Two Furies Epilogue

Ruins of Las Noches. Hueco Mundo. 1,237 years after Aizen Incident.

The Cero Espada Leon Elizondo walked through what remained of the great palace in the desert. The red-haired Arrancar could not explain why, but he felt as if he was being called to this place that he had not been in many years. As he moved through the ruins, memories of his former life in Las Noches came to mind. The recalled the time he spent with his Empress Harribel, her smile, and when she died. He swore never to return, but this irresistible pull had brought him back.

Leo stopped in his tracks when he saw someone standing twenty feet to his right. The individual had their back to him. He recognized the white haori that they were wearing to be that of a Soul Reaper captain, but there was something different about its design. The haori had a hood, and the insignia on the back possessed four flowers inside of a rhombus rather than numbered kanji that is usually inside of the rhombus. Leon moved closer to the Soul Reaper who remained motionless. Once he was close enough to the Soul Reaper, Leon removed his Zanpakuto from it sheathe and pointed it at the side of their face. There was silence.

“I came to see the Red King,” the Soul Reaper said. He turned his head toward Leon. From the shadow of the hood were a pair of glowing red eyes that watched the Arrancar intently. “You look a lot like him.”

Keeping his blade pointed at the Soul Reaper, Leon looked down at their feet to see the stone that marked the grave of the Red King Xenethis Chimera who like him carried the title of Cero Espada. “Who are you,” he asked with his blade still pointed at the Soul Reaper’s face.

“I am what’s left of those who swore to protect Hueco Mundo,” the Soul Reaper said. He turned his head and looked down at the grave stone. “And here lies the other taken in a time of dire need.”

“I want to know your name,” Leon said. The Soul Reaper was testing his patience. What he was saying was ludicrous. Why would a Soul Reaper want to protect Hueco Mundo? It did not make sense.

“I go by many name, Leon Elizondo,” the Soul Reaper said noticing that his knowledge of Leon’s name startled him. “Soul Reapers and Vizards know me as the Patriarch of Transcendence. The Red King called me brother.” The Soul Reaper raised his hands out of the sleeves of his haori. They were covered in intricate scars. He pulled back his hood turned toward Leon revealing himself to the Arrancar. His hair was long and slightly matted. His eyes had blood red sclera and white irises. Three scars ran down over his right eye from the bottom of his forehead to above his upper lip. There was nothing beneath his haori but his bare chest that too was covered in intricate scars. Below his chest was an odd purple jewel that protruded from his body. On his left side hung a Zanpakuto with a black sheath and handle. “But all know me as Ranma Kurogami, the Lord and Guardian of El Dia,” he finished.

“Lord and Guardian?” Leon questioned dumbstruck by who Ranma claimed to be. He had listened to the stories told by his Empress Harribel about a journey she had taken with the Red King to a faraway place in Hueco Mundo. The Red King had awakened an almost god-like power by tapping into his anger while there. The one who taught him, the Lord and Guardian, gained power though the same mean. Thus both the Red King and Lord and Guardian were referred to as the Two Furies of Hueco Mundo. One of night and one of day. “You’re the Fury of Day,” Leon said.

“I never did like that name,” Ranma said. “Xenethis didn’t care much for his either. Our anger brought us strength and allowed us to fulfill our duty to this world. And he lies here having fulfilled his duty to Hueco Mundo.”

Leon sheathed his Zanpakuto. “Harribel did not speak much about him,” he said. “I know that he served her, and then later on became Cero Espada. I do know that she cared greatly about him. His death would not have brought her such sorrow if it wasn’t the case.”

There was silence save for the sound of the wind blowing through the ruins. “How long has it been since I first saw him?” Ranma asked himself. “I’m guessing almost five centuries now.” He looked at the palm of his hand. “Back then his heart was clouded with doubt. Even though he was Cero Espada he did not know what he should do with his existence. I knew that I had to do something. At the time I couldn’t decide whether I took him and the other Espada to El Dia for the sake of my duty to Hueco Mundo, or if I truly cared about his plight. I eventually realized I did it for both.”

“I wish I could have met him,” Leon said. “His power would be enough to unite the Espada that lay claim to this divided land.”

“His power still lives,” Ranma said with a smile. “It lies within you.”

“Me?” Leon said in disbelief. “What are you talking about?”

“Those that pass the trials of the El Dia’s Cave of Memories receive two gifts,” Ranma said. “One is a weapon that reflects their heart. The other is a gift that is connected to their bodies.” Ranma tapped head next to his right eye. “My second gift is call the Eyes of the Guardian. They allow me to see other worlds as well as time. Xenethis’ second gift reflected his aspect of death.”

“His aspect of death was Vermillion,” Leon said. “What sort of gift reflects that?”

“No,” Ranma said. “His true aspect of death was Inheritance, the passing of one’s belongings to another. His gift from El Dia allowed him to pass his powers onto another person. He passed them on to Harribel when he died, but she was unable to use it. When she died she passed both his and her powers onto you. You were made into an Arrancar when you received it, but much of the physical and spiritual power Xenethis obtained from El Dia is still beyond you reach. If you unlock it you will grant the full power of the Red King. To do this you must transcend your current existence, and there is only one way you can do this.”

“How?” Leon asked not understanding what Ranma meant by transcend.

Ranma reached into his Haori and pulled out a pyramid shaped object. It appeared to be made of yellow glass and contained an orange sphere inside of it. “This is the Arashi Shiru,” Ranma said. “It once belonged to an enemy of the Red King. An Arrancar that fuses with this object will obtain immortality among other abilities. Through fusing with this object you can unlock the powers that were passed to you. Transcendence will allow you to surpass the Red King.”

“You think that thing will do all you say it can?” Leo asked. Even with all the Guardian had said he still felt uneasy by his words of transcendence.

“Yes,” Ranma said as his free hand drifted toward the purple gem below his chest. “For one I am a transcended being myself. The Hogyoku allow a Soul Reaper – or in my case a Vizard – transcend the boundaries that separate Hollows and Soul Reapers from one another. The Arashi Shiru would allow you to accomplish the same results. Think of this way Leon, by using this you can inherit your father’s full power and bring order to this region of Hueco Mundo by uniting the Espada under your rule. You and only you can do this.”

Leon stared at the Arashi Shiru as the Guardian held it out in front of him. He wanted the order Ranma spoke of. He was tired of the conflict between the ten Espada over the ownership of Hueco Mundo. Through the Guardian’s offer of greater power Leon may be able to change things for the better. “Fine,” he said. “Will this hurt?”

Ranma rushed Leon and knocked him on his back. “Immensely,” he said as he then took the Arashi Shiru and implanted it below the Arrancar’s chest. The Arashi Shiru began to pulsate and yellow veins spread from the point it was implanted.

Leon was screaming in pain as the veins continued to spread across his body. A white substance erupted from the Arashi Shiru and covered Leon’s body. The pain had disappeared. Leon stood up completely covered in the white substance. His head was covered in white with only his red eyes present. He scanned himself realizing the white substance was like a shell with the Arashi Shiru where the Guardian had place it. “What the hell have you done to me?” Leon screamed.

“Your body is rebuilding itself inside that chrysalis suit,” Ranma said. “I think that it’s necessary to speed up the process however.” He pulled up the right sleeve of his Haori and revealed the scars on his arm and hand was glowing blue. He put his hand over the Arashi Shiru in Leon and a torrent of spirit pressure went into it.

Leon screamed again as the pain returned with the massive amounts of spirit pressure entering his body. He felt himself changing underneath the white body suit created by the Arashi Shiru. His strength was growing and he felt a connection to a power he never felt before. The spirit pressure from Ranma ceased along with the pain. Leon fell to his knees. The white shell casing began to fall apart around him. The transcendence had altered his body. His red hair had become rigid and spiked on the top of his head. His pupils had become white and his sclera a blood red. The tone of his muscles increased greatly and the Arashi Shiru lied below his chest. “So this is transcendence,” Leon said looking at his hands. “I can feel the power of the Red King.”

Ranma said helping the Arrancar onto his feet. “What power you have been given today is for the sake of Hueco Mundo,” he said. “Use it to carry on your father’s and my work. Together we will return order to this world. We will bring peace through fury.”