Chapter 62: SS 62: Return and Divinity, Athena’s Call
"Kaiser, I have a question." Urahara Kisuke said, accepting defeat.
"If the world's limits are broken, does that mean the shackles on Hollows and Quincies will be lifted too?"
Aizen no longer needed the Hogyoku.
His limit-breaking spiritual pressure alone could crush all the three realms' elites.
Even the Zero Division's royal agents had been utterly defeated.
Urahara's only concern now was this: breaking the world's limits would benefit them greatly, but would it also amplify its dangers?
Stronger Hollows, stronger Quincies… and humans, still frail.
He feared disrupting the current stable cycle.
"The world's evolution isn't static." Kaiser replied.
"The Soul King saw this."
"That's why he made a deal with me."
"To him, a world locked in stagnation, devoid of hope, is a slow suicide."
"You're not far from total collapse."
"So he chose to gamble everything, to fully liberate the world and let it evolve freely."
"Laws, world strength, and its beings will grow in sync."
"Your worries are baseless."
Kaiser said no more.
Once Aizen fully broke the limits, the Invisible Empire, Yhwach... mere playthings.
Even if Yhwach appeared now, he'd be no match for Aizen.
His so-called omniscience was laughably weak.
What value was omniscience that Kyoka Suigetsu could hypnotize?
Even after devouring the Soul King's remnants in the Royal Palace, inheriting everything, Yhwach's fate was to become a living corpse.
With the defeat of Soul Society's captains, Aizen's path to breaking limits was set in motion.
Time flew, and over half a year passed in a blink.
At the Twelfth Division, Urahara Kisuke and Mayuri Kurotsuchi studied the data, their awe unconcealed.
"The physical body holds such power." Mayuri marveled.
"Kaiser's unique perspective is remarkable."
"Reach the pinnacle of Shinigami spiritual pressure, then use that vast pressure to refine the body."
"Thus breaking the Shinigami limit."
"A fusion of spirit and flesh."
Mayuri couldn't stop praising the approach.
"Aizen's power is nearing the world's capacity." Urahara noted.
"Even standing still, space struggles to contain him."
"Once Kaiser completes the law's ascension, the world's limit break will be nearly done."
Urahara set down the documents.
He'd handed the Hogyoku to Aizen, a tool for his path.
The Hogyoku was undeniably potent, fully merging with Aizen and accelerating his evolution.
It even birthed a perfect physical form for him.
Aizen was now, indisputably, the three realms' strongest.
Hyosube Ichibe had descended from the Royal Palace to challenge Aizen.
The fight lasted less than a minute.
Ichibe returned to the palace, reborn, in a complete rout.
"Kaiser, are you leaving?" Aizen asked, sensing Kaiser's intentions.
As his spiritual pressure reached the world's limit, Kaiser was clearly preparing to return home.
"Yes." Kaiser confirmed.
"The world's ascension and limit break are nearly complete."
"My deal with the Soul King is done."
"I'll return to my world soon."
"Aizen, you've proven exceptional, with immense potential."
"I look forward to meeting you in the myriad galaxies one day."
Kaiser set down his teacup, not hiding his imminent departure.
"Is that so?" Aizen said, his signature smile now tinged with sincerity, unlike his past facades.
Perhaps because he no longer needed to hide.
"But with countless worlds in the myriad galaxies, who knows when we'll meet again?"
"There'll be a chance." Kaiser said, smiling.
"You're on my Throne of Heroes' list."
Every world he visited was marked by the Throne of Heroes.
Who it acknowledged wasn't his concern.
Though Kaiser could be considered its master, if none met its standards, the record meant nothing.
"Thank you for your guidance this year." Aizen said earnestly.
"We'll meet again in the myriad galaxies."
Over the year, their exchanges had been frequent.
Aizen learned of the vastness and grandeur of the myriad galaxies from Kaiser... countless worlds, races, opportunities, and adventures.
Compared to the stagnant pool of Soul Society, the galaxies were where Aizen yearned to be.
"We will." Kaiser replied.
The moment his words fell, everyone... whether in Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, the Human World, the Invisible Empire, or Hell... felt a shift.
The world surged with newfound vitality.
Laws and reishi grew vibrant and alive.
Every being in this world received a baptism.
In the Royal Palace, the Soul King's imprisoned form vanished amidst the cleansing.
The world underwent its greatest transformation since its creation.
"This is… world ascension?"
"Incredible."
"This sensation!"
Those in the know gazed at the sky.
Golden light cascaded down.
Illnesses healed, disabilities mended.
This was the world's reward.
A celebration of its will's ascension.
"My task is complete." Kaiser said, standing.
"Aizen, you can break the limit now."
Hum!
Feeling the increasingly solid space around him, Aizen didn't hesitate to charge the final barrier.
Crack!
A crisp shattering sound rang out.
Aizen's spiritual pressure began a rapid transformation.
"Congratulations." Kaiser said.
"You've broken the limit."
"Your strength now far surpasses the Soul King's."
Aizen opened his eyes, sensing the changes in his body.
His flesh had fully fused with his soul, a torrent of power coursing through him.
"This is the boat to the other shore?"
"Not bad…"
Aizen had never imagined reaching such heights.
The three realms could be extinguished with a wave of his hand.
"Train well." Kaiser said.
"I look forward to seeing you in the Throne of Heroes."
With that, Kaiser vanished before Aizen's eyes.
"We'll meet again in the myriad galaxies." Aizen murmured, resolute.
"I'll see it with my own eyes."
Ding.
"Host's mission successfully completed."
"Fusing rewards…"
Back in the Throne of Heroes, Kaiser noticed changes within himself.
"Only a slight enhancement of divinity?"
"That's enough."
Kaiser opened his eyes.
Since reaching the Eighth Sense with his Cosmo, advancing further was arduous, requiring time to grind.
A boost to his divinity was a solid gain.
As his consciousness merged with his body, his divinity fused.
"Hm?"
Kaiser frowned.
The moment he returned, a strange call echoed from the depths of his soul.
Someone was summoning him.
The voice was ethereal, distant, yet unclear.
"This is…"
"Athena?"
Kaiser was incredulous.
In the battle against Hades and the Twin Gods in the Saint Seiya world, Athena's physical form had dissipated.
By past experience, her soul should be in slumber.
Yet now she was contacting him?
"Athena?" Kaiser called, responding to the summons.
"It's me." came a clear reply.
"Your soul didn't fall into slumber?"
"Why?"
Kaiser was stunned.
"This is a connection through divinity, between you and me alone." Athena explained.
Kaiser's consciousness sank, soon arriving as a soul in a void-like space.
"Where is this?"
He scanned his surroundings.
A vast, empty expanse, with a divine temple at its center, radiating immense pressure.
"My true body resides in that temple." Athena's soul said, appearing beside him.
Clad in an elegant white gown, she bore no trace of the war goddess.
"Your true body?" Kaiser asked, shocked.
He hadn't expected Athena's body to still exist.
Records stated her physical form was destroyed by Hades and Poseidon in the Mythological Era, at the cost of Poseidon's body and Hades hiding his in Elysion.
Yet Athena claimed her body remained.
"Yes, that war in the Mythological Era did damage my body." Athena admitted.
"But I turned it to my advantage."
"Too many in the heavens fear me."
"Even Zeus wishes me gone."
"My soul-state is optimal."
"I thought it would take decades to contact you here."
"I didn't expect your compatibility with divinity to be so high."
"Your body is nearly a demigod's, isn't it?"
Athena gazed at Kaiser, amazed.
This Golden Saint under her command had not only grasped divinity but perfectly fused with the divinity she bestowed, opening a path to godhood.
"Indeed, my body's transformation continues." Kaiser nodded.
"Once I reach the Ninth Sense, I should be able to condense a divine core with my divinity."
"Don't rush to form a divine core at the Ninth Sense." Athena warned.
"Mortals ascending to godhood draw the heavens' ire."
"You need the God-Slaying Power first."
That was why she sought him.
"God-Slaying Power?" Kaiser said, surprised.
"Isn't that exclusive to Pegasus?"
"Can it be taken?"
He knew of the God-Slaying Power, a force from the Mythological Era, a grave threat to gods.
Though he'd planned to pursue it, Athena's blunt mention startled him.
"It's not as potent as you think." Athena said, shaking her head.
"If it were, the Holy War wouldn't have dragged on from the Mythological Era to now."
"The best way to awaken it is to slay a god."
"A god's core, divinity, and body are fuel for the God-Slaying Power."
"But for a mortal to kill a god is nearly impossible."
The gods weren't fools.
Since the God-Slaying Power's emergence, they'd hidden well, never appearing.
"You are the perfect vessel for the God-Slaying Power." Athena said, her gaze intense on Kaiser.
"Even more suited than Pegasus."
"Your soul is different from ordinary humans."
"It's as if it has no limits."
"So, in two hundred years, you'll grant me the God-Slaying Power?" Kaiser asked, frowning.
Was it something Athena created?
How else could she speak of extracting it so casually?
"Do you know the origin of the God-Slaying Power?" Athena asked with a faint, enigmatic smile.
"No." Kaiser admitted, shaking his head.
"Then how do you think I turned Hades' guard, the Pegasus Saint, against him in the Mythological Era?"
Her words stunned Kaiser, his eyes widening in shock.
"That's right." Athena confirmed.
"The God-Slaying Power was my creation."
"It's a force born from combining the ancient gods, the heavens' deities, and secrets hidden within the earth."
"I still remember its immense power."
"But none of my warriors could bear it."
"The only one compatible was Hades' guard, the Pegasus Saint."
"So I used the God-Slaying Power to sway him."
"In that battle, I wielded it to destroy Poseidon's body."
"Hades' body was critically wounded, never daring to leave Elysion again."
"I hid my own body as well."
"Now, I see someone even more suited than Pegasus."
"You are chosen, Kaiser... the only one!"
"You have the potential to surpass the gods."
Her words made Kaiser feel that some past events from his previous life's knowledge were starting to make sense.
Why would Hades' loyal Pegasus betray him?
The God-Slaying Power explained it perfectly.
"Pegasus was compatible, but he lacked the potential to become a god." Athena continued.
"You can condense a divine core."
"With the God-Slaying Power, you could unravel the secrets of the gods' homeland."
"End the Holy War for good."
"I need you, Kaiser."
Her eyes softened, as if beholding a cherished treasure.
"Is that so?" Kaiser said, understanding his uniqueness.
As a transmigrator, his soul likely differed from this world's natives.
No limits, perhaps.
He hadn't expected Athena to value him so highly.
"Kaiser, we are now the closest of partners." Athena said.
"I know you're special."
"I can shield you."
"But if one day you gain the chance to transcend, I hope to join you."
Her stance was clear... a god's intuition.
From the moment she saw Kaiser, a voice urged her to hold onto him.
She was betting on him.
A nineteen-year-old at the Eighth Sense, wielding divinity and divine blood, with a unique soul and the God-Slaying Power... his buffs were stacked.
Athena couldn't imagine failure.
Unless… the legendary Overgod intervened.
But that entity hadn't appeared since the heavens and earth were formed.
"Oh?" Kaiser said, surprised.
"You're that certain I'll transcend?"
"I trust my intuition." Athena replied.
"As the goddess of war and wisdom, my strength will be your perfect aid."
She smiled.
"Then… to a fruitful partnership." Kaiser said, returning the smile.
Her words gave him clarity.
Athena's intellect was undeniable... she'd nurtured Seiya to a level just below the Overgod Chronos.
Her God-Slaying Power was a resounding success.
***
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