Kurotsuki Renya felt a storm of madness tearing through his soul — a violent, invasive will devouring him from within. His thoughts dissolved one by one, replaced by an overwhelming hunger and rage. Every instinct screamed for destruction.
This… this is Hollowfication.
Renya clenched his teeth hard enough to draw blood.
No… I can't give in. I can't let myself turn Hollow.
He knew what awaited him if he lost — a complete erasure of his mind and heart. The process of Hollowfication was never merciful; it consumed everything. No one, not even the most disciplined Shinigami, could resist it through willpower alone.
Hollowfication was the forced fusion of two opposing souls — Hollow and Shinigami — breaking the boundary that defined their existence. The result was destruction first, evolution later. A distorted soul with immense power, but at the cost of one's sanity.
If left unchecked, the spiritual instability escalated into total soul disintegration — Soul Suicide. When the barrier between the soul and reality itself collapsed, nothing remained.
Only those who balanced their dual natures could survive. Kisuke Urahara had once accomplished this balance by injecting a stabilizing reagent — the souls of both Quincy and Humans — into the Visoreds, allowing them to endure Hollowfication without losing their Shinigami essence.
But Renya… had no such aid.
His body convulsed violently, the corruption spreading fast. Spiritual pressure spiraled, crushing the air. His wounds sealed rapidly, and a jagged white mask began forming across his face.
"No… not yet!" Renya roared, gripping the edge of the forming mask. With a desperate surge of will, he tore it off, chunks of flesh ripping away with it. The searing pain snapped his consciousness back into focus for a fleeting second.
He staggered toward his broken Zanpakutō lying nearby. The fragmented blade pulsed faintly, sensing its master's resolve.
"Return to me… Tenraimaru!"
Lightning tore open the sky. Thunderclouds swirled above as Renya's spiritual pressure erupted, calling down crackling bolts. His blade reformed in his grasp, arcs of blue-white energy dancing across its surface.
From a short distance away, Aizen watched, calm and calculating.
"Pointless," Aizen murmured. "Channeling such immense reiryoku only accelerates the Hollowfication process."
As if on cue, the white mask reformed, creeping back across Renya's face.
Thunder struck again, obliterating the half-formed mask — but moments later, it regenerated even faster. Each time Renya unleashed lightning, his control slipped further away.
The Hollow within laughed in his mind, a distorted echo of his own voice.
Renya's eyes blazed with defiance. Lightning gathered once more — this time forming two pairs of radiant wings on his back. Double Thunder Wings. The raw speed would normally tear his body apart, but the regenerative power from the Hollowified energy sustained him.
Aizen's eyes narrowed slightly. "Four wings? Impossible… his body shouldn't withstand that."
Then, in a flash of blinding light, Renya vanished.
⸻
"Is he… running?" Gin Ichimaru asked, his tone lazy but sharp.
"Perhaps heading for Seireitei?"
Aizen's calm voice cut through the static in the air. "No. If he enters Seireitei in that state, he'll be executed on sight. He knows that."
Gin tilted his head. "Then where—?"
Aizen's gaze flicked northwest. "Beast instinct… Beiliuhun Street."
⸻
Renya's lightning streak ripped across the darkened Rukongai sky. He moved faster than sound, his unstable reiatsu distorting the air behind him. I can't… let it spread. Not there. Not near anyone.
He landed near Rifu Mountain, his body trembling violently. The Hollow power surged uncontrollably, twisting his reiatsu into something monstrous.
If I lose here, someone else will have to stop me.
A faint smile crossed his lips as lightning began consuming his form.
Then — a blinding explosion.
The detonation split the clouds apart, sending shockwaves through the district. Fire climbed high into the heavens.
Back at the battlefield, Gin's smile faded slightly. "Well… looks like he chose to self-destruct. Brave choice."
Aizen's composed expression faltered for the first time. "He… destroyed his own soul?"
Gin nodded. "Guess he didn't want to hurt anyone else… or let Soifon see him like that."
Aizen's eyes hardened. "Emotions. How tragically human."
Gin smirked faintly. "So, Captain Aizen — your plan loses one of its test subjects."
Aizen's gaze shifted toward the distant smoke. "He was valuable, yes… but even a failed piece on the board can serve its purpose. Urahara's last hidden variable has been erased."
He extended his hand. Dozens of fiery discs ignited from his palm, spreading across the ruined field.
"Hadō #54 — Haien."
The corpses of experimental test subjects burned instantly to ash — all except one.
For a moment, Aizen stared into the rising black smoke. "Not perfect. But acceptable."
⸻
Later, Tōsen Kaname dragged a terrified defected Shinigami before Aizen. The man fell to his knees, begging.
"Please—don't kill me! I told you everything I know!"
Tōsen turned to Aizen for instruction.
"Kill him," Aizen said flatly.
Tōsen hesitated. "But, Lord Aizen, if he dies—who will take the blame?"
Aizen's lips curved into a faint smile. "He was never qualified to be the scapegoat. His spiritual pressure is far below Renya's. I have another candidate in mind."
Without another word, Tōsen obeyed. His blade pierced the man's heart.
Moments later, Gin spoke up again. "Captain Aizen, Soifon's on her way here. You planning to clean up fast or…?"
Aizen didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned to Tōsen — the faintest shadow of pity in his eyes.
"I don't need loyalty," he said quietly. "Only usefulness."
Before Tōsen could react, Aizen raised the containment device holding the incomplete Hōgyoku. The sphere pulsed with unnatural light.
"Now… prove that you can surpass your limits."
The energy engulfed Tōsen's body. White armor spread over his skin — a Hollow mask forming across his blind eyes. His wounds sealed instantly as his reiryoku spiked violently.
He roared, charging at Aizen in blind rage.
Aizen merely swung his blade once. Tōsen fell, his body trembling but alive.
"Gin," Aizen said softly, sheathing Kyōka Suigetsu. "He's yours now. Keep him busy until Soifon arrives. Don't kill him."
Gin's smile returned, thin and knowing. "You really think I could kill him, Captain?"
Aizen walked away, the echo of his footsteps fading.
As the wind howled and the last flames died out, Gin glanced down at the semi-Hollowfied Tōsen.
"You really do pick interesting company, Captain…"
He slid his blade from its sheath, whispering,
"Let's dance a little before she gets here."
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