It began in flames

Butchered meat stacked high

It ended in ash, a crimson dye

I wear the mantle of King

So the dead may sing

A song of celebration and damnation

A Predator Among Us

Pale Death I

The Hol(low)y War

A calm before the storm.

That's what it felt like, staring off into the endless black horizon. Friedrich Vern had been on duty looking into this pitch black world of the Varvhelt for as long as he could remember. Time passed oddly in a world devoid of the Sun, yet he counted the days when he could.

It's the only thing that kept him sane.

"Hey, Vern," He heard a familiar voice speak up, his white capped, black billed head turned to the source. A grey ponytailed man with a strong jawline and a trimmed mustache approached with his own hat held underarm, white gloves creasing at his flanks.

"Captain Sergei," Friedrich replied with a nod, looking back to the infinite void along the wasteland that comprised of it.

"I see you're hard at work," Sergei graveled out in a bemusing tone at the black skied vista. "Not that I think it's a pointless endeavor, keeping watch. Yet I can't help but feel this is a bit a trifle since none have stepped foot in here since we Quincy have nearly a thousand years ago."

"Nine hundred and ninety eight years, actually," Friedrich corrected, casting a glance at his superior office with a thin lipped dry expression. "We move out when it hits a millennium, after all."

"Right," He gruffly replied, turning his body to face the void with the lookout scout. Silence befell the two, the lack of wind or any kind of weather making it unsettling to anyone not accustomed to serving in the Varvhelt.

Even now, they felt an uneasy feeling that something is about to happen. Despite the vacancy of any threatening force making itself known, or announcing itself.

"You remember life before?" Friedrich finally asked, as if it brought up against his usual stoic demeanor.

"Yes," Sergei gravely affirmed.

"Do you wish you could have stayed behind, with the rest of our brethren?" He asked.

"No," He denied coolly. "Our place is here, to serve Lord Yhwach. On the rightful time we will match, and take back the world from the Shinigami. It's our duty."

"Why didn't everyone see it that way?"

"Because at the end of the day, it's our human instinct to make up our own choices in life," Sergei replied sagely, waving a gloved hand while eyeing his subordinate from the periphery of his smoky bluish eyes. "We may have a calling that we had responded to. But if any of us chose to live outside of the calling, Lord Yhwach merely takes what we were gifted back after death. So in the end, we all still benefit His plan."

"I see," Friedrich replied.

"Was there something you were trying to figure out, Vern?"

"Nothing," Friedrich closed his eyes with a sigh. "I got my answer."

"Probably should keep questions like that to yourself in the future, Sergeant," Sergei said, taking the cap from beneath his arm and placed it over his head; the emblem of the five star of the Wandenreich glinting over the center above the bill. "Don't want the Sternritter to mistake your curiosity for treason."

"Of course," He breathed out, casting his eyes back at the black skied expanse.

Then, a glimmer of light broke that darkness, there in the distance. A light that twinkled like a star, shimmering in the blackness. It's something one could miss, had they not been Friedrich Vern.

"I see something," The Sergeant said. "A mass of reishi, due southeast by two point two kilometers."

"Strange," Sergei said with narrowed eyes. "Have we recruited any outsiders as of late? I don't recall that being a current objective."

The glimmer of light moved, zigzagging towards them in a precise pattern. It appeared to be just a line of light that carved open the sky, funneling it further and further till it stopped just over their heads.

"What the Devil…?" Sergei spat out, his eyes seeing what Friedrich is. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Those lines, the pattern," Friedrich began to say, his normally calm visage breaking out a layer of cold sweat, black eyes shrinking as he saw the shape. "They look like teeth!"

GrrrrrrrrrRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOAN!

Tearing open over their heads, the two Quincy, standing amidst a perimeter wall barely a kilometer away from the Palace of the Sun, saw what everyone guarding outside witnessed. The sky split open under a grinding sound with a bellowing groan. Amidst that light, emerged shadowy wisps, dropping down to the ground in the dozens, then hundreds, and then thousands.

The last of which stopped just in front of Sergei and Friedrich, dropped into a crouch. Rising up as one, a ripple of white is seen, with bleached skulls for heads with hollow black holes for eyes.

"Hollows!" Friedrich cried out, a Heilig Bogen forming in a gesture of his right hand, his left bringing the string up to his cheek. Firing off a dozen pinpoint shots at the skull headed beings, he saw some of them fall back in fiery death while others deflected the blows with drawn katana.

Likewise, the other perimeter scouts all drew their Heilig Bogen, firing off arrows and withdrawing spirit weapons akin to lances and swords to fight back against the arriving Hollow invaders.

"Defend the Palace!" Friedrich yelled out, firing off his bow dozens of arrows, watching his foes advance even as he slew their identical comrades.

"Don't forget who's your superior!" Sergei crowed out, brandishing a cross-guarded saber in a flash of bluish light. His right eye formed a pentacle-over the eyeball, giving him a precise aim with his saber.

SHOOOOOOOOOOM!

And unleashed a massive surge of bluish reishi from his sword. Tearing through the Hollows, he swept around his elongated blade of light, watching them perform swift movement and acrobatics to evade his strike.

"These are Arrancar," Sergei spoke with recognition, dispelling his lance of light in time to parry an incoming skull-headed soldier up close. Sparks flew as his blade grinded against his opponent, hearing nothing but grated empty breathing behind the row of skinless teeth. "But it's going to take more than numbers to stop us!"

Stepping forward, he grasped the enemy's hand that held the katana. Twisting around, pulling him forward he slid his saber along the neck, beheading the Arrancar in a gruesome spray of blood.

"Something's wrong!" Friedrich said, firing off more arrows as the skull-headed soldiers formed lines upon lines of hand raised gestures. To his eyes he saw a wall of ghostly reiatsu spread, deflecting the arrows and creating a barrier across the landscape. "They're creating a barrier my Pfeil can't pierce!"

What came after that, surprised even Sergei. Hollows leaped up above the wall, generating bows of their own made of white bone mass akin to spines; discharging a slew of hardened spikes that whistled through the air and pierced vital spots of various Quincy, cutting nearly half in the first volley.

"It's as if they're mocking us!" Sergei snarled out, sweeping his sword around, shooting out more expansions of reishi the carved through the archers that fired upon his forces.

Amidst their pitched combat, the boom of a Sonído is heard between them. Friedrich looked over slowly, seeing a similar uniformed Arrancar, yet easily taller and had the skull of a bull for a head. Hand had sword already in his grip, his voice piercing the pair's courage like a cold knife.

"So you're the leader of the perimeter guard," He said, his head turning to see Sergei's pentacle eye staring wide at him. "May I have your name before you die?"

Sergei replied with a furrowed brow, scowling at the Arrancar general, "Sergei Vanderbilt, Captain of the Perimeter Guard."

"I am Rudborrn Chelute, General of the Royal Army," He responded back, his body emitting an immense reiatsu that shook the two Quincy standing on either side of him. "Prepare to meet your end."

Sergei whirled his blade around, clashing against Rudbornn's, the two creating an immense shockwave that blew back the surrounding desert environment. Friedrich dashes out of the smoke, his bow notched, trying to aim at the blurring figures of the two fighting in the air. His brow sweat, eyes squinted, unable to pick out his target during the rapid maneuvers either made to each other.

Sergei's saber fired off his Blumen Licht, lighting up the sky akin to lightning at his foe. Rudborrn in return, unleashed a calvacade of Bala, dark purple spheres launched from sword swings that arced in those shapes as well. The Quincy reflected them with dexterous sword play, demonstrating skilled ability to Friedreich's eyes.

During the deflection, the Quincy Captain failed to detect another Sonído arriving Rudborrn, slashing across his back in a scrape of sparks and blood. Twisting around, Sergei cracked his sword across Rudbornn's, driving him across the sky before driving him down into the ground with a pummeling blast of luminous reishi.

Panting heavily, he turned to look at the formed ranks of the army. His heart sank, seeing the numbers rose up since he last saw them. What had been several thousand now looked to be ten thousand, all forming a sea of white over the black skied horizon.

The boom of a Sonído sent his heart up to his throat, his pentacle eye looking over his shoulder to see Rudbornn's unharmed person.

"I think I understand," Rudborrn said, dusting himself off casually, his blade angling up for emphasis at the Quincy's back. "Instead of hardened skin like we Arrancar do with reiatsu, you form a shield beneath the flesh with blood vessels coursing with reishi. You do so for both protection and offense. Quite the formidable ability, for a human to possess."

"You were able to deduce that after a single glance?" Sergei asked, facing his foe with a turn in the air.

"I have centuries of experience and time to study various forms of combat Shinigami have used. Your human techniques are quite adept, but nothing I can't understand," He boasted, his sword turned away as he took a left step forward. "The bright blue veins did clue me in, after I was sure I cut through your back."

Grimacing, Sergei realized how eloquent and well spoken the Arrancar is belied his age and power. If someone like this is able to lead an army able to counter even the Perimeter Guards, then the rest of the Wandenreich may be in trouble.

"As much I am enjoying this battle, I must end it here," Rudborrn said, his blade brimming with a dark purpe fire over it. "I am on a schedule after all."

The sudden sounds of screams cut through the air like daggers to his skin. Sergei looked down, horrified to see the perimeter breached by several hundred Arrancar. Cutting them down through sheer ruthless precision, even escape proved impossible.

Proven as Friedrich rushed towards the palace with bow pointed back at his foes, only to be cut down from above; screaming in pain before silenced by a dozen more thrusts and slashes over his body.

The distraction was enough for Rudborrn to close the distance. Stepping back, Sergei tried slashing down at a rising stroke of the bull-headed Arrancar's katana.

SHINK-splrt!

A precise stroke of metal cut through his saber, it fell in half along with his left arm, part of his upper body and right shoulder. Spewing out blood from his throat, he fell to the ground, landing amidst his dying subordinates with a horrific expression of fear. He reached out, sparking blue reishi forming as he began seeing Hollows opening their skeletal teeth open; revealing shadowy inner-teeth that stretched out and lanced into the bodies of his dying and deceased comrades.

Memories flashed before his eyes, seeing the same faces training beside him, falling in line and bowing in the presence of their majesty. The Sternritter's mere gait inspiring as much as driving fear. And the last moments of seeing the outside world.

I wish I could have seen the Sun over my homeland…one last time…

Gritting his teeth, he began to howl out, just as four skull headed Arrancar dove down to stab him.

VMMMMMMMMMMMM!

A flourishing twister of bluish-white fire erupted from his body, consuming the Hollows and erecting a beacon for those standing by the palace's proximity.

A woman of bright blonde hair in a crew cut widened her eyes, recognizing this Reiatsu. In the gale that came from it, she gritted her teeth, and turned on her heels, rushing inside into the spacious chromatic halls of the Sun Palace. Hitting a red button with a smash over the glass, a loud whirring sound flaxons echoing.

Quincy all across the vast palace rushed to battlements. Grabbing their equipment, outfitting their uniforms, wrapping masks over their faces, sprinting to the battleground. The number of troops rose up in squadrons, soon forming entire divisions.

And behind them came several cloaked figures, with five pointed star marks over their backs.

As this happened, Rudborrn had moved his forces forward, disposing of the last Quincy remains.

"Phase One of the invasion is complete," Rudborrn Chelute said, his double timbre echoed as he spoke into a white cross shaped device held by his black gloved hand. "Ready to start the second phase."

Placing the device on the foot of the spot where the burning pyre that came from Sergei had fallen, the light overhead streaked a pillar of luminous white into it. Erasing the nearby bluish fire, came a substantial reiatsu that billowed out into a howling wind that rocked the face of the palace and kicked up wind and dust around the thousands of Calavera.

Coming from the pyre of snow hued reishi came Lilia Starrk, stepping out of the light and at the foot of the outpost stationed near a large pale palace.

"This place seems familiar," Lilia mused, paying no mind to the carnage wrought by the Calavera. Turning to face Rudborrn, she saw him bow his head to her. "Feels like a token guard for us to happen upon, doesn't it?"

"It may be as we thought, that we weren't expected," He proffered, rising back up to full height. "That may not last long, though, as they may counterattack as soon as they sense our reiatsu."

"Then we should get a move on," Lilia said, her red eyes peering at the front of the palace in the distance.

A number of white clad soldiers were emerging from place, most wearing what appeared to be blue lens gas masks. Swords in hand, they swiftly rushed at them, with a number of similarly uniformed men armed with glowing bows of reishi began to fire hundreds of arrows their way.

The Calavera rushed swiftly to meet the Soldat, blade meeting blade, flesh being torn open and uniforms shredded by blade and arrow alike. A cacophony of screams and explosions filled the scenery as pitched combat had ensued before Rudborrn and Lilia's sight.

The Primera wondered how many Quincy were available for such fevered combat. Were their numbers limited, or could they afford so much bloodshed to begin with?

"I sense substantial reiatsu heading out in another direction," Rudborrn said, his bull-head turning to to left. "It appears there's another entrance Northwest of us."

"Must be a backdoor," Lilia said, turning away from the scene of battle to head that direction. "I'll go scope it out. Let the others know I'll be over there."

"Understood, Primera," Rudborrn replied respectfully.

Disappearing in a bout of Sonído, Rudborrn had been left alone, to oversee his massive army. Even now as the Quincy fought fiercely, cutting down Calavera with sabers, firing arrows into their shoulder to shoulder ranks without error, the bodies were crumpled over by a stampede of white. The Soldat's initial fearless momentum is undone by a veritable tidal wave of skulled men with blades in hand.

And as they curled over each other in a shadowy rise of bodies, they outstretched hands and swords, forming a line of Cero, revving up a purple overcast that showed eyes widen with fear past their stoic masks.

Cero that are pierced by a hail of sword shaped Heilig Pfeil.

SHEEOOOOOW!

Detonating in a massive blast that flowed back into the ranks of the charging thousands, wiping out the first several hundred in an instant.

"My my, here I had been wistfully thinking about how low on entertainment we have in this dreary world," A voice cut through, inspiring the troops as much as frightening them. Walking ahead of them with a cloak wrapped around his eight brass buttoned jacket, one white glove held his sword up with a line of orbs of reishi on either side of the blade's flat. The other hand took time to adjust his red lense gold trim spectacles, smiling over at the enormous battalions of Arrancar that had halted their advance upon receiving a large amount of casualties.

"But it seems entertainment came to me, so I may prove how correct his majesty is in choosing I to be in charge of the future Hueco Mundo Expedition Forces," He proclaimed with a swing of both arms.

"It's Commander Kirge Opie!" One of the Quincy regulars said with excitement.

"You guys are so screwed now!" Said another regular.

Rudborrn narrowed unseen eyes, tilting his head forward a bit. He could tell this is one of their elites, yet he detected no reiatsu from him. Perhaps this Quincy didn't use the same techniques as the others?

"Now then, men," The Commander uttered, a smile thinned across his face, his cap shading his eyes menacingly forward. "Route them."

Reinvigorated, the Quincy launched a renewed salvo of Heilig Pfeil. Even the Soldat abandoned their melee, kneeling down and unveiled crossbows of pentacle tops, firing with automatic discharge while the traditional archers fired rapidly over their shoulders.

The intense focused volley took down the first line of Arrancars, then the second and pressured the third. By the fourth they formed another reiatsu wall, the barrier soaking up the damage. Other Calavera aimed bows over the shield makers, unleashing a torrent of counterforce.

This time, they were all shot down before even making it halfway.

"They're adapting to the earlier strategy, I see," Rudborrn deduced, watching what appeared to be a stalemate forming for the moment.

As the Arrancar formations marched forward, deflecting and firing at the Quincies, more lines broke off from behind to arc around to flank them. This proved difficult as mounted weapons stuck out of windows, firing Gatling bursts of reishi at the thin line of Arrancars trying to pincer the main front of troops.

They then turned their weapons against the large block of Calavera, firing streams of destructive energy into their midst.

"However…"

Performing Sonído, a number of Calavera appeared in front of the mounted weapons to soak the damage. Not only that, but they fired Cero into the windows, carving gouts of incendiary destruction that eliminates their own strategical placement.

"...my Calavera are more adaptable than your mere human strategies could ever hope to be!" Rudborrn boasted, watching his troops dive down to attack the straight line of Quincy Soldat and regulars.

Turning to fire at them, the line of Quincy faced all sides, even forming a wedge formation to continuously fire Heilig Pfeil without breaking the fire rate. This however did nothing for the advancing Calavera, whose slow but steady momentum inched them closer and closer to the Palace entrance.

Coming within several dozen meters, where the ferocity of firepower came more frequently to either side, the bodies dropping from lethal impacts. There is no Hierro or their blood technique that could soften close range fire of either side.

Yet, that's what the Quincy Commander counted on.

A line of regulars broke formation behind the Soldats, their own Heilig Bogen traded out from mere crossbows for what looked like long tubes with spouts on the end that connected to tanks that has light blue liquid sloshing in it. With a click of a trigger, Rudbornn's eyes widened at bright flares of blue shining out.

Fwooooooosh!

The Calavera screamed, fiery reishi tearing through their ranks like a hot knife to butter, the pyro weapons the Soldats used effectively destroying the front swathe of Arrancar in front of them. Walking forward while being given covering fire from behind, the troops marched ahead as Hollows dropped to the ground in charred remains, if not dissolving straight into ash.

"You're quite more intelligent than I pegged you for, Arrancar," Kirge began to say, his voice muffled by the flames and sounds of battle, his eyes reflecting the luminous glow of azure that his troops cast ahead into their enemies. "But we've evolved into being a much more formidable army than we have been a thousand years ago. Your primitive methods of numbers and flanking has no relevance in the face of superior technology and firepower."

Thousands of Arrancar are slaughtered by the renewed push the Quincy Soldat and regulars had against the mass produced army of Rudborrn's. Marching over the dead of either side, the Wandenreich redoubled their fervor even while being hit by stray Cero, Bala or the organic arrows they unleashed. Wordless shouts echoed their ranks as they continued their march of death towards Rudbornn's proximity.

Holding his post, the soldiers of his own creation didn't feel fear or hesitation. An extension of his own will, they were as strong as he imagined them to be, both mind and spirit.

With the flames about to reach his vicinity, he finally spoke in a whisper.

"Extencias, Campo del Empalado."

SHIIIIIIIIIIINK!

An instant. That's all it took for purplish ascension of reishi spikes to impale an entire marching line of Quincy soldiers. Blood showered like rain, some falling upon the rank and file of Calavera, next to Rudborrn, who himself remains unblemished by the red thanks to an oval projection of his own reiatsu.

Kirge narrowed his eyes at the thousand plus dead men under his command. Seeing their brutalized corpses brought measure of silence from him.

With a single slash, he cut down the row of spikes like glass, sending the corpses to fall in a row of sickening thuds. Performing Hirenkyaku, he walked up and over the space of the dead, his sword lighting them aflame as he passed them by.

"All rejoice, all give thanks, all give praise for fighting and dying in his majesty's name," He uttered out, a smile curling around his face while a blue light shadowed over his person, azure fire licking at his heels and back while moving forward. "I must give you my respect, Arrancar, for overcoming my men without a shred of hesitation. For a strong man make sacrifices to survive, and a truly great one to know whom you shall sacrifice to achieve victory."

"Every battle has a cost, Commander," Rudborrn said, his empty eyes emitting a white glow as he spoke aloud. "You'll find that your cost will end your life at my hands."

"Doubtful, but I shall welcome it," Kirge said, raising his blade to divide his features, a field aflame lapping behind him, giving the Palace of the Sun an ethereal glow. "For to be absent from the body is to be present with my Lord!"

Leaping forth, both figures clashed, a mighty exhale of reiatsu ebbing off one another with fabric of either uniform whipping out as the ground blasted away. As the Calavera were beset by this power of the Quincies, for the moment, they waited to douse it while their leader engaged with Kirge alone.

For now, the Quincies have stalled the advance of the Royal Army.

Lilia Starrk approached the gateway she senses the signatures coming from. On the other side of the massive structure is a singular column erect out of the barren earth. At first it seemed to serve no purpose, yet as a door slid open, one could see three hooded figures with silver five stars emblazoned on their backs.

"Ahhhhhh, fresh air," The first of the group said, red hair lapsing over her eyes and standing forth as the shortest of the group. Smiling, she seemed to look up at the black expanse, sighing aloud whimsically. "It feels so nice out right now."

The second quietly followed out, shorter yet stoic in their march outward. Shadows covering their face, apart from an average build, virtually nothing is seen about them.

And the third, is the strangest of them all.

"I detect a very high spirit mass nearby," Came a robotic pitch, stagnant of emotion yet male in cadence. Its head appeared to swivel around, shaped to look like vertical strips of metal over a singular orb of light faintly glowing beneath the arch of its medieval helmet skull. Covered in a pure white cloak, its grey tinted exterior for the helm gave nothing away other than it is large and intimidating.

"So you three guys are the elite, huh?" Lilia asked pointedly, her eyes glancing to each of them with a cool sense of composure.

"We're the Sternritter, His Majesty's strongest soldiers," The robotic figure spoke, an ominous whirring sound rustling his coat with reishi being gathered. "I am BG-9, blessed with His Majesty's Schrift K."

Ka-Chink, Whirrrrrrrerrr!

After this declaration came a sudden large weapon protruding from it's covered confines to the right. With a series of gray metal barrels compounded together, a modern mini-gun spun around at high speeds with blue light shining from the tips of the barrels. Seeing the flash of a pentacle along the base as it took aim, a sudden funnel of death is fired at her.

She shimmered away, like a mirage before their gaze. Appearing behind the tree, a hand slammed into the side of its helmeted head, throttling it away through the entrance and out the other side to the face of the palace with a loud thuum!

The middle figure lashed out with iron tiger claws, parried by a Hierro enforced hand. The hood unraveled to show a squinted, lightly scarred faced Quincy with short black hair with the brows cut to a slight V to his forehead. Lilia palm-thrusted his chest, a sound of a gong heard with the Quincy's eyes wide as he's throttled into the red haired woman to her back.

Vrrrrr-Vooom!

And is immediately throttled away in a flash of bluish light, bounding into a distant hillside of the desolate land surrounding them.

"Oooooh, so we're fighting now?" She asked, turning to look at Lilia's charging hand. Green eyes turned red, hair flickered white and Lilia Starrk found herself thrown back at twice the momentum she used to strike the Quincy. Forcing her heels into the ground to skid herself to a stop, she looked up, seeing a look of surprise on the now hoodless, messy red haired woman.

"That's strange," She said, pointing at the Eapada with slow blinks of perplexity. "You were supposed to be sent flying farther."

"You're an odd one," Lilia responded, ignoring her statement. "You have an interesting power. You sent your comrade flying away, and me. Do you have a barrier around you?"

"Oh, right. I didn't introduce myself," She giggled, bowing her head and smiling thinly with squinting closed eyes. "My name is Veronica Bellevair, Sternritter V, the Vector. The power I've been given can change the vector of any incoming force sent my way. Pretty neat, huh?"

"You're going to be a difficult one to fight, aren't you?" Lilia asked with a furrowed brow.

"Haha, probably!" She laughed.

The Primera noticed the other two Sternritter we're getting back up. Over her shoulder she saw BG-9 pry itself from the distant Palace wall and land on its feet, his faceplate dented in the shape of Lilia's fist. Meanwhile the iron-skinned Quincy swift moved back in a flicker next to Veronica, dusted up yet not incapacitated.

"Correction," It said, looming over Lilia. "Your chances of victory has decreased by a factor of fifty percent."

Lilia exhaled, leaning to the right, stretching her left leg and repeating it to the other side.

"Okay," She said, rising back up to her full height, fingers closing into tight fists. "Let's try this again."

The iron skinned warrior found himself unable to see the Primera. A painful rap of the knuckles struck him down to the ground, releasing a massive shockwave that decimated area around themselves. Veronica leaped back, her body deflecting the damage while BG-9 flew up in a twirl. Producing the gun, it began to fire a rapid ratatatatata in pursuit of the shape of Lilia's body. After a dozen pierced her, sending it tumbling forward, did BG-9 realize it's been fooled.

"Reishi emisssKRRRRRK!" It said, followed by a raking of black claws formed from Lilia's right hand, tearing its head clean off in a burst of sparks and oil. Watching its body fall limply to the ground, the Primera punched a Bala straight at Veronica.

"I just told you," She said, her hair and eyes flashing in color as she deflected it. "I can't get hit!"

In reflecting the explosive sphere, did the Sternritter fail to sense Starrk slipping behind; giving an opening to pierce her modified Blut Vene, and bypass her Schrift all together. Seeing her chest opened up with a hand piercing out her body, she puked red bile, and laughed weakly to herself.

"That's…so cool," She murmured, eyes rolling back and falling forth in a meaty crunch.

"Sorry," Lilia apologized, turning back to the debris covered entrance, kicking the obstruction away to descend into the Palace of the Sun. "But I can't afford to lose here."

Something has changed.

Ever since Yhwach, the Father of Quincy, had laid to rest as he had for many centuries did he feel something amiss. His goal of overtaking Soul Society, eliminating the Gotei and casting out the Royal Guard so he may take the throne of God away from this corrupt cycle of death, is nearly realized.

Yet, he had a dream.

A pale white storm, cracking down over a black sky, the bodies of his children strewn about, and a burning white cross held over himself. Every face he recognized distinctly, and each one bore their own look of the demise awaiting them.

Stabbing him through the chest, a torrent of light and fire causing him to scream. In retaliation he threw an arm out, swathed in shadow to grasp a neck, feminine and delicate, aiming to break it in a ruthless grip.

The scene is shattered like glass, an ominous jewel whirling within the dark, thrumming like a heartbeat in the void. And within that darkness, eyes opened up and stared at him.

"Your Majesty…"

Yhwach awoke, his eyes wide and his face paled. Sweat crawled down his face, the dark orbs glimmered in the dim blue fire illuminating the darkness surrounding himself. He couldn't remember why he settled here instead of the bedchamber, yet he found himself often drawn to this seat and slumbering when all his work for that day is done.

Yet, by the feel of things, something just happened.

"Report," He said to the figure standing near his right side.

"An army of Arrancar invaded the Varvhelt," The blonde man said, coolly saying without fear or hesitation. "It's as we dreamed. The future is changing."

"And the day of prophecy is still years away," Yhwach intoned lowly, almost hushed, like a whisper. Leaning up and forward he interlocked his hands together, forearms resting at an angle over his knees; and then smiled.

"How unfortunate for us," He said with glee.

"Several Sternritter and a division of our Soldats have engaged them in combat. Do you wish Kirge to seal their way in?"

"No," He uttered, his right eye glancing Haschwalth's direction, the crimson orb locking onto the blonde's blue irises. "Let them come in. I want them to taste victory before it becomes soured with bitter defeat."

"As you wish, your Majesty," He bowed his head, turning away in a whip of his hair and cape to relay the message.

In the dimly lit dark, Yhwach laughed.

A/N: I know this is a direction some of you have been wondering if I'd ever go down. Had I been writing this a few years ago, I might have skipped this but entirely. However, because of how integral the Wandenreich are to a huge amount of the cast and world of BLEACH, chances are I'd be doing my own storyline a disservice by just cutting them out.

If some Sternritter die prematurely and they were your favorite, not all of it is slander to them. There is just so many people within the ranks of the Wandenreich that to get through this, I can't do what I did in the beginning of the story and pad it out. If a reasonably powerful individual (ie, Primera Starrk) comes across them, they're likely going to die or be crippled for life. The benefit of the Blood War Arc is that because there was several acts to the story, Kubo could afford making some of the Quincies recurring, even if they weren't hugely integral to the story.

As for Ichigo and Co? I have plans, but I'm still working out when would be the best point for reintroduction. So until then, they're in the background and will be brought back, just at a time when I think is right. For the immediate future, enjoy the Royal Espada fighting the Wandenreich!

Also, for anyone wondering, Veronica Bellevair is a A Certain Scientific Railgun reference; and a creation of Gremmy.