Seeing his sword blocked by Yhwach, Kurosaki Ichigo frowned slightly and felt a little confused.
Since you can see the 'future', why do you use your sword so much to block?
And why didn't he block his dodge path when he counterattacked?
This means that Yhwach may not be able to see 'everything', Kurosaki Ichigo thought. He guessed that there must be some flaw in Yhwach's ability, but he has not found it yet.
"Are you looking for flaws in my ability?"
Unexpectedly, Yhwach immediately guessed what Kurosaki Ichigo was thinking, and replied with a contemptuous smile without caring, "Then let me tell you what my ability is all about?
You should be wondering why I said I can see the 'future', but I can't easily dodge your attack? I can't easily attack you?
It's not that simple.
The so-called 'future' can be changed. It will continue to change every moment, so even what you see at this moment will have many different developments at the next moment.
Therefore, generally speaking, even if I see the "future", I will not follow the future actions I see at a certain moment, because the "future" itself will change with people's actions.
The moment you take action, the future has changed."
"What's the meaning?"
Kurosaki Ichigo frowned slightly, "If you say this... then wouldn't it be useless to be able to see the future?"
"That's natural."
Yhwach smiled contemptuously, "Just 'seeing the future' is indeed useless, but my ability is called 'omniscience and omnipotence'! Come on, do you want to know more about my ability? Then just stand where you are.
Don’t move and feel it for yourself.”
"!"
Kurosaki Ichigo was slightly startled. Only then did he realize that his actions had stopped due to his conversation with Yhwach.
And this seems to be the purpose of Yhwach's dialogue with himself!
puff--
The next moment, blood spurted out from Kurosaki Ichigo's shoulder.
His shoulder was pierced by the dark spiritual power flying out from the building behind him!
There should be no traps here just now, otherwise he should have triggered them just as he arrived here.
In other words...this trap 'appeared suddenly'!
Kurosaki Ichigo seems to have gradually understood Yhwach's so-called "omniscience and omnipotence" ability.
Not only has the ability to 'see the future', this guy... can 'change the future'!
No, according to this guy, it should be more appropriately described as 'choosing the future'.
The so-called "future" has countless changes from the moment it is seen. Therefore, it is not feasible to rely on actions after seeing the future to reach the desired future!
So... Yhwach directly chose the future that was most beneficial to him and turned it into reality!
The moment he understood this power, Kurosaki Ichigo froze on the spot.
With such an ability... wouldn't it be invincible!?
Is there any need to fight!?
He knew very well that he was originally at a disadvantage when facing Yhwach.
To give a simple analogy, the chances of him trying to kill Yhwach might be a hundred, a thousand or even ten thousand times before he could succeed once.
No matter what he does, as long as there is a future of failure, Yhwach can turn it into reality.
On the other hand, in this situation where failure accounts for the majority, Yhwach can easily avoid the only 'death' and choose countless paths to survive.
Unless Yhwach himself wants to die, it is impossible to kill him!
This is simply cheating! Why bother fighting!?
"How is it? Do you feel hopeless?"
Yhwach walked into the injured and dazed Kurosaki Ichigo with a smile and asked calmly.
"The so-called 'future' is not on a path. The so-called 'future' is like countless grains of sand scattered from here..."
As he spoke, he crushed a stone with his hands, and the crushed sand flew away in the wind.
“At first glance, the countless grains of sand scattered everywhere are each ‘the future’, in other words, there are ‘countless possibilities’.
Ichigo, I like to talk about 'hope'.
‘The future can be changed’, that is a fact.
Beautiful facts full of ‘hope’.
'You think you can possibly defeat me', this is good. It is also a beautiful fact full of 'hope'.
However, "changing the future" is just jumping from one grain of sand to another, nothing more.
And I can overlook all these grains of sand from a higher dimension than you.
Just try and imagine it, Ichigo.
Among these countless grains of sand, there is only one grain of "future" in which you can defeat me.
In other words, you are almost destined to fail.
In the face of countless possibilities of failure, can you continue to hold on to "hope"?
You really feel ‘despair’, right?
So...now, can you understand? My despair."
"Are you...desperate?"
Kurosaki Ichigo stared blankly at the man in front of him.
He didn't understand how he could despair with such ability.
However, the answer Yhwach gave him immediately made him feel it was natural.
"Of course I will despair too."
Yhwach said calmly, "Although I am the king of the Heartless Empire, I am only a human being after all. Being a human being will lead to despair. Those who claim that they will not despair are just afraid to admit it.
As a king, why are you afraid of failure? Afraid of despair? Don’t you think this is ridiculous?
As for what makes me despair...you have been with that man for a long time, so you should have a deep understanding of it, right?"
As he spoke, Yhwach squatted down and looked straight at Kurosaki Ichigo in front of him. There was a bit of confusion in those countless eyes that seemed to be able to penetrate everything.
"I... have seen countless 'futures', the future in which I challenged him. However - there is not a single victory."
As Yhwach spoke, he threw out a handful of sand again.
"That's right, in this dust flying all over the sky, there is not a single particle of 'my future of defeating him'. Do you understand this kind of 'despair' now?"
"..."
Kurosaki Ichigo was slightly startled when he heard this.
This seems... even worse than what he is doing now...
But when I think about it when facing that man, it seems natural.
In other words... is the ambition of Yhwach in front of him actually to defeat that man?
That terrifying existence that stood outside the world and was in a completely different dimension from them.
Isn't this... seeking death?
That's right, Kurosaki Ichigo can't think of any other answer besides seeking death.
I clearly don’t see any possibility of success, but I still want to challenge it.
etc--
Suddenly, Kurosaki Ichigo seemed to understand something.
Ah... I almost got lost because of the so-called "despair" and the fear of failure...
This is a trial.
Yes, this was the test that man gave him.
Let him face Yhwach and face such 'despair'.
The topic should be - as a king, what choice should you make when facing despair?
At this moment, Yhwach has already given the answer.
King, don’t be afraid of failure, don’t be afraid of despair!
Even if you already know the outcome, don’t be afraid to embark on the journey!
This is what a king should do!
"Despair? So what?"
At this moment, Kurosaki Ichigo laughed and laughed at himself.
His eyes became angry, using anger to drive away fear, leaving only a determined look in the end.
After recalling countless battles and everything along the way, he was finally able to give the same answer as Yhwach.
“I really feel this feeling.
But so what?
If there is 'despair' ahead, then just cross it!
The solution to the swastika - ‘Heavenly Lock Cuts the Moon’.”
Amidst the angry shouts, Kurosaki Ichigo suddenly burst into flames and entered the swastika state again.
"Hahahahahaha——"
Looking at Ichigo Kurosaki who was very close to him and challenging him again, Yhwach smiled.
"As expected, you are worthy of being my son of darkness! You and I are indeed the same kind of people - yes, what we have to do now is to overcome this 'despair'!!"
Saying that, Yhwach slowly stood up.
"Come on, let's see if we can—"
"Ah...it failed. What a pity."
Yohabach's words took a turn halfway through.
The Zanpakutō swung by Kurosaki Ichigo stopped in front of him, but unfortunately the knife had broken and could not hit him along the trajectory it should have.
"!"
Kurosaki Ichigo was stunned on the spot, "The Sky Lock Zangetsu... was broken? When?"
"Yeah? When is it?"
Yhwach was also puzzled. He slowly raised his palm and opened it.
Bang——
The broken blade fell from his palm to the ground, making a crisp sound.
"What a pity. It really disappoints me... I thought you could transcend this 'despair'. I thought you could find the 'hope' from countless failed futures."
It was clearly a victory, but for some reason, Yhwach did not feel happy at all. Instead, he was full of regret and confusion.
Because he thought about the battle he would face next.
Facing his own battle, Kurosaki Ichigo still had a glimmer of hope, but ultimately ended in failure.
What about yourself?
Can we really find the non-existent ‘light of hope’ in the endless ‘darkness’?
"It's a question worth pondering."
Thinking of this, Yhwach grinned.
He slowly stretched out his hand towards Kurosaki Ichigo.
The Quincy's power was stripped away from the lost body of Ichigo Kurosaki, and returned to himself as the 'Original'.
After doing all this, Yhwach turned around and no longer looked at the defeated Kurosaki Ichigo.
A door leading to nowhere opened in front of him.
At this moment, Kurosaki Ichigo has no use value to him.
Originally, he wanted to see if Kurosaki Ichigo could find the only hope in despair like him.
This is important to him now.
Someone has to prove that 'hope' exists.
But what disappointed him was that Ichigo Kurosaki, whom he had high hopes for, failed after all.
This boy is still a boy after all, and he doesn't think as far-term as himself.
He has always been in awe of the young man's power, so he has always been wary of the power of the new 'Tensuo Zangetsu'.
And after his liberation, he immediately understood that this was an 'existential threat' to him.
So 'break it in the future'.
If Ichigo Kurosaki can think of this, he may be able to take countermeasures. In this case, there may be a glimmer of hope.
Unfortunately, judging from the extremely surprised expression on Kurosaki Ichigo's face until the end, he attacked without any preparation.
Being able to regain "hope" and challenge him again is indeed worthy of praise.
But it is foolish to place your 'hope' solely on 'courage'.
He had clearly demonstrated all his abilities, but he still failed to think thoughtfully about how to win.
A boy is just a boy after all. If he wants to be a king, he still lacks something.
"It's a pity, Kurosaki Ichigo, your 'kingdom' has come to an end here."
Yhwach sighed without looking back.
Next, he is going to meet another person who may embark on the road of kingship.
There is only one person in this world who is qualified to challenge that man.
That is the person who stands at the top.
And Yhwach has always been confident that this person must be him.
"Are you ready? Aizen."
············
"it's over……"
Kurosaki Ichigo looked up at the sky in despair.
At this moment, he truly saw the so-called "despair".
That was the despair that belonged to Yhwach.
He himself couldn't even find 'hope' from the grains of sand where 'hope' existed. Naturally, he knew how difficult this so-called 'royal road' was.
What Yhwach is about to face is a despair deeper than himself.
so……
What is it that allows this man to still laugh?
Is this the so-called ‘King’s Heart’?
He doesn't understand...
"Damn! Are we late?"
At this time, after the two figures disappeared from the door after Yuhabach, Shanshan arrived late.
It was Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai who were running all the way towards this side.
When they arrived at the scene, all they saw was the mess on the ground, Kurosaki Ichigo who was kneeling on the ground with a desperate look on his face, and Inoue Orihime who was a little overwhelmed.
"What are you doing? Ichigo? What happened?"
Seeing Ichigo's appearance, Renji Abarai couldn't help but rush forward, grabbed him by the collar, and asked, "How is the battle going!? Where did Yhwach go!?"
"Those who can't win...have no chance...there is no 'hope' anymore..."
Kurosaki Ichigo kept repeating it like a machine.
"How on earth can I win? I can't find 'hope'... is this the end of the royal path?
What exactly is the ‘king way’? I don’t understand…”
He seemed to be trapped in Yhwach's words just now, looking confused and unable to find a way out.
"What don't you understand? What does it matter if you don't understand? No one is born knowing everything! Bastard!"
Abarai Renji saw Kurosaki Ichigo looking so decadent and immediately became furious.
"Cheer up, Ichigo! It's not over yet! Aren't we here to help you!?"
"!!"
On the side, Orihime Inoue heard such shouts and felt as if she was waking up from a dream.
Yes, it's not over yet.
She finally understood why her brother allowed her to move freely.