78 What The Hell

Orihime suddenly opened her eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling. The first thing that came to her mind was another transmigration. Perhaps the hogyoku saw no means of saving her and decided to whisk her soul away to another universe. However, when she felt the sharp pain coming from her right arm, she realized she was still alive. She carefully bent her sore neck to look at her arm and assess the damage, but all she saw was an empty space.

The empty space continued up to her chest. Orihime's right side was completely gone. Black flesh clung to what was left of her torso. If she were completely human, her right lung, right kidney, liver and parts of her large intestine would be gone. Fortunately, her body existed mostly in spiritual form, and her Hakusui was still intact. She realized now that the weak life energy seeping out of her internal world had sustained her.

The ceiling was completely black. Orihime contemplated her circumstances and wasn't certain exactly where she ended up. The last thing she remembers was activating the forbidden Kido Chaos Warp, which opens up a passage into the chaotic stream. This was a Kido she created herself with the Akashic Records and her space Kido research.

"You're awake…"

Orihime was confused to hear the familiar voice. When Orihime looked up with a slight head tilt, she saw Unohana, Oetsu, Bazz-B and Amanozako standing there. They had been released without her intention, so she was able to make an assumption about where she was. A memory of the large demonic gates opening in the chaotic stream and swallowing her appeared in her mind.

"So, this is Hell."

"It would seem so. This resembles one of the prisons where sinners are held."

"But I'm not chained."

"No one has ever come to Hell in my lifetime, so I don't really understand the circumstances. Oetsu?"

"Hm, it seems we did not run into Hell by accident. The Authority may have brought us in on purpose. For now, healing should be priority. Unohana can guide the process, so just rest."

The Authority of Hell brings out hidden powers but it also tends to trap people for eternity. If one is favored, they can command the entities that exist within. However, if one is a sinner, then the Chains of Hell will not have mercy. Although Orihime wasn't chained, she was extremely weak. It is possible that the chains were unnecessary and will strike once she heals. She looked down again at the large section of her body that was destroyed and a burning anger wells up inside of her.

"Cough, cough, cough. I'll kill you, old bastard. You better hope I don't get to you before Yhwach does…"

Unohana knelt over Orihime's body and guided her rejection power. The process was slow since all of her wounds were festering with chaotic energy from the chaos stream. If it were not for the hogyoku, the chaos energy would have caused her to be corroded. Anyone exposed to such a power would soon discover the reason souls don't travel outside of the realms. Chaotic energy was a death sentence.

Eventually, Orihime was able to sit up and deal with her wound on her own, which greatly increased the speed. She had recovered the right side of her torso and her breast. She was thankful that her ability rejected reality and returned her to a previous state before injury. All that remained was her severed arm. Her royal guard uniform was naturally completely recovered with her rejection ability and she stood up.

Her right sleeve was empty, but was slowly being filled from the shoulder down. Since she could not seem to remove the chaotic energy from her body, she simply forced it to the edge of her wounds and continued moving it downward. As the surface area decreased, the concentration of energy increased, causing the healing to slow down exponentially. For now, she would leave it be and think of ways to deal with it when she escaped Hell.

Orihime recalled her power and only Oetsu was left out since he was the most knowledgeable. The spirit particles in Hell were incredibly dense, but the guardians of Hell would be attracted to your location if you flared too much Reiatsu. She eventually wanted to confront the guardians to figure out what Hell wanted with her, but for now she wandered around the room.

A bright red light orb floated behind her and illuminated everything. Their suspicion was correct that this was a prison cell. However, as Orihime explored, nothing happened. She eventually found the barred exit, only to discover the door was unlocked. She opened it and cautiously walked out. She was greeted with a corridor which she followed until it exited into the open world of Hell. The sky was dark red with occasional flames shooting down from the sky and landing in the distance. The smell of sulfur was strong and the terrain was very craggy.

Whether her luck had run out, or it was just inevitable, a gigantic creature called a Kushanada rose from the ground several hundred meters ahead of her and began charging in her direction. This was the creature which guarded Hell. Orihime prepared to fight, but instead it began to fall apart into flesh and bone. The guardian began to wrap around Orihime and don her in bone armor.

Orihime doesn't do anything to interrupt the process as she is aware of what this signifies. Apparently, Hell was giving her authority to act within its realm. She did not know what exactly Hell expected of her, but this was at least better than being chained up. It would take her a long time to crack the Chains of Hell and escape. Being the chosen will make it a lot easier to get out of here.

"Why do I feel like I'm stuck in the heroes journey. I'm literally in Hell now. Once I acquire the answer to my problem, I will return for my redemption arc."

Orihime shuddered at the idea but pushed it down. Right now, she needed to focus. Although Hell was assisting her, there were many sinners that gained some freedom from their chains and were able to attack other souls trapped here to grow stronger. Although they can never ultimately break free from Hell, their lives would be much more comfortable with strength. Perhaps Hell wished for her to clear out some of the rabble and return them to their chains. She thought about the filler movie where Ichigo goes to Hell to rescue Yuzu, but cannot remember too many details about it.

The easiest way to escape would be to confront those sinners. Once the doors to hell opened to take in a new sinner, she would be able to exit through the opening. However, she needed to be at the topmost layer for that. Therefore, her journey to ask for directions from a malicious soul began.

…

"Captain Kurotsuchi, what exactly happened? The whole division has been trying to heal Captain-Commander but there is no progress."

"What are you looking at me for? This was his own fault keheke. To think, the former captain Inoue would use forbidden Kido to take Yamamoto down with her. Ah, but don't worry. I have never researched chaotic energy before, and now I have the perfect test sub—"

"Captain! I advise you to watch your next words. I am not unwilling to report you to acting captain-commander Kyoraku."

"Tch. Nevertheless, the only way you're going to save Yamamoto is not with Kaido, but with science. I have prepared various solutions which should stabilize the old man."

While Mayuri and Isane were arguing, Yamamoto regained consciousness for a few moments and overheard the conversation. He felt as if his body was being slowly eaten by insects. All these years of fighting, he never predicted the way he would die would be trying to apprehend one of his own. Perhaps he had made a mistake. If he did not provoke her, she wouldn't have resorted to mutual destruction. He began to think about all of the mistakes he made in his lifetime. Yamamoto wondered if Aizen was another Soul Reaper he could have guided on the right path if he wasn't so stubborn. This made him think about Urahara, Yoruichi, and Tessai.

'There is no medicine for regret…'

At this moment, a member of the Onmitsukido appeared in the room in a kneeling position.

"Captain Kurotsuchi, Captain Kotetsu, you are needed in the first division immediately for an emergency meeting by acting Captain-Commander's orders."

After delivering his message, he faded to darkness again. The two of them stopped arguing and returned to the first division headquarters. They weren't sure what to expect, but it seemed serious enough if they sent an Onmitsukido instead of a messenger. Once they appeared, the smell of blood was thick. They quickly entered the headquarters where the other captains were standing solemnly. Impaled in the wall by a bright blue javelin was Chojiro Sasakibe. The javelin was made entirely of spirit particles and on the handle was a cross. The writing on the wall using his blood was dually shocking.

'The fall of Soul Society is upon us. The Quincy Blood Price will be paid imminently.'