At first glance the room Orihime was given seemed like nice living quarters. There was a soft bed, nice rug and even a small book case. Obviously, they had planned on her coming here as a 'guest'. There was a temptation to let down her guard and try and find a good book to read but Orihime could tell what this room really was a Prison cell. She couldn't let down her guard, she had to wait for the right opportunity to escape. But as she looked through the 'decoratively' barded window at the crescent moon she had to imagine why she had been brought here, for what purpose did Aizen want her for. Turned out she would learn why very soon.

She heard the door to her cell open and Ulquiorra entered the room along with what appeared to be servants bringing food and a new set of clothes designed like the Arrancar's uniform.
"You have one hour, when I return you will have finished your meal and changed into these clothes. Lord Aizen wishes for you to perform a task and you should look presentable or so I'm told."

"I'm not hungry," She said meeting Ulquiorra's eyes "And I don't need a change of clothes."

"It seems you don't fully understand your position. There will be no negotiations, your wants and desires are meaningless here. You will follow all orders given to you by an Espada or else."

Orihime knew she should just have done as he said. She had to play along for the most part but that didn't mean she would make it easy on her captors. "Or else what? Aizen said I need to be kept safe and wants me presentable, right? So you can't hurt me and-."

"There are ways to hurt that you that won't show." Ulquiorra said cutting off her train of thought. "Also I am to keep you safe not unharmed. Provided your powers still function Lord Aizen will forgive a few blemishes since you are being difficult." As fear covered her face, Ulquiorra went further to break spirit, "You exist to serve Lord Aizen, so it is your duty to preserve your life until he calls for you. So eat, or would you prefer I force it down your throat." He then walked towards her, "You said you don't need a change of clothes, I can fix that" He then grabbed her jumper, threatening to tear it off her.

But something stopped him. Orihime shallowed her fear and stood her ground as Ulquiorra studied her expression. Ulquiorra had never enjoyed cruelty but wasn't against using when the situation called for it, so why did he hesitate. Perhaps it was her eyes, they reflected a foolish stubbornness or bravery that he did not understand. What was the point of standing defiant against those greater than you? In the end he dismissed the idea that she caused his hesitation as folly. He reasoned with himself that more likely he stopped because he knew Aizen didn't approve of physical torture, it was crass and far too easy.

"Fine," He said releasing his hold on her clothes "You say you don't need to eat or change than I will take you to Lord Aizen now. Pray he is in a forgiving mood."

Ichigo ran along the solid bridge of spirit energy he was forming in front of him as they plunged into the darkness. "I wonder what happens if you fell from here?"

"I think it's better we don't find out." Renji stated flatly.

"Still, I'm surprised at the quality of the path you made, it looks like real stone. Aren't you supposed to be terrible at controlling your spirit energy." Rukia teased.

"Well than I've clearly gotten better alright." Ichigo defended

"But even with your Quincy training, you are still clearly lacking." Uryu said as he flew by on Spirit construct that acted like a hover board. "You can't control the output at all, your using far more energy than you need to but at least you can utilize the excess to improve the construct even if it's completely unnecessary."

"Shut up, it was the only way I could make a path for everyone. More importantly how you doing that and why can't we do that?" Ichigo shouted at him

"This is just HirenKyaku, the Quincy high speed movement technique."

"Oh so it's like Flash Steps."

"Yes but it operates very differently. From what I can tell Flash Steps was designed for stealth once fully mastered, whereas HirenKyaku has more general applications."

"So there's not much point in me learning it right?" Ichigo asked

"Well it would let you flash while inside your human body, but I can't see you finding another use for it."

"That could be useful, you'll have to teach me it later."

"Fine but just so you know, everyone else could easily make a path more efficiently than you." Uyru said to make a point.

"He's right, even Renji could" Rukia said.

"This is a bit overkill," Chad admitted.

"Want me to take over?" Renji asked.

"You guys can all go to hell" Ichigo growled

Ryuken sat in the Quincy training room looking at the letter Uryu left him while questioning if he had done the right thing.

"Yo long time no see" Isshin said as he entered through a hole in the wall

"You always like to make a strange entrance don't you, Isshin?" Ryuken said as he turned around to find a surprising sight, "that form, you got your powers back?"

Isshin smiled smugly "Yeah, how good do I look in these Robes."

"Terrible, black is not your colour." He retorted "Why are you here?"

"Thought I should thank you for training Ichigo and for keeping my secret."

"Well I guessing you had your reasons, stupid reasons but I'm not someone who can fault you on that."

Isshin's smile faded and he decided to change he topic, "You aren't going to read the letter your son left?"

"There's no need I can tell what it says, besides I let him go."

"Really that doesn't seem like you, what changed your mind?"

"His face when he came to see me, it must have looked remarkably similar to mine the night Masaki almost died. A defeated look trying to hide the pain of failure. But he was also determined to set things right so I freed him to follow his heart so he can live or die with no regrets."

"It may be dangerous for them but I think you did right thing." Isshin said reassuringly

"I hope you are correct, otherwise we both just terrible father."

Ichigo and his team emerged from the Garganta finding themselves in an endless white desert lite by the ever-present moon.

"So this is Hueco Mundo, it feels so…empty" Ichigo commented feeling an odd connection to the landscape.

"Yeah, even all the trees are withered," Chad said.

"Not quiet," Ishida corrected while examining one of them. "They are made of a Quartz like substance."

"Hey guys, you may want to see this." Rukia said with a voice of disbelief they would all share when they saw what lay on the Horizon.

A fortress palace stood as a lone mountain in the distance, its size was ridiculous. It was large enough to house all of Seireitei and tall enough to make the average skyscraper look small in comparison.

"Man Aizen sure likes to show off," Renji said to sap the others out of their disbelief.

"Yeah, it's hard to tell just how big that thing truly is." Chad added.

"I'm willing to bet that's where they have Orihime." Ichigo said

"I'd be surprised if she wasn't being kept there," Uryu commented.

"No time to waste than, lets go." Ichigo said starting to run.

"Wait, I want to try something," Uryu said stopping the other. He then jumped into the air making a hover board again but then expanded it to form a platform, "Jump on".

"So you could have done this and just taken all of us through the Garganta." Ichigo said as everyone hopped on.

"No, this is my first time uses this technique in this manner, it would have been dangerous to experiment in there. Plus, the air in this place is full of spirit energy making it much easier to do." Uryu replied before the platform took off at high speeds.

"This feels kind of slow for a high-speed movement technique. It doesn't feel like we are any closer to that palace," Renji complained after about half an hour.

"Sorry taking 5 extra people does slow it down a bit, I could make it faster but it would exhaust me after a while, this is the most efficient speed" Uryu countered.

"While all of us do need to converse our energy, are you going to be alright, Uryu?" Rukia asked noticing some sweat on his forehead.

"I'm fine just need to have a break soon. Ichigo, would you mind taking over in about 10 minutes?"

"Sure, but how do you fly this thing?"

"It's easy since I've made already made the construct and he path, you just need to guide like you would an arrow." and he explained to Ichigo as they flew over the white sand.

Strange Aizen thought looking at his screen, there a signal from the Substitute Shinigami Badge from within Hueco Mundo but its weak and I can't track its exact location. Urahara must have given him and whoever came with him concealing clocks.

Aizen considered his option while he did plan on them attempting to rescue Orihime he wanted to confirm who had joined Ichigo. "Gin," he said while activating the microphone "Release subject #10 into sector #22."

"A field test so early, it's only been a week since we saw results from the experiment. But who am I to criticise, I'll see it done." His reply came through the computer.

Than Ulquiorra unexpectedly entered the room, "I was not expecting you for another hour Ulquiorra."

"My humble apologies Lord Aizen, however the girl proved more spirited than expected and I felt the situation called for your personally touch." He said as he bowed.

This behavior surprised Aizen, Ulquiorra dealt with his spirited allies all the time. He should have had no trouble getting Orihime to comply. Was this a sign of his growth perhaps? "Very well I trust your judgement. Bring her in." He said projecting his voice.

Orihime and two Arrancar, Menoly and Loly entered. Aizen noticed she had not changed into the Arrancar style uniform. She had shown no signs of resistance when she healed Grimmjow, so why resist this?

"Thank you for joining me Orihime. Sorry to call on you so suddenly but I have something you might like to see. Ulquiorra, Menoly, Loly please leave us." The two female guards protested but it only took a brief look of annoyance from him for them to remember their place and leave.

"Before I show you this, tell me why you didn't obey Ulquiorra?"

Orihime shallowed to gather her courage, "I will heal your warriors for you, or whatever else you want my powers for. But I refuse to be completely controlled." She half lied, what she said was true but she had also sensed Ichigo's entry to Hueco Mundo. If Aizen wanted to keep up this polite charade she would use it to waste time so that she might be rescued before being used as a pawn in one of his schemes.

To say that to my face despite her lack of spiritual power, how stupidly courageous. "That is fine, but what makes you think I'm trying to control you. I merely thought you might need a change of clothes in case your clothes were dirtied during your travel here and you need to eat." Aizen saw doubt flash across her face, accepting that these explanations were completely reasonable. "You seem to be under the impression I'm a complete villain, and while my goal is opposed by the soul society you should have no reason to be my enemy. To clear this confusion, I'm willing to answer any question you may have." He said talking down to her.

"You have attacked my hometown twice and you tried to have Rukia executed. That's plenty of reason to see you as enemy." She responded.

"I suppose that is fair but ask yourself, what were the reasons behind my actions?" Aizen retorted and wait for her to answer.

"Well the first time you sent Ulquiorra and it seemed like he was testing Ichigo and the second time was capture me, and with Rukia you trying to get the Hogyoku right?" Orihime answered slightly confused.

"Yes but aren't my actions very roundabout ways to achieve those goals? If I wished Rukia to die I simply had to intercept Ichigo before he could save Rukia and she would have been killed by the Sokyoku leaving the Hogyoku behind. And why did I need to test Ichigo or capture you when the Hogyoku is fully awakened?"

"Wait I thought it would take 4 months for it to awaken?" She asked confused.

"I found a way around that time limit. If I wanted to I could have march on Karakura and sacrifice it to create the Key's king but I haven't. This is because while I will do anything to achieve my goals if possible I will avoid killing." Aizen said his sliver tongue mixing lies and truth together. "And with your help I will be able to create a way to achieve my goals without needing to destroy your town."

"Why do you need my help?" Orihime asked unsure if she could to believe his words but wanting more information.

Aizen pressed a button on his chair and a cylinder rose from the floor which opened to reveal the Hogyoku. "You see this is what I wanted to show you, the Hogyoku. Unfortunately, it is incomplete and after overuse it has started to deteriorate. My goals are impossible without the Hogyoku which is why I need you." Aizen explained.

"What do you mean when you say the Hogyoku is incomplete?" Orihime asked understanding she had brought here to repair the key of Aizen's ambitions.

"Exactly what I say, something is missing from it so it can't access its full power. Urahara created it to break down the barriers Shinigami and Hollows, failing to see its true potential and so his final product was incomplete. I made the same mistake when I created a Hogyoku."

"You created your Hogyoku? Then why did you need Urahara's?"

"That is a long story. I, like Urahara managed to create a Hogyoku for my experiments, but it could only manipulate what already existed. I later theorized that a complete Hogyoku could manifest new traits in a subject and greatly empower them. So, I tried to improve mine however Hogyoku are notoriously hard to create and even harder to complete. Six years ago, I tried to assimilate a powerful being into it but this caused the destruction of my Hogyoku. Without the means to recreate my own I was forced to obtain Urahara's. On the bright side these unfortunate events taught me there was a way to achieve my goals even with an incomplete Hogyoku so I continued towards my goal."

"And what is that goal?" Orihime asked trying to make sense of the man in front of her.

"Change, the current order of the Soul Society is weak. The Shinigami have lost the strength of the original members and the Central 46 who are meant to control them were a bunch of old men trying to be relevant, clinging to what little power they had. You know they had decided to execute Rukia before I killed them. I will crush their figure head, the Soul King and force the Shinigami to accept a new order" Aizen said.

After hearing this Orihime felt strange, her legs felt tired and there was a strange pain in her chest.

"Perhaps that is enough for today. I can see you need time to think this over, I trust you will see reason."

Aizen said as release a small amount of spiritual energy to signal Ulquiorra to return.

As soon as they left Aizen heard a familiar voice "Having fun playing mind games with the girl?"

"Gin, been there long?" he asked impressed that Gin could still sneak up on him.

"Well I came to report on how the field test went but then I saw you had a guest so I waited."

"It seems like you have something to say?"

"Wasn't that a bit overkill?" Gin asked.

"No, the best lies contain both useless information and grains of truth. It's not like I actually answered all her questions and now she knows what I want her to know. Everything is within acceptable parameters." Aizen said thinking back to 6 years when his plans had nearly been derailed.

6 years ago

Impressive, I wonder what they named it Aizen thought to himself as he walked the unfamiliar halls of an Ice covered castle. He wasn't impressed with architecture of the building, what was impressive was the entire thing was Spiritual Construct like the Quincy's weapons but on higher level. The castle sat in a sea of shadows which reminded Aizen of the Garganta expect stabilized. To be able to artificial create and maintain this shadow realm indicated how powerful the Quincy King was.

Aizen walked past several Quincy unnoticed thanks to the improvements he'd made to Urahara's concealing cloaks and made his way to what should be the throne room. As Aizen opened the door and entered the room an unseen blade tried to decapitate him, stopped only by the kido barriers he placed in his natural blind spots. Surprised by the accuracy and power of the attack as it started to break his shield, Aizen launched himself into the throne room to have enough space to maneuver as he turned to face his assailant also raising his sword to block a following attack which never came.

His opponent, a tall blond haired man named Haschwalth, stood there just as surprised as him and remarked "I thought myself paranoid and yet here stands the invisible assassin as I witnessed. What a truly terrifying power."

Aizen felt as though the Quincy wasn't referring to him but before he could retort shadows swarmed at the hole cut in cloak, determine to eject from this world. He quickly repaired the disrupted kido within the cloak which keep him hidden from the shadows while dodging another attack.

"You do not belong here, how did you even find this place?" Haschwalth said trying to provoke a response so he could track Aizen's position via his voice.

"You only have yourselves to blame." Aizen taunted. "Did you think the sudden deaths of almost all remaining Quincy in the world of the living would go unnoticed. I simply followed the massive energy signature back to source and found this place."

As Haschwalth went to attack again he received a vision warning him he was about to be cut down and he managed to defend himself from Aizen's counter.

"Superb reflexes or was it something else?" Aizen asked as he silently flashed behind his foe to attack only to be blocked again.

Aizen went on the attack, slowly measuring his opponent's skill. It was clear to him that even without his concealing cloak he would out match the Quincy, so how was his opponent able to defend himself?

Haschwalth knew he was an imperfect vessel for this Majesties' power, and with the 'eyes' shut only a fraction of its power could be utilized but it was enough to keep him alive. As the fight went on Haschwalth continued to see his own death and desperately struggled to avoid it, patiently waiting for a chance to counter attack.

He considered taking a blow on purpose to trap his foe and land a killing blow but his years of training had taught him those self-destructive tactics only worked on being of comparable strength. Haschwalth wished he still had his own Balance powers, which were near impossible to defeat in direct combat. He pushed on regardless for this was a fight he couldn't afford to lose.

As Haschwalth had been resting in preparation for his nightly duty he dreamt of his king's death, a man wielding an orb of incredible power would destroy him as he slumbers. Haschwalth had thought or rather hoped it was a mere nightmare, due to his limitations he could only see a few hours into the future and he saw nothing after waking. But as the night passed on the vision returned in more detail.

His majesties' eyes showed him how alerting the other Sternritters, even the elite Schutzstaffel would turn on each other or fall thanks to this mysterious man's power. There was but one way he could change this fate, by facing the man alone and avoiding taking a single blow. Only then could Haschwalth save his king.

"I see you are the other half, no wonder you can stand against me." Aizen began taunting again "Is that how you knew I was coming? That borrowed power you are trying to wield. You were right, it is a terrifying ability but in your hands, it's far from Almighty."

HOW? HOW DOES HE KNOW SO MUCH? Haschwalth thought in shock at the meaning behind his foes words, and that moment of distraction Aizen showed no mercy.

The Almighty managed to warn him of the attack again but he could not dodge it completely and Aizen's Zanpakuto left a small cut on his face. The wound was so minor Haschwalth barely felt it and yet he felt as thou the future was set in stone and he finally understood what his opponent was.

Yhwach had warned Haschwalth of five being that caused even him to fear. He devoted every waking hour attempting to divine who they were, dubbing them 'the special war powers'. They each contain a special trait so powerful that even before his almighty eyes, they were unknown variables. They say one in thousand people are special, and one in a million are unparalleled geniuses. These people were one in a billion.

There could be no doubt that one such being stood before him, his presence in their shadow realm was proof enough. On top of that it could be no coincidence he had struck while his Majesty was asleep.
His instincts told him it was over, he had lost. Refusing to believe that Haschwalth prepared to defend his king, determined to change the future.

"Perhaps I'm being a little harsh. Even my proud Zanpakuto acknowledged you seriously." Aizen conceded, his voice sounding as if it came from several different places at once. "Therefore I will answer the question that you are clearly dying to ask."

In that moment Haschwalth felt a sword run through his chest. Pain assailed him as he looked down at the sword sticking out of him only to see it fade away, along with his wound and the pain.

"I began studying the Quincy twelve years ago after I witnessed one of you who was able to kill an incredible powerful hollow that was far beyond their skill. I looked into the ancient records, housed at the bottom of the Great Spirit Library, of the original war between Shinigami and Quincy one thousand years ago." As Aizen spoke more fake sword continued to attack Haschwalth but the pain was all too real.

"The information there was quite illuminating, the Shinigami of the time did an excellent job looting what was left of your old empire. The Kaiser Gesang was interesting but it was the records of old traitorous Quincy which described The Almighty in detail." Desperate to defeat his enemy Haschwalth starting attacking randomly at the voices that taunted him.

"Only Quincy or those appointed by his majesty can enter our shadows, how are you here?" Haschwalth asked to keep his foe's attention on him as he tried to buy some more time to turn things around.

"That was simple, all I needed was a cloak that released Quincy spirit energy to be seen as one of you." Aizen replied with smile enjoying tormenting Haschwalth, he used his power to make Haschwalth feel as though the left side of his body was on fire while the right was frozen.

Growing tired of tormenting his opponent Aizen left him suffering in painful illusion as he walked past him towards his true target who sat idle on a throne.

"I wonder what lies in your dreams?" Aizen mused watching Yhwach as he slept, unaware of world and the danger he was in. "Do you dream of your father? No one seems to know where you came from but I have theory I would like to share with you." He said pulling out his Hogyoku and letting it observe Yhwach, curious to see how the two would interact.

"According to a scroll written by an old monk, the Soul king originally was a powerful being who could travel between dimensions with ease. Eventually he came across a world that was slowly falling apart, taking pity on the inhabitants he restored balance by separating the lands of the living and dead. Than he began to regulate the flow of souls thus shaping the world we know today.

However, by doing this the Soul King became necessary for this dimensions continued existence. He tried to create beings that would take his place, the first Shinigami. But no matter how many he created none could do so, even when working in cohort with each other.

Putting aside his desire to continue traveling the multiverse the Soul King gathered his resolve and permanently committed himself to the task. He removed his legs so he could no longer travel, then he his arms so he could not heal himself. Finally, he chose his strongest warrior to became his Guardian. The soul king bestowed his heart upon the warrior so if he ever fell in battle he would only be revived even stronger than before.

Unexpectedly his severed limbs gained minds of their own. His legs fled across the multiverse, inheriting his love of freedom and travel. His Guardian grew bored of his duty and left his post to seek great battles. His hands descended to the land of the living where they were revered as gods by the inhabitance and for a time lived in peace. The Right hand could stop and illness from getting worse and treasures brought before it would not dull or rust. The left hand would bestow power to those who sought it and wished to push their limits, its followers could learn what should take months in weeks. The Hands of the Soul King governed stagnation and evolution respectively and as with all deities that possess opposing powers, eventually their zealots declared war on one another.

The war was long and bloody and even after years' no one could tell who would win. In the hell that was that battlefield the first hollows were born. The Soul king saw the beasts and feared them, their never ending hungry for souls would eventually turn them into monster of great power. He gave his Shinigami a new task, hunt hollows and cleanse them. He then punished both his hands for their unwitting roles in the creation of the Hollows.

Even thou the Shinigami proved skilled at hollow hunting, the Soul King was still fearful. Knowing the danger of letting fear guide all your actions he searched for a way to be free of his fear. Taking drastic measures again he completely removed his capacity to feel fear from his mind. But fear is essential part of the mind, the oldest and most powerful emotion. After all he had already stripped away from himself, by removing his fear the Soul king became more of an it. A machine with a lingering will to sustain the world and guide its future.

And that's where you come in, Yhwach. You were born of the fear The Soul King discarded, weren't you? I think the best way to describe you would be the Shadow of Soul King, for you are a blurred image cast by the original. A senseless baby with no power, you were never meant to exist let alone rise an empire. Everything you have was stolen from the souls you have absorbed, though I am hardly one to criticize you for that. Eventually you inherited the eyes of your father and have been cultivating them for a long time. The power to change the future, how I loathe that power. I refuse to be at the mercy of one such as you or the Soul King.

As he finished the will of the Hogyoku made its judgment. It stole the all the souls that Yhwach had absorbed to empower himself, leaving him a wrinkled old man with his black hair turned grey.
"Yes it has a habit of doing that, taking whatever it can and leaving behind an empty shell. Very few survive the process." Aizen said with a smile.

In that moment Yhwach awoke to the horror of having lost all five of his senses. He could not feel his body and had no strength to attempt to move. He could hear only silence and his nose was empty, he was unsure if he was even breathing as he could taste no air in his mouth. His eyes that should have seen all were meet with only darkness.

Yhwach was furious and didn't understand how this could happen, he had had plenty of souls to sustain himself and yet here he was trapped in what could only be called a nightmare. He refused this reality, countless people had surrendered themselves to keep him from reverting to this state and he would take countless more if meant escaping this nothingness.

Reaching out with what was left of his mind, Yhwach violently recalled every shard of his soul that had shaped the Schrifts of his Sternritters, leaving them all but powerless. They were his subjects surely, they were willing to give up everything for him. This was not his Ashwahlen which draw energy from a Quincy's blood, this was simply him taking back what was already his.

As the Almighty returned to him he sensed the danger in front of him, using all the power he had reclaimed Yhwach desperately opened his eyes completely and he lost control of his power. He unintentional unleashed a true Ashwahlen on all his Soldat forces, Hundreds of his common soldiers were being drained of their powers. Yhwach manage to regain control, and took everything. He torn their souls apart for more power, broke their bodies down to be converted into more spirit energy. Knowing that wouldn't be enough he also stole the natural of gifts of Pernida Prankgjas and Gerard Valkyrie.
Yhwach had exhausted every resource of his empire, but to him it was worth it to feel his strength and his senses returning. His eyes were not complete but they were strong again.

"So you wish to provide another serving? how generous of you." Aizen said with a look of excitement as he watched color returned to Yhwach's hair. The Hogyoku was nearly complete, he could feel it. It just needed one final offering.

Yhwach looked up at the man in front of him and saw his timeline clearly. Sosuke Aizen, a traitorous captain of the Shinigami who sort to reach the highest level of existence, he was the man that would ultimately use him as a stepping stone to reach those heights. Yhwach lacked the strength to alter the future with the Almighty but he saw a possibility to deny Aizen. It was an uncertain future but faced with the inevitability of his demise Yhwach braved his fears of death and settled for vengeance and satisfaction.

Aizen once again brought the Hogyoku forth to repeat the previous process but to his surprise Yhwach swiftly reached out his left hand and grabbed the Orb which stole so much from him.

"Your arrogance is outstanding, Sosuke Aizen. No matter how I might try to kill you, you have enough defenses to survive and your little toy here could heal you. So instead I have decided to make sure you never see it completed." Yhwach declared as he used Pernida's power, the power of the Soul King's Left hand to begin destroying the Hogyoku.

"STOP!" Roared Aizen at this sudden turn of event he never even considered. He tried to stab Yhwach through one of his eyes but black nerves shot forth from his left hand forcing Aizen to retreat.

Yhwach could not comprehend what the Hogyoku really was, its power felt nothing like spirit energy and it contained an overwhelming amount of energy. If it were complete it would be impossible even for him to destroy, however it still had a few imperfections left. Yhwach channeled the strength he had stolen from his army into his arm, continuously evolving his attack to learn the orbs flaws and crush it.

Sensing a danger, the Hogyoku react and tried to kill Yhwach rather than drain him. Persevering though the pain Yhwach sacrificed his other senses hearing, taste, smell and sight and poured that energy into his heart. Using Gerard's Miracle powers that came from the Heart of Soul King he withstood the Hogyoku attack. Normally the heart would restore and empower one after a fatal blow, but this was his only chance to attack the Hogyoku so Yhwach simply used it to stay alive.

Aizen watched in horror as his life work was being destroyed before his eyes and he could do nothing to stop it. A bright light burst throughout the room as the Hogyoku exploded into dust. Aizen looked down on the old man that sat before him, the color once again draining from his hair. His left arm was missing and the power in his heart was burned out from overuse.

"In death you would have done more to damage my plans than I ever expected. I'd be impressed if I wasn't almost blinded by this unyielding rage!" Aizen screamed, breaking his usual composure in order to release his emotions and regain control. "But I won't kill you just yet, that won't satisfy my anger. I'm sure I can find a painful use for you.

Present time

Orihime was returned to her cell still strangely tired and Ulquiorra hovered behind her waiting to see what she would do. She saw her new clean clothes were now laid out on her bed and she remembered Aizen's last words I trust you'll see reason.

"May I have some privacy? I need to change and I would prefer to eat only."

Ulquiorra left as if finishing a mundane chore that took longer than expected leaving Orihime alone with her thoughts.

After she was finished changing she wished there was a mirror included in her luxury prison so she could tell if the dress suited her.

As she eat the food they had left here Orihime wondered how long her conversation with Aizen had been? It didn't feel like a long conversation and yet not only had the food gone completely cold her and legs were still sore like she'd been standing for hours. Perhaps the constant night was messing with her sense of time.

As She continued eating her thoughts were conflicted, on one hand she desperately wanted to go home and escape this dreadful place. But now she had an unrivaled opportunity to stop Aizen, she knew where the Hogyoku was being kept and more importantly she might be able to destroy it. She picked out a book from the bookcase and laid it on the table.

"Soten Kisshun, I reject" She chanted as she tested her powers to see if they could be used in the way she wanted. She rejected the event of the books creation and it disappeared leaving no trace.

With her theory confirmed Orihime started devising a plan, starting by going over the way back to the Aizen's room in her head trying to learn the way. 'I trust you'll see reason'

She didn't know the real reason Aizen had shown her the Hogyoku but he made a fatal mistake. Despite how convincing he was she knew he was still her enemy.

Ulquiorra will definitely fight Ichigo again, that will be my chance to destroy the Hogyoku. I know Ichigo will beat him than we can go home together.

Hello once again, sorry for the long absence of updates hopefully the next chapter won't take so long.

I left out the underground entrance and the fight there mainly because same reasons I didn't write ikkaku and yumichika's fights. Felt pointless and lacked inspiration.

Anyway this is where I start to make more major changes to lot of things from canon and hopefully this won't piss people off. A lot of Aizen's actions may seem odd or off this chapter, both in present time and 'flashback', but can't say why because spoilers, although i expect some people will figure it out.

With Yhwach and Haschwalth I took some liberties but I think they work.

This next part was something I cut, where Aizen was talking about the old war. It felt bloated and unnecessary and didn't flow too well (didn't feel what replaced it flowed that well either but was a little better) but figured it was worth putting it in at least as a bonus section, kinda like an omake just not a comedy segment. Enjoy

The war seemed to be in the Left hand's favor at first as their warriors could teach and grow at an exceptional rate creating an army of master swordsman which should have taken several years, in just one. But the Right Hand had a terrible power that tipped the scales, by stagnating its soldiers' deaths, even the most heavily wounded could still fight despite being covered in arrows or even missing so internal organs.

The near immortal armies of the Right hand overwhelmed the more skilled warriors of the left hand and as the war dragged on the cost of their 'gods' gifts became apparent. The undying Rights army's wounds never healed and the men were driven mad by the constant pain, so they fought more desperate to knowing they would only be released from their cursed lives when the war was won. As for the lefts warriors' their accelerated learning costed them their youth, an accelerated aging process saw many abandon their faith.

Desperate for a new weapon to turn the tide the Left hand decided to create its own monsters. It twisted the human body of its subjects to their limits. During these experiments, it discovered a dark power, a hunger hidden deep within the heart. By emptying the hearts of its remaining followers, it gave that hunger room to grow and awakened the dark potential in all humanity. That was how the first hollows were born.

The hollows proved to be effective in the war, with the ability eat the souls of the undying and end them permanently. Unfortunately, nothing could sate their hungry as they eat everyone, solider or innocent. Despite having remained neutral, hating the atrocities which both sides had committed, the Soul King was forced to act. He sent the Shinigami to wipe out the Hollow and end the long bloody conflict by destroying his Left Hand.

In the end the Left hand escaped by creating a new world in between the lands of the living and the dead. What we now call Hueco Mundo. The Right Hand was banished to the Land of the dead. The Soul king's guardian, carrier of his heart lead a team of Shinigami into Hueco Mundo to exterminate the Hollows and track the Left Hand. Unfortunately more hollows started appearing from pain still lingering in the living world and so their task was never done, and eventually the Guardian grew old and a stranger was able to steal his heart.