energy to mess around with any of you."

"If you're smart, open a Garganta for me and stand down. Otherwise, if I lose control of my own strength, none of you are walking away from this."

"Arrogant human." An old man built like a wall, carrying a massive axe, sneered. "You think beating two pieces of trash means you can...?!"

A single flicker. Ichigo was standing right in front of the old man, eyes cold and sharp. He drew back his right fist and drove it straight into the old man's gut.

"Gah!"

Blood and spittle flew. The body crumpled inward and launched away like a cannonball.

"I won't say it a third time."

The spiritual pressure rolling off Ichigo felt almost solid. Several degrees stronger than anything he had shown in Soul Society, it bore down on the Espada like a physical weight. Without question, the mightiest spiritual pressure beneath a Transcendent.

"If you open a Garganta to the World of the Living quietly," Ichigo said, sweeping his gaze around the room, "I can leave without touching any of you. You might even prove useful later, and the Three Realms need balance."

"But if I have to beat you into compliance, you really could end up dead."

"Damn you!" The old man came charging back, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, roaring. "I am the king of Hueco Mundo! Baraggan Louisenbairn!"

"Decay! Arrogante!"

Spiritual pressure surged. Black radiance swallowed Baraggan Louisenbairn whole. An instant later, face and body transformed into skeletal form, a layered crown atop the skull, black flames wreathing the frame, every last trace of human shape gone.

"A Resurrección." Ichigo narrowed his eyes, watching those black flames. "This actually gives me a hint of danger even now. A powerful ability, from the look of it."

"But still not enough. Just this alone doesn't even meet the bar for making me draw my blade."

"Respira!"

Baraggan Louisenbairn breathed out, and the black tide released from within. The surrounding Espada's expressions changed instantly, they scattered and fled. As fellow Espada, they knew better than anyone what Baraggan Louisenbairn's power truly meant.

"I told you."

Ichigo extended one index finger. Black spiritual pressure gathered at the tip, different from before. This time nearly all of his spiritual pressure had been condensed into a single point. The surrounding space warped under the strain, cracks splintering through the air itself.

"You still don't qualify for me to draw my blade."

BOOM!

The Gran Rey Cero finished charging and surged forward. Its speed shattered the sound barrier. Before Baraggan Louisenbairn could react, it had already hit.

BOOM!

A far greater thunderclap tore through everything. The area where Baraggan Louisenbairn stood erupted in a world-shaking explosion. The entire stretch of space buckled and warped, and the sky directly overhead was blown open into a massive hole.

No. To be precise, only one-fifth of the sky remained. The explosion had obliterated that entire section. Looking up, one could see straight through to the sky of Hueco Mundo above.

"This is your last chance."

Ichigo didn't say it a third time. He finished speaking, swept his gaze around the room, and found that not a single person spoke. Left with no other choice, he reached back and drew the long blade from his back, then the short blade at his hip.

"Fine. Come on, then." A quiet sigh. "State your names, all of you. If I lose control and end up killing you, I'll at least remember who you were."

➤ Next: The Espada (Part 1)