[Souls Consumed: 1000 / 1000]
[ALERT: Threshold Reached — Evolution Commencing]
[Warning: Evolution is irreversible. Brace for system and structural instability.]
I collapsed mid-hunt, limbs locking up. The last Gillian I struck down let out a choked wail before its body dissolved into spirit particles. As its soul merged with mine, the pressure hit.
My body arched. Screamed. Split.
The black cloak of the Gillian form curled inward, collapsing around me like a shell. My bones cracked—no, reformed. My mask splintered then sealed, reshaped with sharper lines.
And the pain… gods, the pain. It wasn't just physical—it was like a million voices finally screaming their last words before being silenced forever.
Then… silence.
When I emerged, I was new. Shorter. Sleeker. Sharper.
[Evolution Complete — New Class: Adjucha]
[Stat Growth Increased. New Skills Unlocked.]
I looked down at myself—two legs, two clawed hands. Pale white skin like sculpted bone armor. A single black horn jutted from my brow like a lance of dominance.
[New Skill Acquired: Wounding Strike – Lv.1]
Your slashes cause spiritual lacerations that prevent natural regeneration for 10 seconds.
[New Passive: Regeneration – Lv.1]
Slowly recover HP over time. Rate scales with Reiatsu.
[Level Up x6 — Total Stat Points: +30 | Skill Points: +12]
The hunger hadn't vanished, but now it had clarity. A purpose.
I wasn't a beast anymore. I was a predator with focus, with weapons, with options.
And this was only the beginning.
[Stat Allocation Complete]
Strength: +8
Speed: +6
Reiatsu: +10
Spirit Control: +6
[Skill Upgrades Applied]
Wounding Strike → Lv. 4
Cero → Lv. 6
Regeneration → Lv. 3
Spiritual Blacksmithing → Lv. 5
A storm surged through my body as the new allocations took hold. My claws felt heavier—not sluggish, but weighted, like coiled weapons ready to release devastation. My speed surged with each step, and my spiritual pressure pressed outward in a radius, bending the air like heat above sun-scorched dunes.
Even my crafted bow—once crude and jagged—was now polished and deadly, reforged under the new skill level. My arrows no longer wobbled; they flew like execution bolts.
[New Crafting Unlock – Enhanced Spiritual Forge]
You can now embed effects into crafted weapons: Bleed, Slow, or Spirit Drain (one per item).
I grinned—jagged teeth glinting beneath the mask.
I wasn't just another predator in Hueco Mundo anymore.
I was becoming a named one.
Sometime passes-
For a moment, there was stillness.
Three Adjuchas. Two worlds of intent.
Loly's spiritual pressure spiked first—sharp and erratic, like broken glass lashing in every direction. Menoly flanked her, quieter but steady, her energy low and dense like a drawn bowstring. I mirrored them with a calm step forward, hands relaxed at my sides, daggers humming at my waist, bow unstrung on my back.
"I don't want a war," I said. "Just a match. A test."
Loly laughed like a cracked whip. "That's what the weak say before they die."
Then she struck.
We blurred into motion. She was fast—faster than she looked in the anime. Unrefined, yes, but instinctive. Her claws came at my mask, but I caught her wrist mid-swipe and spun her with a sharp elbow to the side. Menoly was already there to capitalize, shoulder-checking me with surprising force and knocking me into a quartz tree.
[HP -137]
[Passive Regeneration Activated]
"Interesting…" I muttered, getting to my feet as my ribs cracked back into place.
They were coordinated—more than I'd expected. Hollow instincts, yes, but there was strategy between them. Loly baited. Menoly punished. Not Arrancar-level—but still dangerous.
[Wounding Strike Activated – Left Dagger Slash]
[Effect Applied: Regeneration Suppressed for 8 seconds]
My dagger cut a shallow line across Loly's side. She hissed and faltered, just long enough for me to dash between them, fire an arrow at Menoly's feet, and use the explosion as cover.
The fight escalated—blades, claws, Ceros fired and dodged in streaks of red light. I never aimed to kill. Only to learn.
To push myself.
To see if I could stand against those tied to the future's strongest.
Eventually, I leapt back, panting but smiling behind my mask. "Enough," I said.
Loly snarled. Menoly frowned. They both looked at me, confused.
"You're not here to eat us?"
"Not today."
Not ever, I thought. If things could be changed… maybe some of us didn't have to end the way canon dictated.
[Skill Proficiency Increased]
[New Tactical Insight Unlocked: Adaptive Combat I]
Observing and engaging skilled enemies in non-lethal combat increases skill refinement and pattern recognition.
We stood in the dusted aftermath—three survivors of the same brutal world. Loly's clawed hand was still twitching, but she hadn't struck again. Menoly had stopped moving too, eyes narrowed and unreadable.
"Look," I said, breath steadying, "you're strong. Smarter than most Hollows I've seen. That fight proved it."
Loly scoffed. "You didn't even try to kill us. That's weakness."
"No," I said. "That's restraint."
Their silence stretched. So I stepped forward, claws retracted, hands open.
"I've been alone out here too long. You probably have too. Alone, we'll be targets—picked off eventually by something bigger, meaner, smarter."
I met their eyes.
"But together? We survive longer. Hunt better. Maybe even grow stronger faster."
Loly's eyes narrowed. Menoly looked to her, silent as always.
"I'm not asking to lead you," I added. "Just to work together."
Another pause. Then, Loly crossed her arms, cocked her head.
"Tch. Fine. For now. But don't think we'll babysit you."
Menoly gave a small nod. It was enough.
[Alliance Formed: Loly Aivirrne | Menoly Mallia]
Group Status: Cautious Allies
Bonus Perk – Pack Instinct: Slight stat boost when fighting alongside trusted Adjuchas
I didn't smile. But a weight I hadn't even realized I carried lifted from my chest.
Maybe this world didn't have to be survived alone.
END