Three days after Sombravida regained consciousness, Nel finally sensed the surge of spiritual pressure signaling the completion of his evolution.
She rushed to the concealed site where he lay buried, reinforcing the surroundings and even preparing two Gillian masks nearby in case he needed immediate replenishment upon awakening.
Half a day later—
A pillar of pale golden light erupted from beneath the earth.
The immense spiritual pressure shot skyward, tearing through the canopy and surging into the heavens.
In both density and quality, it instantly surpassed Nel's current reiatsu.
Although Nel had evolved into an Adjuchas earlier, Sombravida had already possessed Adjuchas-level pressure while still a Gillian. After extreme compression and prolonged accumulation, his evolution produced a qualitative leap rather than a simple increase.
Surpassing Nel was inevitable.
"Lord Sombravida!"
Nel's eyes shone with excitement.
In Hueco Mundo, strength was survival. Only traitors wished for their leaders to be weak.
The Birth of an Adjuchas
WHOOSH—!
Sombravida burst from the earth and shot into the sky.
He released a long howl as his reiatsu exploded outward.
The forest trembled.
Weaker Hollows collapsed instantly under the pressure wave.
"Magnificent…"
Years of suppression poured out in that single moment.
"Welcome back, my lord!"
Below, Nel bowed respectfully, tail swaying with unrestrained joy.
Sombravida descended and gently patted her head.
"It's been a long time, Nel. Thank you for protecting me."
"Hehehe~"
She handed him the two masks and stepped back happily.
Time Lost to Evolution
"How long was I dormant?"
"About a year."
"That long?"
Sombravida felt no passage of time.
"Your evolution only took half a year," he said.
"Perhaps every Hollow evolves differently," Nel replied. "But it was peaceful here. I also trained the Hollows in the area."
Sombravida smiled knowingly. Leaving Nel alone that long must have been unbearably dull.
"You worked hard."
He looked toward the horizon.
"Now that I've evolved, we return soon. Our timeline is less than five years."
"My lord… what exactly are we preparing for?"
Sombravida's voice became calm.
"Revenge."
"The Northern Forest lords who drove us out."
Nel's amber eyes hardened.
"Yes. We will wipe out those insects."
Departure
"But first," Sombravida continued, "I must organize my current state."
He raised one finger.
A black fissure tore open in space.
A Garganta.
They entered.
Inside the Garganta
Nel carried Sombravida through the void corridor.
Not out of servitude — but because Sombravida needed time to stabilize his newly evolved reiatsu and reorganize his abilities.
Evolution was not an end.
It was a rebirth.
Adjuchas Form — Canon Alignment
Sombravida's Gillian gigantism was gone.
He now stood under two meters tall.
A true Adjuchas form.
His Hollow hole had opened beneath the collarbones at the upper chest.
His body was clad in bone-white armor layered with keratin plates, resembling a high-collared mantle fused to his skin — a natural Hierro shell rather than external armor.
His former helm had fragmented into an inverted V-shaped mask framing his cheeks and eyes.
From the back of his head flowed long pale-gold hair, further humanizing his appearance.
His right arm's former blade had transformed into sharpened clawed fingers.
His left hand remained dexterous — and now capable of shaping spiritual matter into weapons.
Ability Integration
Lying across Nel's back, Sombravida began organizing his power.
Identity
Ace Sombravida
Adjuchas (Newly Evolved)
Core Traits■ Concealment
Innate ability to suppress:
Reiatsu emission
Presence
Attack signatures
Cero energy signature
Now fully effective at Adjuchas level.
■ Spatial Distortion (New Trait)
Rather than brute force tearing space, Sombravida manipulates spatial instability — creating distortions, deflections, and fault shifts.
This differs from Garganta tearing and resembles localized dimensional warping.
Potential: extremely high.
Combat AbilitiesCero (Gold)
Standard Adjuchas Cero.
High density, high penetration.
Concealed Cero
Invisible Cero with suppressed reiatsu signature.
Now fully concealment-capable; only impact distortion reveals it.
Spatial Cero
Cero redirected through spatial distortion, enabling:
angle shifting
delayed impact
blind-spot strikes
(Still developing.)
Bala (Phantom Bullet)
Fast spiritual projectile.
~20× speed of Cero, lower destructive force.
Concealed Bala
Invisible high-speed Bala with suppressed reiatsu signature.
Nearly undetectable.
Distortion Barrage
Bala fired into spatial distortions, striking from multiple vectors.
High control cost.
MovementSonído
High-speed movement technique.
Sombravida's spatial affinity allows micro-distortion stepping, reducing detectable movement signatures.
Potential: stealth mobility evolution.
Close CombatSpatial Rend (Claw)
Reiatsu condensed into claw strike that tears through Hierro and distorts spatial cohesion at the point of impact.
Phantom Step Strike
Stealth-assisted close-range burst attack.
Silent, instantaneous impact.
Shadow Dance
Rapid multi-vector strikes using distortion stepping.
High reiatsu cost.
Area TechniqueZero-Style Storm
Releases massive reiatsu discharge over a wide radius.
Comparable to an Adjuchas-level devastation wave.
High consumption — emergency battlefield clearing.
Weapon ManifestationReiatsu Weapon Shaping
Sombravida can now form spiritual weapons.
Primary form:
Sky-Splitter Blade
Functions similarly to Nel's spiritual lance, acting as:
melee weapon
Cero medium
spatial distortion anchor
Spatial TechniquesGarganta
Sombravida can open Garganta instinctively due to spatial affinity.
More stable than average Hollow usage.
Anti-Membrane (Negación Variant)
Creates a spatial isolation barrier.
Functions as:
dimensional separation field
damage mitigation layer
emergency protection barrier
Further spatial mastery may expand its use.
Sombravida exhaled slowly.
"That summarizes my current abilities."
He paused.
"There is still enormous room for growth… especially the abilities granted by the Forest."
He touched his mask unconsciously.
"And that crystal…"
"Lord Sombravida, what are you muttering about?" Nel asked.
"Nothing important."
He smiled and patted her head.
"Let's return to the Central Forest."
"Yes!"
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