A Changed Fate

In the light screen, the moment the two met, Liu Ziyun, wielding a knife in his right hand, fiercely slashed at Aizen. The blade was sharp and deadly, carrying an unstoppable killing intent, aimed straight for Aizen's throat.

Aizen reacted just as quickly, his Zanpakuto blocking the fatal blow at the last second. The two swords clashed, sparking dazzling flames. The two figures moved swiftly through the corridor, their swords flashing, their Reiatsu surging, each collision causing the walls to crack and the ground to shatter.

After several rounds, the two men faced each other, knives in hand, several meters apart, their eyes locked.

"Fifth Seat of the Ziyun," Aizen's voice from the light screen was calm, but tinged with coldness, "Isn't it a bit excessive to attack right off the bat?"

"With you," Liu Ziyun's voice was icy, his gaze like a knife, "What do I have to say?"

"Why do you feel like there's nothing to say to me?" Aizen's lips curled slightly upward in the light screen, revealing an enigmatic smile.

"Why do you think I have something to say to you?" Liu Ziyun sneered from the screen, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. "Is it because everyone thinks Kisuke the Hollowfication Incident, or do you think—I don't know he's just a scapegoat?"

Aizen's eyes narrowed slightly, a dangerous glint flashing in his brown pupils. "It seems you're still in contact with Captain Hirako. That's how you know all this."

He paused, his smile growing even more sarcastic, "However, a strong person like you shouldn't be bound by the sentiments of a bunch of weaklings. How can ants become friends with giants?"

Liu Ziyun looked at him sarcastically, a hint of contempt and disdain in his smile, "Why do you think they told me? Couldn't it be—that I was just watching the whole thing?"

Aizen's expression finally changed. A genuine, heartfelt shock surfaced on his usually calm face. His eyes widened slightly, his pupils contracted slightly, and his lips pressed into a thin line.

"That's impossible." His voice was low and hoarse, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth.

"You were too careless, Aizen," Liu Ziyun said with a chuckle from the screen, a smile tinged with smugness and mockery. "Actually Captain Unohana and I watched your clumsy performance the whole time."

He slashed down with his sword, the blade cutting through the air with a sharp whistling sound, aiming straight for Aizen's head. Aizen raised his sword to block, and the two swords clashed again, sparking dazzling flashes.

"Is that so?" Aizen's voice remained calm, but a hint of killing intent lingered. "But now that I know, it's not too late. Everything—can still be changed."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a Zanpakuto, different from the one Liu Ziyun held in his right hand, pierced through his chest from behind.

Blood gushed out, blooming into red flowers in the void. Aizen looked down at the blade tip piercing through his chest, a look of disbelief flashing in his brown eyes.

"I told you, you were careless, Aizen." Liu Ziyun's voice came from behind him, tinged with mockery and smugness. "Look at you, still so arrogantly believing you can control everything. But you don't even understand my true abilities or my Zanpakuto, so how can you possibly defeat me?"

His head peeked out from behind Aizen, his face beaming with a smile. Meanwhile, "Liu Ziyun," who was confronting Aizen in front of him, slowly vanished into thin air like a phantom.

Aizen stared at the blade protruding from his chest, feeling the piercing pain, yet a faint smile remained on his lips, "But—this kind of injury isn't fatal."

"I told you, you were careless, Aizen." Liu Ziyun's voice carried a hint of mystery and eeriness. "Now, I'll let you lose yourself in the destiny I've arranged for you."

His voice grew deeper and more mysterious, each word seeming to echo from ancient times:

"Be Lost—Prisoner of Fate."

As he Spirit Speech, a blinding light suddenly erupted from his Zanpakuto. That light pierced through Aizen's body, through his soul, and through his destiny. Aizen's eyes became empty and vacant in that instant, and he stood there silently, motionless, like a statue that had lost its soul.

Liu Ziyun his Zanpakuto, walked up to Aizen, looked into his empty eyes, and a complex smile appeared on his lips.

"I should thank you," his voice tinged with emotion and sincerity, "Because I referenced your abilities, I created this method of using Zanpakuto —to insert a memory that doesn't belong to the other person's destiny into their life, making them believe that they experienced that period of fate."

He turned around, his back to Aizen, and strode into the depths of the corridor. His footsteps echoed in the silent corridor, each step steady and firm.

"Goodbye, Captain Aizen. Or rather—never again."

His figure disappeared at the end of the corridor, leaving Aizen standing alone, motionless like a statue.

Time ticked by. After an unknown amount of time, Aizen's eyes finally cleared. He looked down at his chest—it was completely unharmed, without wounds, bloodstains, or even a tear in his clothes. But he clearly remembered the feeling of that knife piercing his chest, the cold, piercing pain.

He remained silent for a long time, then turned and walked in another direction. His steps were firm and composed, as if nothing had happened, as if it were all just a dream.

But in his eyes, there was something new—a sense of confusion, a doubt about his own self-awareness.

The light curtain slowly dissipated in the air, turning into countless points of light that danced in the void like fireflies.

Aizen stared at the points of light, remaining silent for a long time. His gaze lingered on Liu Ziyun's face, and something surged within those brown eyes—shock, realization, and an emotion he himself couldn't comprehend, bordering on admiration.

"I see," his voice was calm, but tinged with a hint of emotion. "Changing fate... is indeed a terrifying ability. You implanted a non-existent memory into my destiny, making me believe that we had once spoken, fought, and even confronted each other."

Liu Ziyun nodded, the Life-Taker Tulu in his hand gleaming faintly in the light of the Hueco Mundo: "Yes. From that moment on, your life gained a non-existent memory. You thought you understood me, you thought you assessed my strength, you thought I was already under your control. But in fact—you know nothing about me."

He paused, then his smile widened, "And when you released your Reiatsu to test me just now, you thought you saw my limit. But what you saw was merely what I was willing to let you see."

Aizen was silent for a moment. He shifted his gaze from Liu Ziyun to the Hueco Mundo sky of Hueco Mundo. Something flickered in his brown eyes—not anger, not regret, but a deep, almost philosophical contemplation.

"So," his voice remained calm, but with a hint of relief, "I lost from the very beginning."

Liu Ziyun shook his head. "It's not about winning or losing. Captain Aizen, what you pursue is power, transcendence, standing at the top. What I pursue is simply to let those who shouldn't die live, to prevent those tragedies from happening."

He paused, his gaze deepening. "Our goals are different, so the paths we take are different. You can say I lost, and I can say you lost. But the truth is—we're both just walking our own paths."

Aizen looked at Liu Ziyun, a complex light flashing in his brown eyes. After a long while, he slowly nodded, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

"Liu Ziyun," his voice was calm and sincere, "You are the most interesting person I have ever met."

Liu Ziyun chuckled, a hint of smugness mixed with mischief in his smile, "Thank you for the compliment, Captain Aizen. But—"

He raised the Life-Taker Tulu in his hand, its tip pointing at Aizen: "Now, it's time to settle the score."

Their gazes met in mid-air, and an invisible fighting spirit surged through the air as if it were a tangible force.