Bleach: The Path to Transcendence

Hueco Mundo – The Land of the Newly Born.

As the name suggests, this vast region is where newly born Hollows emerge, marking the outermost layer of the desert in Hueco Mundo.

A ferocious roar shattered the eerie silence. Following the source of the sound, one could see a vaguely humanoid figure, but in the next instant, a white liquid enveloped it, reshaping it into a half-meter-tall spider-like Hollow.

This was the final struggle of a half-Hollowed soul before its complete transformation. At last, within the depths of Hueco Mundo, it succumbed entirely to its fate.

When Vritra first noticed it, he had mistaken it for a human wandering within Hueco Mundo. But as he approached, he realized the truth—the creature had long lost its sanity and was on the verge of full Hollowfication.

Vritra's massive form erupted from beneath the sand with lightning speed, snapping up the small spider Hollow like a mere snack, swallowing it in one gulp.

"Rather than losing your mind and living like a beast, desperately fighting just to survive, isn't it better to become my nourishment? Let me guide you toward eternity."

He patted his stomach, speaking to the now-dissipated soul particles of the spider Hollow with an air of mock sympathy.

For the following days, Vritra remained concealed within the desert of the newborn Hollows, hunting his prey. As a powerful Hollow, combined with his calculated approach to hunting, his survival was virtually risk-free.

Unlike ordinary Hollows, he retained human intelligence. At this stage, he was still weak—far too weak to recklessly challenge opponents beyond his strength like some battle-crazed fool. He had no sealed powers waiting to be unlocked, no hidden trump card or external assistance. If he wanted to grow, he had to do so through patience and strategy.

Days passed—more than ten. By now, Vritra's body had grown to nearly ten meters in length, yet he still remained in the land of the newborns. His reasons were twofold: hunting and searching for other Hollows that, like him, retained human consciousness.

Unfortunately, he found no such kin. But what he lacked in allies, he made up for in size.

Through repeated testing, Vritra determined that his Cero had grown several times stronger than when he had first learned to use it. It had reached roughly seventy percent of the power exhibited by that mutant Gillian he had once encountered. More importantly, he was no longer as feeble as before—previously, firing a single shot drained him completely, but now, he could fire twice before exhaustion set in.

This meant that when facing a formidable opponent, he could suppress his spiritual pressure, ambush them with a well-placed Cero, and then finish them off in close combat. Against anything below a Gillian-class Menos, this strategy was nearly unbeatable.

For now, he was still considered a powerful Hollow, not yet a true Menos Grande. But by his own estimation, as long as he struck first from the shadows, even a Gillian wouldn't be beyond his reach.

That said, against an actual Gillian, Vritra knew he still had limits. He recalled the sight of that mutant Gillian and couldn't help but feel a flicker of wariness.

Still, that encounter wasn't an accurate measure. That Gillian had been an anomaly, far stronger than the mindless masses of its kind.

The Devouring Grounds of a Hundred Hollows.

For over ten days, a brutal battle had raged. One hundred Gillian-class Menos had engaged in a vicious cycle of mutual consumption, and at last, the final victor was about to emerge. The battlefield was a scene of carnage—massive dismembered limbs lay strewn across the desert, and blood of various hues stained the sands.

Only two Hollows remained—both jet-black, hyena-like creatures with eerily similar appearances. The only distinguishing feature was that one had longer fangs than the other. They were the very same Gillians that had their prey stolen by Vritra days ago.

Now, however, they had grown even larger than before, their bodies marred with fresh wounds. They looked utterly battered, yet their hunger remained insatiable.

Under normal circumstances, these two survivors should have fought to the death, with the winner devouring the loser to ascend to a true Gillian. But instead, they approached each other, licking each other's wounds in a strangely intimate display.

Then, something grotesque occurred.

The two creatures began to melt—black liquid oozing from their bodies, merging together into a single, larger pool of darkness.

Gurgle… Gurgle…

The pitch-black liquid began to boil as if alive, rising into a towering column. From within, a pale white skeletal claw burst forth, grasping the black mass and tearing it apart—revealing the massive, monstrous head of a newly born Gillian.

But unlike a typical Gillian, this one bore a mouth lined with sharp, jagged teeth along the edges of its mask.

The transformation was not yet complete.

As the remaining dark shell crumbled away, another enormous head emerged from beneath the first—this one devoid of fangs.

A two-headed Gillian! Another mutant has been born!

"ROOOAAARR!!"

The two heads howled in unison, as if celebrating their evolution.

Then—clap, clap, clap—a slow, deliberate applause echoed through the battlefield, followed by a silky, androgynous voice.

"My, my… what a pleasant surprise! I never expected to stumble upon such a prize. A mutant Gillian? If I present you to the great Barragan-sama, I will surely be rewarded!"

The two-headed Gillian turned toward the voice's source.

Standing atop a distant sand dune was a humanoid Hollow, towering at seven or eight meters in height. Its body was covered in pinkish skin, and its skeletal mask bore an intricate rose pattern. Thick limbs contrasted with its unnaturally slender waist, and a deep violet bud sprouted from its back, giving it an unsettling appearance.

Compared to the nearly hundred-meter-tall mutant Gillian, this figure was minuscule—like an insect before a colossus.

Yet the newly born Gillian dared not make a move.

From this seemingly insignificant figure, it sensed an overwhelming spiritual pressure—one that evoked an instinctual, bloodline-deep terror.

This was the natural dominance of a superior being.

The two-headed Gillian immediately understood: this was an Adjuchas.

"Wh…o… are… you?"

The fanged head of the Gillian slowly spoke, struggling with its newfound ability to articulate words.

"I am Charlotte Cuuhlhourne, a great general under the supreme ruler of Hueco Mundo, the master of all Hollows—His Majesty, Barragan Louisenbairn!"

"Gr…eet…ings… Lo…rd… Cha…rlo…tte…"

The twin-headed Gillian was no fool. Faced with Charlotte Cuuhlhourne's crushing presence, it immediately offered its submission, though its speech remained sluggish and unrefined.

"Hehehe… no need to be nervous, child. Lord Barragan greatly values promising younglings like yourself. Now, come—let us go meet the King!"

As Charlotte spoke, he vanished in a blur, reappearing beside the massive mutant Gillian. With an ease that defied logic, the comparatively tiny Adjuchas dragged the towering beast across the sands, leading it toward the heart of Hueco Mundo—Las Noches.

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Update schedule: 1 chapter a day

Bonus Chapter: per 200 power stones