The outermost edges of Hueco Mundo—vast, desolate, and filled with restless souls—were collectively known as the Newborn Zone, or more colloquially, the Circle of Nascent Hollows. As the name implied, this region of the White Desert served as the hunting ground for newly formed Hollows—those who had only just shed their humanity and become consumed by their instincts.
"ROAR!!"
A shrill, ragged cry echoed through the dunes. Riku glanced toward the source of the sound. What initially resembled a vaguely humanoid silhouette soon twisted and mutated, erupting in a surge of white fluid as its form contorted into a grotesque arachnid-shaped Hollow, barely half the height of an average human.
This was the final death rattle of a soul on the edge—one that had fully succumbed to the transformation process and been claimed by Hueco Mundo.
When Riku had first noticed the presence, he'd mistaken it for a lost human somehow trapped in this world. But as he drew closer, he realized the being had already lost its mind—caught in the throes of Hollowfication, teetering just before the point of no return.
With a sudden burst of speed, Riku exploded from beneath the sands, his monstrous centipede-form casting a shadow over the newly formed spider Hollow. With a swift, crushing snap of his jaws, he devoured the weak creature whole—barely a snack.
"Better you become my nutrients than lose your sanity and wander as a beast," Riku muttered, patting his stomach in mock reverence as the spider's reiryoku dispersed into his being.
Since then, Riku had taken to stalking this Newborn Zone—his spiritual pressure concealed beneath the sands, striking only when the prey was freshly Hollowfied and defenseless. It was a strategy born of intelligence rather than brute force. Unlike typical Hollows, Riku retained his human reasoning. He wasn't some mindless berserker looking to challenge anyone stronger than himself.
He had no Zanpakutō, no Shinigami powers, and no hidden "protagonist buffs." Every step forward had to be earned—carefully, ruthlessly.
In the span of just over ten days, Riku's body had grown substantially, now spanning nearly ten meters from head to tail. Though still categorized as a Powerful-Class Hollow and not yet a Gillian, he remained in the Newborn Zone for two reasons: first, to feed on the vulnerable, and second, to observe—hoping to find another Hollow like himself, someone who retained their human consciousness.
Sadly, he'd found none. Only dumb beasts driven by hunger.
On the upside, his powers had improved. Through repeated trials, Riku's Cero—the signature energy blast of Menos-level Hollows—had grown noticeably stronger. Compared to when he first unlocked it, it now packed nearly 70% of the firepower he had once seen from that Mutant Gillian during their brief encounter.
Even more crucially, he was no longer a one-shot cannon. At present, Riku could fire two full-powered Cero blasts before depleting his reserves. That meant he could now emerge from concealment, strike first from the shadows, and clean up the remains afterward—making him a terrifying ambush predator. Against other Power-Class Hollows, he was nearly untouchable.
Even against standard Gillians, Riku believed he stood a fighting chance—provided he attacked with surprise and precision.
But when it came to true Gillians, especially that grotesque Mutant variant he'd seen before, Riku knew he still wasn't ready. That creature had been far beyond ordinary Menos Grande—an exception, not the rule.
Elsewhere, deep in the same corner of Hueco Mundo where Bai Xu Mutual Devourings occurred, the final phase of a brutal conflict was reaching its climax. Over ten days of bloody infighting among a group of over a hundred Gillian-sized Hollows had finally narrowed the field.
Now, only two contenders remained.
Amid a battlefield littered with severed limbs and shattered mask fragments, the pair of survivors stood panting. Their bodies bore countless fresh wounds. The white sand was stained with blood—red, green, and black from countless fallen. These last two were the same hyena-like Gillians that Riku had stolen from days earlier.
But they had changed.
They were larger than before. Their masks were chipped, their hides torn. They looked like warriors on the brink of collapse.
Under normal circumstances, this final moment would be resolved with one devouring the other, the victor ascending to become a Gillian proper—perhaps even evolving further into an Adjuchas, if their individuality remained intact.
But something strange happened instead.
Rather than fighting, the two wounded Gillians approached one another… and began licking each other's wounds. A quiet truce had formed in the wake of unspoken understanding.
Then, without warning, both creatures began to melt.
Their forms liquefied at the same time, dissolving into viscous pools of black reiryoku-rich fluid. The sands trembled as the two puddles began to shift, stretch, and merge—fusing into a single, larger mass of darkness.
Gudu… Gudu…
A strange, bubbling sound filled the air, and the sand beneath the fusion began to crack.
Something new was being born.
The black liquid began to churn and bubble violently, as though brought to a furious boil. From within this boiling mass of reiryoku-rich fluid, a massive column of shadow surged upward, forming a towering pillar of darkness. Then, slowly—deliberately—a single massive bone-white claw pierced through the surface, followed by another. The claws gripped the sides of the column and ripped it open from within, revealing a monstrous head.
It was unmistakably a Gillian-class Menos, but there was something abnormal about it. A jagged row of sharp teeth lined the edge of its skeletal mask—unlike the smooth, uniform masks typical of Gillians. But the transformation was not yet complete.
As the remaining layers of hardened black fluid cracked and fell away like shattered armor, a second massive head emerged from the same torso—this one entirely different. It bore no teeth at all, and its eye slits were longer and more expressive, radiating sentience.
A two-headed Gillian… a mutant! Another aberrant evolution—just like the one Riku had once seen!
"ROOOAAARRR!!!"
Both heads let out a deafening dual-voiced roar, the sound resonating like a war cry across the dunes of Hueco Mundo, shaking the very sands beneath them. It was the primal scream of rebirth—an ascension echoed by few.
Smack!
Suddenly, the sound of clapping hands interrupted the scene, followed by a lilting, theatrical voice laced with amusement.
"My, my! What a delightful surprise this outing has turned into! An aberrant Gillian—how fortunate for me! Lord Baraggan Louisenbairn shall be most pleased to receive such a rare tribute. I'll surely be rewarded handsomely!"
The two colossal heads of the twin Gillian turned in unison, eyes locking onto a figure perched atop a distant sand dune.
There, standing confidently, was a being nearly eight meters tall—diminutive by Hollow standards, but exuding a spiritual pressure that instantly froze the newly born Gillian in place. The figure had a vaguely humanoid form, covered head-to-toe in pale pink flesh. A white Hollow mask adorned with an intricate rose motif crowned the figure's head. Thick, powerful limbs contrasted sharply with a strangely elegant, feminine waistline, from which a purple flower bud sprouted like a grotesque accessory.
By human standards, the figure was enormous. But compared to the near-100-meter-tall mutant Gillian, it was the size of an insect. Yet, the Gillian dared not move.
It wasn't the size—it was the spiritual pressure, immense and crushing. More than that, it was the natural dominance of higher-tier Hollows. Their instincts screamed the truth: this was an Adjuchas-class Hollow.
"W-Who… are you?" The sharp-toothed head of the two-headed Gillian asked, its voice painfully slow, strained as if new to the act of speech.
"I am the one and only—Charlotte Chuhlhourne! Loyal general beneath the divine rule of His Majesty Baraggan Louisenbairn, King of Hueco Mundo and ruler of Las Noches!" the feminine voice replied, dripping with flamboyant pride.
"Gr-Greetings… Lord… Charlotte…!" the Gillian stammered, its newly formed mind struggling to keep pace. Though speech came awkwardly, the awe and submission in its voice were unmistakable. It bowed slightly—an absurd gesture for something so large.
Charlotte's delicate laugh fluttered through the air like perfume. "No need to be nervous, darling. Lord Baraggan adores promising young blood like you. Come now, let us not keep the King waiting!"
In a flash of Sonído, Charlotte vanished from the dune, reappearing beside the massive double-headed creature. Despite the absurd size difference, she reached up and—with surprising ease—grabbed hold of one of the Gillian's towering legs.
To an outsider, it would seem surreal: a lithe, flower-themed Adjuchas dragging a colossus across the endless sands of Hueco Mundo.
Yet the Gillian did not resist.
It dared not.
Together, they departed the battleground—headed toward the distant heart of Hueco Mundo, where the shadow of Las Noches loomed like a sleeping god across the desert.