Seeing the monster Raguki cease its movements, Aizen withdrew his gaze and shifted it to the petite, lovely figure seated upon the lofty stone throne.
He stood quietly below, and the great hall seemed to remain silent for a long while.
Aizen did not mind.
A faint smile rested on his lips, as though he had long anticipated all of this. His reaction remained calm.
Only after quite some time did Kyoka Suigetsu's cold voice finally sound.
"I merely wished to see what was hidden within those two children..."
Hearing her words, Aizen smiled noncommittally. With both hands tucked into his pockets, he slowly stepped onto the platform, drawing closer to the stone throne where Kyoka Suigetsu sat.
Within the silent, dim hall, the only sound was his slow yet rhythmic footsteps.
"Tap... tap... tap..."
With each footstep, Kyoka Suigetsu's delicate body, which had been reclining against the stone throne, involuntarily trembled.
Even so, she stubbornly kept her head turned away.
Like a child throwing a tantrum, she refused to turn and look at Aizen. Her gaze remained fixed on the mirror being held up nearby, her long eyelashes trembling faintly.
"Tap!"
The heavy footsteps finally stopped at her side.
At that moment, Kyoka Suigetsu seemed to hold her breath—if she had ever possessed one to begin with.
"I'm sorry, Kyoka Suigetsu..."
"There are matters I need to investigate, and causes and consequences that I likewise need to repay..."
"When I stepped into a higher dimension, I sensed it... a chapter called fate..."
Seated quietly upon the cold stone chair, Kyoka Suigetsu heard Aizen's deep, magnetic voice drift to her ears, and her body suddenly stiffened.
The next moment!
Unable to endure it any longer, she abruptly turned her head and cried out in a tone of suppressed indignation and