Capítulo 2: Chapter 2 - Birds of Oblivion
He was flying through the skies on Hueco Mundo. Kurokujaku had fed on over a thousand hollows within the last two years since his evolution into an Adhujas-class Hollow. Most of his prey had been Adhujas-class Hollows. And he felt his body reach its' limit.
His power no longer increased after the thousandth hollow he feasted upon. Now he only fed upon hollows to prevent regression into a Menos. He flapped his wings as he soured at incredible speed. There was no concrete way to become a Vasto Lorde...you just did or you didn't.
He now believes that eating was not just necessary for this evolution but also some kind of epiphany. He believed with every fiber of his being that an Adjucas must truly understand oneself, understand whatever unique trait they possessed that other hollows of the same rank might not. Not in terms of unique abilities they unlock by being a specific king of Adjucas, but what unique trait they had in their soul.
He knew he was on the right track, but he needed a catalyst. He needed to be pressured. All his fights have been one-sided slaughters thus far. He needed to understand mortality, and for that, he required the Press of Death.
As he contemplated what key step he could be missing, he sensed a spiritual pressure unlike any he'd sensed before. He focussed his senses on that area. There were five individual spiritual pressures he was picking up. Three belong to Adjucas far weaker than him, but not weak in general, he just had a talent for destroying with precision. One belongs to a being that surpassed the rank of Adjucas which can only be a Vasto Lorde. And the last was the most strange.
It gave off spiritual pressure that reminded him of an Adjucas, but its intensity rivaled the Vasto Lorde it most likely faced. If he could consume this unique hollow he might, no he knew he could push his evolution to the next rank.
He headed towards the location where he sensed the spiritual pressure. It took little time for him to arrive at the speed at which he flew. Upon arrival, he was able to identify the individuals.
The three Adjucas were female, which was rare. One was a large snake with a light gray body and a white underbelly. She had three pink dots on both sides of her head, and her mask sat on top. Three pearl-like earrings were attached to the sides of her mask. The second had a deer-like appearance with a horn on her forehead and large antlers. She had grey skin with a brown coat of fur covering the back half of her body. The third was a large lioness Adjuchas with a brown skin body. She had white armor on her four legs, and thick, dark brown hair on her back that went down her body and formed into her tail. Her mask and mane were golden.
He flew closer but kept a certain amount of distance. His reiatsu was cloaked by his natural ability to essentially become one with the night. And in Hueco Mundo...night was eternal. His gaze then landed on the Vasto Lorde that seemed to be protecting the three Adjucas. The question was why. Sure Apon achieved the rank of Vasto Lorde, a hollow that no longer had any interest in feeding, but to willing protecting other hollows...hmmm that intrigued him.
The fact that this Vasto Lorde was also female...well this day just keeps getting more and more intriguing. Most of her body and face were covered by white Hollow bones, and her weapon was part of her arm, but her hair and eyes were exposed. Her mask wrapped around her head, with an extremely long and thin shark tail hanging from the back of her head. There were also pointed protrusions from her shoulders and elbows, as well as distinct grooves on her legs.
And left this last hollow if he could even call it that. It was a male...but only a fragment of his mask was left. He resembled a humanoid hammerhead shark. But his reiatsu was strange, he was clearly an adjucas ranked hollow before whatever he did to his mask occurred, yet he was contending with a Vasto Lorde...no he seemed to have the advantage in the confrontation.
I'd use this to my advantage. I tuck my wings and dived down. I used Shadows Embrace to enter the darkness and cloak my reiatsu, which meant that until I attacked, neither of them would sense me. Within moments I was behind my selected prey. I struck out with Umbra Talon.
The moment I did and exited the darkness, he made to dodge but I was too fast and it was too late. My attack stuck, his skin was hard, but the moment from my dive added to the potency of the attack allowing me to take a chunk out of his back. Excellent! I gave him no room to counterattack.
The iridescent plumage on my body shone, drawing his gaze, and allowing me to ensnare him in my illusions. Now before his eyes were several copies of me, he snarled and attacked wildly.
"What trickery is this? You dare obstruct a subject of Lord Barragan"
He said as he cut one of the duplicates in half. He could not sense a difference between them. So he attacks them all. However, the duplicates did not stay still. They evaded and feined attacks from different directions.
In a frustrated state, he saw no results from his wild attacks and doubted which attacks were real and which were fake. He never saw the true attack coming, but he certainly felt it.
Cero Pluma! was unleashed as the storm of energy feathers crashed into him and exploded with such force that it unleashed a shockwave that forced the blonde Vasto Lordes to shield the three Arrancar behind her. But it didn't stop there, I needed to crush him with such overwhelming force that his death was guaranteed.
I spread my tail feathers wide, the eye patterns began to twinkle as each one condensed an energy. The Vasto Lorde instructed her followers to fall back, but she sensed the attack commence before they could do so. With no choice left, she put more reiatsu into shielding them.
Already dazed and injured the unique hollow looked up just in time to see the barrage of beams descending, homed in on his location. Peacock's Wrath! was unleashed and all he could do was roar in frustration and then...in anguish.
"RAhHHHHHHHhHhhHhhhhhhhhh"
As his screams died down. I stretched my senses and felt his reiatsu drop to the level just before death...perfect. But also felt a potent reiatsu approach one that would have slipped my notice otherwise. I moved quickly, I swooped down and slammed my talons into his head before tightening my grip and taking flight with my prey.
I glanced back and saw a...HUMAN...no a Shinigami, with glasses and a white cloak with a symbol of some kind on the back. He was helping the Vasto Lordes to her feet but his eyes were locked onto mine, with a smile on his face.
A shinigami helping a hollow. Interesting, but I had my prize and evolution to seek. Should we cross paths again...we shall see. Perhaps he shall be my next meal. I've tasted Soul Reaper before. I increased my speed and activated Shadows Embrace vanishing from sight and perception with my next meal in hand and anticipation welling up in my soul.
~Small Timeskip~
After consuming the last of his flesh, I felt nothing at first. No signs of increasing spiritual pressure. No changes to my body. Then I felt a chill, run through my body. Its origins are from my very soul. Was this darkness I felt to be my end...was all the hollows I've eaten, the souls I've costumes, the battles I had fought for naught... NO! My body that was crumbling ceased a pulse revered through. Then it increased in frequency. Then came the pain. Good! The pain was good....was it good? Of course, it was right...pain meant I still lived...my existence still flourished.
He begins to contemplate. As a Hollow, he devoured countless others, not merely for survival but also to silence the void within himself. Yet, no matter how many souls he consumes, the emptiness grows deeper, gnawing at his psyche. Over time, he begins to notice a pattern: the Hollows he consumes seem to vanish completely, leaving no trace of their essence or memories within him. This absence is unnerving, yet it begins to feel natural.
By the time he'd reached the Adjuchas stage, he had grown distant from other Hollows, preferring solitude. He studied the void he felt in himself and the world around him, realizing that his very presence seemed to drain the energy and hope of those nearby. His fights become less about brute strength and more about a slow, inevitable victory where his opponents lose the will to fight, as if their existence is unraveling simply by facing him.
As he now neared the threshold of becoming a Vasto Lorde, he had to confront the inner turmoil that has always been there: why does he exist? What drives him to continue? The answer comes not from a desire for power or survival but from a deep understanding of his true nature. He is not a creator or preserver...he is the final note in the song of existence. He ends things.
He understood it now...his Aspect of Death. "Everything ends. Whether through decay, conflict, or the passage of time, nothing escapes oblivion. Not even me."
Rather than resisting his demise, Kurokujaku embraces it. He lets go of his fear, his desperation, and even his hunger. Instead, he focuses on the void within him—the calm, quiet inevitability that has always been there.
"If existence is fleeting, then I am its shadow. I am the stillness that follows the storm, the silence after the scream. I am Oblivion."
As he accepts his nature, a shift occurs within him. The energy of his consumed souls, the remnants of his existence, and the void itself converge. His body begins to dissolve and reshape, no longer bound by the limits of his previous form. The Hollows that had sensed his transformation via his fluctuation reiatsu and tried to attack and devour him while he was vulnerable are consumed, not by his claws or fangs, but by the sheer gravity of his transformation. Their bodies disintegrate into nothingness as if they were never there.
"I am not destruction. I am what comes after. The true DEATH. The end of all things."
His body becomes sleek and elegant, shedding the monstrous bulk of his Adjuchas form. His skin is now a rich brown, accentuating his regal yet menacing presence. It gleams with an almost metallic sheen under certain light, giving him an otherworldly, indomitable aura. The mask remains an intricate combination of raven and peacock motifs, but its edges seem to disintegrate into mist-like darkness. The eye sockets glow with pale silver light, contrasting with his dark skin.
Jagged black patterns resembling feathers and void-like cracks spread across his torso and limbs, pulsing faintly with dark energy. His massive raven-peacock wings are a blend of shimmering void-like black and iridescent hues. When spread, they appear to absorb light, leaving behind an eerie darkness in their wake.
In his Vasto Lorde form, Kurokujaku stands approximately 7 feet (213 cm) tall. He was shorter than his Adjucas form yet it did not diminish his imposing presence while maintaining the elegant, lean proportions that reflect his newfound refinement and control. His hollow hole was in the center of his chest.
His mask covers the upper half of his face, forming a sleek and elegant yet menacing design. It resembles the head of a peacock with faint raven-like sharpness—flowing feathers that flare subtly outward around his temples, creating the illusion of a regal crown. The mask reveals his mouth and jawline, allowing a glimpse of his tanned, human-like features, but the visible part of his face remains shadowed, emphasizing his ominous aura.
His shoulders and arms are covered in sleek, metallic black feathers that shimmer faintly with dark iridescent hues of purple, green, and blue. These feathers appear alive, shifting and bristling with his reiatsu.
His chest and abdomen are encased in bone-like armor, shaped to resemble a ribcage and spine, giving the impression of both protection and fragility—a duality that reflects his Aspect of Death. His legs are partially armored, with jagged, bone-like plates protecting his thighs and calves, blending seamlessly with the sleek feathers. His clawed feet remain talon-like, sharp, and dangerous.
He looked down at his arms. This new limb was where his wings once were. From his wrist up was covered in feathers, but the new digits below were now. His eyes bird-like in characteristics, one now a haunting dark purple and the other still his signature iridescent green narrowed, then relaxed after clenching and unclenching his new hands. He would adapt.
He spread his wings wide causing the surrounding area to slowly darken and his wings swallowed the light. As he was about to take flight, wanting to leave the area and get a handle on his new strength and better control of his potent reitsu and spiritual pressure.
"He heard footsteps approaching. It was one person. But what intrigued him was that they were in the range of his spiritual pressure...and they kept walking forward. His purple eye widened as his brow raised under his mask, interest shone in his eyes.
"Hmm," he hummed. " I see, another Vasto Lordes," he said with a slight chuckle. "Aren't we supposed to be rare"
Curious he closed his wings and waited as the unhurried footsteps got closer. Soon a figure came into view. it was a male who was roughly the same size as the soul reaper he had seen, with a full white mask and body, and large black bat-like wings mounted on his lower back. His mask covered his entire face, with a line running up the middle that diverged into three near the top of his head, and two long horns sprouting out from the sides of his head at ear level.
The hollow paused five meters in front of him. After a moment it spoke. " Your aura induces despair much like my own," he said as he released his reiatsu. It was dark green with hints of black.
"Hmmm, nearly a side effect, not its true purpose" Replied Kurokujaku as his own reistsu that was barely contain to begin with was unleashed. It was darkish-purple in color, with subtle specks of green reminiscent of embers near a flame.
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