After hearing Cole's words, everyone present stared at him with vacant eyes.
Only one thought echoed in their hearts.
No way.
What are you even talking about?
"The founders of the five great noble families are in Hell?"
"Those are beings from the same era as the Soul King, existences that appeared long before the birth of the three worlds!"
Yoruichi couldn't hold back and said,
"Brat, don't talk nonsense. How could the founder of our family be in Hell?"
Byakuya also spoke sternly,
"That's right. Lifeforms from that era can no longer be traced at all. How could they still be alive!?"
Isshin nodded vigorously,
"Don't exaggerate. The founders of our families must have long since passed away."
Cole curled his lip, reached out, and pointed at Ichibe.
"This bald monk is still alive, and you're trying to tell me the founders who killed the Soul King are already dead? Don't you think that's a bit unconvincing?"
Everyone at the scene was suddenly speechless.
Involuntarily, all eyes shifted to Ichibe.
That's right.
This bald monk was a being from the same era as the Soul King.
He had personally witnessed how the Soul King was sealed.
In terms of lifespan alone, he could basically be described as living as long as Heaven and Earth.
And he was very much alive right now.
In that case…
Wasn't it perfectly reasonable for the founders of the five great noble families to still be alive as well?
Aizen seemed to think of something. His expression darkened as he looked at Ichibe, gritting his teeth as he said,
"Hey, Ichibe, I suddenly remembered something. If I recall correctly, beings in Hell… can't die, right?"
Hell was a land of despair where there was no birth and no death.
The souls of sinners who fell into Hell would there endure torture for all eternity.
In the propaganda of Seireitei, this had always been used as a deterrent to Soul Reapers, a warning not to commit evil—or they would fall into Hell.
But combined with the truth they knew now, it became something else entirely.
All the powerful beings that the World of the Living, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo could no longer contain were exiled to Hell.
If you then added Hell's property of "no birth, no death"…
A chilling possibility took shape.
Aizen's face grew uglier and uglier as he stared at Ichibe, speaking each word heavily:
"Over all these countless ages… you're not telling me those powerful monsters are still alive in Hell, are you?"
As soon as those words fell—
It was as if the heavens collapsed and the earth cracked.
The Soul Reapers present were scared stupid, cold sweat pouring down their faces like rain.
They understood what Aizen meant.
And they understood the implication behind his words.
From the establishment of the three worlds until now…
No, that was wrong—Hell's history was even older than that of the three worlds. No one even knew how long it had existed.
If, over such a vast span of time, it had continuously absorbed the strongest beings from every world…
Just how many powerhouses did Hell currently hold?
Just imagining it was enough to make one's chest tighten.
You had to understand: in Seireitei alone, a new batch of captains would emerge every few hundred years.
Over a little more than a thousand years, the number of captains that had appeared already exceeded several hundred.
And the number of Soul Reapers who had achieved bankai was even greater.
That alone meant several hundred top-tier combatants.
If you added in the Arrancar and powerful Hollows of Hueco Mundo…
Then just within the most recent thousand years alone, over a thousand top-tier powerhouses had fallen into Hell.
And what about the thousand years before that?
And before that?
That was time on a scale too long to even fathom. How many powerhouses must have fallen into Hell across all that time?
If all of those monsters were still alive down there…
Just thinking about it was terrifying.
Feeling everyone's tense gazes, Ichibe slowly nodded.
"You're all correct. Hell is a land of sin where there is no birth and no death. Those powerful beings of the past have all fallen into Hell, and they should still be alive now."
Silence.
A deathly silence.
Everyone present felt a suffocating pressure.
But Ichibe didn't seem to think this was enough. He turned to Cole and continued, finally answering what Cole had said earlier.
"What you said just now was correct as well. The founders of the Shiba, Shihouin, Kuchiki, Ise, and Tsunayashiro families are all in Hell."
"I don't know the details of their exact situation, but they most certainly still exist within Hell."
"If you were to go to Hell, not only would you be able to see them… you might even see those who 'died' in past eras."
Everyone who heard this was still unable to form any words.
Cole let out a long breath, rubbing his forehead with a headache.
"I knew it. This worldview is insane. On top of being cruel and dark, it's packed full of despair-inducing horror."
He thought of the original story's plot—the Hueco Mundo arc, the Thousand-Year Blood War, and so on.
In those massive battles, there were always some extremely popular characters who died and never appeared again in the subsequent story.
Like Gin, Ulquiorra, Starrk, Nnoitra, Barraggan, Tosen… who died in the Hueco Mundo war.
Like Yamamoto, Unohana, Ukitake, Rose, Komamura, Sasakibe… who died in the Thousand-Year Blood War.
Their sacrifices were heartbreaking and hard to accept.
They left readers full of grief and regret.
But looking at it now, according to the truth they had just learned…
Those people really were dead—
And at the same time, not dead.
They had fallen into Hell.
Which meant that…
After the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, when the Hell arc began…
Those characters who should have died would all reappear in Hell.
Others might not be easy to say for sure.
But characters with sky-high popularity like Ulquiorra, Gin, Yamamoto, and Unohana were absolutely guaranteed to show up.
When that time came…
Bleach would definitely blow up in popularity all over again.
But for Cole in the present…
All of this just turned into a splitting headache.
Because in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, someone like Yhwach, who was practically an omniscient, omnipotent existence, had already appeared.
Since Hell was an even higher-level domain than that…
Then any antagonist who appeared there would have to surpass Yhwach—
Maybe even reach a level comparable to the Soul King himself.
Thinking this far, Cole couldn't help looking at Aizen and saying very sincerely,
"I'm sorry. I was wrong."
Aizen stared at him in surprise.
He had never imagined that this arrogant human would actually apologize to him.
Could it be that this human had finally realized how small and foolish he was—
And had now submitted to Aizen's ideals?
Just as he was about to say something, he heard Cole continue,
"I've always treated you as the final big boss, but thinking about it now… you're just a little small fry…"
Before Cole could even finish, Aizen couldn't hold back anymore. His face went dark as he glared at him.
"Human, are you courting death!?"
Though the news about Hell had also shocked him, there was no way he would accept being called small fry.
Even if he did fall into Hell someday…
He'd still be someone who could stand on equal footing with Ichibe, a being who might even be able to wrestle with those noble founders.
He was absolutely not going to accept being reduced to "some random mob."
Ignoring the bickering between Cole and Aizen, Shinji looked solemnly at Ichibe and asked in a deep voice,
"Lord Ichibe, what you're saying is that once the Soul King dies, Hell will violently expand and drag the entire world into that lifeless, deathless realm?"
Ichibe first nodded, then slowly shook his head.
"That's what it means, but that's not all."
Meeting everyone's confused gazes, his voice sank lower.
"You don't actually think Hell is some kind of nice place, do you?"
Everyone quickly shook their heads.
Of course they didn't think that.
If Hell were a good place, there would have been no need for the Soul King to create the three worlds in the first place. He could have just gone straight down into Hell.
The very fact that he created the three worlds proved that a place without life's cycle was despair by its very existence.
Ichibe spoke earnestly,
"Within Hell, there is a miasma that kills anything it touches. Once the Soul King dies, that miasma will spill out and contaminate everything in the three worlds."
"On top of that, there are those insane souls in Hell. Having lost their reason, they will attack the living indiscriminately."
"And as I've said before, Hell itself possesses its own will. That will drives it to expand by instinct…"
Seeing that the others still didn't seem able to fully grasp it, Ichibe changed his wording.
"You can think of Hell as a fourth world, an independent realm with its own unique order."
"The souls that fall into Hell will be forcibly transformed into Togabito, Hell's enforcers."
"So the moment the Soul King dies and Hell expands, those Togabito will appear throughout the three worlds and unleash indiscriminate slaughter."
"I trust you understand what that means."
What did it mean?
Of course they understood.
Beyond all those top-tier monsters whom the three worlds couldn't contain and had cast down into Hell…
Just what kind of people qualified to enter Hell?
All of them were sinners whose crimes were beyond counting.
You could say that even if they were executed eight hundred times over, it still wouldn't be enough to atone for their sin.
And yet, these people…
Had all become the enforcers of Hell.
If, one day, the gates of Hell were thrown wide open and those monsters, steeped in sin, were allowed to escape…
It would be a carnival of evil and depravity—
And the greatest catastrophe the three worlds had ever faced.
At this point, Rukia hesitantly raised her right hand, nervously asking,
"But, Lord Ichibe… you just said that many Soul Reapers from Seireitei have also fallen into Hell. Wouldn't they help us?"
Ichibe looked at her like he was looking at an idiot.
The others were also a bit speechless.
She really was just a naïve little girl to ask something like that at a time like this.
Rukia flushed with embarrassment, not even knowing where she had gone wrong.
All she could do was tug lightly on Cole's sleeve.
"Cole…"
Cole smiled helplessly, reaching out to ruffle her hair.
"Rukia, you're too kind-hearted—and because of that, you've underestimated the darkness in human nature. You haven't seen the real crux of the problem."
Under her confused gaze, he pointed at Shunsui and the others.
"Across all of Soul Society, it's probably only this handful of people who know the truth of the Soul Funeral Ritual. Even Shinji here doesn't."
"So think about it. When those Soul Reapers die, thinking they'll return peacefully to the flow of the world—only to wake up in Hell instead… what do you think they'll feel?"
"Will they be grateful? Or will they graciously understand Seireitei's decision, thinking they did nothing wrong?"
Rukia was stunned into silence.
She finally understood why everyone had been struck dumb a moment ago.
Because you only needed to think about it for a second to know.
Those captains who had dedicated their entire lives to Seireitei, believing they would finally be able to rest in peace… only to be cast into Hell after death.
How could they possibly feel?
They would absolutely believe that Seireitei had betrayed them.
If someone could still forgive Seireitei under those circumstances, their level of enlightenment would be downright terrifying.
"But… there's nothing we can do about it…"
Rukia bit her lip hard, an overwhelming sorrow filling her heart.
She deeply pitied those powerhouses.
But at the same time, she could understand the helplessness of Seireitei.
If the truth about Hell and the Soul Funeral Ritual were revealed…
What Soul Reaper would still dare to raise their strength?
The stronger you became—
The more certain you were to fall into Hell after death.
And without strength, without bankai, how could the Gotei protect the cycle of the three worlds?
They'd probably be wiped out by the Hollows of Hueco Mundo.
That, too, would lead to the collapse of the three worlds.
In other words, no matter which choice you made…
The outcome would be tragic.
"That's why this world is so damn screwed up."
Cole couldn't help cursing.
When he'd first watched the anime, he'd thought the Bleach world was pretty great—fun, even.
But looking at it now…
Its very foundation was dark and cruel.
Sin and guilt were entrenched everywhere.
No matter what choice you made…
It would still lead to deep, inescapable sin.
At this moment, Aizen added on to Cole's words, his voice cool and indifferent.
"And don't forget the state Hell is in. That place is a world of no birth and no death, where one must endure ceaseless torment."
"Even if a soul is killed, it will only revive deeper within Hell and continue its existence, worse than death."
"In that condition, even if there are Soul Reapers who don't initially resent Seireitei… over time, do you really think their hearts wouldn't change?"
Cold sweat trickled down Rukia's forehead.
She had finally grasped the true horror of Hell.
The terror did not lie solely in its expansion.
Nor solely in its own will.
Nor solely in the Togabito within.
Nor solely in the deadly miasma it held.
What was even more dangerous were those who had committed no sin—
Yet had been thrown into Hell by the three worlds.
Some had lived a few thousand years.
Some, tens of thousands.
Some, only decades.
Some, perhaps even millions of years.
Under such circumstances, their hatred and resentment toward the three worlds would undoubtedly be deeper and more extreme than any Arrancar.
It was entirely possible that each and every one of them had become a world-ending lunatic.
If Hell expanded…
What would these people do then?
Rukia didn't even dare to imagine it.
"So now," Ichibe said, looking solemnly at everyone, "you finally understand how important the Soul King is, don't you?"
Things had reached this point.
There was no one left who could still stand on the sidelines and watch as if it had nothing to do with them.
He could only hope that, having learned the truth, they would consider the greater picture and continue to maintain the peace and cycle of the three worlds.
In the midst of everyone's heavy silence, Aizen shook his head.
"All of this sounds quite reasonable," he said, "but at the very least, the three worlds should be made aware of the truth."
"My desire to kill the Soul King will not change, but it can be postponed. We must first deal with what you've just described."
He wanted to create an ideal world—
Not annihilate it.
Under the current circumstances…
Killing the Soul King would only lead to the world's destruction.
Which meant he had to first deal with the collapse of the three worlds, the withering of all things, and the expansion of Hell before he could carry out his plan.
Just thinking about all of this gave even Aizen a headache.
He turned, walking toward the distance.
"Starrk, Ulquiorra, Harribel—we're leaving. There's no need to argue with these Soul Reapers any further."
He needed to hurry back to Hueco Mundo.
To carefully study how to replace the Soul King.
And to research whether he could evolve himself to a level comparable to the Soul King.
Seeing Aizen preparing to tear open a garganta, Cole raised an eyebrow.
"Did I say you could leave?"
(End of Chapter)
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