Bleach: The Path to Transcendence

A darkened sky. An endless expanse of pale sand dunes. Vritra gazed into the distance—nothing but desolation stretched before him.

He had wandered this barren wasteland for what felt like an eternity, yet he had not encountered a single living being. It was as if this vast, white sea of sand was his final resting place.

"Is this… the afterlife?"

His last memory was in the cramped, dimly lit hospital room—his gaze fixed on the dust-covered ceiling as he took his final, sorrowful breath.

Vritra had once been an ordinary small-town student, tirelessly studying for over a decade. His hard work had finally paid off when he defied his family's poverty, graduated from a prestigious university, and secured a job at a top-tier company.

Years of relentless effort led to his social ascent. He bought a car and a house in a first-tier city, becoming a hometown legend—an inspiration to countless parents who spoke of him as the model child.

Just as he was on the brink of financial freedom, ready to enjoy the life he had fought so hard for, a single piece of paper shattered his dreams—stage IV stomach cancer.

By the time his illness was diagnosed, it was already too late. After his first round of chemotherapy, his parents sold his house and car in the city and took him back to their small county hospital, calling it "conservative treatment."

His condition deteriorated rapidly after the transfer. Within just two months, he passed away.

"The past is gone."

Memories of his previous life flashed through his mind before he discarded them one by one.

Standing in this white desert, Vritra instinctively moved his body—only to hear a rustling sound from beneath the sand. A massive, segmented body, covered in white, bone-like plating, writhed beneath the surface. Large, blade-like limbs emerged from the sand, glistening ominously.

"What the hell is that?!"

"Oh… that's my body."

"Well, that's fine then…"

"I've turned into a monster—human from the waist up, centipede from the waist down…"

Perhaps it was the prolonged solitude, but Vritra couldn't stop muttering to himself. After a while, he finally snapped back to reality and examined his new form.

Without a mirror or water to reflect his image, he could only rely on his own vision. His upper body remained human, but below the waist, he had transformed into a massive centipede-like creature, stretching four to five meters in length. His body was robust and powerful.

His large, human-like hands were also encased in white bone plating, radiating immense strength. He had no doubt that he could easily crush a human skull with a single grip.

Then, he noticed something bizarre—at the junction between his humanoid torso and centipede body, there was a circular hole.

"This… this strange body, and this damned desert… Could this be Hueco Mundo? Am I… a Hollow?"

The barren surroundings had already made him suspicious, but upon discovering the hole in his body, he was almost certain—he had been reborn as a Hollow in Hueco Mundo!

His pale, skeletal hands reached up to his face. The hard texture confirmed his suspicion—his face was covered by a white mask, adorned with strange patterns.

"So… I've been reincarnated into Bleach?"

In his previous life, Vritra had been a devoted Bleach fan. He never expected that after death, he would awaken in Hueco Mundo as a Hollow.

Yet, instead of fear or despair, he felt excitement.

"Come on, this is freaking awesome!"

However, his enthusiasm quickly faded as he recalled a harsh reality—Hollows were one of the most dangerous creatures in Bleach.

If he was killed by a Shinigami, he might be lucky enough to be purified and sent to the Soul Society—provided he had no sins in his past life. Otherwise, he'd be sent straight to Hell.

If a Quincy found him and eliminated him completely, he wouldn't even have the chance to reincarnate—he'd be erased from existence.

Then there was Aizen's reign over Hueco Mundo. His Hollowfication experiments had led to the deaths of countless Hollows.

"Being a Hollow sucks… I have no idea what point in the timeline I'm in. If it's before the main story, I still have time to grow. If it's during or after… I'm screwed."

"ROOOOARR!!"

Vritra's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a deep, guttural roar.

A massive, two-meter-long, green lizard-like Hollow lunged at him, its mouth dripping with sickly yellow saliva.

BOOM!

Before the creature could reach him, Vritra instinctively lashed out with his massive centipede tail, striking the Hollow with immense force and slamming it deep into the sand.

He turned swiftly, following up with a brutal flurry of punches.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The lizard Hollow let out pitiful whimpers, its white mask cracking into three pieces. Its sharp claws were crushed beyond recognition.

Dark green blood splattered across the sand and onto Vritra's body, but he didn't stop. He continued pounding the creature relentlessly until it stopped moving altogether.

"Hah…"

Vritra exhaled deeply, looking at the lifeless corpse beneath him.

Although killing the lizard Hollow wasn't difficult, it was still a significant mental hurdle—after all, in his previous life, he had lived for thirty years without even killing a chicken.

After taking a moment to compose himself, he accepted his new reality. If he had truly become a Hollow, he needed to adapt as quickly as possible.

This world was full of dangers, but also opportunities—opportunities to become stronger, to gain power, and to transcend everything.

His gaze locked onto the lizard Hollow's corpse.

He recalled that in the Bleach universe, Hollows could evolve by devouring one another. The strongest among them could even ascend to the legendary Vasto Lorde.

Without hesitation, he picked up a severed limb covered in dark green blood and brought it to his mouth.

Crunch. Crunch.

Vritra bit into the flesh, chewing without hesitation.

To his surprise, he felt no revulsion. Instead, it tasted… delicious.

Whether it was because this particular Hollow had good flavor or because his new body had already adapted, he didn't know.

As he swallowed, he felt his spiritual energy slightly increase. His eyes lit up with excitement as he turned his gaze toward the rest of the corpse, eager to consume more.

This is just the beginning of his path in Hueco Mundo—where only the strong survive!