Once Again, Once Again... Sing My Name!

Gurgle...

Ichibē's body was forced upward.

The shock in his eyes was completely undisguised, as if he was completely immersed in the strength the other party had displayed at this moment.

At the same time.

He had absolutely no ability to resist whatsoever.

The 'black' that had been stripped away, symbolizing Ichibē's power, was completely extracted at this moment, becoming part of Yhwach.

Literally nowhere to retreat.

At the final moment, Ichibē could only see those cold dual pupils, like examining meat at a vendor's stall, revealing a cold and lonely gaze.

I am Yhwach.

The one who will take everything from you.

Snap!!!

With a thunderous roar, Ichibē's body exploded, becoming bright red blood foam.

"Monk uncle..."

Ichigo in the distance showed a quite tense expression.

Uryū beside him frowned slightly, reaching into his chest at this moment, as if grasping something.

Aizen naturally turned halfway, seeming completely unsurprised by this result...

Everyone made their respective judgments and began taking action.

Only.

Only one person...

At this moment not only showed no reaction, but his eyes were vacant, revealing a slightly dazed expression.

Seiya.

His gaze was vacant, showing a shocked, even bewildered expression at this moment.

Memories...

A large amount of memories.

Along with Ichibē's disappearance, they poured into his mind with tremendous momentum at this moment.

Seiya needed to digest this content, he needed buffering time...

Yhwach seemed to sense something.

However, someone didn't give him much time to think.

"Where are you looking?"

Aizen's voice came from behind, forcing Yhwach's dual pupils to tremble slightly...

Beginning to capture changes and trends in the timeline again.

"Aizen..."

Murmuring his opponent's name, raising his right hand to disperse the spiritual power torrent the other party had condensed, Yhwach's tone carried several traces of sinister meaning.

"What are you hiding?! You people... what are you plotting with that bastard Ichibē?!"

Aizen in restraints remained expressionless. Even though he was at a disadvantage in this confrontation, he still showed no signs of panic.

Because the person involved understood.

Yhwach's Almighty would temporarily lose its effect at this moment.

And indeed this was the case.

The tyrant at this moment was doing his utmost to activate his ability, trying to spy on the other party's secrets.

But...

He couldn't do it.

Regarding Aizen's future, there was now a hazy, unclear area covered within it!

Why would such a situation occur?

Even as the ancestor of the Quincy, Yhwach couldn't make any judgment at this moment.

After all, he had no idea what was currently happening... under the Almighty's coverage, why would there still be things he couldn't see?

"How does it feel to temporarily return to a mortal's perspective, Yhwach?"

"Noisy!!!"

Faced with such mockery, though Yhwach had no words to respond, it didn't prevent him from showing his malice.

"Kill all of you, and the future won't have any more changes!"

Sankt Altar!!!

Blue light spread through the air, and the previously assembled Futen Taisatsuryō instantly collapsed - Yhwach wasn't accustomed to using power that didn't belong to him. If not for humiliating Ichibē, he would likewise disdain using such things.

Using his own power again, the blue torrent that erupted at this moment almost instantly was about to engulf Aizen.

"..."

No words.

At this moment only a struggling posture to show that Aizen's current situation wasn't very relaxed.

And not far away.

"Mr. Seiya?!"

Ichigo's concern for Seiya was evident.

But before he could do anything, Uryū beside him had already stepped forward quickly, urging as he spoke.

"Seiya is fine, it's just that the previous backup plan is beginning to take effect... Ichigo, our current mission is to hold this guy back as much as possible."

Uryū seemed to have made certain preparations.

So all this was related to Seiya?

Obviously, Ichigo was once again the one kept in the dark... but now clearly wasn't the time to lose his temper.

Ichigo could only swallow back his remaining words, preparing to charge toward the distance.

But he heard the person beside him suddenly let out a muffled low grunt.

Thud.

Seiya directly knelt on the ground at this moment.

This sudden change indeed made people somewhat concerned, but for the person involved, all his attention was focused on this 'voice' that had just emerged.

Who was it?

Someone...

Was making whisper-like murmurs in the depths of his mind.

'Call out.'

'Call out...'

'My name.'

There was a moment of confusion, but the thoughts that followed immediately made Seiya unconsciously call out that name at this moment.

—Ichibē.

Whoosh...

A fierce wind blew over.

Along with black light wriggling in the shadows at this moment, Ichibē appeared silently like a monster molded from mud.

He looked around, cast a meaningful glance at Yhwach at this moment, then withdrew his gaze.

"Oh, thank you, Seiya!"

As the one who had provided help.

The person involved at this moment seemed completely out of the loop.

He seemed completely unable to understand why the other party would suddenly thank him, his heart filled with confusion at this moment.

"You, this is..."

"This old man previously planted a shadow in the depths of your mind. Of course~ it's definitely harmless to you, otherwise you wouldn't have been completely unaware of it."

He raised his right hand, simply gesturing as he spoke.

"Look, about this much, just this much spiritual pressure is enough..."

"This old man is like a paramecium, needing only the slightest opportunity to exert my ability."

"Of course, resurrection under these circumstances also has quite limited strength. Wanting to fight that guy again would be a pipe dream."

Like a nesting doll existence.

At this moment, just understanding what the other party said was quite difficult for Seiya.

"But I don't know you at all..."

"Hahaha, what a coincidence, this old man thought the same thing."

Ichibē showed a meaningful expression, murmuring and repeating at this moment.

"This old man before this resurrection also indeed... didn't know you."

Memories...

This could indeed serve as confirmatory content.

As reference information, whether one knew things was indeed the basis for making judgments.

But sometimes, memories would instead become something like a 'stumbling block'.

Like now.

"If we didn't remove memories related to you, then probably Yhwach wouldn't have come here either."

Ichibē sighed as he raised his right hand, gently rubbing his temple at this moment.

Though this guy's tone hadn't changed, at this moment he could give people a strange and terrifying feeling.

So...

What did that mean?

Not only distant Yhwach, but even Seiya himself was the same.

But soon, he wouldn't need to consider these things anymore.

Because Seiya saw the other party's right hand gently stroke forward.

And in the next moment.

The space above the Soul King Palace began to slightly distort.

Along with a familiar yet strange aura appearing, Seiya saw a long blade emerge from within.

Slender throughout, sharp and delicate.

Though it had no extra decorations, Seiya could strangely feel that oppressive force called 'intimidation' from it.

This was...

"An Asauchi used by Soul Reapers?"

"Not just that."

Ichibē smiled as he supplemented.

"This is also your Zanpakutō, Seiya."

So now...

"We need to return it to you. Take it well."

The Zanpakutō instantly rushed toward Seiya.

And in the latter's eyes, he saw a blurry figure looking at him with tears in her eyes... running toward him.

"Idiot!"

As this shout came.

Seiya's head was struck by the other party's punch.

After all, it was something like a spirit, so naturally there would be no pain.

But the large amount of memories that followed immediately... made the person involved's expression inevitably become dazed.

A hundred years.

Memories spanning a full hundred years.

Everything in Soul Society, bonds with everyone, his own determination, even the Zanpakutō's sadness...

Everything.

Like rivers converging into the ocean, at this moment they rushed toward Seiya frantically, uncontrollably.

Memories were like continuously stacked towers.

And at this moment, on this foundation called 'Seiya', countless fragments frantically assembled.

At an incredible speed, completely reshaping the other party's cognition and spirit.

At this moment.

He was the 'undoubted' Seiya.

Past, present, future.

Three phantoms overlapped and collided together at this moment, making Seiya slowly close his eyes.

Along with the recovery and fusion of memories, many unknowns were solved, and much confusion no longer existed.

Distant Yhwach couldn't help but look this way, but behind his dual pupils... what he could see at this moment was still chaos like mist.

Why?

Why could there still be things in this world that even the Almighty couldn't know?!

Unless that was...

A moment of speechlessness.

Made Yhwach frantically deny this speculation in his heart.

It wasn't possible. If it were true... wouldn't his existence become a joke?!

Unless - Seiya carried the Soul King's methods.

...

"Hey! Idiot!"

Hearing the familiar call.

Seiya half-raised his head, seeing the familiar sword spirit with her hands crossed over her chest, looking down at him condescendingly.

The emotions in her eyes were quite complex.

There was reproach, anger. Also hidden were sadness, pity...

And the largest part.

Was still an outline called 'sentiment'.

"Do you know how long I waited?"

"...Not really sure."

"Anyway, it was a long time!"

This guy leaped up directly, jumping behind Seiya, using her left hand to circle his neck, as if wanting to strangle her master, showing a fierce expression.

"How could there be someone like you?!"

"Leaving your partner behind without a word, saying you were going to save the world..."

"What about yourself?! Does this world really not turn without you?! I already said this before!"

I.

Hate seeing you hurt the most.

The Zanpakutō spirit was itself a reflection of the wielder's inner heart.

In other words... deep in Seiya's heart was indeed escape, wanting to avoid conflict as much as possible.

However.

"You've been living against your own heart until now!"

"Don't you get tired? Others won't even say thank you to you!"

"Do you know how many people mocked me at Ōetsu's place? Everyone said I was an abandoned sword spirit, someone who wasn't needed!"

There were thousands of words to say.

But the more she spoke.

The more excited her emotions became.

Along with low sobs and whimpers coming from beside his ear, Seiya also raised his right hand at this moment.

Gently patting the arm circling his neck.

"Sorry... I made you suffer."

Those who are favored act without restraint.

—Using this phrase at this moment was perhaps most appropriate.

The long wait and grievances were all expressed at this moment. Even the weakest person would stand up again after crying out their tears.

The Zanpakutō returned to its wielder's hand.

Both souls harmonized again, fusing with each other, then bursting forth with the power that originally belonged to the person involved.

Complete...

Was it?

Perhaps not yet.

But at this moment it was already enough to display all his methods.

The blazing spiritual particle torrent showed a momentum like air waves, and at this moment, Seiya held his Zanpakutō.

Finally showing that familiar, confident smile.

"Sorry for the wait."

—Yes, how long had they waited?

Aizen, who had been hit multiple times and was now bleeding from the corner of his mouth, finally showed a happy smile.

Things had reached this point.

There was only one thing left to say.

"Welcome back, Seiya."

Yhwach at this moment had completely shifted all his attention to Seiya.

Ichigo and Uryū quickly moved to evacuate their teacher, and even the old monk scrambled back to the inner palace area.

At this moment, only the two of them remained on the empty stage.

"What exactly are you scheming..."

Faced with Yhwach's questioning, Seiya just calmly smiled.

"It's too troublesome to explain, just watch."

So then.

"Here I come."

Sāgara Ryū standing behind Seiya was in high spirits.

She still clung close to him, like lovers in passionate romance, giving the most fervent response at this moment.

"Oh! Though it's been a while... let's do that again!"

"Huh? Really?"

"This is exactly when you need to shout it out loud! You idiot!"

"Alright, but it's a bit embarrassing. Could you help me out?"

"I really can't help you!"

Person and sword spirit looked at each other for a moment, showing the same cheerful smiles.

"Come on, once again, once again... sing my name!"

"Awaken thyself, Sāgara Ryū!"

The spiritual power spiraling skyward began to bloom, and at the final moment, both shouted together.

"Bankai - Eight Aspects of the Heavenly Dragon: Ryūbu!!!" x2