Many years ago, a baby was born into the world.
This baby could not see, hear, or speak, and could not even move, but he still managed to survive.
Because this baby possessed divine power.
Anyone with physical or psychological defects, upon touching this baby, would have their lacking parts gradually replenished.
Those with lung disease would be cured;
Those feeling empty and lonely would find their hearts filled;
Those who were timid would find their courage continuously surge;
Even amputees would have their lost limbs regenerated;
That baby…
Possessed the power of 'Soul Distribution'.
Anyone who touched the baby would receive the soul he bestowed, allowing wounds that the soul could not fill to gradually heal.
And at the same time.
After being healed, the knowledge they learned, the abilities they mastered through effort, and the talents formed when these abilities reached their peak… all would be deeply imprinted within the fragments of the soul bestowed by the baby.
And…
At the moment of these 'touchers' deaths, they would return to the baby.
All who touched the baby did not live long; deaths would occur within years, months, or even days.
Yet, despite this, people continuously gathered around the baby.
And when the bestowed soul fragments returned, the baby's originally immobile limbs and sightless eyes gradually began to heal.
Soon…
When his deaf ears could hear, he discovered that people called him by an incredible name.
—Yhwach!
This was the origin of the name 'Yhwach'.
As Yhwach grew, he discovered that he could drip his blood into wine, and the souls of those who drank the blood-wine would be engraved by Yhwach with words signifying abilities.
Once the words were formed, Yhwach could send more powerful souls into the bodies of those who drank the blood-wine.
Affected by the characteristics of this ability, any object killed by a person endowed with power by Yhwach would have their soul absorbed by Yhwach after death. Yhwach, in turn, had to continuously absorb the souls of others, otherwise he would revert to his weak state at birth, or even deplete and die.
The 'Soul Distribution Ability' was like usury; Yhwach would give a portion of his power to others, and then, after they strengthened and developed it to its peak, he would reclaim it with interest, and even the Shinigami and Hollows killed by these 'debtors' would become part of the interest.
In other words…
He didn't even need to do anything to continuously grow stronger!
Just as the Quincy song goes:
The sealed Quincy King, after nine hundred years, regained his heartbeat; after ninety years, regained his consciousness; after nine years, regained his power; and finally, in nine days, destroyed the world!
…
With the death of that incessantly chattering fellow whose name he didn't even know.
Ishikawa's emotions returned to his eyes. He ignored the remaining Sternritter members who stood back warily, not daring to approach, and instead sifted through all the information about Yhwach in his mind, analyzing it bit by bit.
The words 'Almighty' are certainly terrifying, but before the period of 'regaining power in nine years' in the song was completely over, Yhwach could not open his 'eyes' and master this ability.
Of course, it wasn't impossible to do it earlier!
But opening his eyes prematurely would cause his power to go out of control and plunder the power of all Sternritter members, so he could only open his 'eyes' after fully regaining his power.
Moreover, doing it prematurely often meant it would be incomplete or imperfect!
If the 'Soul Distribution Ability' is usury, then opening his 'eyes' prematurely is equivalent to directly killing the 'borrowers' and seizing back the principal. Doing so would naturally not yield the interest that far exceeds the 'principal' and would also prevent him from using these 'borrowers' to spread his soul fragments.
The Yhwach in Ishikawa's memory used 'borrowers' to spread his soul fragments throughout the world, thereby turning all the sacrifices—Shinigami, Quincy, Hollows, and humans—who died in the great war into interest far exceeding the 'principal'.
In other words…
Forcibly opening his eyes was certainly possible, but it would inevitably have some flaw, and one with a flaw could not be called an 'Almighty' God!
This was also why Ishikawa believed that by making the Wandenreich visible and catching Yhwach off guard, he and Captain-Commander Yamamoto had a chance to kill Yhwach.
Of course, the premise was that Yhwach continued his invasion of Hueco Mundo and did not return to stop him!
"Make your choice…"
Ishikawa closed his eyes slightly, and when he opened them again, the emotions in his eyes were once again eroded by the Zanpakuto, becoming incomparably indifferent:
"Return, or continue!"
If it were the former Ishikawa, he would have hoped for the latter, sacrificing Cirucci and others in Hueco Mundo in exchange for the opportunity to kill Yhwach.
But now…
He hoped for the former, to make Yhwach realize his objective, thereby forcing him to abandon the invasion of Hueco Mundo and return.
Ishikawa did not know what choice Yhwach would make.
But this was the only way he might be able to save Cirucci and the others.
For Ishikawa, this was also a huge gamble!
So he could not hesitate, could not waver, and could not…
Be swayed by emotions!!
To that end…
Ishikawa had to relinquish his dominant position and let his Zanpakuto take control, like a cold machine, to continue executing the plan without being influenced by any emotions.
Buzz—!
The vibration of the dark world became more pronounced.
Faintly, it seemed as if light was appearing, as if this dark world was gradually merging into another world.
At the same time, Seireitei!
"What is that?"
An anomalous Reishi storm rapidly gathered within Seireitei.
Looking into the Reishi storm, one could vaguely see buildings of a different style from Seireitei emerging from the shadows, gradually overlapping with Seireitei itself.
This incredibly bizarre scene immediately caught everyone's attention.
But unlike the Squad Members' horror, anyone with Captain-level strength felt a familiar aura within the Reishi storm.
That was…
"Ishikawa?"
Second Division.
Soi Fon stood by the Captains Room window, gazing at the anomaly occurring within Seireitei, her face quite grim: "What on earth is this scoundrel up to now?"
However, beneath this grimness, a hint of worry was revealed.
Shinigami Research and Development Institute.
"Captain, that is…"
Akon came behind Kurotsuchi Mayuri, his face full of confusion, but when he saw Mayuri's expression, he couldn't help but be startled.
Because at this moment, Mayuri's eyes were wide open as if they would split, his face filled with fervent exploratory desire and anticipation.
Unexpected!
Originally, when he informed Ishikawa, he had only entertained the thought of trying to salvage the situation, but now Ishikawa had given him an incredibly huge surprise.
So…
They had been hiding right under their noses all along.
This really is…
"Infuriating!!"
…
Ten minutes before Ishikawa entered the Wandenreich.
—Hueco Mundo!
"Roar—"
Angry and terrified roars permeated the vast Hueco Mundo. Whether it was the desert of white sand or the Forest of Menos beneath the white sand, figures dressed in pristine white uniforms, holding various Reishi bows, were everywhere.
Countless Reishi arrows pierced through Hollow after Hollow.
Normal Hollows, Gillian, and even Adjuchas… in the face of this massive army, could only flee in panic.
A one-sided slaughter!
At the same time, in front of Las Noches, located at the center of Hueco Mundo.
A dark figure stood like a god in the sky, in the void. Although he made no movements, thunder appeared in the long night of Hueco Mundo, and even the unburnable white sand… was now covered with a layer of blue flames.
And beneath that dark figure, dozens of figures wearing white hooded cloaks with a 'Sternritter' cross on their backs stood, their gazes cold as they looked forward.
The artificial sky covering Las Noches had now collapsed at one corner.
This also caused a brightly lit corner of Las Noches to be completely engulfed by darkness, and within that encroached corner lay numerous young children with purple markings on their bodies.
That was...
Picaro!
"Cough, cough, cough—"
And in the center of these fallen Picaro, a rather disheveled figure stood, looking at the Picaro with an unusual gaze.
This figure was a monster, a monster in the true sense of the word!
Its head was adorned with multiple spiky circular halos, blood seeped from beneath its eyes, its upper body's chest bones were exposed, and its arms were covered with long black gloves. It wore a white form-fitting robe, and two thorny, Kan-like Reishi wings appeared on its back, with a stitched scar extending from its throat down to its skirt.
Just seeing him would involuntarily evoke a sense of fear.
"When fear reaches a certain level, it will echo in a person's heart, eventually consuming their inner being and causing them to suffocate and die."
Although it was somewhat inappropriate to say such things to a group of immature children, this monster still slowly described his ability to the Picaro lying on the ground.
Because...
Fear!
He actually felt fear because of these children.
Under Yhwach's leadership, they arrived here, and as soon as they opened the artificial dome outside Las Noches, they encountered this group of children.
Originally, this group of childish Arrancar children were not taken seriously by them.
But when they were entangled in playing with them, they realized...
The terror of these children.
Especially their ability to forcibly plunder Reishi, even their Reishi affiliation could not escape.
These Arrancar children actually managed to hold them back for several minutes.
It's just a pity...
Although they possessed terrifying strength, they lacked the maturity to match it. Under 'Fear,' these astonishing Arrancar children were utterly defenseless.
Äs Nödt!
This was the monster's name; his code name in the Sternritter was 'F,' the one who controls 'Fear.'
The monster… no, Äs Nödt, looked at the suffering Arrancar children on the ground, still feeling as if he were dreaming at how easily he had dealt with these monsters.
Because...
He had only targeted one child, but for some reason, fear spread among these children as if it were a domino effect. As one person fell into fear, all the Arrancar children were consumed by it, without even the slightest room for resistance.
"Eliminate them."
A middle-aged man with a beard and square-framed glasses from the Sternritter said, "Such Arrancar cannot be converted into soldiers, nor can they be controlled at all."
The others remained silent, but the Reishi bows condensing in their hands indicated that they shared the same opinion as the middle-aged man.
The Arrancar before them could not be left alive!
Although the engagement lasted less than two minutes, these Arrancar children had made them feel threatened.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!
The next second, countless arrows shot forth, precisely aimed at each of the Arrancar children.
But...
Buzz—
A strange ripple suddenly appeared, and the myriad arrows simultaneously paused, then... they disintegrated in mid-air.
Dark feathers rained down like drops of water.
Looking up, what met their eyes were towering, dark wings that blotted out the sky, and dark purple Reiatsu descended like rain.
At the same time, there was also a chilling killing intent!
Another one!?
Looking at the figure hovering above the Picaro, the members of the Sternritter couldn't help but frown.
They finally understood now...
Why Yhwach chose to personally lead the expedition to conquer Hueco Mundo, which had been defeated by the Shinigami, even bringing most of the Sternritter here!
"Isn't it a bit excessive to take advantage of a group of children?"
A languid voice came, and only then did everyone realize...
While they were focused on the person with wings above their heads, a middle-aged man exuding a sense of decadence had, at some unknown point, positioned himself between them and the children.
Behind him, a female Arrancar with half her face covered by a bone mask was examining the injured Arrancar children on the ground.
Both the middle-aged man and the woman wearing a half-mask exuded an incomparably powerful Reiatsu.
Meeting their gazes, the middle-aged man looked up at Cirucci above him and smiled, "This is the first time I've seen Cirucci get so angry, although…" The decadent middle-aged man withdrew his gaze, and the smile on his face gradually turned cold:
"I'm also feeling an unprecedented anger right now!"
"Starrk, is it?"
A young man with a reddish-purple mohawk showed a look of disdain and arrogantly shouted, "The strongest among Aizen's Espada, tch, your master has already been sealed by the Shinigami, what else do you have…"
Before he could finish his sentence, a figure appeared before him, followed by a voice even more arrogant than his own:
"Why waste so much breath on them!"
As he spoke, a blade-like claw slashed horizontally, and a sharp aura capable of cutting through anything swept down.
His mohawk was interrupted, and his face instantly turned grim:
"You're courting death!"
Bang~
Without dodging, the mohawk-haired man's hands erupted with scorching flames, directly meeting the incoming claws!
Rumble—!
The two collided, producing a huge roar, and terrifying energy ripples spread out from them, causing the surrounding Sternritter to scatter.
"Savage fellow."
Among them, a young girl with waist-length golden hair, wearing a military cap and a short skirt, patted the dust off her body with a look of disgust.
"Let me help you clean up."
A calm voice came, making the girl's pupils contract. Only then did she realize that she and her companions were, at some unknown point, surrounded by water dragons, each dozens of meters wide.
And at the end of each of those water dragons stood a mature woman with long golden hair, a pair of emerald eyes, and a majestic and indifferent expression.
Boom!
As the water dragons submerged several people, the Sternritter and others who had scattered in other directions also encountered attacks.
Dark green lightning spears descended from the sky, falling into the crowd like divine punishment. The terrifying shockwaves lifted tons of white sand into the sky, and massive energy ripples tore at everyone caught within.
Twin-headed javelins cut through the sky, tearing space;
Whirlwind storms, stirring up sand, forming pillars of wind that reached the sky;
Dragon punches erupted, golden fist-lights covering everything;
...
In an instant, all Sternritter members were simultaneously subjected to various forms of attacks.
These attacks were diverse, with the only commonality being...
Their immense power.
Even though each attack simultaneously struck several Sternritter members, it still forced them to concentrate and counter.
And...
Cirucci, high in the sky, and Starrk, on the ground, did not make a move.
Although one was high above and the other below, they both, by unspoken agreement, locked their gaze on one spot, on...
The person floating above the Sternritter members, like a deity!
"Not bad."
A laugh emerged, and the dark figure looked at Cirucci and Starrk, nodding, "Your performance is very good."
Just then, a young man with golden hair and delicate features appeared behind the figure and said, "Yhwach, do you need me to join in?"
"No matter."
The one called Yhwach shook his head, "The Sternritter's biggest flaw is their overconfidence. It's good for them to suffer a bit."
"Yes."