The Soul King Palace, Inner Sanctum of the Soul King.
Without encountering any further attacks along the way, Aozaki Reiji passed through several layers of barriers, heading towards the direction of the Heavenly Throne.
Finally, after overcoming numerous obstacles, they passed through the Omotesando of the Soul King Palace and arrived at the Soul King Greater Palace.
Nimaiya Ōetsu stood at the gate, waved his hand, and then turned to leave.
Aozaki Reiji pushed the door open, and what greeted his eyes was a magnificent palace, filled with a mysterious aura.
He slowly walked forward, his footsteps echoing in the empty hall.
"You've finally arrived."
From a distance, a voice as gentle and kind as a spring breeze, yet majestic and allowing no blasphemy, drifted over.
Aozaki Reiji looked in the direction of the voice and saw a figure appear in his line of sight.
The person sat casually on the steps, wearing a long robe in the style of an ancient Greek chiton.
The white robe was clean and unadorned with any extra colors.
His dark hair was short, and his face had distinct yet ordinary features.
His deep eyes had four pupils, emitting a faint glow, a symbol of divine authority.
Aozaki Reiji recognized him at a glance; he was the only god in this world.
But by his side, there were no attendants serving the god, nor did he emit divine light.
He was just sitting quietly, leaning against a giant crystal.
Inside the crystal was a man without hands or feet, and his appearance was identical to the person sitting beside him.
A clone? Or an illusion?
Aozaki Reiji could not yet discern.
"Feel free to sit."
He spoke again, his voice seemingly carrying a magical quality that made one involuntarily relax.
Although it should have been their first meeting, for some reason, Aozaki Reiji felt that this man seemed familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
His gaze was fixed on the man, trying to find an answer in his memories.
In a flash, he remembered.
...It seemed to be that ordinary middle-aged man from his dream!
Identical!
Aozaki Reiji's heart was filled with doubt.
Those four-pupiled eyes were so striking, so why hadn't he recognized his identity before?
He looked up at the man with the casual posture.
A sacred yet amiable aura emanated from the man, as if a benevolent deity had descended to the mortal realm.
Suddenly, a gentle voice came from ahead:
"Ah... I apologize, it's been a long time, allow me to reintroduce myself."
"I am what you call the 'The Soul King,' and my name is Adyneus."
Aozaki Reiji slowly lowered his head and saw an apologetic smile appear on the man's face, as if expressing regret for his earlier disrespectful behavior.
As Aozaki Reiji slowly looked down at himself, a faint smile appeared in Adyneus's sacred four pupils, and he said sincerely:
"Your vigilance is correct, but I still hope you can believe that I bear you no ill will."
Aozaki Reiji sat casually beside him, as if meeting an old friend he hadn't seen in years, pouting his lips and asking with a somewhat presumptuous attitude:
"Why aren't you playing the 'entering dreams' trick this time?"
"Thank you very much for having such confidence in my abilities, but I'm afraid that a long time ago, I was already unable to interfere with you in that way."
Adyneus withdrew his gaze from Aozaki Reiji and turned to stroke the giant crystal behind him, his eyes seemingly gazing at the entire world.
"Then why do you want to see me this time?" Aozaki Reiji asked.
Adyneus did not rush to answer, but instead asked a seemingly unrelated question:
"Do you know how I was born?"
Aozaki Reiji shook his head.
He really didn't know, and there were no clues in the original plot either.
Adyneus smiled and said calmly:
"This world once had a very, very large Hollow, larger than all the Hollows you've ever seen."
"That Hollow constantly devoured Souls, greedily taking everything in this world."
"Finally, it became too large, and its existence even threatened the world itself."
"Thus, I was born."
"No father, no mother, no past, and no future."
"I was born of the world, and my power is the power of the world."
"For this world, I stand before everyone."
"The meaning of my existence is the world itself."
"So, Reiji, I ask you, let's save this world together!"
Upon hearing this, Aozaki Reiji pointed to himself in disbelief and asked, "Me!?"
He wondered if he had misheard.
The Soul King actually said he wanted him to help save the world.
The Soul King asking for his help indicated that it was something the Soul King himself couldn't solve.
"What kind of trouble is this world in that you need to ask me for help? It can't be Yhwach, can it?"
Aozaki Reiji scratched his head and asked doubtfully.
He wasn't looking down on Yhwach; it was just that Yhwach, with his small arms and legs, really wasn't qualified to challenge the Soul King.
Adyneus slowly replied, "Yhwach? He's just a misguided child."
Then, his tone became serious:
"This time, the trouble is outside the world!"
...
The cane in Yamamoto's hand had transformed into a long sword with a brown scabbard.
He rested both hands on the hilt, his eyes firm and cold.
"Exterminate the rebels!"
He said in a low voice, his tone revealing endless killing intent.
Giving the Quincy no chance to resist, sword light and shadows intertwined, instantly plunging into the Quincy's bodies, spilling a few drops of still-warm blood.
Swords drawn, all enemies were slain.
Ahead, his students and subordinates were already engaged in fierce combat with the enemy.
These Quincy clearly hadn't expected a Shinigami to be able to penetrate so deeply into the empire's heartland, and they were caught off guard.
After all, not every Quincy was a member of the Sternritter.
The Quincy on the periphery were unprepared and quickly suffered heavy losses.
However, the Shinigami showed no mercy and had no intention of leaving any survivors.
For those Quincy who had already lost their combat capability, they mercilessly delivered a finishing blow without hesitation.
The Quincy, realizing what was happening, were both shocked and enraged.
They quickly picked up their Spirit Bows and shot Spirit Arrows into the sky.
The Spirit Arrows exploded violently in the sky, transforming into countless tiny Spirit Particles that scattered in all directions.
"Don't panic! Reinforcements will arrive soon! We must stop these Shinigami! We absolutely cannot let them enter Silbern!"
A Quincy shouted loudly, trying to stabilize morale.
Zaraki laughed loudly, the blade in his hand gleaming with cold light, pointing into the distance, as if to pierce the sky.
His voice, full of provocation and defiance, echoed in the air.
"Silbern, is that castle? It sounds like a very important place, are there stronger opponents there?"
Not far away, a Quincy roared in anger:
"Damn it, just a mere group of Shinigami, how dare they look down on us..."
However, before he could finish his sentence, Zaraki suddenly turned.
With a backhand swing, a fierce Sword Pressure sliced through the air, directly cutting down that Quincy.
"You talk too much! In a fight, you should charge directly, not babble here!"
Zaraki's lips curved slightly upward, revealing a cruel smile.
His jagged Zanpakuto gleamed with a cold light, and each swing brought a gust of wind, cutting down the surrounding enemies one by one.