BLEACH: The Dusk In Red

Albrecht quickly tried to escape, but he bumped into someone in behind him. He quickly turned around to see who it was, but it was one of the Arrancar that he had seen earlier. 

"(How the hell did she--?)"

He was about to run away, but then she simply asked,

"Aren't you at least going to eat?"

He froze the second he heard them. They were kind, sincerer and genuine, possibly even the first kind words he had heard since being born. An emotion he hadn't felt before began to stir inside him. It made him uncomfortable and he didn't like it, yet he wanted to pursue it anyway.

"Come, I'll introduce you properly to the others. My name is Harribel."

Somewhere across the sands of Hueco Mundo, another story was brewing

Joaquin tirelessly ran as he screamed a flurry of slurs and swears in a fit of rage. Incredible frustration, and a deep resentment, but also the emotion of absolute inferiority and weakness. All those emotions, he carried with as went to the only man he thought could help him.

There were several ruined buildings made up from white rubble, but the place he was going to, was the massive white tower at the top. There were several Arrancar on the way up, all working on something, but their spiritual pressure felt empty, and repetitive.

Once he finished climbing, he found the Arrancar he was looking for. His bull shaped mask hid away his entire face and he was painting a crude, twisted tree in only shades of black. There was throne, but he did not dare to sit on it, despite being the ruler of this place.

"Lord Rudbornn! Please, I ask for your help!"

Rudbornn paused his movements. He got up, to turn around and look at the Vasto Lorde. He recognised Joaquin at a glance as one of the troublesome Hollow's that had been on the rise.

"So you've returned from the ladies territory? Have you finally decided to accept my offer? To join my side."

Unfortunately for him, it was something else.

"They've broken the pact! The prey that I had fought for and won had been taken form me by them. I beg of you, do something!"

"If this is about you still trying to become an Arrancar, I already told you that Lord Aizen would be more than welcomed to accept you in his ranks. He's the only one who can help you with that."

"AND I TOLD YOU BEFORE THAT I DON'T WANT TO BE RULED BY ANYONE!"

Rudbornn thought about it for a while. But then he sat back down and continued painting.

"I rule my land with the idea of building power in the hopes that lord Aizen will return. I have no time nor resources to waste on a mere hollow that can't even catch a meal. Unless you can prove to me right now that your worth my time, get out of my sight."

"BUT, THE RULES! YOU AGREED TO THEM TOO! YOUR PASSIVENESS COME FROM YOUR RESPECT FOR A MAN WHOSE AS GOOD AS DEAD!" 

Rudbornn's spiritual pressure began to increase, but the real terrifying part was the overwhelming number of Arrancar and hollow's outside which reacted to it. They all could feel their master was showing his hostility to someone, and in return they showed theirs too.

Those who were strong had absolute authority. This was the singular rule which dominated Hueco Mundo. Joaquin had seen this in person many times, as he watched hollows be devoured, and he devoured those hollows.

Even the Arrancar which had absolute Authority in Hueco Mundo, were only as tame as they were due to those in Soul Society. Strength over strength, power over power, the absolute truth.

Joaquin desired power just like many other hollows before him, but he was more ambitious than the rest. Even when he became a Vasto Lorde, and devouring became near optional, his eating habits did not decrease.

"I wanted to be the strongest."

Arrancar was the new pinnacle of power, and he wanted to go even further beyond that. He had ceaselessly devoured other Hollows for the last 8 years, and became a Vasto Lorde, but no matter how much he ate, he couldn't advance.

All hope to him seemed lost, and for a while he even considered quitting. At least until he felt a peculiar spiritual pressure enter Hueco Mundo one day. It wasn't a Soul Reapers but a Quincy, but even then it felt different from the rest. Just by feeling it, a single name appeared in his mind.

"Soul king."

If he could just devour him, he didn't know why, but he felt he could gain power beyond even an Arrancar. Not even Soul Society would be able to put a leash on him. But that chance at becoming something greater was ripped away from him.

He began to uncontrollably mutter something, but his volume began to increase into an insane persons ramble.

"If I could eat him!? I wanted to eat him! He belonged to me! Those stupid woman, I'LL RIP THEM APART, I'LL MAKE DEATH SEEM LIKE PARADISE, I'LL MAKE THEM SUFFER FOR THIS!"

As his rage increased, so did his spiritual pressure. Rudbornn began to find him an eyesore, and was about to draw his Zanpakutō against him. But then he noticed something strange. The crack in Joaquin's mask which he had received from Nelliel began to grow.

And once his rage reached its peak, it finally shattered. Fragments of a hollows mask fell to the floor, before shattering into pieces. It wasn't just that, but he began to release tons of smoke which clouded Rudbornn's vision.

The Arrancar sheathed back his sword, and began to applaud Joaquin for his achievement.

"Interesting. Through sheer hatred and gluttony, you forced yourself to become an Arrancar. It's a crude transformation, but maybe your worth something after all."

Once the smoke cleared, a naked man remained where the hollow used to be. His body was slim yet muscular, with dark skin. His red hair flowed with the same amount of rage he felt.

He raised his own hand to look at it, to feel it. A human like body, a human like face, a human like desire. But it wasn't enough. Rudbornn approached the still dazed Joaquin who was excited at his development.

"Your transformation isn't complete. Your persistence alone won't be enough to fully complete you."

He extended out a hand, in the face of an asset he shouldn't lose no matter what.

"Let us go retrieve what belongs to you. You have earned that right."