[You have slept in a bed! HP, QI, and RR restored by 75%! Negative debilitations removed!]

My eyes snapped open, taking in my surroundings as I absently swiped away at the screen. The room I was in was white, with a single tall metal door that was no doubt blocked. This reminded me a lot of the room Inoue was in when she was captured.

Almost as soon as I made this deduction, I gathered my Reiryoku and tried to apparate…

PING!

[Warning! Trans-dimensional apparition is impossible!]

Dammit! I groaned in frustration. This definitely wasn't the Elemental Nations, then. How long was I out? Speaking of time, did the Garganta have any time-eroding possibilities at all, like the Senkaimon?

The door began to give off sounds of being handled, so I got to my feet and reached for my sword… which wasn't there. Right. These people weren't total idiots, whoop-de-fucking-do.

The door swung open noisily, and three figures strode in. One, on the central figure's right flank, I recognized immediately as Ulquiorra Cifer. The other, on the figure's left flank, was who I would call Voldemort with nose and hair… and also perpetually closed-looking eyes. Gin seemed to notice my stare and waved gaily.

The central one, though… the central figure was…

"Sousuke Aizen." I gritted out, falling into a water-bending stance almost on instinct. Unfortunately, I was in a dimension with absolutely no water… well, that could be remedied by the Mark. "Why have you brought me here?"

The man simply smiled at me as if he wasn't aware that his subordinates kidnapped me from my home world… dimension… universe… whatever; this massive crossover event is messing me up, and so early, too! His eyes, however, they studied me with an intensity I expected from Severus Snape. "So, you are Legion. I expected someone… older."

I was distinctly reminded of the one Eragon movie I watched that did the books no justice. "Excuse me?"

"When I was told that you had the experience that I required to bring my plan to fruition, I had pegged you to be someone aged… like my beloved Captain-Commander." He explained, approaching me. "I can't imagine my informant was wrong, however."

Crap. "Well, tell your informant I don't know shit. Now, let me out nicely, before I decide to wreck this place." I growled. I only belatedly realized that that little spiel convinced exactly no-one… since I recognized them all by name… and used a [Cero]. Wow. I'm a massive idiot.

He smiled at me as if he could read my thoughts…. Well, could he? "Hm. It seems you have forgotten what came to pass before you were captured. Would you care for a refresher?" he congenially asked, waving his hand towards Ulquiorra, who had a very unsettling gaze on me.

"Thanks, but I'll pass." I sighed. Really, what was I thinking? Ulquiorra and Grimmjow played me like a newborn back there. The only thing I can do now is use words to make myself a way out. "Why did you bring me here? I'm still a six-year-old in that world, you know."

His eyes brightened with interest. "I have… a dream, you might say." He drawled, grandly gesturing around him. Is this how he always acts? Is this supposed to be charismatic in this world? Or maybe I just wasn't affected because of [Gamer's Mind]? "And you… will help me drive it to fruition."

"You're oddly upfront about this." I grumbled, messing up my hair in agitation. Really, this was the master of manipulation, the epitome of being Slytherin? I expected something to be held as leverage against me, or me to be used in order to get someone else here. "I knew you to be… different."

Aizen smiled as if he knew a secret no one else did… which was probably true. "You speak the answer, yet you do not see it." He turned on his heel and walked out. "Why not walk with me? I imagine staying in this cell all day can be… boring."

I shrugged and followed him out, Gin and Ulquiorra stepping up behind me. I had nothing better to do besides think; knowing the situation and point of time I was in could be beneficial.

We walked through a hallway before we reached what classed as 'outside' in this place. I definitely did not forget that this sunlight, the clouds overhead, everything was fake, probably a complex spell of some kind… were they called kido? Yeah, that. Las Noches was just a dot in the vastness that was Hueco Mundo.

"I wonder how you got that kido to stick to the ceiling." I mused, looking up. "Or is it just painted on?"

Gin snickered.

"Life… or rather, death… is better with mysteries." Aizen smiled. Does he have no other expression? "What do you know of this place?"

I weighed my options. They already knew that I knew stuff – that reminds me, I need to find out who their 'source' was. Lying to them might just get me killed. Sure, I'd just return to the beginning, but I wasn't fond of the idea of spending another year and a quarter just doing what I already did. I'd probably go spare, even with my neat little anti-mental-disorder cap on. "Las Noches. Previously owned by Barragan Louisenbairn. What was once his palace is now yours..."

"Hm. Mundane information." Aizen waved me off. "What more?"

Hmm… "Your Espada can't use the Gran Rey Cero, or any of its higher variants, within the dome. Espada Four and above are also forbidden from releasing their Zanpakuto within it. I'm… not sure about much else. There are quarters where the Tres Cifras live near the edges, the Espada Palaces surrounding the central tower, where you have your throne room. I don't really know what's in the middle."

"Impressive, considering no one else is allowed within." Aizen hummed. "So, she was right, indeed. You do have the power of prophecy."

'She'… I'll have to remember that, since it ruled out Dormammu or the Outsider – this is just the sort of shit they'd pull, given their penchant for amusement. But now, how am I supposed to answer this…? "I really don't. I just know how a solid timeline of the world is going to play out. I can't solidly predict the effects of any changes I may bring about. Just me being here might throw things off, or they may not." I shrugged. There. That should be enough for him not to rely on my words too much. I'd be a fool to believe he'd ever lose interest, and a bigger fool to believe that, if he did, he'd ever send me home.

"What a specific ability." He narrowed his eyes. The action caused his spectacles to shine in the artificial light. "How is it that you came to possess such… knowledge?"

"I don't know." I sighed, relying on my [Silver-tongue] to get me through. "I just woke up one day and I just… knew. At first, I thought it was just an overactive imagination, but then things began to… fall into place."

We stayed silent after that, contemplating the nuances that the universe played. Or at least I did, I don't know what the others were thinking.

"So… why did you bring me here?" I asked, again. This was extremely strange for me, or maybe that was just the strange absence of… "Wait. Am I here in my physical form?"

"It was near impossible to separate your spirit form your body… to the point that it could have resulted in your death, trash." Ulquiorra answered. "It also served no purpose – while taxing on a living body, it is possible for humans to survive within Hueco Mundo."

That made sense… I think? I'm not big on Bleach lore, so…

"You are here to further our cause." Aizen spoke. The amount of light in his eyes… it felt as if I were talking to Albus Dumbledore. "We aim to unseat the Soul King."

"Okay… but I'm pathetically weak compared to the lot of you. Besides my knowledge, which could have been rendered useless when you brought me into the fold, I'm useless." I pointed out.

The Shinigami looked chagrined. "Yes, of course. Our… source… will pay dearly for that. But, since we've gone through all the trouble to bring you here, it would be a waste to simply kill you, would it not?"

A sudden blow to my back knocked me to the ground and made my vision blurry.

"Along with your vast knowledge, I also know of your… potential." Aizen murmured. "The capability to be anything, given the right circumstances? You will be trained in our ways and become our greatest weapon. The Hogokyou ought to be enough of a catalyst."

"But… but what if… I don't want to?" I panted. There was some sort of massive pressure on me… was that their reiatsu?

"It took me a long time to open a doorway to your home." The man spoke, voice without inflection. I was able to see his boots as he walked around me and came to stand in front of my downed form. "Through that open door, it won't even take the Espada a fraction of the time to level it."

"No!" I gasped. The characters here were much faster than the ninjas back home! What could they even hold up as a defense? The panic threatened to take me over until I was suddenly calm again.

"Ah, then we understand each other." He said, and then my vision went black.

It felt like only a few seconds later when my eyes opened. I was standing, this time, in a very familiar place.

"The Dive to the Heart…?" I wondered, puzzled. I stood on a single platform, with no doors or anything of the sort to indicate passage to another area. I stood there, confused until three beams of light struck down from high, a very nostalgic occurrence. How long ago was it that I chose my Path?

When the light fade, however, there were three different objects in place. One, I immediately recognized as a sword – a Shinigami Kodachi, to be exact. The second was a five-pointed star-like metal creation – the Quincy Star. The third, and last, was a plain white mask with a hole where the forehead would be – the mask of a Hollow.

I looked at each… and I realized the meaning. I had to choose what to be.

This… this…

I whirled around, looking for a door, a staircase… something! There had to be a way out of here! I didn't have to make this choice! But… no matter how hard I squinted or tried to look, there simply was no way.

I clenched my fists in frustration. With my ability to evolve skills and have stats affect my avatar in the real world, any of these paths were a surefire way to being overpowered!

I froze.

Isn't that… what's important right now?

I'm in a dimension far away from home. I have no way back. I could apparate to the farthest reaches, somehow, but I'd never be able to run away from Aizen for eternity, not if even a single Arrancar on his payroll knows [Pesquisa]. There was also his threat against Konoha to consider, something I'm certain he wasn't bluffing about. And if whoever this 'source' is, gives Aizen the information he's clutching at, then…

Ugh! My hands fisted in my hair. I decided then and there that Dormammu was going to suffer before he died.

Almost as soon as it hit me, the wave of frustrated anger faded under the effects of [Gamer's Mind]. Choosing now was the best decision I could make. The conundrum was… what was my choice to be?

Hah! As if that's a conundrum.

I turned and stalked to where my choice hovered in the air in a soft beam of white light. I didn't even hesitate as I reached out and took hold of the Kodachi.

Almost as soon as I touched it, something… went wrong… horribly wrong. My entire body began to hurt – every inch of flesh burned, and every vein felt as if liquid fire flowed through it. My head, especially began to hurt so incredibly bad, that if I wasn't already knocked out, I would have been. I was surprised I even had the mental clarity to still observe my surroundings… or even feel surprised.

Around me, the Dive to the Heart began to vibrate in furious frequencies. The waters around me churned. The dark skies thundered. Black lightning began to strike from above.

"Difficult as always, I see."

My eyes snapped open as I whirled about. That voice was familiar… disturbingly so.

It was mine.

A mirror image of myself, standing before my kneeling form, smirked down at me. "Well, I can't blame you. It's all a part of the system, isn't it? Oh well. I suppose I'll just have to stop existing to bring you relief."

I only absently realized the pain was gone as I stood, clenching my fists. "Who are you? What are you?" I demanded, slipping into a fighting stance.

My copy grinned. "I'm you, silly. To be specific, I'm an extradimensional fragment of you – I symbolize… your potential, let's say." He shrugged. "I was brought into this plane of existence because you chose to become a Shinigami… not a bad choice. Quincies are too boring, and Hollows are immortal as long as they satisfy their need to feed on souls… I don't think you would have liked that." He made a face.

"If you're a part of me, why do you need to stop existing for the pain to stop…? For that matter, how is the pain stopped even now?" I asked, frowning. While I wasn't the bookish or nerdy sort, I always hated not knowing things that were somehow entwined with me.

He crossed his arms and put a finger on his chin. "How do I explain this so you can understand… Hm… remember the concept of 'Limbo' from DMC: Devil May Cry?"

I cringed. "Why would you bring up that atrocity?!"

"Ah, classic Legion." He sighed. "Well, consider the idea that in some abstract place tied to the multiverse, which exists alongside it, layered over it, but is normally unreachable, ideas and concepts exist in a metaphysical form."

I goggled. "If that place has a population cap, I'm glad you got out."

"Eh. I wasn't sentient before being called here." He shrugged. "Enough about where I'm from. The point is, I was brought here to be the 'soul' for your Zanpakuto, since you don't have one as you weren't born a Shinigami." He explained.

"How does that even work?" I asked, honestly confused. "I end up with… what… 'me' powers?"

The other me laughed a loud one. "No, no, no! Originally, you were meant to be able to call out your greatest, final, and most absolute self. With that sort of power, realities would be yours to play with… all at my discretion, of course."

I paled instantly. "That's too much!"

"I knew you'd say that." He sighed. "Well, then, you should be happy to know that me actually becoming the soul of your Zanpakuto is impossible… or, should I say, you having a Zanpakuto with a soul is."

"Eh?"

"Don't be dense." He smirked lopsidedly. Wow, I really do look like the Niidaime. "Your [Gamer's Mind] prevents any negative mental debilitations. Apparently, having a spirit linked to you is considered as one, too." He tapped his temple. "That's what the pain was. I wanted to be sure before I gave up."

"So… am I going to have a soul-sword without a soul? How would that work?" I frowned, crossing my arms. "The fact is that a Shinigami's Zanpakuto is like a part of his own soul. How do you be one without the other?"

"I've already solved that issue." The other me nodded. "You will find it next to you when you wake. Its abilities may just piss you off, a bit."

"Why?" I asked slowly, not liking his smug expression in the least.

He sighed and stretched. "I'll leave that to you to find out. Now, I gotta leave if you don't want a constant splitting headache." He waved. "Don't die. I may lose sentience when I return, but my existence will end when yours does." And then darkness.

Waking up all at once, I gasped in some strange viscous liquid. I was suspended in a vat?! I tried water-bending, but then remembered that this is Reishi, and not actual water. I banged a couple of times on the glass, but there was no one in the room. Getting desperate for air, I charged and fired a weak [Cero], making the glass shatter and the liquid to flow out in a rush. Feebly, I fell to the floor, greedily gulping in air. You really never know what you have until its gone.

When I looked up, I stood and sighed at the mess that was my body…. And someone had apparently seen fit to divest me of my clothing. Ugh. Opening up my inventory, I quickly donned a kimono and shorts, just as the door opened and another familiar face walked in.

"You are awake…? Good. Aizen-sama is most patient, but it would do one well not to irritate him." The pink-haired man smiled. It looked wrong on his face, like Pennywise trying to appear friendly. I internally cringed. "Ah. This is… strange." He said, eyes landing on something behind me. "You have developed… a Shinigami Zanpakuto."

I blinked at him once before my eyes widened. I quickly turned to find it.

It sat on the floor of the vat almost innocuously, in a jet-black sheath with a single grey line running alongside the edge of it. I walked up to it without delay and picked it up, looking it over. The sword itself looked wieldy enough for someone my size, which was honestly quite logical, given that it came from me. The hilt of it was bottle-green and had a simple circular guard of metal. There was a sapphire cloth tied to the edge of the sheath. I gripped the weapon and pulled, causing a slight hiss of metal to sound out in the room. The blade itself shined silver – I could even see my reflection in it.

"Much like an Arrancar, in that aspect." Syazel-Apporo spoke, and I quickly sheathed the blade and turned to frown at him. "Fascinating, though, is the fact that you have somehow managed to retain a Shinigami aura as a human."

I arched an eyebrow. "I assumed you would be removing my spirit from my human body as soon as you could. Ah, I suppose the scientist part of you decided to wait and see what happens…"

He just looked at me. "You do not seem angry… as one would be in your situation."

I rolled my eyes. "Aizen just handed me the means to be properly functional in this world… and a potential nuke." I said, jerking my chin towards my sword, loosely but surely held in my left hand. "I can hardly fault the man. I would, however, like to speak with him."

"Aizen-sama is currently in Soul Society. He will see you when he arrives." The man replied, then cracked his knuckles. "In the meantime-"

"I will handle it from here." A man spoke from the doorway. Both of us shifted our eyes over to see who could very well be Aizen's second right-hand-man.

"Tousen." Syazel-Apporo narrowed his eyes. "I was just about to run some tests… to make sure he's in good health, of course."

"That will be unnecessary." The blind man answered. Honestly, those white eyes weren't even unnerving, given that I was friends with a Hyuuga. Speaking of which, I really need to learn to open a Senkaimon or Garganta, whatever is better. I wasn't in a hurry, though. I can work out the time-dilating effects of the portals to my favor. "I will be escorting him to his rooms." He continued, then 'looked' over to me. "You will follow." He spoke, curtly, then turned and walked away.

"Pleasure meeting you." I offered, politely. The scientist was clearly annoyed, but waved me off and went to look at some machinery next to the vat I was in. Hm, good thing I didn't hit that. I realized Tousen was already quite a few paces away, and quickly moved to keep up.

"Since you were granted the powers of a Shinigami, you will be training under me while Aizen-sama is away." He spoke, tone clipped. "That is, of course, unless you already know what it all comprises of…?"

"I am not proficient in the handling of Reiryoku." I answered politely. I could always appreciate a no-nonsense man. "My sword skills need no training to be perfect, but I have no knowledge of Kido, Bakudo, or any other Shinigami Art."

"You will need to be instructed in the basics, then. Aizen-sama has no use for a brittle blade." The blind man sighed. "You will also spend a daily amount of time sitting with Aizen-sama, describing whatever history you know of in great detail. He will know if you lie."

Interesting. That wasn't an ability I knew he had at all. The question is… how do I play this to my advantage? The first thing I should do is a test to see how accurate this lie-detection thing of his is. If it's not perfect, I can literally end every single major problem in this universe with his help. Juha-Bach is slumbering now if I'm not mistaken. Ginjo should be in Karakura town biding his time. These two are the main players I can think of.

"Acknowledged." I nodded. I had no choice but to bide my time until I was strong enough to break out of here on my own. If things fell into place along the way… well… who was I to deny that?

The days bled into each other at an alarming pace. It was strange that Las Noches was 'programmed' to have a day-night cycle, but eh. I didn't keep count of how long it had been anyway. I was certainly busy enough not to have noticed the passage of time – save for one day when I looked into the reflective surface of sand crystallized from the heat of one of my teacher's attacks and saw that I'd gotten taller, and looked a tad more gaunt. What would my mother have said had she seen me now…? And f I got back to the elemental Nations looking like this, what would my friends say?

Would Naruto even recognize me anymore…?

"Eyes on the battle, Gundan. Never let your attention be distracted from the most pressing matters."

I rolled my eyes as I ducked under her fast swing and charged up a [Cero] in my left hand, letting it hit point-blank range at my current sparring partner.

Sometime after I began my training under Tousen, the latest and last Espada joined the ranks, one Tia Harribel. Where Ulquiorra was the most level-headed if a little depressing, and Stark was… well… too much like a Nara to be hyperactive at all, Tia was as close as one could get to 'normal' around here.

"Brat! Focus on Harribel-sama before she wipes the floor with you!"

"Mila, please refrain from screaming in my ear."

Well, the personalities of her Fraccion were far from hers, but still, you had to take what you can get.

I backflipped and apparated, vanishing in a pop and appearing a few meters away. Quickly, I shot out a [Water-blast] from my hand and slipped into a bending stance, jabbing forwards with my sword. The water made an audible slicing sound as it lashed outward, threatening to cleave Tia into two were she not to dodge.

Of course, given that I hadn't, at all, improved my stats, this was child's play for her. She blurred out of the way in a bang of static and I felt the wind rustle as she sped towards and past my form. All was still for a moment before my hand fell from its shoulder, blood spurting out almost like a fountain.

"You are still as slow as you were when we first met." She spoke, flicking her blade to rid itself of blood, then sheathing it. "Your abilities are strange beyond compare."

I stumbled with the sudden loss of balance. No matter how many times my various limbs were dismembered, it was an odd sensation to learn to live with. "I told you. Unless I get more experience points, I won't be able to improve my baseline stats." I grunted, sheathing my own Zanpakuto. I quickly froze the blood to keep myself from constantly losing HP because of it. "If anything, your speed has only increased."

She turned back to me and tilted her head. "I took your advice to heart and did not stop consuming souls. I have only grown stronger as a result. Some of my fellow Espada also deemed it fit to accompany me on this endeavor."

I smirked as I straightened, "Well, it's only common sense. You just don't have to consume anyone from Aizen's army. The Hollows in the Forest of Menos are fair game, though. Of course, if I could actually go anywhere besides my rooms and this training chamber…"

"You are to stay within bounds until further notice." Tousen spoke from above them, standing nonchalantly on the 'air'. "Aizen-sama has not seen it fit to allow you free movement yet. However, perhaps in time…"

"Tousen-sensei, you and I both know there's no point in keeping me here while I can't open a Senkaimon or Garganta." I sighed. "Aizen must know that, too. Why can't I at least explore Las Noches?"

"He must know what he is doing." The blind man resolutely affirmed. He was just as devoted to the insane megalomaniac as I feared him to be.

I sighed, bending over to pick up my Zanpakuto with the arm I still had attached and sheathed it. "Well, then, I guess it's time." I muttered, then turned to regard him fully. "There is another way for me to become stronger."

"I am aware." Tousen nodded. "It is illogical that you would progress only by collecting 'experience' when the means for you to obtain it is so convoluted. What do you desire?"

"I need to visit certain… places." I shrugged. "The palaces of the individual Espada members, the throne room, the caverns of the Tres-Cifras Espada, even the main gate to Las Noches, if I'm allowed to."

"… And by visiting these places, you can grow stronger?" Tia asked, a hint of incredulity shining even in her monotone voice. Hm. Still not as unnerving as Ulquiorra.

I shrugged. "My powers are strange. Allow me to show you." I said, gesturing towards where I could see a collectible hovering a few meters away. This one was stylized after the substitute Shinigami badge, oddly enough. "Every unique location I visit offers me a chance to select from a choice of three bonuses. I can either choose to get experience, which moves me up on the overall scale, or stat points, which allows me to fine-tune in which areas I excel, or another random bonus which changes depending on the area which I collect. I can see one such [Location Collectible] barely a few meters away. Do I have permission?"

"Apacci." Tia commanded and said Fraccion appeared in the exact spot I gestured, looking around with narrowed eyes.

She sniffed, and her eyes shined for a moment before she turned and glared at me. "There's nothing here, brat."

"Allow me to correct you." I smiled, making my way forward without fear. If this was something I wasn't allowed to do, Tousen would stop me, but he didn't. So, I walked and gently nudged her out of the way, then tapped the collectible.

PING!

[You have discovered: Espada Training Fields! 1/20 Hueco Mundo locations discovered!

Please select one of the following –

5000 Exp

100 Perk Points.

30 Stat Points.]

Hm, sad. It seems like the offers here aren't all that different from back home. Does that mean only Trans-dimensional locations are absurdly powerful? Eh, not a big problem. I selected the stat points without much fanfare, then navigated over to my [Character Page] and assigned them.

[Character Page

Gundan – Level 38

Title: Outsider's Chosen

Next Level: 5000/18,000xp

HP - 620

QI - 620

RR - 620

CON - 52

STR - 52

AGL - 110

INT - 52

LCK - 110

WIS - 52]

Nodding, I closed the screen, preparing myself for the onset of new screens signaling the onus skills I got for raising certain stats beyond the 50-point level.

[Due to crossing the 50-point threshold for Constitution, you have gained a new skill!

Stonewall (Passive) Lv MAX (100%)

Your might is noteworthy, whether in battle or not. Now, you can no longer be interrupted by enemy attacks, and can simply not be knocked down.]

[Due to crossing the 50-point threshold for Strength, you have gained a new skill!

Might (Passive) Lv MAX (100%)

Your strength is commendable and holds out even in situations when it shouldn't. Enemy combatants can no longer resist being knocked back, regardless of how strong they are.]

[Due to crossing the 50-point threshold for Intelligence, you have gained a new skill!

Eagle-eye (Active) Lv MAX (100%)

With the comprehensive knowledge you have gathered, you are now able to deduce exactly where the critical points on your enemies are. Hitting these points will allow you to instantly score a critical hit .]

[Due to crossing the 50-point threshold for Wisdom, a skill has been updated!

Advanced Telepathy (Active) Lv 72 (54.21%)

Attuned to the living, your scrying skills now allow you to see into the mind of the person you are observing and manipulate it. By connecting with others on an emotional level, you are able to understand what they feel and why.

1 sec in target's mind is 0.005 sec in real life.

4 CP per second while looking into someone's mind .]

Okay, wow. The ones for [CON] and [STR] were useful, but still nowhere as rewarding as [Eagle-eye] or the empathy upgrade to my [Telepathy]. Maybe now when I scan someone, it will tell me what they're feeling and why… if their stats are open to me, of course. The level-barrier thing was super annoying.

Closing all the screens, I turned to them and made my way over in a single step in a way to prove my growth. "See?"

"That's impossible." Mila-Rose said, eyes narrowed.

"You are faster." Tousen spoke, seemingly confused. "Only by a small increment, but the change is visible to a trained eye." He tilted his head and considered, then nodded. "I will escort you to areas of note that I think may hold some of these… [Location Collectible]s. You will access them to raise your power – after all, Aizen-sama has commanded me to help you become strong in order to fight with us when the time is right."

I shrugged and followed the man. Inwardly, I grinned. The only thing stopping me from stealth-killing my way out of here was the fact that these people could easily squash me if they so much as punched me. However, with the raise to my abilities I had gained from training under Tousen and Tia, coupled with these stat points…

I may just have a chance.

After a few minutes of running around, I was deposited into what had come to be my own set of 'chambers'. It was a suite attached to Aizen's own rooms in Las Noches and was not noteworthy at all. It had a single large room with a couple of couches – the place where Aizen and I usually sat while I lied my ass off about the events to happen in the future to make him do my work for me – then a bedroom, an attached bathroom, and nothing else.

Currently, though, I was sitting and staring at my [Character Screen], grinning at the numbers I could see. After visiting each of the ten Espada palaces, the throne room, the network of tunnels where the Privaron Espada lived, and the holding cells and labs, I had a total of fourteen collectibles crossed off, leaving five more locations left. One of them was definitely going to be the entrance to the palace (where Tousen forbade me from visiting), and the rest… were going to be beyond? Maybe the Forest of Menos and… um… I didn't really read much beyond when Juuha Bach fused with the Soul King, so I'm not sure if there are any more iconic places to visit.

But anyway.

I currently had four hundred and twenty stat points sitting in my wallet. I faked a bout of weakness after I was sure the last collectible that I took really was going to be the last, at least for the foreseeable future, just so that I could sleep to regain my arm and then have some time to myself to think.

How strong were the Espada compared to me? How strong was Aizen?

Given that their levels were undoubtedly super far beyond mine, I couldn't exactly just scan them to guess. The only way was to allott my points and then see if I can fight someone. Hmm…

Anyway, the points. Keeping a stress on [AGL] and [LCK], I distributed them as I thought fit.

[Character Page

Gundan – Level 38

Title: Outsider's Chosen

Next Level: 5000/18,000xp

HP - 1420

QI - 1420

RR - 1420

CON - 132

STR - 132

AGL - 160

INT - 132

LCK - 160

WIS - 132]

Cool. Very cool. Maybe I was still underpowered compared to the rest of the guys here, but now at least I had a far better chance than before. Oh, wait, there are two skills I'm supposed to get from crossing- Ah, there they are.

[Due to crossing the 150-point threshold for Agility, a skill has been updated!

Stable Speed Force Connection (Active) Lv MAX (100%)

The Speed Force has firmed its connection with you, assured in its choice. It has opened the door to you fully, and you may now draw from it as well as any other speedster.

Increase speed by 100 times when active.]

[Due to crossing the 150-point threshold for Luck, you have gained a new skill!

Anomaly Finder (Passive) Lv MAX (100%)

Because of your fervent use of luck when it comes to finding items that, by nature, do not belong, you are now able to sense the nearest such item regardless of distance.]

Oh. My. God! Hell yes! I'm so pumped right now, it's not even funny! I'm as fast as Barry was in the beginning! Something tells me that if I keep investing in [AGL], I'll be far from disappointed.

I'm a little skeptical about [Anomaly Finder], though. I don't think I've ever actually searched for… hold on a minute. 'Items that do not belong'… was it talking about the collectibles themselves?! Do the skills I get from crossing thresholds are somehow relevant to what I do?! Well… that train of thought would make sense, but…

Ugh. Stupid powers. Stupid Dormammu. Just… ugh.

But… would using the skill in question direct me to the next [Location Collectible], or… is there something else here? Well, it couldn't hurt to try, right? But… it was a passive skill, which means it's always on. How do I-

Oh. Wait. What was that? It felt like a nagging thought, like knowing you'd forgotten something but not knowing what. I stood up and stretched, then slipped into the Speed-Force and made my way. The anomaly was… in the labs…?

I went into stealth the moment I was close by. Syazel-Apporo was always down here, I knew. Best not to let him see me. Sticking to the walls, I followed the odd sensation and quickly found myself in a small room. I mean, there wasn't anything special about it except for a vat in the center. But the anomaly, whatever it was, was in there, so I approached and tried to see-

Holy fuck.

Holy FUCK!

There, suspended in the liquid, was a very familiar face. Her body was, thankfully, still garbed in the clothes I'd seen her wear in the game, and there was a scar across her midsection that looked like a cauterized slash. But the rest of her was the same – red skin, white pigmentation around the face and some in lines on her arms and legs, hair-like montrails falling a little past her chest.

I splayed my hand against the glass. How? How did she come here? The last I knew of her, she fell into the Abyss, but… was that monster a link to here? Is that why the Empire was so hell-bent on torturing that creature in the Force Unleashed 2?

Shaak Ti's eyes opened the moment I touched the glass, and her gaze fixed itself on me.

PING!

[Main Quest Alert!

Outsourcing Troubles

You have found out that Aizen's source is none other than Jedi Master Shaak Ti, previously considered one of Galen Marek's victims. Rescue her from capture.

Objectives :

Rescue Shaak Ti

Reward :

50000xp]