Heart

"Something doesn't seem right. You're not Ulquiorra, but the Spiritual Pressure is correct... Reincarnation? I've never heard of someone being reincarnated after Hollow Death."

Behind Cifer, the man was talking to himself, seemingly trying to find out where he came from.

A bright light suddenly appeared in the darkness. Cifer turned around and saw a familiar face from his memory.

Almost entirely bound to a chair, yet the mere sight of his left eye and mouth exuded an unprecedented sense of oppression upon Cifer.

"Lord Aizen..."

Cifer was so shocked that he couldn't say anything else. He never imagined that he would meet Ulquiorra's former BOSS on the verge of death.

And in those memories that flashed by like a revolving lantern, the experiences that originally belonged only to Ulquiorra were all poured into his body.

My brief life as a human being, spanning only a decade or so, has been buried in thousands of years of solitude.

"Seriously, so you're still chasing after that kind of pointless stuff..."

Even though Cifer didn't say anything, Aizen got the answer.

Who am I?

At this moment, he was lost and confused.

Cifer initially believed that he had only gained his abilities by some accident, but when Aizen appeared before him, his worldview was completely overturned.

But before Aizen could answer, the world, which was dimly lit with only a sliver of light, began to collapse.

The shattered sky began to fall, but stopped just before it crashed down on the two of them.

"Oh dear, it seems there's no time left."

Aizen clearly sensed that this stagnant spacetime was attempting to separate the two of them, and that the river of time would begin to flow again.

At this fracture, he saw something he had never seen before, and he also saw the faint light beginning to appear on Ulquiorra's chest.

At that moment, he understood everything.

The two worlds, due to the existence of the Hogyoku, experienced friction, which brought everything to a standstill in that brief moment, allowing the two to meet.

"My Soul Society awaits me, and I suppose the world you are in now is the same."

"As for your question, I'll leave it to you to find out. It would be too boring to have someone else answer the riddle."

For the first time in a long time, Aizen's words carried a hint of joy, as if he had discovered some unexpected pleasure.

"Etc..."

Cifer wanted to say something more, but at that moment the world shattered completely, as chaotic as broken glass, yet it flowed into his body.

He instinctively closed his eyes, feeling as if a warm current was flowing through his body.

His body changed once again.

Its black hair began to turn snow-white, and the black on its hands faded away, replaced by a pale white, as did its tail.

The bony horns on its head shattered, and pure black Spiritual Pressure overflowed, forming horns that were then covered by blue flames.

His wings spread out again, but they were no longer those demonic wings; they became western wings like those of a fallen angel, and black Spiritual Pressure transformed into flowing clouds that swirled around him.

A blue light continuously flowed from the hole in his chest, eventually filling it completely, with a black bead floating inside.

When he opened his eyes again, he was greeted by the worried looks of his companions, as well as the terror of Im and the others.

His condition reached an unprecedented peak.

"Captain Cifer!"

Seeing that he had escaped the brink of death, Nolan and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, under his gaze, a path was cleared for him to meet the eyes of Im, who was lying on the ground.

"Such a thing actually happened... How many more surprises are you going to give me, Black Winged Great Demon!"

Above them, Morgans was hiding on one of the airships in the air force brought by Nolan, using several Den Den Mushi to broadcast the battle to the world for the first time.

The moment he saw Cifer's body begin to dissipate, he was already prepared to run away, but he never expected that a shocking reversal would occur in just a moment.

At this moment, ordinary people around the world who supported Cifer cheered.

"Damn it... If I can kill you once... I can kill you a second time... I am the god of this world..."

Im had never expected things to turn out this way. Tentacles sprouted from her body, forcibly supporting her body, which seemed on the verge of breaking at any moment.

"You are too arrogant, Im. From the beginning, no one has ever stood in the heavens, neither you, nor me, nor any God who has never existed."

Cifer slowly approached her step by step, his feet rising into the air as if he were climbing some inaccessible staircase.

"However, that unbearable vacancy on the throne of heaven will come to an end, from this day forward..."

"I will stand in the heavens!"

When he stopped, Cifer was already standing in the void above Im, his cold eyes seemingly oblivious to Im's presence.

"Such arrogance..."

Im opened her mouth and unleashed a devastating attack—her final struggle after exhausting almost all of her life force.

"Boom!"

But that attack, powerful enough to destroy an entire island, collapsed before it could even break through the overflowing Spiritual Pressure of Cifer.

Seeing this, Im, who was already unable to speak, collapsed to the ground again.

Her entire body was covered with spiderweb-like cracks, as if she would be completely shattered at the slightest touch.

"You must be joking... Even Lord Im..."

The members of the Knights of God began to panic, and some of them even started to develop cracks on their bodies.

"Die."

Cifer extended his palm, and a black flash of light instantly appeared.

"Stop them together!"

Shalohmuk shouted, gathering her domineering Haki into her sword, and led her Admiral and the powerful Knights of God in a fierce resistance.

But the Cero didn't stop. Like crushing a group of ants, it pierced through the Red Line and blasted a deep trench into the sea that seemed to stretch to the horizon.

With a single blow, all the powerful figures belonging to the World Government, along with Im, were wiped out.

"We're not fighting anymore!"

Seeing that the situation was settled, the people who had been putting up a stubborn resistance began to lay down their weapons and surrender.

The decisive battle that would decide the world's fate has now yielded a victor.

"Bring the person out."

Cifer landed slowly, then looked at Shirahoshi.

"Um!"

She wiped away the remaining tears from the corners of her eyes, opened several Garganta, and the person who had been waiting for a long time on the other side rushed over.

Cobra, Neptune, King Riku...

Renowned benevolent monarchs from around the world appeared together on this war-torn land.

"As I said before, after the World Government is dealt with, you will establish a new government to manage the world for me."

Cifer's gaze swept over the crowd.

"We are willing to pay with our lives for this!"

Seeing the bloody scene, Cobra's eyes reddened, and he knelt down with a thud. The other kings followed suit.

"You will become a marine and start from the bottom."

Cifer pointed at Luffy, who was trying to sneak away. Luffy's face twisted in anger, but he remained defiant.

"I'll do it! This time, I'm going to be the Marine King!"

"If Luffy joins the Marines, he'll probably cause a lot of trouble. I wonder if my older brother could keep an eye on him?"

Sabo, covered in wounds, walked slowly with a faint smile.

"Then add me! Old Man's planning to retire back in his hometown, but I want to travel around!"

A flame fell from the sky, Ace appeared before everyone.

"Ask him, he and Zephyr are the ones in charge."

Cifer remained noncommittal, pointing instead to Sakazuki was resting on the ground to the side.

Are you leaving, brother?

Akainu did not respond, but instead asked a question.

"With such a big event happening, the sea will be turbulent in a short time. Only because our location is unknown will those guys not dare to act recklessly."

Cifer waved his hand, and the blue flames on his body began to disappear, returning him to normal in the blink of an eye. He turned and walked towards his companions.

"The world is so big, would you like to come with me to see it?"

"Do you intend to abandon the God? I haven't even given you a good beating yet, you bastard."

Enel smiled and gave everyone the answer.

"Really, that..."

"Captain Cifer! That's...!"

Cifer wanted to tease Enel, but Nolan suddenly interrupted him.

She walked up to him, reaching out as if to touch her own chest, but couldn't reach it.

"What's wrong?"

Cifer bent down so that she could touch him, but she froze at that moment.

He pressed down on Nolan's small hand that was touching his chest, where the previous emptiness had disappeared.

He felt the powerful fluctuations, and sensed the complex emotions Nolan and the others had for him.

At that moment, his hand felt its own body temperature for the first time.

In the palm of my hand...

It is the heart.

Cifer's lips curled up:

"Sail!"

(The End)