Ichigo vs. Yhwach: Round two

Ichigo Kurosaki used Shunpo to break through the thick smoke and landed on the top floor of the Wahrwelt.

The moment his feet touched the charred rock, he involuntarily stopped.

The sight before him left him frozen in place.

Before he collapsed from his injuries, the majestic throne room, white marble pillars, and layers of sacred corridors clearly stood here.

But now, all the halls, high walls, and staircases have vanished.

The entire towering building was completely flattened by some terrifying force, turning it into a barren, scorched plain.

In the very center of the plain, there is a deep crater with a diameter of a thousand feet.

Obsidian crystals, frozen in black mist, were solidified at the edge of the deep pit, constantly emanating an aura that was both the Heat and sinister.

Yhwach stood silently at the edge of that abyss-like crater.

The man's Obsidian robe swayed slightly in the dry, hot wind, and he held a pure white Reishi broadsword at an angle in his right hand.

Sensing the Reiatsu fluctuations behind him, Yhwach slowly turned around.

Those twin eyes with multiple overlapping pupils fell on Ichigo, their expression calm and undisturbed, as if they had been waiting for his arrival.

Yhwach gazed at the orange-haired boy before him and spoke calmly, "You've risen again, my son Ichigo?"

Yhwach!

Ichigo gripped the hilt of Zangetsu tightly with both hands, the veins on his arms bulging.

Yhwach shook his head slightly and said indifferently, "Repairing your shattered body with Mayuri Kurotsuchi's little tricks is meaningless to you."

"Not only you, but Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto and Sōsuke Aizen also fell one after another on this plain."

"They displayed what Soul Reaper called the highest skill, but in the end, they still couldn't deviate from the predetermined path."

"Every time you miraculously recover from a desperate situation, it only pushes you into a deeper despair."

Ichigo frowned, his Reiatsu surging like the rising sun.

"Stop talking to yourself!"

Ichigo step forward, fully mobilizing the three powers within him: Soul Reaper, Hollow, and Quincy.

"We've fought with all our might until now, not to have your fate pronounced here!"

"Bankai!"

With a loud shout that shook the thick smoke in the sky, the two Zangetsu long and one short, Zanpakuto, merged into Ichigo in front of Ichigo's chest.

Dark gold chains wrapped around his entire right arm, a sacred light membrane covered the blade, and the extreme Reiatsu of black and white stirred up a howling gale in the atmosphere.

The scorched ground beneath his feet instantly cracked open like a spiderweb, Ichigo's figure transformed into a swift afterimage, rushing straight towards Yhwach at the edge of the abyss.

"Getsuga Tenshō!"

A thousand-foot-long blade of black and gold light slashed through the sky, striking Yhwach's face from above.

Yhwach stood still without dodging, raised his left hand and swung it horizontally, the surging black liquid beside him quickly condensed into a thick wall of shadow shield.

The blade's edge clashed with the shadows, producing a deafening clang of metal against metal, and the raging air currents crushed all the charred rocks within several feet into dust.

Having just emerged from the treatment chamber, Ichigo was brimming with energy. After his initial attack failed, he used the recoil to flip in mid-air, using his right foot to perform Shunpo, instantly sliding to Yhwach's open right side.

The massive chain blade swept across the ground, its sharp edge aimed directly at the opponent's ribs.

His moves were wide and sweeping, carrying a powerful and unstoppable momentum.

However, Yhwach seemed to have anticipated the trajectory of the blade's fall. With a backhand flick of his pure white broadsword from below, the tip of the sword precisely struck the center of gravity of the Zangetsu blade.

The two divine weapons clashed, sending up a string of dazzling sparks.

Ichigo felt a slight numbness in his arm, and an indescribable recoil force traveled back along the blade.

Yhwach remained unfazed, taking a step forward and thrusting his pure white broadsword downwards, aiming straight for Ichigo's face.

Ichigo his head to dodge, and the sharp wind from the sword shaved off several strands of hair from his forehead.

The two engaged in a fierce battle at extremely close range.

The clash of swords and the shadows of blades stretched endlessly along the edge of the plain, the sharp clang of metal clashing echoing incessantly.

Ichigo his full Hollow power of Hollow energy, and a high-density black-red sphere of Reishi instantly condensed from his two horns.

"Gran Rey Cero!"

The beam of light, released at point-blank range, pierced through the air and completely engulfed Yhwach's Obsidian robe.

The violent Reiatsu exploded into huge circular ripples above the abyss, causing large areas of the Obsidian crystal below to break off and roll into the bottomless pit.

Before the smoke had even cleared, Ichigo Shunpo to slide back more than ten feet, gripping Zangetsu tightly with both hands and watching the center of the smoke screen warily.

A gentle breeze blew, and the smoke and dust dissipated.

Yhwach remained standing unharmed, not even a speck of dust on his black robe.

The man's Reiatsu was profound and vast, and it had not been diminished in the slightest after the series of deadly battles.

Ichigo's eyelids twitched slightly, and he inhaled a breath of slightly hot air as his chest heaved.

The monster's power seemed to have no inexhaustible limit.

Suppressing his astonishment, Ichigo exerted force with his feet once more, transforming into several overlapping streaks of light and shadow, unleashing dozens of sharp sword beams around Yhwach.

Each strike was swift and cunning, relentlessly blocking Yhwach's escape routes.

But Yhwach's movements were almost eerily calm; he casually swung his broadsword, effortlessly shattering the countless blades of light that filled the sky.

Ichigo remained extremely vigilant, constantly on guard against the potential eruption of causal black mud around him.

Just as the two figures crossed paths, Yhwach suddenly feinted with his broadsword and thrust it diagonally into the void.

Ichigo instinctively raised his sword to parry, but missed.

Without warning, a jet-black, holy beam of light burst forth from the scorched earth beneath Ichigo's feet.

This attack came too suddenly, completely avoiding all of Ichigo's defensive trajectories.

Even though Ichigo dodged with all his might the instant he noticed, the sharp beam of light still sliced through his Shihakushō.

Ichigo had two deep wounds on Ichigo left rib and the outside of his thigh, and blood slid down his trouser leg and dripped onto the charred stone slab.

Ichigo groaned and, propelled by the pain, staggered back several feet, managing to steady himself on one knee.

Zangetsu was planted in the ground to support his body. Ichigo looked down at his bleeding wound and his breathing became heavy.

Despite being extremely cautious and attacking with all his might for most of the day, he still couldn't even touch the hem of his opponent's clothes, and yet he was injured once again.

Yhwach slowly sheathed his pure white broadsword, looking down at Ichigo, who was panting on the ground.

The man's eyes held a compassionate yet indifferent look that seemed to have seen through everything in the world.

Yhwach said calmly, "Don't you understand, Ichigo?"

"Your abundant energy, which you rely on, and your indomitable physical strength, are nothing but a burden that adds to your suffering before the power that can control the entire Future."

"The struggles of mortals could not, from the very beginning, stir even the slightest ripple in the vision of the gods."