An Unexpected Turn

Broken marble fragments lay scattered among the ruins, stirring up a cloud of grayish-white dust.

The air was filled with the lingering turbulent Reishi, and tiny sparks of electricity flickered and danced along the edges of the broken stone pillar.

Ichigo Kurosaki knee at the edge of the deep pit in front of the throne, his hands gripping the hilt of Zangetsu with difficulty.

The boy's black and white armor was completely shattered, and the remaining fabric was soaked in dark brown bloodstains, clinging tightly to his skin.

Two holes pierced by holy light lay across his shoulders, the flesh rolled outwards, and thick beads of blood kept sliding down his forearms.

With each heavy breath, a knife-like pain pierced deep within his chest.

Ichigo Kurosaki lowered his head, his vision blurred and unfocused, sweat mixed with blood trickling down his forehead and across his eyes.

The extreme Getsuga Tenshō that he had just unleashed had almost completely drained all of his spiritual energy reserves.

A dry, dull pain emanated from his Spirit Veins, and even the ten fingers gripping the knife trembled uncontrollably.

At the top of the steps, Yhwach descended step by step with steady and composed steps.

The Obsidian- like robe trailed long shadows on the stone steps, and swirling black swamps spread and eroded outwards from the bottom of the robe.

Dozens of eerie eyes slowly opened and closed in the darkness, coldly gazing down at the exhausted boy in the deep pit.

The man held a pure white broadsword, pointing it diagonally at the ground, its blade gleaming with a chilling silver light.

In the ruins at the edge of the main hall, Orihime Inoue had just withdrawn her hands from Rukia Kuchiki's chest.

Rukia's face was as pale as paper, her eyes were tightly closed, and the rise and fall of her chest was extremely faint.

The pure white Zanpakuto broke in two and lay forlornly among the rubble.

Orihime Inoue raised her trembling hand to wipe the dust off her chin, her gaze darting anxiously toward the throne.

When the girl saw Ichigo Kurosaki's swaying figure, her pupils suddenly contracted.

Kurosaki-kun's Reiatsu was rapidly declining, becoming almost imperceptible.

If retrograde treatment is not initiated immediately, the body will completely give out.

Orihime Inoue lifted the tattered hem of her white skirt, stumbled over the collapsed beam, and hurried toward the deep pit.

Kurosaki-kun!

Ichigo Kurosaki struggled to lift his heavy eyelids, catching a glimpse of a slender figure rushing towards him out of the corner of his eye.

Ichigo Kurosaki's voice was hoarse and dry, "No... don't come any closer! Inoue!"

His throat was full of thick blood clots, and every word he uttered caused excruciating pain in his internal organs.

But Orihime Inoue did not stop. She leaped down the ditch, stepping on the sharp pebbles, and staggered to her knees beside Ichigo.

The girl's slender hands were clasped together in front of her chest, and the light-colored floral hair clip in her hair suddenly lit up with a warm orange-yellow glow.

"Shunō, Ayame, the Sōten Kisshun..."

Orihime Inoue raised her pale face and shouted, "I refuse!"

Two orange streaks of Reishi light shot out from his fingertips, instantly transforming into an oval barrier that enveloped Ichigo completely.

Soft light spots seeped into the boy's torn muscles and broken bones, forcefully counteracting the Holy Reishi remaining at the wounds.

However, Yhwach did not even stop moving forward.

The man's composed face, covered with a thick, stubble beard, remained completely unmoved.

Yhwach casually waved his left hand in the air, which was hanging by his side.

The viscous black current lurking beside him instantly transformed into a black wave as thick as a bucket, tearing through the air and sweeping outwards.

The surging black liquid slammed head-on into the protective barrier of the Sōten Kisshun.

A crisp cracking sound rang out in the air.

The barrier that was originally able to repel all phenomena and causes and effects was covered with dense cracks the moment it came into contact with the black current.

The powerful recoil flowed backward along the Spirit Veins, crashing against Orihime Inoue's fragile body.

The girl let out a short, muffled groan and was sent flying backward.

She fell directly into the rubble of a collapsed wall more than ten meters away, and flying stones tore her skirt on the spot.

The Sōten Kisshun then disintegrated into countless faint fragments of light, disappearing into the void.

Orihime Inoue lay amidst the rubble, a dark brown trail of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Her slender fingers fell limply to the ground as she succumbed to unconsciousness.

"Inoue!!"

Ichigo Kurosaki's eyes were bloodshot and had a horrifying appearance.

The boy let out a low, beast-like growl, his hands gripping Zangetsu with bulging veins.

Yhwach walked to the edge of the pit, stopped, and looked down at the disheveled boy at the bottom.

Yhwach calmly replied, "A pointless interference, a futile act by the weak."

Ichigo Kurosaki raised his blood-stained face, his eyes blazing with furious rage.

"You bastard... come at me if you dare!"

Ichigo Kurosaki gritted his teeth and shouted, "To attack someone who has no power to resist, is this the spirit of a ruler?!"

Yhwach remained expressionless as the tip of his broadsword traced a faint mark on the stone slab.

"In the Almighty perspective, all living beings are merely pre-determined pawns."

Yhwach said indifferently, "Any speck of dust that attempts to reverse the outcome will be wiped out."

Ichigo Kurosaki's chest heaved, his heavy breathing echoing in the empty hall.

He instinctively turned his head, his gaze passing over the broken steps and looking towards the ruins in the distance.

Beneath the ruins of a stone pillar dozens of feet away, Renji Abarai lay supine in a pool of blood.

Renji's right arm bones were shattered, and the giant baboon bone arm of the Sōō Zabimaru had turned into grayish-white fragments scattered all over the ground, his chest barely rising and falling.

On the other side, in the frost-covered pit, Rukia Kuchiki lay motionless among the hard rubble, her hair clotted with blood at her temples.

Not far away, Orihime Inoue had just been knocked away, huddled in a corner of the collapsed wall, her eyes closed, her fate unknown.

Everyone collapsed.

His comrades, who had fought side by side with him, fought their way from the World of the Living into the Soul Society, and then stormed up this temple, were now all lying in pools of blood.

The air in the hall seemed to freeze completely in that instant.

There was no noise above the ruins, except for the low whistling of the high-altitude wind as it pierced through the cracks in the roof.

A heavy, oppressive atmosphere accumulated among the ruins, making it hard to breathe.

Ichigo Kurosaki stared at the scene before him, his pupils trembling involuntarily.

We must not fall.

If I collapse here, all the efforts of everyone else will be in vain.

Ichigo Kurosaki dug his fingers into the rough cracks in the stone slab, his nails splitting open and bleeding.

He pressed the last of his strength onto Zangetsu, trying to stand up again with the support of his arms.

With trembling knees, he struggled to leave the bottom of the rubble pit, his body rising inch by inch.

However, before he could straighten his back, the broken meridians and shattered internal organs triggered a churning, excruciating pain.

Ichigo Kurosaki's body trembled violently, and a mouthful of warm, thick, dark red blood foam spurted from his mouth.

Blood splattered onto the black blade, dripping down the side of the blade into the pile of rubble.

The last bit of strength he had managed to muster completely dissipated, his knees buckled, and he collapsed back into the deep pit, utterly exhausted.

The massive, Zangetsu longsword crashed to his side with a clang, sliding half a foot across the stone slab.

Ichigo Kurosaki lay sprawled in the rubble and mud, breathing heavily with resentment, but he had lost all strength to even move a finger.

Step, step, step.

The steady footsteps echoed through the hall once again.

Yhwach stepped into the deep pit and stopped just half a step away from Ichigo Kurosaki.

The man's tall figure cast a large shadow, completely obscuring the boy's blood-soaked form.

Yhwach raised the pure Reishi broadsword in his hand with one hand.

A chilling, holy light emanated from the sword, and its tip was precisely aimed at Ichigo's unsuspecting nape.

"It's time to end this, Ichigo."

Yhwach, looking down from his superior position, declared, "The power within you originally came from me; now, return it to the Founding Father."

The Long Sword made a faint whistling sound as it pierced the air, shooting straight down.

However, just as the sword's edge was only three inches away from Ichigo's flesh...

Yhwach's thrusting motion suddenly stopped.

The Long Sword hovered abruptly in mid-air, the air around its tip subtly stagnating.

He did not continue to plunge the broadsword into the boy's nape.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze piercing through the completely collapsed dome of the main hall, looking towards the distant void.

A scorching Reiatsu enveloped the entire Soul King Palace, making the air scald.