Killed For 100 Years in Hueco Mundo, Aizen Invited Me To Soul Society!

The bottom of the underground prison, the eighth prison: Muken.

There is only darkness here. Or rather, this is a space where even darkness itself has no identity. No up, no down, no left or right. Gravity does not exist. This is not emptiness — it is erasure. This is the prison known as Muken.

Only a few individuals have ever been sealed here, yet the Soul Society expends an extraordinary amount of power to maintain this void for just those few.

It is not for punishment. It is for obliteration.

To make sinners forget the world.To make the world forget sinners.

This place is a massive artificial void created by the Soul Society, meant to erase the very existence of those within.

Almost no one alive now remembers who the first prisoner confined here was. But the memory of the last one imprisoned still burns vividly in the minds of the shinigami.

Aizen Sosuke.

Both shinigami and hollow. Both savior and betrayer.

This traitor once ruled Hueco Mundo and sought to overthrow the Soul King using the power of the Hōgyoku. But through the combined efforts of Kurosaki Ichigo and many others, his ambition was crushed, and his immortal body was cast into this bottomless hell.

The Sōkyoku, the execution tool once used on shinigami, was already destroyed by then. Not that it mattered. Even if it were intact, it couldn't kill Aizen — not after the Hōgyoku had made him immortal.

Thus, he was sealed. His hands, feet, mouth, ears, eyes — even the sense of touch on his skin — all suppressed with Bakudō and buried in the deepest prison of the Soul Society, deprived of everything.

But now, something stirred.

Suddenly, without any warning, one of Aizen's eyes opened. One ear regained hearing. The cloth seal over his mouth slowly peeled away.

The void remained as it was — black and infinite — but now there was a glimmer of something foreign.

A lantern. Floating softly in the endless dark.

It was unnatural, like something not meant to exist in this universe. But it was light nonetheless — light Aizen had not seen for an age. And yet, he adjusted instantly.

Aizen looked upon the man holding the lantern without any surprise, as if this moment had been long anticipated. Calmly, he smiled and said:

"Isn't this a face tortured by the years? What an honor... to be visited by someone like you."

His voice was fluid. Not dry, not cracked.

After more than a year of silence, most would be unable to speak — their throat withered, tongue unresponsive. But Aizen spoke as if he'd never been sealed at all. Not a trace of fatigue or confusion colored his words.

He tilted his head slightly, studying the figure before him with calm interest.

"What should I call you? Azashiro Soya, perhaps? Or is it by that name which was bestowed by the Soul Society to flatter the one they deem the strongest shinigami?"

Aizen's body was still sealed, but the man before him was unbound — free and whole.

Clearly, this man held more power here, and yet Aizen showed no sign of feeling inferior. If anything, he seemed entertained.

"...The eighth-generation captain of the Eleventh Division... Kenpachi Azashiro it is then?"

From behind the man, a woman in a white kimono suddenly poked her head out.

"Hee-ha! Hee-ha-ha! Look, look! This guy! This guy named Aizen! He's not even surprised! Suddenly he can see and hear, and he's still acting all calm! Is this the Hōgyoku's power?! So cool! So powerful! Go get it! You should have 'sword' in your name, right? Go take the Hōgyoku! Rip his veins out through his fingertips! Use your tongue to disassemble him into spirit particles, just take the Hōgyoku! Hahahaha! Hee-hahahahahaha!"

Her words were manic, flowing like a chaotic stream of nonsense, but Aizen didn't react. He maintained his soft smile, unfazed.

Kenpachi Azashiro narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice just enough so only she could hear.

"Keep your mouth shut."

The woman raised her hands dramatically, clasped them over her mouth like a child, and fell silent.

Then Azashiro turned back to Aizen, his tone composed and measured.

"If you know who I am, then that will make this conversation easier."

He didn't bother with introductions. Instead, he went on plainly.

"To prevent confusion, let me say this first. I'm not interested in the crimes you've committed. Nor in the power of the Hōgyoku. I just have a few questions... about the world outside."

"You overestimate me, don't you?" Aizen replied smoothly. "You've always known what's happening in Seireitei even while imprisoned, and you weren't caught by the illusions of my Kyōka Suigetsu. What could I possibly tell you?"

Azashiro remained calm, not provoked by the jab. He didn't respond to the implication, nor deny it.

Then the woman in white leaned forward again, eyes glinting.

"Hehehe! This is overestimation! It took him two whole days to figure out the illusion of your Kyōka Suigetsu! He shut himself in total darkness, muttering, 'strange', 'doesn't match', 'this isn't real', for two days straight! Non-stop!"

She mimicked Azashiro's voice and expression as she spoke, mockingly exaggerated, but the man in question showed no reaction. If anything, the stillness on his face seemed more like boredom than annoyance.

"...You be quiet."

"Ah... the gap is so wide now! Aizen is just better! No wonder he tried to kill the Soul King! A narrow-minded guy like you couldn't catch up even if you spent your whole life! You shouldn't call him 'Aizen'—you should say 'Aizen-sama'! Just follow him blindly like Tosen Kaname! ...Okay, okay, I'm done, I'm shutting up! Hahahaha!"

As she laughed, the blindfolded woman disappeared into the darkness again, leaving only silence.

Aizen didn't glance at her, his gaze still fixed on Azashiro. His expression remained amused.

Azashiro also didn't seem to mind.

"I want to ask about knowledge outside Seireitei. Though I must say, I was surprised by your defeat at the hands of Kurosaki Ichigo. That's one of the things I want to understand."

The woman suddenly reappeared from behind, her fingers dancing on her own neck with a lewd smile.

"Hee-hop! You said so confidently, 'Aizen will be stopped by the Royal Guards!' But he didn't even need them! Isn't that embarrassing? Hey, tell me how it felt—ouch—"

Before she could finish, Azashiro grabbed her and flung her across the floor. She skidded to a stop near Aizen, who didn't spare her a glance.

Instead, Aizen said with a smile, "Defeat... yes. When I think of the chaos in my mind back then, I admit... it was painful and humiliating. But meaningful."

He paused.

"You should try it sometime."

"I can't imagine how defeat could have meaning."

"Of course you can't. That's why this conversation is so amusing. Shall we continue discussing our difference in perspective?"

"No. I don't want to waste time on useless topics."

Azashiro didn't hesitate to shut the conversation down.

Aizen, undeterred, curled the corner of his lips in amusement.

"It's fine. I'll indulge your questions... a little."

"Thank you. After all, there's nothing in this for you."

"There's no such thing." Aizen replied. "From your questions, I can deduce your next actions. That helps pass the time in this dull place."

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Besides... although I failed, those who carry my will have not."

That final comment hung in the air like a whisper of prophecy.

Azashiro's eyes flickered subtly. Though he was trapped here, he had always known everything going on within Seireitei. Even if he didn't know the world beyond, he had pieced together much from the fragmented conversations of the shinigami.

He knew, for example, that after his fall, a man named Kyo Mazuru had risen to rule Hueco Mundo.

That Soul Society had marched on Hueco Mundo... and failed.

When Azashiro leaves this place, he had already decided — if he could, he would meet the new King of Hueco Mundo.

A short time later, after receiving the answers he wanted, Kenpachi Azashiro vanished, dissolving into the darkness like vapor. His exit was as strange and silent as his arrival.

Aizen raised the corners of his mouth slightly, then closed his eyes.

Everything was proceeding exactly as he expected.

As he had said — to predict the results of others' actions from the nature of their questions...

That alone was enough.

Once again, Muken fell into complete silence. Swallowed by the void.

*****

Support me on my pat reon and gain early access to my creations.

https://www.pat reon.com/RroY28 (remove the space)

You can access up to 30 advanced chapters.