Soon, Baelz and Gerard arrived at the palace.
Haschwalth, Lille Barro, and Pernida Parnkgjas were already there.
Yhwach sat alone on the throne; Haschwalth stood before the four Schutzstaffel.
To their surprise, after everyone arrived, Haschwalth said lightly, "Come out."
A woman stepped from the shadows—the Schutzstaffel showed surprise. It was Surtur.
Even among the Sternritter, Surtur was mysterious—rarely interacting, acting alone most of the time.
"You're probably curious why I made Surtur a Sternritter," Yhwach asked mildly.
Haschwalth didn't answer; the Schutzstaffel stayed silent, eyes questioning.
Yhwach continued, "Now, you'll witness Surtur's power."
As he finished, a sword appeared in Surtur's hand—a sword of flame.
Baelz saw at a glance the sword was condensed from a massive amount of souls and grudges—the very vengeful spirits he'd smuggled out of the Seireitei!
He thought he'd be the one to study them, but Yhwach had taken them after only three days.
Now, they'd become a sword in Surtur's hands.
"This sword is called the Branch of Ruin—an end to the Shinigami's future," Yhwach said.
Surtur then spoke softly: "My Schrift is Surtalogi—Surtur's Flame. Its effect is…"
She paused, then revealed the truth of her ability.
"To plunge a region—and anyone marked with the Sigil—into Ragnarök."
"Ragnarök?!" Gerard exclaimed. "What happens then?"
"They die," Surtur said simply.
"Of course it's not that simple," Haschwalth explained. "Those in Ragnarök undergo Duskification: their power weakens, their wisdom decays, and they head toward an inevitable end."
"Isn't that invincible?!" Gerard blurted.
"Hardly," Haschwalth replied. "The range Surtur can enclose is small—only a tenth the size of the Seireitei. That's why His Majesty had the Branch of Ruin forged."
"With it, Surtur can at most cover half the Seireitei."
"Only half?" Baelz spoke up. "I presume His Majesty summoned us because there's some other method to amplify the range—yes?"
"Clever," Yhwach praised. "I didn't call you to boast of Surtur's power, but to have you help her expand Ragnarök's domain to the entire Seireitei—indeed, even the Royal Palace!"
At the mention of the Royal Palace, they were startled.
Lille Barro half-kneeled. "Please instruct us, Your Majesty!"
"Surtur, explain," Yhwach said.
Surtur activated the Branch of Ruin.
With it came a withering, ruinous aura, and at the same time, Baelz and the others felt their reiatsu pouring into it.
"I need you to infuse the Branch with reiatsu," she said. "It will take a long time."
"Exactly," said Haschwalth. "From today, you'll work with Surtur—priority is constructing the Ragnarök barrier."
They glanced at each other and nodded. Refusing Yhwach wasn't an option.
Though a time drain, it benefited Baelz—he finally understood Surtur's ability.
He hated unknowns; he preferred to control everything—or at least be informed.
If something concerned him and he didn't get it, it would gnaw at him.
He thought, How long can infusing reiatsu take?
Unexpectedly, two months later they were still in the Silbern aiding Surtur.
By then, Yhwach had fully awakened.
His first act was Auswählen—to reclaim the power of impure Quincies.
…
On June 17th, in the afternoon, heavy rain fell.
Not just today—the previous days too. It had been raining nonstop.
"Dad?"
At the school gate, Nezuko folded her arms, thinking about what to do when she got home. She looked up and suddenly saw Yoshio.
She ran over, surprised. "Why are you here?"
Although Yoshio had often come to the Living World the year before last, he'd rarely come since last year.
Nezuko no longer needed escorting; she could go to and from school herself. But because of the rain today, someone had to pick her up.
She'd expected Hela—but was surprised to see Yoshio.
Yoshio held an umbrella and handed Nezuko a small one. His face was serious. "Let's go. Tonight… something will happen."
Not knowing what, but seeing his look, she obediently followed.
Soon she realized they weren't going home. They were tailing Kurosaki Ichigo.
At that moment, Ichigo was walking down the street with his mother, Kurosaki Masaki.
Masaki was on the inside, Ichigo on the outside. Both wore raincoats and carried umbrellas.
A car sped by, splashing water all over Ichigo. He glared at the receding truck.
Masaki quickly towel-dried his wet hair. The heavy drops under the utility pole beat against the concrete, like accompaniment to the scene.
"That is…"
Nezuko frowned in confusion, but soon felt an odd reiatsu.
She looked and saw a child standing by the river—no, not a child, a Hollow!
"I'll—"
Nezuko was about to become a Shinigami and take it out, but Yoshio stopped her.
"Don't move."
He spoke softly. Nezuko, about to invoke Apotheosis, froze.
Ichigo also noticed the Hollow—but he didn't know it was a Hollow, or even a soul.
Thinking a child was about to jump into the river, he ran over. Calamity struck in that instant.
The Hollow revealed itself, ready to attack him.
Nezuko couldn't sit still. "Dad, if we don't act now, he's dead."
Yoshio still held her back—because Masaki had already reacted.
She raised her hand, intending to form a Heilig Bogen—but a pillar of light fell from the sky!
!!!
That dazzling light made Nezuko's eyes go wide, and made Masaki, poised to attack, falter for a moment.
In an instant, the light enveloped Masaki.
Auswählen!
O slumbering Quincy King—after nine hundred years regain your heartbeat, after ninety regain your mind, after nine regain your power!
At the end of the ninety years, as he regained his mind, Yhwach boldly initiated Auswählen to enter the nine years of power restoration!
Though Masaki was pure-blood, because the Hollow White had been transferred into her body earlier, her blood was no longer pure. Like other mixed-blood Quincies, she was judged impure.
Thus, the pillar of Auswählen enveloped and devoured her power—nearly claiming her life.
The spirit arrow she'd been about to fire vanished, even her Blut became thin. The drastic loss of power left her unable to fight.
What's more, Auswählen took more than spiritual power—
Even her life seemed to be draining away.
Grand Fisher didn't know what had happened, but seeing Masaki suddenly lose power, his face twisted into a grin. He thrust his tentacle toward her.
Masaki only had time to pull Ichigo down and away, mustering one last feeble Heilig Pfeil to shoot at Grand Fisher.
The tentacle grievously wounded Masaki, but her final arrow also injured Grand Fisher.
He knew his plan had worked—he'd hooked a foolish brat and woman. Now he could feast.
Nezuko, stunned, finally reacted.
"What… was that?"
"Auswählen," Yoshio said simply. "Now, we can move."
In the next moment, Yoshio appeared before Grand Fisher.
Huh?
Before Grand Fisher could process what was happening, a mass of darkness formed in Yoshio's hand and swallowed him into an unknown space.
"Dad…"
Nezuko arrived, confused. "Why wait until now? If we'd acted earlier—"
"It wouldn't matter, Nezuko," Yoshio said quietly. "Even if we did nothing, Auswählen would still take her life. At most, she'd linger a few more months."
Nezuko was shaken. She couldn't grasp what sort of power could seize Ichigo's mother's life from afar.
At that moment, Masaki's soul stepped out of her fallen body.
A chain of fate protruded from her chest; her eyes were dazed. Seeing her own body, her face changed.
Noticing Ichigo still breathing, she exhaled in relief.
Then she stood and looked at Nezuko and Yoshio.
"You're… Nezuko, right? Mr. Kamado… can you tell me who you are?" she asked gravely.
As Ichigo's mother, she of course knew Nezuko and Yoshio—they'd met on the first day of school.
Seeing them, she was shocked: although they weren't appearing as Shinigami, they clearly could see her.
Masaki wasn't naïve—she knew she was dead.
Ordinary humans couldn't see souls.
"I've heard of you from Sōken." Yoshio said calmly. "Shall we talk somewhere else? Ichigo will wake soon. You don't want him to face cruelty this early, do you?"
"…" Masaki didn't answer, only said sternly, "Mr. Kamado, I'm grateful you saved me before—but I still have to watch over Ichigo."
"Then I'll be blunt," Yoshio said softly. "You know why you lost to Grand Fisher, right? Auswählen—meaning Yhwach has awakened."
Masaki's pupils dilated at the words "Auswählen" and "Yhwach." Tense, she asked, "Who are you really? How do you know this?"
"Of course I know," Yoshio said. "I know everything about you and Kurosaki Ichigo. If you don't want Yhwach to kill him nine years from now, come with me."
He opened a portal to his residence in Naruki City.
Nezuko glanced at Masaki, said nothing, and dashed through.
Masaki was startled. She knew that if Yhwach fully revived nine years later, he'd target Ichigo.
She wanted to comfort Ichigo—tell him what happened wasn't his fault—but the portal was fading. She made a decision.
She didn't know Yoshio's true identity, but for Ichigo's sake, she'd brave any danger.
Resolute, Masaki ran through the portal and emerged in a new house.
Outside, the rain still poured.
Yoshio, who'd arrived first, had removed his raincoat. He poured two cups of hot milk—one for Nezuko, one for Masaki.
"Don't worry—souls can drink this," he said.
Masaki didn't doubt it. She sipped the steaming cup and said, "Can you tell me who you are now, Mr. Kamado?"
"Technically, you should call me uncle," Yoshio said. "Didn't Sōken ever tell you? The Ishida family once had a guest named Kurosaki Kamado."
"The Kurosaki family never had anyone by that name," Masaki said guardedly. "And I already learned from Urahara that Kurosaki Kamado was an artificial body identity created by you."
"Did you not tell Sōken that?"
"I didn't think it necessary."
"A pity. If you had, I could skip my next explanation." Yoshio shook his head. "Urahara's right. But did you ever consider—what if I was a Quincy from the start?"
Masaki's pupils widened instantly. Yoshio continued, "Transforming a Quincy soul into a Shinigami's—I can do that now."
"I saved you because I believe you're suited to be transformed into a Shinigami."
"What… did you say?" Masaki was bewildered—Yoshio's words sounded absurd.
"Turning a Quincy… into a Shinigami? How could that be?"
"Of course it's possible. The Hollow in Kurosaki Ichigo came from a Shinigami's transformation. If a Shinigami can become a Hollow, then a Quincy can become a Shinigami," Yoshio said coolly.
"But you…" Masaki faltered, "Aren't you with Aizen—"
"Aizen and I are partners," Yoshio said. "For me, he's a quality collaborator."
"But just as he has his goals, I have mine—and comrades who share them."
"So… you came to me?"
"Of course. Every Quincy struck by Auswählen is a potential ally. At least we share a common enemy."
Yoshio's tone grew solemn. "You should know—if you remain as you are, after losing your power, your soul will gradually disintegrate. You cannot resist Yhwach's Auswählen."
"Unless I transform your soul into that of a Shinigami—or even a Hollow."
"!"
At "Hollow," Masaki took a step back.
Seeing her alarm, Yoshio added, "Transforming into a Hollow is a last resort. Usually, turning you into a Shinigami will stop your soul from collapsing."
"You have three months to decide. After three months, your soul will crumble."
"I want to…" Masaki was about to say she'd discuss it with Isshin, but Yoshio spoke first.
"Before you decide, you can't leave this room."
"?"
"If you appear again, you may alert Yhwach. He's fully awakened and reclaimed his power. The moment you show yourself, you'll enter his sight."
"Unless your soul composition changes—and even then, I don't want you showing your true face or identity outside."
"At least until Yhwach dies, you cannot appear as Kurosaki Masaki—even if your husband and son grieve for it!"