There's something beyond the darkness.

The trail of spiritual pressure in front of me is so faint that if I lose focus for even a moment, I'll lose it. Lisa follows me without a word, and to my dismay, we seem to be heading out of the Sereitei. The Rukongai smells...unpleasant, but I carry on and try to ignore the suffering around me. Most of the people seem to be fine, but the children... well, they aren't doing too great. I can hardly sense them, but I can smell the familiar scent of hunger. I want to help them, to quell their hunger as others did for me, but the moment I consider letting the trail slip, Kentaro's face slips into my mind. The kids can wait, but if my feeling is correct, Kentaro can't. Strangely, I hear a slight cracking sound, but I ignore it and carry on.

We head further and further away from the Sereitei, and to my disappointment, the condition of the people here is only getting worse and worse. I feel a sharp pain in my chest, but I ignore it and carry on.

Eventually we reach a patch of woods, and in the distance, I can sense something I haven't felt before. This spiritual pressure... it's a hollow, but it's not.

It's hard to describe, but it's almost as if a hollow has been absolutely stuffed to the brim with the souls of soul reapers.

"Kentaro, just what on earth were you doing out here?"

We break into the clearing, and I see it.

I was hoping my senses were wrong and that this was just an ordinary hollow, but this is something different.

In front of me lies the writhing flesh of dozens of soul reapers, all melted together. Arms and legs flail, and from the center I can sense a hollow.

"This is... this is impossible."

'I've seen something like this once before.'

"Where in the Soul Society could you possibly have seen something like this?" This isn't something that should exist.

Suddenly ten eyes open from the flesh and stare at us. Like a hinged door, the flesh splits apart, and from the center I can see a dark hole lined with broken Zanpakutos, almost like teeth.

*SCREECH*

The sound is deafening, but Lisa and I hold our ground.

"Banks, this isn't something a student like you can handle. I need you to run back and contact the captain."

I ignore her and dash forward.

-Just because I'm injured doesn't mean I can let something like this stand in my way.

"Banks, stand down!"

I charge forward, but this seems to be a mistake as the beast's flesh shoots out and surrounds me. I pull on the ground beneath my feet and launch myself up, but another pillar of flesh is shooting towards me. I push on the air until it is as solid as a wall and launch myself off of it.

I land more or less back where I started, but Lisa is nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, a white fluid spurts into the air, and the creature roars in pain.

"Since you're unwilling to listen to orders, all I can ask of you is to try not to die. I'll talk to the captain about this later."

Lisa flies through the air and lands on the ground next to me. Suddenly, an oppressive pressure rises from the writhing mass.

The smell is

disgusting.

I push and pull on the world around me and launch myself forward. A green light shines underneath my feet, and before the beast can react, I'm already behind it. I punch out with my fist, and for a brief moment, my arm is sucked in.

I try to exert my will on the flesh, and surprisingly, it seems to respond, albeit a little. The hollow inside seems to be fighting my influence, and I can barely part the flesh for long enough to wrench my hand out.

"The more I see, the more questions I have. I don't care how you do it, but if you can open this thing up, even for a moment, I think I can make something work."

My influence isn't strong enough, and I need something more.

I look down at the mirror strapped to my side. I think back to my spar with Hitsugaya, and a plan begins to form.

'Hey, hollow! You are a pathetic weakling!'

A mound of flesh launches towards me, but rather than dodging, I merely pull out my mirror. The flesh is sucked in, and while most of the flesh is pulled back, I notice that the beast is smaller than it was.

"That's your Shikai, huh? Keep it up a little bit more, and I'll be able to strike at the core of this thing."

The beast seems reluctant to attack me again, but I know the one thing that all hollows despise.

I turn around and ignore it.

I can sense a tsunami of Soul Reaper flesh flooding towards me, but I still ignore it.

"Banks, what are you doing?!"

Suddenly, I turn around and hold my mirror in front of me. Like water being sucked down a drain, the writhing mass is swallowed. The flesh retreats, but for a brief moment, the core is exposed.

A sharp cry resounds, and suddenly the flesh begins to turn into particles and float away.

"That was... unreal. Do you think... do you think this thing ate Kentaro?"

I sniff the air, desperately trying to find his scent, but before I can, I feel my blood run cold.

"Banks, where did you go?"

'I'm right here; can't you see me?'

"I'm afraid she can't."

I look up, and I see something I wish I hadn't.

Aizen is standing above me, and for the first time, he seems to be smiling at me.

"I'll be honest, I'm not too proud of that one."

'What did you do to her?'

"Nothing much, just know that she won't be able to interrupt us for a while, now... where was I?"

The smell of Kentaro is coming from Aizen.

"Ah, that's right, my little creation. I've been trying to break the barriers between hollows and soul reapers for quite a while, but seeing you, I've been inspired."

'What did you do to him?'

"Hmm? Oh, you mean that meddling little soul reaper, don't you?."

I try to launch myself off of the ground, but an overwhelming pressure forces me to my knees.

"You see, I tried to brute-force things. Rather than slowly raising a hollow by feeding it one soul at a time, I instead dumped a single hollow into a mass of dying soul reapers."

I try to speak, but it's as if the very air is fighting me.

"As for your little friend, I decided to save his soul for another project of mine."

I pull on the world around me just enough to force out a single word from my lips.

'You'

"You should be quite familiar with it; I used the fragment I "borrowed" from you to make it."

From Aizen's hand, I see it. What had been stolen from me I call out to it, but like a rebellious child, it ignores me.

"Oh my, it seems my little Hogyoku is unhappy with you."

I pull on the world harder and harder, to the point that a single snap rings out from my soul.

Aizen pulls something out of his pocket. It looks like an orb, but it smells like Kentaro.

"Here, this should cheer you up."

The orb begins to be sucked in, and like a switch, the trail I had been following vanishes.

"My, oh my, you seem quite upset."

-What is he talking about? I'm fine.

I try to push the pressure away. It's hard, but bit by bit, the sheer weight is beginning to lessen.

*Snap*

My vision is blurry.

-The air must be dry.

I pull on the ground beneath me and launch myself into the air.

I punch out with all of my might, but Aizen blocks me with a single finger.

My arm snaps like a dry twig, but compared to the pain in my chest, it's nothing.

-Pain in my chest? It must be heartburn.

I punch out with my other arm, and like the first, my bones shatter into pieces.

Aizen kicks me, and I fall to the ground... I think my ribs are broken.

I pull on my bones and force them back into place with my will.

There's a strange sound coming from my throat...

-Am I screaming?

-No, it must just be the wind.

I try to attack again, but the pressure increases, and I can barely move.

My mirror falls from my waist, and as I stare at my broken reflection, I see that I'm crying.

-I'm not fine, am I?

I awake to a darkened sky. I can't see it, but I can sense Zentai no ana behind me.

"Kid, you should know by now that you can't beat him."

'He killed Kentaro; do you really think I can let this go?"

Zentai no Ana is silent for a moment, and in the silence, I find that my eyes start to wander to the cracked mirror beneath my feet.

A few of the chains attached to it have been ripped apart, and deep below it, I can feel the darkness beginning to stir.

"Kid, you have six months to be a person. You can hang out with friends, fight, study, and eat delicious food. If you don't run away now, you'll have to give all of that up."

'You already know what I've decided, don't you?'

"Tom no!"

For the first time since I ended up in this world, I seal my Shikai. The cracked mirror beneath me begins to shatter, and from the cracks, a dark fluid weeps.

The chains shatter, but for a brief moment, a golden glow encompasses them. The image of a tortoise roars, but the darkness swallows it up and it is silenced.

"There's something beyond the darkness. I hope for your sake that you find it."

I awaken to see a hilt sticking out of a puddle of black tar. I slowly pull it out to see a pure white blade that begins to soak up the fluid like a sponge.

The world around me is beginning to disintegrate into particles, which are swallowed by my blackened blade. Even the pressure that had been crushing me is swallowed up, and I am free to stand. I push on the ground beneath me and pull on the air above me to launch myself towards Aizen. A green light flickers as I slash out with all of my might.

Aizen catches the blade with a finger, but a single bead of blood begins to roll down.

"That's not a Zanpakuto, is it?"

I don't answer.

-Why should I respond to a meal?

Aizen slaps my blade away with the side of his hand and pulls out his Zanpakuto

"How interesting."

He slashes at the air, and the burst of air pressure nearly knocks me off my feet. I slide back through the air, but I force the air under my feet to accelerate.

I appear behind Aizen, but he seems to have expected me.

A single slash cuts open my body, but from my wound, a black fluid weeps and seals it up. I take this opportunity to slash, but Aizen quickly brings his Zanpakuto up to block.

I push against him with all of my might, but it's like trying to push through a brick wall with only your pinkie.

Suddenly I am launched to the ground, and I land next to an annoying girl. I try to pull in the spiritual particles that make up her body in order to replenish my strength, but I hear a voice coming from deep within me.

"No."

I focus back on Aizen and decide to try something different. I call out, "Yokubō no ana."

The flow of spiritual particles that had been flowing into my sword begins to accelerate. The grass, the trees, and even the air itself are starting to come apart.

More and more floods into my sword, but still it isn't enough. Seeing this, I plunged the sword into my heart and allowed it to feed on my soul.

A hole forms in my chest, but I ignore it as I can tell that my sword is finally satisfied.

I slash out, and a black line separates the sky. It slashes through Aizen, tearing up his shirt, and from the gash, a thin line of red appears.

He seems to be... excited?

"This is truly more than I expected."

Aizen appears behind me and stabs a hole through my stomach.

"Something neither Soul Reaper nor Hollow nor Arrancar."

I grab his Zanpakuto and pull it out of my body. A black fluid seeps out and covers my wound.

Aizen jumps back before I can counterattack, and the blade slices open my hands. I throw my sword at Aizen, and he blocks it with a thin smile on his face.

I pull on the world around me, and my sword returns to my hand.

I try to pull Aizen towards me, but he barely moves an inch before a black fluid weeps from my eyes.

I fall to the ground, and the stream of particles stops.

"I'm a little disappointed. You tried to steal power from the world itself, but your soul couldn't take it.

I'll finish you off before your soul disintegrates; at least then you'll be able to reincarnate."

I can feel Aizen's Zanpakuto part the air as it falls towards me, but at the last moment the sky cracks open like a pane of shattered glass and a yellow light envelopes me.

"The Gillians... they're acting on their own?"

My body slowly begins to fall apart as I am lifted into the air.

"I guess fate has other plans for you, my little Pseudo. If you somehow survive your soul being shattered, I'm sure your path will eventually lead you to that disgusting thing."

I fall unconscious.