Uryu was running. He was also completely unaware that he was the cause of a new Hollow being birthed inside of Mayuri's secret lab... filled with dozens of souls... next to a whole damn city of souls.
A Menos would be born later that day.
He could feel Sora's spiritual pressure flickering, weakening. He pushed his legs harder, Rukia right beside him, neither of them slowing down—
And then they saw it.
Aizen.
Standing there.
Holding Sora by the throat.
Sora's body was limp. Barely conscious. Barely breathing. He looked like he had gotten the shit beaten out of him, his body basically unresponsive. Uryu's stomach twisted.
But Aizen—Aizen wasn't unscathed.
Half his fucking body was gone.
Yet within seconds, he was fully regenerating—his body stitching itself back together with disgusting efficiency.
Still, Uryu noticed something strange. Some part of Aizen wasn't healing. Even though his body was technically repairing itself, the wounds still seemed to be there, as if the damage was eternal or some shit like that.
And when the man's wounds were done healing, he looked at Sora and—smiled.
"Thank you for the fight," Aizen said, his voice calm. Almost amused.
Then—
His hand glowed.
And before anyone could react—
SHHK!
He shoved his hand straight into Sora's chest.
Sora convulsed, spasming violently, his spiritual energy going wild.
Uryu felt his own heart stop.
Aizen's lips curled upward. "Ah... there it is."
The man had found what he had come here for.
And then—he ripped it out.
Sora's heart.
It was beating. Still alive.
But as it pulsed in Aizen's hand—
It began to change.
Slowly, grotesquely, it morphed.
Until it was no longer a heart.
Until it had become something else.
A Hōgyoku.
Aizen's eyes gleamed with triumph.
He had been right.
Sora had nurtured the Hōgyoku within himself. Perfected it.
And now—Aizen had taken it.
His power skyrocketed instantly.
The sheer pressure of his reiatsu forced everyone to their knees.
Even Uryu—who struggled to keep himself upright—could barely breathe.
Aizen glanced down at Sora's now lifeless body.
"No longer of use," he mused.
And then, with absolute indifference—
He tossed him aside.
Sora's cold, motionless body hit the ground with a sickening thud.
Aizen looked down at him.
"Be grateful," he murmured, his voice chillingly indifferent. "I could have made you the new Soul King."
He seemed much more arrogant than usual. Sure, the battle with Sora was fun, but he had far outgrown the boy.
He was now god-like. Even Ichibei couldn't compare to this Aizen's power. Yes, this was how strong he had gotten—still weaker than the current Soul King, but stronger than everyone else in the verse... by a long... long shot.
Rukia caught him first.
She was at his side before anyone else could react, hands gripping his lifeless body, shaking him violently.
"Sora—Sora, wake up! Dammit—wake up!" Yet the boy's body stayed limp. He didn't move at all.
Tears were already streaming down her face.
"You promised! You fucking promised—!"
Uryu—
Uryu felt his composure crack.
His mind was screaming, his thoughts spinning, unraveling—
This was his fault.
If he had never been captured—if Sora hadn't come here because of him—
This never would have happened.
However, while he still had an ounce of rationality left, he once again used his Schrift in order to make sure that Sora's condition couldn't get any worse than it was right now. It could only get better... never worse.
And then—
He snapped.
Rage.
One second, he was standing there, frozen in shock—
The next, he was launching himself at Aizen.
His mind wasn't thinking. His body wasn't hesitating.
He was just—acting.
He swung a devastating kick aimed straight for Aizen's face.
But before he even made contact—
SHLKT!
A slash appeared across his chest.
Blood splattered across the sand.
Uryu collapsed.
Pain flared through his body—he was dying.
And he knew.
He fucking knew it wouldn't work.
But he didn't care.
With the last of his strength—
He activated his Schrift.
He transferred his fatal wound to Aizen.
Except—
Nothing happened.
Uryu's breath hitched.
Aizen looked down at him.
And smirked.
The man's wounds healed faster than the eye could see.
"I've evolved past such feeble concepts," he said simply.
Uryu's hands clenched into fists.
His vision blurred.
His body ached.
And he realized something.
He hated this man.
Hated him with every fiber of his being.
Aizen turned away, his interest already fading.
"Gin. Tosen."
Two figures stepped forward.
"It's time," Aizen said smoothly.
"Let's pay a visit to Soul Society."
Uryu—bleeding out, vision darkening—could only watch as Aizen ascended into the sky.
And as his last thought before unconsciousness took him—
He thought of Sora.
And swore that if his brother was gone—
Then Aizen was going to burn.
He didn't want his brother to be gone, yet his Reiryoku reserves were running on hopes and dreams. He had been spamming the fuck out of his Schrift, and he was now learning the hard way that he, in fact, did not have nearly as much Reiryoku as his brother.
Anyway, at least this couldn't get any worse.
He could see as Ichigo and Orihime arrived. Thank the heavens—they were safe.
Now, to rescue Sora.
Uryu felt a chill go down his spine.
As crushing spiritual pressure fell on them.
"To think he would have me wasting my time on bugs like them," the voice of a skeleton could be heard saying.
"I could be taking a nap right now," the very familiar voice of the nonchalant dreadhead could be heard once more.
"It is Aizen-sama's order," the voice of a chocolate queen could be heard.
"They should blame their fate for this outcome," the voice of a black man could be heard... hmmm.
All of the remaining Espada could be seen.
Starrk.
The old fuck.
Tier Harribel.
Zommari.
Hm, to be fair, Ulquiorra got lubed up by Ichigo. Espada 9, 8, and 5 were killed by Uryu and Rukia.
Sora had laid out Grimmjow.
So yes, those were the people remaining. Granted, Espada 0 was here, and Uryu knew he was the strongest, so they were going to get fucked.
Uryu placed himself in front of Sora, taking six Ginto from him. Those would be used to defend them.
Ichigo made eye contact with Starrk. Well, he got his opponent.
Uryu was planning to face the old man.
Rukia was planning to go for Harribel. That left Nemu for... the black man.
KABOOM!
Out of nowhere, the man, the myth, the legend—Sora's clones—came out of hiding... oh yeah... he did summon those a while back and had them disguised as butterflies.
However, instead of just fighting the enemy, the butterflies instead decided to fuse with each and every single one of them.
As a white butterfly entered Uryu's body—
Uryu felt it. His reiatsu had now reached mid-Captain level. His control over Reishi had reached 100%. His incomplete holy form was now complete.
As for Ichigo, he was back in his Horn of Salvation state. Rukia seemed to have entered Bankai... and Nemu... Nemu's artificial soul was being buffed.
Nemu felt herself getting stronger. Her artificial soul started to break the boundary between real and fake.
As for where Chad was—
That explosion was not for nothing, as Chad himself could be seen. He had managed to punch the weakest Espada present away.
"I will take him," the man declared.
Okay, so with Chad taking him, Nemu could now help Rukia double-team Harribel.
A/N....hm, who could have possibly guess that Sora heart was a hogyoku....**Gasp**, was this why Aizen Hogyoku wanted to fuse with him....heh, there is other reason to but oh well.