Chapter 474 - 474: A Broken World and the Truth of the Soul King

'It changes nothing?'

Cyrus had already left, but Observation Haki still allowed him to hear the conversation behind him.

Their lack of concern surprised him.

From what he remembered, Soul Society placed enormous importance on the Soul King.

The being said to have created Soul Society had essentially become its living battery—or perhaps its stabilizing core—while everyone else benefited from his existence.

Maybe the truth wasn't as complicated as Cyrus had assumed.

Then again, the strange inconsistencies in the timeline suggested otherwise.

Still thinking, Cyrus reformed from flame and found himself before the enormous Soul King Palace.

He glanced behind him.

Through Observation Haki, he could sense Yamamoto and the members of Squad Zero approaching.

Cyrus withdrew his attention and walked inside.

Calling it a palace almost felt misleading.

It resembled an enormous mausoleum built above ground—vast, empty, and utterly silent, with no sign of anything living or moving within.

A king's palace with no one in it.

Cyrus walked deeper inside, recalling what little he knew about the Soul King.

Before transmigrating, he remembered reading that the Soul King had effectively been imprisoned and turned into a battery—or more accurately, a stabilizing pillar for the worlds.

His condition certainly couldn't be called good.

In fact, it was horrific.

But judging by the level of power attributed to him, Cyrus doubted anyone in this world could have reduced him to this state unless he had allowed it.

'So he was some absurdly benevolent idiot?'

The corner of Cyrus's mouth lifted.

Outside the palace, Yamamoto and several members of Squad Zero arrived.

"He went inside."

"Can we use that to seal him in?"

Senjumaru asked.

"That would be difficult."

The others didn't agree.

"From everything he has shown, he isn't someone who would quietly allow himself to be trapped."

"He won't gain anything from entering."

Yamamoto stood with both hands resting on his cane, looking toward the depths of the palace.

Cyrus was already out of sight.

Even here, they couldn't sense what was happening inside.

Squad Zero's duty was to guard this place, but even they knew little about everything within it.

"Do we wait here, or follow him?"

Kirinji Tenjirō, with his distinctive hairstyle, looked toward Squad Zero's leader.

Hyōsube Ichibē glanced at Yamamoto before answering.

"We wait."

Yamamoto looked at him but asked no questions.

The atmosphere turned strangely tense.

The other members of Squad Zero exchanged looks, then spread out without moving far from the palace.

…

Cyrus reached the deepest part of the Soul King Palace.

There, within the strange inner sanctum from which the unusual presence originated, he finally saw the sealed figure.

"You came after all."

A voice spoke before Cyrus could examine him properly.

Cyrus raised an eyebrow.

"You know me?"

"I knew from the moment you entered this world."

Cyrus studied the sealed figure.

"You can still think for yourself in that state?"

He smiled faintly.

"Seems whoever did this to you wasn't thorough enough."

Calling the figure human-shaped was generous.

His limbs and internal organs had been removed, leaving little more than part of a torso and a head.

"They needed my power, so they took those parts."

The voice showed no emotion.

"So this world really does repeat itself?"

Cyrus clasped his hands behind his back and casually looked around the chamber.

"Is that your doing?"

Since the other side was willing to talk, he saw no reason to attack immediately.

"This world has always existed in cycles."

The voice answered.

"You can consider it one of its natural properties."

Then it asked a question of its own.

"Is your world complete?"

"Complete?"

Cyrus stopped.

"So this world really is incomplete?"

"Yes."

The answer came without hesitation.

"Long ago, cracks connecting this world to others appeared frequently. But I could not pass through them, because I myself am part of this world."

Cyrus nodded slowly, his expression thoughtful.

"The cracks never remained for long. But whenever they opened, things sometimes crossed through them."

"You could sense that?"

Cyrus looked back at the mutilated figure within the seal.

"It is difficult for me now."

The voice remained calm.

"What I speak of happened long ago."

"Fair enough."

Cyrus nodded.

Given his current condition, the fact that he had sensed Cyrus entering this world at all was already surprising.

"The spatial fissures were unstable. No one knew when they would appear or where they would lead."

"That part…"

Cyrus smiled.

"I don't believe."

There was no hostility in his tone.

"I'll have to see for myself."

He walked closer.

"After all, you said this world operates in cycles. Even if it's destroyed, it should simply enter another cycle."

Cyrus stopped a short distance from the sealed Soul King.

"And since you're always reduced to this state, the cycle clearly doesn't restart from the distant past."

His smile deepened.

"Right, whoever you are from one of the Five Great Noble Houses?"

Silence followed.

A long time passed before the voice returned.

This time, there was emotion in it.

"There is nothing here that you want."

"This world is incomplete. It has no value to you."

"Exactly."

Cyrus nodded.

"But the world I came from should have plenty of value."

He smiled.

"Don't you want to see it?"

"No."

The answer came instantly.

"I don't believe you."

Cyrus shook his head.

The voice paused, then answered with a trace of urgency.

"We are bound to this world. We cannot leave it."

"So we have no interest in what you describe."

"I hope you will leave us undisturbed."

Cyrus's smile grew.

"So Aizen's actions were something you encouraged too?"

He tilted his head.

"And the Hōgyoku—is that actually another fragment of this thing?"

Silence again.

Cyrus had clearly struck something important.

"Or perhaps…"

He continued.

"You want Aizen to break through the supposed limits of Shinigami power, then use whatever he discovers to find a way of controlling the Soul King's power?"

No answer came.

Cyrus chuckled and stopped asking.

Whoever was speaking to him was using the Soul King's seal as a medium. Even Observation Haki couldn't locate the actual speaker.

But silence was an answer in itself.

Aizen's entire pursuit revolved around surpassing the limits of a Shinigami.

If that eventually allowed him to wield even part of the Soul King's power, then perhaps that had been the point all along.

If so, there wasn't much here of value to Cyrus.

One thing, however, now seemed certain.

This truly was an incomplete world.

Everything he had seen supported that conclusion.

Perhaps the people who sealed the Soul King wanted Aizen to discover a method of controlling his power, allowing them to gain even greater control over this broken world.

And if such a method existed…

Perhaps it could be applied to other worlds as well.