"What does it matter?"
Yhwach glanced at Duan Mu, then shook his head. His tone revealed a trace of regret. "You missed your best opportunity."
A variable!
Yhwach revealing the future to Duan Mu was itself a variable. As long as Duan Mu abandoned his battle with him and left Soul Society for Hueco Mundo, the future Yhwach had described would no longer happen.
But Duan Mu had given up that opportunity, choosing instead to remain here and fight Yhwach alongside Yamamoto Genryūsai.
However...
Yhwach was not disappointed by this.
Because whether Duan Mu fled or stayed, the final result would be highly favorable for Yhwach.
If he fled, Yamamoto Genryūsai would die here, and the Gotei 13 would collapse along with him. If he stayed, he would die himself, and Hueco Mundo would soon fall into Yhwach's hands.
Thus, he had no intention of changing this future. That was precisely why he had allowed Duan Mu to leave.
After all, back in the Wandenreich, even if he could have kept Duan Mu there, the fact that he could not kill him would not have changed. Even if Duan Mu had taken advantage of his self-sealing to conquer Hueco Mundo, he might still have survived.
Duan Mu's existence posed a threat to Yhwach far greater than the entire Hueco Mundo.
"This is probably the last time you and I will meet."
Yhwach paused, then continued, "I'll fulfill the promise I made to you last time."
"In the new world, your gravestone will remain!"
"What a pity..."
Duan Mu clenched his right hand in front of him, and Kuming, in its Shikai form, instantly materialized.
Regardless of what future Yhwach described, Duan Mu's goal had never changed in the slightest.
He had only ever had one goal from beginning to end...