User blog:Xilinoc/Ch. 621 - THE DARK CURTAIN

SHAMELESS PLUG TIME

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THIS CONCLUDES SHAMELESS PLUG TIME

Song to listen to while reading this chapter: "Zanza" from the Xenoblade Chronicles OST

We're about three steps away from this series turning into an AU Spirited Away adaptation, methinks.

First off, we've got poor Ukitake just collapsing as Mimihagi is pulled out of his body. Not sure if he's dead now, but it sure looks like it. Then, we've got a continuation of the end of 620 with the darkness beam revealing its purpose: covering the entire Seireitei in a veil of darkness, hence the chapter title. Urahara looks like a deer in headlights at this point.

Back at the palace, Yhwach apparently can't handle what he just did, and so he turns into...a horde of black creatures that begin swarming everything in sight. To be fair, that's what most people do after one too many McRibs, so I understand where he's coming from. Thankfully, Haschwalth is back to expo the sition as usual, and it turns out that this is the result of the Soul King's power being unleashed to its fullest: apparently, the Shinigami put restraints on it long ago, which raises some interesting implications as to what the king's true nature really is. Oh, and now the king's enemy is the Shinigami, so the swarm starts pouring out of the palace down to the Seireitei. Looks like the palace is barfing up darkness now, great.

Back in the lab again, Suì-Fēng starts being unusually proactive and decides to destroy the dark veil with her Bankai, but before she can do so she gets swarmed by the creatures (I'm really hoping we get some sort of name for these things). As such, the Shinigami start trying to fight them off, and we get some cool shots of them going at it, including Byakuya wiping out a whole horde of them like the pimp he is, but apparently this ain't cutting it. Suddenly, the creatures start getting crushed, and a familiar voice mocks the Shinigami for not simply crushing these things with their Reiatsu as the one and only AIZEN comes into view. Amen, hallelujah and peanut butter.

Overall, good chapter, MUCH better than those of the last couple weeks to be sure. It seems these creatures might provide a foe for the Shinigami to use their much-anticipated Bankai against, assuming they don't listen to Aizen and his silly ideas, and that's sure to make some of the more prominent naysayers around here happy. Good that Haschwalth's back, and I'm curious to know why the Shinigami had to restrain the SK's power. Hopefully we'll get an answer to that soon. Oh, and Aizen's finally with the other Shinigami, who are bound to Egoraptor it up next chapter.