Wandenreich, deep within the Silbern.
The simulated stars on the palace dome still twinkled, but the light had dimmed considerably.
The surviving Sternritter members, each carrying injuries, were scattered silently throughout the palace. The atmosphere was low.
Deep in the main hall, before the massive throne, space twisted slightly as two figures conversed.
Yhwach strove to maintain his dignity and asked in a deep voice, "Who are you? Where do you come from? Why are you interfering in matters between that man and me?"
Omega Shenron said calmly, "You don't need to know that. You only need to know that I am an enemy of Chiaki Setsuna."
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. You should understand that principle, right? In any case, I will help you defeat him."
Hearing this, Yhwach fell silent for a moment.
He did not entirely trust this mysterious existence with strange powers, but he did need power. He needed power to counter the ridiculously strong Setsuna.
However, as the [King of the Quincies], he also had his pride.
"Although I am grateful for your assistance earlier," Yhwach spoke slowly, his tone regaining its usual aloofness and arrogance, "I alone am sufficient to defeat Chiaki Setsuna."
He looked up, his eyes burning with fervent ambition. "My defeat earlier was merely because I had not yet returned to my complete state. I have not yet fully regained my power, nor have my 'eyes' fully opened!"
"If I were to return to my prime..." Yhwach's voice carried a decisive confidence, "The battle would certainly not have ended like that. Chiaki Setsuna would surely be defeated by my hand!"
He firmly believed that he had lost only due to 'incompleteness', not a fundamental difference in power.
"Oh?" Omega Shenron asked with interest. "How much stronger is your so-called prime compared to you now?"
Yhwach thought for a moment and gave an answer he felt was sufficiently shocking: "At least twice as strong, perhaps even three times or more."
However, the anticipated astonishment did not appear.
"Pfft, hahahaha!" Omega Shenron burst out laughing, holding his stomach.
The laughter echoed through the empty hall, particularly jarring, even causing the Sternritter stationed outside to glance in with alarm.
"Twice? Three times? Haha, that's it?" Omega Shenron laughed so hard his clone even seemed to fade. "Are you trying to amuse me, little king of the Quincies?"
Yhwach's expression darkened. His spiritual energy involuntarily surged with anger. "What do you mean?"
"What do I mean?" Omega Shenron's laughter stopped abruptly. "What I mean is, if your so-called 'prime' is only two or three times stronger than you are now..."
"Then you'd better give up on the idea of 'defeating Chiaki Setsuna alone' right now, unless you want to make him die of laughter."
"How dare you insult me!" Yhwach shot to his feet, his eyes blazing with fury.
"Don't get angry so quickly. Let me finish." Omega Shenron said calmly. "Do you know what state the Chiaki Setsuna who fought you in Soul Society was in?"
Without waiting for Yhwach to answer, he continued on his own, "That was merely a clone, condensed from a little bit of power temporarily transmitted from his main body in Hell."
"The one speaking with you now is also just a clone of my main body."
"The power we displayed back then was probably only about one percent of our respective main bodies' power? Perhaps even less."
"O-one percent?" The anger on Yhwach's face instantly froze, his eyes full of disbelief.
With one percent of his power, he could easily shatter his Heilig Pfeil and Sanctuary, and punch him to near death with a single blow? How was this possible?
"Impossible!" Yhwach exclaimed in shock. "How could such a powerful being exist in this world? Even the Soul King, even the creator god, couldn't be this much stronger than me!"
"Soul King? Creator god?" Omega Shenron let out another snicker. "Your perspective is limited to this tiny [Three Worlds]."
"Setsuna and I are beings that wander between different 'worlds'. We are existences that transcend worlds."
"Transcend... worlds..." Yhwach murmured repeatedly. The impact of this word was even greater than 'one percent' on him.
His goal had always been to destroy the Soul King and return the world to its original form.
But now, he's being told that there were existences superior to 'worlds'? This completely overturned his cognitive system.
"So, do you understand now?" Omega Shenron concluded. "Even if you return to your so-called prime and double or triple your strength, as long as Setsuna is willing, he could simply transmit another five percent, or even ten percent, of his power from his main body..."
"Then your so-called prime would still be fragile and powerless before him. The outcome would not change at all."
After a long silence, Yhwach finally raised his head again. "Then what do you want me to do?"
Omega Shenron said seriously, "I will help hold off Chiaki Setsuna. What you need to do is simply proceed with the plan as intended."
"Defeat those Shinigami, destroy the Gotei 13, annihilate the order of Soul Society, and finally, completely destroy the Three Worlds!"
Hearing Omega Shenron's words, Yhwach regained his confidence. "As long as that Chiaki Setsuna is out of the picture, no one in mere Soul Society will be a match for me!"
"Very good." Omega Shenron smiled. "Then go and do it. Restore your power as quickly as possible, open your 'eyes'. I will also grant you my power."
...
Seireitei, deep within the 1st Division Barracks, Setsuna's private room.
Inside the room, four people had gathered. The atmosphere was somewhat subtle.
Ichigo looked at the three people in the room, Setsuna, Aizen, and Urahara Kisuke, his expression somewhat confused.
'This was clearly a private secret meeting, right? Why had O been called?'
'I'm just a Substitute Shinigami. Logically, important secrets shouldn't involve me, should they?'
"Everyone is here." Setsuna's voice broke the silence. "Then, let's get straight to the point."
"Aizen, Urahara. Over three hundred years ago, before I decided to enter Hell, I assigned you a long-term research topic."
"Through breaking the limits of the Shinigami, thereby achieving the ultimate evolution of the soul. How has your research progressed?"
Aizen smiled slightly. "Setsuna-nii, during the over three hundred years you were away, although Urahara and I appeared to be on opposing sides, even clashing at times, we have been cooperating tacitly behind the scenes on the research for this topic."
"The research required a large amount of 'material'. Within the Seireitei, those nobles who had violated taboos but were shielded by the Central 96 due to their status, or were themselves rule-breakers, became the ideal 'resources'."
Ichigo felt a chill run down his spine, 'Using living Shinigami for forbidden experiments? This was what Aizen and Urahara Kisuke had been doing in secret?'
Although he felt somewhat uncomfortable, since they were using criminals who had escaped punishment as test subjects, he didn't say much.