Inside Las Noches.
The King of Hueco Mundo, Baraggan Louisenbairn, had waited for days. Not only did he lack news of a triumphant return, but he had received no word at all.
Between Little U's single Lanza del Relámpago and Ren's systematic clean-up afterward, not a single soul from the army survived. Naturally, there was no one left to report back to Baraggan. No matter how long he sat on his throne, the silence would remain unbroken.
Lately, every time Ren fell asleep, he entered that mysterious dark void. Curiously, he could never enter it while conscious.
During one visit, Ren spotted a child in the distance. He couldn't be sure, but the boy looked strangely familiar. However, before he could call out, a powerful repulsive force slammed into him, unceremoniously ejecting him from the space.
Ren woke up with a frown. Thrown out this time? Who was that kid? Why did he look so familiar?
Meanwhile, in the Brotherhood Space.
Ninja Ren watched in fascination as a Hollow suddenly flickered into existence and then vanished just as quickly.
"My Bleach counterpart turned into a Hollow? That's some rough luck."
He looked around; Scientist Ren was busy, and Pirate Ren hadn't been seen for days—likely caught up in some sea battle. After waiting a while without the Hollow Ren reappearing, Ninja Ren left the space. He had his Shadow Clones handling the research while his main body stayed immersed in cultivation. The joy of "immortal cultivation" was something an average person truly couldn't fathom.
Back in Hueco Mundo.
Ren had several more naps, but he never saw the child again. The void remained empty, a place where he wandered aimlessly.
In reality, however, Ren's strength was growing at an astronomical rate. It felt as though seeing that child had unlocked something; even though his food intake remained the same, his power was rapidly closing the gap with Little U.
He was still an Adjuchas, not yet a Vasto Lorde, yet he was nearly as strong as Little U—a natural Arrancar Vasto Lorde! If he actually completed his Arrancarization, he might surpass even Lilynette and become the strongest in Hueco Mundo.
"Cero Metralleta!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Lilynette fired her pistols, unleashing a barrage of Ceros that reduced a distant Hollow pack to ash in an instant.
"Hey! I haven't even eaten yet!" Ren cried out, heartbroken.
Lilynette holstered her guns and sighed helplessly. "Haven't you realized it yet?"
"Realized what?"
"Ren... your Reiatsu has nothing to do with devouring Hollows anymore." Lilynette threw her hands up in exasperation.
"Nothing to do with it? How can that be?" Ren looked at her, confused. Isn't the whole point of Hollow evolution to devour others? How else do you get stronger? He glanced at Little U—but that guy was a freak of nature who was born near the peak and broke his mask just by existing.
Seeing Ren's confusion, Lilynette shook her head, her expression turning uncharacteristically serious.
"Do you know why Hollows must constantly devour?"
"To get stronger!" Ren answered without thinking.
"And before getting stronger?"
"Before that?" Ren frowned. Was there another reason? "Wait, let me think." He waved her off and sank into deep thought.
Hollows devour... besides power, why else?
He dug through his memories. His post-transmigration memories were useless; back then, he was driven by primal hunger and the need to survive. But his memories from before...
Those were blurry now. Aside from his name and fragmented bits of the Bleach plot, he could hardly remember his past life.
"Hollows... why devour...?" Ren whispered.
Suddenly, Little U interjected: "To become strong... and to find the 'Heart'."
"Heart?"
At that word, a bolt of lightning struck Ren's mind! It was like the first ray of dawn tearing through a pitch-black night, awakening memories long since buried.
"Right... the Heart! When a soul becomes a Hollow, it becomes incomplete. It loses its memories. To fill that void in the soul, a Hollow attacks humans, attempting to complete itself by devouring their hearts."
Because he had lived in Hueco Mundo for so long, he had never even seen a human soul, let alone a living person. He had completely forgotten the core tragedy of his species. If Little U hadn't mentioned the concept of the "Heart," Ren might have eventually lost himself to the cycle of evolution and become a mindless beast.
As he remembered, the memories he had buried deep within his soul began to surge.
"I remember now! A long time ago, to prevent my 'Heart' from being corrupted or lost during the brutal evolution process, I sealed it away," Ren said softly.
When he first arrived, he was different; he remembered everything about being human. He grew quickly. But when he hit the Gillian stage, he felt his soul being crowded by the "noise" of the thousands of souls he'd absorbed. To keep from becoming a monster, Ren had used a massive portion of his Reiatsu to encase and protect his humanity. It made him forget things, but it ensured that when the time was right, he could reclaim himself.
Reclaiming that humanity now meant his power was about to explode.
"Huh? Protected what?" Lilynette looked confused. Sealing your heart? She'd lived in the desert for ages and never heard of such a thing.
Suddenly, Ren's Reiatsu erupted. Within seconds, it surged tenfold. His mask and the white bone armor across his body dissolved into pure white energy, which flowed into the Hollow hole in his chest. The hole, once the size of a palm, shrank until it was barely the diameter of a finger. Unless someone looked closely, they wouldn't even notice it.
Ren now looked indistinguishable from a human. His mask was gone without a trace.
This sudden transformation left Little U and Lilynette stunned. They stared at him, forgetting to breathe. When Ren opened his eyes and saw their wide-eyed expressions, a smile touched his lips.
"Thank you both. If it weren't for you, I don't know when I would have unlocked the seal on my 'Heart'."
Without their reminder, he might have become a fool who only knew how to eat, forgetting that evolution is about becoming whole, not just strong.
By reclaiming his heart and completing himself, Ren had instantly ascended. He was now a Vasto Lorde. He was an Arrancar. He stood at the very top of Hueco Mundo.
After a few seconds, the shock on the faces of his companions turned into pure excitement.
Lilynette immediately drew her guns. "Ren! Fight me!"
Little U was equally moved, his voice trembling slightly. "Tell me... what exactly is the 'Heart'?"
Facing the two, Ren told Lilynette to calm down, then looked at Little U. "What you are feeling right now... that is the Heart."