On screen, the gentle, composed smile that had always defined Sōsuke Aizen was gone without a trace. The mask had fallen. In its place stood a cold, distant expression, heavy with overwhelming superiority-as if no enemies remained before him, only insignificant pieces on a board he already controlled completely. It was the gaze of an absolute ruler, looking down on everything without haste, without emotion.
Under that suffocating pressure, Rukia Kuchiki, portrayed by Samantha Burnes, began to lose the light in her eyes. Her focus slowly unraveled, as though her mind were being swallowed by a fear she could not resist. The oppressive force radiating from Aizen did not wound her body, but crushed her consciousness, pushing her to the brink of collapse. Every second spent in his presence seemed to steal another fragment of her will, until only emptiness remained.
And that was how the episode ended.
Unlike previous weeks, many viewers did not immediately rush to play the next episode. Instead, they remained frozen in front of their screens for several long seconds-long enough to be noticeable. It was as if they needed time to breathe, to reorganize their thoughts, to process the weight of what they had just witnessed.
"Alex's acting… this is beyond incredible."
Rebeca Verne murmured softly, hugging the small dog in her arms as she watched alongside Geórgia, Sam, and the other actresses. Her tone carried genuine admiration, tinged with disbelief. Just moments earlier, their expressions had mirrored Rukia's in the final scene almost perfectly.
Especially when Alex had assumed that unmistakable final-boss presence.
At that moment, none of them had been able to say a word.
"I heard the girl playing Rukia is still really young… insanely lucky," Sam commented, unable to completely hide the trace of jealousy in her voice. "Looks like Alex has decided to push her hard."
She had just looked up Samantha Burnes and discovered that her previous role had also been in a production starring Alex. Now, in only her second major project, she was already the female lead of Bleach.
It was hard not to see it as a meteoric rise.
From Sam's perspective, judging by industry standards, such an explosive career start was extremely rare. Perhaps only Rebeca Verne herself, during the peak of her ascent years ago, had experienced something comparable.
Rebeca let out a short laugh, sensing the mood, and smoothly changed the subject.
"Alright, enough of that. Let's keep watching."
Without giving room for further comments, she clicked on the next episode.
…
…
Soon, the second episode of the week began to play.
On screen, Aizen extended his hand and grasped the collar at Rukia's neck. She remained frozen in shock, as if her body no longer responded to her own will. The gesture was calm-almost gentle-and precisely because of that, terrifying.
It felt as though he was about to do something final.
"S-stop…"
Ichigo Kurosaki, collapsed on the ground and drenched in blood, propped himself up with one arm. Every movement seemed to tear pain from his body, yet he still forced himself to rise, refusing to remain helpless.
"You still have consciousness?" Aizen remarked indifferently, glancing in his direction. "How pitiful… vitality that doesn't match one's strength is a kind of waste as well."
His voice was low, controlled, almost bored-like someone commenting on something trivial.
Then he added, with the same cruel calmness:
"But that's enough. You've already served your purpose. Your usefulness ends here."
Hearing those words, Ichigo's eyes widened in shock.
"P-purpose…?"
In front of countless screens, viewers frowned in unison.
What exactly did Aizen mean by that?
Without any urgency, Aizen began to explain. From the very beginning, he had known that Ichigo and the others would infiltrate the Soul Society with Kisuke Urahara's help. Not only had he known-he had counted on it. The chaos they created was precisely what allowed him to carry out his plan of faking his own death and deceiving everyone without exception.
He then revealed the true reason Urahara had assisted them in rescuing Rukia. Everything revolved around a unique artifact capable of breaking the boundary between Shinigami and Hollows.
The Hōgyoku.
That had always been the final objective.
Every step, every sacrifice, every battle… all of it had unfolded exactly as Aizen had planned.
When his explanation ended, the audience felt that crushing weight descend once more. The villain Alex had brought to life was not merely powerful-he was complete. His physical strength crushed all direct opposition, while his intellect manipulated allies and enemies alike with effortless precision.
At that moment, many viewers who placed themselves in the protagonists' shoes began to feel genuine despair.
How could anyone possibly defeat an enemy like this?
Watching alongside the others, Geórgia finally voiced the collective thought:
"This is ridiculous… how is the main cast supposed to beat someone like him?"
Rebeca nodded slightly in agreement. Though often criticized in the past for lacking expressive range, she had extensive experience in productions of this kind. She had acted in many stories where a protagonist group faced overwhelmingly powerful villains.
But there was always a loophole. A weakness. A convenient twist.
With Aizen, there was none.
No visible flaws. No obvious weaknesses.
Rebeca had the unsettling feeling that not even a blatant plot miracle would be enough to bring someone like him down.
"Aizen!!!"
Just as Aizen was about to extract the Hōgyoku hidden within Rukia, reinforcements from the Gotei 13 finally arrived on the battlefield.
The first to appear was the captain of the Seventh Division, Sajin Komamura.
His roar echoed across the field as he brought down a strike filled with absolute fury. The impact made the ground quake violently, cracks spreading as though the earth itself were about to shatter.
Even so, Aizen merely leapt aside, avoiding the attack with almost insulting ease.
"I won't forgive you, Aizen! And you too, Tōsen!"
Komamura glared at the two of them, his eyes burning with rage as he unleashed his spiritual pressure to its maximum.
"Bankai! Kokujo Tengen Myō'ō!"
Behind him, a colossal spiritual warrior emerged, towering like a living mountain, raising its blade for a strike meant to annihilate everything before it.
But in that very instant, Komamura realized something was wrong.
Aizen-who should have been more than ten meters away-was now standing less than a meter in front of him.
"H-how…? When did Aizen-"
Shock widened his eyes.
Before him, Aizen smiled serenely. Slowly, he opened the palm of his right hand, where a sphere of black-violet energy began to condense, pulsing with terrifying power.
"Hadō Number Ninety-"
The air itself seemed to warp.
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