Caballero levels up [TTP Solo Training]
Mar 3, 2023 19:30:24 GMT -5
Hidromielleón Ulfhirthir likes this
Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2023 19:30:24 GMT -5
Caballero wandered the sands of Hueco Mundo alone. They had made the mistake of jumping in pursuit of another Hollow that had fled to its home turf after terrorizing a nearby Plus. The tiny Hollow had put an end to it with a half-broken blade that had all but shattered after delivering the finishing blow. This had left Caballero not only back in Hueco Mundo, but they also had been forced to face an uncomfortable reality. A Zanpakuto would not break like that; not against a run of the mill Hollow. Thus, the unarmed Caballero was in a rather tight conundrum. They needed a new blade, but not just any old sword.
A true blade of their own.
What they were using before was just a plain katana, if of a size perfectly appropriate for a small wielder such as Caballero. However, it was nothing but an inert weapon, a chunk of metal refined for cutting. Admittedly, it did its job, but that was not what a Zanpakuto was. A Zanpakuto was part of the soul, part of the individual. At the very least, that was what Caballero had gathered from their limited understanding, as well as the misconceptions and delusions about the Shinigami that they already had before. Of course, the Shinigami were given an Asauchi onto which to imprint their Reiatsu over time, but this clearly wouldn't be the same for them. The tiny critter was thus presented with a conundrum: they needed a weapon that was part of their soul, but they didn't have the base material... or did they?
The tiny being lifted both tiny, stubby arms from within the rags that formed their Shihakusho. Those, too, were battered and had seen much better days. Caballero could feel their Spiritual Pressure coursing through the black Reiatsu that formed their body. They had felt it pulse and tremble when they had been too weak, nearly losing shape, but they had also been able to contain and solidify it at will. The chivalrous Hollow continued to stare at their 'hands' with those big, void-like eyes in their mask. A weapon that was part of their soul, that would grow alongside them. A weapon from their own spirit.
Caballero's arm turned into longer tendrils via Tendón. Where was the spirit, for that little Hollow? There was but one clear answer. With a decided gesture, they put one arm on their body, and the black substance seemingly merged. Straining, Caballero then pulled from their own body, feeling their Reiatsu pool lowering from the act. It was slightly painful, tearing away a chunk of their body, but that's what happened when you put your soul into something, right? With a resolved move, Caballero pulled the hand back outside... only it wasn't just the hand.
From their void-like, incredibly dense black Reiatsu, a weapon had just been created. It slowly lightened up until it gained a grayish hue, a middle ground between their white mask and their body. Instinctively, Caballero pointed the sword up to the sky. It was the perfect size, the perfect weight, the perfect everything. It adjusted to their hand--melded with it, almost--in a way that their old katana could have never hoped to match. Excited, the tiny critter waved it around with a few swings, and then turned to a lone, nearby quartz tree to test the blade's edge.
They hadn't used any momentum. They'd barely put any strength into it. And yet, fueled by their Reiatsu Strength rather than their body, the blade cut through the quartz tree trunk as if it was butter. Caballero stared at their weapon, completely and utterly marveled, as the tree fell down with a sudden crash--they were so amazed that they didn't even pay attention to it. Best of all? The blade remained just as strong, just as sharp. No nicks or dents to its name.
This truly was a part of their soul, their own Zanpakuto! One with their spiritual pressure, with their very essence. Caballero pointed Filo back up to the sky for a moment, and dropped down to the stance Celes had taught them. A slash to the left, a feint to the right, a parry, a counter, a lunge. The blade seemed to almost vibrate with strength unseen before in the tiny Hollow. Like a dance, the tiny being continued slashing, lunging, blocking. Fighting their own shadow, if you will. Only after a little while did the little being stop moving, and they made a downward motion with the blade as if to clean it of imaginary blood. Caballero knew this new sword was far more powerful than their old one. Now the question was... how good would it fare on battle?
With that in mind, the tiny being wandered around at a comfortable speed, hell-bent on finding one of their kin to put their weapon to the test. Ironically, Caballero was not looking to feed, they just wanted to kill a monster with Filo. Their hunger was well in check, anyway. After a little while traversing the sands, the tiny Hollow finally found a potential target. A larger beast with a humongous head, at least humongous from their perspective. In retrospect it was just a big Hollow, maybe three times the size of an average human.
The Hollow noticed their presence as Caballero ran straight at it. There was no issued challenge, no semblance of honor or chivalry on the tiny creature's behalf. After all, this was not a duel. This was them, killing yet another foul beast that plagued the world, and that would soon go into the human world and cause trouble if left alone for too long. As a Shinigami with access to Hueco Mundo, it fell upon them to nip that threat in the bud, rather than allow it to flourish and blossom. Brandishing Filo, Caballero jumped forward, ready to cleave right through the Hollow's mask, or through any limbs it may use in an attempt to stop the blade or counterattack.
However, they had made one major miscalculation. The Hollow was large enough that it wouldn't attempt to strike them down. Instead, they opened their humongous mouth, ready to take the tiny critter in as a quick morsel before moving onto something else. The tiny Hollow panicked for a moment, seeing its mouth closing with no means of escape. Perhaps they would be able to struggle, perhaps they would be able to cut their way through with Filo, their rational mind said. But their instincts said otherwise. No Hollow could stand the idea of being devoured, and as different as Caballero was, they were still one at heart--at soul, if you will.
All of a sudden, Caballero needed a way to counterattack... and found just the thing. If they could create blades out of their body, then they could suddenly do other stuff with it. Concentrating, the tiny critter commanded it to expand outwards, and so it did, right before the mouth could fully close and the Hollow's fangs could chomp down on them. However, they didn't expand like a ballon would, bloating and difficulting the chomping motion. Far from it.
Instead, a myriad spikes erupted from Caballero's body in all directions, as if they had just turned into a porcupine. Each spike was about 1 meter or 3 feet in length. Espinas. The spikes tore through the Hollow's flesh as if it was made of paper mache, skewering the monster like a kabob before retracting instantly. The Hollow wailed in pain from the brutal counterattack, blood pouring profusely from each of the pierce wounds. This gave Caballero a chance at escaping the monster's jaws, one they would take in earnest. After the tiny Hollow jumped out, they immediately pivoted and lunged back, brandishing Filo against the monster for the second time. Their enemy was far too dazed with pain to even plan a counterattack against them. Knowing that the foe couldn't react in time, they swung down.
Just like it had with the trees, Filo's unnaturally sharp edge cut through Hollow flesh like a hot knife through butter. They beheaded the monster in a single strike, owing to the difference between the blade's Reiatsu strength and the monster's body. The Hollow's head fell to the sands with a muffled sound, and their body slowly began to dissipate into Reishi particles. Due to their lack of hunger, Caballero didn't consume their kin, and instead swung their blade again, this time cleaning it of real blood. With a nod, they left the gray blade vanish, unable to reintegrate it into their bodies, somehow.
They had seen enough to assess that, with these new tools in their arsenal, they would be stronger than ever before. However, they still were curious about one more thing. After creating Filo, they had just witnessed what their body could do if they just focused on coalescing their Reiatsu. What would happen, for example, if they pushed that ability to its very limit? Caballero decided to give it a go, not caring about any unwanted attention they might draw. Tightening their stance, they made their Reiatsu surge, only to then push it down and compress it further into the black shape that made up their physiology.
While it took them some time since it was the very first time, Caballero eventually got it, and when they stopped focusing, they realized that they felt good. Great, even. This had costed them more Reiatsu, of course, but in turn their body felt invigorated. After a little while, they repeated the process to create another Filo. The blade they had generated was virtually identical to the previous one in all aspects... save for one. When touching it, Caballero could feel just how much stronger this weapon was than the one they'd created before. It felt like the type of weapon one would use to go all out, when one didn't want to hold back anymore.
Satisfied, the tiny Hollow left the blade vanish again, then turned to the empty sand dunes of Hueco Mundo. In the end, this little excursion hadn't been as fruitless as it had seen at first glance.
A true blade of their own.
What they were using before was just a plain katana, if of a size perfectly appropriate for a small wielder such as Caballero. However, it was nothing but an inert weapon, a chunk of metal refined for cutting. Admittedly, it did its job, but that was not what a Zanpakuto was. A Zanpakuto was part of the soul, part of the individual. At the very least, that was what Caballero had gathered from their limited understanding, as well as the misconceptions and delusions about the Shinigami that they already had before. Of course, the Shinigami were given an Asauchi onto which to imprint their Reiatsu over time, but this clearly wouldn't be the same for them. The tiny critter was thus presented with a conundrum: they needed a weapon that was part of their soul, but they didn't have the base material... or did they?
The tiny being lifted both tiny, stubby arms from within the rags that formed their Shihakusho. Those, too, were battered and had seen much better days. Caballero could feel their Spiritual Pressure coursing through the black Reiatsu that formed their body. They had felt it pulse and tremble when they had been too weak, nearly losing shape, but they had also been able to contain and solidify it at will. The chivalrous Hollow continued to stare at their 'hands' with those big, void-like eyes in their mask. A weapon that was part of their soul, that would grow alongside them. A weapon from their own spirit.
Caballero's arm turned into longer tendrils via Tendón. Where was the spirit, for that little Hollow? There was but one clear answer. With a decided gesture, they put one arm on their body, and the black substance seemingly merged. Straining, Caballero then pulled from their own body, feeling their Reiatsu pool lowering from the act. It was slightly painful, tearing away a chunk of their body, but that's what happened when you put your soul into something, right? With a resolved move, Caballero pulled the hand back outside... only it wasn't just the hand.
From their void-like, incredibly dense black Reiatsu, a weapon had just been created. It slowly lightened up until it gained a grayish hue, a middle ground between their white mask and their body. Instinctively, Caballero pointed the sword up to the sky. It was the perfect size, the perfect weight, the perfect everything. It adjusted to their hand--melded with it, almost--in a way that their old katana could have never hoped to match. Excited, the tiny critter waved it around with a few swings, and then turned to a lone, nearby quartz tree to test the blade's edge.
They hadn't used any momentum. They'd barely put any strength into it. And yet, fueled by their Reiatsu Strength rather than their body, the blade cut through the quartz tree trunk as if it was butter. Caballero stared at their weapon, completely and utterly marveled, as the tree fell down with a sudden crash--they were so amazed that they didn't even pay attention to it. Best of all? The blade remained just as strong, just as sharp. No nicks or dents to its name.
This truly was a part of their soul, their own Zanpakuto! One with their spiritual pressure, with their very essence. Caballero pointed Filo back up to the sky for a moment, and dropped down to the stance Celes had taught them. A slash to the left, a feint to the right, a parry, a counter, a lunge. The blade seemed to almost vibrate with strength unseen before in the tiny Hollow. Like a dance, the tiny being continued slashing, lunging, blocking. Fighting their own shadow, if you will. Only after a little while did the little being stop moving, and they made a downward motion with the blade as if to clean it of imaginary blood. Caballero knew this new sword was far more powerful than their old one. Now the question was... how good would it fare on battle?
With that in mind, the tiny being wandered around at a comfortable speed, hell-bent on finding one of their kin to put their weapon to the test. Ironically, Caballero was not looking to feed, they just wanted to kill a monster with Filo. Their hunger was well in check, anyway. After a little while traversing the sands, the tiny Hollow finally found a potential target. A larger beast with a humongous head, at least humongous from their perspective. In retrospect it was just a big Hollow, maybe three times the size of an average human.
The Hollow noticed their presence as Caballero ran straight at it. There was no issued challenge, no semblance of honor or chivalry on the tiny creature's behalf. After all, this was not a duel. This was them, killing yet another foul beast that plagued the world, and that would soon go into the human world and cause trouble if left alone for too long. As a Shinigami with access to Hueco Mundo, it fell upon them to nip that threat in the bud, rather than allow it to flourish and blossom. Brandishing Filo, Caballero jumped forward, ready to cleave right through the Hollow's mask, or through any limbs it may use in an attempt to stop the blade or counterattack.
However, they had made one major miscalculation. The Hollow was large enough that it wouldn't attempt to strike them down. Instead, they opened their humongous mouth, ready to take the tiny critter in as a quick morsel before moving onto something else. The tiny Hollow panicked for a moment, seeing its mouth closing with no means of escape. Perhaps they would be able to struggle, perhaps they would be able to cut their way through with Filo, their rational mind said. But their instincts said otherwise. No Hollow could stand the idea of being devoured, and as different as Caballero was, they were still one at heart--at soul, if you will.
All of a sudden, Caballero needed a way to counterattack... and found just the thing. If they could create blades out of their body, then they could suddenly do other stuff with it. Concentrating, the tiny critter commanded it to expand outwards, and so it did, right before the mouth could fully close and the Hollow's fangs could chomp down on them. However, they didn't expand like a ballon would, bloating and difficulting the chomping motion. Far from it.
Instead, a myriad spikes erupted from Caballero's body in all directions, as if they had just turned into a porcupine. Each spike was about 1 meter or 3 feet in length. Espinas. The spikes tore through the Hollow's flesh as if it was made of paper mache, skewering the monster like a kabob before retracting instantly. The Hollow wailed in pain from the brutal counterattack, blood pouring profusely from each of the pierce wounds. This gave Caballero a chance at escaping the monster's jaws, one they would take in earnest. After the tiny Hollow jumped out, they immediately pivoted and lunged back, brandishing Filo against the monster for the second time. Their enemy was far too dazed with pain to even plan a counterattack against them. Knowing that the foe couldn't react in time, they swung down.
Just like it had with the trees, Filo's unnaturally sharp edge cut through Hollow flesh like a hot knife through butter. They beheaded the monster in a single strike, owing to the difference between the blade's Reiatsu strength and the monster's body. The Hollow's head fell to the sands with a muffled sound, and their body slowly began to dissipate into Reishi particles. Due to their lack of hunger, Caballero didn't consume their kin, and instead swung their blade again, this time cleaning it of real blood. With a nod, they left the gray blade vanish, unable to reintegrate it into their bodies, somehow.
They had seen enough to assess that, with these new tools in their arsenal, they would be stronger than ever before. However, they still were curious about one more thing. After creating Filo, they had just witnessed what their body could do if they just focused on coalescing their Reiatsu. What would happen, for example, if they pushed that ability to its very limit? Caballero decided to give it a go, not caring about any unwanted attention they might draw. Tightening their stance, they made their Reiatsu surge, only to then push it down and compress it further into the black shape that made up their physiology.
While it took them some time since it was the very first time, Caballero eventually got it, and when they stopped focusing, they realized that they felt good. Great, even. This had costed them more Reiatsu, of course, but in turn their body felt invigorated. After a little while, they repeated the process to create another Filo. The blade they had generated was virtually identical to the previous one in all aspects... save for one. When touching it, Caballero could feel just how much stronger this weapon was than the one they'd created before. It felt like the type of weapon one would use to go all out, when one didn't want to hold back anymore.
Satisfied, the tiny Hollow left the blade vanish again, then turned to the empty sand dunes of Hueco Mundo. In the end, this little excursion hadn't been as fruitless as it had seen at first glance.
