Prologue

Darkness, an ever present darkness that seemed to envelop the world around. I had grown used to its presence after who knows how long. My other senses had long since been forgotten and anything I could remember before the darkness was incoherent at best.

I had died

This was a fact something I was sure of and yet here I lay stewing in my thoughts with nobody and nothing to interact with. Was this hell? Heaven? I had no idea how long I had been here a minute, a day, an eternity? The specific have been lost to me. In the beginning I tried to keep track however I have long since lost track

The beginning? When did this start? I remember now... I was sitting in a room…my room watching something unimportant when it happened. A natural disaster or lore specifically a flood one I had been uninformed about. It seemed everyone else in my neighbourhood had prior knowledge and had long since evacuated. Nobody bothered to tell me…hell my neighbours didn't even know I existed I could only only blame myself really.

If I could do it over again I'd make sure to interact with my surroundings more, no more shut in lifestyle. In the past I'd lived only for myself never bothering to create any relationships. If I had a second chance it would be different I'd make big changes wherever I found myself and I wouldn't die with nobody to remember me by. I would make a difference that was a promise. It was then that I finally began to see a change in the desolate darkness around me. My previous formless existence was replaced with a faint glow and my suspended state changed to that of flying through the air. I had no idea where my body…body? Where my shape was going however after so long doing and being nothing I felt more excitement than fear

I was now surrounded by a bright glow covered every crevice and corner of the supposedly endless darkness. All I saw what white…saw? I CAN SEE! I didn't take long for my other senses to come back to me smell, hearing, taste and soon enough touch. This experience felt oddly enough…wrong as if I was fully accepting a part of myself that I shouldn't however I quickly crush those feelings

It was when the white haze that had settled over my eyes faded that I was able to note my surroundings, I was in a dessert and it was night time. My point of view was not far off of the ground which made me believe I was not in my original body. I had grey skin that looked almost like clay with 8 fingers, four on each hand and 6 toes. My most defining features were my short stature likely not even 4 feet tall and a mask on my face that felt like an extension on myself. I contemplated taking it off however that idea filled me with dread, almost primal this lead me to believe that taking off my mask was a bad idea.

Holy Shit! What on earth was I? My musings were cut short buy the sound of sand crunching a few feet away from me. I looked to my back to get a better view of whoever it was maybe they could answer a few of my questions mainly: where I was and why my form was so different. What I saw behind me was not a person however it was a massive hulking figure wearing a similar mask to mine.

We stood in silence for a short moment sizing the other up. I understood that if the creature had hostile intentions I would be at a disadvantage given his superior strength and hulking stature my best option would be to run for my life as he didn't seem very agile but if that failed I noted that the area around its neck seemed softer than the rest of its body. What was that? Did I just consider taking its life? Why did the idea not disturb me as it should have

My musings were cut short by a gruff and intimidating voice. "Ah a newborn hollow? All the way out here? How lucky of me to stumble across another meal" it took me a moment to identify the voice as belonging to the monster in front of me. He spoke of eating me with the casualness of eating an apple. All my reflexes were telling me to run away and I obliged with no resistance. My feet scurried across the sand with surprising ease maybe because I was lighterthan I was as a human? Or maybe it was my feet, they did seem built for running on the sand. 'Stop getting distracted!' I was snapped out of my trance once again and began to run.

It was too late however and it had caught me in its hands which I noted were of a rougher than the rest of its body, did it tend to hunt and grab using its hands that would explain the tougher skin. 'Stop getting distracted you're about to die dammit!' That brought me back to reality quickly and I noticed the wide open mouth in front of me primed to devour me. In a final act of resistance I kicked off its hands and out of its grip, when did I get so strong?It did not expect me to jump into its mouth nor did it expect me to bite unto its epiglottis spraying blood everywhere and allowing me to exit the organ without much risk stance. While it was distracted I did something rather uncharacteristic and bit onto its throat spurting our even more blood. Finally I jumping off and allowed the towering figure to flail around a bit.

In an act of retaliation it swung its arm towards me using the other to cover its bleeding throat. It was fast, faster than I'd normally be able to track however it seemed my senses were heightened to the extreme this allowing we to dodge its first swing. I jumped to avoid the second one and this proved to be a mistake as while in the air I couldn't move leaving me a sitting duck. It took advantage of this and swatted me into the sand like a fly.

My body hurt but I knew I only had to hold on a little longer as the creatures neck was still bleeding. This was a battle of insurance on my part, I only had to survive long enough for it to die so I got up a quickly as possible and began to weave attacks once again even getting a few attacks of my own in my biting the veins on its arm. I was improving as we continued with every dodge I was getting faster and reacting better. This coupled with the fact that the creature was getting slower made put the battle in my favour

Maybe a last ditch effort on the creatures part it put its hand together and prepared to slam them down onto me with renewed vigour. I could have dodged however something instinctual was telling me to face this attack head on and despite only having them for a short time they had never let me down, this was foolish of me

it's pseudo hammer slammed down on my body however unlike the first time I did not fold in on myself like a chair I held the crushing weight up with unshakeable determination. My knees nearly buckled under the pressure however I stayed in that position as given up now was no longer an option. It was after a few moments that the weight suddenly lifted and the hulking figure above me had fallen to its injuries while I likely looked worse for wear it's body was riddled with bleeding bite marks and a huge gash near the throat. Any human with these injuries would be dead in seconds however it had occurred to me that the creature in front of me was not human and apparently neither was I

After a few moments of silence I calmed and approached the deceased monster's corpse and my instincts screamed at me to consume it. Perhaps it was the rush of the battle or being newly materialised but I gave in and began to eat the corpse. Surpassingly I felt my injuries heal and my energy return to me as I consumed the hulking giant. While it certainly wasn't a delicacy I wasn't as disgusted as I had expected to be mostly just satisfied. Should I be concerned? That was when flashes of the monsters experiences entered my mind. It was through those that I learned I was what was known as a hollow and this vast area of sand around me that seemed to stretch out eternally was known as Hueco Mundo. In a way the monster did answer my questions. Hollows were apparently humans whom had died and didn't go to heaven or something like that. Hollows here consumed other hollows to become stronger and to survive as a starved hollow was a dead one. The hollow I had just consumed had not eaten in a while and had grown desperate for a meal, this explained him not regenerating the damage he received during our fight. There is one hollow who stands above all others in Hueco Mundo and he is known as the hollow king, he is said to have evolved to the highest possible form a hollow could achieve, Vasto Lorde.

Once I got past the shock I began to plan, I promised to that I wouldn't be forgotten in the next life I was given, that I would make a difference and to do that I had to reach Vasto Lorde. With new resolve I began to trek onwards the wind blowing on my short frame and a slight whistle in the air it was then that I noticed a detail I had missed when examining my body

A hole

There was a hole in my heart