"It seems I haven't instilled enough fear in you to trigger your next evolution."
After three hours of relentless attacks, Ailin frowned. Hollowed Lin showed no signs of further transformation.
His expression startled Hollowed Lin. "Hey, Ailin, what are you doing?"
"Showing you what true fear is."
Ailin beckoned, and a Zanpakutō from the Sword Hill flew into his hand, transforming into a streak of lightning.
"Don't worry, Hollowed Lin. With this Zanpakutō, even if I kill you, I can bring you back."
Sharing Ailin's memories, Hollowed Lin instantly recognized the blade. His face paled.
"Wait, Ailin, there's no need for this… I'll find a way to evolve…"
"Save those words for when you reach the fourth stage."
"Bankai! Minazuki!"
BOOM!
Instantly, Ailin's spiritual pressure transformed the golden landscape of Unlimited Blade Works into a sea of blood. Unlike Retsu Unohana's Minazuki, which formed a shallow stream during her fight with Zaraki, barely covering their feet, Ailin's Bankai submerged his entire inner world in a crimson tide that reached a third of the way up the Sword Hill, engulfing even the Zanpakutō embedded in the earth.
Hollowed Lin's eyes widened in terror.
Swish!
Ailin swung Minazuki, and the blood beneath him erupted into crimson slashes that struck Hollowed Lin. Even with Nichirin's armor mitigating ninety percent of the damage, the sheer number of attacks was enough to strip the flesh from his bones, leaving only a white skeleton.
"Aagh!"
Hollowed Lin screamed, but before his high-speed regeneration could take effect, a geyser of blood erupted from the crimson sea, drenching him. His flesh and organs reformed and was healed by Minazuki's power.
But instead of relief, a deeper fear now gripped him. Retsu Unohana's Minazuki, in its Bankai state, transformed her spiritual pressure into blood capable of both corroding flesh and healing wounds. Within its domain, any injury short of instant death could be instantly healed.
Ailin, having chosen this Zanpakutō, clearly intended to push Hollowed Lin to the brink, to inflict maximum fear. He would be beaten within an inch of his life, again and again.
…
Clang!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The underground training ground was now a chaotic battlefield of clashing gold and blackish-red. Chains collided with Zanpakutō, sparks were flying like stars in the darkened chamber.
The artificial sky above had long since shattered under the force of their combined spiritual pressures. Only Ailin's barrier and the Chains of Heaven prevented the battle from spilling over into the Seireitei. Were it not for these restraints, Ailin, in his current state, would unleash devastation upon the Soul Society.
The white shell covering Ailin's body continued to spread. The more Hollowfied he became, the more weapons Hollowed Lin could unleash from the King's Treasury. Fortunately, Hollowed Lin seemed to lack sentience, he was relying on instinct to simply launch the Zanpakutō at Enkidu. This predictability allowed her to defend against his relentless assault.
Then, the white shell suddenly covered half of Ailin's face, forming a mask. Unlike the pure white of his body, the mask was streaked with blackish-red patterns.
Buzz…
Blackish-red spatial ripples filled the training ground. An immense spiritual pressure radiated from Ailin that startled even Enkidu. She knew Ailin had erected a barrier, but even that wouldn't withstand this level of power for long.
But her worry proved unfounded.
Seconds after the mask formed, the spiritual pressure vanished. The shell and mask shattered into fragments.
"Lord Ailin?"
Enkidu rushed to his side. "Are you alright?"
Ailin slowly opened his eyes and smiled. "Yes, thank you, Enkidu."
"It was my honor to serve you, Lord Ailin."
Having confirmed Ailin's safety, Enkidu recalled the Chains of Heaven. The golden restraints dissolved into spiritual particles before returning to Unlimited Blade Works. With the Chains gone, the Death Wind Rope's effect dissipated, and Ailin's spiritual pressure returned to its peak.
He sighed, sensing the power within him. The Hollowfication training had taken three days in the real world, and far longer in his inner world. But the results were… disappointing.
While Hollowed Lin had successfully reached the fourth stage of his fusion with the Hōgyoku, gaining immense power, he had also become… numb to fear. Ailin's relentless attacks, his repeated "deaths," had desensitized him. He no longer felt the terror that fueled the Hōgyoku's evolution.
The fifth, and final, stage of fusion seemed unattainable.
Thus, Ailin ended his training.
Closing his eyes, he suppressed his spiritual pressure, allowing Hollowed Lin's blackish-red reiatsu to permeate his own.
A minute later, his spiritual pressure now a mixture of Shinigami and Hollow energies, he raised his left hand to his face. Blackish-red reiatsu gathered in his palm. He ripped his hand downwards, and a white mask, streaked with blackish-red, appeared, covering half his face.
His spiritual pressure increased again.
"Hollowfication!"
Sensing his increased power, Ailin flexed his hands and feet.
Boom!
White mist erupted from his fist as he clenched it. The sheer force of his movement had compressed the moisture in the air, creating a miniature sonic boom.
While he could achieve this before his Hollowfication, it hadn't been so effortless.
"Hmm. The fusion of Shinigami and Hollow spiritual pressures is three times stronger than either alone. My power has tripled."
"However…"
Ailin sensed his Shinigami reiatsu rapidly expelling Hollowed Lin's influence. He counted the seconds.
Thirty.
The mask shattered and his power diminished.
"Because my spiritual pressure is far greater than Hollowed Lin's, it only takes thirty seconds for his influence to be completely purged. My Hollowfication can only last for thirty seconds."
The result was both unexpected and predictable.
Ailin stood, recalled Enkidu to Unlimited Blade Works, and left the underground training ground. He looked towards the sky above the Seireitei. Seventy-two powerful barriers were there. Within them resided the strongest beings in the Soul Society: the Soul King, and his protector, Ichibei Hyōsube.
Ailin estimated his current power was comparable to Ichibei's. But in a direct confrontation, he likely wouldn't win, not without Ichimonji. Ailin's essence was "sword." Any Zanpakutō's ability was his to wield. But Ichimonji's ink could erase names, stripping away their power.
Two years remained until the Wandenreich's invasion. Could he draw Ichimonji within that time? He wasn't confident.
Moreover, his strongest opponent wasn't Ichibei, but Yhwach, the progenitor of the Quincy, who wielded the "Almighty." Having performed two Auswählen, sacrificing countless Quincy to reclaim their powers, Yhwach's strength already rivaled the Soul King's. After absorbing the Soul King's remnants, he would undoubtedly surpass him.
If he couldn't push Hollowed Lin to the final stage of his fusion within these two years, matching his own current power…
Ailin's gaze hardened. He made a decision.
…
In a black void, Ailin walked along a path formed from spiritual particles. This was the space between the three worlds of the Soul Society. When the Soul King created these worlds, some of his power had seeped into the spaces between them, forming miniature worlds known as the Valley of Screams.
Everything within a world had a purpose, a reason for existing. The Valley of Screams was no exception. When humans died, their souls were guided to the Soul Society by Shinigami, or devoured by Hollows. Some, however, found their own way. But the journey wasn't without peril.
Without a Shinigami's protection, these souls were vulnerable to the distortions within the space between worlds. Some, lost in this void, their memories erased by the Kōtotsu, became Plus souls, unable to find their way to the Soul Society, unable to return to the World of the Living, trapped in this in-between space. The Valley of Screams was their final destination.
Ailin easily located the Valley of Screams.
As he entered, a group of Shinigami in green Shihakushō appeared, surrounding him.
"Who are you? How did you get here?"
They were clearly surprised by his presence. Ailin narrowed his eyes. He had forgotten about them.
The three worlds had existed for over a million years. During that time, noble families rose and fell, their power struggles often turning violent. But as nobles, they maintained a veneer of civility.
These Shinigami were remnants of the Ryūdōji clan, banished from the Soul Society a thousand years ago after a failed power grab. Lost in the Dangai, they had stumbled upon the Valley of Screams and settled there, researching the Plus souls, hoping to harness their power to destroy the Soul Society.
Having been banished a millennium ago, they didn't recognize the Gotei 13 captain's haori Ailin wore, a design introduced by Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. Cut off from the outside world, they didn't even know the noble families had been almost completely eradicated.