How long has it been since that defeat? The air in the underground training ground is cold and heavy. The smell of sweat mixes with the acrid stench of scorched reiatsu, weighing down the lungs. The third basement level of Ordina Academy — a stone chamber lit only by pale reiatsu lamps. Yuuki stood with both hands thrust forward, breathing ragged. His fingertips are faintly translucent. The outline blurs. The stone wall behind them shows through. "[scared]...Still not back." His voice trembled. A week since the last use. And yet, his fingers still haven't fully returned. Every time he uses Retrograde, his existence fades — Valnesia's words cling to his mind, refusing to let go. "[gentle]Don't rush, Yuuki." Rukia stood right beside him. Her small body, clad in the usual black shihakusho, is illuminated by the pale light. Her violet eyes are calm, but deep within, Yuuki knew an unerasable unease was hidden there. "[serious]Shorten the activation time by one more second. You should be able to." Rukia tapped her temple with the index finger of her left hand. A habit of hers when deep in thought. "[scared]One second... will that really change anything?" "[serious]With one second, you can avoid a fatal wound. You can buy time to escape Valnesia's Mirage Lead, too." Yuuki nodded. But his chest remained heavy. He couldn't imagine winning. The despair he tasted in the Chamber of Eternal Sleep still lingered in his core. He raised both hands again. Focused his reiatsu. A click sounded deep in his head — That's when it happened. DOGAAAAAN!! The iron door was kicked in. Yuuki recoiled instinctively. His heart leaped. Beside him, he sensed Rukia's hand move to the hilt of her zanpakuto. Three shadows at the training ground entrance. Black shihakusho. Zanpakuto at their hips. No mistake — shinigami. "[cold]Found you." A low voice echoed. Yuuki froze. He recognized them. Fellow shinigami from his cohort, who fought alongside him in last week's Hollow battle — one of them was someone whose life he had saved with Retrograde. During training, they had spoken to him with smiles. But not now. The eyes of all three are twisted with hatred. Under the pale reiatsu lamps, their gazes were sharp as blades. The reiatsu they emitted made the training ground's air tremble. "[angry]You were the one invading our memories!!" Invading? Memories? Yuuki stepped back. "[scared]Wha— what are you talking about —" "[angry]Don't play dumb!!" Another shinigami shouted. A young man's voice, shaking with rage. "[angry]We heard you've been transmitting reiatsu signals toward Hueco Mundo every night! You're the one who leaked the Gotei Thirteen's defense intel to the enemy, aren't you!!" "[scared]No!! I didn't do that!!" Yuuki shouted back. But — their eyes don't change. Genuine hatred burns deep in their pupils. This isn't an act. Their faces showed they truly believed it. Mirage Lead. Valnesia's power rewrote their memories. False memories — that Yuuki is an invader from Hueco Mundo, that he's distorting the world with Retrograde — were implanted. Yuuki was speechless. The lives he saved are now stained with hatred, turned against him. The strength drained from his entire body. His legs wouldn't move. "[serious]Yuuki, get back." Rukia stood before Yuuki. Her back in the black shihakusho became a small but certain wall. Her hand still gripped the sword's hilt. "[cold]...Rukia. You too, huh." The third shinigami spoke lowly. "[cold]From the Thirteenth Division... to think you'd betray us." Rukia's fingers trembled for just a moment. But immediately, she raised her head. "[cold]I have not betrayed anyone. Your memories have been — by Valnesia —" "[angry]Shut up!!" Three zanpakuto were drawn simultaneously. Reiatsu bursts. The air tenses. In the narrow training ground, a three-versus-two disadvantage. And Yuuki is unarmed, with Rukia's sword still in its sheath. Rukia exhaled. Her hand left the sword's hilt. "[cold]...Fine. I won't resist." "[surprised]Rukia!!" "[serious]If we fight here, you'll die." Rukia spoke without looking back at Yuuki. Her voice was quiet, but a faint tremor mixed within. "[serious]I promised to protect you. So now, I choose the path of survival." Two shinigami grabbed Yuuki's arms. Enough force to make his bones creak. Yuuki raised his head. The training ground door is still open. The corridor leading outside remains as an escape route. If he were alone, perhaps — But his feet stopped. (If I run, Rukia will...) His chest tightened. If there's a chance of hurting his comrades, he can't run. That was the path Yuuki had chosen. He offered his wrists himself. --- The white stone pavement leading to the White Tower. Passing shinigami stop in their tracks, watching the two being escorted. The bustle of the Kagenoichiba market falls silent. Merchants peer from behind their stalls, shinigami whisper among themselves. "Isn't that Rukia from the Thirteenth Division?" "The man next to her... a living soul?" Eyes of curiosity. Eyes of contempt. Rukia walked with her head held high. Her small back straight, her violet eyes fixed forward. "[cold]I ask the escorting soldiers. Why are we being detained? Present the legal grounds." Her voice was composed. The escort soldier did not turn around. "[cold]An emergency interrogation order has been issued." Rukia's feet stopped for a moment. "[scared]...The upper echelons of the Gotei Thirteen are already moving." Yuuki felt a chill run down his spine. It's not just low-ranking shinigami that Valnesia has bought. His reach extends into the organization's core — The tower entrance. The moment they passed through the gate of the white tower, the escort line split in two. "[surprised]Huh —" The shinigami holding Yuuki's arm and the one escorting Rukia began walking in different directions. Rukia twisted her neck to look at Yuuki. Eyes trying to convey something. Lips about to open. But they turned the corner of the corridor. In that instant, her figure vanished from sight. Yuuki was alone. A space without Rukia. Complete isolation, for the first time. His heart pounded. Cold sweat seeped into his palms. --- The interrogation chamber. A white stone, inorganic space. Semicircular seats are arranged at the front, with six captain-class shinigami. One interrogator in the center. All of them wore unreadable expressions. Yuuki was made to stand alone in the center of the room. No sign of Rukia. She must be held in a separate room. No voice, no presence, nothing reached him. The interrogator opened his mouth. A middle-aged shinigami, with eyes utterly devoid of emotion. "[cold]Sasaki Yuuki. An inquiry will be conducted regarding reiatsu communications to Hueco Mundo, and the use of the forbidden technique Retrograde." "[scared]Tha— that's wrong! I —" The interrogator raised a hand, cutting off Yuuki's words. A visual terminal activated. Pale light projected onto the wall, displaying footage. Outside the city walls, late at night. In a wasteland lit only by moonlight, a lone figure raises both hands — unmistakably Yuuki. Purple reiatsu waves are emitted from his palms. A signal directed at Hueco Mundo. In the corner of the footage, a timestamp and location data are appended. "[scared]I didn't — do this!!" Yuuki shouted. "That day, I was sleeping at the Kawara Inn! Rukia can testify —" "[cold]Kuchiki Rukia is suspected of complicity. Her testimony is rejected." The voice was cold. Yuuki lost his words. Bringing up Rukia was counterproductive — realizing it now was too late. Next, archival footage of the Seventh Great Collapse was displayed. Footage of the tragedy from a hundred and twenty years ago, when thousands of Hollows flooded into Soul Society. Yuuki's reiatsu waveform is superimposed over it. The interrogator read from the documents. "[cold]Users of Retrograde have a precedent of distorting the world's boundaries in the past. It has been academically proven that the very act of invoking this technique could trigger a Great Collapse." Fabrication. But the footage was too elaborate. The volume of documents was overwhelming. How meticulously laid this trap was — it was chilling. "[scared]It's nonsense... nonsense!!" "[cold]We will take a majority vote." The interrogator ignored Yuuki's cry. The six captains raised their hands, one after another. One, two, three, four — when the fifth hand went up, everything was decided. "[cold]Sasaki Yuuki is sentenced to Soul Erasure. Execution will be tomorrow, at noon." The strength left Yuuki's knees. Processed as a number — his existence erased by a simple majority vote. Before anger, nausea surged up. That's when it happened. Rukia was brought in from the separate room. She glanced at the situation, and her expression changed. "[angry]Soul Erasure!? Without even any evidence —!!" The interrogator raised a hand. "[cold]Kuchiki Rukia. As an accomplice, you are ordered to immediately surrender your zanpakuto." The color drained completely from Rukia's face. Her hand went to the sword's hilt. The sheath lifted just slightly — "[angry]Don't move!!" Yuuki was shouting. "[scared]If you draw your sword... you'll just give them a pretext for self-defense!!" But — it was too late. The reiatsu released by multiple captains struck Rukia. The zanpakuto was knocked from her hand. The sword fell to the floor, a sharp metallic clang echoing through the interrogation chamber. Rukia fell to her knees on the floor. Her slender shoulders trembled faintly. --- The underground prison. Solitary cells facing each other across a stone corridor. Yuuki sat with his back against the wall. Iron rings that seal reiatsu are fitted around his wrists. The cold metal bit into his skin, and Retrograde was completely sealed. Silence. Across the corridor, Rukia is in another cell. Her zanpakuto is no longer in her cell. Perhaps her shihakusho was confiscated too — she wears only a white prison garment. How much time had passed? "[whispers]...Yuuki." A small voice came through the iron bars. Yuuki raised his head. "[sad]The one who brought you here... was me." Rukia's voice was hoarse. Her usual composed tone was gone. "[sad]All responsibility lies with me. Dragging you into this... I'm truly sorry." Yuuki couldn't say anything. He couldn't bring himself to blame her. He couldn't find words to comfort her. Only the fact that Rukia said it through with a trembling voice — that alone remained heavy in his chest. The distance between them is the width of one corridor. Voices reach. But hands cannot. Beyond the iron bars, he sensed Rukia fall silent. Yuuki closed his eyes too. Before long, a voice echoed outside the door. "[cold]Notification. Execution will be carried out tomorrow at noon. Two subjects — Sasaki Yuuki, Kuchiki Rukia." Silence returned to the cell. With his eyes still closed, Yuuki listened only to Rukia's breathing in the darkness. Faint breaths. He could tell her small body was trembling quietly. The two of them so close, yet so utterly severed — That, more than anything, sank heavily and darkly into the cell. Late at night. Yuuki opened his eyes. He stared at the cell ceiling. The pale reiatsu lamp cast long shadows on the stone walls. Rukia's breathing is still audible. Had she fallen asleep, or was she just silent — he couldn't tell. (Tomorrow, it ends.) He stared at his fingertips. Still slightly translucent. The price of Retrograde — if not for that, he might have been able to rewind time from this cell. But he can't use it anymore. (I couldn't do anything.) He protected his comrades from Hollows. He shielded Rukia and took wounds. But — that's where it ends. The enemy has infiltrated even the organization itself. Not an opponent that can be dealt with by force. Through schemes, quietly, surely, Yuuki and Rukia had been cornered. In the dark