A Peculiar Discovery
Gracing the presence once again of an all too familiar void, the dread-headed Shinigami continued his pace forward into the confines of the solidified black tar like maw of the Dangai. His steps producing a short lived muffled echo that quickly seemed to die down into the lengthy tunnel ahead as he sandals paced across the hardened unlevel floor of the precipice world. The atmosphere smug, and almost somewhat suffocating from the lack of ventilation - an unexplained warmth that seemed to induce a forced perspiration under the layered cloaking that adorned his body. With these rather strange conditions, the confined space in itself ironically held no peculiar odor. The ambience of the area had naturally been the type of ominous and nerve-wracking environment that would force any astute or cautious individual to be wary of all that could possibly occur or go awry in such a space. Eizoku had been no different, already the cautious kind, the known instability of the area and the deadly qualities it possessed, partnered with his previous experience, did nothing more but forcibly sharpen and refine his senses in the moment. Every movement, every directed step, every breath he took had been filled with nothing but calculated purpose and intent. That, paired with both his sensory and attentiveness, left absolutely nothing to chance - nothing could or would escape his notice, no matter how minor it may have indeed been. His undesirable feeling of fear creating an ambivalent sensation of concern, being both suppressed and embraced by his own anticipation, intermingling with worry, and strangely...a bit of nostalgia. He had only been within the passage twice, yet there was a sense of comfort and familiarity that it strangely offered him. Perhaps the properties of the Dangai in itself, being that it was relatively close to his own abilities offered him a sense of solace in the last place he would have expected to find it. His own temporal intuition aligning him with the time axis of the Dangai itself despite its current frozen state. There had been comfort in knowing that the passage of time while he had been within, had been stable and controlled.
The overly-cautious Chronomancer had already learned from his prior expedition, and as such had already entered with an active modified Shakkaho that seemed to coat the entirety of the palm of his right hand. It's glow extremely intense, bright enough to set a 10 feet radius both ahead and behind him aglow against the walls of the crag that had in itself been in a stasis in an irregular vivid blue. Signifying in itself that he had tweaked the spell for his own convenience and effeciency. Despite its glow, the temperature proved to amount to nothing more than a mild warmth upon his skin. He had been efficient in all aspects, and rather resourceful, already using the spell to serve doubly as a light source to provide maximum visibility while moving forward, also serving as a beacon to inform his peers of the whereabouts of his current location. Had there been any flickering or ousting of his flame, it would immediately alert those present to the potential presence of danger - Eizoku himself would also have the dual capability of utilizing this spell in both a defensive or offensive manor should he deem it necessary.
Thus far he had been able to plainly see that there had been no blatant visible trace of his last visit. Nothing remained, no signs of struggle, no stray limbs, nor the presence of the hollow which once occupied the area. Even the residual Reiatsu of those whom had entered the Dangai recently, besides his own peers, had been amiss. As far as he was concerned, his initial thought process revolved around that perhaps his prior struggle certainly hadn't been in vain. Yet within the recesses of his mind, he doubted such an opponent would have been done away with so easily. Even if he had encountered the Kototsu and the Koryu - especially being that he had already somehow managed to both resist and subject the time altering capabilities of the Dangai. If anything, the
absence of such a creature worried him more so than its presence. There had been an absolutely 0% probability of a mere hollow manifesting within the Dangai and establishing its residency there by
chance.
This in itself had been something racing through the recesses of his mind for quite some time now. To be able to establish its domain, resisting and controlling the properties of the Dangai, and to actively utilize its abilities in order to sustain itself, was far too calculated and elaborate of a plan for a mindless hollo–. The man paused directly in his train of thought as he reflected to a factor that he had seemingly excluded from his overall analysis of his previous encounter with the corrupted soul - the capability to communicate and react in a manor that exhibited a stark level of intelligence and the ability to strategize. It hadn't simply been a hollow, but perhaps something far more advanced and evolved. This factor in itself lead Eizoku to further solidify the fact that although he may have gravely injured the being, the realistic percentage of it still being alive would roughly still be around the 53.11 percentile. Factoring in its intelligence and durability, along with the potential inefficiency and overall lack of depth and precision within his strike while under pressure, this would drastically tip the scales even further, increasing the probability of its survival by at least 33.05%. In his current calculations there was approximately an 86.16% chance the creature was still out there. There was also the apparent factor of astounding regeneration that the being seemed to posses as well, tipping the scales in his disfavor once more - resulting in the concluding calculations that there had been a 95.22% overall possibility that this monster was still alive and well.
"Certainly such an advanced and evolved hollow would not simply find its way here. There had obviously been a purpose behind its presence. This was undoubtedly intentional, unfailingly calculated...but to send anything to this domain would certainly result in its eventual death by means of the unstable and lethal factors that this world possesses. Even with its current level of strength and regeneration, it still wouldn't be able to compete with the Kōryū nor the Kōtotsu on its own naturally. Yet, somehow it still managed to live on...but how?" And why occupy a void such as this?"
This reality that the beast remained hadn't been something he desired to admit or readily accept just yet, and as such he placed it into the recesses of his mind until the information in itself became relevant in the moment, continuing on with his search - which in the moment seemed to beget nothing.
The Third Seat was indeed aware of the fact that the Kōtotsu was certainly the cause for erasing the traces of evidence he sought so desperately to find. Or so he had thought, until an all too familiar aroma completely captivated his sense of smell and somehow taste. –
"Blood?!" The man's eyes shot open in reaction as the aroma created an even more acute rising in his own senses. The first thought to pass his mind, was the simple questioning of did this blood belong to him, or perhaps the members of his squad had once again fallen during his search? However, both scenarios proved highly unlikely after tying in the factors of the extended period of time he had been absent from the location, and the fact that the scent stemmed from in front of him rather than behind. There was also the added factor that the blood that had been spilled once before, had it not managed to be cleaned, would certainly have been dried up by now, and its scent gone. The sweeper like creatures which cleanse and eject any and everything foreign to the Dangai would not simply miss or overlook an area such as this. Perhaps the smell hadn't actually been blood, but...
"Perhaps...Iron?"
Pinpointing the particular location and attuning his sensory capabilities to the best of his possible abilities, Eizoku had been able to detect a small residual pooling of spiritual energy that resided in the spot where the scent of
"blood" had been the strongest. But how could such a thing remain? The sweeping of the Dangai is an unavoidable occurrence that completely and undoubtedly cleanses and removes the traces of everything in its wake, despite how massive or minor the physical entity may be. So for this to remain, signified an abnormality worth looking into. Having pinpointed the exact location, Eizoku actively fine tuned his senses in focus of vague spiritual energy pooling before him, only to come to the realization that what he had been sensing and smelling hadn't been in fact blood, but rather a literal mineral which seemed to ebb and flow freely within the confines of the maw as if they were dust particles. Could this mineral possibly be a result of the Kaikyō Kotei? It had been a possibility, but even if such had been the case why had this never been discovered before? He had inhaled it, tasted it, felt its presence...and quickly came to the conclusion.
"Could this mineral somehow be resistant to the temporal effects of the Dangai?!"
It had been in the same moment that he had come to yet another conclusion - he hadn't been the first individual to make this discovery. A rush of blood racing to his head, turning his caramel toned color a flushed maroon as he processed the shock of his discovery. Something much more sinister had been at hand, something in which the Third Seat hoped for once, he would be proven wrong - had that hollow been purposely placed within the Dangai because of this mineral? Such an evolved and intelligent specimen would certainly have been a waste for the individuals responsible for sending him, should they not have had accurate information on the dust like structure already. Was it, protecting this substance? This had certainly been in the vicinity of his initial encounter with the corrupted soul, which only lead Eizoku to the question if that thing had been guarding this? It would certainly explain how it was able to sustain itself and take control of the properties within. But it also begged the question that, since the precipice world is under 24 hour surveillance by the 12th Division of research, being that no one had reported the substance prior, nor the presence of the hollow within, had there been a potential traitor in their midst?
Eizoku wasted not a moment after coming to his logical conclusions about the matter, immediately reaching into the deeper right handed portion of his cloak with his left hand, removing a cylinder shaped plastic container, placing it sternly within the palm of his left hand before uttering the words of the spell soon to come.
"Hado Number 58. Tenran - Inversed..."
With a sharp twist of his left wrist 45 degrees to the right, the Chronomancer, using the opening atop the plastic container as the epicenter for his spell, generated a controlled siphon, that instead of repelling with adverse winds, gently siphoned with enough force, the particles of dust from nearly the entirety of the Dangai directly into the container of his choosing. It had been an extremely effective method, resulting in the container being completely filled with the now visible metallic dust that occupied the airs of the tar like tunnel in only a matter of roughly three seconds. As an ensuring factor, he placed the still active siphon beneath his open nose and mouth, forcefully yet gently extracting nearly all the minerals and debris he had both inhaled through his nose and mouth, before immediately ending the spell placing the cap upon the container. Placing it back to its original position beneath his Shihakusho.
