Hearing his words, someone stood in the darkness nearby.
A tall figure slowly emerged. It was none other than Aizen, who had been gone for a long time.
A faint smile touched his lips as he gazed at the strange youth standing inside the vast building. He spoke softly.
"The experiment is still in its trial phase. Even I can't restore your Hollow powers right now, so we'll have to wait for further progress."
As he spoke, a hint of amusement glinted in his eyes. He glanced at Ulquiorra and said softly,
"But in the meantime, experiencing what it's like to be human might be interesting for you."
"After all... haven't you always yearned for human emotions, despite being a Hollow?"
At Aizen's words, the youth kneeling before him, Ulquiorra, showed a complicated expression. He looked at his palm with his emerald-green eyes and murmured,
"Human emotions..."
The youth had short, tousled black hair and wore a white uniform. Its black-and-white contrast only made his slender build more apparent.
His face was exceptionally delicate, his fair complexion giving him the look of an innocent child untouched by the world.
Yet his expressionless face lent that innocence a stiff quality, and at times, an air of melancholy seemed to spill unconsciously from him.
Seeing him like this, Aizen's lips curled into a faint smile.
At that moment, Ulquiorra looked much like any other child, apart from his blank expression. He raised his head and looked at Aizen with his emerald-green eyes, speaking softly and respectfully.
"Lord Aizen, why have you summoned this broken body, lost to nothingness...?"
"With this body's current abilities, I'm afraid I won't be able to clear the obstacles in your path, my lord. Though I failed to do so before as well..."
The youth's expression remained blank,