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Chapter 45: The Truth Of The World III
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Akashi's hands rested calmly on his lap, his eyes neither wide nor narrowed. No disbelief crossed his face.
Aizen's gaze sharpened.
"You do not seem surprised."
"Why would I be?" Akashi said, voice low and smooth, like still water, "The world is broken. It's only natural that something monstrous sits at its foundation. The only shocking thing would be if it wasn't the case."
Aizen said nothing. He simply watched, like a scientist observing a rare phenomenon.
"I've thought about this for a long time," Akashi continued, sitting a little straighter, "So the element of surprise was lacking because of how cause and effect works."
"I can see the effect all around me, and it isn't pretty. Therefore, I had already assumed the cause was similarly hideous."
"From the moment I stepped into the academy, I started noticing cracks. Now I know the whole thing is fractured beyond repair."
"I've seen some of the most horrific Hollows; things that shouldn't exist. Creatures born of despair so deep that their shapes are no longer human. They tear apart families, consume the living, and leave behind nothing but silence."
"Some are worse than others... I saw a hollow that uses human parts as its limbs, that holds the souls of the living prisoners and takes pleasure in their suffering."
He looked toward the far wall, his voice growing stranger.
"And yet, those Hollows exist in the human world daily. Shinigami patrols are erratic. Gate deployments are inefficient. There aren't nearly enough Shinigami to watch over the whole world."
"I've listened to rumors about ghosts in small towns. They're usually hollows that roam free, far away from the reach of Shinigami."
"You see, there are thousands and thousands of cities in the world, and aside from spiritual hot spots like Karakura town which needs multiple Shinigami to take care of, the other cities have only one Shinigami in charge."
"But there are towns, villages, small communities that are extremely vulnerable to hollow attacks, yet Shinigami cannot do a thing about it."
"After all, there are at most ten thousand Shinigami in Seireitei, and a significant portion of them are responsible for the security of soul society. How can so few Shinigami possibly protect the world?"
Gin tilted his head at that, smiling faintly.
Aizen didn't move.
Akashi kept speaking, "I understand that resources are finite. But the complacency isn't a product of scarcity; it's a symptom of stagnation."
"It feels like a culture so convinced and comfortable of its rule that it no longer sees the blood pooling beneath its feet."
He turned his gaze back to Aizen, "And then there are the nobles. I've only heard bad stories about them… until I met Tokinada Tsunayashiro." "That man... He toys with life and death like a child plucking wings from flies. I experienced his unfairness myself. And if I report him? If I tell the Gotei 13 what he did?"
Akashi chuckled, shaking his head, "I'd be surprised if I didn't end up thrown in the nest of maggots right away."
"Correct," Aizen said simply.
Akashi continued, "Then there's Rukongai. The afterlife... it's supposed to be peace, right? A reward for a life of pain. A second chance. But it's not."
"It's a wasteland. The farthest districts are a type of hell no one speaks of. I lived in one of them. District 78, South Rukongai."
"I've seen what that place gives people. It gives nightmares. Souls starve. They kill. They rot. And those closer to the center?"
"There isn't as much misery but they're ordinary, mostly living in poverty. It's just mediocrity after misery."
Gin's smile shrank ever so slightly.
Akashi pressed on.
"Shinigami are supposed to be the protectors. But what are they really? Bureaucrats. Locked into archaic rules and rituals, most of which serve the noble families above them."
"The whole structure is built to suppress change. To ensure no one ever questions the status quo."
Aizen's eyes gleamed, but he said nothing. Not yet.
Akashi leaned forward slightly, with a frown, "And lastly? Hell... It confuses me."
Akashi pondered a moment before continuing, "What is Hell, exactly? Why does it exist when it seemingly serves no purpose?"
Aizen's smile returned. Akashi talked enough, and he liked what he heard, so he didn't mind doing some teaching.
That's one of the reasons why Akashi wants to join Aizen. The latter knows much more than he does, especially about Hell, which Akashi is most interested in.
He rose from his seat and moved toward a tall wall of darkened glass. With a flick of his fingers, a projection formed; an image of The Gates of Hell.
The gates are chained shut and adorned with the bandaged head and torso of a skeleton on each door.
The arms of both skeletons seem to be positioned at an angle to pull the gates open when it is summoned.
"Hell is a bandage," Aizen began, "Not a solution. A cracked seal over a world that is fundamentally broken."
Akashi watched, entranced.
"Originally, Hell was devised as a prison for two kinds of entities. The first: irredeemable criminals; beings so dangerous or unstable that their very presence endangered the cycle of souls."
"The second: beings too powerful to reincarnate. Shinigami who committed no crime, but whose spiritual energy was so vast that their reabsorption into the cycle would destabilize it."
Aizen continued, "Hell operates by devouring identity. Every time a soul dies within Hell, it reforms. But not as itself. A piece of it is chipped away. Memory. Personality. Power. With each rebirth, it becomes less and less… until eventually, the soul forgets what it once was. It becomes weak. Powerless. Nothing."
Akashi was silent.
"No trials. No judgment. No hope," Aizen said softly. "Hell is not a place of justice. It is a place of erasure."
Akashi finally spoke, "So hell erases everything about souls til they can be brought back to the cycle of life and death?"
"Correct," Aizen said, "That's supposed to be its purpose, but I've heard that souls roam free in Hell. They must die to reincarnate, but who kills them?"
"There is no one to do the job?" Akashi wondered.
"I assume there is, but if the system by which Shinigami system works is rubbish, then how do you think hell operates?" Aizen asks back.
"Hellish," Akashi answered simply.
"Can it not be fixed? Or is there no one to fix it?" The one to ask the question this time was Tosen, strong curiosity burning in his eyes; for he had never considered so far ahead.
"Not because it can't be fixed," Aizen replied, "But because no one has tried."
Akashi's eyes gleamed, "Stagnation."
"Yes," Tōsen said quietly, stepping forward. "It is. I have seen many fight against injustice in the name of justice. But none ever questioned whether the very definition of justice was flawed."
Gin had been silent til now, but Akashi could feel his stare. That unreadable smile of his; was it amusement? Worry? A mask?
Either way, he finally spoke, sarcastically, "And you are the savior that wants to bring the world out of darkness. You, Akashi, the holder of a darkness-type Zanpakuto."
"I have seen the monstrosity you summoned, and I generally know how your Zanpakuto words," Gin continued, his voice mixed with slyness and venom, attracting Aizen's attention.
"A Zanpakuto is a reflection of a Shinigami's soul, I find it hard to believe you're doing this out of the kindness of your own heart. Are you?" Gin coldly asked.
Akashi remained silent, merely raising a brow in wonder, 'Was Gin there? He saw me call for Cthulhu?'
He was also surprised about Gin's obvious aggression. Then again, he doesn't really understand how a snake's brain functions.
Did Aizen ask him to do it? Wanting to test him? He was unsure.
Akashi traced his eyes around, eyeing Tosen and Aizen's clearly inquisitive eyes. He wasn't afraid to answer.
"Had you asked me that question a while ago, my answer would've been Selfishness. I just want to take all the world's darkness for myself for it makes me stronger."
"However, as you said, a Zanpakuto is a reflection of one's soul. The nature of mine allowed me to understand a few things about myself."
Akashi blinked, his voice serene as he said, "I want all the darkness for myself to grow stronger, but I also don't want there to be darkness other than within me... Make of that what you will."
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