Requiem for the Hollow Rose

by sreshtiyer

After witnessing the death of Pyrrha, white fills her vision and the Rose huntress finds herself in a desolate and bleak place. Confused, lost and still grieving the loss of her friend and her own helplessness, little does Ruby realize that was just the beginning of her arduous journey. Innocent to Mature Ruby. Rated M for psychologically disturbing themes (non-sexual).

49. Chapter 49: Evil no more

Chapter 49: Evil no more

Winter Schnee didn't even know where to begin with the absurdity she found herself in. But one thing was certain. That thing in front of her was anything but good news. Despite her comparably harsh upbringing as part of the Schnee household, her career as a military personal and all the things she had to witness even before she was old enough to wield a weapon, despite what Fria had told her not more than a few seconds ago, Winter couldn't help but shudder involuntarily. Perhaps it was a consequence of having been to Hueco Mundo and getting a feel for how spiritual pressure or aura felt like or perhaps it was a consequence of her acquiring the powers of the Winter Maiden. Or perhaps it was simply the imminent danger she found herself in. Whatever the case, she could tell the aura of the opponent in front of her was off the charts. And she had a feeling it wasn't even its full power. Though the question of why such a 'mechanical' being even possessed aura did bother her, she put it aside for the time being. After all, Penny did have an aura of her own. It wasn't all that strange given everything else going on around her. She took a small, silent, deep breath, hoping to make the best of the situation.

The men around her reached for their guns, following which the thing immediately swiveled its head, the orb inside its slotted helmet glowing ominously.

"Stop!" roared Winter, preventing them from doing anything more. "Everyone stand down, drop your weapons!" she ordered, confusing her men. They were hesitant, and stood frozen looking back and forth between the General and Winter.

"Do it now, that's an order!" she barked once more, causing them to flinch and then slowly lower their hands and take a step back. The ominous swiveling halted.

"Your business is with me, is it not? Then leave them be" she requested, looking straight at BG9 with her brows creased. Though she didn't show it, her heartbeat was elevating but she kept herself as calm as she possibly could. "This thing…..this thing was the one that supposedly captured our entire metropolis by itself. If what Fria said was true, then even with my current powers, I still wouldn't be able to handle this thing beyond stalling for a few minutes. And Penny…she's been captured too. Does Pietro know about this? I don't know why, but I can feel something incredible from this thing, like I did back in Hueco Mundo. It also called itself a Quincy….if I recall, that's one of the four races from the other world. But…how?! I thought only Ruby and Summer Rose could be here! Why is there a Quincy here?!"

BG9 focused its beeping orb on her.

"You appear to be calm and rational, and yet your thumping heart, dilated pupils and flushed skin belies you. If anything, you are just as apprehensive as any other in this airship. That is a feat to be commended. Somehow, you seem to know of the danger you find yourself in, unlike the others around you. Analysis indicates that there is a 50% chance this could be because of the strong spirit energy within you. You are partially correct in assuming that you are indeed my current objective. My current directive is only to gather information about able individuals from this world, as well as this world itself. I have gained a sufficient understanding of this world after assimilating my system with the CCT" he replied with an emotion-less manner.

"You what..!?" exclaimed Ironwood, taking a step back with his eyes wide. Winter was considerably surprised as well.

"It is the truth, General James Ironwood. I know everything about you. And you as well, Winter Schnee of the Schnee Conglomerate. Any and every form of intel that flows within the CCT is now under my control. I must admit that the technology of Atlas city is well beyond anything our world possesses as a whole. In my hunt for a worthy individual to join our noble cause, I did not calculate the possibility of coming across such an advanced civilization. His Majesty will be very pleased. Not only have I found two worthy individuals to join our ranks, I also have a metropolis of such splendor to present to him" it reported, zeroing in on Winter again.

"Like hell you'll-" began Ironwood, going for his gun, but Winter roared once more.

"General don't!"

The vocal outcry did surprise him, considering that Winter was an individual who was always doing things as per protocol, especially when it came to working under him. For her to interrupt her superior meant that either the situation was bad enough that she threw all of that out of the window, or that she could see something he couldn't. But she was one whom he trusted even in dire situations like these. And so, against his practiced responses, he lowered his gun and stood down. The moment he did, he could see signs of relief in her eyes.

"The people…..what of the people of Atlas?" she asked calmly.

"You have no reason to fret. I have been specifically ordered not to cause death and destruction unless engaged with first. The number of casualties number at less than 0.5%, considering the strength of the Atlesian Military, and I have even limited structural damage to the architecture. No civilians have been harmed. And that goes for the occupants of this ship as well. You were wise in holstering your weapons. Though the Bullhead has been damaged, as long as you do not hinder my objectives, there is a 99.9% probability that your life will not be forfeit" it replied.

"I see…..in that case….let them go. In their place, I will accompany you. That is what you are after, is it not?" she offered.

"Winter what are you-" started the General, but the Schnee heiress silenced him.

"I am merely taking the most appropriate and logical course of action, sir. If we choose to resist now, we risk further casualties. You have your role in protecting this country, as do I. I'm doing what I must. And you can be assured that I will carry out my duties till the end. But you already know that. And you you're your own duties to perform, isn't that right, General?" she stated, looking him straight in the eye. Ironwood could tell immediately, just from the way she phrased her sentence as well as the look she gave him that her real intentions were something else. And it was a way of reminding him of what he needed to do while she fulfilled her own role.

With a difficult expression, one that almost looked helpless he gave a nod. He knew what she was referring to. Now it made sense, why she asked for the ship to turn towards Beacon out of nowhere.

"Thank you, sir. I apologize for raising my voice" she responded, keeping her tone. She then turned towards BG9. "They will no longer hinder you. Will that suffice?" she asked.

"Affirmative. You have done well to cooperate. However, you would do well not to try any trickery. It will bode ill for you before you know it. His Majesty does not wish to harm the citizens of Atlas or this world. In fact, Remnant is about to enter a new age of prosperity and harmony under the guidance of the Quincy. Your people are rather fortunate. However, those that stand in our way only meet a certain doom" it thundered ominously.

"They follow me and the General. They will hinder you no longer. I give you my word and whatever other information you seek. I wish to see no harm befall my people. But in return, may I ask what you plan to do with her?" she asked, looking at Penny.

"I have already stated the obvious. She will be a worthy addition to His Majesty's army, as will you. It is an honor beyond anything that exists in our world. Considering that Atlas City will be our base in this world, you will functionally be protecting your people with the gifts granted by serving his Majesty. There is no better situation for your people and you as individuals. Now that my primary objectives have been achieved, I shall escort you to His Majesty and to give my report on my findings. We have much to discuss after all. I am still yet to determine the reasons for the enigmatic transfer of spirit energy. Despite the knowledge I possess from the CCT, there are still things I do not know about this world. I am eternally grateful to his Majesty in choosing me to traverse this new world". BG9 then grabbed Winter, who then yanked it away in reflex.

"I am not running away, not especially after giving you my word. I am very much capable of accompanying you on my own" she stated sternly. Before she did, she went up to the General, almost as if she was embracing him, before turning back towards BG9. "I shall be off then, sir" she stated. BG9 jumped out, creating a foothold of blue colored reishi, and Winter activated her maiden powers, flying behind him and leaving a frosty trail.

Though she had avoided the crisis for the time being, she knew the real challenge began now. From the beginning, she tried to steer the conversation in a way that would lead the thing in front of her away from Atlas and everyone else and directly on her. Enticing it with offers of providing information was yet another thing she theorized probably helped. This thing wanted to know about the power of the maidens. And while both Penny and the CCT were things that a robot like this thing could interface with, she was a human being. At most, she would likely be tortured for information. And even if it came to that, she had no plans of opening her mouth. But she doubted it would come to that. After all, this thing DID state that it wanted to do things 'peacefully'. So she doubted she would find herself in such peril, especially since they were interested in having her join their cause. Her intention of not giving up any information was also something she let slip silently to Ironwood as they 'embraced'. The General would have a chance to contact Ruby and perhaps with her help, they could reclaim Atlas.

But she didn't just plan to sit idly by either. She would get the chance to observe the thing's movements as it made its way back to Atlas city. Any information she could get from this thing was valuable. Be it the condition of Atlas City, the Quincy or anything else. Eventually, she would find an opening to make her escape and somehow convey anything she learnt to Ozpin or the General or better yet, Ruby.

The thing itself didn't look back at her even once, almost as if it didn't need to. She remembered that those from the other world could sense auras, or spirit energy as they called it. It had even stated that it followed the spirit energy of the Winter Maiden to her. But even so, the speed with which the machina was moving was nowhere nearly as fast as Ruby had been when she snatched Qrow's weapon from right under his nose. Still, she knew better than to underestimate the warriors of the other world. She would still need to wait for that one moment she could catch that thing off guard and somehow make her move.

As they flew over Atlas City, she saw that the city by itself was doing quite fine, much to her surprise. As the machina had stated, there were no signs of damage until they got to the Military headquarters where in she could see damaged Atlas tech as well as soldiers KIA. What was surprising was how little the structures around them had been damaged. It was truly a testament to this thing's skills. And the interiors were the same as well. The place was deserted. Those who resisted had been killed. And the rest probably fled. All of the remaining Atlas tech whirred in response to this thing passing by them, which confirmed Fria's words that this machina did indeed have control of their tech and likely the unconscious Penny as well. Finally, they came to a room where they stood by a fairly open area with what appeared to be a many different circles and symbols drawn on a circular platform.

She knew this place. This was where all of their servers and mainframes were stored. The place was a dead end. She blinked, wondering why they came here of all places.

And in that instant, BG9 was gone from her field of vision and she could feel the strong presence coming from her side. Flinching strongly, she took a couple of steps back only for her to be stopped by one of its 'arms'.

"Wh..what..?!" How? When did it…I was watching the whole time…that was almost like…

She then felt a rather sharp pain in her ears, and her vision started to go blurry. The last thing her blurry eyes managed to make out were thin fibril like appendages by the side of her face. Pain shot up her head like webs interweaving within her brain, and it felt as if worms were burrowing into her ears.

"Now…..before I bring you to His Majesty, I shall learn all there is to learn about this mysterious phenomenon I witnessed earlier" he heard it say. Her consciousness was going dark almost immediately after, and she had no more time to even register how much of a gross miscalculation she had made.

---

Ulquiorra was the first to move, having gathered enough about the situation. But he was hardly being careless. He kept his distance, while keeping his eyes on Gremmy and firing off a teal colored cero. The others naturally didn't just stand idly by. Nel, Tier and Grimmjow took their own positions around Gremmy in a sort of triangle, while the Tres Bestias did the same, remaining on a sort of second layer around Tier, Grimmjow and Nel. Starrk and Lilynette followed up after Ulquiorra.

However, what would happen next would be something none of them would even remotely anticipate. Gremmy simply moved aside, and literally grabbed the cero with his fingertips. The cero itself had shrunk to the size of a regular zanpakuto, wherein one end of it had been attached to a cylindrical, mechanical looking hilt of sorts. All in all, it resembled a glowing laser sword of sorts that the Quincy was swinging around like a child playing make believe.

"As I thought, a cero really is like a seeleschneider! Although our version is no doubt better than something a mere hollow can come up with!" he mused to himself, almost chuckling.

"Wh..what the fuck was that?!" cursed Grimmjow, wide eyed.

"He just grabbed Ulquiorra's cero and….I could've sworn he didn't have that hilt before..!" exclaimed Lily.

Ulquiorra himself was visibly surprised. Not only because of what just happened right in front of his eyes, but also because of how familiar the scene was, a fact that Tier and Starrk picked up as well.

"That was almost like Aizen's…" remarked the 3rd Espada, surprised.

Gremmy on the other hand, was completely nonchalant about the whole thing.

"Something isnt right…" he remarked, his hand on his chin. As if getting a flash of inspiration, he clasped his hands together in realization. Instantly, all of the arrancars in front of him could feel a heavy metallic weight constricting their necks. It happened so fast that they didn't even register it for a second. And then they noticed the collar that was now constricting their necks, complete with thick metallic chains that bound them. The chains continued up into the air, all the way to his hands, where he was holding each one of them as if holding many pairs of leashes.

"It's unthinkable, right? When you see a cat or a dog or any animal out in the wild, you simply can't imagine it without a leash. It's beyond normalcy. And technically, you arrancars are more animal than human. Now, it feels right" he remarked in a matter of factly way, holding up the chains.

To say that they were baffled was an understatement. They didn't even know where to begin with what they were witnessing. The chains that magically appeared out of thin air, the fact that while the chains were thick and heavy at the collar around their necks they were thinner and smaller in Gremmy's hands, or that none of what they had seen till now resembled anything that was like a Quincy's ability.

"I..I can't get it off..!" struggled Mila Rose as she tugged at the collar that was almost digging into her neck.

"That little shit…what the fuck's going on!" cursed Apachi.

Starrk tsked, firing off some more ceros. But Gremmy used a variety of ways to invalidate them, including using the same laser sword technique from before, turning them into popsicles, hanging lights and a variety of other bizarre techniques.

"With my strength, this should just tear right out, so why can't I even..?!" growled Grimmjow, trying to rip out the collar. But all that did was make it dig into his flesh.

"Grimmjow stop! Don't be rash!" scolded Nel, giving up on the collar and holding her Zanpakuto in front of her.

"Praise, Gamuza!"

With a small flash of light and the sound of shattering metal, Nel's form changed to that of her resurreccion's and the collar binding her lay in pieces. The rest followed suit, wasting no time in shifting to their resurreccion as well, with Ulquiorra going straight to his segunda etapa. They knew, just from those short 'exchanges' from before that this was an enemy that was not one to be underestimated. After all, so far, despite getting the spirit energy reading of a quincy from him, none of the abilities he had shown so far were anything like one. Had anyone else been nearby, even those at arrancar level, the amount of power their collective sword released would've made even the strongest ones flinch from the sheer pressure. But Gremmy looked more amused than concerned, almost like he had been waiting for it.

*Klink*

The pressing weight was back, and this time, it even seemed to be heavier. Unbelievably, their collars were right back, along with the chains.

"Again..?! But…he wasn't doing anything..! Just what is going on..?!" exclaimed Nel internally, looking for a plausible explanation. "Could it be like Tia said? Could this Quincy really have powers similar to Aizen…?! If so..how come we haven't heard about someone like this?!"

Amidst the confusion, cursing and struggling, Gremmy merely watched from afar in a frisk manner.

"Now that really just makes it a million times easier" he mused. "You were already looking like animals and now it's like you're just begging to be caged. Seriously, when you give me such vivid imagery, growling and cursing at me like that, there is no way I would ever be able to see the likes of you in anything but chains. Oh, and this too" he added, and instantly, metallic cages appeared around each one of them like that of an animal enclosure. The chains binding their collars were then joined to their enclosures, truly caging them.

"You little fucker! What the fuck was that..?!" roared Grimmjow unleashing wave after wave of attacks on the cage, as well as banging and tackling it as hard as he could. But nothing he did even scratched the cage. Ulquiorra then threw a Lanza Del Relampago through the grates of his enclosure, but then a giant arm appeared, catching the attack within its palms and snapping it like an arrow.

"You keep trying again and again despite seeing how pointless it is. I don't get it. I realize you lot aren't quite human yourself, but you ARE capable of speech and comprehending things, so why would you do that? But then again, as someone said, the ability to speak does not make you intelligent. But I get it, this can be quite hard even for other to understand, and well, I did have a little bit of fun here and there. So I'll tell you in simple words. There's no way animals like you are ever getting out of that cage. As I said before, it all comes down to what I can imagine, think and perceive. Whatever it is, it becomes real. Whatever I imagine, the way I imagine it. Now you can see right? It's not that you aren't strong or savage enough to break out of something like that. It's just that my imagination simply will not allow for a scenario where you roam free. So no matter what you do, how much you claw at those bindings or your cage, you'll be right there" he explained with a smile. Seeing your ceros and other attacks made me think of our seeleschneider, popsicles and lights, so they became just that. And seeing your forms made me think of the animals I see at the zoo. And so, there you have it"

"Whatever you imagine.."

"Becomes real….?"

"…."

"…you're lying right..there's no way something that unfair could exist.."

Gremmy looked puzzled. "I'm not sure why you lot look so surprised. After having witnessed what Aizen did, and what his little magic rock did to you, making animals like you into human like beings, are you really doubting my power? And believe me, unlike that phony, my power is the real deal. None of that fake magician's trickery stuff. For example, see that one there?" he asked, pointing to Nel. "Don't you think there's something fundamentally wrong here? When you see a horse, don't you think it looks off without a saddle?"

As he finished his words, reins and a saddle appeared on Nel's body, causing her to welp and the rest to continue watching in utter shock and surprise.

"It's real right? And all that I need to do is just think. Like now" he said once more. The cages disappeared and reformed into quincy crosses, the chains on their collars binding them to the crosses keeping their limbs pierced in to each arm of the quincy cross with iron spears. Gremmy hadn't batted a single eye at their pained looks, not even when Lilynette, the youngest one of the them screamed out in utter pain. Starrk could only gnash his teeth unable to do anything as he himself was impaled once more in the abdomen. Though the likes of Grimmjow, Mila-Rose, Nel and Starrk struggled to get themselves free, with the chains binding them to the crosses and the iron spears keeping them impaled, it didn't take long before they went silent. The iron spears then disappeared, as did the blood but the chains remained in place along with the crosses.

"Phew, they're all alive. For mere arrancars, they sure are a tough lot. No better way to deal with evil than with something that represents holiness, is there? I really don't see why we need their powers when His Majesty has me, but I'm sure he can see something in them than I can. Still, for what it was worth, that was entertaining" he remarked to himself. "And I can't wait to see what lies in the world His Majesty is in now!"

Gremmy then manifested four armed muscular statues that lifted the crosses over their heads and began walking towards the center of the ruined Las Noches. As with the other places, there was a pedestal of sorts with circular patterns and symbols etched on it.

The giant golems then placed the crosses with the arrancars at the pedestal, following which they crumbled and disappeared. Then Gremmy himself entered the pedestal, but nothing happened. Puzzled, he looked around for a bit, making sure there wasn't something wrong with the sun gate he was standing on. After pondering for a while, he closed his eyes, seemingly talking to someone.

"Your Majesty, I have taken control over Las Noches as you asked me to. However, I am unable to bring the Espada and their fraccione through the sun gate" he reported. "…..put them in a gigai, You Majesty? Of course. Such a thing is a small task for me. I shall make my way to report my situation" he said, before opening his eyes. He looked at the arrancars curiously, thinking about the recommendation Yhwach gave him. Shrugging his shoulders, he manifested gigai for all of the arrancars and then pushing them into it. Their resurreccions disappeared, giving them complete human looks.

"Leave it to the soul reapers to come up with a way of making something vile and evil into something that looks human. Still, I've never heard of a place that you couldn't visit without a human body. How interesting..!" he commented to himself and finally, the sun gate activated. With a flash, those within the pedestal disappeared, leaving behind nothing but the remnants of a once populated palace and the ever shifting colorless sands of Hueco Mundo.

---

Cinder Fall was huddled over in the corner of the windowless, dull red hued room covered with black colored scribbles all over the room. She lay there shivering, her eyes closed, and in a fetal position, with an overbearing Salem hunched over her with a cold expression.

Despite having been here many, many times, her body simply never got used to this place. It had been hardwired into her, the fear and complete breakdown of her mental image she experienced whenever Salem brought her here. Scribbles upon scribbles upon scribbles adorned the walls, most of which she had written and some of which Salem had written. And they would range from simply sentences such as 'Without you, I am nothing', 'Only you truly love me', or 'I am nothing more than a murderer without you'.

But it didn't stop at just the scribbles. She would lash out at her, mostly verbally and at times physically depending on how badly she had done in the task given out to her, berating her, reminding her of her past nothingness and how the whole wide world wanted nothing but end her existence, save for Salem herself. And then she would flip, caressing Cinder while feeling horrified at having to scold her and do all of what she did to her, proclaiming words of care and affection, healing all of her wounds if she had any and then lovingly caressing her to sleep, as if caring for her child.

Today had been no different. She had been called useless, a murderer and a good for nothing, all while being lashed out at. But it was all Cinder could do but to simply take it all in and shut out the sounds and noises coming from around her in hopes that it would end soon. She would silently whisper to herself within her mind or clutch herself tightly in hopes that the pain from her fingers digging into her arms would shut out any pain she felt. And as before, she had no notion of how long had passed since it all began.

However, at some point, it never came. Nothing did. It was eerily silent, and there was no new pain shooting up her body. She waited and waited but nothing happened. It felt wrong. Like something that wasn't supposed to happen, especially when she was here. She didn't even dare peek a look in fear that she would get reprimanded for that as well. After what felt like several painful seconds, Salem clicked her tongue, before crouching over her and rubbing her head lovingly.

"It would appear that we have some uninvited guests. I shall go attend to them. Till then, be a darling and wait for me, my dear daughter" She sounded mildly annoyed but tried to hide it. Salem promptly left the room with a whimpering Cinder still huddled over the corner.

The immortal witch was not pleased. She never did like being interrupted by anyone no matter how important the matter was. She would specifically make sure to instruct all her 'family' to never bother her when she was attending to matters in the Red Room. But this time was different. Because the source of the interruption came in the form of an immense mana she had never sensed before. In fact, it made her do a double take. She had sensed mana of this density only once before and that was during the age of the gods. Though this mana was nowhere near as powerful as the God of Light's, it felt so very, very similar to his, and its magnitude was comparably powerful. Even Ozma at his peak never had this much mana, and neither did she.

Walking up to the main entrance to her castle, right where she had left Watts, Emerald and Mercury. Even they were staring at the man walking up to them with a confident stride, his eyes narrowed onto Salem.

"Greetings visitor, what brings you to my humble adobe?" asked Salem with a curious and unsettling smile.

"I see.." he spoke with a gruff voice. His voice sounded cold, distant and almost repulsed from what he was seeing. "Indeed, I can sense the foul spirit energies of those that live in the domains of my kin. You possess the shape of a human being, and yet, you look more like an arrancar or a togabito than anything that resembles a human being. As the one that leads the Quincy and upon their honor and mine, I shall begin our conquest on this world by wiping clean the greatest stain of evil on this land"

Salem blinked. "I'm not sure I quite understand what you mean, chil-"

*VOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!*

Before the witch could respond, a pillar of immensely bright, godly blue light pierced right through the ceiling and the ground on the spot that Salem was standing just moments ago, creating a howling tempest as it seemed to incinerate the very air itself. The pillar of intense blue light created a ominous glow on the dumbstruck and utterly surprised faces of Watts, Emerald and Mercury.

"How disappointing….is what I would have said, but you still live, don't you Schwarze Hexe?" with a sneer.

"My my my…" cooed Salem's voice, as the light faded and a black, slime-like coalesced, cracking, squelching and reforming, much to Emerald, Watts and Mercury's disgust. This was the first time they had ever seen the demented witch reduced to nothing but cinders and yet, this thing was putting herself together like nothing happened. "What a rude guest you are, I have been ever so courteous and yet, you attack me at my own home". All in all, despite being reduced to dust and being attacked, she was still eerily smiling.

"At first I thought perhaps I might be too hasty in my judgement. After all, the amount of spirit energy I can sense from you is no more than that of a Shinigami captain at best. Using that level of power seemed like it would be overkill. And yet, you managed to survive that, even putting yourself in that state. But now I see that I was indeed right to trust my instincts and see you for the vile thing you are. Truly you would fit right in within her domain, and you don't even have the chains" he remarked with a rather distasteful expression. "Perhaps I should you just send you right to her.

"Now that's rather rude for an uninvited guest, wouldn't you say?" replied Salem coldly. "After all, it's very presumptuous of you to judge me when I have been this courteous. It would appear that our guest needs to learn some manners!"

The black witch waved her hands together, and multiple black tendrils tried to latch on to the Quincy King, but they disintegrated before they could even touch him.

"Your evil will stain no one in my presence, Witch" declared Yhwach, drawing in close, grabbing her face and throwing her through the walls of the castle and followed her outside.

Salem was flying in the air, waving her hands once more. A large hoard of Grimm converged in on Yhwach, consisting of Nevermores, Geists, Megoliaths, Griffons, Lancers, Ravagers, Razorwings, a Sea Feilong, A Tempest and Wyverns. It felt as if an apocalypse was approaching. Powerful grimm from each and every direction were emerging from all directions, some being created at the moment from the pools of black sludge onto Yhwach.

"Th…this isn't real…right?" whimpered Emerald silently, getting down to her knees in fear. "That's…..that's whole armies worth of Grimm…even a few of them would be too much for any huntsmen. She had this many….?!"

"Fuck that…all I want to know is who the fuck is that guy.." remarked Mercury, looking at Yhwach. "He just blasted her to kingdom come and that fucking monster just put herself back like nothing just happened"

Watts on the other hand, was the calmest of them all. As a scientist, the whole thing had him highly intrigued, first and foremost. Certainly Yhwach more so than the witch, but the sight of the Witch putting herself together was also something that caught his interest. He knew better than anyone that panicking like the two beside him wouldn't do any good. If anything, at first he needed to assess the situation and how and where things were going before doing anything more.

"I never thought I would see their presence infest even this world. And yet, they are not hollows, despite possessing spirit energy of the denizens of Hell and Hueco Mundo. They are but mindless beasts no more powerful than your everyday hollow. A mere nuisance at best" he remarked.

When the massive hoards of Grimm approached, five enormous bluish white orbs, each one the size of a small building appeared in a 5 pointed star like pattern centered around the castle. The area within the orbs themselves encompassed a massive portion of the land, almost enough to cover a metropolis. Five lights of dense whitish blue reishi shot upwards towards the skies from the orbs, forming a barrier than then began to envelop everything inside the five pointed pentagon shaped area. The holy light torched everything it came in contact with, but only those things that possessed opposing reishi. Meaning that Yhwach, Neo, Cinder, Emerald, Mercury and Watts were completely untouched. But the same could not be said for the rest. Every single Grimm in the are was obliterated in an instant, and in fact, the light was affecting a lot of the pools of Grimm as well, burning into them and causing them to vigorously bubble and erupt. Many of them in fact did shrink significantly. But even after the light lasted several seconds, they didn't disintegrate completely like the Grimm did.

And the same could be said for Salem, who was soon enough regenerating, crackling and smushing together while she was reforming. From her snares and heavy gasps, it was evident that she was at the very least feeling the pain from all of those powerful attacks as they burned her and reduced her to dust. But amidst the violent howling of the winds and Yhwach's own attacks, none other than Salem herself would hear them.

"Just like that…." Whimpered Emerald in shock. "He just…"

"He just finished off a massive army of powerful elder Grimm in a single attack…." Gnashed Mercury, not knowing whether to cry out in disbelief or laugh at the absurdity of the situation. "Where the fuck did this guy pop up from..!?"

"And yet, that light didn't so much burn a single hair on our bodies" observed Watts. "While his power is obvious and rather preposterous, what is even more curious is that his power only burned the Grimm and in extension, our lady, leaving all other 'living beings' untouched. Still….it's very obvious at this point that our mistress might have finally found her match made in Hell itself. A monster for a monster"

But the light shows were not done. Because this time, Salem was fighting herself, conjuring spheres of light of different colors, with each one corresponding to the various elements. She conjured massive fiery waves, or would conjure bolts of lightning hurled at Yhwach, waves of water crushing down on him, tempest of gales that threatened to rip his skin apart or gravity that threatened to crush him flat to the floor.

"Schwack, schwack SCHWACH!" roared the Quincy King, repelling most of them without even batting an eye. In fact most of them he didn't even bother avoiding or repelling. They simply would have no effect on the Quincy King. Yhwach had a challenging expression on his face. "So very weak, Witch! Feeble flames and sparks, is that all that you have to offer?! I stamp you out, burn you, crush you to bits, exorcise you with my Heilig Sprenger, burn you with my Sankt Altar, all of which are capable of rendering even the worst of the worst from the domain of Hell to nothingness, and yet, you still refuse to die. I have to admit, this is my first time coming across an immortal, veil thing like you that even I cannot erase. And yet, I have never come across such a weak immortal. You are literally too stubborn to die! Even Aizen Sosuke had the power to back up his immortality. But you just stand there like an insekt that simply refuses to die. I am curious, Schwarze Hexe, just what vile being made something as cursed as you? I could just send you to her domain, but that would mean that I have failed my people by letting evil run loose, would it not? I simply cannot rest knowing that this world that I want to present to my brethren has something like you living in it somewhere. So I shall take care of you one way or another, no matter how I have to do it. For I am Yhwach, Leader of the proud Quincy race and one of the four closest to the god our world"

Salem on the other hand was simply silent for a while, looking down. She had an almost disappointed look on her face.

"Weak, you say? First you walk into my home when I am with my daughter, attacking me for no reason and then you destroy that which is mine for no harm they did to you. And then, you reduce my Grimm, my children that I spent so long bringing into this world to dust in less time it takes to blink. And your mana is so very bright and vivid, just like his. Yet your actions have been anything but. Vile? Cruel? When you look at what's really going on, who is truly vile here? You do not even know me, or understand me. I have so very many questions about someone as queer as you, for I was certain there existed none like you even back then. I thought it just might be possible. That perhaps I just might be relieved of this curse of mine. That perhaps the gods….nay, perhaps that someone had heard my wish. You even called yourself 'closest to god'. And you certainly possess the power to make me believe it. In my cursed life, I have watched the rise and fall of many civilizations, men of all calibers who have come after my head and yet none had reached as close as you did. And yet" she said, in a tone riddled with shattered hope, helplessness, ludicracy and mocking with a look that looked like she was grimacing and smiling at the same time. "Even a 'god' like you cannot grant me respite, not matter how much I submit or resist, nor matter what you do. In the end, you too shall pass, like other men while I continue to stay here, against my wishes and in lament, until the end of time itself. Because no matter how close you claim to be to god, you are no god. For my curse comes from the gods themselves. You will always remain a step short. So my dear, tell me, who is truly the weak one here?"

Yhwach's eyes flared, and her grabbed the witch by her face. Salem continued to maintain her expression.

"You overestimate yourself, Witch! You may be undying and continue to persist despite my best efforts to make you vanish, but that hardly implies you have attained victory. There are fates much worse than death, even worse than the curse of having to live a life as cursed as yours. Cursed by the gods, you say? And I believed there was no possible way for an existence to be more pitiful than it already was. You are truly mistaken if you think your immortality can save you. In fact, you will be instrumental in my vow to eradicate evil from existence, both from this world and mine. Even to your last, cursed breath, I shall make sure you and everything else vile in both worlds serve the greater good before meeting your rightful end" he declared, conjuring reishi arrows and piercing her through her hands, legs, abdomen and her forehead respectively, leaving her stunned and immobile.

The pierced arrows were keeping her 'suspended' in air, but if they had been any kind of solid structure to hold Salem in place it would have looked like she was crucified. Even in her half-aware state, as the arrows continuously burned her skin and wounds, causing her burning pain, she still maintained her expression from before, staring at Yhwach before finally closing them. The Quincy King gave one distasteful look before heading back towards the castle with the onlookers watching him return, with Salem's limp body 'following' right behind.

When he finally landed right next to Neopolitan, it was then that he noticed the ice cream girl and the distressed look she had on her face.

Though Emerald, Mercury and Watts had their own take on the entire situation, unbeknownst to them all, the one most affected was the one not even present in the room. From the entrance of the castle, Neopolitan was watching the exchange as well, her curiosity getting the better of her as she sneaked a peek while keeping her distance. And it would be a mistake she would regret for life. Needless to say, the last thing she expected was for this stranger to completely obliterate Salem on the spot. However, the thing that would terrorize Neo's heterochromatic eyes would not be the unsettling ways that Salem would mush, meld and put herself together nor the immeasurable number of Grimm approaching them from every direction, or even the way that Yhwach would utterly obliterate the black witch time and time again. No, it would be the whole ugly exchange itself, and the expressions worn by the Black Witch and the King of the Quincy during their short but eventful exchange. Her eyes were seeing something entirely different in the whole battle.

Looking at the girl with the same demeanor as he did when he first saw her before the whole thing escalated, he approached her, with Salem still right behind him.

"Your days of living in fear of evil are at an end. From now on, you may rejoice. As I promised earlier, this world will see days filled with glory and prosperity under the Quincy" he declared to the girl, reaching out with his hand.

But the stressed out and terrified expression remained. In fact, when Yhwach reached out, it only grew graver. And it was then the King of the Quincy witnessed it. The hand that he reached out changed. Twisted. Morphed into something else. Something indescribable. Like the phantoms of one's nightmares. But it wasn't just his arm. Shifting his eyes to one of the giant dust crystals next to him, he could see his form reflected. An indescribable, shadowy, vague….thing. That was what greeted him in place of his usual appearance. And it wasn't just him. He could see the Witch's form had twisted as well, deformed, as if to aggrandize her actual fate. Even her expression was twisted and morphed beyond belief. His eyes rolled back towards the quivering and shaking girl. But even she too had changed. Instead of a young woman with heterochromatic eyes and bi-colored hair, there was a girl no older than eight, wearing her fully brown hair in pigtails and a black waistcoat, a white shift and a black ribbon with both eyes brown. But the expression on her face was the same as it had been before the change.

Yhwach stood silent for a moment, giving this girl his complete attention while the girl continued to shake and back away every so slowly, clutching herself and nodding her head. When he felt his hand, he could tell it felt no different than it normally did. It was nothing more than an illusion, one which was no doubt conjured by this girl in front of him. But it didn't seem like the girl was doing it consciously. If anything, it was reflecting what she didn't want to imagine against her will, going out of control. In times of great distress and agony, a soul would do anything it could to maintain itself and it was said that during that time, the abilities of a soul would truly be brought out and would peak.

Because now, the surroundings around him were shifting as well. Yhwach found himself in a completely new space. Gone was the desolate looking backdrop, the red sky and the giant dust crystals sprinkled around them in the landscape as was the crystalline castle. Instead, Yhwach in his morphed appearance, Salem in her morphed appearance and the younger 8 year old girl were all that existed in what appeared to be a rather bizarre room, if Yhwach could even call it one.

Moving stars and galaxies for a ceiling that seemed to be just out there, with rainbows traversing across the 'sky'. And alongside the stars were many teddy bears, bunnies and plushies taking the shape of stars. The walls around them were decorated with many childish drawings, many of them containing depictions of the ice cream girl and the orange haired man. There were also many doors around them, some open and some closed. The open doors led to other bizarre, outlandish fantastical places, one of them being a land with contours made of candies and cookies, flowing rivers of milk, a bring smiling sun and children of similar ages playing and frolicking. Scattered around the floor were many kinds of toys, board games, snacks, and plushies. While most were shaped like cute animals or other fantastical creatures, there was one shaped like a tiny man with orange hair, a bowler hat and a cane with bangs covering one eye and a white suit and black pants and there was even one that was shaped like that of a little girl with pink hair, pink eyes wearing a ribbon on her hair and clothing similar to the girl herself. There was a comfortable bed, a gigantic present box with a red ribbon that was empty.

The girl went over to her bed, covering herself in her blanket and hiding underneath, clutching the orange haired man shaped toy close to herself along with the doll shaped like a pink haired girl.

But what truly surprised the Quincy King was that his entire body had just disappeared. He could still feel himself, his arms, legs and his clothes. And yet, he could not see himself. It was as if the girl had blocked him out, atleast visually. Though Yhwach was not expecting to see something like this in the least, it did tell him what was going on. He had no doubt that these were all more illusions. He reached out for the toy next to him and was surprised when he realized that he could actually grab it. It felt real. Almost. It did give him the feeling of touch, but almost immediately, it shattered like glass before disappearing. And like a domino knocking over other dominoes, the entire room fell apart, bringing them back to the desolate landscape. It was an illusion, of that there was no doubt. But this girl could truly project them in the real world.

"Your reaction puzzles me, kleine dame" he addressed her. "Is this the product of your abilities? To show me and the world how you perceive everything around you? If that is so, is this truly how you see me as I stand before you? Or is this the result of the phantoms that plague your heart? Whatever it is, you saw in my battle something that no one else could, something that resonated within your soul and is now showing itself to the world. Just like yourself, your external appearance truly belies you. There is no doubt there is great potential within you, a potential that I can help you achieve. You have nothing to fear from me, little girl. Whatever it is, I will drive away the evils that plague your heart. That I promise" he assured, reaching out to her once more.

At that moment, it was as if something snapped within the girl. Her eyes rolled from sheer horror, and she slumped sideways, falling over the edge of the floating rock. It looked as if she had done that intentionally rather than unconsciously. But the Quincy King was not worried. A small thing like that wouldn't stop him from grabbing the girl. But just as he was about to reach out and save her, the sun gate nearby activated, distracting him. Haschwalth and Bazz-B appeared with what appeared to be a woman in tatters held in chains. The sun gate was the location he had arrived in with his other subordinates when they first reached this world.

"We are back from the task you have entrusted us, your majesty" said Haschwalth, giving a small bow. Acknowledging the gesture, he turned his attention back to the cliff where the girl had fallen through, only to see nothing. He continued to stare at the abyss, before finally closing his eyes and turning back to his subordinates.

"I see that you have found someone quite capable indeed. Very well done. I shall hear your report once all the Sternritter have regrouped" he ordered. They gave an acknowledging bow. But both of them couldn't take their eyes off of the crucified visage of Salem. They could feel the evil spirit energy emanating off from her.

"I can see that this one has caught your attention as well, but rest assured, her kind will no longer bother us" assured Yhwach. "I have other tasks for you. There are still people inside who we can recruit for our cause inside. Go and bring them here" With a small bow, Bazz-B and Haschwalth went in.

Shortly following that, another flash accompanied the sun gate, and this time, Gremmy appeared with a satisfied expression, but flinching as everyone else did upon their arrival along with his prisoners.

"I have accomplished my mission, your majesty" he said, giving a light bow. He then pointed to the crosses that came along with him. Once again manifesting figures to hold the up, he brought them in front of Yhwach. "Here are the famous Espada remaining of Aizen's faction! I have to admit, they were a lot more intriguing than I thought they would be" But Gremmy saw the odd expression on Yhwach's face. "Is something the matter, your highness?"

"How odd…" he stated, going closer to Tier. "I am well aware of the need for a human body to arrive in this world. But this is still intriguing" he said. When Gremmy looked back, he understood what Yhwach was talking about.

They had changed. All of them. In Hueco Mundo, after Gremmy put them in the gigai, they had human appearances. But the moment the visionary passed through the sun gate, they had changed. Each one of them seemed to have animalistic features in some form or the other.

Tier had shark fins on her arms and had a shark tail, along with pointed, fin like ears.

Ulquiorra had black bat like wings, pointed ears and a long black tail.

Nelliel had a horse like tail, two curved horns on her head as well as the pink marking she had on her face.

Grimmjow had panther like blue ears, a long black tail and blue markings under his eyes.

Starrk had a bushy grey tail like that of a wolf and wolf like ears, as did Lilynette, who also had red, fiery markings on one eye.

Sung-sun had slanted, snake like eyes, pale skin that was scaly at places as well as pointed ears.

Mila Rose had cat like ears on her head, a long tail like a lioness as well as a cross shaped marking between her eyes.

Apacci had a red marking around her eyes, a set of antlers sprouting from her head and hooves like that of a deer.

All in all, all of the captured arrancars, including the fraccione of Tier and Nelliel had similar animalistic features.

"Quite expected and yet interesting to see nonetheless" noted Yhwach. "Still, no matter where they go, what they are inside is the same, regardless of how closely they mimic our looks"

"If I may speak your majesty, I am quite honored that you chose me for the mission. I can already feel the fountain of my imagination tremble in this new world. Still, I never thought something emitting such vile reishi could exist" he commented, pointing to Salem. "Actually, I stand corrected. Now that I remember right, this ones reishi feels a lot like Ruby Rose"

"I noticed it too. I too never expected to find something akin to Ruby Rose in this world, despite Ruby Rose being the reason as to why I was able to discover this place. However, Ruby Rose became the way she is now thanks to her experiences in our world. So it's only natural I would not expect something similar to her to exist in this world. But that matters not. In fact, now is as good a time as any, now that the arrancars are here as well". He then went over to the sun gate, activating it. "Quilge" he called out. Within a moment's notice, another appeared from the gate. It was a man with a largely shaved head with a crop of black hair on top that was covered by a white hat with a black peak and gold trimming. He wore the uniform of the Sternritter and round spectacles. Upon arriving, he flinched at the evil presence he was sensing all around him but knelt down before Yhwach.

"This thing beside me is an immortal evil far worse than anything that I have put down. She will be instrumental in our mission. And then we have the arrancars that Gremmy has captured. There is none better at containing evil than you. From now on, this castle and this floating rock are under your responsibility. And those that we capture and contain, like this thing here and the arrancars or otherwise will be under your responsibility. Feel free to change this place as you see fit" he ordered.

"Jawohl!" replied Quilge, walking up to Salem and the arrancars, with Gremmy's conjured figures carrying them alongside Quilge.

Back in the Red Room, Cinder Fall had no idea what was going on outside. She heard muffled sounds of distant explosions and the like, but being stuck there, she couldn't really figure out much. Though her body trembled still, she slowly got the courage to pick herself up and inch her way to the door. But she didn't know why she was even bothering to go outside. After all, even if she did leave the dreaded room, it wasn't like she would get away scoot free from Salem once she returned from whatever was going on outside. In fact, given that Salem had specifically told her not to move, if she did leave the room, she might even be punished for it. And the sounds that were coming from outside had died. So there was a good chance that Salem was coming back. But just as these thoughts were swimming in her head, the door creaked, causing her to panic and huddle back in the corner with her eyes clenched shut. She half expected the black witch to continue doing what she was doing before she left. But instead, it was a masculine voice that greeted her.

"What is this…?" he wondered to himself, an expression of mild shock on his face upon seeing the room. He then approached the woman huddled on the corner. The woman had considerable spirit energy, like that of a soul reaper lieutenant, which was still way lower than his own people but considerable compared to the normal humans he met in this world. In fact, the woman's spirit energy was somewhat similar to the woman he captured earlier, atleast a portion of it was. But what surprised him was the frightened state she was in and if the things he saw in the room were any indication, probably whatever lived in this vile castle was the one responsible for her condition. Which of course meant the evil arrancar like thing that Yhwach subdued earlier. His hatred for her just grew even more. He extended an arm towards Cinder.

"My lady….you will be alright now. That which terrorized you no longer exists" he assured with a softer voice. Slowly, Cinder turned, coming face to face with Haschwalth. Though she was still confused at first, there was something about his voice that put her at ease. "You needn't worry any more. I don't know of what happened here, but our Majesty has taken care of the vile witch that lived in this place. From now on, you will be under the care of his Majesty" he assured. "Just take my hand for now, I assure you that I mean you no harm"

Cinder was shocked. Vile Witch? Taken care of? Majesty? Just what was going on here? Was Salem really dead..? Was that even possible? There were so many questions clouding her confused head, but at the moment, she needed to find that out. And if the man in front of her promised answers, then she had no reason to deny him. She took his hand, and he helped her up. With one glance, he could see that while she was mildly injured, her condition was otherwise ok physically. He offered his hand once more, but she declined it.

"I can walk by myself. Thank you" she replied. There was no animosity or arrogance in her voice, for it was just a simple statement. He did see that she was grateful for offering his arm in the first place.

"Very well. Then, I shall escort you to His Majesty" he replied. And so they walked up the familiar set of stairs that led to the main room, and long the way, Cinder tried her best to keep a watch out for Salem, only to see yet another man with red hair in a mohawk talking to Mercury, Emerald and Watts, leading them outside. Emerald spared a glance back at Cinder, with relief spreading across her face once she locked eyes with Cinder. The fall maiden tried her best to hide any sign of weakness, merely returning a glance to communicate that she was ok. Once they were finally outside, it was then they saw a scene that they wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon.

There were more men in white uniforms, with one who appeared to be their leader standing next to what appeared to be 5 pointed crosses held up by sculptures of sorts, with each one containing faunus of different kinds all of whom had been strung up. And right next that, in chains was-

"That's….that's Raven Branwen….!" Exclaimed Emerald. Which did surprise Cinder. Raven Branwen in such a pitiful state? She was no joke, even for expert huntsmen and Cinder herself doubted she could have taken Raven on without any injuries of sorts. But that would be nothing compared to what she saw next.

"I…I don't believe it..!" exclaimed Mercury. Strung up and crucified was Salem in a weak, mumbling state with burning arrows keeping her in place. She was still awake unlike the others, and even as they passed her by, Salem's eyes which were almost closed were observing them, and there was a small, almost unnoticeable smile on her face. She seemed to be saying something.

"You are safe…..my dear children…." She weakly mumbled before closing her eyes fully.

Cinder continued to stay frozen on the spot. And she was not the only one. For Raven, who was still barely conscious did manage to get a small glimpse at the black witch in her current state. Needless to say, despite her current condition, she couldn't help but feel a weight sink within her upon the sight. Salem, the one she had feared and was the reason for everything in her life and her family going downhill was right there, in a completely useless state. And these strange people with their monstrous power had been responsible for it. It was only then that she realized the folly of her tribe's actions. And that alone was more than enough to finally blink out the lights within her combined with her broken state.

"Your Majesty, we have escorted all of the humans we were able to find. There are rooms at the bottom-most level where we could store our prisoners" suggested Haschwalth.

"Very well. Quilge, you heard him. As I mentioned before, I leave the prisoners in your hands" he stated, following which the jailer gave a short bow before he and the other ex-Espada and Salem disappeared behind the interiors of the castle.

As if on cue, the sun gate activated once more. This time, BG9 appeared, carrying a girl and a woman over his shoulders, both of whom appeared to be unconscious.

"Impeccable timing, BG9. We were just expecting your return" greeted Yhwach. The machina set the two he was carrying down, giving a small bow and then looking up to him in a very eager manner, evident by the glowing orb in his face glowing bright. "Your Majesty, I have MUCH to report about our current situation and this world. By looking into the memories of this woman and by integrating myself within their systems, I have learnt everything there is to know about this world"

"Wait…you have?" asked Bazz-B, surprised. "I mean, I know that you can learn things from the people you capture and from all the machines you connect with but….everything? You really must have hit a jackpot in that case with these two. Speaking of which…that girl, she looks like a robot…" he commented, looking at Penny.

"Penny Polendina is indeed a machina. One who I have now reprogrammed to serve his Majesty. One who also happens to have a human soul infused within her" he reported.

"Human soul..? Like a gigai..?" asked Haschwalth surprised.

"BG9" called out Yhwach, gaining its attention. "I understand that you are eager to show us the fruits of your task. However this is hardly the place for such a discussion"

"Acknowledged, your Majesty. Considering that night approaches and that your Majesty requires his sleep, I have found a place fitting for your undisturbed rest, as well as a place where we Quincy can set up base in this world. It is a metropolis far more advanced than anything that exists in our world. I have full control over all of the systems in place at Atlas City. It is a grand place that is fit for His Majesty" reported BG9.

"That's impossible..!" exclaimed Watts, cutting in. "You….you're telling me you bypassed the entire mainframe of Atlas City and have integrated yourself within the CCT?! Even if you were an advanced android like Penny, a standalone system wouldn't have the computing power required to hack into the CCT without a workstation!"

"You are free to believe what you wish, Dr. Arthur Watts. I am well aware that you were partially responsible for constructing the defenses of Atlas City. Yes, I know all about you. I know everything there is to know about all of you, Emerald Sustrai, Mercury Black, Cinder Fall, Raven Branwen. And it is all thanks to the CCT and Winter Schnee that I have this knowledge. There is no system that I cannot get access to with my Knowledge. However, for a human being, I will admit that your work on the city's defenses have been commendable" replied the machina.

"Is that so.." commented Yhwach curiously. "Very well then, BG9. Instead of the Wandenreich, let us see firsthand what you have for us. Lead the way"

And so, proceeding towards the sun gate, the Quincy and their king left for the great metropolis, bringing along a very confused Watts, Emerald, Mercury and Cinder with them along with Winter and Raven.

---

Roman Torchwick didn't care that he was leaving in between what he was doing, nor did he care about the repercussions of having to deal with it later on. When he saw the beep going off on his scroll, he knew he had to rush. The location that the scroll was pointing too was quite far away. But it was where Neo was at the moment.

One could only imagine his surprise when Neo, who was supposed to be up there in the floating rock with Cinder and the other cronies suddenly appeared within CCT range in a rather strange manner. Rather than gradually moving from there to Vale, her marker just appeared out of nowhere, falling straight down at terminal velocity. And that was not the kind of movement one expected from someone using a bullhead to travel. Roman tried calling her or reaching her through the scroll but there had been no response. And the point where she was descending led straight to the ocean. The closest piece of land was the island of Patch. A place that he was only just aware of and had no particular interest to him. But this time, he was on a bullhead, passing tense minutes as he bit his nails trying to get to the only hospital in Patch as soon as he could. It had been a few hours since Neo's signal touched the ocean and her transponder started moving towards Patch and at the hospital where she was now.

But finally, he was there. Though curious onlookers did give him odd looks, he didn't give a damn. All he did was rush straight to the hospital. He did consider putting on a disguise, considering that he WAS a wanted criminal. But luckily, not many seemed to particularly look at him strange and the few that did didn't give him second or third looks. But at that point, he didn't care. He rushed straight to the receptionist.

"Hey, you there! Where's the girl with brown and pink hair that fell into the ocean?!" he demanded, much to the surprise of the bewildered lady at the desk.

"Sir, you can't just..!"

Before she could complete her sentence, a scream rang out from somewhere in the west block and a nurse came running out with a horrified expression on her face.

That's my cue, he told himself, before rushing in that direction, ignoring the protests of the receptionist calling after him. As he ran past the hallways, pushing away other doctors and nurses, he heard yet another scream come from a nearby room. Now he knew where to go. Another nurse came running out of the room.

"It was there…my hands….my face…they…!" she stammered. Roman clicked his tongue. The situation was worse than he thought.

"Neo!" he shouted as he entered the room.

It was as if he had walked into another scene itself entirely. Rather than the bright white lights of the hospital, what greeted him instead was the familiar scene of the 'Room' as he liked to call it. He had been here many, many times before. Ever since he had picked up the ice cream girl all those years back. All of those times she would have her episodes when she would have her nightmares, he would be within the 'Room', a make believe space created by the girl as a product of her semblance going out of control during periods of extreme duress. The Room looked very innocent at first glance. And it certainly was, representing what he thought was no more than a child's imagination gone wild. But only he knew the truth behind it. It would be a simple matter to dispel the illusion by just touching anything in the room. But he also knew that wasn't the way when it came to calming her down.

He first locked the door behind him. Interruptions were the last thing he needed. Then, as always, he went over to the young 8 year old crouched by the corner in fear and covering herself with a blanket, putting his arms around the girl. The girl looked up to him, going wide eyed after realizing who was next to her and then tightly grabbed him, putting her head against his chest. Roman took his time calming her down. He could hear the shouting and banging from outside, but he didn't bat an eye and simply focused his attention on getting the girl to calm down.

Finally, her breathing did become steady and the girl seemed to be placated. The room the faded away, revealing the ice cream girl on the hospital bed with bandages and casts attached to her. It was clear that she had been dried first evident from her disheveled pink and brown hair and the girl herself looked much better. In fact, Roman noticed that she looked rather irritated and cranky compared to her frightened expression from before. A thing that was all too common whenever she had those episodes. If there was one thing that Neo hated, it was showing that side of herself even to Roman. Her mood would be worse if there HAD been someone else who witnessed her but when she noticed that it was only Roman in the room, she relaxed, if only just.

He went over to her, rubbing her head. "You feeling alright there kiddo? I mean, I suppose not but…you get what I mean"

Neo irritably turned away, as if to say she was just fine. She then looked around for something, presumably her scroll. Finding it by her bedside, Roman gave it to her. "Hold on for a sec, I'd better deal with them first" he told her, before going over to the door.

"Will you keep it down?! There's a sick patient here, how is one supposed to get rest and recovery with all that ruckus you're making?! And you call this a hospital?" he shouted.

"What's that…?! Are you one of the staff? If not, I demand that you open the door this instant to let us examine the patient! Otherwise-!"

"Pipe down!" he growled back before going over to Neo, who was pouting at him rather annoyed. She held up her screen.

"I'm not sick, I feel just fine" she typed. "I fell from the sky when I slipped off the edge and into the water but I had my aura to protect me. I think. I don't remember much. But I could've sworn I hit a couple of birds along the way, they slowed down my fall a bit. I feel nasty but these doctors really are taking it too far. I want to rip these off"

Roman sighed. "There you go again being all cranky. The way I see it, you fucking fell off the sky for god's sake! That's not something to be nonchalant about! I know you had your aura but I'm sure they wouldn't have put all that on you if they felt they didn't need to. You're staying right here until you get better and we can go back to talk about why the hell you were falling from the sky to begin with" he stated, before proceeding to go to the doctors again but this time Neo firmly grabbed his sleeves. She was shaking her head furiously, almost as if begging him not to leave. She then began to type frantically.

"No..Please don't…stay here. You can't leave. You can't go when that thing is out there. The old hag…she's been done in by this monster that came out of nowhere. He…he took out an entire army of elder Grimm in a single attack. We can't go up there. If we go, he'll…." She typed.

Roman raised his eyes. Out of all the things he expected her to say, that was the last thing he expected. So much so that he doubted if the fall had impacted her memories or brain in a certain way.

"Done in..? Are you sure?" he asked her. She nodded and then began to type again.

"That man…..that thing…..whatever that old hag did, nothing worked. He made short work of her. He was talking about how he planned to bring 'salvation and glory' to our world. And he has the power to take out an entire army of elder grimm in a second. I fell just as he was trying to capture me"

Roman blinked, watching the girl with her eyes asking him to believe her. "Well….damn. I…I'm not even sure what to say. This is not at all what I thought would go down today. But if the guy's as great as you say, then what's the point? If he really is such a monster, where would we even hide? I'm surprised he would even let you get away from there if he was so great. Are you really sure you saw what you saw?" he asked her once more. A frown appeared on her face and she nearly slapped Roman.

"Wh…whoa there kiddo, you needn't go that far! Alright, alright, I believe you! Geez calm down will ya? I really don't want you to be stressing yourself in your condition!"

"I told you I'm FINE!" she typed aggressively. "In fact, the faster I get OUT of the his place the BETTER I'll start feeling!"

"No can do kiddo. You're sick, hurt and from what you're telling me, shit has hit the ceiling. If that old witch is really dead, then we have much more things to be preparing for. But right now, your condition takes priority. Don't worry, they done know about us. Rest here for a couple of days while I go make some calls. Then let's talk about what to do" said Roman sternly.

"No" typed Neo simply. "Not them. We're not going back to the base. Too risky and pointless. I don't know what happened to Watts, but if he's on their side, they we're just waiting for them to find us. He will just sniff us out and we'll be sitting ducks. We have to go back to Beacon Academy and find Ruby Rose and the old fool"

Roman did a double take. "Wait….hold on. You mean, Red?! The same Red that offed me the first time I met her? The one that you told was all 'weird' over text? What's going on Neo?"

"I'll tell you when we get there, but for now just take me out of this place!" she demanded, typing it in. "But if you really want to know, short version-I just think she and the old fool can be our airbag if that monster comes looking for us"

"….Well, I don't really get what's going on, but if that makes you happy then fine. I hope you tell me everything when we get there, I'm not that enthusiastic about going to a place where every other wall in the street has my face plastered on it. We ARE in patch right now and Beacon Academy is really a stone's throw away. But I still want you to you take as long as you need here and rest up, if not for a week then atleast for today. It's late, and we can do better during daylight. After that, I'll take you myself to Red. How's that sound?" he proposed. Neo grumbled for a bit but ultimately nodded her head.

Roman sighed once more, finally going and opening the door to come face to face with an angry set of faces demanding an explanation. However, the doctors would get the shock of their lives when Roman would be the one who glowered over them, promising a fate worse than death if they didn't handle the girl in the ward the way she was meant to be. Naturally he would be right outside the door, but it was just in his careful nature to take care of such details.

Red, huh? He wondered. Not at all the way he imagined things would go. And he had a feeling that he was getting roped into something truly greater than all of Remnant itself.

---

In a fairly spacious Japanese styled tatami room big enough for two people, there were two individuals seated across each other with a kotatsu in between them, and a shogi board laid out on the table. Also in front of them was a small cup of tea, the steam leaving them indicating that the tea was still warm, despite the fact that it had been an hour or two since the two had started their game of for the day.

One of them was a mild featured man with brown, scholarly hair that was swept back with a small strand hanging over his face. He wore a traditional Japanese hakama, one that was colored dull yellow with a dull brown haori worn on top of his hakama that had thin vertical stripes. His soft brown eyes were focused on the game board. With his hand on his chin, it really did give the impression that he was totally absorbed in the game and was thinking up a really grand strategy with nothing else plaguing his mind.

His opponent and the only other person in the room was simple looking woman in a simple, plain white Japanese kimono with a flowery pattern and a soft pink haori worn over it. Her long, voluminous, wavy black hair was left loose but tied midway just below the base of her shoulder blades and the two bangs framing her face were parted sideways. She had a slightly wide face and sharp features, giving her the appearance of a mature woman. She was watching the man with interest as she waited for him to make his move.

From the outside, the scene looked like it was nothing more than a simple game being played by a husband and wife or the lord of a manor and his mistress in their chambers. But that was far from the actual truth. In reality, nothing in that room was what it seemed. Quite literally.

The man's name was Sosuke Aizen. Just short of two years ago, the man had been one of the greatest Soul Reapers to exist on Earth. Over the course of many centuries, he had been successful in continuously evolving and growing, deceiving all of those around him, manipulating them in twisted ways to get them to act in a way that benefited him, whether they were aware of it or not. But before he could reach his ultimate goal, he would finally meet his match at the hands of Ichigo Kurosaki and Ruby Rose, whose combined efforts along with Kisuke Urahara were successful in reducing him to nothing more than a simple cross shaped seal currently sitting somewhere in the eccentric shopkeeper's unusually well guarded attic, with the world having moved on, dealing with the next set of circumstances that came by.

Naturally, at the time, as their battle went by, his calm and collected demeanor started to break away, with disbelief and denial voicing itself vocally more and more until he'd simply accepted his loss, regaining his calm mind from before. Now, his mind was clearer than it had ever been. Those that bested him would assume that would be the end of his ambitions, but he was not one who would be deterred by such a small roadblock. He was a man who would always seek out betterment, improvement and to be an existence closer to that of the gods themselves. Even in his current condition, over the last two years, he had religiously spent honing his already adept skills, be it combat skills or his own mind.

But one might ponder how such a thing was even possible, given his current sealed state and even his own appearance. But Aizen Sosuke never needed anything more than his own self for improvement. For this was his inner world, a place within himself that was a reflection of his true self. And true to that, this place itself was but an illusion made reality, responding to the desires and visions of its master. Now it was styled in the shape of a Japanese themed chamber, but at moment's notice it could become a battlefield for Aizen to hone his abilities or a rock garden for him to simply enjoy the reflection of the moon as he sipped a cup of sake. His own appearance was the same, as was his partner's, constantly changing and switching to match the image in their minds as the situation deemed suitable. It was also because of her that Aizen Sosuke even had the opportunity to have someone to practice and hone his skills and spend time with.

The woman's name was Kyouka Suigetsu. Since the beginning of his life, she was the only one who had truly been by his side, supporting him, chiding him and helping him grow. Unlike other soul reapers who would bond with an Asauchi and receive a zanpakuto spirit however, the woman had been with Aizen for as long as the latter could remember. And just like his current self, her own appearance was not how she really looked like, although it was her most common one. Normally her outfits would be different and sometimes she would have ornaments in her hair, while at times her physical self itself would be different, appearing older and younger at times. And she would even take on the form of those he had come across in his life, either as a way of her training him or as a way for Aizen to picture a conversation or a situation involving said people. Having the ability to manipulate all 5 senses did have its uses.

And while he himself was a man who wore so many faces and had so many personas to those around him that none ever truly came close to knowing everything there was to know about him, his partner was ever more enigmatic than he was. Despite being his zanpakuto, Aizen never got the feeling that he understood her, while Kyouka seemed to know everything about him, even things that he didn't know about himself. The two were one entity, with similar powers, skills, capacity and intellect. On the outside, she looked no more different than a normal woman, one who had a somewhat refined and intellectual presence but exuded a certain aura of 'plain-ness' which made her seem like she was nothing more than your average person.

However, despite lacking a full understanding of who she really was, he knew that she was much more than that. It was the impression she gave him whenever the two interacted. And their roles would always change too. At times they would be partners in battle, trusting in each other completely. And at times it would appear that they were like husband and wife who enjoyed each other's company while doing the most mundane things inside their own world though the two of them knew it was far from that. Because at such times, they were doing nothing more than enjoying their company talking about and debating about various topics. And at times they would be like completely strangers who were merely interested in their own goals. While at times they would be nothing more than master and zanpakuto, with each having their own roles to fulfill. And yet, in all of those circumstances, there was no disparity between the two and were inseparable, literally and metaphorically.

He always thought it to be strange, that someone like him, who sought to know, to understand everything there was to know would be so unsure about his own zanpakuto. Kyouka always found amusement watching him ponder about it. But the further back into his past he tried to recollect, the details would become blurrier and blurrier, as if he was trying to peer further and further back into the first few moments of the universe which originated from the Big Bang. And in this case, the universe was his existence. The one thing he DID know was that no matter how far back he looked, she had always been there for him. In fact, he wasn't even sure if there had been anyone else but her. He didn't even know if he ever had an existence as something other than a soul reaper, which by itself was strange, but it didn't take long for him to give up on the pursuit.

After all, to Aizen Sosuke, a man who was all about progress and reaching further heights, his own origins were as worth to him as dust. It wouldn't change one thing knowing what he was in the past or who he was before he was a soul reaper. To him, all that mattered was what was to come.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, he moved his piece, waiting for her to make her move. And then she moved hers, almost immediately and almost as if she knew his next moves. But Aizen was done planning for this game. He needed to think and stall no more. The two continued to move their own pieces in silence, until finally Aizen placed his with a confident tap.

"I believe that's checkmate, Kyouka" state Aizen with a confident smile. He expected her to be somewhat displeased that he was able to best her despite her clearly having thought otherwise. But surprisingly, she had an even wider and satisfied smile of her own.

"That it is" she replied. She then neatly put away the pieces and the board, even though it was nothing more than an illusion she conjured and all that she really needed to do was will it out of existence. She then finished the rest of the tea in her cup, waiting for Aizen to do the same. Slowly getting up, she called out to him.

"I want to take a walk. Give me company" she requested simply. There was no obligation or choice in her tone. It was merely a simple statement that implied nothing more than her intention of asking his company to wherever she wanted to take him next. And so, following suit, he put on his sandals (though it was once again, nothing more than an illusion) as did she, before she gently pried open the sliding door in their room. On the other side, the scene was completely different, replaced by a lush, dense forest with sunlight flittering through the trees, and a rough forest trail leading deeper in. She slowly guided him through the path, ignoring multiple branches that they came across and turning and switching paths all while enjoying the scenery around them. Aizen felt it was no different than the leisurely walks she took him on. Before he knew it, they were at a clearing with an object he instantly recognized. In the middle of the clearing was an enshrined hand, with a single half-opened eye located on the back of the 'palm'. Around the hand was what appeared to be part of a shawl like clothing, which was also enshrined like the hand was. The palm was clenched, and from within it, he could feel the familiar glow of the Hogyoku.

It was no surprise to him. After all, once he fused with the Hogyoku, it was a part of his soul. Which meant that it would be within his inner world in some form or another. And considering that he and Kisuke Urahara used small slivers of the different parts of the Soul King as the base for the Hogyoku, it made sense that it appeared to him in the form that it did. At first, he expected that the Hogyoku would simply become a part of Kyouka. But that was not to be. Still, it was well within expectations.

Unlike Hell and Hueco Mundo, wherein the Left Leg and Left Arm of the Soul King transformed to form the realms, the Right Arm and the Right Leg of the Soul King were actual, physical objects that generated the realms around them, maintaining their existence. Which naturally made it a lot easier for one to have access to them in order to make the Hogyoku, leaving aside the hundreds and thousands of souls it needed to be fed before it could be completed.

What did surprise him however, was seeing the form of the image of the Right Arm of the Soul king within his soul. The Hogyoku he had at first was formed by using a sliver of the Right Leg of the Soul King that Aizen acquired from the Wandenreich all those years back during the Quincy War. Kyouka Suigetsu's ability and his own younger stature made it easy for him to get access to it. As for Kisuke Urahara, he got his version of the Hogyoku after using a small sliver of the Right Arm of the Soul King present in the Rukon district. Facts that Aizen knew and it also explained to him why the Hogyoku pieces were 'more complete' after he joined them together. What he didn't understand was why he only saw the image of the Right Arm enshrining the Hogyoku within it and not both.

Kyouka merely walked over to the hand, giving it the lightest tap, which caused the hand to open up, revealing the Hogyoku within it. The hand and the jewel in her hand then promptly disappeared the moment she closed her own hands.

Aizen raised his eyes. This was something new. In place of the hand, a tree took its place, casting a faint shadow underneath and leaving an overall serene atmosphere. She then took her place at the root of the tree, tapping the ground next to her, signaling him to sit down. When he did, she tilted her head ever so slightly, sparing him a glance.

"Good work on today's game of Shogi" she smiled. "It was the hardest one I could come up with, and I am pleased that you chose to pull through and win rather than abandon the game altogether"

"You seem awfully satisfied for having lost" replied Aizen. "Even going so far as to putting on theatrics"

"Hmm? You don't like it?" she questioned him with an artful smile.

"I'm more interested in the reason than the imagery you conjured" he replied.

"Reason? You're thinking too deeply, Sosuke. I made this up simply because I felt like taking a stroll with you" she replied innocently, still maintaining the slightest of smiles on her face.

Aizen sighed with a small smile. "The game, Kyouka. I'm talking about the reason for your unusual satisfaction despite losing a game you deemed was 'the hardest you could come up with'"

"You know better than anyone that things are not what they seem between us" she replied. "That game of course, is the same. To me, what mattered wasn't your win or my loss. It was the fact that you decided to accompany me to the end rather than abandon the game and in turn, me, when you were faced with a roadblock. And now that Yhwach has made his move, I needed to make sure you were ready before I gave you your reward for besting me in our game today"

Aizen raised his eyes once more. "Yhwach? That is the last name I expected to come from you. As usual, I have no way of knowing what goes on in your mind. I'm not sure why you would even bring up the possibility of abandoning my own zanpakuto" It was a statement that contained a tone of admiration and amusement rather than discontent.

Kyouka herself smiled fondly at him. "Every woman has her secrets. You know better than anyone how unwise it is to pry. If there is one thing Summer Rose made sure to teach you, that would be it. However, today isnt the time for secrets. Now that Yhwach has made his move, the time when the Four of us will gather is approaching closer. Things are moving, Sosuke. In a scale much grander than you think. But there is still one last thing before we can start talking about what I want to discuss" she said, extending her left hand with an open palm in front of him, and hovering over it as it manifested once more was the Hogyoku.

"Let's have a simple contest between the two us for once. But for you, it might possibly be the hardest challenge to overcome so far. There are no complicated rules or anything of the sort. All you need to do is choose. On one hand, you have me. Your simple, plain old zanpakuto. You've known me ever since you've lived, and I've lent you my strength, wisdom and my thoughts as and when you've needed me or I needed you. And then, you have this. Arguably one of the most powerful artifacts ever created. And although Kisuke Urahara had his part in its creation, there is no doubt half of it is thanks to your own efforts and intellect, as well as your own hard work. Its potential limitless. While my power can only reflect your hearts desires as a mere imitation of reality, this can make them a reality. A mere human granted god like abilities. A mere hollow can become an existence greater than two other classes of beings combined. Or a mortal into an immortal" she said, looking at Aizen. "And you've had the fortune of being able to possess both. But life isn't always fair. Many can only dream about possessing a small fraction of just one of the two. And assuming that applies to you as well, I want you to tell me which one you would rather have, were you given that choice. No, you can't choose both. You have to choose one assuming the other is lost forever. Naturally, there is no right or wrong answer. I'm just curious to know your opinion. Think of it as just another debate the two of us have. Except, you needn't give me justifications for your choice, nor is one choice better than the other. But, just because it's a game, doesn't mean you need to treat it as such. I would appreciate it if you would give me a serious answer" she finished, looking him straight in the eye with an observant eye.

Aizen was silent while Kyouka was finishing her question, thinking about the possible reasons for his zanpakuto spirit to ask him such a thing. The whole time, she hadn't flinched or changed her expression and even now, he couldn't get a read on her. Just as she had stated, it really seemed nothing more than a curious question intended to quench her curiosity. He couldn't tell if the spirit had something planned or if this was just another question for them to talk about later on. He considered the two options in front of him, her left palm with the Hogyoku floating over it and Kyouka's right hand, extended towards him. And after what seemed like a couple of minutes, he sighed, and took her empty right hand.

"Are you sure?" she asked, her tone belying nothing about her emotions. "If you'd like, I'll give you one more chance to change your mind. If you're worried about repercussions or future interactions between us, you have nothing to worry about"

"While I admit that the Hogyoku did entice me for a good deal of time, in the end, I was rejected by it the moment it sensed a higher authority. Though you did show your displeasure, you still lent me your aid nonetheless even as I lost to Ruby Rose and Ichigo Kurosaki. In the end, one is a piece of rock that I did not even fully create myself while the other is a part of me. I'm insulted my own zanpakuto would think so low of her master. If this was your idea of a 'difficult challenge' then you need to up your standards, Kyouka" he replied confidently, firmly gripping her empty hand.

"Is that so? Well, color me surprised!" she said with a bright smile, a scene that was notably surprising for Aizen. Because for the first time, it felt that he was watching the most genuine and pleased smile on her face that came from the bottom of her heart, and for the first time, he felt he was witnessing a small part of her true self. The Hogyoku disappeared once more and she went back to leaning back against the tree, looking up as if that part of the conversation was done and they were back to relaxing in the forest clearing like nothing had happened. As if, just like she had promised earlier, this was all nothing more than a genuine question with no strings attached meant to quench her curiosity and possibly to pass time. However, that smile continued to remain on her face.

"So this is where causality brings the two of us. After many alternate possibilities and many different outcomes, we're finally here. But still, I suppose that in itself is rather self-contradictory. After all, if multiple possibilities exist, it automatically implies that all possible choices and outcomes do as well. And your choice here is the same. Still, I never imagined this would be one of those outcomes. I wonder….if this is the effect of her appearance in this world. Both indirectly and directly, Ruby Rose has changed you more than you'll know" stated Kyouka, sparing a small glance at Aizen.

"Now that's a first" replied Aizen, raising his eyes. "You seem to be explaining your reasons and for once, I am still not following you"

"Of course. That only makes sense. But it's not what concerns us for now. As promised before, as a reward for our game earlier and this little question I set up right before, I think I can finally start talking a little about myself. After all, you chose plain old me over the Hogyoku. So it's only fair I start showing you a little bit about who I really am" she said, her form changing slightly. This time, her Kimono was white with red wavy patterns around the hem of her long sleeves and outfits, as well as around her shoulders. Over her kimono she also wore a translucent black haori, along with a shimmering red shawl than wrapped over her neck and around her arms. Her hair was tied in a loop in a bun before the rest lay loose behind her back. She also wore a magatama necklace. And on her left side was Kyouka Suigetsu's sword form, slung by her sash. All in all, she looked like a divine priestess of sorts, considering her outfit and the heavenly looking shawl that wrapped around her. And on the back of her right palm was the symbol of a half open eye in red on her pale, smooth skin. Her eyes too had changed, this time, they had white, star shaped pupils and iris that were colored black.

"Apart from the extravagant appearance, it doesn't look too different from your usual appearance" commented Aizen.

"You of all people know it's not what's on the surface that counts. But in this case, the surface reflects the things within. Still, that's not entirely true. This isn't my 'true' form, assuming you can even call it that. It would be akin to taking everything that made up 'me' and giving it a humanoid shape. And didn't Summer Rose talk about how it's impolite not to compliment a woman when she gives her all to present herself?" she questioned with a shrewd smile. Despite everything, Kyouka behaved and interacted with him just the same. It brought a small smile to his face. She promptly took her seat back by Aizen's side, like it was completely normal.

"No matter. Between us, it's a small thing. And I know your true feelings better than anyone. Indeed, from the beginning, the two of us have been together. We have fought in battle together, shared our thoughts, had deep philosophical discussions and have shared our goals and worked towards achieving them. And be it ups or downs, I have been with you for as long as you can remember. And yet, this will be the first time I have had the chance to show you my true self. And in our world, names hold meaning and weight. So let's start with names. You know me as Kyouka Suigetsu. And that is the name of Aizen Sosuke's zanpakuto. But I also have another name. No, a title more like" she said, looking up at the sky at first and then turning to him slowly. "You see, I am also the manifestation of the Will of the Right Arm of the Soul King"

---

Well, I'm late again with the release. I've been burdened with a lot of extra work, so it wasn't that easy to get this chapter going. A lot of things are happening in parallel and I assure you that it will only get more intense from here on. As always, I really appreciate you reading the story and for your support. See you soon!

---

Response to reviews:

Monster King: Thanks!

Argorok: Thanks as always! Well, that took a much different turn now didn't it? Hoh boy.

Lucian Naruto: Yeah and things took a completely different turn now didn't they?

Mobian: Hoh boy yes. A lot of events and implications have happened here. And this is only the start.

Firewyrm2: Well, even the 'mid-tier' Quincy are quite powerful, many of them more powerful than mid tier Espada. I wouldn't just put them down just yet. Ruby is strong yes. But there are definitely many Quincy stronger than her. Well, Watts measly virus was able to overtake her, so I really doubt BG9, a much superior life form couldn't do the same.

Rairi Valelira: And they did it so cleanly!

PUSSYSMASHER: I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you mean

PoofyOhio: Not sure actually, I just think it conveys the sound better in text form. Thanks for the support!

MutedArdor: I have replied to some of your responses via a PM since it was quite long. And since I still haven't responded to your latest one, I'll do so here.

Thanks a lot! I'm really glad you feel that way! The whole idea was that (atleast as far as the relationships went) was to introduce something a lot more 'realistic' and 'genuine' that went beyond just romance, in that something that truly explored the concept of a band of people just learning to live with each other and growing up with each other like family. Which is why family and friendship is such a huge thing in my story rather than romance. As for the grammar errors, I try to fix them and I can only promise to be more careful in the future. I am definitely working on them. As for Ruby, well, I hope you read ahead, since it gives you the answer.

That's true and well, I suppose you're right. Romance, no matter the pairing, should've been something that I needed to have experience with or atleast have planned all the way till the end. I did write out some of the interactions, but well, I think my desire to focus more on family and less of romance in itself backfired, meaning that I didn't give enough emphasis on the romance to make it matter. Still, this is all experience gained. Something for me to work on and do better next time. I can only say that I hope you look at the other more important aspects of the story since those are the ones that I wanted to highlight whereas the romance is just something that's 'there'. Once again, thank you so much for the support, it means a lot!

RandomName3064: Definitely. As you saw, he made really short work of them. But then again, atleast they were up against Gremmy and I kinda tried to give them some screentime. But in bleach canon it kinda happened offscreen, which I thought was underwhelming. So I tried to change things up a little bit.

As for Salem, I think it's an interesting take and one that is very much possible given her past. I am well aware of how she really is in canon. But the point of a fic is that once can take some liberties, right? And this angle is a very plausible one given her past.

As for K the knowledge, I suppose Winter's experience was just as bad. And unlike Penny, she wasn't a machine. But the worst part is what BG9 gained from her memories. After all, she was there with Ruby when Ruby explained everything to her from start to finish. Facts that BG9 and in extension Yhwach know/will know.

Fregreg: And he has. After all, he did read Winter as well, who was there when Ruby explained her past to everyone.

Xeno01: Maybe its just a nightmare. Or maybe its just a twisted premonition. Time will tell.

Well, that certainly didn't happen.

Yeah that he will. He was comparable to Soi-Fon speed wise but Ruby is much faster than Soi-Fon. She could definitely take care of BG9. But one shouldn't assume that BG9 will even be her opponent to begin with. Or that it will be just him. As for the invasion, it really depends now. The Quincy are out for conquering Remnant, both for conquest as well as for resources and land to fight the real war. I have something very special planned for Gremmy, you'll see.

Rama alif: Thanks a lot!

SatanicShrubbery: I will admit that the parts with the hell arc are a little unrefined and could have definitely been done better. As you mentioned, any form of foreshadowing would have worked. Anything to show the possibility of such a fate being possible for a soul in Bleach verse. As for the making sense part, I'd like to partially agree here. You're right that in many cases it is indeed true that you need to have things make logical sense as to why it happens. But I have also seen many many stories where things make sense MUCH later on, like hours later on. And they are some of the best stories I've ever read. It pretty much comes to execution and the type of content for sure. Something that I need to improve upon and do better. As for the references, it was more of a 'paying homage' to something that inspired that arc when I wrote it at the time. All in all, I was merely trying to make that part an interesting read since at the time, apart from the Hellverse movie not much of Hell had been explored in canon.

MaxHD2490: Ah I guess it was. Ruby was more scared of the nightmare than seeing Yang awake for sure. But it did surprise her for a second. Yup, Atlas is gone.