Aizen lay in the rubble, and the shattered Hōgyoku in his chest suddenly stopped crumbling.
The next moment, every fragment sank into his body at once.
Aizen's eyes snapped open.
White material surged from his wounds, wrapping his body once more. A vertical marking formed on his forehead, his eyebrows vanished entirely, and a pitch-black hole appeared in his chest.
Three pairs of skeletal butterfly wings spread from his back.
His right hand fused completely with Kyōka Suigetsu, its blade extending straight from the end of his arm.
An invisible pressure blanketed the battlefield.
None of those present could sense Aizen's Reiatsu anymore.
Except Yoriichi, who could not only sense Aizen's Reiatsu.
He also knew that the Hōgyoku had not truly been destroyed. That last slash had instead forced it to complete its final fusion.
Aizen slowly rose into the sky.
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni."
He looked down at Yoriichi, a smile returning to his face.
"I should thank you. Without your power, the Hōgyoku would never have responded to me so quickly."
"Now, I truly stand in a higher dimension."
Aizen spread his three pairs of skeletal butterfly wings.
"This is my final invitation. Join me, and I can permit you to stand at my side."
Yoriichi looked up at him for a while.
"Too ugly."
The smile on Aizen's face briefly froze.
"What?"
"Right now, you look like a giant fluttering moth."
The battlefield fell silent for a moment.
Kyōraku raised a hand to cover the corner of his mouth, while Kisuke Urahara lowered the brim of his hat a little.
The vertical marking on Aizen's forehead twitched slightly.
"It seems your increase in power has made you unduly flippant."
"I'm only stating what I see."
Holding Hekyō, Yoriichi suddenly asked, "Aizen, can you sense my Reiatsu?"
Aizen paused.
Only