Chapter 488 - 488: The Cycle Rebuilds! Two Aizens Meet

Aizen quietly tested the surroundings with his spiritual power and quickly confirmed that this really was the World of the Living.

Everything was exactly the same as before its destruction, without the slightest visible difference.

He could even sense a Garganta opening elsewhere in Karakura Town, followed by two Hollows rushing out into the living world.

That only made the situation feel even stranger.

For perhaps the first time, even Aizen's mind struggled to make sense of what he was seeing.

"Why? Even if this world truly operates in cycles, why did the new cycle begin at this point in time? According to my memories, the World of the Living has changed very little over the years, but this definitely wasn't where the previous cycle began."

He rapidly went through every possibility before voicing the inconsistency that bothered him most.

"I already told you. This world is still growing."

Cyrus turned toward him.

"My flames reduced the previous world to nothing, but most of the information that made up that world wasn't actually destroyed. Because of how this place works, the new 'save point' moved closer to the present."

He shrugged.

"That doesn't seem too difficult to understand."

Aizen's eyes shifted.

"So there's another version of me in this world right now?"

"Well…"

Amusement flashed through Cyrus's eyes.

Before Aizen could react, Cyrus grabbed his shoulder and pulled him through a doorway that appeared without warning.

Back on the street, Orihime had been following Ichigo with her head lowered when she suddenly bumped into him and fell onto her backside.

"Ow!"

She clutched her head with both hands and looked up in confusion.

Ichigo had stopped walking and was staring toward one side of the street, uncertainty flickering across his face.

"Was that just my imagination?"

He scratched his head, then turned toward Orihime as she slowly got back to her feet and gave her a bright smile.

…

Soul Society.

Aizen's familiar three-man group quietly gathered together.

"Lord Aizen."

Tosen stood respectfully before him with his head slightly bowed.

"So what are we doing this time?"

Gin stood with both hands tucked into his sleeves, his eyes narrowed as he regarded Aizen with his usual lazy smile.

"This operation concerns Hueco Mundo."

Aizen looked at Gin with the same warm smile he always wore.

"So you're finally making a move on Hueco Mundo, Lord Aizen?"

Tosen immediately understood.

"Let's go. We don't have much time. If we stay away too long, people will begin noticing inconsistencies."

Aizen turned and calmly led his two subordinates away.

Only after all three had disappeared did the space nearby ripple faintly.

Cyrus sat on the edge of a rooftop with one leg hanging over the side. He turned toward the Aizen standing beside him.

The Hōgyoku-fused Aizen stared straight ahead, expression completely blank, refusing even to look in Cyrus's direction.

Naturally, Cyrus had no intention of letting him off that easily.

"So? What's it like seeing yourself acting like that in person?"

Aizen didn't turn his head.

"Never allowing joy or anger to show on one's face. As expected of me."

His answer was perfectly serious.

Cyrus pushed himself up from the roof with one hand and smiled.

"Don't you think you're trying a little too hard to look cool?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Aizen's voice became noticeably stiffer.

If anyone else had said this to him, Aizen would already have been considering how best to erase them from existence.

Unfortunately, the person beside him was Cyrus.

All he could do was bury the indescribable embarrassment deep inside.

"Want to meet him?"

Cyrus asked cheerfully.

"With your current strength, hypnotizing all three of them should be effortless."

"There's really no need—"

Aizen instinctively tried to refuse.

Cyrus moved before he could finish.

Aizen's vision shifted, and by the time the world stabilized, the two of them were already standing in Hueco Mundo.

Almost immediately, the space in front of them began to ripple. A black vortex formed, and three figures emerged one after another.

The newly arrived Aizen, Gin, and Tosen all tensed the instant they stepped through.

Then the two Aizens looked directly at each other.

The glasses-wearing Aizen froze.

Disbelief flickered across his face as he stared at the white-clad figure beside Cyrus.

'That man…'

'Is me?'

The thought was so absurd that he immediately surged his spiritual power through himself, convinced he had somehow been placed under hypnosis.

Nothing changed.

It wasn't an illusion.

Beside him, Gin's hand clenched sharply inside his sleeve.

His eyes opened fully for perhaps the first time in a long while as he stared at the evolved Aizen, then slowly looked toward the back of the Aizen standing in front of him.

'What the hell is this?'

"Wait."

The glasses-wearing Aizen suddenly narrowed his eyes and stared at the other man's forehead.

"That is…"

His expression changed.

"The Hōgyoku?"

The instant he recognized it, countless possibilities raced through his mind.

"So I succeeded."

His confusion rapidly gave way to confidence.

"You came here from the future. It seems I eventually succeeded in surpassing the limits of a Shinigami."

That explanation made perfect sense to him.

Something this impossible could surely only have been accomplished by his future self after transcending the boundaries of Shinigami power.

"Heh… heh heh…"

Cyrus's grin kept growing wider.

"Kyōka Suigetsu."

The evolved Aizen immediately drew his Zanpakutō.

His younger counterpart instantly raised his guard, but the difference in their current levels of power was simply too great.

Within moments, all three newcomers had fallen under Complete Hypnosis.

Only then did Aizen turn toward Cyrus.

"I never realized you enjoyed this sort of thing."

His expression remained flat.

"Watching me embarrass myself is that entertaining?"

"No, no. I was just curious."

Cyrus immediately waved both hands in denial.

"I got what I came for, so this world is yours now. Do whatever you want with it."

He turned and looked into the distance.

"I've been away from home for quite a while. It's probably time I went back and checked on things."

"You're just leaving?"

Aizen stared at him, genuinely caught off guard.

Cyrus stopped and looked back.

"Something wrong?"

"How am I supposed to take control of this world?"

"You're asking me?"

Cyrus pointed at himself with open disbelief.

"If that dumbass Japanese high schooler managed to figure it out, you seriously can't?"

He shook his head in disappointment.

"If that's really the case, go find somewhere to bury yourself."

Still sighing, Cyrus turned away and started walking.

His pace looked leisurely, yet within only a few steps, his figure had already reached the edge of sight.

"Dumbass Japanese high schooler…"

Aizen repeated the phrase under his breath before shaking his head.

"He means the Soul King? So he knew him?"

His expression became thoughtful.

"Though Cyrus certainly killed him without hesitation."

Aizen then turned toward the three people still trapped under Kyōka Suigetsu and began considering what to do with this other version of himself.

With his current abilities, replacing the younger Aizen would be effortless. No one would notice because, fundamentally, they were the same person.

But there was little point in doing that.

Perhaps he could instead guide this version of himself into surpassing the limits of a Shinigami again.

The thought had barely formed when Aizen suddenly froze.

His brows drew together.

"Wait."

"The Hōgyoku originated from the Soul King…"

His eyes slowly widened.

"And the Soul King has already been…"

Aizen abruptly looked toward the direction Cyrus had disappeared.

"Then what exactly is the Soul King in this cycle?"

…

"Obviously, a compressed mass of energy."

Cyrus smiled to himself as though he had heard the question from afar.

"A pure source of spiritual power."

He lightly pushed off the ground and crossed the distance to the edge of the great forest in only a few flashes.

"My lord."

The moment Cyrus appeared, a figure arrived before him and dropped to one knee.