"It seems you're surprised." Samael stared at Aizen with a mocking look, as if ridiculing the limits of his understanding.
"A little surprised, yes." Aizen replied with his usual calm face and mysterious smile.
But if you looked closely, you could see new sparks of ambition deep in his eyes.
"Let me show you." Samael's gaze sharpened, and suddenly, a flood of higher-dimensional information poured into Aizen's mind—knowledge of parallel universes, of infinite possibilities.
In those brief moments, Aizen saw a reality beyond his imagination. All his desires and goals seemed insignificant and small compared to this infinity.
But contrary to expectation, this infinity did not frighten him—instead, it stirred an unprecedented excitement within him.
"This world… is so small." Aizen whispered under his breath.
For someone like him, who had surpassed every standard of intelligence and power since childhood, limitation had always been agonizing.
No one could match him. Everyone was like chess pieces or insignificant ants to him.
Even his goal of reaching the position of Soul King and ruling the heavens was just a way to escape boredom.
But now… Samael had opened before his eyes a sea of endless possibilities.
"It seems I… have been very short-sighted." Aizen admitted his own limitations in his ever-calm tone.
Samael shrugged indifferently: "Even omnipotent gods in some worlds are trapped within their own limits. You're not alone."
Samael was not surprised by Aizen's ignorance.
The dimensional wall was so solid that even omniscient and omnipotent Magic Gods couldn't escape it.
They might sense the existence of other worlds, but could only stare at them like starving beings behind a glass display.
"I have a question." Aizen asked with his usual composure: "How can one cross this dimensional wall?"
Samael laughed: "At your current level? It's impossible. Even the Soul King at his peak couldn't do it." Then he paused: "There are only two ways."
"What's the first way?"
"To surpass the Soul King. To reach a rank higher than omniscience and omnipotence."
"And the second?" Aizen asked indifferently.
Samael smirked: "If you become my angel, I can give you the power to travel between dimensions."
Aizen's response was immediate and firm: "Sorry. I choose the first path." A statement that, to many, would seem ridiculous and impossible—surpassing the god of creation!
But Samael had no doubt. Aizen was one of the few beings with such potential.
And of course, he wasn't surprised at all when Aizen rejected his offer. Aizen was always like this—he would never serve under anyone. That was an unchangeable principle of his character.
"It was a pity." Samael feigned disappointment, but both knew it was just a game. "Then I eagerly await the day you cross the boundaries."
Aizen only widened his smile, as if seeing himself before an endless horizon.
Their conversation continued in a world where time had stopped, until Samael bid farewell and the flow of time resumed.
Samael walked through the streets of the Soul Society, organizing his thoughts.
His recent activities—creating clones, crafting constructs, and stopping time—had consumed a great deal of divine energy.
If not for the tireless efforts of his angels, his divine energy reserves might have dried up.
The small angels that were spontaneously born in heaven were like infants who needed nourishment to grow.
Samael decided to reduce his energy consumption.
Meanwhile, with the power he had, he altered reality. Now everyone believed he was the vice-captain of the Fourth Division.
There were two reasons for choosing this division: first, Samael had no interest in fighting weaker beings, and second, Retsu Unohana intrigued him.
---
While Samael was enjoying himself, his clones were hard at work.
"Obadiah Stane"—with a red cloak draped over his shoulders— whispered in the dark:
"Praise be to you, the unholy, the corrupter of all things, the defiler of all creation, the end of all things…"
He had gathered a group of fanatical, insane believers who worshipped a clone of Samael.
"The Sons of the Devil" was the name they chose for their cult.
Everything was going smoothly—soon, Obadiah would face Tony Stark, the champion chosen by the goddess.
This was the beginning of a cliché story that would sweep across all of Marvel.