I Think Her Name Was Serra

Click—!

Amidst the teeth-grinding sound of space shattering, Iori's Bankai Domain cracked like glass.

"Pfft!" Iori suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. The backlash from the forced breaking of his Bankai made his vision blur and his ears ring.

"As expected, you were already at your limit, barely maintaining your Bankai domain. It was just a bluff."

Yuki shook her head, seemingly confident. "If I were to fight you head-on at your peak, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to win until I fully control the Hogyoku... It's unbelievable that a single spirit could possess such strength~"

"My Bankai is not over yet!"

Iori's spiritual pressure fluctuated violently, sometimes strong and sometimes weak, but he still stared intently at Yuki, who was closing in step by step.

"It's not that easy!"

"Give up." Yuki's voice suddenly softened. She reached out and touched Iori's cheek with her cool fingers. "Come with me... We shouldn't have been confined to this decaying world."

"I'm just an ordinary Grim Reaper, never some high and mighty being. The Yuki I know is the same... No matter what she says, deep down she's a kind person."

"You've never understood me."

Yuki's tone was icy. "Don't talk like you know me so well. If you really understood... you should know that I've never been a gentle person. That's just wishful thinking on your part."

Iori struggled to lift her head. Yuki, standing close at hand, was breathtakingly beautiful. The damage to her body disappeared completely in the flowing light, and her white Muku -like Reishi robe made her skin look as white as snow. But those eyes—eyes that were once as warm as the spring sun—were now chillingly cold.

"Sister..." Iori suddenly grabbed her wrist, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of her mouth, "You're wrong..."

Yuki's pupils contracted slightly as she sensed the abnormal spiritual pressure surging within Iori's body—it wasn't a normal fluctuation, but a harbinger of self-destruction!

"Hadō #90: Ittō Kasō!"

A blinding red light suddenly shone from Iori's chest, and countless blood-red runes spread from his arm to Yuki's body. This was a forbidden Kido that used oneself as a sacrifice, and its power was enough to level an area within a thousand meters.

"You—!" Yuki tried to pull away, but Iori held her wrist tightly.

Boom!!!

A crimson pillar of light shot into the sky, engulfing the two. The shockwave from the explosion ravaged the sky of Seireitei once again, even blowing away Unohana Reigai and Yamamoto, who were far away.

Amidst the smoke and dust, Yuki staggered backward, her Muku white robes charred black, and the light of the Hogyoku dimmed slightly. She stared in disbelief at the epicenter of the explosion— Iori's spiritual density was incredibly high!

Even if the Yamamoto couldn't do it!

"Give up your own arm? Foolish..." she gritted her teeth, but the next second her hair stood on end.

A figure burst out of the dust and smoke. Iori was covered in blood, and the blade of [Mirror Water] was pointed straight at Yuki's heart!

His left arm had been carbonized due to the backlash from the Kido, but his right Zanpakuto remained as steady as a rock.

Clang!

Yuki hastily raised her sword to parry, and the sparks from the clash of the two Zanpakuto illuminated their faces.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Three sharp clangs of metal clashing rang out as Iori's attack came like a storm, forcing Yuki to retreat repeatedly, each step leaving deep cracks in the ground.

Although her Kyoka Suigetsu was exquisite, in terms of pure skill, she and Iori had already fallen far behind in an insurmountable gap, and at this moment, the power that Iori was displaying was by no means weak.

"Why..." Yuki whispered during a break in her parry, "Why did you have to go to this extent?"

Iori did not answer; his gaze was terrifyingly focused, as if this was the only goal left in the world.

"You could have just obeyed me, so why are you going to such lengths to oppose me!"

The blade flashed like snow, driving Yuki to the brink of despair.

"You should have been my best confidant, but unfortunately..."

The final blow!

[Mirror Water] pierced straight at Yuki's throat with a whooshing sound. Yuki had no choice but to raise her sword to meet the attack.

The two Zanpakuto pointed at each other's vital points and thrust out like lightning—

Snap!

Iori suddenly let go, Zanpakuto flew out of her hand. This unexpected turn of events caught Yuki off guard. Her [Kyoka Suigetsu] was too late to stop and pierced straight into Iori's chest!

—The woman's pupils shrank to pinpoints in an instant, and her heartbeat stopped.

Pfft!

The sound of the blade piercing flesh was exceptionally clear.

Yuki stared wide-eyed as her Zanpakuto pierced Iori's heart, blood dripping down the blade and blooming into dazzling red flowers on the scorched earth.

"You..." Yuki's voice trembled, "What are you doing..."

Snap!

Before he could finish speaking, Iori had already wrapped one arm around Yuki, while Kyoka Suigetsu leaned even deeper, protruding high from his back.

"Because I... only have one hand left."

Blood trickled from the corner of Iori's mouth, but she smiled with relief, "In this way... if I don't put down my sword... I won't be able to hold you tight."

His body slowly leaned forward, resting on Yuki's shoulder, her white clothes stained red with blood.

"What are you doing..." Yuki trembled all over, her voice shaking slightly, but she still managed a forced smile, "Do you think I'm easy to fool? You just avoided the vital points... You're an immortal man!"

"Immortality... is that so? But... only the heart... can you feel it?"

Yuki could indeed sense—the strong but gradually weakening heartbeat transmitted through the blade.

"Are you kidding me...?"

Her voice was so weak it seemed to be fading away. "To die so easily... to admit defeat? You're not that kind of person!"

"...elder sister."

Iori hugged her tighter, and the two could clearly feel each other's body temperature and heartbeat, so he whispered in her ear.

"Originally... I picked up the sword to protect you..."

"Hmm!"

"You are so proud, yet so fragile... You are too outstanding, like Zanpakuto that is so sharp it has no sheath... One day you will hurt yourself."

That's why I want to... strive to become a man worthy of you... a scabbard that can restrain you.

But now it seems... I failed... failed... But I also love this Soul Society very much, and I must fight to the very last moment.

... But if we must draw swords, I would rather die in your arms.

Iori smiled happily and with relief, "That's great... Now you don't need my protection anymore..."

—The blade stopped trembling, and the man's eyes lost their light.

His hand fell limply to his side, and his spiritual pressure extinguished like a candle flickering in the wind.

Yuki knelt on the ground, the light of the Hogyoku flashing intensely on her chest, as if sensing the intense fluctuations in the holder's heart.

She clung to the man's body, her mouth slightly open but no sound came out.

It felt like my whole being had been hollowed out; an immense sense of powerlessness devoured my soul, and everything in this world became meaningless.

What am I doing...?

What have I done...?

I... I am...

Only then did she finally realize:

Even if you control the entire Three Worlds, what then?

There is no one left to share this supreme glory with her.

Meaningless... nothing has any meaning...

So that's how it is. Iori has always been to me... He is my scabbard—the soul-tearing pain made Yuki kneel down, letting out a silent scream.

The gleaming blade of the now-unmastered Mirror Water reflected the gloomy sky and Yuki's distraught face. Suddenly, a drop of water fell and splashed...

Those weren't tears; the Lord of the Three Realms wouldn't be bound by emotions... It was just an untimely rain.

Whoosh...

Soul Society was once again submerged by torrential rain.

Chapter 587: Her name seems to be Ciel.

Seireitei was deathly silent in the rain.

Yuki knelt in the center of the ruins, holding Iori's gradually cooling body tightly in her arms.

"My foolish brother..."

As her hoarse voice rang out, the illusion of Kyoka Suigetsu that enveloped the entire Soul Society shattered like glass. Yamamoto Genryusai, standing in the distance, shuddered, and his cloudy eyes suddenly regained their clarity.

"This is..." The Captain-General looked around, and when he saw Iori in Yuki's arms, his pupils suddenly contracted. "Yuki Aizen! You're not dead? Could it be Iori— "

"Shut up."

Without even looking up, Yuki simply waved her hand, and Unohana's Reigai appeared behind the Yamamoto like a ghost.

"Get out of my way." Yuki's voice was icy cold. "I'm not in the mood for your lectures right now."

She didn't know how the subsequent battle began and ended, but as expected, after "killing her own kin," she had completely taken control of the Hogyoku. This greedy jewel absorbed something from Iori's soul, making itself stronger and more perfect, and Yuki also benefited greatly.

In a sense, Iori (in part) is already with him forever—this is one of the few sources of solace she has at this moment.

Her strength already surpassed Yamamoto's, not to mention the help of Complete Hypnosis and the Reigai Unohana. Yamamoto, who dared not go all out after realizing that Kyoka Suigetsu was an illusion type, was no match for Yuki and was almost toyed with, losing the ability to resist.

Yamamoto collapsed to the ground, his blood spreading in the rain...

At the same time, Zaraki Kenpachi's the Roar came from afar. That guy seemed to have killed his own Reigai and, like a wild beast, he came thirstily towards the scent of a strong person.

The raging spiritual pressure tore through the rain, Kenpachi's figure hurtled towards Yuki like a cannonball, however—

"Bang!"

Yuki merely raised a finger, Zaraki was frozen in mid-air by an invisible force, his jagged iron sword held firmly in place by her finger.

"I'm in a bad mood right now... Unlike Iori, I have no interest in animal taming."

With a flick of her wrist, Kenpachi flew out like a rag doll, crashing through dozens of buildings before finally coming to a stop.

"Boring."

Yuki picked up Iori's body, and a "Garganta" appeared in the void. Yuki slowly walked towards the portal that pierced through the realm. With each step, the Reishi beneath her feet automatically condensed into steps.

Her silhouette was lonely and resolute, her white Muku the Unassailable in the rain, as if she were completely cut off from the world.

"That's... enough."

——

In the World of the Living, above Karakura Town.

Yuki floated on the clouds, looking expressionlessly at the bustling city below. She had thought she would have some emotional fluctuations, but at this moment, 100,000 souls were nothing more than numbers in her eyes.

Iori's death had drained her of all emotion, leaving her with barely any humanity left.

"Create... Oken!"

She raised her hand, and her whole being was like a huge precious jade, radiating pure white light that enveloped the entire city, penetrating the shield of steel and concrete, causing every human being to cover their eyes in bewilderment, looking up at the sky with either fear or awe.

The next moment, white phantoms appeared on their bodies, then twisted and deformed like wax figures. Countless souls were extracted amidst wails, condensing in the air into a dazzling golden key.

Of course, this is only an external manifestation. The essence of the Oken is not a key to open a door, but rather the "body" of the Zero Division members who were restructured by the Spirit King's power when they were selected Zero Division.

In other words, it is the combination of the Ley Line and the Spirit King's power. The Zero Division, having completed this ritual, becomes a kind of humanoid spiritual artifact, serving as both the guardian of the Soul King Palace and the Soul King Palace itself.

Yuki naturally had no interest in becoming a Zero Division; her goal was to reach something beyond that. This golden key was made by her using the same technology and materials, and it could also open the gate to the Soul King Palace's Palace.

But just as the key was taking shape, a purple blade of light ripped through the sky!

"This is the end, Aizen Souyuki!"

Kuchiki Kyoka passed through a temporary Senkaimon, holding the Muramasa and blocking Yuki's path, the blade emitting an eerie purple light.

"It's you... Since you can live, why come here to die?" Yuki glanced at her indifferently.

"Even Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni as the strongest two years ago, failed. What can someone like you do?"