Several months had passed since Hasumi Ren initiated the Garganta experiments, and today was the day he had chosen for the first live test.
Aizen Sosuke arrived early and waited to one side, watching Ren and Tosen Kaname make their final preparations. Before long, a Garganta slowly tore open within the ravine. The pitch-black fissure stood over two stories tall, its jagged edges pulsing with the dark red glow of spiritual pressure. The shifting air currents stirred the thin mist, sending it billowing violently through the hollow.
Standing before the Garganta, Aizen stared at the stable spatial rift, a satisfied smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Ren, you have done exceptionally well."
His voice was soft, yet it carried clearly into everyone's ears. Unveiled admiration shone in Aizen's eyes. "The success of the Garganta means our grand design has taken its most critical step forward."
Standing to the side, Tosen listened to Aizen praise Ren. Bitter envy and frustration surged deep within his heart, but he could only lower his head in silence.
Ren stood by the edge of the Garganta, the lingering residue of Hollowfied spiritual pressure still buzzing at his fingertips. Dissolving his mask, he let out a soft sigh and bowed his head. "You flatter me, Vice-Captain Aizen."
Aizen shook his head, offering no further comment. He stepped toward the Garganta with a leisurely pace, as if going for a casual stroll rather than venturing into an unknown world. Tosen followed close behind, his hand gripping his Zanpakuto as his senses fanned out, vigilant against any potential danger.
Ren brought up the rear. Before stepping through the rift, he cast one last glance behind him, then retracted his gaze and plunged into the void.
Darkness. A brief sensation of weightlessness. Then, the feeling of solid ground beneath his feet.
Aizen used his spiritual pressure to pave a wide, smooth pathway through the endless void, and the group advanced quickly in the direction Ren had anchored. Soon enough, Ren tore open another exit using his spiritual pressure. The three figures dropped from the sky, landing squarely in the thick white sand.
The grains beneath their boots were fine yet hard, gleaming with a sickly white luster like crushed bone. Looking up, they were finally in Hueco Mundo.
The sky of Hueco Mundo was an eternal pitch-black. There were no stars, no moon—only an endless dark dome pressing down on the white desert like an upturned iron cauldron. On the distant horizon, a few solitary rocky crags cast menacing silhouettes against the darkness. A gust of wind swept past, carrying an inexplicable scent—a raw, ancient aroma.
Aizen stood on the sands, surveying the surroundings. "So this is Hueco Mundo."
His voice was quiet, yet exceptionally clear across the silent desert. "Let us explore a bit. We can harvest some experimental materials while we are at it."
Tosen stood behind Aizen, extending his senses in every direction. His brow furrowed slightly; the spiritual pressure of Hueco Mundo differed from that of the Soul Society, feeling far more dense and oppressive. His sensory range was slightly restricted here, yet he could still track the faint, fleeting traces of spiritual fluctuations in the distance.
"Hollows are approaching," he reported.
Aizen nodded. "Ignore them. Let us proceed."
The trio ventured deeper into the desert wasteland. Ren walked at the rear, his eyes scanning the surrounding dunes while his mind focused on an entirely different direction. His Hollow clone was waiting in the distance. The white Adjuchas was roaming the far side of the desert, gradually drawing closer along a pre-programmed route, biding its time.
Along their path, a Gillian poked its head out from behind a dune. Its massive form cast a sweeping shadow under the dark sky, and a crimson glow flickered within the hollow sockets of its mask. Clearly drawn by their spiritual pressures, it unhinged its jaw as dark red energy coalesced in its maw—the unmistakable prelude to a Cero.
Tosen vanished from the spot. A flash of blade-light later, the Gillian's mask split in two. Its colossal frame crashed down, dissolving into reishi that scattered into the air.
Aizen did not even break his stride.
Even more Hollows were drawn to the commotion. Common Hollows, Gillians, and even a handful of Adjuchas swarmed from all sides like sharks tracking the scent of blood, lunging fearlessly at the three intruders. Tosen drew his blade to meet them. His swordsmanship was fierce and precise, each slash carving into a vital spot without a single wasted motion.
Ren joined the fray as well. Eschewing Hollowfication for now, he relied entirely on Shunpo paired with his Zanpakuto to efficiently dispatch any Hollow that drew near.
An Adjuchas lunged at Ren from the flank with blistering speed. Ren pivoted to evade, his edge slicing cleanly across its abdomen as black blood erupted. The Hollow shrieked in agony but refused to fall, throwing itself forward with even greater frenzy.
Ren's brow twitched. He stopped holding back. Dark red spiritual pressure billowed from his body, swirling around him before forming over his face. A half-mask patterned with crimson markings gleamed with an eerie luster under the dim sky. His spiritual pressure skyrocketed instantly, boosting his speed and power by an entire magnitude. He vanished. A split second later, the Adjuchas's head went flying into the air.
Tosen's blade hitched slightly. His senses had captured the transformation in Ren's spiritual pressure—frigid, feral, and carrying an unsettling weight. A complex wave of emotion welled up inside him. 'This is Hollowfication. The power Lord Aizen has been pursuing relentlessly... and Ren has already mastered it. Furthermore, he wields it with such terrifying fluidity.'
Aizen stood to the side. He refrained from intervening, choosing instead to observe silently. His gaze locked onto Ren, studying the explosive surge of spiritual pressure and the seamless execution of the Adjuchas. A faint glint flickered in Aizen's eyes.
The skirmish concluded swiftly. As the final Hollow fell and dissolved into reishi, the desert returned to its dead silence, broken only by the whistling wind and the occasional, distant roar of a Hollow.
Ren dissolved his mask and exhaled softly. Though he had expended a fair amount of spiritual pressure, recovery in Hueco Mundo was significantly faster than in the Soul Society.
"Impressive," Aizen's voice came from behind. "Your control over Hollowfication has become remarkably refined."
Ren nodded. "It may be that the reishi environment here is better suited to Hollowfied power."
Aizen nodded without further comment. The three continued deeper into the desert wasteland. Along the way, they encountered several more packs of Hollows, all easily dispatched by Tosen and Ren.
Despite venturing far into the wastes, they rarely encountered any Adjuchas capable of speech or possessing a highly independent consciousness. Eventually, a pack of Adjuchas-class Hollows caught scent of the intruders. More than a dozen Adjuchas of various grotesque shapes burst from the white sand, their crimson eyes locked dead onto the trio.
These Adjuchas clearly possessed a sense of self, snarling and snapping at one another as if contesting ownership over their new prey. Sensing the charging pack, Tosen drew his Zanpakuto and braced himself.
"Bankai. Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Korogi."
A dome of pitch-black space enveloped the area, entirely devoid of sound. Ren stood on guard, waiting for a brief moment until the darkness finally receded. Most of the Adjuchas were already mortally wounded, dissolving into reishi. Only a few stronger specimens had managed to dodge fatal blows through sheer reflexes, collapsing helplessly on the sand.
Aizen walked over to the grievously injured Adjuchas, unleashing an oppressive wave of spiritual pressure. "Tell me of the power structure in Hueco Mundo. Who rules this realm now?"
Cowering under Aizen's overwhelming spiritual pressure, the Adjuchas were utterly incapable of resistance. One stammered out, "The... The King of Hueco Mundo is Baraggan. He resides in Las Noches and rules over the entire realm..."
"Las Noches?" A glint of amusement flashed in Aizen's eyes. "Where is it located?"
"Deep within Hueco Mundo..."
Aizen nodded slightly. "It seems the layout of Hueco Mundo is far more defined than I anticipated."
Tosen took a step forward. "Lord Aizen, shall we visit Las Noches to see this so-called King of Hueco Mundo?"
"There is no rush," Aizen shook his head gently. "The Garganta test has been a complete success, and our primary objective is secured. These few Adjuchas will suffice for our experiments. As for Las Noches and Baraggan... we will have plenty of time for them in the future."
He turned to Ren. "Open the Garganta. Prepare for our return."
"Understood."
Ren raised his hand, but just as he began to focus his spiritual pressure to open the rift, a massive roar originating from the distant desert caught everyone's attention. A violent collision of spiritual pressures was sweeping across several miles, sending columns of yellow sand billowing into the air alongside the agonizing shrieks of multiple Adjuchas.
Tosen halted, focusing his senses on the distant fluctuations. "Lord Aizen, there are several Adjuchas ahead. They appear to be engaged in combat."
Aizen peered in that direction, a flicker of curiosity passing through his eyes. "Let us take a look."
The trio approached silently. In a low-lying sandy hollow, several Adjuchas were locked in a chaotic brawl. They varied in size and spiritual strength, but each radiated unbridled savagery. The sands were torn up, debris flew wildly, and the residual heat of Ceros left scorched distortions in the air.
Yet right in the center of the fray, a white Hollow stood out prominently. Though it was a full size smaller than the surrounding Adjuchas, its movements were extraordinarily agile and its spiritual pressure remarkably stable. Fighting one against three, it wasn't just holding its own—it was steadily dominating the battle.
Its claws carved afterimages through the air, every strike plunging precisely into a fatal spot. One Adjuchas's underbelly was ripped open, sending black blood spurting, while another's mask was shattered to pieces, provoking a horrific shriek. A third attempted to flee, but the white Hollow lunged after it, snapping its throat in a single bite.
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, all three Adjuchas lay dead. The white Hollow stood amidst the carcasses, drenched in blood and panting heavily. Its body was riddled with gashes, some deep enough to expose bone, others still dripping freely. Then, it slowly collapsed.
Watching the white Hollow, a look of profound intrigue crossed Aizen's face. "Fascinating. Bring this one back with us as well."
Ren nodded subtly, fixing his gaze on the white Hollow. It was his clone. He had been waiting for this exact moment. Secretly elated but keeping his expression completely inscrutable, Ren moved alongside Tosen to seal and bind the heavily injured clone.
With that, a total of five Adjuchas were sealed, and Ren's clone had successfully infiltrated their ranks. Ren then tore open a Garganta, and the three stepped through the rift, returning to the Soul Society.
A few days later, in the underground cavern beneath Sokyoku Hill.
The brilliant glow of reishi lamps illuminated the entire space. Kisuke Urahara crouched before his workbench, manipulating spiritual pressure detection waves. Using the spatial coordinates of the Wandenreich provided by Ren as a baseline, he constructed a complete spatial probing matrix. Sliding his fingers lightly across the detection array, he calibrated the final dataset. Then, taking a deep breath, he activated the probing matrix.
Channeling his spiritual pressure, the detection waves rippled out like invisible threads, piercing through the spatial barriers of the Soul Society to infiltrate the hidden dimension. Urahara stared intently at the dashboard, monitoring the feedback from the shockwaves.
Initially, there was nothing. Only the standard fluctuations of a spatial barrier and subtle shifts in reishi density. Soon, however, the readings began to warp. The frequency of the spatial barrier's vibrations exhibited an anomaly, as if something were actively interfering with it. And then, his senses brushed against the outermost edge of that concealed dimension.
A moment later, a massive wave of feedback surged back. Urahara's expression shifted drastically as he shot to his feet, the numbers on his monitors spiking violently. The scale... it was unimaginably vast!
Urahara's brow knit tightly together, his features growing increasingly grave. "This isn't enough. I have to pierce the barrier to analyze the internal details."
Griting his teeth, he amped up his spiritual pressure output, driving the detection waves against the spatial barrier once more in an attempt to bore through. The feedback clarified rapidly. The interior was colossal, the reishi density exceptionally high, and... there was an immense abundance of vital signs.
Urahara's hands trembled slightly. Throughout his long life, he had never witnessed anything of this magnitude. Tucked directly beneath the Seireitei, right at the very heart of the Soul Society, lay a gargantuan dimension harboring thousands upon thousands of living souls.
Inhaling deeply, he prepared to initiate a deeper scan. He needed to find out exactly what this space was, who resided inside, and what they were planning.
Suddenly, a tremendous wave of spiritual pressure surged back from the other side. It was precise, decisive, and entirely devoid of wasted effort. Urahara's probing matrix was severed instantly, while the terminal before him blared a piercing alarm. He scrambled to stabilize the machinery, attempting to re-establish a lock on the dimension, but the coordinates had vanished. The display showed absolute void, as if that space had never existed at all.
Urahara stood paralyzed, cold sweat pooling on his forehead. He had been careless. The counterparty's vigilance far exceeded his projections, and their technological prowess was not a single step behind his own.
The moment he had first brushed against the spatial barrier, they had detected him. It was highly probable they had been observing him all along, waiting for him to expose a vulnerability before seizing the opportunity to jam his probe. And he had remained completely oblivious.
Taking a ragged breath, Kisuke Urahara packed up his gear and turned toward the exit, his stride considerably swifter than usual.
By nightfall, outside the Fourth Division barracks.
Urahara leaned against the perimeter wall, waiting for Ren to emerge. Before long, Ren's figure stepped out. Spotting Urahara, his feet paused momentarily. Urahara's expression was completely off—he could sense it.
"What happened?" Ren asked.
Urahara didn't answer, simply gesturing for Ren to follow as he slipped into a quiet, secluded alleyway. Ren trailed close behind. Once they reached a deserted nook, Urahara spun around, his countenance graver than it had ever been before.
"That space... I managed to probe it."
Ren's brow twitched. "Did you discover anything?"
Urahara exhaled a heavy breath. "The scale is immense, the reishi concentration is incredibly high, and... there are an enormous number of vital signs."
Ren's eyes widened with simulated astonishment, his features darkening. "And then?"
Urahara fell silent for a heartbeat. "I... was detected."
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