A month passed quickly.
Under Sombravida's restructuring, North Forest stabilized completely.
Resource allocation became systematic.
New Gillian were allowed to form only under controlled hunting zones.
Adjuchas evolution became deliberate instead of chaotic.
The forest was no longer a battlefield.
It was infrastructure.
The Emblems
Timd approached with two circular insignias.
"My King. They are complete."
The base material was forged by Mude's mineral manipulation.
Jekain sealed within each disc a sliver of Timd's split spiritual pressure.
Each bearer:
Infused a drop of blood
Mixed with their own reiatsu
Activated the emblem
Sombravida pressed a blood-infused drop onto his own.
A pale glow formed—
The silhouette of a greatsword.
Recognizable.
Unique.
Unforgeable.
"The emblem dissolves only upon death," Timd explained.
"My split fragment will sense it. It cannot be imitated."
Sombravida nodded.
"In the inner desert, identification will save lives."
Departure
Fifty-three mid-tier-or-higher Adjuchas stood ready.
Eighty low-tier prisoners were chained spiritually.
Sombravida opened a Garganta.
A vertical tear in reality split the air.
Unlike random displacement through unstable reishi currents, Garganta allowed directed travel — but required enormous control and time.
Sombravida chose safety over speed.
They entered.
The Long Transit
The journey lasted six months.
Hueco Mundo's vastness is often underestimated.
The outer forest territories occupy only a fraction of the realm.
Beyond them stretches endless white desert.
The Garganta path is not linear.
It must navigate spatial currents.
Along the way, they encountered:
Violent reishi turbulence
Predatory void currents
Structural instability pockets
Sombravida's spatial manipulation stabilized multiple collapse points.
Without him, half the expedition would have been scattered.
The prisoners sustained the group.
Spiritual exhaustion required replenishment.
By the time the reishi flow thinned and stabilized—
Only thirty prisoners remained.
Arrival – The True Desert
The Garganta opened.
Night.
Not the dim yellow haze of the outer forest.
But true lunar illumination.
Hueco Mundo's moon hung pale and eternal.
No stars.
Only drifting cloud bands.
White sand reflected silver light.
Endless.
Sombravida stepped out first.
The air felt different.
Denser.
But not overwhelmingly so.
Reishi saturation was stable — refined.
Not chaotic like forest battlefields.
He inhaled slowly.
"Yes… this is closer to the central desert."
Growth here would not come from ambient absorption alone.
It would come from hunting stronger prey.
Survey
Sombravida ascended.
The horizon was infinite.
No structures.
No forest.
No natural cover.
The central desert of Hueco Mundo is famously barren.
This was accurate.
He descended.
"We move west."
Prisoners formed a Vanguard wedge.
Bait.
Scouts.
Shock absorbers.
First Contact
After four days of travel—
Contact.
Ten mid-tier Adjuchas.
Lean.
Battle-hardened.
Efficient.
Unlike forest dwellers, these Adjuchas did not posture.
They attacked immediately.
Void Beast Thunder deployed.
Explosions of toxin and paralysis disrupted formation—
But not completely.
Inner desert Hollows possess sharper instincts.
Three escaped during the paralysis window.
Ten prisoners died.
Sombravida did not pursue.
This was important.
In the desert, unknown reinforcements can arrive within minutes.
Overextension kills.
Continuing West
Several more days passed.
Then—
Cliffs.
And beneath them—
A reef-like stone forest.
Jagged quartz formations rising like petrified coral.
Natural cover.
Defensible.
Acceptable.
They approached cautiously.
Reconnaissance
Perception-type Adjuchas ascended.
Anti-Membrana users shielded them.
Reports came quickly.
"North — clear."
"West — clear."
"East — open desert."
Then—
"South — approximately thirty Adjuchas."
Sombravida's eyes narrowed.
Before he could respond—
"…their reiatsu is fluctuating."
"…no…"
"…it's disappearing."
One by one.
Not retreating.
Not relocating.
Extinguished.
The Pressure Descends
The sensory Adjuchas' voice broke.
"My King—something is coming—"
Then it happened.
A wall of spiritual pressure.
Not a wave.
A presence.
It did not strike.
It existed.
And existence alone crushed the air.
The perception Adjuchas were blasted from the sky before Anti-Membrana could fully deploy.
Several low-tier prisoners disintegrated instantly.
Reiatsu pressure alone can pulverize weaker Hollows.
This was canon-consistent.
Sombravida felt it.
Breathing tightened.
Muscles resisted.
His own high-tier Adjuchas pressure pushed outward reflexively—
But it was like bracing against a mountain.
This was not high-tier Adjuchas.
This was not near-peak.
This was qualitatively different.
Denser.
More refined.
More complete.
Sombravida's mind sharpened instantly.
"This… density…"
"…Vasto Lorde."
Not rumored.
Not estimated.
Confirmed.
True Vasto Lorde-class spiritual pressure.
And it was approaching.
Fast.
Very fast.
The moonlight above seemed dimmer as the pressure expanded across the desert.
Behind Sombravida—
His expedition force trembled.
Before him—
The white desert parted slightly under the sheer weight of descending reiatsu.
The Void Night Sky had answered their arrival.
And something ancient had noticed them.
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