Author Notes: A little in-joke on the Aztec deity was based on is referenced in this chapter...it involves poop.
Though more seriously, it involves the extended backstory of the Dio Hueco, with one of them being strongly connected to a certain Primera. It involves a lot of parallel universe scenario lingo and what the Soul King could've done based on what his discarded parts could do.
Chapter 27: Rising True Sun, Falling Hollow Sun
"Oh a black bird...I'm pet em and Squeeze em- Sonnenblitz (Sunflash)!," declared the Dio Hueco as he illuminated a blinding flash from his body.
He then used a Sonido to get behind Kazui's blackened form to a double axe handle in an attempt to break the boy's spine.
However, the black Reiatsu, caused Tona's iron skin to singe slightly, which caused him to back away.
"Ouch. Sunburn.," he complained.
He then saw an outhouse that somehow survived the explosion.
"Just need a sec...," he said as he went into the outhouse.
After a few moments, it exploded as he emerged with two solar spinning discs.
"Sonnenscheiße- I mean Sonnenscheiben (Sun Discs)! That's what I was going to say.," he said as he retracted his statement.
He then threw the discs at the black bird like Reiatsu, which swallowed it with ease.
"Let's try and get close...,"
"Schimmerndes Sonnenlicht (Shimmering Sunlight).," he said as the light refracted off himself, making him translucent and nigh-invisible.
He slowly tried to get in without it noticing, but it flared up once he stepped in a certain distance.
"Oh boy. Get in close. What about ranged attacks?," he said to himself as he charged his yellow Reiatsu.
"Sonnenstrahlen (Sun-Rays).," he declared as his Reiatsu fired beams of concentrated sunlight at the black bird Reiatsu.
It then swatted them with ease.
Think. Think. I am the Movement of the Sun. The 4 Movements. He Who Goes Forth Shining. He Who Makes The Day...This little buzzard can't stop the movement of the sun!,
"South America"- Another Realm Eons Ago
As the humans awoke their eyes for the first time...again.
A large being appeared above them.
He was adorned with circular dangling earrings, a jewel-tipped nose bar and a blond wig of feathers to hide his sun like hair. He wore a yellow headband decorated with jade rings. He had a solar disc around his neck and his red body painted in vertical bars in two different darker shades of red and pink.
"I give you sunlight for the plants and trees...in exchange I must have warriors to be sacrificed...You need hearts in order for me to travel each day!," he boasted aloud, causing the humans to bow before him.
He was Tonatiuh, the Sun God/Kami of the Universe of Aztecia, though not the first.
From a distance in the jungle, the other Gods looked on with mixtures of annoyance and amusement. They were of various skin tones with markings on their skins and like human with some being more inhuman than others.
"He's just confident that it's just his turn to be the sun...," said Tezcatlipoca, whose appearance was adorned with alternating yellow/black horizontal face bands, wore a heron feathered headdress, a loincloth, and knotted sandals with an armband, and tinker bells around his neck or ankles. His skin was black in places, such as his shoulders, ankles, elbows and midsection. He was otherwise turquoise skinned. His right leg was missing with an artificial one made of an obsidian mirror attached to human leg bones with a snakeskin fastening the two together. He was accompanied by a black jaguar with yellow spots.
"He's like a little kid. He wants the attention. Besides those humans aren't that great without our influence.," Tlaloc, who wore a pair of aquamarine goggles over his eyes, a pair of saber teeth emerged from his upper jaw on the sides of his mouth, his mouth forced to be shaped into a corn cob like design from the weight of the teeth and he had blue skin. He wore a green feathered headdress. He was accompanied by snakes while laying on the back of a massive anaconda.
"Yeah, we get worshipped and all, but it's just a matter of time before this world gets rebooted. Such is the curse of our particular system.," Chalchiuhtlicue retorted, wearing a blue/white headdress consisting of several broad bands, likely cotton, trimmed with amaranth seeds, with large round tassels fall from either side of the headdress. She wore a blue-green shawl adorned with tassels and a skirt. She had jade colored skin and swam in an artificially floating liquid.
"It's because of their worship and beliefs that sustains us yet we must also sacrifice...why shouldn't just belief be enough. Regardless we should be more grateful.," said a voice coming from behind them.
He wore a necklace of shell jewelry a conical copilli feathered green quetzal headdress with a head-band containing sacrificial implements that were tightly wrapped with flowers, held a large fan of black and yellow feathers, and jade circular earrings, wore a green conch whorl necklace with swirling emerald energy within the sphere at the center- the wind jewel, and wore a red mask with a duck's beak extension with long canine teeth. He had white skin with with black, green, blue and red feathers emerging from his forearms, forelegs, shoulders, back of his neck, and thighs. He carried a massive curved baton made of night sky Reiatsu on his back held by a green sheath with a green strap that he wore over his chest. And he held a large fan with green feathers in his right hand.
"The mighty Plum Serpent. Quetzalcoatl.," Tezcatlipoca remarked with a resentful smirk.
The masked being removed his mask to reveal his blue iris eyes, wavy, unkempt blond hair that reached his thighs that was parted in the middle of his forehead, and a long goatee.
"We should be preparing for the conquistadors that plan to mimic me and took over our people and subjugate them into slavery. We shouldn't be squandering like this.," he said candidly.
"What makes you so sure?," Tlaloc asked before Quetzalcoatl handed him a bizarre object to them- a tattered book of geography.
"This is to prevent the infinite darkness from overtaking the world. You speak of naïveté...You waste your time on those meager mortal matters. Are you not the Wind God? Blow winds to make them rethink not worshipping us-," Tezcatlipoca said before Quetzalcoatl transformed in a gust of Reiatsu into a green feathered serpent with conical headdress and massive wings.
"You're not the leader. You tend to forget them in our rivalry.," he spoke as he began to coil around Tezcatlipoca who turned into a gigantic jaguar in response.
The two then disengaged after a few moments, realizing the potential battle might destroy the world.
"Come Xolotl. We have to check on making sure the dead who died on their time remain dead and those who died before their time are resurrected.," Quetzalcoatl said as a gigantic lightning/flame covered, mexican hairless dog headed humanoid with empty eye sockets, and traditional Aztec warrior attire.
He gave a glance at Tezcatlipoca with his blue irises becoming six in each eye.
"Tch...," Tezcatlipoca muttered as he punched the ground.
Several slaves were brought before the temple for a priest, the spanish conquistadors, who had been outed by Quetzalcoatl for the pre-planned treachery. Some were resolute yet resentful for being denied their conquest of this land while others begged for their deaths.
"What do you mean you saw an accurate vision of our actions! I don't want to die! I am supposed to become a duke for this!," complained one man.
"These savages weren't so primitive. The rest of our kingdom will be on its guard from this threat!," retorted the man being led up the steps, in front of the others, the leader of the conquest.
"To the heavenly fire! For the days to become nights and nights become days! So the dry season may end!," said the head priest of Tezcatlipoca wearing a jaguar skin and painting himself black.
"For the Flowery War! We of the Eagle House! Warriors of the Sun!," declared the guards behind him holding sharpened swords.
The gods looked on from the heavens below.
"Zalalala. In the first sun and the second sun eras, it was 676 years each reign. In the time of the third sun, it was 364 years. and even less for the fourth...yet in the fifth, it now lasts longer on the death, you so condemn.," Mictlāntēcutli, the skull faced god remarked as he looked at Quetzalcoatl.
"If it's an enemy and not our own people. It doesn't matter. They deserve it for trying to attack us.," Quetzalcoatl said with self-loathing.
Suddenly the entire area became stopped in a golden light.
A being appeared, he wore a Japanese emperor robe, slicked-back black hair with a ponytail, oval eyes and very thin eyebrows. His eyes were very unusual, consisting of four black circles to make the outline of a white cross in the center.
"Oh this is before my time...You have altered history for the sake of your self-preservation. Man must learn to do without the god's interference- we can watch from afar, but not directly intervene to change the course of history.
"You're not of our group- Are you their Kami? Their Gott? Their Deus? Their God?," Tezcatlipoca asked as he pulled out his black mirror.
"I'm merely trying to unite humanity in the next stage of their development towards the death of gods. Even if I am half-God myself.," he said stoically.
Atlahua, the archer amongst the group fired his Heilig Pfeil at the newcomer, only for the being to raise and turn the back of his right arm, which contained a single eye. It caused the arrow to stop in its tracks.
"In my right hand, I hold Stagnation, the stopping of development, growth, progress, and change; as it represents stillness, it prevents whatever that tries to change or develop from happening, meaning all events halt in its presence. And through exchange of flesh, I can extend the lives of others by stopping the progression of disease, the inevitability of death- even temporal progression gets a reprieve as long as I will it so. Migite is what I call it. It is immune to precognition so those who try to change the future or appear in visions. It however can see the future regardless.," he explained.
He then pulled out his left arm, which was grey-skinned compared to his normal skin tone, with a large eye with two pupils with golden irises in the center of its palm.
"In my left, I hold Evolution, progression and advancement through natural selection, the enhancement of oneself and others via accelerated evolution, which one displays with various adaptations one could potentially employs in order for those blessed by my hand to survive any situation, combat or otherwise. It can absorb and consume organic biomass and gaining the abilities, traits, and attributes of the being the biomass was from. It can also can evolve by absorbing information from objects it touches with its nerves...Oh that's how you operate...very Ptera like...," he said as his nerves sprouted from his left arms' finger tips onto Xiuhtecuhtli without his noticing.
"Now I continue-," He said before Huitzilopochtli cut off one of his fingers with his serpentine spear.
"As I was saying, it has has complete control over its anatomy, which it can freely alter and manipulate. It can grow additional appendages, remove sections or otherwise manipulate its parts. Should one of its fingers or any flesh be removed from its form, it can create a clone of itself from that discarded part.," he added as the finger grew eyes and become a massive left arm with an eye with two golden iris pupils in the center. The stump from the cut finger of the mysterious individual's hand proceeded to regenerate back into a finger.
"It can regenerate its parts and any fingers it loses, intentionally or otherwise; should its body be destroyed, it can completely reform and reconstruct itself in a short period of time. Such is my Hidarite-," he concluded before the hand itself spoke.
"Pernida Parnkgjas- I'm a glorious Ten-"
The mysterious being then closed his left hand in order to muffle his speech.
"In order to surpass the gods, I need more power than I could do on my own. My people would gladly offer myself to me...regardless of what lies they might tell you...,' he explained.
"You sacrifice your people for the sake of power...not for the preservation of the world?," Tezcatlipoca asked with disgust, for such an implied action was awful even for his standards.
"In order for the multiverse to change, sacrifices are needed. I will replace the gods with Soul Reapers, dead humans who will monitor the balance of their worlds in order to keep it in harmony. I might even be mutilated for being a god in their eyes eventually. I'll give my son Abe no Juha control of the Tenshi- no Quincy to keep their loyalties to the Kami under control, my son Abe no Ashi, over control of the Soul Reapers and my son, Abe no Seimei control over the other realms after I pass. I Jiemei, the Soul King of the East have already discussed this matter with my three other comrades who believe in humanity's development on its own terms," the mysterious individual explained.
"What's with those captives?! Tell what's going on?!," Quetzalcoatl asked as the captive conquistadors grew an additional pupil in their eyes and grew angel wings as they proceeded to massacre the still frozen people halted in the golden time space.
The figures then noticed the gods above, flew in their direction and began slaughtering them in spite of their immortality.
lāhuizcalpantecuhtli, the group's darter thrower managed to subdue a few, but he was decapitated by the head conquistador.
"Chantico! Ehecatl! lāhuizcalpantecuhtli! Centeōtl! Tlazōlteōtl! Tepēyōllōtl! Citlālicue! Tōnacācihuātl! Toci-Cōātlīcue! Chicomecōātl! Piltzintecuhtli!," Quetzalcoatl shouted as he failed to save any of his fallen comrades.
"You fool! You are the head Deity! Hold more composure...," said Toci-Cōātlīcue the serpent necklace wearing, elderly goddess as her divine life faded away. Huitzilopochtli cried immensely for her death.
"Mictēcacihuātl!," Mictlāntēcutli screamed as he held his now dead wife, also a skeletal being, in his arms, crying immensely.
Xōchiquetzal-Chīmalmā, the shield-wielding mother of Quetzalcoatl and his other brothers tried to block an assault from the conquistadors from her son, Xipe-Totec, but was cut down easily, causing the three other sons, Huitzilopochtli, Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl to cry as much as their brother, Xipe-Totec.
It was something he hadn't experienced since the death of his father at the hands of his treacherous uncles, the Centzon Mimixcoa.
Ometeotl, whose physical form was composed of light Reiatsu energy, attempted to slay the invaders, but the Jiemei individual blasted him with a five headed purple dragon-esque spell.
Quetzalcoatl turned to Jiemei and flew down in hatred in his serpentine form, thwacking the invader's physical form.
"I possess a heart that can manifest miracles upon myself by giving form to the thoughts, feelings, and desires of himself and those around him. By using people's "fear", I can covert any physical damage upon him to increase my size and might, becoming durable and strong enough to counter my foes. This is my Kokoro...With my Hidariashi (Left Foot)- you lose your divine powers- or any rank within the Six Realms. With my Migiashi (Right Foot), I bestow onto you the title of Ptera for the new Ptera Realm I will make.," he said as he also rather pointlessly kicked Xolotl so hard that it caused him to die in spite of his immortality.
Quetzalcoatl first stared at the now gigantic godlike entity now looking down on him before he noticed the deceased body of his canine colleague.
"Xolotl!," Quetzalcoatl shouted as his divine appearance shredded and he became encased in a gaunt yet bloated bellied, mouthless shell.
"Why?!," Quetzalcoatl shouted through a muffled face.
"Dinosaurs as much as you like them needed to die so mammals could thrive and make humans and Gods need to die in order for humans to become smarter. Farewell. Hollow Gods...Dio Hueco...that is your name now...," he said as he vanished through a Senkaimon as the entire world around them vanished in a blackness.
"I'm the sun...why is it dark? I thought I was always supposed to be shining and moving for the sunlight to show...it's so dark...," Tonatiuh's voice said aloud, somberly.
"I'm alone...I'm alone...in the darkness...," Quetzalcoatl's voice rang out.
Soul Society- Present Day
Blue gray iris eyes opened as a he noticed a lab with a test tube inside.
"I put a tracker onto that Kazui's Zanpakuto when he first achieved its Shikai in order to study its uniqueness. I've even developed a temporal alteration immunity organ within myself in the case that the timeline would be altered before I could study it completely. And it seems like he found out that the Asauchi is actually a restraining device built into the Zanpakuto to act as a controlling device to replicate our appearance to replace us if we ever fell out of line or discovered the true origins of the Soul Society during his discovery of its true power.," said a raspy voice in an inquisitive manner.
The owner of the eyes saw the figure of the skeletal 12th Division captain, Mayuri Kurotsuchi looking at him.
"Captain Commander Shunsui wanted me to have you properly buried, but you were interesting so I revived you...first Espada, the Primera, Coyote Starrk.," he said aloud.
The figure of the blue iris eyes was a normal sized Arrancar male with wavy hair, which ended at the base of his neck, unkempt, and parted down the middle. He had a faded goatee. His clothing consisted of a white jacket outlined in black, though altered with the collar upturned. A black sash was worn in a manner similar to a matador around his waist and he wore white gloves. The remains of his Hollow mask consisted of a fanged bottom jaw which was positioned along his neck. His Hollow hole was on his sternum, right below the tip of his mask.
"Where's Lilynette?," asked the Arrancar in a lazy, but concerned manner, thinking of his other half. It was a young-looking female Arrancar. Her outfit consisted of white-colored briefs with a black line positioned in the middle, arm-warmers, a revealing vest with a high collar and thigh-high, fur-lined boots. Her Hollow hole was positioned in the center of her stomach. The remainder of her Hollow mask was the form of a helmet, with two horns on the top of her head. The left horn looked s if it has been cut off and the left half of the mask covered her left eye. Her right eye was light pink, with the left eye covered by her Hollow mask and a flame design over the eye socket and she also had light green hair arranged in a very basic manner.
He then noticed in the reflection of the test tube, that his hair was not dark brown, but light-green.
The test tube had an Asauchi in its hideous demonic true form.
"This tube is filled with Quincy blood and it seems whatever you actually are is deadly allergic to it.," Mayuri said with sadistic glee as the figure vanished.
"It was likely thinking it could touch me because whatever it is is deadly to humans, Full-Bringers and Soul Reapers on contact. So I placed my Zanpakuto in there and the creature came out on instinct to save its own life..anyway, whatever lies in the Soul Emperor's palace, I'll be needing your aid to defeat it..," Mayuri said as he pulled out his now purified Zanpakuto.
"Oh...I'm alone again..and you look ridiculous..," Starrk lamented as he closed his eyes after noticing Mayuri's appearance now resembled a harlequin.
Eons Earlier- Hueco Mundo
Tonatiuh awoke in a lush grassland covered with jungles, forests and lush lakes surrounded by ethereal, gentle animals made of vibrant Reiatsu energy of different colors, suh as birds of oranges and purples, elephants of yellows and greens, etc. The trees bore rainbow colored fruits.
He then noticed he had extremely thin hands and a bloated stomach...
An insatiable hunger for anything in sight.
"Xolotl! Xolotl!," Quetzalcoatl repeatedly said in a sullen daze, ignoring the others who were slowly adjusting to their lives as gaunt parodies of their former divinity to varying degrees.
Mictlantecuhtli was laughing madly while crying tears, "I was having a wonderful dream. That's all it was. This is reality. Zalalalala!"
Metztli was crying for her lost comrades while an empathetic Chalchiuhtlicue comforted her.
Xiuhtecuhtli was trying to quench his insatiable hunger by trying to force fruit and water into his nigh-nonexistent mouth.
Tlaloc was completely comatose and emotionally shut down.
Tlaltecuhtli tried to find somewhere to sleep, but couldn't from the intense guilt of being a survivor of their universe's destruction.
Huehuecoyotl was wandering aimlessly as he wondered why he was spared.
Xipe-Totec was trying to kill himself while Huitzilopochtli restraining him from doing so.
Xochipilli was in a state of denial, believing that his followers were still around and demanding artistic moments for him.
Tonatiuh was begging for the unknown higher Kami to turn back everything before this event occurred.
Chalchuhtotolin was just calmly accepting the problem and just wanted something to eat.
Tezcatlipoca was a different matter all together.
He took a fruit, forced his small mouth to enlarge and took a bite...it burnt like fire.
"This isn't a paradise- it's a prison and we could be suffering here for all eternity or we starve to death and be reborn as something worse.," he noted.
"We just need to find a way to surpass our limitations. When Ptera appear, we will remodel them into something to get food that is not inanimate. Then once we're sure that they can survive in this environment, we can evolve ourselves. There's an entity called a Jinn and I believe humans or Soul Reapers will find a way to conure it into our plane of existence. While we modify ourselves in preparation for it.," he declared to the others.
"What kind of food?," Metztli asked.
"Humans kill each other for petty reasons, why not make it more literal and purposeful- the sake of survival in this Hollow world- Hollows!," Tezcatlipoca replied coldly.
"Quetzalcoatl wouldn't-," Metztli said before noticing Quetzalcoatl's daze.
"He's not in a fit condition to lead. I will lead and since he's our top fighter, he'd react and win any fight regardless of his mental condition.," Tezcatlipoca replied.
"Now, there's one...," he added as he noticed a human becoming a large bellied yet gaunt, mouthless creature with a predatory look.
It looked helpless as the Dio Hueco dragged it to the group.
Eons Later
In the lush green gardens of Hueco Mundo, the bizarrely vacant yet eden like paradise was now absent of its ethereal animal populations.
The realm was now instead covered by white masked, animalistic monsters of various sizes trying primitive humans and each other.
The Hollows, the results of experimentation of life forms during the reincarnation cycle since the beginning of the Precambrian period.
Behind them, giants with white masks with an elongated nose; bodies covered from their heads to their feet with a black covering reminiscent of a cloak; a row of thin white spikes around their neck; large, pointed feet wrapped in white bandages; and large white hands with long, sharp, white nails. The Gillian.
Looking from above were bulkier humanoids with white masks and animalistic creatures that were more proportionate to an actual animal. than the exaggerated ones of their more frequent, weakest counterparts. The Adjuchas.
And even above them were human-sized, demonic looking individuals with horn like extensions to their masks of various shapes/lengths. Some even were fully human like skeletons with various headgear from helmets to crowns, dressed in regal robes. The Vasto Lorde.
And secretly, above even them in an Aztec like temple, were the Dio Hueco, who were humanoids of various bizarre colors with holes in the middle of the stomach areas, with some being more humanoid than others. They were being served human souls by lesser Dio Hueco- born from the humanoid monsters of the lower level. They dressed like Aztec nobility.
"They are born from these new humans from strong attachments...I actually never knew humans evolved from apes until a few million years ago...I always thought we developed them from the human...Maybe it's the rules of this different universe in comparison to our own... And thanks for modifying them for their respective overbearing desires with their respective abilities and personal appearances, especially the children, Chalchiuhtlicue.," Tezcatlipoca said as he slipped on wine made from human Reishi.
A group of capture primordial transitional human-ape ancestors were brought before a large humanoid male at 16 feet in height with yellowish-gray skin with his wide opened mouth, lips, hands and legs draped in red coloring. He had several sleeve extensions on his arms and legs that ended in flat appendages that hanged loosely, which resembled flayed human skin hands. He had vertical stripes stripes running down from his forehead to his chin, going across his eyes. His ears had large hole in the center. He carried a yellow shield divided into four sections- spring, summer, fall and winter illustrated in the center held in his left hand, which had a segmented extension that connected to a large jug filled with seeds that levitated over this body- it had the words "Xipe Totec of Seasons" engraved on the lid of the jug. He wore a pointed cap and had a rattle staff on his back. In terms of facial features, he had a disproportionately bloated, chubby face sunken eyes and double lips.
He was Xipe-Totec, who grinned as he flayed them and Chalchiuhtlicue placed them into individualized molds as they became Hollows with their faces being covered by a white substance that solidified into a mask.
He noticed Quetzalcoatl in the distance.
He was a humanoid male at 20 feet in height, but more less proportionate than his fellow Dio Hueco, looking exactly like his previous self except for a few modifications. He retained his white skin from his time as a Kami, but now had pronounced wings of green feathers emerging from his forearms, long white that parted in the middle of his forehead. He wore a modest toga made from skulls of the Hollows below, sandals and a belt made from the same Hollow skull material. His eyes had black sclera with blue irises. He had a jaded, tired expression on his face.
"Why not dress in a manner befitting of your stature? Lord Quetzalcoatl?," Tezcatlipoca asked.
"Let's cut the insolence. I'm just a figurehead for the Hollows to worship...They were suffering enough from not being able to eat anything organic without it burning in their mouths while still in this paradise...You made them hateful, bastardizations...If there is a hell for Kami...then we should be there.," Quetzalcoatl said with contempt.
Tezcatlipoca gritted his teeth, feeling resentful that he now had to be constantly looked down on the previous equal in height like an inferior.
Tonatiuh felt contentment, illuminating...yet for some reason, it was dimmer than when he was a true god, not one that was lacking something- being hollow inside.
Next Chapter: Wolves' Gonna Howl Alone
