Your World, My World

This article, Your World, My World, was added by AshPhys who determines its usage on this wiki.

This article, Your World, My World, was added by ShonenChicoBoy who determines its usage on this wiki.

The Cave

The concept of a warm, welcoming home was something that had never crossed the Arrancar's mind. Decades of brutal training had only ever taught him that the place you lay your head must be secure, and that was what this cave had been. The unimposing figure strode into the cave, laying down his bandolier of sealed bottles down on one of the many makeshift tables throughout the tunnel system. Next came the cloak that helped to keep the white sands of Hueco Mundo from getting into his clothes, revealing the outfit he'd now worn for years. The grey outfit was similar to the white one he'd worn during his time under Szayelaporro, but he wanted those memories gone for good. With his new outfit he wanted to paint himself as a neutral party, and so far it had served its purpose. No one had come, and that was good enough for Círdon.

Without raising his goggles, he sat down and began categorizing the hollow tissues he'd collected that day. His laboratory was just one of the chambers in the cave system, and only one of two that he used consistently. It was adorned with shelves of Hollow tissue samples in vials, testaments to his years-long search and study into the differing Hollow physiologies. Unfortunately, he had not come across any Hollow like himself, and he wondered if he was truly alone. He always new he could go back and throw himself at the feat of whoever ruled Hueco Mundo at this point, but they probably had no room for those without the fire of battle.

'Interesting, this Adjuchas seems to possess not only the ability to camouflage itself using its Reiatsu, but it does so in a way that doesn't involve bending light. Or does it use Reiatsu at all?' Círdon put the sample in front of various objects, the sample of skin changing to match its background. 'Wonderful...it's a wonder I was able to get ahold of you...you never saw me coming, did you little Hollow?'

Unfortunately, Círdon’s happy little moment of quiet inspection was interrupted by a low reverberation. A dull thud shuddered throughout the expanses of caves where Círdon had hidden away in his laboratory. The vials on the shelves began to rattle, as if rocked by an earthquake. One even slipped off and shattered on the ground! What could the disturbance possibly be? Was a section of the underground labyrinth caving in?

But the source came from outside. At least a half a mile away, a white-clad figure perched on a sand dune. He crouched over a circular construct of glowing reishi that he had etched into the sand in the shape of a pentagram. It was a technique similar to Sprenger, but activated remotely. The Quincy—for he was very obviously a Quincy—pressed a silver pendant to the scar that cut across the corner of his mouth in thought. His eyes glowed with a soft, predatory blue as he observed the veritable maelstrom of Heilig Pfeil he had caused to rain down over the hive-like network of caves.

A massive plume of dust hid the cave’s entrance after the first onslaught, but he didn’t stop there, and activated a second wave of Heilig Pfiel. The bolts of reishi pounded down from the sky mercilessly. He had tracked the Hollow to here, and while his sharp reikaku couldn’t penetrate the hardened karst formations, he assumed the hive was brimming with Hollow life... if it could be called life, that was. Sheer coincidence had brought him to its location: he had observed a lone Arrancar in a tattered brown cloak skitter across the sands of Hueco Mundo and had traced him to this point. He bore no malice towards that particular Hollow, he simply wanted to see how many of the beasts he could draw out from the caves. Like clearing the puss from a festering wound, he supposed. Besides, he wanted to test out some of the new techniques he had developed, and had little patience for hunting down each individual Hollow that resided in that molehill.

In other words, Cang Du had zero chill.

The second volley ended, and he was content to watch from a distance to see what might crawl out onto the surface.

Then, he would strike without a shred of impunity.

Círdon looked around the cave as it shook, and small pebbles came down from the ceiling, cracking more of his samples.

"Tch..." He thought it might be some clash of large Adjuchas outside, but his Pesquisa, amplified by the seals on his wrists, told him otherwise. Was it an Espada? No, he was too far from Las Noches for them to be busting his door down. Irritated, but curious, Círdon stood from his seat and began walking toward the cave entrance, intent on discovering who this visitor was. Even though he did not want to seek out battle, if this was just a case of clashing Reiatsu, it was worth investigating. His Zanpakutō had not been used in a while, but it bore no signs of decay as he took it off his back. The cloud of dust kicked up by Cang Du's Heilig Pfeil greeted him, and Círdon slid his goggles down in order to protect his eyes from any unnecessary inconvenience. The entrance had also partially caved in, forcing Círdon to watch his footing as he stepped outside.

'Shame...I liked the way this looked. Now where is that Reiatsu coming from? It's strong, and it's not some trick of my seals. Speaking of which, I should prepare to release them if I must.' Círdon decided to sit and wait for the dust to settle. Whoever it was, they weren't going to let him run, otherwise they would have left. He would hunch over, putting his Zanpakutō next to his feet and planting one elbow onto his leg to cradle his head with his hand. Círdon stared out into the direction of the unfamiliar Reiatsu, mirroring their decision to wait and see who would reveal themselves.

Once the dust settled, he stared at the Quincy, shocked. He had heard of Shinigami, and knew what they looked like. This man was nothing like them, but his uniform bore resemblance to an intruder Szayelaporro had described just before he died, a Quincy. He had observed this person with the Octava Espada, but this person's Reiatsu was much, much more potent than their's. Círdon did not want to battle this person, more curious about his person's presence than their power. He did not move, waiting for this person to either approach or fate into the dunes like many of the other passerby.

'Whatever they decide, I will take the path of least resistance. Not like I'll be killed....I think...'

However, that thought would soon be put to the test as a flash of blue light covered the expanse between them. The bright stream of reishi, for an instant, drowned out the dark shadows of Hueco Mundo’s eternal night before it split into two. The jaws of a snake loomed above Círdon on each side... then they snapped shut with a roar of sudden energy.

The thunderous atermath of the Shé Jìn Zhǎo's explosion rippled across the ground, and Cang Du stood, pulling the hood of his cloak low to shield himself from the sand tearing into his face. His expression was as stolid as ever, but there was the faintest hint of a scowl in the corner of his mouth. Well, he supposed he might have overdone it, but he had been peeved that for all his effort, only one Hollow—the Arrancar he had originally followed to the cave—had answered his calling card.

Cang allowed his reiatsu, which he had spiked in order to draw the Hollows’ attention, to dissipate. The silver claws of his spirit weapon vanished, and he turned to leave, certain that his attack had completely obliterated the goggle-eyed Hollow.

“Gàn,” he muttered under his breath, breaking his characteristic silence to utter a simple curse.

Círdon had barely had any time to brace himself for the explosion, and as a result, small parts of his head and upper torso were blown off. His body had already begun to reform, small streams of ash coming together and filling in missing parts of his body. It wasn't painful, and it only took a few seconds for him to regenerate. Soon, his body was as good as before. His clothes had several holes in them, but he would worry about that later. Unfortunately for Círdon, regeneration would make he Reiatsu fluctuate, and he bit his lip every time he had to do it. He knew it would let his enemy know he was very much still alive. Maybe after realizing that fact, his enemy would find him to be not worth the effort, and move along. In any case, Círdon was now very much on his toes, preparing his body for whatever might happen next.

After relocating his Zanpakutō, he stood while his body finished regenerating, contemplating once more whether or not to release his seals. 'It could certainly frighten this person away, but it would also be a beacon to whoever's around. I don't know if there are more of these 'Quincies' in Hueco Mundo. I've been a shut in for too long...Perhaps I should return to Las Noches. No...I want to stay out of whatever's going on. Even if this is one person acting alone, more could come if I kill him.' Círdon decided to keep his Reiatsu as low as possible, slinking back into his cave in order to make it seem like after struggling to cling to life, he died.

He would then wait in the nearest chamber of the cave, seeing if this person would follow. Círdon didn't want to fight this person, he had no quarrel with them. He knew there were individuals that hunted Hollows simply because of their nature, yet Círdon never understood this. Sure, if a Hollow invaded the Human World, they were liable to be dealt with harshly, but journeying to Hueco Mundo to actively kill Hollows was a practice that seemed unneeded. Nonetheless, Círdon waited. The words to release his seals were on the tip of his tongue, but he hoped that he would not have to utter them.

At that moment, the Quincy flickered into sight in front of him. He stood in the entrance of the cave, his silhouette framed by the dark expanse behind him. The shadows cast over his face made the glint in his eyes even more sinister. He wasn’t smiling. In fact, he was the opposite of smiling. For a long moment, neither of them said anything as they stared each other down. Círdon probably wouldn’t be able to notice, but one of the Quincy’s brows had furrowed slightly, telling his frustration.

"You’re persistent,” the Quincy finally spoke. "I didn’t expect you to survive that attack—but it won’t happen again."

He snapped the flap of his coat to the side and his spirit weapon materialized over his right fist. He leveled the claws at Círdon’s throat... And an instant later blurred into motion. For a moment he was visible above Círdon’s head as he brought a high kick straight down towards the center of Círdon’s skull, aiming to crack the goggles and the Arrancar's face into two. But the spirit weapon hadn’t just been for show, as three translucent blades curved through the air, whistling as they cut towards Círdon’s abdomen.

Círdon didn't dodge the attacks, not because he couldn't, but because he didn't need to. His Reiatsu spiked, bringing his arms up to block Cang Du's kick in a display of speed that betrayed his true level of skill. His body had already reinforced his Hierro with dense layers of ash, but even then the spirit blades would leave minor laceration's across Círdon's abdomen. Instead of blood, a putrid smell filled the chamber they were in, as Cang Du could see a dust like substance starting to move inside the wounds he'd dealt.

"I'm afraid, Mr. Quincy, that persistence isn't what kept me alive." Círdon's body seemed to shimmer, and a small bit of static could be heard as he disappeared back outside of the cave. The Arrancar was backed into a metaphorical corner, and he was irritated about it. The display of Reiatsu would make him vulnerable, but he wanted to deal with this problem quickly. Círdon drew his Zanpakutō, pointing the blade at the mouth of the cave as he released his Reiryoku seals. "La muerte es sólo illógica..." The bracelets made a small click before Círdon took them off and placed them into a pocket.

What seemed like a pale green flame spread from his wrists, enveloping Círdon as his Reiatsu spiked drastically. His apparent power paled in comparison, and Círdon put it on full display as a challenge to the Quincy. His Reiatsu was heavy, filled with a dreadful feeling that someone was watching Cang Du from every direction. His eyes had a flicker of anger in them now, because his precious solidarity was now broken. 'I will deal with you here and now. And after you fall, I will have many questions for you.'

It seemed impossible, but Cang's eyes narrowed even further than their natural state as he analyzed the Hollow in front of him. The phrase he had stated had sounded like the release command for a Resurrección, but the Arrancar’s form hadn’t changed, despite his sudden increase in spiritual pressure. However, Cang was more disturbed by his failure to penetrate the Hollow’s dense Hierro than Círdon’s display of reiatsu. He didn’t want to expend any more effort than necessary in eliminating the Arrancar pest, but it seemed he would have to alter his approach if he wanted his attacks to be effective.

“Death is illogical?” he said, referring to Círdon’s release command. “Perhaps for someone whose existence is an aberration in the fabric of reality. But don’t worry. I—Cang Du, the ‘Iron,’ will provide your existence its logical end.”

And with that, Cang released his own reiatsu.

Unleashed

A sharp line of energy pierced the dense canvas of Círdon’s spiritual pressure. The murderous intent was palpable, concentrated to a single focus point at the center of Círdon’s being. Known as Shā qí, the “killing qi,” it was meant to utterly intimidate his opponent. But that was all that could be sensed as, a split-second later, Cang drew in his reiryoku into himself. The veins in his limbs flooded with an intake of reishi, glowing blue as he initiated Blut Arterie. For a moment he was completely tensed, like a coiled spring barely holding back its release...

The ground cracked when he launched himself into the air. The sudden pressure flattened out in a crater, causing the walls of the cave to rupture and collapse. Chunks of rock crashed into the sand, dust exploded in a thick cloud, and the earth shook as the rubble buried the entrance to Círdon’s lair. It had been a preventative measure: Cang didn’t want to spend his time chasing the Arrancar back and forth like a cockroach through the tunnels, and was confident that, should the Hollow attempt to flee in the other direction, he would easily outpace him on the open stretches of sand.

Cang appeared above Círdon again, but this time he was upside down. He used the sudden change in direction to his advantage, throwing himself along the direction of gravity as the kinetic force of his movement cracked against the sky behind him. Cang blurred towards Círdon. The claws of his spirit weapon glowed blue as he shot past where the Hollow stood. Following in his wake, six claws of energy—reminiscent of a certain Espada’s Desgarrón—cut towards Círdon from either side. But this time there was a catch: Cang’s skin had darkened—the visible effect of fortifying his reishi constructs with his Schrift. The reishi claws, harder than steel, were meant to break past the Hollow’s durable Hierro.

A short distance away, Cang slid to a stop, the wind carrying the sand past him as he turned on his heel in preparation to strike again...