Activating the white monolith, a surge of red particles, expels out from his hand and through the white monolith's hidden mechanism. Upon skin contact, the cold and rough surface of the white marbled stone lights up neon red, the monolith slowly fills up. Once the requirements have been met, the monolith squeals, slowly lifting itself up.
In front, sparks of unstable Reishi, congested together, forming a rift leading to the Fourth Stratos.
He alone, is allowed to walk through the static rift in the hopes of making way to his intended destination.
Intense clashing of the Muro De Regla formed behind him could be sensed by his ears.
Looking back, he saw his group wanting to follow suit, especially Harribel who was trying her hardest to open up the impenetrable wall.
Chuckled, he ventures through the unknown, waving back behind.
His fleeting, cold and stern words put an eerily cold tension upon Harribel and her followers.
"We will meet each other if fate wishes for that to happen."
"You BASTARD!" Appacci lashing out her thunderous hooves at Muro De Regla.
Rose rams her fearless head smacking against the wall as well.
Sung-sun slithering next to Harribel sighs in defeat.
Harribel pulling both Appacci and Rose back, she then commented, "You are putting up a facade right?"
For a split second, Darwin's eyes twitch, exhaling from his nose with discontent, he then said, "Go your own way now."
With half of his figure through the rift, Harribel concernly shouted, "You mustn't let those emotions control you!"
'Harribel, you were born in the wrong environment.'
Feeling a new sensation pulsating through his body, he began walking around with sights to behold and sights causing him to question. First, he checked out how the portal were formed.
'It feels extremely similar to how Muro De Regla operates.'
Looking at the Reshi movement of the entire dimensional entrance, he saw complex, interwoven Reishi forming bonds with one another, mostly harmonious. But, with increasing usage, the rift destablises over time causing friction to happen with the bonding.
"Such intricate Reishi manipulation, this goes to show how incredible the creator of this entrance was," he voiced, a wave of unknown causes his eyes to stare further in awe.
Looking back with no one responding to him, he felt strange and alone.
'It's better not to think about this.' He inwardly decided. A path of power was fraught with many thorns, leaving behind attachment was one of them.
Reminiscing on one of Mies' teachings, he thinks back on it.
—
"Trust is earned, not given." With enlightening words, Mies quietly proclaims to Darwin sitting besides him.
Darwin thinks back to his words and he asked, "What about friends?"
With a raised brow, Mies looks back at Darwin in disbelief, he said, "Friends?! There is no such thing as friends, that is the most unreal thing in Hueco Mundo and its history!"
Feeling a little down, Darwin grabs a stick and drew circles and lines creating a portrait of Muscles, Ronny, Delina, Donny, Mies and himself.
Looking at his innocent drawing of everybody in the encampment, Mies sighs, "Hueco Mundo is filled with treacherous individuals with their uncouth and delinquent behaviours. What you call friends are just your acquaintances. Don't put too much of your time thinking about the unnecessary and useless ideals."
—
Feeling a burning sensation at his Hollow hole, he grips it in pain.
He looks down on the invisible platform and asks himself.
'Is this the right thing to do?'
Continuing along the road, he reaches to the real entrance to the Fourth Stratos with no intel.
He looks back in disconnect, feeling a tinge of regret.
'It doesn't seem all that bad being with someone like Harribel and her followers.'
Setting his mind straight again, with a shift in expression, he sternly jumps through the rift tunnel.
Stepping foot onto unknown territory, he quickly analyses the situation and the environment around him.
Before fully taking in the information surrounding him, he unnoticedly stepped on a squared surface as if it was switching some sort of hidden mechanism.
Alarmed, he quickly scans everywhere in search of what has had being activated.
Reishi signature was detected everywhere, the ceiling, the walls, and the ground beneath him.
He quickly sprinted forth to dodge the incoming bullets of Reishi.
Seeing what looked like a safety location, he hurriedly ran towards that line of direction.
With his newly equipped ears, he could easily sense when and how long each bullet would need to charge and then activate.
Frame by frame, he could see all the bullets brush across his figure without ever touching him.
Using his eyes, he could easily distinguish safe areas to stand on and continue to pave through.
Stationary on what he had perceived as safe, he took a break, with his hands on his hips.
However, the ground beneath shook, without realising that it was a trap, he inadvertently fell into the grey and dull sand, sitting flat on his buttocks with a loud thud.
Darwin seemingly disorientated looks around but was flabbergasted at the sight.
'As I landed myself on the sand, the cage ceiling above me was opened, but when it detected my Reishi signature, it immediately closed itself. How intriguing…'
He was caged by stacked and neatly placed pillars made with an unknown black metal.
Lifting himself up, he tries to grab the pillars in order to tear it into pieces. Nevertheless, his actions were futile, he then goes back to laying down on what he had felt, was the same dull sand he had walked across for many years.
Looking around, he was placed in what seemed like an arena, Hollows all around the Stratos came to spectate regular participants and unknown participants.
Screaming with intense enthusiasm, an Adjucha announced,
"WELCOME! To the 9932nd Battle for Freedom. As usual, Spectators can bet their Reishi, be it from themselves or from their slaves in order to win."
Spectators roar with excitement and thirst for blood, thunderous and loud Gongs being hit on the outskirts of the arena, it was loud enough that even other far away places will feel the reverberations.
"We have..." With intense drumming, he continued, "Regular participants, a group of Hollows by the name of Los Mutiladoreson, standing on the right side of the Battle Arena!" Loud cheers spread like a disease across the stands, be it the regulars and the VIP Hollows.
"And..." With more subtle drumming, he announced the other side, "A solo Hollow for the first time in years!"
Intense vibrations be it from screams, footsteps and claps, chaos was extremely apparent in this Battle Arena.
Hollows mask themselves are known as VIPs or Traders, unmasked Hollows are Regulars, and Hollows with a blood mark resembling a dog, placed on their trapezius are slaves who surrendered or lost their battles.
Some who were powerful were both marked and restrained in cuffs.
Darwin looks at the situation ahead, understanding what is happening through actively listening to the announcer and spectators watching from outside the pits.
'I am just a tool used for entertainment.' He distained.