Several days later, in the desert next to Las Noches.
After Ulquiorra agreed to Szayelaporro's request to be an experimental subject, this desert surrounding Las Noches had known no peace. For days, a heart-palpitating Spiritual Pressure and terrifying tremors could be felt every hour.
"Lanza del Relámpago."
A green spear of Spirit Particles instantly materialized in Ulquiorra's palm and was hurled toward a target set up by Soifon in the distance...
Rumble—
The Lanza del Relámpago exploded the moment it hit the sand. Although the point of impact was about ten meters off from the target's position, the resulting area-of-effect damage still successfully obliterated it.
This margin of error wasn't terribly severe, but it was certainly absurdly off the mark. Who would have thought that a Captain-level Vasto Lorde could miss by ten meters?
Even a Gillian wouldn't make such a low-level mistake.
Szayelaporro adjusted his glasses, walked over to Ulquiorra, and looked him up and down. "You've practically never used this form, have you?"
"Correct."
The latter nodded in agreement.
No wonder. The accuracy was just about as bad as it could get.
Following that, Szayelaporro began to collect data on Ulquiorra's first and second stage Resurrección. He conducted several more experimental tests, then compared the data from both and handed it to Soifon and Aizen.
"The preliminary conclusions are in, my lords."
"The skill known as Segunda Etapa is, in theory, learnable by any Arrancar who has mastered Resurrección."
"An Arrancar who has undergone Segunda Etapa will see a significant reduction in their Hollow-like characteristics, retaining only the Hollow hole as a distinct feature."
"Therefore, as long as one diligently trains the power of their Resurrección..."
It had to be said, Szayelaporro was well-versed in the ways of the workplace, always starting with the good news to soothe his superiors' moods before reporting.
Nodding, Soifon blinked and continued to look at him. "But?"
As soon as she heard a phrase like "in theory," Soifon knew that the truly important part was coming next.
"Your insight is sharp, Lady Soifon..." Szayelaporro pushed up his glasses. "But, to learn a skill like Segunda Etapa, even for us Espadas under the condition of serious training, it would take more than ten years."
Ten years?
Soifon and Aizen exchanged a glance. The latter didn't seem to mind; ten years was of little consequence to him.
Turning back, Soifon looked at Szayelaporro. "So, you must have thought of a solution, haven't you, Szayelaporro?"
"Yes. Segunda Etapa has inspired another line of thinking for me, but this will likely require Lord Aizen's Hōgyoku."
Szayelaporro bowed slightly, glancing at Aizen beside Soifon.
Taking out a transparent box containing the complete Hōgyoku from his clothes, Aizen held it in his palm. "Very well, but how do you need to use the Hōgyoku?"
Staring at the Hōgyoku emitting its evolutionary light, Szayelaporro swallowed hard. Only after hiding the greedy look in his eyes did he dare to speak.
"Naturally, Lord Aizen would use the Hōgyoku's power to fill our Arrancar Hollow holes, thereby mending the flaws we possess as Hollows…"
Before he could finish, Aizen, who was opposite him, slowly closed his hands, taking the displayed Hōgyoku back into his palm.
Just as Szayelaporro thought it was a lost cause, Aizen changed the subject, a meaningful smile on his face:
"Is that so? I understand."
"The Hōgyoku, is it? I'll make a few more for you..."
After leaving that remark, Aizen nodded to Soifon, then vanished from the desert with a single step, heading straight for the Forest of Menos.
Aside from Soifon, no one could clearly see which direction he had moved.
"Um, Lady Soifon…"
Guilt was written all over Szayelaporro's face. He hadn't just been marked down in Aizen's little black book, destined to be given a hard time later, had he?
"Don't worry, Aizen has gone to make the Hōgyoku for you. Just wait." Soifon waved her hand with an amused expression and also turned to leave. "The chance to make Aizen work for you doesn't come by often, Szayelaporro..."
After she said this, the bitter look on Szayelaporro's face became even more pronounced. Even Ulquiorra, standing to the side, shot him a look filled with displeasure.
—You dare make Lord Aizen do things?
Back in Las Noches, Soifon was truly starting to regret defecting with Aizen.
There were no izakayas or grilled meat restaurants here. Even a small wish like soaking in a hot spring couldn't be fulfilled; after all, water was a rare resource in Hueco Mundo.
There were no students like Momo Hinamori and Rukia for her to tease and watch them jump at every poke.
Only Nelliel and Harribel could offer a small bit of comfort to Soifon's empty heart.
Plop—
Lying on the large bed in her chambers, Soifon stretched out her limbs in a star shape. Her small body was still unable to fill the spacious, soft bed.
Soifon was staring at the unfamiliar ceiling when suddenly, a faint, sweet fragrance drifted into her nostrils. It was followed by the sight of forest-green long hair filling her vision, and then, a certain unspeakably massive evil.
"Lady Soi... Are you in a bad mood?"
Nelliel knelt on the bed, her hands propped on either side of Soifon's head, looking down with concern at the prone Soifon.
Strands of jade-green hair hung down on both sides of Soifon's face, blocking her entire field of view, leaving only Nelliel's beautiful eyes reflected before her.
"Not really..."
Soifon was about to say something when she realized their current way of talking was a bit strange, so she rolled over twice on the bed.
"How should I put this... do you guys normally do anything else in Las Noches?"
Looking into the other's eyes, Soifon spoke tactfully.
She couldn't just say, your home is so boring, I want to run away.
"Hmm... Other things?"
"For me... I guess I play hide-and-seek with Pesche and Dondochakka?"
Nelliel tilted her head, tapping her chin as she stared at the ceiling in thought.
Then, Harribel, who was sitting on a chair, spoke up:
"Other than sparring, I do nothing."
"Oh, right, I also watch Sun-Sun, Mila, and Apacci argue."
Is there no entertainment at all here?!
Soifon rolled across the bed twice more, returning to Nelliel's side. "I'm surprised you can endure the loneliness."
"Loneliness... what is that?"
This unfamiliar word was picked out by both Nelliel and Harribel simultaneously, who directed the question at Soifon.
Right. Because of their Hollow holes, Arrancars are born with deficiencies in their hearts. It was normal for them to be confused by what Soifon considered common knowledge.
Realizing this, Soifon gave up on the idea of explaining.
Seeing Soifon not answer, Nelliel had Soifon rest her head on her lap. "I'm sorry, we're not very good at conversation. If we have bored you, Lady Soifon, please forgive us…"
"It's not your fault."
"Perhaps it's the difference in our races."
Soifon raised a hand, stroking Nelliel's cheek from bottom to top.
Race...
Hearing this word, Harribel's eyes flickered.
She raised her hands and looked at them, also feeling that the human form of an Arrancar had its natural advantages.
Flexible fingers, highly adaptable limbs—even after living in her Vasto Lorde form for several hundred years, Harribel still preferred to maintain her Arrancar form.
Why were Shinigami and Quincy in human form, but Hollows were different?
I really want to try being human...
Such a seed was planted in Harribel's heart.
Forest of Menos.
Dense ranks of Gillians fell one after another. The soaring dust threw the Forest of Menos into chaos.
Sōsuke Aizen reaped the lives of these Gillians with one slash after another, then collected their souls and kneaded them into a sphere. Before long, the prototype of a Hōgyoku was formed.
With his experience in creating the Shinigami Hōgyoku, Sōsuke Aizen used the complete Hōgyoku in his hand as a catalyst and nutrient source, quickly creating a semi-finished Hōgyoku.
It was for the Espada anyway, so it didn't need to be as perfect as his own. A too-perfect Hōgyoku would, in fact, be uncontrollable for the Espada.
After all, the Hōgyoku was a living thing with its own thoughts...
Sōsuke Aizen looked at the pulsing, semi-finished Hōgyoku in his hand. He could feel its desire to merge with him.
"You want a strong host, do you? Hōgyoku."
"But, I'm already at full capacity here."
Sōsuke Aizen smiled as he placed it into a transparent square box, then placated the complete Hōgyoku orb in his own hand.
Soul Society, Department of Research and Development.
Hundreds of monitoring windows simultaneously displayed data from all corners of the Three Worlds, such as Spirit Particle concentration and Hollow cluster activity trajectories.
Beep—Beep—Beep—
In front of the massive monitoring console, a red warning light flashed incessantly.
Akon strode quickly past rows of neatly arranged detection instruments. He slammed his hands on the console, staring blankly at the data displayed on it, the numbers flickering on the screen reflected in his glasses.
"This is wrong... It's too abnormal..."
Turning off the alarm, Akon took the printed data and walked to the depths of the laboratory. He rang the doorbell and waited for a moment before entering.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi was in front of a complex instrument, upon which lay his Zanpakutō, Ashisogi Jizō. Hearing footsteps, he spoke without looking up. "Report."
"Captain Mayuri! The monitoring data from Hueco Mundo is abnormal." Akon stood at attention, speaking rapidly. "The number of Menos Grande is decreasing at a rate of 0.01 percent per hour, mainly concentrated at the Gillian level. Starting from seventy-two hours ago, the cumulative number of reductions has already exceeded..."
He glanced at the data in his hand. "Exceeded one thousand five hundred."
"One thousand five hundred Gillians... vanished in seventy-two hours?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi slowly lifted his head, his tone chilling. "Are you certain the monitoring system isn't malfunctioning?"
"All equipment issues have been ruled out."
Akon handed over the data.
"Damn it, what the hell are Sōsuke Aizen and that Soifon woman up to?!"
"If you're going to defect to Hueco Mundo, then at least manage those savage things properly!"
Mayuri Kurotsuchi cursed as he took the data.
"Should we take action, Captain?" Akon asked cautiously.
"Wait another seven days." Mayuri Kurotsuchi finally made a decision. "After seven days, if the number of Menos Grande is still decreasing at this rate..."
"...then go and clean out the residents of the Rukongai districts at the far end."
After hand-crafting the sixth complete Hōgyoku, Aizen slew another Gillian, only to find that the complete Hōgyoku in his hand no longer wished to increase the number of Hōgyoku.
—It's enough.
This was the message the Hōgyoku conveyed to him.
Even if they were lower-grade products, they were still Hōgyoku, and the Hōgyoku didn't want its own kind to end up with terrible hosts.
The fact that Grimmjow, who had been promoted to No. 5, could be chosen was already the limit.
No. 1 to No. 5, and then Szayelaporro, made for exactly six Hōgyoku.
Fine. Since the Hōgyoku had spoken, Aizen, as its host, would naturally respect its choice. Besides, the appearances of the later Espada were truly unsightly, so it didn't matter if they weren't enhanced.
Placing the six Hōgyoku into separate boxes, Aizen turned and moved back toward Las Noches, leaving the Forest of Menos in a state of utter ruin behind him.
Switching perspective to Las Noches.
In front of a lab bench, Szayelaporro was adjusting a complex Spiritual Pressure analyzer. Suspended in the center of the instrument was a drop of Ulquiorra's blood sample. The pale green liquid rotated slowly under the beam of light, refracting a strange fluorescence.
This was blood he had taken from Ulquiorra's body after his Segunda Etapa.
In a culture dish nearby was a severed arm from the Segunda Etapa, a gift from Ulquiorra.
The automatic door opened.
Sōsuke Aizen walked into the laboratory. In his hand, he held a transparent container, inside which floated six fist-sized spheres. Each one emitted a dim purple light, its surface covered with fine, vein-like patterns.
Szayelaporro's movements froze.
Reason suppressed his instinctual craving. He repressed his excitement, leaned in toward the container in Aizen's hand, and observed with wide eyes.
Then, Szayelaporro took a deep breath, forced himself to take half a step back, and bowed slightly. "Lord Aizen."
Aizen placed the container in the center of the lab bench.
The six Hōgyoku rotated slowly within the container, maintaining a subtle distance from each other, like living embryos floating in a culture medium.
"The Hōgyoku you wanted," Aizen said. "Six of them, corresponding to the top five Espada, plus you."
Szayelaporro swallowed, leaning down to look for a moment.
"Lord Aizen…"
"These six Hōgyoku seem to be a bit different from yours?"
He seemed to be carefully choosing his words so as not to get on Aizen's bad side.
"A keen observation, Szayelaporro," he said, his fingers tapping lightly on the lab bench. "That's right. I made these six Hōgyoku using the souls of Gillians as material..."
He paused, not elaborating further.
Szayelaporro's eyes lit up.
Pure Hollow power. This meant these Hōgyoku were a perfect match for the Spiritual Pressure nature of an Arrancar, minimizing any rejection during fusion.
"The Hōgyoku chooses its own host, Szayelaporro."
"I look forward to your new form. Don't disappoint me..."
With his hands in his pockets, Sōsuke Aizen turned and left, leaving the six Hōgyoku in the laboratory.
The door closed silently.
All that remained in the laboratory was Szayelaporro and the six slowly rotating Hōgyoku in the container...
____
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