Liu Ziyun vs. Aizen (3)

This battle was more intense, more dangerous, and closer to death than before. Their blades clashed in mid-air, sparking dazzling flashes. Their speed was astonishing, so fast that they couldn't even leave afterimages; all that could be heard was the metallic clang of clashing blades, and only the occasional flash of light could be seen.

Liu Ziyun gradually gained the upper hand.

His swordsmanship grew increasingly ferocious and unpredictable, each strike carrying an unstoppable killing intent, each strike aiming to cleave Aizen in two. Although Aizen's defense remained precise, it began to show weaknesses under Liu Ziyun's storm-like onslaught.

One slash, two slashes, three slashes— Liu Ziyun's blade sliced across Aizen's body again and again, leaving deep wounds. Blood gushed from those wounds, staining his white robes crimson, blooming into red flowers in the void.

Aizen's Reiatsu began to decrease, his movements slowed, and his breathing became rapid. He was still smiling, but the previous composure and confidence were gone, replaced by a hint of bitterness and helplessness.

"I sensed the loneliness in your heart from your blade," Liu Ziyun's voice came during a lull in the fighting, calm and direct.

Aizen's smile froze for a moment. Then, he smiled—not the composed, confident smile he had shown before, but a smile tinged with bitterness and self-mockery.

"Heh," his voice carried a hint of melancholy and helplessness, "Those who stand at the top are always somewhat lonely. Isn't that right, Liu Ziyun?"

Liu Ziyun cleaved through Aizen's parry with a single strike, then left a deep wound on his arm with another. His voice carried a mixture of mockery and pity. "It seems you haven't truly understood your own heart either, Aizen."

Aizen's expression changed slightly, a hint of anger flashing in his brown eyes. "Don't try to understand me with your own preconceived notions, Liu Ziyun."

"Is that so?" Liu Ziyun sneered, his attack intensifying. "You think you can understand me? I'd like to see how long you can keep up your stubbornness."

His blades rained down like a storm, one strike after another, each faster than the last. Aizen parried with all his might, but faced with that ferocious power, his defenses began to crumble.

Finally--

Liu Ziyun slashed down, the blade cutting into Aizen's left shoulder and exiting from his right waist. The force of that strike was astonishing, almost splitting Aizen in two. Blood gushed out, forming a crimson waterfall in the air, particularly striking in the Hueco Mundo.

Aizen's body paused in mid-air for a moment, then began to fall.

But just as he was falling, the power of the Hōgyoku erupted once more. Purple light surged from his chest, covering his wounds and forcibly healing the almost fatal injury. His body tumbled in the air, then he steadied himself and, with a backhand strike, left a deep wound on Liu Ziyun's arm.

Liu Ziyun looked down at the wound on his arm, then looked up at Aizen. Aizen's wounds had completely healed, leaving not a single scar. Although his Reiatsu had decreased significantly, his body was still intact, and his fighting ability remained.

"Look," Aizen's voice held a hint of smugness and provocation, "You almost killed me with a single strike. But I was able to recover instantly. And what about you?"

Looking at the still-bleeding wound on his arm, Liu Ziyun smiled helplessly. He didn't have Aizen's High-Speed Regeneration or the Hōgyoku- like abilities. His wounds could only heal with time.

"It seems," there was a hint of emotion and determination in his voice, "I also need to be more serious. Otherwise -" he raised the killing sword in his hand, his eyes became deep and firm, "Even my Zanpakutō will not let me go."

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. When he opened his eyes again, the madness and bloodshot eyes were gone, replaced by a deep, almost sacred peace.

"It's been a long time since I've seen them," he said softly, as if speaking to his Zanpakuto, or perhaps to some unseen being.

He raised his Zanpakuto, its tip pointing to the sky, and chanted the Release Phrase for his Bankai: "Bankai — Fate-Deciding God-Slayer."

The moment the words were spoken, the Life-Taker Tulu began to change.

A dazzling light emanated from the blade, as blinding as the sun, making it impossible to look directly at. Within the light, something was coalescing, taking shape, awakening—a dragon and a phoenix emerged from the light, circling around Liu Ziyun. The dragon was golden, its scales shimmering brilliantly in the light; the phoenix was red, its feathers fluttering gently in the wind like burning flames.

The light grew stronger and brighter, enveloping the entire battlefield in its radiance. Then, the light began to contract, condense, and merge into Liu Ziyun's body.

When the light faded, Liu Ziyun had changed.

He still held the Life-Taker Tulu in his hand, but the blade now bore a pair of exquisite reliefs—a dragon and a phoenix, lifelike and seemingly ready to leap from the blade at any moment. Behind him unfolded a pair of wings, which were not physical but nearly transparent wings of light formed from Reiatsu, shimmering faintly in the dim light of Hueco Mundo.

His Reiatsu surged several times over the instant his wings unfolded.

The power was so immense that even the Soul Reaper in the distance involuntarily took several steps back. Their faces were filled with shock and disbelief—they had seen Bankai, but never one this powerful. The intensity of that Reiatsu far exceeded their understanding Bankai "Bankai."

But at the same time, four figures appeared simultaneously in four directions on the battlefield.

Kisuke Urahara, Isshin Kurosaki Yoruichi Shihōin, Kaien Shiba —four people from four directions—surrounded Liu Ziyun and Aizen. Each of them held a Reiatsu Device in their hands, which began to glow, resonate, and weave a massive Barrier.

Golden light rose simultaneously from four directions, converging in the sky to form a massive light shield that enveloped Liu Ziyun and Aizen.

The Visoreds and the members of the Gotei 13 looked puzzled upon seeing this. Shinji Hirako stepped forward, looked at Kisuke Urahara, and asked with a hint of doubt, "Kisuke, what are you doing?"

Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai also stepped forward. He didn't speak, but simply looked at Kisuke Urahara. But the meaning in his gaze was self-evident—if you don't have a reasonable explanation, I don't mind taking action.

Kisuke Urahara adjusted his hat, his face still bearing his signature smile, but his eyes held an unprecedented seriousness.

"This is what Ziyun instructed." His voice carried a hint of helplessness and regret. "He said that if he uses Bankai, the power might be difficult to control. So let's be prepared—if he uses Bankai in battle, we need to cast Barrier to control his power and prevent it from leaking out."

Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai frowned slightly. He glanced at Liu Ziyun within the Barrier, then at Kisuke Urahara, before slowly nodding and taking a few steps back.

Aizen stood within the Barrier, looking at the pair of light wings behind Liu Ziyun, feeling the overwhelming Reiatsu emanating from him, and a complex smile appeared on his lips.

"Oh," his voice held a hint of approval and a touch of admiration, "Not bad Reiatsu. However—" He paused, his gaze sharpening, "Your Reiatsu seems rather unstable."

Liu Ziyun smiled helplessly, a smile tinged with self-deprecation and bitterness, "Yes, my Bankai is incomplete. That's why I'm always trembling with fear when I use it."

"Trembling with fear?" Aizen looked at Liu Ziyun with a puzzled expression, his brown eyes filled with incomprehension.

"Yes," Liu Ziyun's voice carried a hint of helplessness and emotion, "Because my Zanpakuto is too powerful. So I don't use it unless absolutely necessary. I was just too excited today, and I accidentally—used it."

Aizen's brows furrowed even more. "Oh? Too powerful, so you dare not use it? What's that reason?"

Liu Ziyun raised the Life-Taker Tulu in his hand, his gaze becoming deep and resolute. "Then let me show you. After all—my Bankai even I can't understand."

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure vanished from the spot.

The speed of Shunpo was astonishing, so fast that even Aizen couldn't catch his trajectory. In the next instant, he appeared in front of Aizen, his Life-Taker Tulu carrying an unstoppable momentum as he slashed down fiercely.

Aizen instinctively raised his sword to parry, and the two swords clashed.

Boom!!

Aizen's Zanpakuto was as fragile as paper under Liu Ziyun's blade, and was directly crushed. The blade sliced through Aizen's body, cutting into his left shoulder and exiting from his right waist, blood gushing out and blooming into red flowers in the void.

Aizen staggered in mid-air, almost falling. His eyes were wide open, filled with disbelief—not because he had been cut, but because he realized that in the face of Liu Ziyun's blade, his strength, his speed, and his reactions were all a beat slower.

Liu Ziyun's strength has surpassed his.

Liu Ziyun stood in front of Aizen, looking down at him with no emotion in his eyes, only a deep, almost compassionate calm.

"Captain Aizen," his voice was calm as still water, "You seek to transcend the existence of Soul Reaper. But do you know? True transcendence doesn't rely on the Hōgyoku, nor on external forces, but on one's own soul."

He paused, his gaze deepening. "Your Zanpakuto, Kyouka Suigetsu —it can hypnotize everything, but it cannot hypnotize your own heart."

Aizen remained silent for a long time. His gaze lingered on Liu Ziyun's face, and something was churning in those brown eyes—anger, resentment, and an emotion that even he himself couldn't understand, an emotion that was almost a sense of relief.

"Liu Ziyun," his voice was hoarse and low, "Who exactly are you?"

Liu Ziyun smiled slightly, a smile tinged with mystery and meaning, "I am just an ordinary person—someone who doesn't want to see this world destroyed."