The Battle of Sōkyoku Hill (Part Five)

On the steps of Sōkyoku Hill, Aizen's steps were unhurried. He had just come up from the entrance where Gin and Ko had fought, and the Captain's Haori fluttered slightly in the evening breeze.

The rock wall beside the steps behind them was covered with marks left by the slashing waves of Jiku'a or Phantom Blade, and the air still held the scorching aura of the collision between the two Reiatsu.

Aizen slowly walked up to the platform in the middle of Sōkyoku Hill. One reason he walked so slowly was that Ichigo was still fighting Byakuya at the Sōkyoku execution platform. He still hoped that this accidental wedge would grow strong, which would save him a lot of trouble later.

The second reason, of course, is that an old friend is waiting for him on this middle platform.

Cilian stood in the twilight, his right hand gripping an ordinary katana, his left gauntlet gleaming with a dark golden light in the setting sun. His back was ramrod straight, his gray hair fluttering slightly in the wind, and his eyes, weathered by time, held no anger, only a calm, intensely focused concentration.

"Sōsuke Aizen." Cilian's voice wasn't loud, but each word landed steadily in the air dyed red by the sunset, "I've been waiting for you here for a long time."

Aizen stopped in his tracks. His eyebrows twitched slightly, and his gaze behind his glasses slowly swept over Cilian —that face etched with the lines of time, that dark gold mechanical gauntlet, that ordinary katana.

"Asura." When Aizen uttered this title, his tone carried a very faint, almost nostalgic sentimentality, "Over a hundred years have passed, and you're still the same. Using those inferior Flesh Supplement made by the Department of Research and Development continuously must have been unpleasant..."

Back in the Twelfth Division, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who Mayuri Kurotsuchi himself in his research lab, suddenly felt a surge of anger. "I suddenly feel like I've been belittled. Oh well, the important thing now is repairing the Zanpakuto. That bastard! Why is this broken section so difficult to fix...?"

Returning to the mid-section platform

"Thanks to the invention of the Flesh Supplement, I have the opportunity to deal with you here. I have to thank Captain Kurotsuchi for that. You probably never expected that I, who went to such lengths to cripple you back then, would be standing in front of you like this again..."

Aizen raised his hand and pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the sunlight and obscuring his eyes. "Of course I thought of that, Mr. Cilian. Ever since I found out you used the Flesh Supplement, I knew you would one day stand in my way."

Cilian raised his left hand, and a dark golden sphere popped out of his gauntlet. The sphere was small, and its luster was dimmer than the one he had given to Gin Ichimaru, but when he crushed it, the resulting waves of light were more intense than ever before.

"Now that you know, there's no need for us to waste any more words, Sōsuke Aizen!"

A thin ray of light swept across the stone steps, across the rock wall, and across Aizen's body. Aizen looked down as the light passed over him, the smile on his lips unchanged.

"Oh my, so this is the weapon that the Thousand Mechanisms made for me? This fluctuation, I see, it's an anti-illusion device that can forcibly fix brainwaves at a normal frequency for a certain period of time."

"You've grasped the principle after only experiencing it once? Sōsuke Aizen, you're a truly terrifying fellow."

Cilian held her katana horizontally in front of her, and Reiatsu began to slowly surge from within her body. "Sōsuke Aizen, today I will not give you another chance to use Kyōka Suigetsu."

Aizen looked at him, remained silent for a long time, and then slowly drew his Zanpakuto from his waist:

"Is that so? I estimate that this weapon's effect will only last for a mere half an hour. After half an hour, I can use Kyōka Suigetsu to make you completely forget that you're using this weapon. Mr. Cilian, are you planning to defeat me in half an hour?"

The blade of the Kyōka Suigetsu sword gleamed coldly in the setting sun. Aizen gripped the hilt with one hand, the tip pointing diagonally towards the ground. "Just as arrogant as your disciple!"

Cilian didn't answer, but walked towards Aizen step by step, each step extremely steady. The gauntlet on her left hand began to emit a low hum, and the Thousand Mechanisms was being activated.

"Very well, let me personally bring that imperfect victory from over a hundred years ago to a perfect close today."

Aizen also moved, walking step by step from the edge of the platform towards the Cilian, his Zanpakuto dragging across the ground, leaving a trail of tiny sparks.

The two drew closer and closer, and then their blades clashed.

Sparks exploded in the twilight as the two began their most primal sword duel, the sounds of katana clashing against Kyōka Suigetsu echoing across the mid-level platform.

"Over a hundred years." Aizen's voice came through the pause between the clashes of blades, tinged with a faint gasp. "Mr. Cilian, your swordsmanship hasn't declined at all."

Cilian parried Aizen's sword, her gauntlet popped out and pierced through the Shadow Piercer, her spear thrusting towards Aizen's waist from the side, the tip of the spear drawing an extremely thin arc in the air.

Aizen sidestepped, the tip of his spear grazing his Captain's Haori, leaving a smooth cut in the fabric. He swung his sword backhand, aiming for Cilian's neck.

Cilian raised her gauntlets, the Iron Wall unfolded, and the blade struck the shield, the impact sending both of them staggering back several steps.

Cilian gave Aizen no chance to catch his breath. He lunged forward again, sending Flying Gravel from his gauntlets. Five shuriken traced five arcs and shot toward Aizen's face.

Aizen parried with his sword, deflecting the shuriken one by one, but Cilian's sword had already followed—he thrust the sword straight at Aizen's chest with his right hand.

Aizen stepped back to dodge the thrust, and at the same time swung his sword backhand at Cilian's shoulder.

Cilian raised his shield to parry, the blade striking the shield's surface. The impact propelled him backward, his feet carving two shallow furrows in the stone steps. With almost no adjustment, Cilian immediately charged forward again.

The weapons in his gauntlets switched constantly. The Firm Rock Axe slammed onto the platform, sending shards of rock flying; the Lock Sever Hook flew out from the side, wrapping around Aizen's ankle, but Aizen dodged with Shunpo, the metal chain screeching in the air; the muzzle of the Flame Niter Gun popped out of his gauntlets, aimed at Aizen's chest—fire, the bullet tearing through the air, Aizen hurriedly raised Kyōka Suigetsu to his chest, the bullet grazing his ear and exploding behind him.

Aizen dodged, parried, and countered amidst the barrage of weapons. His clothes were torn, and a thin line of blood appeared on his cheek, but the gentle smile remained on his face.

"Impressive. Although Kyōraku and Ukitake's only two pairs of Zanpakuto are extremely rare, in my opinion, they are not as good as your gauntlet."

Aizen glanced down at the tear in his sleeve, then looked up at Cilian again, "The only Zanpakuto in the entire Soul Society that transforms into organs and armor after its release, and can continuously produce countermeasure weapons through battle. Moreover..."

Aizen looked at the gears slowly rotating within Cilian's pupils, and the crisp sound emanating from the Thousand-Mechanism Gauntlets, "

"Are you still analyzing me, my Thousand Mechanisms?"

Cilian did not answer. His left gauntlet was emitting a dark golden light that was even brighter than before, and the gear in his pupil, which was originally black, had also turned dark gold and was no longer concealing itself as it began to spin faster.

During the battle, the Thousand Mechanisms continuously recorded Aizen's movement patterns, Reiatsu fluctuations, and combat habits. Every weapon that popped out of the gauntlets pushed the analysis to a deeper level.

Aizen took a step forward. "Mr. Cilian, you possess such a perfect Zanpakuto, yet you use it for endless battles. What a waste!"

He took the initiative, his Zanpakuto, imbued with Reiatsu, slashing towards Cilian's face. The speed was so fast that the blade was invisible. Cilian raised her katana to parry, and the blades collided, sparks exploding between them.

Aizen's second slash followed, its angle tricky, Cilian's ribs. Cilian turned to the side, stepping on Kyōka Suigetsu. Aizen was caught off guard by this sudden step and lost his balance, falling downwards.

"It's truly astonishing that someone like you would use such a flawed stance."

The gears in Cilian's eyes spun rapidly, recording Aizen's panicked face. "But, thinking about it, it makes sense. Judging from the power of your Zanpakuto, you've never fought an enemy with a normal mind, have you? That's a fatal mistake!"

Prepare to die, Aizen!

Aizen's left gauntlet popped Shadow Piercer, and the spear tip instantly pierced Aizen throat. Blood gushed out of his throat like a fountain. Aizen struggled desperately, forcibly pushing away the Cilian, and immediately took out an Injection Potion and injected it into his throat. The next second, Aizen's throat began to regenerate at high speed.

"Tch, so it wasn't that easy to end it after all." Cilian clicked her tongue as she watched Aizen recover instantly.

Aizen throat recovering, took a breath. "I see. I didn't expect my Zanjutsu to have such a flaw. As expected, compared to the Asuras who have emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, my Zanjutsu still has too many shortcomings."

"Then I won't embarrass myself by showing off." Aizen then pointed at the Cilian, "Hadō #90: Black Coffin!"

A massive black cube rose from the ground, completely enveloping the Cilian. Aizen then continued chanting:

"A faint, murky emblem, an untamed and arrogant talent; a surge, a denial, a paralysis, a fleeting moment, hindering eternal slumber; a crawling iron princess, a clay doll constantly self-mutilating; union, a rebound, extending to the ground, know your own powerlessness!"

After being chanted aloud, the black coffin emitted a purple light.

At this moment, dark red karmic fire began to erupt from the Cilian gauntlets and eyes inside the black coffin—the flames had no temperature, yet they scorched all the Reishi they touched.

The karmic fire spread along his left arm, covering his shoulder, his chest, and his entire body. The flames burned all around him, leaving countless scorch marks on his Shihakusho, and also spread toward the black coffin!

"This is..." To Aizen's slightly surprised expression, the black coffin was burned, and Cilian, wearing a Shihakusho that was sparkling with sparks, slowly emerged from the falling fragments of the black coffin.

Bankai: Thousand Mechanisms: Formless!

The karmic fire exploded instantly, forming a huge fire tornado around Cilian. Cilian stood in the center of the karmic fire, the flames reflected in her eyes, which had been worn down by time.

Aizen looked at him, revealing his astonishment. "Bankai... It's Bankai. In the past hundred years, you've actually managed to develop your own Bankai despite your crippled body. Mr. Cilian, you're truly a terrifying fellow."

Cilian did not respond verbally. He sheathed his katana, then slowly raised his right hand and reached behind his back.

Behind him, a jet-black nodachi slowly emerged from the void. The blade was extremely long, longer than his height, with a thick back and a jet-black edge. The entire sword had no luster, yet it exuded a sense of oppression that seemed to freeze the air itself.

Cilian gripped the hilt of the nodachi, slowly pulling the massive blade from the void. Every movement was extremely slow, as if he were dragging a mountain.

The moment the nodachi was fully drawn from the void, the surrounding air began to tremble violently—the rubble on the platform was lifted up by an invisible force and suspended in mid-air, the cracks in the rock walls began to widen, and the entire Sōkyoku Hill trembled slightly.

"The ultimate secret of the Thousand Mechanisms: Formless is this nodachi." Cilian gripped the hilt with both hands, holding the blade horizontally in front of her, her eyes, honed by time, fixed on Aizen. "Every strike of itss consumes a great deal of Reiatsu."

This was prepared to deal with you, Sōsuke Aizen!

Cilian swung her first blade.

"The first of the Formless Techniques! -- Formless Art: Parting from Form."

The blade of the nodachi sliced through the air without a shockwave, a burst of Reiatsu, or a flash of fire. But wherever the blade passed, space itself began to peel away—the textures on the stone steps, the moss on the rock walls, the dust floating in the air—all the appearances that constitute the real world were stripped away by this one slash, revealing the naked skeleton of the world beneath, composed of Reishi.

This was the first time Aizen had taken the initiative to retreat on this battlefield. Even when his throat had been pierced, he hadn't retreated even half a step. But his instincts and reason told him that this stab was extremely dangerous!

He retreated in Shunpo, but the blade of the Formless Art: Parting from Form had already grazed the spot where he had just stood. He looked down at his left hand, which had only been grazed, and it was becoming transparent, as if he had never had a left hand at all.

Aizen made a decisive move and cut off his entire arm. He knew that an arm could regenerate, but if he made it disappear, he had a premonition that he would lose his left arm forever.

Cilian gave him no chance to breathe. "The second technique of Formless Ultimate Skill— Formless Art: Emptiness!"

The nodachi was swung out again, this time not only aimed at Aizen's body, but also at severing his connection with this world.

With a sound of shattering glass, the blade sliced through, and Aizen felt his Reiatsu fluctuate violently. Some force had directly pierced through his defenses and reached the very essence of his soul!

However, the Formless Art: Emptiness did not hit completely. Before the Nodachi could strike, Aizen raised his hand, and several "Bakudo #81: Dankū" unfolded in front of him.

The Formless Art: Emptiness Slash Dankū, creating Dankū that gave Aizen time to react.

The blade pierced through several Dankū, finally grazing Aizen's chest, but leaving a deep, scorching mark on his soul.

Aizen clutched his chest and took a few steps back. He felt the burn mark rising from the depths of his soul—not the pain of flesh, but a deeper, unbearable the Heat that was burning away Aizen's very essence.

He looked up at Cilian. The "old man" was holding a nodachi, his hands trembling violently, his body withered, and most of the karmic fire had been extinguished, leaving only a few wisps of flame still burning on his shoulder.

His body had reached its limit; he knelt on the ground, trying to unleash a third strike, but ultimately failed.

Aizen slowly stood up, looking down at the still-burning scorch on his chest:

"It's a real pity you couldn't unleash the third strike." He stood before the Cilian, his voice tinged with pain. "If you could have swung that third strike, perhaps you really could have killed me. But you no longer have that strength."

The nodachi gradually returned to the void. Cilian looked at Aizen; his vision was beginning to blur, and his consciousness was rapidly fading away.

"Damn it..."

Your Highness... Captain-Commander... Amber...

I'm sorry... I... made a mistake...

The rest... I'll have to leave it to you..."

"You should be proud." Aizen's voice was tinged with pain. "In over a hundred years, you're the first person to push me to this point, but you shouldn't have come alone..."

Cilian closed his eyes; his left gauntlet shattered, and the mechanism ceased functioning.

Aizen wasn't having an easy time either. His Formless Art: Emptiness was gradually severing his connection with this world, causing the influence of his Kyōka Suigetsu to weaken.

"Damn it, Cilian's Bankai is actually peeling me away from this world. Fortunately, his Reiatsu is much lower than mine, so the peeling speed is very slow. I have to quickly use Sōkyoku to remove the Hōgyoku and remove the Reiatsu he left in my body!"

After making his decision, Aizen immediately used Shunpo to rush to Sōkyoku.

Beside the execution platform, amidst the Senkei.

While Ichigo, Byakuya finally remembered Hisana's face and his love.

In the dense forest beneath Sōkyoku Hill

Because the effect of "Kyōka Suigetsu" weakened, Yoruichi and Fon Shaoling were able to break free and feel the Reiatsu of Cilian on the middle platform of Sōkyoku Hill, which seemed like a flickering candle in the wind.

"This is it!" Yoruichi looked towards the middle platform.

"Cilian!" Fon Shaoling even more urgently, rushing directly towards the middle platform.

"Soi Fon, calm down!" Yoruichi chased after her.

A place far from Sōkyoku Hill

The Captain-Commander also broke free from the Kyōka Suigetsu and sensed the Reiatsu of the Cilian. He revealed his anger, which startled Kyōraku and Ukitake.

"Cilian... you still can't shake your lone wolf nature... fool..."

"I've explained everything to you two. Aizen is now heading towards Sōkyoku, it's time to deal with this traitor!" The Captain-Commander stood up.

At the entrance to Sōkyoku Hill

In his Bankai state, Koko sensed the sudden and rapid disappearance of Cilian's Reiatsu and shouted, "Instructor Cilian!!" He then abandoned the badly injured Gin and rushed up the steps.