After Harribel and her followers vanished into the dunes, Lin Sheng stirred at last.
He could not remain here. Even if Guy and his pack did not return, another wandering Hollow might—and in his weakened state, that would be certain death.
But the encounter had confirmed one crucial fact: Aizen had not yet come to Hueco Mundo. If he had, Harribel would already wear the mask fragment of an Arrancar. That meant time remained. If Lin Sheng grew stronger steadily, he could carve a place for himself in the storm to come.
Three days passed in harsh solitude. His wounds closed, his reiatsu stabilized. Only the resilience of a Hollow allowed such rapid recovery. A human soul would have long since dissipated from injuries like his.
Still, danger loomed. The wilderness crawls with Menos Grande… and if I circle back, Guy's pack will hunt me again. His coils tightened with unease. Power was the answer, but how to obtain it quickly?
An idea struck him. The present world.
Menos were rare there, and the Shinigami who patrolled were likely weak. The environment would be less hostile than Hueco Mundo's endless deserts. It was exactly the stage he needed.
With new resolve, Lin Sheng searched the borderlands for fractures in space. He dared not venture deeper into the wilderness, but persistence paid off. After countless attempts, he felt a weakness in the veil. He coiled tightly, tore through, and opened a yawning black cavity.
The Garganta—the Hollow's dark passage—was his bridge. Unlike the stable, fortified portals Arrancar could summon from Las Noches, his channel was crude and dangerous, without boundary walls for protection. It might eject him anywhere in the human world. But it was enough.
Negación was beyond him, reserved only for the truly mighty. For now, brute tearing would suffice.
The Garganta split, and Lin Sheng slipped through.
—
In the present world—Hiroshima Prefecture.
The streets were worn and subdued, houses low and wooden, faces weary. Few people moved beneath the gray sky.
Then the air cracked open. A fissure of blackness tore through reality, and from it a silver serpent surged forth. None of the humans looked up. To their eyes, nothing was there.
Lin Sheng coiled on a rooftop, drinking in the air. "The sky… the clouds… I've missed this."
Compared to the bleak sands of Hueco Mundo, this world felt alive. He remembered it. It was home once, before his rebirth into the void.
Yet something felt strange. The architecture was humble, the streets quiet, as though decades behind. "Where am I? This town… so backward…"
Before he could explore further, the people below froze. Fear widened their eyes as they stared upward—not at him, but at the distant sky.
Lin Sheng followed their gaze. An airplane cut across the heavens. Ordinary, fragile. Why the panic?
Then it came.
On the horizon, a mushroom cloud rose, devouring the sea and sky. Even from afar, the heat and shock reached him. The earth quivered.
Lin Sheng's blood ran cold. "No… This era…"
It was war. Humanity's deadliest weapon was blooming before his eyes.
War bred souls. Endless deaths poured into the cycle. Few received Konsō from Shinigami. Most clung to the earth, becoming Hollows, hiding in fear, or lingering in familiar places.
Here, in this small town, he saw one: a little girl, transparent and trembling, crouched in an alley.
Her wide eyes locked on his mask. She recoiled, sobbing. "D-don't eat me!"
Lin Sheng only studied her. She was not his prey. His real interest lay elsewhere—in the Hollow drawn here by her presence.
A twisted figure prowled into view, mask gnarled, body animalistic. The beast paused when it saw Lin Sheng, unease flickering in its aura. But greed won out. It bared its teeth and roared, hoping to drive him away.
Lin Sheng's tongue flicked. "You dare raise your voice at me? Bold… or foolish."
This Hollow had devoured souls, strengthening itself. Left unchecked, it would soon gain intelligence, perhaps even evolve. But Lin Sheng was no ordinary scavenger. He had already surpassed the rank of common Hollows, his power that of a Gillian-class Menos.
"Perfect. You'll be the first offering of this world."
He slid forward, coils rippling. The Hollow dropped to all fours and charged.
A blur of silver answered. Lin Sheng's tail cracked like a whip, striking with brutal force.
The Hollow's massive frame—four or five meters tall—smashed through a wooden house in an explosion of debris.
It rose again, boards falling from its shoulders. No blood. No wounds.
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed. "Impressive. You withstood that?"
The creature's hide gleamed faintly. Hierro… Steel Skin, the armor of advanced Hollows. Normally seen only among Adjuchas. For this one to already bear such durability was rare.
He recalled the Espada. Among them, the fifth—Nnoitra Gilga—was famed for Hierro so unyielding it rivaled all others.
Lin Sheng's coils tensed. "Interesting. Let's see how hard your skin truly is."