In the hour of victory
I come back to tell
Of your foolish choice
To take all that I love away from me
I'll make you see
The horror I wish to enact upon thee
Aaroniero Arrurerie reclined on her throne with a sigh. After a well acted attack upon her unsuspecting enemy, the Quincy have been vanquished. All those who survived fell in line, not an ounce of rebellion dwelled inside of them
Why would they? She killed their King, destroyed the symbols of immortality in the Schutstaffel, and got their prince to ally with her. Even one of those would take away the fighting spirit of even the staunchest of armies.
Yet, she remembers the Gotei 13 and how they kept fighting even while losing valued men and women left and right. Their Captain Commander is a part of her being, their source of courage in Ichigo Kurosaki broken, and their heart in Orihime Inoue is dead.
When she devoured the Reio, she saw them return. A mighty force to combat the armies she's assembled. They fought, bled and died, one after the other.
She saw an inevitable victory. Triumph over all her foes.
But why didn't I see farther than that?
This thought troubled her in the quiet room she sat within. Beautiful marble floors with a mural of twinkling stars over her head in a vast vaulted ceiling with walls of translucent purple glass that pulsed with energy. Her own throne is a mixture of these elements, with a purple crystal base white armrests and backrest with a white carved Sun just where her head rested.
Even in this empty glowing room she wonders why she doesn't use the Almighty now? Is she afraid of what she might see?
Grimacing to herself, she closed her eyes.
I have no reason to be afraid, she thought with determination.
When she opened her white cross eyes, a pupil opened in the center of each with three interlocked rings of amethyst irises. An endless loop of cosmic precognition, the Almighty of hers awakens for the first time since she achieved Godhood.
"I see you've done well for yourself, Aaroniero."
Aaroniero is no longer seated.
She is standing in the midst of a melted slag of white with shards of glass surrounding her. There are the remains of her Reijin - golems manufactured from her reiatsu combined with shards of the Palace itself - piled along the bodies of disfigured corpses beside her, an all too familiar figure stood with sword in hand just ahead of her.
"Jealous, Aizen?" She heard herself say with a mocking grin.
"Proud," Sōsuke said, calmly confident as he gestures with emphasis. "To show me what I could have achieved with the Hōgyoku fills me with pride in my work. It is unfortunate I cannot reclaim what is mine; and by relying on its power you've built yourself up for failure."
"How is that, pray tell?" She asked.
"You're going to lose it all."
A beam of light pierces Aizen's chest. He looked stunned, obviously taken off guard. But by who?
In the midst of her revelry she turned. A shadow descended upon her. Wrapped in black, eyes gold with fury split between a set of four pupils half seen between the fifth main one.
"Yhwach-?"
She choked out, only to feel a searing wave of pain that drove through her body. Coughing up blood, she raised her left hand in retaliation.
A flash of light and she feels herself recoil in terror. Shards of a pearlescent jewel shatters, her palm tearing open in an explosion of blood and reiatsu.
And then, a blade thrusts into her chest.
Aaroniero gasped for air, hands clenching into arms of the chair as she shook in her seat. Cold sweat swept her brow, eyes wavering in place.
"What did I just see?" She asked herself.
"You know what you saw."
Aaroniero turned in her seat. Standing there, draped in black, is Rukia Kuchiki.
"No," Aaroniero hissed with anger, crushing the arms of the chair into powder. "I went through with this! I evolved past this! Why are you still in my head?!"
"Our head you mean?" Rukia spoke back, her image smiling as she chided the transcended being. "Possessing me isn't the same as eating me, Aaroniero. I linger on even in physical death. When you spoke to the Arrancars and Shinigami inside of you, before the Hōgyoku fully merged with you, you must have known what that was…"
Grinding her teeth, Aaroniero looked around the room to see if anyone lingered. Even with her adept senses she dare not use the Almighty for something as trivial as to see if anyone is eavesdropping.
Standing up from her throne. Walking up to the image of Rukia, the facsimile body crossed her arms and arched a brow.
"What do you know of I…" She stopped, biting her lip before angrily gesturing to her now sealed eyes, "we saw?!"
"You saw Aizen and then someone else you believe is Yhwach, striking you down and then stabbing you to death as the Hōgyoku is destroyed," Rukia said matter of factly, smirking at Aaroniero's bewildered expression. "I just told you, freeloader. This is my body."
"It hasn't been your body for awhile," The Reio countered to the apparition with a sneer. "Remember, I had to escape death a number of times. Your old body is dead."
"The reiryoku is what makes a soul live on, not the body," She persisted, violet eyes narrowing at cross shape eyes. "You're smarter than this. You know all too well the shape of a soul and what it means to devour and channel it."
"Enough!" Aaroniero shouted, reaching out to grasp the apparition - only for it to pass through as if nothing was there at all.
Still, the Reio glowered down at the manifesting visage of Rukia and felt a seething anger.
"Did you have a purpose to annoy me now?" She asks, gesturing to the facsimile. "Or are you actually going to help me with my problem?"
"If I had control I'd simply gut myself and let us bleed out," Rukia said with a snarl, unfolding her arms as she visibly trembled in place. "All the lives you devoured, the friends you killed. I wish for a special place in Hell for what you've done!"
"And?" Aaroniero inquired with an arched brow. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"
"Tch!" She clicked her teeth, her eyes looking away. "You're a god, Aaroniero. Figure this out yourself. You didn't get this far by cowering like a child just because you saw a vision."
"Of course you'd be the least helpful," Aaroniero hissed, throwing up a hand to swing angrily at Rukia. "Now LEAVE!"
"I…just got here," A voice said with uncertainty behind the Reio.
Twisting her head away, she saw a familiar face. One she hasn't seen since the declaration of war she made against the Quincy along with ending their conflict just the prior day.
Gin Ichimaru.
Still draped in a white coat over a white shihakushou, Gin's eyes had shifted into one of confusion. He didn't look afraid, at least from what she could tell.
How much did he see?
How much did he hear?
"Forget what you saw, or heard, Gin," Aaroniero said with a cool tone. "Just tell me why you've come."
"Sure," Gin spoke, clearing his throat before continuing. "I scouted the Living World like you asked. It seems the Gotei have left Karakura Town and moved to the Soul Society."
Now this is the distraction she needed.
"Did you get a chance to see what the status of their forces are?"
"Most of the Gotei are alive," Gin said, narrowing his eyes with a thin smile. "In fact, it seems almost everyone who died in Karakura Town was restored to life."
Crack!
The floor beneath the Reio split in an instant. Despite maintaining a still facade, Aaroniero's eyes glared at Gin with a curl of the lips.
"Orihime…!" She hissed to herself.
"That's not all," Gin said, now looking a bit more guarded. "Captain Aizen is also alive."
Closing her eyes, she inhaled through her nostrils. Her vision did inform her that is going to happen. It also foretold his death just moments before her own untimely demise.
Exhaling with a sigh, Aaroniero reopened her eyes, asking, "I am to assume they have a joint force of a considerable size."
"Quite," Gin said with a smirk. "But I don't see them winning against us."
Aaroniero grew quiet.
Her gaze drew away from Gin, as if lost in thought. The silver haired Shinigami tilted his head, asking, "Aaroniero?"
"We'll put a hold on this talk, Gin," Aaroniero said, almost whispering.
In a flicker of light, Aaroniero vanished. The Shinigami is left befuddled, unsure what to make of what just happened.
Or why Aaroniero didn't seem so sure of an absolute victory against their remaining foes.
A Predator Among Us
Chapter 40
Cracks in the Mirror
"This is bullshit!" Candice Catnipp shouted out from her place in a large barracks. A large number of Quincies were gathered here in one of the cities of the adjacent Reiokyu. In their own division of Soldat, a few Sternritter were currently in what counted as a mess hall for the moment.
When she lost her temper, all turned to look at one of the most volatile members who was barely restrained by an outstretched hand from Bambietta.
"You're barely back on your feet and you're throwing a fit," Liltotto dryly snarked, in between eating an ice cream bar. "Don't fly off the handle or you're going to wish we let gigi turn you into a zombie."
"I think she'd make a great zombie."
"Of course you'd say that," Liltotto sighed with an eyeroll, with Giselle crossing her eyes and sticking her tongue out at her.
"How is it that His Majesty isn't in our hands?!" Candice hissed, turning her eyes to Bambietta's cold glare poised at her. "It isn't right, Bambi! He's our King!"
"Was," Bambietta sneered at Candice. "He lost. Haschwalth is King now. End of story."
"While being a lapdog to the Reio-!"
BOOM!
An explosion throws Candice across the room into the far wall with a violent crash. Steam and smoke wafted off a singed, emerald haired woman, her eyes sparking angrily at Bambietta's smoking palm.
The nearby seated Quincy stood up, gasps, murmurs and shouts roused by the chaos. The Bambis themselves leaped out of the way, tables and chairs scattered across the vast white, blue trimmed flooring as they gained distance from the conflict.
"You wanna die, Bambi?!" Candice snarled out.
"You're the one who has been the closest," The Bambis' Leader said coolly, another orb of reishi whirring to life in her palm. "Why don't I finish what was started?"
KRAK-KOOM!
Candice bolted forward in a flash followed by the clap of thunder. The lightning found its mark in a fist planting into Bambi's face; just as an explosive orb fired into Candice's chest.
An explosion happened simultaneously, a fiery ball of crimson-blue causing Bambietta and Candice to be thrown across the barracks in different directions. They narrowly missed hapless fleeing foot soldiers, trying to avoid being caught up in the crossfire.
"You really do have to be the most difficult one to work with, Candice," Bambi sneered as she pried herself from the wall.
Candice snarled out, throwing a bolt of lightning at Bambietta.
Stepping to the side, the Arc of electric reishi pierced the barracks, slicing and burning hapless Quincies just beyond the wall.
"Do you want to die so badly, Candi?" Bambietta asked incredulously.
"What did you just call me?" Candice hissed out with wide angry eyes.
"Still mad about a nickname like that?" Bambi grinned cheekily at the green haired girl. "You're not even worth the energy to discipline. If you keep this up, I'll blow you to bits, Candi."
In an instant, Candice roared out with fury. A turbulent roar of reiatsu shot up from herself past the barracks into the sky. Even as she did, Bambietta primed up an orb of explosive reishi in an upraised palm.
"Are we seriously doing this?" Liltotto asked, her face sullen and bored at the flashy display between both Sternritter. "Killing each other changes nothing."
"You know," Giselle began to say, placing a finger up to her chin. "I have been able to stockpile some more zombies to use for later. If either of them die, that's still a win in my book."
Liltotto just stared at Giselle with narrowed eyes.
"You're messed up, Gigi."
"Hee!~" Giselle replied with a tongue sticking out while crossing her eyes.
A blip happens, the Sternritter T flashes across the room, and Bambietta's hand thrust out towards her-
Pop!
Candice stops still as an orb of deep purple reishi manifests between her and Bambietta.
"Now now, what's all the fuss here?"
All the female Sternritter turn to see an all-too-familiar Quincy. Slick back black hair with a bang hanging out from the left brow, a tall lanky man wearing a six edged pentacle embroidered cloak.
"You're making quite the scene, you girls," Askin Nak Levarr said with a smirk. "You trying to kill each other? Or do you have something going on?"
"Stay out of this, Askin!" Candice snarled out, still crackling with intense voltage.
"Can't do that, much as I'd like to," Askin said with a shrug. "The King promoted me. I'm now the Sternritter Commander."
"He did what?!" Candice shrieked.
"Ohhhh, you got promoted!" Giselle clapped her hands together. "Does this mean I get a promotion?"
"Don't be dense, Gigi," Liltotto dryly rebuked as she pulled out a lollipop to suck on it. "He's here to keep the peace, not doll out promotions."
"Well, that's not up to me," Askin graveled out, scratching the back of his neck. "Apparently the Reio wants me to get each of the Sternritter together. There's going to be a ceremony. One that involves the promotion of a new line of Sternritters to replace our fallen comrades. There might be some rewards to those who fought hard in our scuffle with Her Grace. Who knows?"
"Rewards, huh?" Candice asked.
"I said maybe," Askin replied coolly. "But dim the lights and we can see about working that out."
Candice stewed this over in thought. Her gaze softened, her muscles relaxing as her aura slowly got dimmer and dimmer. Sighing out, Candice fixes one last glare at Bambietta before turning on her heel towards Askin.
"Alright," Askin nods, snapping his finger to dissolve the Gift Ball harmlessly. "Get to the White Palace courtyard. That's where we're all going."
"Sure thing, boss," Liltotto dryly, licking on her lollipop while walking by the Commander. "Is Meninas already there?"
"Along with most of the other Sternritters," He answered.
"Hey-Hey, Askin!"
The tall man looked down at Giselle as Bambietta strode past, the black haired Quincy winking up at him while half covering her mouth, "If you can put in a few words for me, I'd love to see that promotion."
"Didn't I already tell you that it's not up to me?"
"But you're chummy with Haschy now-"
"We're not chummy," Askin groaned, fingers raised in air quotes while mimicking her airy tone. "And do keep in mind not to nickname our King, please?"
"Why not?" Giselle tilted her head with a smile. "Haschwalth is one of us. Being King or not won't change that. Right?"
"I hope so," Askin said, turning away with a sullen expression.
I hope so…
When the Reiokyu - the Royal Palace - was repaired, accomodations were made for the new faction of Quincies. The four connected discs that each of the Royal Guard are home to slope golden streets to the central city that is home to the plethora of souls that Aaroniero has populated with.
Above the ground, the central city is raised up in a floating ring that is protruding an array of gothic styled towers, square to rectangular shaped structures and a courtyard with a mighty castle that frames the massive marble and glass framed citadel filling the space of the ring.
The Quincies gathered together in the castle's courtyard, thousands of white uniformed men and women all forming columns to face a raised platform draped with blue cloth with silver embroidery.
All the ranks of the Quincy stood in attendance in straight lines, with higher ranks standing in front. At the head of the platform is Jugram Haschwalth, overseeing the bulwark of his kin, with Askin Nak Levarr standing at his right.
With a mysterious hooded figure standing to his left.
"Hey, Bazz-Bee," Nanana Najahkoop said, fiddling with his goggles as his brow furrowed ahead. "Do you recognize the guy standing up with Haschwalth? I can't make out his face."
"No," Bazz-Bee said, his own glare pointed at Jugram's stoic visage.
"I wonder where Meninas is?" Giselle asked, hand raised over her head as she bounced from foot to foot looking around her proximity; much to the chagrin of Bazz-Bee standing next to her.
"It hardly matters," Bambietta snidely said with crossed arms over her chest. "She must be in the washroom doing her makeup. Girl was always fixated on her looks as bad as Candice."
"That's true," Giselle nodded with a finger placed at her chin, looking up in thought. "But I didn't see a few others I know aren't dead either. I'm wondering where they are since everyone was told to be here."
"Who knows?" Liltotto chimed up, sucking on what's left of her lollipop. "As long as we're not in another pointless infight, that's fine by me."
After a few more moments longer, the Quincy King finally spoke, drawing all attention to him.
"My brothers and sisters," He began solemnly, eyes half mast as he spoke. "Fate has changed drastically from the thousand years we had waited in secret, planning our inevitable return to achieve our goals of deposing the Reio and wiping out the Shinigami. Instead, we were the ones attacked, and we fought back, even getting access to the Reiokyu itself.
"However, it came at a cost," Jugram paused for effect, eyes closing and bowing his head. "His Majesty, Yhwach, is dead. Slain in battle by the Reio herself. I took up the mantle of King as his successor not lightly, and due to our aligned interests in shaping the new world, brokered peace between us and the new Reio."
Hushed tones of murmurs spread across the Quincy ranks. It is known that Yhwach had perished in the initial ceasefire, but how it came to be was left vague. The only thing that has been confirmed is that Haschwalth saw it, and was quick to reach an agreement of truce between the Quincies and the Reio.
This left a feeling of unease within the Wandenreich. Most have been supportive of Haschwalth for years and even expected to inherit the throne and powers of Yhwach in the future. But that was supposed to be after they had won.
Instead of victory, they were given an ultimatum that appears generous on the surface, but ultimately threw away their independence as their own autonomous group.
Raising a hand, Jugram quieted the ranks of men before he continued, "That said, an olive branch is extended by the Reio. In recognition of our dedication and hard fought sacrifice we are given a place to observe the reshaping of the three realms while remaining spared from the destruction of the old world in order to shape the new one."
Seeing only a handful of people murmur, Jugram sighed, deciding on bringing up one particular matter.
"As payment for our services to protect the Royal Palace," Jugram says, raising an index finger for emphasis. "The Reio is granting each of you a single wish. Be wise of what you ask her."
"A wish?!" Giselle squeaked out, cupping her own face while drooling with sparkling eyes. Her mind drifted into a black void, one too unspeakable for anyone to know her true desires.
"A wish," Liltotto dryly drawled out with twinkling eyes of her own. A sea of treats, sweets and delicious foods filled her mind's eye.
Many of the Quincies had mixed reactions about what this could mean. They all had wishes and desires, some even expreses to His Majesty in the past, yet they knew most of what they wanted couldn't be fulfilled in their lifetime.
Yet, the Reio is handing out wishes like free gifts.
Candice grinned to herself.
One wish, huh? She thought with swelling desire. I wonder what the catch is?
"Do not rush," Haschwalth warned, his gaze finding Bazz's as he coldly stared back at the red haired man's heated glare without flinching. "Think about it. This wish may be your last. For in the coming days, the Shinigami of the Gotei 13 are gathering their strength as we speak. So don't waste this opportunity for frivolity and indulgence; for it may be our last."
Bambietta looked at Haschwalth with a concerning expression. She believed in Haschwalth, among those who knew that his time as King would come. If what he says is true then that means she should pay the Reio a visit, and soon.
Who knows when the Shinigami will show up?
"In my stead, I've appointed Sternritter D, Askin Nak Levarr to act as Sternritter Commander," Haschwalth waves to his right. "I left it up to him who shall act as my Schutstaffel."
Askin stepped up, reaching into a pocket of his baggy pants.
"Okay, where did I put that…uh…one sec," He said, awkwardly shuffling on the stage as the Quincies looked up at him expectantly. Turning out one pocket, he reached for the other and visibly began to sweat.
Raising a finger, he pleaded, "J-Just a sec, I know I have it."
"Just get on with it!" Candice shouted.
"Ah, here it is," Askin pulled out a piece of paper from the collar of his uniform. "Don't know I forgot I left it there. Let's see…"
Clearing his throat, he began to speak, "Come forward, As Nödt."
A stir rose from the ranks of the Quincies, parting ways as the leather masked man strode forward in slow measured steps. His eerie blank stare is present as always, giving no emotion away as he arrived at the foot of the platform.
"Ah, also, Mask De Masculine," Askin added.
"HA-HA!"
Loudly, Mask pushed aside the other Quincies with a big toothy grin, his cloak fluttered in his wake. A small bald man with overalls and a pair of opaque goggles clapped beside him, throwing confetti and blowing a kazoo as they marched up beside the stoic As Nödt.
"Looks like we're still working together, huh, As Nödt?" Mask asked with a grin.
"It seems that way," As Nödt said calmly.
"Let's do our best, James!" The macho man yelled out to his adoring fan.
"Yes sir, Superstar!" James yelled emphatically.
Clearing his throat, the Commander interrupted their celebrations. Askin squinted at the slip of paper, raising a brow as he tried to speak it out loud.
"Was I supposed to choose this one?" He muttered.
"Is there a problem?" King Haschwalth asked.
Scratching his head, Askin sucked his tongue with a sharp inhale.
"I guess…Giselle Gewelle, come up here."
"What-"
"-the-"
"-HELL?!" Candice finished for Bambietta and Liltotto's knee jerk reactions with an indignant shout. Though a lot of heads turned, most looking at Candice's crackling aura of outrage, while others looked at Giselle who looked positively stunned.
Then, she turned and pulled her lips apart to stick her tongue out at Candice, crossing her eyes as she side shuffled past the line of Quincies.
"You bitch…!" Candice snarled, electric reishi snapping around her with visible anger.
"She's being promoted?" Bambietta sneered aloud. "Haschwalth, what are you thinking?!"
"Jugram must have been seeing the value of her Schrift before her own combat abilities," Liltotto surmised to herself.
"Who gives a shit?!" Bazz snapped, turning on his heels and shoving his way past the other Quincies.
"Hey, where are you going-?"
"Fuck off!"
Liltotto sighed as she eyed Bazz walking away from the gathered Quincy, disappearing from sight.
Almost as if he hadn't raised a fuss, Askin read off the last name of the list.
"And for the leader of the Schutstaffel," Askin spoke in a sing-song tone, gesturing to the hooded figure to his and Haschwalth's left. "Gremmy Thoumeuax!"
Pulling back the hood, all of the Quincy became stunned. Not that the Sternritter hadn't been seen before he was locked up by Yhwach, but the last time it had been on the cusp of a major in-fight that left many Quincy dead. Even fewer knew that Gremmy even fought Lilia Starrk, and had kept fighting for hours until the ceasefire had been declared.
Mask looked up with a nervous grin, As Nödt stared up stoically, and Giselle smiled unfazed.
Long blonde hair lay over his shoulders, smooth and soft locks that framed a soft cherub face. Bright blue eyes looked down at his cohorts armed with an expression none of the gathered Wandenreich had seen before.
Not of smug arrogance or self serving glee.
It seemed peaceful. Content.
"I am honored for the promotion," He said with a grin, nodding to Askin and Haschwalth. "I'll work hard in making you both proud."
"I expect great things from you, Gremmy," Jugram coolly replied.
"As long as you don't kill us all in the process, I'm okay," Askin jokingly piped in with a pair of finger guns aimed at Gremmy.
"Haha, I'll do my best!" Gremmy laughed aloud at that.
This brought a nervousness to the crowd of the Wandenreich. Gremmy is anything but a stabilizing element of the Sternritter. Locked up for the safety of the other Quincies, such a wild card was rarely treated with the same decorum as the rest of their kin. Even the oddity that was Pernida Parknjas was given less caution than The Visionary is.
Yet, something has obviously changed. Not that they are desperate for his incredible powers, but Gremmy had seemed to be different from before.
Stepping off the stage, Sternritter V floated down to his three other cohorts with ease. His white, blue stocking wrapped feet tapped onto the floor, gloved hands placed on either hip as a white kama skirt rustled about his boyish hips.
"Of those I have christened you Sternritter in the last hour, step forth," Haschwalth ordered, breaking the revelry of the new elites being promoted.
In the front of the crowd, eleven individuals draped in five pointed star embroidered cloaks of white stepped forward. They knelt before their King, all of them acting in a rehearsed unison for this moment.
"I have given you my blood as a pact, baptized in the fires of battle, and survived despite being robbed of a true victory," Jugram said, raising his right palm - showing off a scar over the palm as evidence of his aforementioned ritual done with the new Sternritter - he continues with a raised voice. "Do you swear to fight for the future of the World as well as your brothers, so we may end the cycle set by the Shinigami?"
"We will live by your word, die for our beliefs and kill for our future," All eleven said. "So it shall be!"
"Do you, my Wandenreich, feel the same?" Jugram asked in a shout.
A sudden salute, raising of Quincy crosses being brandished over their heads, confirmed it for Jugram. Raising his own cross, all of the Quincies display the emblem of their burden and power to the heavens around them. They are here for the next chapter of the new world.
For better or worse.
To their last breath.
Deep beneath the White Palace lies a catacomb. Twisting paths of darkness with faint glimmers of light by candles shown the way, rooms of storage and cells of containment are intermingled throughout the undercroft of the massive citadel above ground.
But Aaroniero is here for a specific reason.
She needed to check on a particular room, filled with someone she hadn't seen since her ascension as a transcendent being. The chamber is blocked off by a special door, one that had her own reiatsu as a barrier to keep anyone but herself from entering.
Approaching this door, she waved her hand, dispelling the shield with a visible shimmer of light. Grasping the cold metal handle she twisted it, opening it up to a crystal lined room.
One that held two corpses up by meathooks. Both lacked heads and hung limply in suspension off the floor, adjacent to purple crystal walls.
On the left side, without a head, is Ichibei Hyosube. His body had yet to start rotting and Aaroniero suspected it had to do with some form of pact that bound him with the rest of the Zero Division to the Reiokyu.
Walking up to the right, she stared up at a black cloaked, white uniformed Quincy. Even without a head, it ebbed a strange sensation from it; almost on passive instinct that it sought to reach other living beings to siphon their strength.r
Yet, it did nothing. It's just a body of a dead King she has slain in order to end a war she foresaw happening in the future. She kept it here due to some feeling that if she ate it, or destroyed it, something terrible would happen.
I don't know why I am worried, She thought with a furrowed brow. He's dead. The new King is my ally, and he's far less difficult to dispose of if he tries anything. It's not in his best interest, after all, given the Shinigami wouldn't hesitate in exterminating them.
Still, if her plan works, altering the new realms will make the Quincies pacified. Hollows will be free, souls will be free, and life will have a smooth circle of Reincarnation without the outside interference of any other realm.
"Just need more time," She whispers. "And then, I'll be there."
A sudden shuffling of foot falls gave rise to her senses. Curious, she turned away from the body of Yhwach, seeing a creeping shadow enter the room.
"Ah, Nimaiya," Aaroniero greeted with a casual smile. "I was just admiring the decorations I set up. Need something."
The normally chipper demeanor of Ouetsu Nimaiya seemed to be gone. His face, pale and clammy with sweat, the man looked at the body of Ichibei shakily before looking at Aaroniero's bewildered expression.
"You are pale," She noted, raising a brow. "Is something the matter?"
"My…bodyguards are gone," He swallowed a lump as he spoke hoarsely. "I think they have gone to the Seireitei."
"Why?" Aaroniero questioned, her smile dissipated and eyes aglow with a haunting white light. "Did something happen, Nimaiya?"
"I…think they are going to warn Soul Society about the plans you made, and the Quincies we got," He nervously explained, glancing at the Eyeball Monk's corpse as he kept speaking. "I never thought they would betray me. They must have used Kidō to get past any detection I would have had set up-"
"Ouetsu," She interrupted, suddenly in front of him and looming over him. "I didn't eat you and Kirinji before because I saw value in your autonomy. If you had the time to come back to me about this, you also have time you could have spent tracking them down and bringing them back."
"But, what if I-"
"Then you know what you must do," She cut him off, raising a hand up to wipe away the sweat from his quivering brow. "Let the past die, Nimaiya. Kill it, if you have to."
Swallowing hard, he bowed his head, "F-Forgive me. I'll get on it right away."
"Take Kirinji and Gin with you," She ordered. "And if you come across anyone who gets in your way, eliminate them."
SHFT!
Bowing again, Nimaiya disappeared in a blur of Shunpo.
Left alone, Aaroniero heard a mocking laugh from her mind. Gritting her teeth, she whirled around to see Rukia laughing.
And she couldn't do a thing about it.
A/N: Wow, what a chapter. This one didn't take much revision, seeing as I just wanted to establish the tone moving forward and what to expect later. And for those wondering if Aaroniero had conquered her demons, apparently it wasn't as easy as she thought all that time ago. With Rukia's phantom haunting the possessed body, what other things will slip up on her watch.
Meanwhile, the Quincy have reorganized into a motivated force. With eleven recruits replacing those who have died, and a new Schutstaffel being elected by Askin and Haschwalth, the Wandenreich is far from defeated. A combined might of the Reio's armies will be seen as near unbeatable.
How will our Gotei 13 counterattack? Find out in the next update of A Predator Among Us!