The Ashen Frost

Snow on the Sands
These sands of were once considered forbidden lands to the. It was both a haven for as well as their prison. So long as they kept themselves away from the, the Shinigami had no reason to intervene with their affairs. Likewise, the Hollows would have their peace; of course, as far as peace goes for Hollows and. But that all changed after, and soon after that, the assault by the. Chaos swept through their sands and now in the aftermath of those conflicts, the Hollows were engaged in a fierce civil war for dominance of these lands; not just with their own kind, but also with the who took up residence here.

But there was another boon to these lands; the rich that permeated its atmosphere. For warriors of the spiritual realm, this was an ideal realm for refining their combat abilities. And so was the intention of a particular Captain of the.

"Reign over the frosted heavens..."

The sound of a katana being swung could then be heard following those words.

"Hyōrinmaru!"

From the blade held by a white-haired Shinigami, clad in a white haori, a sudden eruption of shimmering ice shot outwards toward the moonlit skies above. The living ice started to take form, resembling an eastern dragon as it continued its ascent. Going and going, it eventually expanded and flared out in all directions, coating the entirety of the clouds with frost until the sky appeared as a solid roof. Yet, this construct was fleeting, as it soon shattered and came pouring down onto the sands below with a gentle descent like that of an early winter's snowfall.

Tōshirō Hitsugaya gazed upwards with a mixed look of contentedness yet with subtle signs of dissatisfaction; not bad, yet not good enough. He was aiming to refine the flash-freezing he demonstrated back during the end stages of the Quincy war. It was a feat he could only perform while in its matured form, but he couldn't just rely on that forced growth in every battle. He had to cultivate his powers so that he could wield them freely whenever the next battle arrived. And so he pushed forward, continuing in his training pursuits.