In the bright night sky, stars glittered around a full moon hanging high overhead.
Pale moonlight spilled across the earth in silent desolation.
The ground reflected its glow, making the weathered, silent palace appear all the more grand and majestic.
Within Las Noches, which sat beneath the cliff face like a giant, an utterly calm voice rose from one of its halls.
"Minato, I wish to go to that moon."
Inside the hall, Hyuga Minato—his forehead covered in bulging veins and his eyes like gray stone—heard those words.
Though he had always been composed, even he revealed a look of surprise. He hesitated, then slowly knelt, making his tone as steady as possible.
"Your Majesty, the Hollow Spirit Empire still needs you..."
Before he could finish, he was stopped by a wave of the hand.
Ahead of him, beneath the moonlight falling through the dome, a tall figure slowly turned around. A strand of hair hung over his forehead, framing a sharply defined face—it was none other than Aizen.
Seeing Hyuga Minato's uneasy expression, Aizen's face did not change. He merely looked up at the moon high in the night sky and said calmly, "Duy died..."
Minato's gaze froze. He raised his head to look at Aizen, his expression filled with confusion.
Of course, he knew what had happened on that battlefield. He simply did not understand why Lord Aizen was bringing it up now.
For some reason, as he looked at Aizen tonight, Minato felt an inexplicable unease in his heart.
He tried his best to suppress that unease, his expression returning to calm as he spoke with his usual composure.
"Might Duy obstructed Your Majesty's path, as well as our efforts to build a new world. For him, that was already the best possible end."
Aizen's expression remained