Just as Aizen's mind was reeling from the sight of this massive "Red-Eyed Guard," Hiroki moved.
He seemed to confirm a specific location amidst the chaos of war, leading the guards quickly across the battlefield until they reached an open edge of the platform. Then—
"Buzz—"
An indescribable, pure power of 'Change'—one that seemed to have existed since the dawn of the Big Bang—erupted from Hiroki!
Aizen's perception (though he was just a bystander in the memory) was instantly and completely distorted! It wasn't a shock of spiritual pressure, but the boiling of the rules themselves! He could "see" the light around Hiroki twisting and collapsing with a wail, and space shattering into pieces with a mournful cry! In the center of that storm, Hiroki's figure rose infinitely, as if he had become the singularity of the universe!
"God is the ultimate of change..." A grand, ancient voice that seemed to come from the will of the universe echoed in his soul. Each syllable that fell caused the void to resonate, triggering countless subtle ripples in the laws of the universe!
"The mystery of all things is beyond description..." Aizen felt his soul trembling along with this mantra! Was this the mantra of "Divine Essence"?! Was this its origin?!
"Great Void Sword Qi - Divine Implication." Hiroki's voice sounded as if it were pouring out the will of the entire universe.
Aizen's pupils constricted into sharp points in that instant. Even in this cosmic space constructed by Hiroki from memory fragments, that "sense of reality" simulated purely by will and pressure still made his soul—which had long since surpassed ordinary Captains and even glimpsed higher levels of existence—tremble with biological instinct!
Unbelievable? That word was far too pale.
What he "saw" had already far exceeded concepts, touching upon the annihilation of essence.
In the center of that silent and chaotic deep-space battlefield, an indescribable great power suddenly descended! It wasn't a convergence of reishi energy, nor was it the flowing light of a Zanpakuto's release—it was a product forged by the tearing of concepts and the mournful cries of the laws of nature.
In the void, a "trace" so massive it eclipsed the stars quietly emerged.
At first, it was just a distorted point, like the embryonic form of a Big Bang singularity. Then, space shrieked silently like cloth being kneaded by an invisible, massive force, collapsing inward and spinning! Countless energy fragments, dissipating spiritual light, and even the cold vacuum of space itself were forcibly seized and compressed!
All of this happened in an immeasurable instant.
When the collapse point reached its limit, the outline of a giant sword composed of pure laws of "Void" and "Ending"—crystal clear and sharp-edged—suddenly appeared above the battlefield!
It was the "Taixu Divine Sword"! The terrifying existence whose destructive aura Aizen had personally experienced in Hueco Mundo!
Only now... its size... looking at it, it was clearly the same Taixu Divine Sword that had once dealt him a nearly fatal blow... but its size... Aizen's consciousness instinctively compared the scene before him with his memories of Hueco Mundo, and the conclusion made his thoughts almost freeze.
It was larger... by hundreds of times?! Or thousands?!
It hung there quietly, with no light leaking out, yet it seemed like the ultimate manifestation of "darkness" itself. Around the blade, light completely vanished, leaving only pure, all-consuming gloom. Massive spatial folds formed and vanished like ripples around the sword, silently speaking of the terrifying weight of its existence—not physical mass, but a heavy pressure on the level of rules!
The destructive fire of the entire invasion fleet was like pebbles thrown into the ocean before it, disappearing completely without even causing a ripple. Those terrifying beasts in the distance that were slaughtering the fleet now seemed to sense an impending doom, their movements stiffening in a moment of panic!
Aizen could clearly perceive that although the sword was still, its interior was like a collapsing miniature universe, containing majestic energy sufficient to tear through dimensions. Its existence at this moment was the strongest deterrent to this starry sky and every "existence" on this battlefield!
Then, he saw Hiroki's figure in that illusory memory move, as if making the most casual gesture. But that will, which stood above the universe, had already issued its command!
Immediately after, Hiroki—or rather, the cosmic will carrying Hiroki's conscious projection—lightly swung that unimaginably massive sword of darkness forward.
There was no piercing sound of breaking air, nor was there a brilliant torrent of energy erupting.
There was only a... complete, rule-level "erasure."
In the direction the giant sword's swing pointed, the entire space was replaced by an absolute "nothingness"!
That incredibly massive invasion fleet in the distance, composed of countless giant metal ships... those mountain-like engines, main cannons glowing with destructive light, and layers of energy shields... in the next instant—no, the concept of an "instant" didn't even exist—it was as if the universe itself had used an invisible eraser to... completely wipe them from the map of the stars, from the "existence" of this dimension!
Silent and soundless.
Not an explosion, not burning, not fragments. It was pure... annihilation!
Only a vast, dark area of absolute void remained, as if no matter had ever existed there, which, along with the gradually fading Taixu Divine Sword, proved that everything that had just happened was not an illusion.
In the remaining communication channels of the fleet, there seemed to be a shrill, extreme scream, but that sound also stopped abruptly, as if a giant invisible hand had seized the throat and cut it off. The three giant beasts that were fighting the Giants or being besieged by the human squads were now like frozen amber specimens, their movements completely stalled, and the fear from the depths of their souls was clearly transmitted to Aizen's consciousness.
The "memory" screen suddenly froze and tore apart!
Like a screen with the power forcibly pulled, all the scenes of grandeur and destruction instantly turned into shattered points of light, receding rapidly!
Aizen's consciousness was violently thrown out!
Thud...
The real touch of the wooden floor in the Shihōin Clan study came back, carrying the cold texture of reality. Aizen found that his right fist had somehow clenched tightly, his fingertips digging deep into his left arm, pressing on the wound that had been torn by the Divine Essence a year ago and now seemed to throb with phantom pain from the memory!
Cold sweat—cold and uncontrollable—instantly soaked his inner shinigami uniform. His back was clammy and cold, and a drop of sweat even slid quietly down his temple, soaking into the snowy white collar of his haori.
He took a sharp breath, as if he had just been fished back to reality from an endless void of the abyss. His chest heaved violently once, and although he immediately suppressed it with his powerful will, the lingering shock in the depths of his eyes and... a certain indescribable, extreme thirst and palpitation for that pure destructive power, were as clear as a brand, not yet fully dissipated.
For the first time, after facing this power directly, he lost any desire or ability for verbal expression.