The Reclamation War: Prelude

Like moths to a flame, monsters and men of all shapes and sized came scurrying out of the shadows and beyond to bath in the light of Los Viejo. Despite no sun in Hueco Mundo, the Moon was lit brightly in the desert's sky. After the call was sent out, the floating celestial body became more than just a home of machinery and remnants of past empires. With the arrival of hundreds and thousands of Hollows and Arrancar, the arena-like gathering place quickly became as busy and bustling as any major city on Earth. While some newcomers would introduce themselves to each other, others stood silent; waiting for whatever would come next from the man responsible for their gathering. Yet, interestingly, none fought each other. Perhaps it was the gravitas of the message, or perhaps those who'd come were less hostile than the rest of their kin. More likely it was the individual still connected to a series of cables sticking out of surrounding equipment.

Kimimaro Kaguya was not a well known Arrancar in Hueco Mundo. In fact, his name over the years had only really been muttered by two individuals: Ashlei Clixx and his current employer. Most others who learned his name met a fate worse than those two ever would. It was for this reason anyone who actually did know of the thin and largely unimposing man understood his presence meant something. At any point he could release his Spiritual Pressure and bring this roaring assembly to its knees. However, that was hardly his style. Kimimaro wasn't a leader or a man to command respect. He followed orders, regardless of whatever consequences may come. The grey-haired Arrancar's stone cold stare remained steadily focused directly ahead, uncaring of those who had amassed before him. They certainly didn't interest him, though truthfully nothing did. There also wasn't a need for him to worry about their capabilities or be fearful for his own safety. After all, he was the strongest of his kind here. Well, with one exception.

Deep within the hallowed halls and vast chambers of Los Viejos, Kimimaro's master stood from his elevated throne and took his first step forward in over a year. Despite the incredible collective Reiatsu of those who'd come in response to his call, their presence didn't pierce the stone walls of this most ancient fortress. Likewise, his own Spiritual Pressure would not reach the crowd outside. It was one of the more unique aspects of Los Viejos's prehistoric architecture. There was no doubt in his mind many would come, either due to genuine interest in shattering Shadow Fall's crumbling hold on Hueco Mundo, or just out of curiosity. Curiosity....a trait for those who sought to know more, to make new discoveries. To this magenta-haired Arrancar, curiosity had been lost to the ages. His hands had long since grasped the stars and heavens above. Now his gaze turned from above to face his enemies. And with this newest generation of Espada, his hands would grasp them just the same.

Now numbering over ten thousand, the amassed Hollow host sitting outside Los Viejos grew slower than before. Though ten thousand was hardly even a noteworthy number compared to the race as a whole, many outliers stood out among the crowd. This would be enough. It had to be enough. For if they failed in the weeks to come, there would be no second chances. This fact wasn't lost on the man about to emerge from Los Viejos. The instant his sandal'd foot exited the fortress, all the machines ground to a halt as a silence descended upon the army of Hollows and Arrancar waiting still. A pressure like none other coated the entirety of the artificial moon upon which they all stood, capable of bringing individuals above captain class to their knees. Lights flickered and shattered as machines and equipment of all kinds began sparking and crumpling under the enormous weight radiated from this one man. None would be able to move or speak, simulating a respectful silence as their caller entered the scene.

From behind Kimimaro's figure a cloaked silhouette appeared from the darkness. It didn't take long for this man to come into view, revealing a pale man covered from head to toe in black and red with striking hair and a cold, purple gaze. For any his eyes would meet it would feel as if they were being pierced not just to their bones, but through their soul, revealing all their most tightly guarded secrets. Regardless of their own strength his stare would instill a sense of instinctual fear and dread, as if their very DNA was screaming for them to flee. Yet, his oceanic Spiritual Pressure wouldn't allow this. Those who had come at his bequest would be forced to stay, to witness him. Despite the aggressive use of his Reiatsu, it would seem to the more skilled detectors in the crowd that his power did not seem malicious toward them. Despite the sinister, primordial darkness pervading Spiritual Pressure, it was not a weapon against his brothers and sisters in front of him.

Once he'd reached Kimimaro, the Arrancar took only a few more steps forward before stopping in place. His form, arguably the most human-like among those gathered, stood out among kin. At this point his Spiritual Pressure would recede, maintaining clear superiority without sitting so heavily on the shoulders of the Hollows and Arrancar on the Moon. This momentary reprieve was quickly interrupted as he began speaking, his words carrying as much presence and force as his Reiatsu had.

"Welcome to your salvation, brothers and sisters. I, who brought you all here, am Nagato Tengan. It is from atop this Moon, one of my finest creations, that we shall begin to wrest the reins of Hueco Mundo from those who've enslaved our kind and called it unification. It is you who shall restore the one law of our kind and our home, a law which the abortions the weakest among us call masters: The Strong shall Rule. It is you," his eyes turned toward Mu and Naya "the Ambitious,"; then to Shi "the Angry,"; now to Rudi "the Impure"; next to Miia and Tyrant Hunger "the Monstrous,"; then to Buu "the Hungry,"; and finally his gaze set itself on Mischa "and the Superior, who shall rain destruction and death upon Shadow Fall. Let us usher in a new era of power the likes of which shall cause those who dare to stand against our kind to crumble beneath our feet. With your assistance, I will bury Shadow Fall in a mountain of corpses and drown the trespassing Demons in rivers of their own polluted blood. And thus shall the Espada reign again."