1 Chapter 1

- Lucas, how are you there? - A voice came from the walkie-talkie, tearing me away from the surveillance of the main entrance to the bank.

"It's quiet so far, but the assault will begin any minute. - I answered, once again checking my rifle.

- We're almost done. Get out of there in two minutes.

- Got it. - I nodded, timing two minutes. While the robbery is going well, you cannot relax in such cases. Minute forty ... Everything is quiet, the police surrounded the building, but we had a plan to escape. Minutes twenty ... It's still quiet, and besides, I've taken a great hiding place. One minute before departure ... I adjusted my mask, pushed my helmet back. Forty seconds ... Then the doors leading to the bank shattered to pieces from a mild explosion, and BOPE operatives began to enter the hall. Too much! I pull out the pin and send a fragmentation grenade towards the enemy, while I myself intercepted the rifle more comfortably and began to retreat deeper into the bank, to more reliably protected positions. A short corridor, another one, but here the wall in front of me explodes with stone fragments, and operatives immediately jump out of the hole formed, like devils from a snuffbox. Purely reflexively pressing the trigger, I cut off one of them, noting in passing that I had hit him in the torso, so most likely he would get off with a couple of bruises, but I was less fortunate: the guys from BOPE are not bum-cops, they are not kidding know how. Three strong blows to the chest area, that's nothing, I have a bulletproof vest there, but a bullet that pierced my neck through and through is already fatal. True, they didn't let me lie down, bleeding: a test in my head, and now I find myself in a familiar, gray fog, where nothing is visible, but the body is not felt.

Eh, how many times have I been here? I lost count for a long time, although I remember how it all began: an ambitious scientist who strove for immortality, and received a little more than he wanted. Namely, the ability to remember absolutely everything. Including previous lives. At first it was fascinating, even fun, but the novelty became boring after a couple of dozen lives, and if before I was striving for something, well, there to become the archmage of the century, the emperor of the whole world, or the most terrible pirate of the Milky Way, now I'm just going with the flow ... In this life, for example, I was born into a dysfunctional family, with a prostitute mother and a drinking father, got into criminal circles, and as a result became a member of an organized criminal group that does not disdain either robbery, contract murder, or kidnapping for ransom. Life, like life, is not the best, but it has been worse. For example, two lives ago, I was generally a galley slave, and this is not to mention those rare lives where I am born as animals. The last time I was a deer, and it was a surprisingly short life ... However, not everything is so bad: most often I came across unremarkable lives, like the one that was before this one: I was born in a normal family in a technogenic, but not too advanced world. He studied, worked all his life, earned a good pension and died of old age, diluting the gray, inconspicuous days with books, video games and other products of the entertainment industry. I somehow even calculated that about sixty percent of the lives are not distinguished by anything interesting, so I did not have any special hopes for my next rebirth. Much more interesting was where I will live? Middle Ages? Fantasy? Space? Maybe the Stone Age? Yes, this also happened.

Then the gray fog around me began to move, whirled, darkened, and a couple of seconds later I realized myself on a gray, rocky ground. Hmm? Looking around, and at the same time examining myself, I thought. I was in the middle of some kind of forest, and instead of trees, stone columns "grew" here, supporting a truly distant ceiling. And no life: stone pillars, uneven ground, and nothing else. Sadly. And as for myself, I turned out to be some kind of monster unknown to me. From this very fact, I was not particularly surprised: I happened to be in the skin of a werewolf and even in the skin of a mountain troll, and nothing. And the fact that I did not know such a monster is trifles. But this is all lyrics! So what do we have? Four legs, and they all end in claws, the body is massive, muscular, well, that's all. It was impossible to determine the size due to the lack of objects for comparison: what if these "huge" columns are actually the size of a pencil? Otherwise, there are only a few interesting details: I had a hole in the center of my chest. The most real through hole, but at the same time I did not feel any discomfort. Well, besides this, on my face, or rather muzzle, I wore a bone mask. Hmm ... Something reminds me of my current appearance ... For some time I tried to remember what exactly I remind myself, but in the end I just shook my head and jerked forward, looking around.

It's boring here ... Deserted ... Hmm? A little to the side, I noticed a distant silhouette, and changing course, I soon saw a monster similar to me. Similar in the sense that he also had a hole in his chest and a mask on his face. Otherwise, he looked like an incredibly skinny man with hands to the ground and a long tail. And as soon as I examined it, I was overwhelmed by an incredible thirst for blood: I wanted not just to kill him, no, I wanted to tear him apart, and then devour these very parts! Curious ... Is this normal for this species, or was I born defective? Be that as it may, there was no strength to resist instinct, and I got a good speed and jumped on this creature's back, clutching its neck with my teeth, and diligently scratching with my claws everything I could reach. The latter did not want to die, but my jaws had already closed on his neck, so after a couple of minutes and a few broken ribs, my prey subsided and I began to eagerly bite off from him piece by piece, without even feeling the taste of the creature. Instead, I thought about who do I and my prey remind me of? Having finished with breakfast, and finally calming down my raging instincts, I continued on my way without remembering anything. Now, it's a strange thing: I cannot forget anything, but nevertheless I cannot remember what I need. Although this is not the first time for me: after hundreds of lived lives, it is rather difficult to remember exactly what and where exactly you saw or heard something.

Remembered! Seeing in the distance a huge black carcass, and carefully examining it, I realized who exactly I remind myself of! In front of me, between the boulders, a real Menos Grande was walking leisurely! Well, yes, yes, in my life before last I watched a lot of anime, including the relatively famous "Bleach". And not only watched, but also read manga ... And what else to do in a boring, capitalist world ruled by money, being the most ordinary member of society? And again, this fact did not really surprise me: I already happened to "fall" into the worlds that I read about, or heard in some of my past lives. Hmmm ... But I wonder if I was "born" empty, as I am always born in a new world, or did I become empty after death in a bank? After all, in fact, in that life I was a cold-blooded killer, which means I could well become empty after death ... Interesting ... But what difference does it make to me? The main thing is what should I do? Well ... Being a simple empty one, I have not a great choice: he hunts others like me, and then it will be seen.

Oo-o-o-x-x-x !!!! After an indefinite amount of time, for there was no day or night, I ate my eleventh empty one, and already ran in search of the twelfth, when a vague smell made the blood in my veins boil and my limbs began to shake! No longer controlling my body, I rushed headlong to the source of the smell, and soon found a mesmerizing sight: hundreds of Hollows occupied a huge area Forest of Menos and now enthusiastically gnawed each other's throats, immediately devouring their victims, and being distracted only if someone attacked themselves. And I really wanted to take part in this fun! Rushing into the very scorching heat, I immediately knocked the one closest to me to the ground, and began to devour him, ignoring the fact that he is still alive and resists. Never mind! Kill! Kill! Gobble up! Kill! Gobble up! Gobble up! Kill! A bloody fog swallowed my mind, and I stopped thinking what was happening. Even the pain that appeared here and there did not clear the mind too much …

- Grv-ah-ah ... - I was brought to my senses by my own cry, or roar, or howl. Hmm? I surveyed the surroundings from a much higher vantage point, but looking around, I realized what was the matter: instead of my already familiar body, I had a black hoodie right down to the ground. Congratulations to myself on the first evolution, now I am Menos.

A new body, new joys: now I moved extremely slowly and awkwardly, so that you can forget about all kinds of jumping on the back of your prey. Although on the other hand, who am I going to jump on? As far as I remember, all Menos look the same. Oh yes, they are, that is, now I must be able to use ... How is it there? Gray!

I stopped and thought. Gray. Reishi. Reiatsu. Some of the most important concepts in this world. Everything around, including my body, is created from reishi, or spiritual particles. Well, Menos, well, all other local inhabitants can control reiatsu, as far as I understand, this is something like internal energy that is generated by the reishi of empty bodies and shinigami. In other words, reiatsu is the equivalent of chi, chakra, or bodily energy from other worlds and cultures. And although this is the first time I deal with reiatsu, the concepts of chi and chakra are very familiar to me. So if the basics of managing these energies are similar, then I shouldn't have much of a problem.

So, sir, the main thing here is calmness and concentration. Relaxing, I listened to myself, and really, soon felt the streams of energy moving through my body. Carefully redirect, collect, concentrate ... In the next moment, the gray haze of the Forest of Menos was illuminated by the bright red ray of Sero, which cut through one of the stone columns and disappeared somewhere in the distance.

Perfectly! My mood improved markedly, and I continued to hobble over the rocky ground with renewed vigor. Now what? Now we need to work on the next evolution. Adjuchas ... If my memory serves me, which has never happened ... Unfortunately, I can become an adjuchas simply by eating enough Menos. Well, I'm used to gnawing my throats for survival.

Poor Menos walked through the woods ... Umm ... What rhymes with "Menos"? Seros? Geros? No, such words do not exist ... Slowly and awkwardly devouring my sixty-eighth victim, I came up with poems for nothing to do. The life of Menos was full of adventure, danger, fun ... I wish I could say so ... In fact, I had to strain my memory hard to remember a more boring life. You wander around the gray, monotonous desert, which by some mistake was called "forest", you look for other Menos, and when you find them, you slowly catch up with them, after which you start eating creatures indifferent to everything. And I must say I can't blame them for this indifference. Sometimes I myself wanted to be eaten in order to stop this torture. And yet, what rhymes with menos? Phalos? No-no, it generally carried me somewhere in the wrong place ... Although they are similar in form ... But even before my thoughts turned in an even more obscene direction, my consciousness floated somewhere, to form clear thoughts it became incredibly difficult, and after just a couple of seconds I passed out.

- Hmm ... I can finally speak clearly ... - I said to myself, examining my new body. - There would be someone else ... - Well, what can I say? I became a cat. A slender, lean body, powerful paws with long, retractable claws, a massive tail covered with sharp, either scales, or blades. And of course, a hole in the chest and a mask equipped with sharp fangs. - Nothing like that ... - Spinning in place, examining myself and getting used to the new body, I continued to talk to myself. - Well, now I think it is possible to walk to the surface ... - I held out, raising my head to the distant ceiling.

"I don't even know where it's sadder ..." I stretched out, getting to the surface of Hueco Mundo and looking around: at the bottom of the column, although you created the appearance of diversity, while the surface turned out to be a real desert. Gray sand, dark sky, close, pale moon, some rare bushes creeping in from the sand here and there. After shuffling my paw on the sand, I was relieved to learn that it was not loose at all, and the paws did not slip back. Conveniently! - Well? Forward. - I tried to shrug my shoulders, which did not work out very well in the cat's body. Be that as it may, I trotted forward, listening more to myself than to the surrounding landscape. The fact is that while still rising to the surface, I noticed an increased physical and spiritual capabilities. And if the first was not surprising, because surpassing Gillian in speed and agility was not at all difficult, then the second was much more interesting.

The fact is that when I ate other Gillians, I noticed that with each new victim, my reserve of reiatsu, as well as the ability to restore it, increases, but now my strength has increased geometrically!Obviously, the reason for this is evolution, but I learned a long time ago that something does not appear out of nothing. As Gillian, I didn't have even a tenth of the powers that I possess now, so the question that worried me was simple: where did all this reiatsu come from in me? And the more I delved into self-digging, the slower I moved, until I stopped at all, and then lay down in the middle of the desert, completely delving into digging the internal streams of reiatsu.

To my delight, the control over these very flows was now much better than when I was Gillian, which only added zeal and enthusiasm to me, because it's one thing when you want to do something, and quite another when you can do it. Be that as it may, after an indefinite period of time, I began to more or less understand what had happened. Apparently, the very structure of reishi, from which my body was created, changed during evolution, moreover, my main theory was that in the process of evolution, the whole body of Gillian is torn into separate particles, which change under the influence of reiatsu accumulated over a long period of nutrition, mutate into something that then creates a new body already Adjuchas. And the actual reiatsu, which is raging in me now, is already a product of the "vital activity" of the new reishi. In other words, the "newborn" Adjuchas is empty, like a bucket full of holes, apparently I just woke up when my body had accumulated a decent amount of reiatsu.

Also, after a long observation, I realized that my reishes are generating, so to speak ... Excessive reiatsu? The fact is that they seem to be working hard. Yes, productivity is impressive, but they won't be able to do this for a long time, and after a while they will ... But here I don't know. Although they will most likely begin to regress to what they were before the mutation. In a "weaker" version of the reishi, but a more stable version. Yeah, so this is why the Adjuchases have to constantly eat other such: of course, I haven't checked it yet, but most likely the enemy's eaten reishi are going to replace their worn out ones. So far, the theory is folding, but then another question arises: if eating others is needed to replace worn-out reishi, then how does Adjuchas evolve into Vaster Lord? Does eating others have some other property that improves the empty organism? There is only one way to find out.

Rising on my paws, and shaking off the sand, I briskly trotted across the desert, this time purposefully looking for prey. The latter was found far from immediately, which is not surprising in this place. Ahead, Adjuchas walked across the desert, looking like a spider with claws instead of mandibles. Not the most impressive appearance. At least after I have lived in the world described by a certain Lovecraft, there is little that can scare me. As for hunting itself, I was not too eager to measure myself with muscles or limbs: he has much more of them. On the other hand, I am a cat, and cats never fight with their prey. They attack from ambush, leaving their prey and no chance of survival. Surely sneaking up with Adjuchas would have been problematic if I had no experience in managing the internal energy of the body. When I was Gillian, I noticed that part of the reiatsu generated by the body "evaporates" in the environment, creating a certain background, radiation around me. Now I forcibly stopped generating reiatsu, which is why my reserve was gradually decreasing, because reiatsu was spent on life processes, but it was much more difficult to detect me from afar.

Another problem was that we were in the desert, so after a little thought, I decided it was best to just slowly approach him from behind, hoping that he had no eyes on his butt. No, it looks like he has no eyes on his ass. Well, the fact that my claws are retractable, and the sand, although not too loose, but still relatively soft, I could step on it without making a sound. So, sneaking up to my victim at a distance of five meters, I did not think of anything better than creating Sero as quickly as possible and shooting them point-blank. The plan was a success: the "spider" had only had time to turn to me when Sero flew right into his face. Rising on my paws, and shaking off the sand, I briskly trotted across the desert, this time purposefully looking for prey. The latter was found far from immediately, which is not surprising in this place. Ahead, Adjuchas walked across the desert, looking like a spider with claws instead of mandibles. Not the most impressive appearance. At least after I have lived in the world described by a certain Lovecraft, there is little that can scare me. As for hunting itself, I was not too eager to measure myself with muscles or limbs: he has much more of them. On the other hand, I am a cat, and cats never fight with their prey. They attack from ambush, leaving their prey and no chance of survival. Surely sneaking up with Adjuchas would have been problematic if I had no experience in managing the internal energy of the body. When I was Gillian, I noticed that part of the reiatsu generated by the body "evaporates" in the environment, creating a certain background, radiation around me. Now I forcibly stopped generating reiatsu, which is why my reserve was gradually decreasing, because reiatsu was spent on life processes, but it was much more difficult to detect me from afar.

Another problem was that we were in the desert, so after a little thought, I decided it was best to just slowly approach him from behind, hoping that he had no eyes on his butt. No, it looks like he has no eyes on his ass. Well, the fact that my claws are retractable, and the sand, although not too loose, but still relatively soft, I could step on it without making a sound. So, sneaking up to my victim at a distance of five meters, I did not think of anything better than creating Sero as quickly as possible and shooting them point-blank. The plan was a success: the "spider" had only had time to turn to me when Sero flew right into his face.

- Hmm? Fried? - I asked the corpse, examining its slightly charred remains. I didn't feel like warmth from Sero ... Although Sero, this is a highly compacted stream of reiatsu, which, in theory, when it comes into contact with reishi should do the same thing that a microwave does with normal flesh. Anyway, it's time for breakfast!

Hmmm ... Interesting ... Having eaten the spider, I ran away from the battlefield and lay down in the shadow of the rock protruding above the sand, again withdrawing into myself and observing the internal processes. Still eating Adjuchas, three times my size, I suspected something was wrong. How exactly does my stomach hold this carcass? It turned out that in my stomach now were not the bitten off pieces of my prey, but ... Something ... An incomprehensible mass of incredibly dense reishi, which ... Just remained in the stomach. Having sent several streams of reiatsu there, I realized that this mass is incredibly stable and does not react to reiatsu in any way. Continuing my observation, I noticed how the reishi sometimes "broke off" from the main mass in the stomach and carried away by the reiatsu streams, traveled through my body for some time, eventually taking the place of the "dead" reishi. Yeah, so my regression avoidance theory is correct. What about evolution? I continued to closely monitor the clot of reishi in my stomach and did not even move my ear when I was covered with sand. It's even better: camouflage and all that ... And meanwhile the clot of reishi was gradually melting away. Well, everything is clear here: we must continue to eat so as not to regress. Unfortunately, I did not have a watch to measure how long I could be without food, but it didn't matter: I could clearly sense the size of the reishi clot in my stomach. And yet what is it? And how should I evolve? I continued to observe the clot until it finally disappeared, after which I went hunting again, and having eaten the second prey, again lay down in the shade and continued observation.

Hmmm ... I don't understand anything ... It seems like nothing is happening, but the Vaster Lords exist! Yes, I remember that in order to evolve into it you need to eat hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of Adjuchas, but nothing happens to me! Nothing changes! Or is it still changing, but I am not able to notice it? Yes, and this mass of reishe itself ... It's like an archived file: it takes up little space, and when it needs to be unzipped, and gives itself quite normal reishes that take up the right places in my body. Stop! Am I asking the wrong question? How to evolve into Vaster Lord? Can you first understand what "Vaster Lord" is? If the reishi of Adjuchas is much more "dense" and efficient than that of Gillian, then the reishi of the Vaster Lord is even more perfect? Like the ones in my stomach now? After all, they are incredibly dense, and although they do not generate reiatsu, they are not organized into organs, bones, muscles, and so on. After all, if you just take human cells and dump them in a heap, they will not work. What follows from this? To be honest, not much, we need to continue monitoring.

Hmm? What is this? This shouldn't be! After six hunts, I continued to observe the processes of my life. Yes, I have no patience. Be that as it may, now one of my reishes has been replaced by an "unzipped" reishi. I immediately noticed how one of my streams of reiatsu carried away a spiritual particle, which had not yet become familiar to me, but I thought that it would simply "spit out" out like a defective one, but instead it took the place of my "dead" spiritual particle and now it is performing its role quite well.

But this is already curious ... Could this be? More "perfect" reishes are gradually replacing my own reishes, and I turn into a Vaster Lord? Gradually? No, this is unrealistic: given that this process is a mistake, a system malfunction, in order for all the reishes of my body to be replaced by a "perfect" model, I have to eat millions of Adjuchas and live for billions of years, because it is impossible to accelerate the process of absorption of mass reiatsu ... So this theory is wrong? Or ... In order for me to turn into Adjuchas, I had to eat more than six dozen other Gillians. But what exactly triggered evolution? Critical mass of accumulated reiatsu? Then maybe for evolution in Waster Lord I need to accumulate a critical mass of "perfect" reishi, after which evolution will take place? Sounds plausible, the whole question is in this very critical mass: fifty percent? Forty? Ten? After six hunts I noticed a single reishi, and I watched myself very closely. Yes, most likely I missed a couple of such cases, it is still impossible to watch every reishi. But even if we assume that each eaten Adjuchas provides me with two or three "perfect" reishi, my body, like the body of any person, consists of millions of spiritual particles. To replace even ten percent of them, I will need ... Although, yes, given that the Vaster Lords can be counted on the fingers, everything falls into place.

- Ha-a-a ... - Once again, getting out from under the sand and dusting myself off, I looked around sadly. - There is a long road ahead ...