After a full year of seclusion, Sombravida finally stepped into the peak of Adjuchas.
His advancement had taken longer than ordinary Hollows.
The reason was simple:
Sombravida's spiritual pressure capacity far exceeded that of a typical Adjuchas.
The amount of reishi required to compress and stabilize his core was monstrous.
If an ordinary Adjuchas had been fed such concentrated resources for over a year, they might already be standing at the threshold of Vasto Lorde.
Sombravida was different.
His foundation was heavier.
Denser.
More volatile.
But the result was worth it.
This breakthrough was not merely an increase in reiatsu.
It was control.
Barragan's Name
After dispersing Stabrek's devouring field and saving Nel, Sombravida stood atop the fortress platform.
His pale-gold reiatsu pressed across the battlefield like a storm front.
"You serve Barragan Louisenbairn?"
His voice was calm.
One mid-tier Adjuchas roared in outrage:
"How dare you address His Majesty by—"
His words never finished.
The world rotated.
His own headless body stood below him.
Sombravida had already:
Concealed spatial fluctuation
Established a micro-node beside the target's neck
Shifted
Severed
Returned
All within a single breath.
"I asked a question."
Spatial Mastery
At peak Adjuchas, Sombravida could now:
Deploy Concealment Domain
Establish spatial nodes
Suppress distortion ripples
Execute displacement without visible transition
The battlefield felt haunted.
Enemies could not track him.
Not because he was fast—
But because he was not where they believed space to exist.
Void Bullet – Strangulation
Sombravida raised his hand.
Dozens of microscopic spatial rifts opened around the enemy formation.
Invisible.
Silent.
Then—
Compression.
The air folded.
Space overlapped.
Flesh tore.
Limbs twisted unnaturally as localized dimensions collapsed inward.
This was not a simple explosive Cero.
It was spatial crushing.
Sombravida named it:
Void Bullet – Strangulation
A silent massacre.
Collapse Storm
The sky darkened further.
Lightning erupted.
But within each bolt—
Space fractured.
Zero-Type Storm had evolved.
Now:
Collapse Storm
Lightning carried spatial shear forces.
Targets struck were not merely electrocuted—
They were spatially destabilized.
Those too slow to react were shredded.
Stabrek's Panic
"This is impossible! A mere Adjuchas—!"
Stabrek tried to retaliate.
But Sombravida shifted constantly between layered coordinates.
To the enemy—
Sombravida seemed intangible.
Attacks passed through empty space.
Because Sombravida was never there.
Shadow Dance
Four afterimages surrounded Stabrek.
Each real.
Each false.
Shadow Flash enhanced by Concealment Domain.
Slashes emerged from unseen angles.
Stabrek relied on reiatsu perception—
But Sombravida suppressed the trajectory.
Wounds deepened unnaturally as spatial distortion widened each cut.
Finally—
The cracked mask split completely.
Stabrek fell.
Aftermath
"Leave two alive."
The rest were executed.
Nel approached.
"How long until you reach peak Adjuchas?" Sombravida asked quietly.
"Soon," she replied.
Her growth rate remained extraordinary.
Hueco Mundo's dense reishi fed her constantly.
Sombravida took half the harvested masks.
He needed stabilization.
Peak Adjuchas required balance.
Barragan Problem
Jekain spoke cautiously.
"They located us by tracking subordinate reiatsu."
Sombravida nodded.
Barragan Louisenbairn's domain extended far.
Even before becoming an Arrancar—
He ruled Las Noches.
If word reached him—
Retaliation would not be minor.
Sombravida made a decision.
"We prepare communications."
Hueco Mundo lacked long-distance transmission.
Reiatsu signals faded quickly.
He needed structured intelligence.
He would retrieve human knowledge.
Journey to the Human World
Sombravida opened a Garganta.
Not a "Black Chamber."
A true Hollow passage.
Within it—
The Kōtō (the Cleaner) existed only in the Dangai between Soul Society and the Human World.
Not in Hueco Mundo's Garganta.
Sombravida understood the distinction.
Still—
He manipulated spatial markers carefully to avoid excessive distortion.
He and Nel accelerated through the Garganta.
Using:
Long-distance spatial chaining
Anchor-node displacement
High-consumption burst travel
What would normally take months—
Was shortened to under a month.
Spiritual pressure expenditure was immense.
They paused to recover before exiting.
Arrival
Sombravida opened the Garganta.
Reiatsu spilled outward.
Impossible to fully conceal during rupture.
They stepped into—
Blue sky.
White clouds.
Green plains.
Nel froze.
For a Hollow born under eternal night—
Color was overwhelming.
The spiritual density was thin.
But life was abundant.
Sombravida inhaled.
Earth.
Grass.
Water.
He had once been human.
This sight did not surprise him—
But it moved him.
Tactical Assessment
"We must move," Sombravida said quietly.
"Opening a Garganta alerts nearby Shinigami."
Nel nodded.
Sombravida mounted her back.
Concealment Domain activated.
They vanished.
Shinigami Response
Twenty minutes later—
Several Shinigami arrived.
Black shihakushō.
Zanpakutō at their waists.
One white-haired officer traced residual reishi in the air.
"Two Adjuchas-level signatures emerged here."
"They disappeared immediately."
A blond officer frowned.
"They can conceal reiatsu?"
The white-haired man nodded.
"Send word to Soul Society."
"If they rampage, standard seated officers will not suffice."
"Request temporary release of spiritual pressure limiters if necessary."
The patrol dispersed.
Unaware—
That the two Hollows were already moving toward human civilization.
And that the balance between worlds had quietly shifted.
Sombravida had reached peak Adjuchas.
He had defeated Barragan's subordinates.
He had stepped into the Human World again.
But the true suppression—
Had only just begun.
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