A heavy stillness blanketed the far west training sector of the Seireitei. The sky hung low, sunless despite the hour. Something was wrong—every spiritual thread in the air felt pulled taut, like an invisible string waiting to snap.
Lan Yan stood motionless at the edge of the elevated observation platform, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. The stone plaza beneath him was filled with fresh recruits from the outer squads, murmuring nervously as their superiors adjusted formation lines.
Behind him, Lanran leaned against the railing, calmly flipping through a slim black notebook he'd been carrying for weeks. His glasses gleamed under the faint light.
The emergency call had come at sunrise. The twelfth division's Hollow detectors had picked up multiple breaches—simultaneous Garganta openings near Rukongai's 72nd district. And these weren't standard Hollow readings. Something more coordinated. More intelligent.
Captain Ukitake himself had summoned them.
"Still think this is a test run?" Lanran asked without looking up.
Lan Yan didn't answer at first.
Then—
"They don't use Garganta for test runs."
From the southern cliffside, the first roar echoed across the landscape.
ROAR!
The distant skyline shimmered—and tore open like crumpled parchment. A gaping black maw of a Garganta yawned into the air, its edges flickering like smoke.
From it, Hollow after Hollow spilled out in grotesque shapes—twisted torsos, bone masks, and claws like daggers. Low-class Gillians, yes—but too many. Dozens. Then hundreds.
The recruits began to panic.
Lan Yan stepped off the ledge and landed in the courtyard with a dull THUD! His appearance instantly calmed some of the younger shinigami, who recognized him from rumors that had already spread far across the academy.
A second portal opened to the east. This one is taller. Wider.
A shape emerged—hulking and segmented like an insect, but with limbs too long and jaws too wide.
Lanran snapped his notebook shut.
"That's not a Gillian."
"No," Lan Yan muttered, hand sliding toward his Zanpakutō's hilt. "That's a Vasto Lorde."
The hollows surged forward in a flood.
"Squads three through seven! Defensive arcs! Evacuate non-combatants—NOW!" barked Vice-Captain Okabe, flash-stepping into the fray as spells and steel met the front wave.
Lanran sighed and pushed off the railing.
"Let's make this efficient."
In one motion, he drew his Zanpakutō, the slender katana reflecting the pale light. As the first hollow pounced toward him, its jagged claws raised, Lanran vanished with a sudden FWOOSH of reishi.
One flash step.
One clean arc.
The Hollow's mask split in two with a clean CRACK!
Lan Yan, meanwhile, raised his hand toward the eastern gate.
"Scatter—烛阴 (Zhuoyin)."
In an instant, his spiritual pressure erupted across the battlefield.
Golden light flared from beneath his feet, spreading outward like cracks of dawn tearing through the gloom. The very air seemed to tremble. Hollows froze mid-lunge. The recruits stumbled back, shielding their faces.
Even the Vasto Lorde stopped.
The twin dragons of light that coiled around Lan Yan's arms pulsed once—then surged outward. In a blur, he vanished and reappeared above the field, descending like a blazing spear into the horde.
BOOOOM!
The ground fractured. Hollows were incinerated in waves.
A massive shockwave rippled out, leveling trees and shaking even the outer walls of the district.
In the sky, the Vasto Lorde bellowed an ear-splitting cry of challenge.
From the north, another figure arrived—shrouded in deep green robes, her face hidden behind a bird-like Hollow mask. She floated above the battle, watching the chaos with calculating stillness.
Lanran caught sight of her from the far end.
"Hollow… with a cloak?" He frowned. "No, something else."
The figure tilted her head.
Then raised one pale hand.
From the tip of her finger, a sharp CRACK! of reishi shot toward the sky—and a third Garganta tore open above them.
This time, dozens of Adjuchas-class Hollows stepped through.
Lan Yan landed near his brother, his expression still composed, but his grip on Zhuoyin tightened.
"They're coordinated. Someone's giving them commands."
Lanran adjusted his glasses.
"Then we kill the leader first."
Together, they flash-stepped into the heart of the chaos.
A hundred yards away, hidden behind a broken shrine pillar, young Shinigami recruits cowered. One of them, barely out of the academy, stared up in awe.
"Who… are they?"
"The Yan brothers," someone whispered. "Lan Yan and Lanran. The Twin Pillars."
"They don't fight like us."
"No," said the third, eyes wide. "They fight like monsters."
Near the center, Lan Yan met the Vasto Lorde midair. The creature's claws gleamed with carapace armor, but Zhuoyin's light flared even brighter.
They clashed—once—twice—blades and claws ringing like temple bells.
CLANG!CLANG!
Each impact cracked the sky with shockwaves.
But Lan Yan's light pulsed harder with every exchange.
And then—
"天叢雲 (Ame-no-Murakumo)!"
The words cut the air.
His blade exploded with radiant arcs of light and shadow—the true nature of Zhuoyin revealed.
The Vasto Lorde didn't even scream as the twin energies of light and darkness wrapped around it like a noose—then tore its body into motes of dust.
Below, Lanran stood calmly, his blade already sheathed. Around him, a dozen corpses of Adjuchas dissolved into reishi.
He looked up as the masked woman raised both hands again, her body glowing with unstable spiritual energy.
He frowned.
"She's going to detonate."
Lan Yan's body lit up like a dying star. He raised his hand toward her as she began to vanish.
"Bakudō no. 99: Kin!"
Golden bands erupted from the sky and slammed her to the ground.
But as the smoke cleared—she was gone.
Vanished in a blink of light.
Later, as the battlefield cooled, the Yan brothers stood at the edge of the rubble-strewn plaza. Around them, squad members moved to recover bodies, stabilize barriers, and treat the wounded.
Captain Ukitake finally arrived, his expression grim, his steps heavy.
"You two…"
"We're fine," Lan Yan said simply, brushing ash from his shoulder.
Lanran didn't speak. His eyes were fixed on the fading Garganta traces above.
"She was no Hollow," he murmured. "Not entirely."
Ukitake narrowed his gaze.
"I'll begin the investigation. But if someone is commanding Vasto Lordes and Adjuchas like soldiers…"
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
Lan Yan stared into the vanishing skyline.
A storm was coming.
Author's Note:
A masked woman who commands Vasto Lordes?
And vanishes like reishi?
A blade of light. A mind of illusions.
Zhuoyin and Kyōka Suigetsu. One command light. One commands the senses.
What happens when they no longer hold back?
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