"I heard what happened... to your brother. "Picaro's voice is soft, almost a whisper, as he looks down at the ground in sorrow.
Neliel's eyes widen, a rush of memories flooding her mind. Flashes of blood. The sound of metal clashing, screams echoing in her ears. Her breath catches in her chest, and she clutches the book she holds even tighter.
Her heart pounds as her mind drifts back to that fateful day.
"Yes, that's right, I remember..." she whispers, her voice trembling. The memories, the pain, the loss—it all comes crashing back.
For years, our world was nothing but monsters wanting to end the other. Hollowed souls, wandering in endless hunger, devouring each other without a purpose other than survival. nothing but endless battles, with no end in sight. Till one day... everything changed... in a bright light.
Our dead world was enveloped in a pressure unlike anything we'd ever known. It was... overwhelming, but... strangely comforting too. I remember it well. No matter how many years pass, that blue vortex... that immense force that overtook the whole sky... will forever remain etched in my mind. It swallowed the entire world, reshaping it, and with it... everything I knew.
Then... they emerged from among us, An entire race like flowers in an endless desert.... The Shattered Masks or so we were called. Hollows who had regained their humanity, resisted the curse that we had become, and through it, they gained their human forms. They became something more than No one ever thought possible. Something... unimaginable.
Souls who had broken free of the Cages of their masks.
It was unheard of... in all of the history of Hueco Mundo, it was... something else. And with that power... with that change... came more chaos to our world.
It was the start of something...I was happy back when things were simple back then... Back when... everything was still forming...
Profoundly wise stupidity Curiosity.
Until...
Curiosity Killed the Cat.
Days... after I was born, I Ventured out to the world of the living. Multiple times in fact.
I wanted to see it for myself, to understand what it was like. To feel something... anything different than the endless void of Hueco Mundo and I got what I wanted.
-----
"Arturo… they're all around us. What do we do?"
His voice, though calm and quiet, is steady. "Stay close, Neliel. Trust me."
Before them, an army of Soul Reapers as the ocean, their swords unsheathed and their killing intent flooding the air. The pressure from their spiritual energy is suffocating. Neliel trembles, clutching Arturo's back tighter as the weight of the situation bears down on her.
She's never been one to love violence. Even when she was a Hollow, she always hated the endless cycle of killing. But Her Brother ... was the one who taught her how to endure, how to fight when there's no other choice. He was the Alpha, A pillar who never faltered.
"Arturo..." Neliel murmurs, her voice fragile. She feels the heat of tears threatening to fall, but she holds them back.
"Don't worry." he says softly. His voice is steady, unwavering. It's the same comforting tone he always used when things felt impossible. "I'm not going to let them hurt you."
Arturo's gaze turns forward again, facing the captains and the Soul Reapers without flinching. His voice, while calm, carries the weight of leadership and authority as he speaks.
"Greetings… uh..." He spoke as the Soul Reapers' eyes burned with disgust as the took battle stances. all of them drawing their swords. Their presence alone was enough to make the hairs on Nelliel's neck stand on end.
A tall, broad-shouldered captain with a shaved head stepped forward, his hair was blood red that was shoulder length, his eyes narrowing with disdain as they landed on Her Brother. His voice was cold."What's your business here in the World of the Living, filthy Hollow?" he spat as his blade crackled with thunder., his tone dripping with contempt. The word "Hollow" was said as if it were the worst insult, a curse too vile to utter.
Arturo, standing firm. didn't flinch. His green eyes locked onto the captain's, unyielding. "Apologies sir," he said evenly, his voice calm. "We have no intention of causing conflict."
The captain scoffed, his lips curling into a sneer. "Your kind isn't welcome here. The mere sight of you makes me sick."
Auturo maintained his usual smile although strained "We're not your enemies," he said, his eyes hardening. "I came here to protect my sister; we were merely curious about our old home world. i can assure you You're making a mistake by assuming we're the monsters you think we are."
The captain's face twisted with anger, his eyes narrowing as he shifted his gaze from Arturo to Neliel. The hatred in his stare was undeniable, and it made Neliel's breath catch in her throat.
"You are..." he growled, his voice thick with loathing, "nothing but filthy beasts, trying to masquerade as us. face the judgment of Soul Society."
Neliel flinched, her whole-body stiffening. The word stung like a physical blow. She had been a Hollow, yes. She had fought through that curse and earned her humanity again, but to them, Something less than human. They... they must really hate us."
"I've had enough of your kind"
In a swift, fluid motion, the captain raised his sword high, his eyes burning with hatred. "ATTACK!!!" They couldn't win against this many. Their strength would only last so long before they were overwhelmed. Fear gripped her heart, but she didn't let go of her brother.
Arturo turned his head slightly, glancing at her with that quiet nod "Obey me every command" he whispered.
.....
I had made it out alive, but Arturo…
The thought was still too painful to bear. Even now, standing here in front of Picaro, I could feel the remnants of that pain clawing at my chest.
That was how I ended up here. A mess. utterly Broken.
Neliel's heart raced, the weight of the situation pressing down on her like a heavy, suffocating cloud. There was no time to linger on the past. She couldn't afford to break now, Grabbing Picaro by the shoulder, she shook him, her grip firm despite the trembling that still shook her hands.
"Listen, you have to run…" she spoke urgently, her voice low but intense. "This place is going to burn in fire. Warn everyone, get out of here—NOW." Her words were sharp, If anyone was going to make it out alive, it had to be them. She wasn't going to let anyone else suffer because of the chaos she had caused.
But Picaro didn't seem to react the way she had hoped. His expression softened, and sorrow filled his eyes. "I'm sorry, Miss Neliel… Big bro Arturo was a good person," he said quietly, his voice almost breaking as he spoke those words. He paused for a moment, as if lost in thought, then he began to fade from her grasp, his figure becoming translucent—ghostlike.
"Wh-what?" Neliel's heart skipped a beat, and she stumbled backward, her eyes wide with shock. "Picaro? What… what's happening?!"
The boy, now little more than a wisp of an image, turned away, his form flickering like a flame in the wind. "But listen… The others request that you come to discuss what to do now." His voice was soft but steady, a strange calmness behind it. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "I know it's sudden, but you're needed."
Her breath hitched, and in a desperate move, she reached out to grab his shoulders again. Her fingers brushed against the air, as though he wasn't even there. Her hand trembled, disbelief washing over her.
"D-don't..." Neliel muttered under her breath, her voice cracking with confusion and a growing sense of helplessness. "Picaro… come back.?"
But there was no answer. Only silence filled the space between them.
Then, a voice—low, cold, and strangely familiar—cut through the air, stilling her frantic thoughts.
"How does it feel?"
Neliel froze. Her blood ran cold, and a knot twisted in her stomach. The voice wasn't Picaro's. It was something else—someone else. The spiritual pressure emanating from the figure was like a suffocating blanket, familiar in the worst possible way. It stirred something deep inside her, a creeping dread that sent shivers down her spine.
"How does it feel?"
She turned slowly, eyes wide, and found the black figure standing just beside her. A small smile curled on its lips, one that felt wrong in every sense of the word.
"To be utterly helpless?"
Her stomach churned. That voice, that presence, it reminded her of something… or someone. The spiritual pressure was almost identical to... "Ichigo??" she asked warily, her voice barely audible, a flicker of recognition in her gaze.
The figure chuckled, a dark, twisted sound. "Ah, so you think I am the King. A great Geass, is it?"
The figure stepped forward, its shadow stretching as it moved, its form cloaked in black. "But do not be deceived. I may have created the King, but he and I are not the same."
He walked ahead, his presence suffocating her every step.
"Come along now..." His voice was soft, almost gentle, but it was laced with an undeniable command.
Neliel's heart raced. She didn't want to move. She didn't want to walk through that door, knowing what would happen once she did. She knew it would all begin again—the pain, the suffering, the torment she had endured. She couldn't bear it.
But before she could even think to refuse, the black tendrils of the figure's power wrapped around her, pulling her forward against her will.
"No, stop..." she whispered, her voice shaking with desperation, but the figure only chuckled again, a sound that chilled her to the bone.
"This is for your own good, little Neliel."
"(Author notes: Hm I wonder what is going to happen...)
(Ps: there are no Oc'c in this story every character is real in the bleach verse so your welcome to look them up. so rest assured.. this is just my spin on things while keeping everything extremely similar to canon just with minor fixes to lore here and there.)