Origin [Hard | Death Enabled]

[Deleted]

Origin

Subject: [URGENT] Strange Hollow sightings in Karakura Town

Body:

There have been multiple reported sightings of a small creature in Karakura Town that has been attacking not just Pluses and humans, but Hollows as well, and are indiscriminate in their offensive. The creature's body is pitch black, between 2 and 3 feet tall, with a helmet-like horned mask. We think it is a Hollow. It does not appear to wear anything or carry any weapons, but witnesses describe it as an automaton that moves only with one purpose in mind: fight, consume, and evolve. Multiple Stray Hollows and Unseated Shinigami have already fallen to the monster.


At a glance, this is nothing out of the ordinary, as more powerful Hollows sometimes cross over from Hueco Mundo to sate their hunger. However, these sightings have happened at almost concurrent times, with barely minutes of difference between one and the next, and the descriptions of the Hollow seem equal for each of them. Furthermore, in every single location, the creature has used a strange, malleable physiology to attack and consume its opponents. Tendrils that stretch and turn into blades, thorns that skewer anything in range, it seems as versatile as it is dangerous. Menos Grande aside, two Hollows can never be alike, and them having the same unique powers is completely unheard of. This matter requires deeper investigation, and fast, for the attacks are getting less and less spread in time.

If this is only one Hollow, it is ungodly fast, and it requires little to no downtime to rest and heal from its previous encounters. As such, whatever it is, it must be exterminated. Should you encounter it, victims and witnesses also mention that in spite of its power, its aura seems 'empty'. Uncannily so. As a last note, all survivors insist that, before killing them, the monster simply left. There is no distinction as to why some were spared, and some were not.

Exercise caution. The monster has only targeted lesser beings, but given the strangeness of the situation, it cannot be assumed it will be weak.

Estimated Enemy Strength: Unknown.

---

Location: Starts in Karakura Town.

Participants: @io (DM and participant), Yuki & Yui Tsumugi , Shawn Rabuburēdo

Difficulty Level: Hard

Setting: Death Enabled

Estimated Time Until Completion: 4-5 pages

Starts: Once slots are filled, when all participants are ready.

Special Conditions: Participants must have a good standing relationship with Caballero. TP earned in this thread may be spent early, once per page--this also applies to consumptions, but only for consumed NPCs with proper stats in this thread, not mooks. Caballero must spend consumption TP directly into CTP and nothing else. Must be class 2 or below to join.

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

"Yui Tsumugi, t-tagging in~!"

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

"We should grow our trust in one another"

[Deleted]

The noise of lithe, fast moving fingers tapping on a keyboard echoed within the room. A femenine voice followed every word that was written, going over the proof-reading at the same time.

"Reiatsu density and potency increase in the subjects also correlates with consumption, but after reaching the Adjuchas level, progress quickly dips into an exponential fall. Drop off occurs far more quickly on prior subjects, owing to flaws in both design and procedure. Unable to even reach the Gillian state in this case".

The keyboard and words paused for a moment, and instead, a persistent tapping on the table replaced them for a few moments. Then, a nod, and the writing resumed.

"Results on human and Plus consumption are promising. Reiatsu stabilization occurs quickly and reliably when ingesting non-Hollowfied sources. Plus souls appear to dampen, rather than amplify, undesirable Hollow traits. Moving on to test a surgical splicing of a Menos-like construct of human and Plus souls into a subject."

A smile crossed her face. After this time, she really might have found the key.

"Monitoring progress on natural human soul consumption for current subjects dispatched in Karakura Town."

---

The start of the day in Karakura would be completely ordinary. A mildly hot summer day, birds were chirping under the blazing sun above, not a single cloud in sight. A busy Monday, Karakura Town was abuzz with activity: the young were in their holidays, allowing them to be out and about without any other responsibilities, tourists were visiting the coty, and those unlucky to not have vacation and who were scheduled to work that day were following their daily routines. Blissfully unaware of Karakura Town's nature as a sort of spiritual hub, they were oblivious to the fact that there was something rather sinister brewing beneath the surface.

For Shawn Rabuburēdo , it would hardly be a vacation of any sort. That day, he would actually be in the field, rather than in Seireitei. A rather concerning report about a strange, small Hollow with a horned, helmet-like mask would have ended up in his files, due to him being Captain of the Thirteenth Squadron of the Gotei 13. Apparently, this monster had to be fast, because there was no way it could be in so many places at once. As to how it was able to actually do that, Shawn would have to guess, but one thing was perfectly clear: it was a threat that targeted humans, Pluses and Hollows alike, and as such it had to be exterminated. Furthermore, following the recent sightings, it was likely that the frequency of these attacks would steadily grown over time.

Yuki & Yui Tsumugi , on the other hand, would be having a much more peaceful day. It was not unlikely she would've picked up on some of these attacks, but without the bird's eye view granted by the Seireitei's scouting, she could very well interpret that some Hollows were simply more active as of late. She would need to keep her guard up, but otherwise, it would be business as usual for her. Whether she found herself working at Regina that day, or simply about Karakura Town, would depend entirely on her, given her unfettered life compared to the much more restrictive duties of a Captain.

@io, following their usual routine, had fought off one Stray earlier, but so far hadn't found anything else to busy themselves with. They had finished their early morning patrol with very few incidents, and contented themselves to watching the bustling streets below from atop one of the taller apartment buildings in the city center. Up there, they were peacefully enjoying their day as well, all whilst making sure to keep an eye around the city in case something were to happen. However, with Protectorado active, their Light Aura radiated over a good section of the city, in which lesser, hostile beings would not try to hurt anyone as often.

For a few precious minutes, the city would be peaceful.



OOC: So, it begins! I've taken the liberty to set up an initial state for Shawn and Yui given the adventure plot, but I'll leave details up to you. Use the first post to prepare as you wish!