Hueco Mundo Deserts

10 Years Later
Part 2 Begins

Sometime after Michiya collapsed in the alley from overexertion, the 4th division retrieved his body. He spent a couple of days recovering. During this time, he did not remain idle. When he learned that the 2nd division and others still needed help, he offered his expertise and personnel from the 12th division to help develop a cure for the effects of Cazador's abilities. Once cleared from recovery, he kept his mind busy. He chose not to focus on those lost during the war, but instead on how he could help prevent further losses. Too much time had already been wasted. Others were suffering more dire injuries that needed their focus. Once he paid his respects to those who looked after him and visited the room where Captain Senko was receiving urgent care, Michiya vanished silently from the barracks to see the state of his division.

Upon his arrival at the 12th Division barracks, it was as he suspected it would be. There was complete havoc, with many squad members attempting to repair damaged machinery. They had previously focused their efforts on gathering enemy readings, especially about the Soul King. This heavy demand had pushed much of their technology to its limit. Some devices even caught fire as they tried to collect real-time information during the heat of battle and create a brief disruption to the Soul King pieces. The 12th Division suffered the fewest casualties during the invasion, but their equipment fared worse. Surveying the chaos, Michiya rallied his squad, trying to restore order, and began a thorough assessment of the damage. He looked for what could be salvaged or scrapped. On the side, Michiya worked on a personal project, using the rest of his time and refusing any luxuries. He focused on what had been overlooked. Always seeing opportunity, Michiya noticed something ignored by others: the Sokyoku did not just evaporate when it clashed with the Shakonmaku. Small fragments scattered throughout the Seireitei. Over the next couple of years, Michiya dedicated time away from the division to gather these shards, no matter how small.
​

As time transpired, the shambles of Soul Society had gradually pieced itself together, but more work still needed to be done. During this time, Michiya kept his idle hands busy with multiple projects, conducting countless experiments on all the prisoners of war, both dead and alive. Alongside that, after all the time he spent trying to recover fragments of Sokyoku, he only managed to retrieve enough that formed something the size of a yen. Unfortunately, this all needed to be placed on hold when they received an unexpected visit from none other than Yuichiro Shihoin, although not long before his arrival, Captain Harai had departed for the Captain’s Meeting. With this in mind, and someone of his status, Michiya was able to piece together, for whatever reason, they came to seek an audience with him, although he happened to catch them at one of their busier times, as the entire division was under renovation, which been a long time coming. Once Yuichiro explained what the visit was about after taking his seat, Michiya’s interest quickly piqued. Listening to the importance of the conversation, he took in everything the newly appointed Captain Commander had to say, choosing to remain complacent, but his mind was not solely focused on the task given to him. While the Commander thought he was pondering the mission, he was actually more focused on studying everything about his guest in a new light, down to the choice of phrasing, body language, and what emotions he chose to show or keep concealed away in this moment. Due to the sinister nature of his Zanpakuto, Michiya spent a lot of time understanding the psychological profile of people whom he took an interest in, for the better or worse.

The preparations required for departure were merely a minimal task for him, which didn’t warrant much of his concern, and either way required him to gather further intelligence from the 5th division Captain to further make sure the two of them were prepared for the arduous journey. When the Captain Commander left the parting message for him, he kept an indifferent expression on his face with a respectful bow of the head, but the last comment he completely blocked out. He would excuse Yuichiro for not really understanding the bizarre yet brilliant minds of those who comprised the division, for the very notion that any of them would leave their place of pride a mess was unthinkable sin, but things did look chaotic. Turning his back once the Captain Commander made his leave, Michiya didn’t know the cruel underlying meaning in those words until later, learning what fate awaited Captain Harai at the meeting. He had returned to his laboratory, where a room stood out, and within it were countless stasis pods filled with the bodies of the Arrrancar who invaded their home, so he held no empathy for them. With a large syringe in hand, designed for extracting bone marrow, he entered the room with a twisted smile at the Arrancar struggling to remain conscious from previous experimentation.

“I hope you didn’t miss me, my friend. Don’t worry, despite you being our enemy, we are forced to practice humane protocols. I would offer you some anethestics but you see we are still running low, so I will need you to bear with me. Shall we begin~?”

The sounds of the procedure were drowned out by the soundproofing chamber, and those who were weak of spirit had fled the area. In the process of beginning the next live patient, the fire alarms suddenly went off, disrupting what he was doing. He looked to the Arrancar chained up, giving her a solemn glance that he had to delay her turn up next, then, with a heavy sigh, left the chamber to see what was going on upstairs. Discovering the scene of the incident, and not long after, the news of what transpired had infuriated Michiya, but he knew now wasn’t the time to let emotions cloud his sense of judgment. Leaving a few of the members to deal with the fire, he gave one urgent order to all available members of the 12th division that could be spared. They all followed Michiya’s lead in shunpo, heading in one specific direction with absolute haste, and anyone who dared fall behind would thoroughly be punished. The small squadron awaited at one single place with their heads deeply bowed, and their former Captain, who thought she would leave without saying bye to them, had a sudden rude awakening.

“THANK YOU, CAPTAIN HARAI, FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID FOR US, AND WE WILL ALWAYS BE IN YOUR DEBT!”

Michiya, who had bowed directly blocking her path, gritted his teeth and, with a resolute expression, looked up at his former Captain. “You really thought I’d let you go this alone? Don’t leave here with your head held down!” He spoke with fury burning in his eyes, with a clenched fist, about what happened to her. “I will become your greatest investment; as long as I live will strive to make Yuichiro Shihoin and anyone else who looked down upon you eat their words.”

After that, Michiya excused them all to return to their duties at the 12th division, especially now with the change of events. When they were just left alone, he insisted on letting him escort her to where she was going, even though, without her permission, he was going either way. Giving one final goodbye, and over the remaining three years, he would continue to stop by, knowing soon he would be departing from Soul Society from unknown amount of time. The debriefing went just as he expected the following day, gathering as much intel as he could from Captain Shizukana and doing his own homework beforehand, reading through all the reports concerning Hueco Mundo from those who ventured there firsthand during the hollow cleansing and so on. The next three years were the most detrimental, taking a while for those who suffered low morale from the news of losing Shibuya Harai, and right after her departure, Nanami decided to step down from the third seat, and on all of this, the only acting seat in the 12th division was being sent away into a foreign realm. Michiya had to stop wondering if the Captain Commander was being too hasty in his decisions, leaving the intelligence of the Seireitei in such a crippled state, although either way, they were going to persevere. Many different protocols were practiced over and over, with each one having 30 different backup protocols for them to fall back on, and they all were expected to remember every single one. The next thing was the kido gun training course Michiya established to help non-combatant shinigami, those who lacked offensive Zanpakuto, and had poor skills in Kido, find alternative ways to fight back. By the time the three years of prep concluded, he made sure his division was well looked after and could run smoothly, the best they could in the absence of any leadership, learning how to depend on one another. The last thing Michiya did before he headed to Hueco Mundo was make his way to the first division carrying a large case in tow, delivering the Captain Commander a Tenshintai (転神体, Change God Body) left with very detailed instructions on how to use it and the risks. Alongside it, a single note that read:
​

​

The arrival in the desolated sandy terrain of Hueco Mundo started off quietly. Dunes appeared as far as the eye can see, with no signs of life outside of those hollows that hid away in the crevices of rocks and in the shadows. For the better at the start of the first year, they spent time gathering their bearings, and allowing Michiya the chance to survey their surroundings, gathering as much information as they could before carrying on, while at the same time trying to figure out some headway on where to start searching for their special targets. Towards the middle of the year, is when things started to pick up, getting the first real lead on where to search for one of the two who had special designations who did everything they could not be found. Unfortunately, the closer they drew to one of them, so did the eye of other smaller bands of hollow, and Arrancar gradually attacked them. Over the next year, the clashes with Arrancar never let up, starting off as small encounters they could easily handle, then with each consecutive one, from then on, they sent in more numbers, turning into full-on skirmishes. It didn’t take long for them to discover these weren’t random attacks but targeted strikes to chip away at them, forcing them to try pick and choose their battles. With their supplies dwindling and the trail once they had grown cold, forced to make a risky judgment call on Arrancar, who wasn’t affiliated with either of the warring sides in Hueco Mundo.

Neither of them grasped the situation of the dire desperation some of the Arrancar faced until it was too late, with the exhaustion taking its toll. Being sold out by the Arrancar to the Valiosa loyalist the two of them found themselves ambushed lead by Antonio. Mixed up in the enemy forces was an Arrancar weaponized electromagnetic pulse, cutting off any attempt to call for reinforcements, and eventually, the overwhelming forces managed to separate the two from one another. Captain Kurayami gave one warning to Michiya to run soon, followed by the sudden surge of power from her Bankai, blanketing the moonlit skies of Hueco Mundo in the downpour of her wrath. With no other choice, Michiya mustered his energy to carve a path to escape the Bankai’s radius, drawing the ire of a large portion of the enemies onto them, with a few who pursued after him. He managed to turn back, checking on how she was holding out, when he saw it. In the heat of battle, all it took was one mistake as Captain Kurayami evaded an attack from the Arrancar, but left her open enough for Antonio to catch her with one lethal blow, carving through her midsection. Forced to continue retreat until he couldn’t anymore, is when he first felt something in his mind give way, and lashed out with unsettling brutality before collapsing to his knees, bathed in blood. Crawling into a small crevice, Michiya tried to get any rest he could, knowing what awaited.

The following day, Michiya dragged his battered body out to the battlefield to see what remained in the aftermath. Examining the battlefield surrounded by enemy bodies devastated by her Bankai, he saw the Captain's body and quickly came to the conclusion that her defeat came at a cost to them; they would need to recover from it. Not being able to reach the 12th Division communications, he came to understand the direness of his situation, seeing his wristlink severely damaged, cutting off any attempt to reach them. Placing the Captain’s body inside the Goyogai barrier to keep the corpse preserved after using cloth from Arrancar as burial wraps. The two months became quite blurry for him afterward, with no proper way to track time, and constantly being hunted down until finally something snapped in him. After two years in Hueco Mundo studying a multitude of hollows, he grown highly intuitive, discovering which ones were souls who fell into despair, and which were sinners even before becoming hollow. These hollow and Arrancar Michiya didn’t cleanse but became experiments because something he learned after his 307th specimen is that the hallucinations they experienced were magnificent to study. The mind was a truly fascinating thing, with the descent into madness happening when someone remained in isolation for too long; although madness wasn’t new to him. The only way for him to surely know the extent of his abilities was to test them on himself, and learn how to help piece back allies' minds who were unlucky to become on the receiving end.

He sat alone in a cave with an Arrancar, paralyzed by kido Shibireyubi, discussing these very things with its cut-off arm cooking over firepit. The Arrancar arm at this point had already begun to regenerate, and in a further corridor of a cave lay various corpses of his enemies, evident that they suffered from inhumane experiments. This Arrancar in question, whom Michiya called experiment #626, looked worse for wear as Michiya dug into his meal. He soon woke from his fever dream, seeing with a soft sigh, although there been a few times he did entertain the thought of what hollow meat tasted like, due to the nature of his Zanpakuto, the fruit provided from the victims of his abilities was enough to sustain him. He long assumed that since the ambush, they were assumed KIA on the mission, but kept on going, extracting what information he could from hunting parties, and targeting hollow nests to find any scraps of technology to repair his Denshiriki. If it weren’t for him using Jinzen and talking to the centipede on his neck to keep his mind centered, he would be close to reaching his breaking point mentally. The hollows also helped keep his mind occupied, observing how creatures who became what they are from despair responded to the madness of all that regret, and fear came boiling back to the surface. Six months had passed since he last had the company of another person, and he stood with a tattered lab coat stitched together by different types of hollow hides. It took him six months of what started as hell and soon liberation to conduct experiments unhindered without morality stopping him before he finally scavenged enough parts to repair his wristlink enough to report back to his squad on almost everything that happened. With communications back up, using World Tying Rite, they could properly sync coordinates, delivering the 5th’s division body back, delivering Michiya the care package he set up in case of emergencies, along with someone else to take over the mission.

Bringing them to the present time, marking 7 gruesome years, Michiya been within Hueco Mundo continuing where Captain Kurayami left off. Now, Lt. Oyuki and Michiya had much more reliable leads to the whereabouts of Emilia and Estrossa. They were now in a race to find her first, with Valiosa loyalists still in pursuit, and a new looming threat in the shadows soon closing in.​

Afraid to Feel
The ivory sands of the desert churned with every breeze that caressed the surface of this pitifully bleak dimension. The bone-like trees that sprouted sparsely across the land were the only things that littered the expansive white sand sea, where even the dunes refused to shift or bend to the will of the ambient and primal reiatsu that scoured the land. At the edge of Hueco Mundo, where the dunes thinned and the temperature drastically changed with no connective source to be found—the sky forgot how to reflect light. An open wound remained open, El Umbral Quieto (静止の閾値, Seishi no Ikichi, lit. The Still Threshold) did not expand or contract. It simply existed in the state of limbo, persisting as an unmoving maw of fractured space where sound softened into deafness and sight lost its very edge and certainty the closer a being drew towards the black and lightless mouth. Reiatsu did not bleed here, it remained stagnant, stale and flavorless—unable to dwell long enough to even matter to those who were lucky enough to remain present of mind without forgetting the reasoning of their soul or even why they decided to inspect the eeriness of this place entirely.

Any hollow that knew of this place never claimed control over it, nor did they patrol it for potential conflict. No one fought for territory and no one even dared to speak its name aloud. There were rumors of the one who did in fact dwell here. The hollow they called the El Olvidado (忘れられたもの, Wasure Rareta Mono, lit. The Forgotten One).

Within the confines of the threshold of the persistent darkness, that very blackness folded inward and contorted in on itself—layers upon layers of garganta overlapping like still water trapped within a basin. Unmoving, half-seen and everlasting. Within that chaos, the expanding dark—Hanna Barbossa existed. Cloaked in the silent tear, arms drifting amongst the turbulence, his legs mildly dangling as no platform of reishi was found underneath his foot, the master of the garganta was the deep dark himself and required no anchor to keep himself amongst nature of this space. He watched tirelessly, endlessly, unflinching as many screens in front of him, behind him and within his periphery. He had been watching for nothing short of well over a millennia, but it was only in the last ten or so years that things had become both interesting and depressing for the beings who dwelled amongst the white sands.

Many years ago now—he watched the prominent and opulent castle of Las Noches be upraised by its former inhabitants, both serving as the seat and symbol of power within the dimension—only to now be razed to the ground by the purifying cerulean flames of the unknown race that felled them in one dastardly move. Power rose and fell many times within the expanse of Hueco Mundo, with the ebbs and flows of carnage and savagery remaining ever present, but ultimately never truly leaving one single entity to become the uniting force that reasserts the hierarchy of power amongst the pale-faced beasts. Even in the wake of the purging of Las Noches, silence befell and spread across the desert, and all throughout these years, the only thing that Hanna did was stand and stare. The threshold he dwelled did not answer the world's cries, nor did he invite them. He merely observed as Hueco Mundo thinned and shrunk, equalizing and settling into the new world. This was the final stop, this was where the noise of the world came to die.

The grey globes flicked quickly from screen-to-screen, regardless of whether or not movement was visualized, he remained privy to everything that went on over the large amount of time he remained a ‘watcher’.

He has long since ignored the hunger deep within him. The urge to satisfy the carnal need for consumption within him, had long since passed leaving him more hollow than his race suggests.

And he may just get his chance.

Flickering Flames of Passion

He observed movement among the sands, two silhouettes. Both clad in black and carried weapons. Swords. “...Shinigami,” he thought to himself. It had been some time since he had seen any, and more than that, a long time since he had fought any. It appeared that they were searching for something, maybe even someone. A strange shower of curiosity was casted over the naturalized Arrancar, a feeling he had long forgotten could even move him as nothing sparked his imagination in quite some time. While he wanted to inspect them closer, he truthfully still found difficulty in caring about they’re very presence within the dimension but still, he watched closely in near agonizing contradiction.

So he looked away, tuning into another channel on one of his many ‘televisions’.

He had also been keeping track of the positioning and movements of the hollows that ran with the one known as El Desatado (縛られていないもの, Shibara rete inai mono, lit. The Unbound One), Estarossa Sangrados—the leader of the now mobile La Soberanía (主権, Shuken, lit. Sovereignty), a safe haven for all hollows who wish to do away with they’re violent tendencies in favor of more pacifistic pursuits. Hanna knew of this sanctuary, and even had hollows sent to his region to recruit him into their peaceful ranks. Safe to say he silently declined but not out of preference to the more savage path of life amongst hollow-kind, but to remain truly alone. He never cared to be in the presence of others and never went out of his way to become a ‘joiner’ or even a willing participant in whatever was presented before him. He just didn’t care, and one would be hard pressed in trying to find something for him to give a damn about.

And once again, he turned his head.

This time he observed the one known as Antonio. After the fall of Las Noches, the arrancar had been clinging to whatever prior life he knew to exist, falling into the despair of madness and desperation as the remnants of Valiosa's forces struggled to hold whatever remaining grasp upon the vast dimension and its inhabitants. After the purge of Las Noches, he had effectively been on the run and still trying to influence his power in the far reaches of the deserts sands but to no clear avail as the unification of hollows has long since passed. The desperate Arrancar even sent some rogue hollows to the very maw that Hanna solely resided in an attempt to have the former Gillian conform to his waning powers. Not only did those attempts fail, but the hollows he sent never seemed to return to him—be it due to killing them outright or forcing them to flee after flaring his ominous reiatsu.

But anything could happen. The blue-haired arrancar paid the desperate one no more mind.

An audible exhale could be heard, almost echoing out into the dark that surrounded him. A clear signal that the bane of his bland existence has once again reared its ugly head—boredom.

He ‘switched’ his many screens off as he floated away towards unfamiliarity, the space outside of El Umbral Quieto. Light soon reached into the back of his eyes as he surfaced out of the deep dark maw, landing softly on the ivory white bed while keeping his hands in his white hakama. He then looked both ways—left and right as if he were a child crossing the street, and then he began to walk. He didn’t walk fast or with any particular purpose, just simply choosing a single direction and decided that this was the course he needed to take.

What would El Olvidado find, if he ended up finding it? More importantly, what exactly was he looking for?

A few nights ago

“10 years and no one has an answer.”

Two shadows stretched far, one being lifted up, its legs kicking and hands clawing forward, while the other held it up high before a pink hue blasted upwards, casting a light bright enough that the shadows split into two more. The body dropped as she looked down, eyes closing together as she turned herself around. Flames danced across the village as sand crunches echoed with each step taken.

“Where are you hiding? What happened in Las Noches that made you run?”

Several large thuds followed behind her, eyes shifting down to the sand as it bounced. To this, she stopped and turned around to look up at the creature. A cloak covered most of the creature’s body, its frame hunched over, yet Emillia was forced to look up at it.

“Must you follow me everywhere I go? 10 years and you still cling to me like a lost puppy!”

“…”

“Go on, eat. Devour to your heart’s content!”

“Honestamente, si no tuvieras tanto potencial, ya te habría matado y comido.”


A hiss came out from the creature as it turned ever so slowly. Then the thuds came, causing the sand to bounce with each step the Hollow made. Her head shook as her body turned around before her image faded away.

For the past 10 years, she had been scouring Hueco Mundo, going from hidden village to hidden village, asking one simple question: who do you serve? Depending on the answer, she would leave them alone or outright slaughter them all. Yet that wasn’t her goal. Each one she found was mostly by accident, some by interrogation, all in hopes of finding Cordelia. Still, in the past 10 years, her trail had gone fully cold.


Present day


Her eyes shot open as her arms thrust forward. The tip of her zanpakutō broke into a Hollow’s mask, slicing through until it reached the other side. Blood and brain matter splattered across the floor before the Hollow began to disappear. Her eyes darted left, then right.

Her hand pulled the zanpakutō back before she looked up at the ceiling. Everything underneath the sand above was a curiosity of Hueco Mundo, the Forest of Menos. As far as she could see were crystallized trees. Yet this wasn’t what caught her attention. It was the light shining far in the distance.

Her knees bent before her body disappeared. She reappeared on a tree trunk, then another image of her appeared. Each step brought her closer and closer to the light until finally she appeared at a body of water, with the moon itself shining down upon the surface.

“In all my years, I have never seen water within Hueco Mundo.”

“Is this where you came from?”

“Are you hiding here??”




​

La bruja es muerte​

Failure at worst was never an option where Shizukana and Michiya were fettered by the idea of their own shortcoming, Oyuki was only a blade to be sharpened. Their stent within Hueco Mundo was nothing more than a playground of bloodshed and ceremony. He knew very well that his captain knew the consequences of her actions even as she hoped to congregate amongst the filth that called Hueco Mundo home. Even before they ventured back into the sandy hellscape oyuki had been in its depths before. This place knew his Icy touch even as their party separated in delusions of folly and grandeur alike the culling that came was nothing more than expectation, inevitably, perhaps even prophecy.. where Mihciya and Shizukana failed to stand on their own befuddled by their ideals and motives alike he stood as a testament to the very violence the latter so openly protested. This ultimately led to her death as untimely as it may have been she was the only thing holding Oyuki back with fetters born of grace and mercy. These shackles no longer being present meant that what befell the likes of the arrancar now was a beast unchained and in seven years they felt every moment of it just the same as the traitors of 5th division had previously.

Where Michiya was beaten and bruised oyuki bathed in the battles that came. Violence true unchained violence was a language oyuki hadn't spoken fluently in some time, The death of his captain didn't anger him it gave birth to the sleeping beast within. The violence he kept so neatly tucked away behind his sense of mourning was no more, this wasn’t some resource to be rationed or something to be justified. He had already prowled the shifting sands of Hueco mundo as a predator of his own division mates but now he was here to hunt the very vermin that called this place home. Over the years Hueco Mundo had become his canvas. A place to painted in the tainted blood of filth that opposed him, swathes of Hueco Mundo had become nothing but an icy battlefield. It didn’t matter who amongst his enemies stood before him whether it be Fracción looking to make a name for themselves or a pack of Gillian hoping to catch their next meal.

His zanpakuto laying in stasis between battles ever present like a predator that never truly slept. Soon even the wind carried the tale of the winter that tormented their barren home. A sight to behold in its own right as even the beating sun of its deserts couldn’t break the frozen sands free of his wrath.

Oyuki felt as though what had become of Michiya a lieutenant teetering on the brink of insanity was nothing more than a mark against his aptitude. Even when they met in the middle leaving Oyuki to stand before his battered compatriot licking his wounds his chilled words came as what would likely be no more than a mercy. His form emerged from what appeared to be nothingness only accompanied by a chilling air.

“Get up. Yuichiro didn’t send me here to be your baby sitter. Nor for you to be mine, Shizukana’s dead and we’ve still got a job to do.”

The two of them had spent more time than it was worth separated. 10 years was merely a drop in the bucket compared to what Shizukana forced him to keep tucked away. This excursion the three of them now reduced to two were on was becoming more of testament to the lieutenant’s propensity for violence. Had Michiya come to his senses let alone his feet he would find Oyuki’s cold cerulean gaze piercing in its resolve. Yet it would be clear that their time apart was quite different. Where Michiya delved closer and closer into madness, Oyuki had taken those years to truly become the animal Shizukana kept slumbering. Only time would tell what could come of their time within Hueco Mundo.​

The stark truth of reality was that he lacked actual battle experience, which became ever more present when the Arrancar invaded. While most squads were sent into battle or supported squad missions with combat units, the 12th Division rarely, if at all, received any real combat experience. While other squads trained rigorously for combat, the 12th Division trained to strengthen and enrich their minds. Even their former Captain Harai's Zanpakuto wasn't geared for combat, and a vast portion of their division wielded non-combative type Zanpakuto, and even fewer never actually encountered a hollow off-screen. They were the brains that kept Soul Society functioning and progressing forward instead of falling behind in technological and warfare advances. After the war, Michiya tried to create an anti-body system to protect this so-called brain, but this all got hindered when he got tasked to adventure to the foreign realm of Hueco Mundo.

The two years that followed within the white dunes, hell or not, were the needed steps Michiya needed to force himself out of stagnation to evolve further. Through every battle in Hueco Mundo, he was forced to endure, and he became a sponge absorbing all the information he could from those experiences. It was thanks to his sharp mind and by far abnormal upbringing that Michiya learned quickly he had to adapt at a rapid pace, or be devoured by those who hunted in the sands. By the time Oyuki had made contact, entering Hueco Mundo to continue the mission of the belated 5th Division Captain, despite the rugged look of Michiya, he was no longer the same inexperienced scientist he had been two years ago.

"I am glad we are on the same page, Lieutenant. These two years were not in vain. I will cut to the chase on the details that matter. Some loyalists from the invasion mentioned a boogeyman from the shadows they are staying in constant movement to avoid, though that lead ran cold, the thing of importance is that Emillia been spotted by a few hollows on the move. She is not being subtle about the carnage left in her stead, and it's those bread crumbs we will follow."

In the next five years, Michiya took that opportunity to learn from his experience and not befall preivously mistakes. As the two traversed the sands, Michiya planted motion beacons in set locations to create a wide grid map to increase their efficiency and provide surveillance on any large group movements behind them without losing ground, continuing forward. Gradually, they carved their way through the sands of Hueco Mundo's vast dunes, gaining more intel on their target, but still, pieces were missing. Michiya hoped be filled in soon enough. Estrossa remained difficult to discover, being a complete enigma to the very end, with the only information learned being that he was known as the wild spirit of Hueco Mundo and didn't openly seek confrontation. On the otherhand they had come to learn Emillia sought to find someone, although the person of interest, as well as what relation they had, was part of the unknown, and secondly, they too killed anyone who remained loyal to Valiosa. The mysterious shadow monster, some described the threat remained elusive, and was pushed to the side since it seemed seperate ordeal with the little information they gathered. He speculated that maybe she was one of the Espada who invaded, another possibility could be Arrancar, who was the reason they betrayed Valiosa during the war, or someone who they sought refuge. Either way, the one who held the answers drew closer, with their most recent encounter of Emillia only days old, meaning they were no longer following cold trails but drew closer to their fated reunion.

Does Emillia seek the boogie-man of the shadows? He thought to himself, coming up with different hypotheses about who could instill fear in Espada, who shown none challenging Soul Society. The enemy of my enemy is a friend.

"What is the plan once we encounter this Espada, and she doesn't want to come with us willingly? We can also try to offer incentives to help them look for the person they seek, but I would rather expect the worst outcome than mundane, peaceful talks."

From what Michiya observed, he felt the response might lean closer to bringing them in through force. However, a man of science, he remained curious about what insight the Lt. offered, having more field experience. The enemy of my enemy is just another enemy waiting to stab you in the back was the reality Michiya been taught through history. By always expecting the worst outcomes, he learned the importance of thriving in chaos and being fully prepared to exploit it.​

Hueco Mundo has seen better days. The upturning of their infrastructure of power had been overturned in years, their hierarchy crippled, a vacuum left in place. The sands reflecting the solitude glow of night. Remnants of power remained scattered amongst the spatial loneliness. All the while the domain of the Hollows was closely observed by the eyes of outsiders, seeking to take advantage of the destabilized territory. The Shinigami in particular reached their desperate hands towards the throats of particular souls within the realm, grasping at whatever straws could amount to even the smallest modicum of an advantage. Their forces kneeled beneath the Arrancar's invasion a decade prior, saved only by divine intervention. They had to generate a win for themselves - they had to achieve control while the vacancy was exploitable.

And yet...

That unseen force in the shadows. The key to the Shinigami's survival on that fated day.

They too gazed upon the deserts. Guided by a righteous cause that held a much more purposeful calling than acting as rats scavenging for crumbs. A pivotal piece of their motivations walked freely throughout the sprawling expanse. Unknowing to the guillotine honed and sharped for her neck.
​

A voice boomed throughout the surrounding tree line around Emillia. Ethereal it was, not a sight to be seen, not a presence to be felt. It's voice was low and empty. The resonance clinging to the air like ink to a page. Every shape could be a figure, every shadow a set of eyes. The sound of weighty steps rang out throughout the crystalline landscape. Were they coming from the east? No. The North? No. The East or maybe the West? Who would know? It was as if the stride was everywhere and no where at once.

And then...

CRACK!

A brief silence.

CRAAAAACK!

The encore.

A glint of spiritual energy coincided with each loud crash. A source that would feel both familiar and alien. Though just as one could maybe begin to decode the origin that stillness came again, almost as if nothing had ever happened in the first place. Though that peace lasted all but a blink before something came flying towards the isolated Arrancar.

From the shadows came an enormous portion of one of the Forest's growths, a massive chunk of a tree itself. It flew with a speed that would make one believe it weighed nothing more than like a pebble to whatever threw it. The airborne arbor casting its shadow along where Emillia stood, dwarfing her in size by many multiples. As it would make contact it would disrupt the ground below and release a tremendous shockwave in its wake, shattering the segment and upheaving the terra firma.

It was the most stark contrast to the tranquility that had previously enveloped the area. A disruption of normality by something... unnatural. Emerging from the cascading darkness was a being that resembled a humanoid. Draped in white and blue garbs it strode forth bearing no emotion, not even so much as an animation of the eyes. It's spiritual presence was twisted and warped, something like a human, but it wasn't. Something like a hollows, but it wasn't. Something like a monster.

It did not breathe, it did not have a heartbeat, it just... was.

Did God shine down upon this entity? - or - Did He look the other way?

“Another dead end.”

Her eyes looked down at her reflection as her hand squeezed down on her zanpakutō, her gaze shifting up to the moon. Tilting her head to the side, her eyes narrowed for a moment before she shifted her body away her head shaking as she let off a sigh. It was then that a voice began to speak her name, followed by steps echoing all around her. With each step, her eyes shifted at a slow pace, until the crack came.

As the tree cracked, her eyes shifted up, then her body flickered away. Her next appearance was closer to this monstrosity. It certainly wasn’t a Shinigami. Its signature was wild and inconsistent from what her pesquisa recognized.

“Aren’t you a true bastado!

“You’ve got elements of human and Hollow! But not like those humans from long ago! You’re far more of a FREAK than them.

“But you might make an interesting meal.”




Her eyes narrowed as her hands flung out. A brighter than usual Bala came flying toward the creature, illuminating everything in its path, though it seemed unstable and warped ever so slightly. As it drew closer and closer, it revealed what stood there, a hulk of an individual. If she had to guess, he stood two to three feet taller than her.

The bright Bala continued its flight, aiming to smash into the head of the monster. Then the distinct sound of a sonido rang through the creature’s ears as she appeared directly in front of him, one hand holding her zanpakutō as it thrust upward. Each movement was so fast that it looked like she was striking multiple times at once, each strike aimed to pierce deep into the entire right side of the beast, starting from the leg up. Each thrust aimed to pierce deep enough to hit arteries and organs along the long path up the body, until her hand twisted the zanpakutō around and her force was enough to cleave through Hollows and Arrancar who possessed similar builds to this thing.

She was able to keep her extended distance due to her arm extending outward and her body shifting to the side, making body profile smaller. There were two factors that allowed her to thrust forward with one hand. The first was her own zanpakutō and, by extension, herself, so its weight had no factor for her. The second was how she trained herself, allowing her to adopt and adapt with her zanpakutō, for it wasn’t just a brute force weapon. It was capable of precision if when necessary.

“Who sent you?”

Her other hand remained free the entire time, yet it was curled into a fist with a slight glow emitting from it. Her legs kicked back in the sand, as her body pushed back into the air. A distant grainy roar mixed with static could be heard in the distance while she flickered and appeared at the side, her zanpakutō swinging down and to the side as it sliced into the leg of the thing in front of her.

“Was it the Shinigami? No, that one that’s been stranded here would have confronted me himself!”

She was aware of the Shinigami running around in Hueco Mundo. Traitors to their own or not, she had led many a Hollow to them, promising power and infamy if they were able to kill any Shinigami they came across, knowing full well that they would end up killing one another.




​

Darkness was an ever present blanket upon the skies that took hold of this dreary dimension. The white sands below its bleak heavens churned ever so slightly, yet looked as still as trapped water within a vessel. The winds that blew here were just common cold breezes that could be the equivalent to a chill that run up the spin of an unsuspecting soul—should they be human or even shinigami, that chilly breeze could place pause to their actions and thoughts and even strike fear into the hearts of the men or women whose constitution was made of straw. The expanse of the world itself was just an endless sea of white dunes, and what was once a world littered with a great infestation of hollows and apex predators—now only merely existed as a shadow of its former self. Hanna however didn’t care. He enjoyed the quiet that was brought to the world a short decade ago.

Now the white grains were roaring, kicking up dust and whirling in ambient spiritual pressure that was building in the reaches of Hueco Mundo. Hanna holds exceptional mental acuity, allowing him to mentally take note of and keep track of the minute changes in both the atmosphere and the makeup of his surroundings. He took note of the growing reiryoku signatures that could be found across the desert, specifically in the more populated regions of the white waste, with soul signatures ranging from his fellow hollow contemporaries and the shinigami that he discovered to dwell within the realm. With the use of his pesquisa, he was easily able to source out and identify each individual and discerned that their abilities were all above the average being. One in particular seemed to have the others orbiting around it like planets in a solar system, all vying for equal gravitational rights within the deep and the dark.

He soon stopped short of his journey, sensing a rogue signature—one that did not match that of a regular hollows, but matching something to a human. He was curious how one would have ended up in the great expanse of Hueco Mundo, especially with such variables around them. With his curiosity still piqued, he turned his head in the exact direction of where reiatsu was being released. He was still a relatively far distance away from the budding conflict, and stared into space with abhorrent disinterest. Yet, he held every intention of being characteristically nosey. While normally he’d be watching from El Umbral Quieto, he had already travelled this far out of the region, he may as well watch the conflict up close.

He had nothing better to do after all.

While his Sonído was particularly quick, he preferred to travel any relative distance by the use of the black void within his employ. Snapping his fingers together, a familiar wound appeared before him, and he stepped into the darkness—and then stepped outside of it into the vicinity that held Emilia about to engage the Quincy adjudicator. He found himself some great feet away, on the highest dune within the area. The sand beneath his feet settled underneath his palpable weight. He wasn’t remotely interested in the battle itself, but the outcome that would be brought from its end. Taking a look at the adversary that she found herself against, this wasn’t any regular human that he had ever seen, assuming that they hadn’t undergone any evolution in the decade that has passed. Even his garb was slightly irregular, nothing he would wear obviously, but clearly the uniform of a banded faction.
​

Watching Emilia lunge toward her opponent after launching a bala in his direction, it marked the beginning of the encounter. Hanna kept note of her and the opponents' reiryoku levels which signified the life that they had left in their breast. Where the visuals of battle tended to lie, the ferocity that was held in their souls always sang the canaries song. He could only wonder if the other variables that dwelled in Hueco Mundo would also take interest in the violence among the dunes.

​