In The Dark Tower The Bell Tolls Nigh [Social, PG13, Closed]

[Zou ۞]

In the bowels of Las Noches there sat a series of corridors and floors which comprised the rooms of the Espada. The more power and influence an Espada possessed the greater number of floors, halls, and rooms they commanded. Once, over a hundred floors had belonged to an iconic Arrancar known as the Segunda Espada. He who represented Despair. In these halls there lurked Fraccion, monsters and whatever each individual Espada commanded. The darkest and most dangerous place in Las Noches was not the throne room of Sonken Kouhai the King. It had once been the floors of the Espada which were most dangerous. One wrong step could incur the wrath of any of these fine Arrancar and some were more wrathful than others. Despite this the modern era did not see the Espada floors as the most powerful or fearsome places to be in Las Noches. The most dangerous place could not be these. It was a building not even contained within the dome, but next to it.

In recent months what had been erected was a tall, black spiral tower with a pointed tip. It stood even taller than Las Noches and came with a shadow that loomed over any to observe it. The color was absolute darkness. No features but smooth black surface could be made out and not even a door could be found. No one could enter without the Host's permission. And none could leave. The owner of this tower spent hours meditating in his own secluded chamber as he pondered the nature of the greatest power in the universe: The Infinite Darkness. This was the home of the Envainar who represented Hope... and taking it away from others. The former Segunda Espada, he who had represented Despair when he had been one of Kouhai's swords. Now he was far more than a sword and he represented far more than the King of Las Noches. This was the masked man that had attacked and decimated Soul Society only days prior. This was Kuroi Naito's home.

And in the impenetrable black tower there was a large room for experimentation. Lain across the inscrutable marble table was the body of a Shinigami that had been taken by Kuroi during the invasion. It still lived. Its heart was ever beating. But it was not the Shinigami that the Envainar wanted. Endless hours of torture had revealed the creature's name to be Grodd and that without the Hollow the creature was mute. Days pushing Grodd to the brink of death had manifested the inner Hollow again and again for continued experimentation. The body had been cut, burned, dipped in many different liquids and chemicals. Its soul had been tampered with and even the animus, the core of the soul that was responsible for reanimation in the soul cycle, had not been untouched. Both Grodd and his Hollow had been subjected to unimaginable pain. Their benefactor did not believe in reducing pain. Agony was what made them Hollows.

Who was in control of the body? Grodd? The Hollow? The pain was so great that sometimes they would feel as if they were one entity being tortured and not two separate ones being played with. They would be in and out of consciousness dozens of times. It wouldn't be until a week after his kidnapping that Grodd's eyes opened... and it was the Hollow who reigned supreme as the consciousness. Days of experiments had yielded fruitful results. He was in control and Grodd was nowhere to be found. His presence must surely be inside but the Hollow would not be able to sense its former Host. Instead there was some sort of Hollow next to him. It looked like a skeletal white and black frog, but there were sickly blue tentacles coming out of its back. They were thin and small but had suction cups on them. Some were attached to Grodd's body and others held objects such as scalpels and tools of science the Hollow had never seen before.

This was one of Kuroi's scientists. It must be an Adjuchas. When Grodd's eyes opened and the Hollow was awake at last, the pain was over for a moment. The Adjuchas leaned in and spoke to the Hollow that now had a subjugated Host. "How do you feel, little one...? Do tell Anzaga. Do tell. Anzaga is most thirsty for information about you right now..." Elsewhere, Kuroi himself, wearing black robes with a hood drawn up and a black helmet that doubled as a mask to cover his face was sitting cross legged with his Zanpakuto sheathed in his lap. He was meditating on the nature of the Infinite Darkness and its power, housed in a huge circular auditorium with himself at the center. It was when the door opened that his focus was broken. The Silhouette in the door suggested a Vasto Lorde. "Master... Master, the experiment has succeeded and he is awake now!" From behind his mask, the masked man named Kuroi smiled.

[Beast]

Days ago, Grodd had been sitting in a tree watching the Wilderness peacefully. Today, Grodd found himself bound to a burnt tree with solid bone. How had he fallen so low? What had become of him? All he could do was exist there, bound to the tree, trapped in his own Inner World... Well... trapped in his World. IT was no longer inside him, it was his world. He squirmed against his bindings to no avail. All he could do was "sit" and reflect on what had happened. It had all started when the Seireitei was under attack and he made the foolish decision to charge at a masked man...

The bloody stump of an arm had done him in as he fought to maintain control. To no avail, he felt himself losing consciousness. But instead of the black tunnel vision that came with fainting it was a burning red bloody haze in his eyes that he felt. His body felt hot as if it had been sunburned then set on fire as he physically felt the sensation of falling from a great height. He fell through a canopy of leaf-less trees and hit the ground with a resounding crack. It was the first time that entering his Inner World felt like entering a cage.

He stood up when he was good and ready and was sure that his back wasn't broken from the fall. He dusted himself off and looked around. From horizon to horizon his Inner World burned or was already burnt. He was deep in the Beast Within's territory, surrounded by his greatest fear: Fire. He couldn't calm down, he was so distraught. He ran in all directions, searching for the haven of the pure forest, but he couldn't find it. He searched for the pool of pure liquid energy so he might refresh himself and fight against the power of the Hollow, but it had dried up. He was... alone...

Ashen eye lids opened to reveal golden eyes as the Vizard awoke on the table. It had been many days of torture, many days of pain, but with each passing day the control over Grodd increased to the point where the Inner Hollow had reigned champion of the body and become the Host instead of the Parasite. Oh how he had hated to be trapped in that filthy body, pushed down instead of utilized. True, he would have bitten off the hand that had asked of his help, but it hurt daily that the power of the body was going wasted. Every time that Grodd was defeated and humiliated, the being inside him cringed and lamented the fact that he had such a weak host.

But no more.

Something chattered in his ear off to the side. Anzaga, the Adjuchas. Anzaga, the Scientist. Anzaga, the torturer. Not a weak Hollow, but not a strong one either. It had the nerve to ask the new creation how he felt. Despite his anger that was unquenchable, and his ravenous need to horde things, the Vizard did have words of thanks to give for the help in taking over. "Beast." Still in a lot of pain and recovering from the transformation, all he could do was utter his name.

"I feel... Hungry." Beast had not eaten in... years. He had been trapped and starved, so it was very normal for him to feel physical hunger. But it was more than just a hunger for sustenance. Inside him, he could feel a hunger for blood, hunger for death, hunger for murder. He would start with Anzaga if the Adjuchas wasn't protected by the masked man... Protected by the one whom Beast owed a life-debt to for capturing the fool Grodd and rescuing the Vizard from such a terrible existence. At least, he would follow the masked man for now. He had yet to fully meet the man except in between bouts of torture.

"I will need a *&#%ing new arm, of course..." His speech started to become more clear. And more vulgar. Beast had looked down and seen that the bloody stump had scabbed over and wasn't in danger of killing him any more, but it was still a bloody stump. He almost laughed as he was no better, physically, than that fool Mika that Grodd had liked so much. Just how would the other Vizard in process react to the news that his friend was missing? Would he seek the new and improved body and try to free the Shinigami inside? It would be a futile effort. Even if the scientist Mika had suceeded in reversing the process, Grodd would have no powers without coming to the Beast for help...

"I killed that blasted monkey of a Spirit. It was a nuisance through and through and now it's dead. It didn't last long once the process of freeing me began. The fool had no chance once his power had been extinguished. I suppose now it's my power, isn't it."

[Zou ۞]

"The spirit's power and soon the boy's too will both be yours." The door to the chamber opened to permit entry to a figure in black. At once the spiritual energy of the room changed and became ominous as if death himself had appeared and walked in. Every fiber of spiritual energy that came from the masked man had in it more ferocity than ten thousand Hollows and a killing intent more powerful and malevolent than any other that Beast could ever encounter or imagine. The sheer lust for blood and hunger for death in this individual were even more potent than the starved Inner Hollow. This was the very masked man that had brought him here and given him a body to call his. The man in a black cloak and hood with his black mask. Yet he discarded his cloak and handed it to Anzaga as he approached, revealing that beneath he wore a black military suit vest and matching pants and shoes. The masked man had on black gloves, and seemingly no sword at his side.

Arriving before Beast the masked man reached up and pulled his mask from his head. He set it down on a tray full of gray and white powder that had been next to the table. A tray of ashes. The ashes of the masked man's enemies. Revealed now would be the face of Beast's benefactor, a man whose physical appearance spoke of early 40s by human world standards. Black, neatly kept hair, a stern face. Eyes that were black and soulless. The more Beast gazed into the eyes of his benefactor the more he would learn that this Arrancar was the spitting image of hate and of what darkness could be. In this Arrancar there swirled absolute devotion to the almighty universal power which he knew only as the Infinite Darkness. "Envainar Kuroi Naito-Sama..." Anzaga whispered in reverence. Now Beast knew his benefactor's name. Knew the Envainar whose name meant black night. The Arrancar with cold black eyes looked upon Beast and spoke once more.

"My agents are constructing a new arm for you as we speak. What is more important is you learn how to quell the hunger within you. We have created a satisfying manner with which you can feed." Anzaga's mouth opened very wide. It was far wider than one would have guessed by looking at the Adjuchas. From out of it, a white robed figure was dumped out. Humanoid, with a mask fragment on his face, he was clearly an Arrancar. However if Beast judged power by the size of mask fragments, this Arrancar's was much larger and showed that he was not anywhere near the might of Beast's benefactor. "Kuroi, you bastard!" the nameless Arrancar cursed after choking and sputtering on juices from Anzaga's stomach. "Kouhai-Sama will never let this go... He'll kill you for this." Kuroi looked over the inferior being as Anzaga's tentacles wrapped around him and held him up. At the same time one of Anzaga's tentacles pulled up Grodd's good arm.

"Sonken Kouhai does not even realize or care that you exist." Kuroi said definitively. Anzaga moved Beast's arm until the palm was well pressed against the restrained Arrancar's face. Another tentacle latched a suction cup onto Beast's leg. Immediately, reiatsu swirled within him. He was being physically taught how to manipulate a new power he had been given. His palm would suddenly feel very hot. Following this a burst of what greatly resembled blue electricity burst forth from the nameless Arrancar's body as he screamed in pain. All of that electricity flowed into Beast's mouth and then was gone. He would feel more sated than before afterward. The Arrancar's body by contrast was lifeless and slumped over with eyes that had gone white and empty and a mouth that hung open with drool still dripping from it. Kuroi spoke. "That is how you remain alive and the boy within you remains suppressed. Now we will move on to what it is you want out of your freedom. Tell me."

[Beast]

Beast's benefactor strode into the room with a malevolent flair, a dark hunger that could be felt. Simply put, it was awe inspiring. Not just the pitiful use of the word "awesome" these days, but the original meaning. Kuroi's entrance brought a sense of awe to the Hollow's chest. It was a lump of fear, pure and untainted, just the fear of knowing that he could be killed in an instant but was being purposefully spared. If he had the strength to stand, he would have bent his knee and bowed to his benefactor, so in awe he was.

It was... a new feeling for Beast.

"My agents are constructing a new arm for you as we speak." Beast could only stammer out a puny measure of thanks. "M-many thanks, my lord." Beast was floored by the black, soulless eyes of Kuroi's face. He was drawn in and enraptured by the man's strength and the thickness of his aura of pure night. He really lived up to his name, and the man was enthralled, really. He ate up every word as he listened to what the plan was. "What is more important is you learn how to quell the hunger within you. We have created a satisfying manner with which you can feed."

The weak and seemingly useless Arrancar was dropped in front of him out of Anzaga's throat. To have been captured and imprisoned by a scientist was laughable and pitiful. Even as the nameless beast shook at his bindings and cursed the name of Beast's new mentor, he still couldn't get away from the tentacles. Maybe Anzaga was stronger than Beast had given him credit for. Maybe this creature without a name was just pitifully weak. His life should be snuffed out and given to someone more deserving, the vizard-in-process thought.

And just as if by magic, his wish was granted. His hand was raised up and placed on the Arrancar's face and his reiatsu was manipulated and guided. He felt the inner workings of the technique and felt it activate as electricity burst from somewhere inside the Arrancar and flowed towards Beast. The creature's life energy was sucked out of him and was in range for Beast to chomp down on with his mouth and teeth. Immediately the power surged in him and he felt revitalized and energetic. Satiated, even, though not full.

"This is... wonderful... This is so much more satisfying than eating souls as a Hollow, and so much more satisfying than seeing that fool Grodd fall."

Beast gently removed Anzaga's tentacles from his leg and gave him a look that said "let go of the arm too" so that Beast could stand and properly greet his benefactor. With the stump of the right arm missing, he couldn't pull at the tentacle but he could have squirmed and protested if he needed to. He had a feeling that Anzaga would be cooperative, though. Getting up from the table, Beast gave Kuroi a small bow. He was feeling more confident in himself now that he was less hungry, so he didn't get down on his knees in irreverent respect, but he did respectfully bow.

"Now we will move on to what it is you want out of your freedom. Tell me."

"Revenge"

The vizard-to-be explained himself further. "In life, I was a Gorilla. A proud and powerful Alpha of my herd. A man named the Zookeeper took all of that from me and forced me down this life of never-ending hunger. That fool Grodd didn't know how to find him, especially since he has taken more than one form. Once we met him as a little girl in disguise. To get revenge, we just need to attack every zoo we come across until we find one that has his spiritual captives and draw him out into a fight. We just need to stir up the peace he thinks he has and bring Chaos and Rage to his front doorstep. Then I can have my revenge."

"After that... I don't know. All I know is that I will get stronger. And stronger. I will get stronger until I am satisfied and then I will know what I want to do. Probably kill a lot of things. I seem to like that."

[Zou ۞]

Mugen No Yami... Revenge... Like Kashmir De-Mona. It was a sweet motive and was also one which allowed to the fullest extent for Kuroi to tap into the Infinite Darkness and seduce an individual with its power. For it was all powerful. Greater than Sonken Kouhai. Superior to Satsujun. Kuroi had been a man with masters until he had understood the nature of the Infinite Darkness. Now the proud Envainar, the greatest of all Arrancar, was a man without masters. Serving Kouhai was his front until he could destroy the King of Las Noches. Working with Satsujun was an angle to gain resources until he could slaughter the God of Murder and take everything from him. The Envainar had taken many steps to this end. First he had brought Takashi Kuchiki, formerly Sozen's double agent in Las Noches, to his side. It was not for the sake of turning Takashi on Sozen but for using Takashi against Kouhai himself.

"Revenge is a powerful motive."

Then he had captured the smith from the Hell Forge and forced the broken demon to create for him an army of Mod Souls. The materials had been supplied in bulk. Kuroi had been busy. He had hunted Hollows and destroyed them. He had hunted others in the human world and destroyed them. By capturing them and having their bodies and souls broken down he could rapidly create more powerful Mod Souls that did not need to train and were already combat ready. They only needed to be programmed to be indoctrinated with absolute loyalty to the Envainar of Hope and to be more savage than those made by Shinigami. Some were stronger because of higher quality materials and some were weaker. This helped establish order within their ranks and enabled command through discipline. Kuroi had also discovered a means of transportation far out in Las Noches. Ships fashioned from Gillian, used by people from a place called "Las Arenas."

"I will help you see it through, but I will first make you more powerful. There is no reason to waste your potential by exacting your revenge prematurely."

Now Kuroi had copied that technology and improved it, and his smith from Hell had created super sized ships using Gillian, Adjuchas, and Vasto Lorde. His invasion of the Soul Society had been been a flawless test. His army was not difficult to make more of so despite great losses it had been worth the experiment. They were not as powerful as Vice Captains or Captains but they wielded enough power to cause damage in Soul Society and weaken the Gotei Thirteen. His ships had proven durable against Captains and were able to wreak destruction on an epic scale. Kuroi would soon be able to wage full scale war on other factions. His choice of Mod Souls and his mask during the invasion meant it was unlikely that Kouhai would discover Kuroi to be the source of the invasion of Soul Society in a timely manner. Kuroi had time to find a gift for Kouhai that would ensure him of the Envainar of Hope's loyalty.

"First I will make you more powerful than any Shinigami."

Grimoire Acero, whose job it was to supervise Kuroi, had come to know sooner. He would also have been far less forgiving. The Envainar of Hope had had no intention of allowing Grimoire to disrupt his plans however. That was why Grimoire was where he was now... For now Beast was his secret and yet another step. Joining Takashi Kuchiki, Beast would become yet another of Kuroi's powerful subordinates. When Kuroi's new team was completed he would be capable of annihilating any faction from the playing field. Kuroi had an idea of what he needed to do to power up Beast. Beast may have a Hollow's mind but he had the body and power set of a Shinigami infected by a Hollow. A so-called "Vizard Hopeful" as Zouma Santeku had called it. The end stages of a Vizard could be promising. Kuroi would see Beast develop those powers and more. So he asked yet another question while Anzaga left the room. "Are you familiar with what would have happened if the boy that hosted you had succeeded in defeating and suppressing you?" Kuroi asked.

Anzaga would return in the middle of Beast's answer with what looked like a pale white arm covered in black Sanskrit. This was Beast's new arm but it was not what the final product would look like. While Beast answered Anzaga began to use an array of powers to meld the new arm onto the stump of Beast's. The more integrated it became and the more feeling of a new arm Beast developed the more different the arm turned out as it turned transparent and the hand doubled in size, opened up a translucent eye, and grew claws. This would be the "released form" of Beast's new arm. It was a power he would be bestowed with that would help him in coming weeks as Kuroi forcefully made him feed and powered him up. But the arm was only the first step. Though it looked threatening right now it was still an empty vessel. It would need to be developed to gain powers. For this, they would need to visit Kashmir De-Mona.

[Beast]

"First I will make you more powerful than any Shinigami."

Beast... was pleased. He very much liked the idea of getting more and more power just because he followed the right man. Kuroi was shaping up to be a powerful figure, not only to not mess with, but powerful to work for. He had connections, had an army, and had technology that Beast was getting the cream of the crop of. He flexed the new right hand of his, with its claws and opened eye on the back of the palm. It felt, empty, and lifeless, but at least he could move it. Now that he had access to both of his arms, he felt like he could handle any training that Kuroi threw at him. He could feed on whatever his heart desired using his new leeching technique.

"No, I don't know. What would have happened if you hadn't stepped in and liberated me?"


OOC: Sorry for the short post.

[Zou ۞]

The dark lord turned to his beastly subordinate that until now had been acting as a surgeon and a scientist. Anzaga slunk off out of view and returned a moment later with a device greatly resembling what would have been a more high tech version of the human world's remote control module. It beamed into existence an enormous yet flat, holographic screen upon which multiple smaller screens with moving images were displayed. The images that could be seen by Beast were of Shinigami holding their hands to their faces and producing Hollow masks. What he would see first was a sample of the Shinigami fighting without the mask followed by the increase in speed and power that was produced when they conjured the mask. There were even videos of some of these masked Shinigami firing Cero. One of them was a pale skinned man in a leather coat that could even make his whole body transform to appear more like that of a Hollow.

"The boy was not unique..." Anzaga explained with a feral hisssssssss after his sentence. "There are many. These are called Hopefuls. They are mostly weak like your Host boy, but some of them are strong." The screen changed to show a Shinigami with red eyes massacring five such masked Shinigami himself. "Were it not for the work of that Captain there would be over a dozen who have defeated the Hollows inside of them. And when you are defeated, you are locked up and your power is sapped. You become subservient. They steal your energy to create a mask that boosts their powers. They can also produce a Cero, and the strongest of them can even attain full body transformations." The screen continued to change as it now produced images of a dark skinned man wearing a mask followed by many others who had those same masks. "The completed product of a Shinigami that has subdued a Hollow within is called a Vizard. In recent years they have grown stronger, more able to help weaker Hopefuls conquer Hollows too..."

The screen went blank white but did not disappear. "Their ability to create problems is unique. If our master hadn't found you then your Host probably would have eventually been found by them and taught how to suppress you and steal your strength... You would have lived the remainder of your existence as a tool and a battery. But now the opposite has occurred. You are able to feed on him and on others to grow stronger..." The looming shadow of the Envainar fell on Beast when Kuroi looked him in the eyes. "The power you will obtain resembles this. Instead of a Shinigami boy pulling out your energy to increase his power you will be the one to wear a mask." This still from Anzaga. Kuroi had said nothing for this part of the explanation and had instead relied on Anzaga to deliver the remainder of the necessary information. When Kuroi at last spoke it was as ominous as his presence. His soul was truly overwhelming to experience.

"You are the first." Kuroi said. "Yet you will not be the last. In time there will be others, liberated as you have been, and they will answer to you as you will answer to me." The darkest words from Kuroi yet made their meaning clear. In time Beast would possess authority of his own but it would never rival that of his master. Kuroi knew that even if he allowed Beast to grow stronger and left him unchecked the Hollow would never grow to be capable of surpassing him. Kuroi had been forged by the Infinite Darkness and the struggles of Hueco Mundo. A Hollow that knew none of that couldn't grow to destroy him. However he would not be careless. If Beast showed signs of betrayal then he would be destroyed as Kouen Akarui had been after siding with the Escudo. "If you possess no other questions then prepare yourself for travel. We have a journey ahead of us."

[Beast]

Beast drank in the videos, scanning over every inch of them as new images appeared. These masks of the Vizards looked like the masks of Hollows, yet were somehow over the faces of Shinigami. And they provided immense power and speed to the wearers. Power that Beast lusted after as he saw it. Power enough, perhaps, to enact his revenge and cause as much chaos and destruction as he desired. For after his revenge would come his fun, snuffing out peace wherever he went. And with his Cero once again restored to him, as well as the power of the Mask, he could have quite a bit of destructive fun. Especially if he achieved that fantastic Hollow-like transformation.

Beast listened as Anzaga explained the videos. Put a name on the Vizards and what they do to the Hollows inside of them. Beast could only turn up his nose at the thought of becoming a mere battery for the foolish Grodd. The Shinigami boy had been far too weak to do anything on his own, but with help... A disgusting thought, for sure. As he thought about that sour future that could have been in store for him, his benefactor spoke again. He gave Beast the enticing promise of authority, of power. Power enough to command others that would come after him... It was tempting, and it would be an offer taken in a moment.

"I'm ready to travel, Master Naito. Where to?"

[Zou ۞]

"Kashmir."

In the darkest reaches of Las Noches there was another unfathomable place which this time belonged not to an Envainar but to an Espada. This dark lair was home to the most powerful and least predictable of the Espada. He went by the name Kashmir De-Mona. He was the Primera Espada, the greatest of Kouhai's front line soldiers. He had also referred to himself as the Arrancar King more than once. For years the Primera had been a reserve force against the Shinigami should Kuroi, once the Segunda Espada, fall to them. Now that Kuroi had been placed in a more subservient role to Kouhai compared to when he had been an Espada the importance, funding, and power given to the supposed Arrancar King had dramatically increased. Kashmir De-Mona was now considered a front line weapon for Kouhai to hurl at the Shinigami. It was not unwise either. The only Captain that could fight Kashmir was Sozen Kuchiki. All of the others combined would still fall to him alone.

Even Sozen Kuchiki could not fight Kashmir anymore. He had been neutralized against the Primera. Now Kuroi stood in the lair of such an insidious creature. Kuroi was still without cloak or mask when he met with the Primera. To don a mask before Kashmir would have been tantamount to showing him fear and weakness. Though Kuroi outranked him it had not always been so. Once Kuroi had been the Segunda, below Kashmir. During the days when this Espada had gone by the name Adalo De-Mona they had also battled. Kuroi had won some. Adalo had won some. The Envainar of Hope had never done battle against the Primera Espada's current incarnation, Kashmir De-Mona. Whispers were that this incarnation was more powerful than the one before it ever had been. When Sozen had defeated Adalo the monster that reincarnated from those ashes was an abomination seen only once every ten million years.

Not only were they in the lair of a creature so horrid but also they were in the presence of an atrocity that was created by Kuroi himself. Rows of metal stocks locked them into place. It had taken the manpower of many of the Envainar of Hope's subordinates to move all of these people here. It had taken far less to capture all of them. They were all humans that had been brought to Hueco Mundo from the human world. All were spiritually aware, made possible by having been brought to Hueco Mundo against their free will. All of them were in pairs. A teenage girl or boy with only one parent, mother or father, bound next to them. The other parent had been killed if there had been one. If there were any other children they had also been killed. Pairs were not strictly different sex or same sex. There were a hundred such pairs from around the human world. Now all of them were lined up in the largest chamber of tortures that Kashmir De-Mona would have.

They were all awake and alive. Their screams were silenced by the aura of two mythic Arrancar meeting. Kuroi however took no pity on them and he felt no remorse for his actions. He had felt remorse in his life before. He had felt pity, guilt, jealousy, and hate. None of it mattered anymore. Only the Infinite Darkness guided him now. He was his own. Whatever Kashmir was going to do with them didn't matter to Kuroi. All that mattered was that in exchange Kashmir would be discreet and would give Beast the improvements to his new arm that Kuroi desired. He had laid out all that he wished for it to be capable of and which things should also not be present. Some features were better left out. "I trust that this arrangement is to your liking." Kuroi said dryly. "To acquire these individuals was time consuming. They will allow you to experiment for weeks." Beast was now in the presence of not only Kuroi but an Arrancar almost as bad too.

OOC: The next post will belong to Kashmir. He is only making a cameo appearance for two or three posts. Your next post will be after his incoming one.

[Kashmir De-Mona]

despair demands revenge! ↡ i want death's symphony ▼ Kashmir's lair didn't have any lights. It didn't have any lights and was thus eternally dark and eerie... Eerie to the point where even the greatest warriors feared him when they walked into his web. Kashmir needed the fewest floors out of the Espada. His territory was merely dozens of floors. Dozens of floors where every room was a form of torment or science. He needed no minions. The human world was where he had subordinates. He needed no minions. No one ever came here of their own free will. He needed no minions. Fear kept everything in perfect balance. Fear kept everything in perfect balance, but now he sensed the dark and determined heart of someone who was no longer an Espada. The Primera slithered over in the direction of his new companion. His pale skin and yellow eyes came into view from out of the musky shadows. Rows of new victims pleased him. They pleased him, for they were all so fresh. They were hurt by the freshness of loss. They were hurt by the freshness of loss, yet they were still innocents and were unbroken by the world. They were daunted by fear. They were daunted by fear, numbed by exhaustion. The Primera would see to it that they were all fed and put back to full strength before he started with any of them. His new friends all looked so delicious... So delicious that he had to try them. Kashmir approached one of the pairs, a son and mother pair. He clamped his hand around the son's neck and began squeezing. He began squeezing, then the son started gasping for breath while Kashmir choked him. The mother started to scream. She begged and she pleaded. She begged and she pleaded, but all Kashmir cared about was the ecstasy he felt because of their pain. He only released the son after the mother's tears came out of her eyes. He hadn't caused any permanent damage. The son choked and coughed like a dying dog. The Primera leaned down to the crying mother and licked the tears from off of her face. "Shhh..." he said. "Shhhhh..." Then her crying silenced out of fear of what he might do if it didn't. Only after this did the Primera Espada give his attention to Kuroi and those new companions. "Kuroi..." the Primera greeted with a grin. Kashmir's reiatsu was different. It was different because it was every bit as heavy and strong as Kuroi's. It was every bit as heavy and strong as Kuroi's and his aura was as threatening. But the difference was that Kuroi's was malicious, but it wasn't evil. It was self serving. Kashmir's aura was clearly evil. It was the most evil aura that anyone could sense in existence. Kashmir was not self serving. He was selfless. He did not care what happened to him as long as he could do evil. To him evil was like breathing. It felt good. It felt good, too good for him to stop. He could never stop. Instead the Primera glided toward the boy taken over by a Hollow. He took the boy's face in one hand. He had large hands. Large hands, enough to cup the boy's chin in one and examine it the way a prince would examine the face of his princess. The gentle hand of a lover... and of a killer. With his other hand, Kashmir stroked the artificial arm that Beast had received. "Good...." he said before looking at Beast. "Tell me... Tell me now before I can fully sense it... Tell me what you fear most...! Tell me because I want to hear it first... Please...?" Kashmir De-Mona. THE ARRANCAR KING. ↡ profile | notes: your husband now belongs to me. STATS & SKILLS: Strength - [400] (1100) Points Speed - [350] Points Spiritual Pressure - [300] (150) Points Reiatsu Strength - [400] (1000) Points Light Aura - [0] Points Dark Aura - [100] Points Instinct - [150] (100) Points Senses [100] Points Energy sensory - [250] (563) Points Healing Expertise - [0] Points total SP: 1900 current skills: (21/21 SKP spent) [Weapons: Sword] {3} [Battle Analysis] {3} [Street Fighting] {3} [Pain Tolerance] {3} [Strength of Will] {3} [Battle Focus] {3} [Imitation] {3}

[Beast]

Some part of Beast's humanity left in him, some small piece of weakness, caused his stomach to flip at the sight of the Primera's torture chambers. Though Beast had never been human, Grodd may have poisoned his soul somehow by his presence alone. The sight of the hundred pairs of humans was frightening, but the Hollow regained his composure and stood as straight as he could in the presence of the pure evil incarnate in front of him. While his Master was darkness, the Primera Kashmir was just evil. It was a humbling aura to be bathed in. A humbling aura indeed.

He was examined as a slave or a horse would be, his chin being moved to the side to get a better look at his face. His arm was stroked, in what appeared to be pride. Kashmir asked Beast what he feared most... a concept that the Hollow had never thought of before. All he had known was Rage and Gluttony for so long as he was holed up in the Shinigami's Soul. It had consumed him to the point where that was the essence of his being, like he was a two-dimensional figure that had no characteristics but color and shape. Though he was still juststarting to learn more of his own desires and what pleased him, he definitely had a grasp of how Kashmir made him feel.

The Primera made Beast feel small and worthless.

"What I fear most? Not being strong enough. Falling before my revenge is complete. Especially falling at the hands of the blasted Zookeeper and being too weak to punish him for what he did to me. That would be what I fear most. I must be strong enough... or I'm nothing."

[Zou ۞]

Beast's instincts were exemplary of what a Hollow should be. The dark lord had felt it when they had met in Soul Society. The Hollow that came out of the Shinigami boy's body was rife with hate and with thirst for power. He had the instincts of a feral animal. The Infinite Darkness had swirled when they met. All that he lacked was the cunning of a sentient being of a civilization. He did not yet have the strategic capacity of a warrior or a commander. He thought and fought like an animal. All of that would change when Kuroi had finished with Beast. This Hollow was going to become stronger than any Shinigami could. That included the ones who called themselves Vizards. Once, Kuroi had wished to conquer Zouma Santeku and make him a servant or an ally. That had been a long time ago. That time had passed. Taking a Shinigami was not the answer. Making the Hollow within into a more powerful entity was the better option.

"It is good that those are your feelings." The Envainar of Hope said. "As we have left your hunger infinite. You can be sated but the feeling of being a Hollow will never leave you. It is what makes you powerful. It is what gives you focus. All of that will benefit us and benefit you in the months to come." It was because Kuroi had not just given Beast his new power. He had given Beast a very small fragment of his own spiritual energy to influence the shape that Beast's new abilities would take. He had given the newly freed Hollow a piece of Kashmir De-Mona, too. The blackness of the soul of the man who called himself the Arrancar King would influence how powerful Beast would eventually become. There was no stopping it. There was no helping the Shinigami. Their world was coming to an end. So too was the current form of Hueco Mundo. Soon it would be as Kuroi envisioned it... It would be the greatest of all worlds.

Because of time constraints, I found we should end this thread and move on to the next one when you find yourself ready. Let me know when you want it. It may be some abuse of admin privilege, but for participation in this new Hollowfication Path I'm awarding you with two start techniques which you can now use as proficient.

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1. Technique Name: [Hollow Wraith's Nectar]

Class: [2]

Technique Type: [Other]

Usable By: [Vizard: Hollow Wraith Path]

Technique Element: [N/A]

Technique Description and Effects:

The user places their palm against the face of a victim that they have defeated, killed recently, or incapacitated. Blue colored electricity then explodes out of the victim's body, leaving it with empty white eyes and a gaping mouth. That electricity flows into the user's mouth to feed them. Their reiatsu is restored by a value equal to half of the victim's total possible reiatsu count, unless that would cause the user's reiatsu to exceed maximum, in which case it caps at maximum.

The user also gains a temporary 10% stat increase across all stats for 5 posts within the thread. The victim dies after this is used against them.

How to use technique: [Insert Below]

Noted above. If the enemy is equal class or 1 class lower then they must be defeated or incapacitated for this technique to work. If they are superior class this does not work against them. Enemies who are 2+ classes lower can have this used against them before they are defeated or incapacitated, but the stat increase effect then only lasts for 3 posts.

Technique Drawbacks:

This technique must be used on a non-user created NPC or RPC at least once every 5 threads or the user will die via explosion like a Failure.

Made By: [Kuroi Naito]

Reserved? (Yes/No): [Vizard: Hollow Wraith Path Only]

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2. Technique Name: [Hollow Wraith's Gaze]

Class: [2]

Technique Type: [Other]

Usable By: [Vizard: Hollow Wraith Path]

Technique Element: [N/A]

Technique Description and Effects:

One hundred eyeballs open across the user's body. These eyes can be used for 360 degrees of vision and all of them are immune to blinding light effects. While they are active, the information that they perceive is viewed by the Shinigami trapped inside of the user with 100x the user's senses.

This means that the victim inside of the user will experience super sensory for every single thing that the user does, filling them with despair over their predicament of being trapped within the user's soul and used as a helpless battery.

The despair then produces power inside of the user, giving them focus and the ability to fight with greater power. For the 8 posts that this technique is active, all analysis and physical combat skills increase by 1, capping at imaginary value 3.5, which is above a 3 but weaker than a 4. Stamina drain is also reduced by 20%.

How to use technique: [Insert Below]

Noted above.

Technique Drawbacks:

Huge reiatsu cost. Using this technique requires the user to feed with Hollow Wraith's Nectar within the next two threads after use, or they will lose access to their release and powers across all threads until their next feeding.

Made By: [Kuroi Naito]

Reserved? (Yes/No): [Vizard: Hollow Wraith Path Only]