Death by Oppression

After a dreamless sleep, Cangya absentmindedly browsed the status information displayed by the system.

[Basic information]

Name -- Cangya

Gender -- male

Race -- Hollow (Vasto Lorde)

Spiritual pressure level -- high-level Menos Grande (Captain-level)

Alignment -- neutral evil

Affiliation -- none

Racial abilities

[Cero: spiritual pressure attack skill

Proficiency -- intermediate.]

[Sonído: movement skill

Proficiency -- basic.]

[Garganta: limited spatial distortion skill.

Proficiency -- not yet learned.]

Apart from Garganta, he had mastered all the basic abilities of a Vasto Lorde.

Garganta was useful for traveling to the World of the Living and the Seireitei.

He left mastering Garganta for later and focused on improving his combat abilities first.

"The World of the Living."

The faces of his ex-girlfriend and friends surfaced in his mind.

He came from another universe, or he wouldn't have had some extraordinary knowledge of this one.

He was well aware of that.

"They must have buried me... if that terrorist was kind enough to leave my body intact."

Although he missed them, he preferred his life now.

Sure, it looked boring at first glance, but he was free to go wherever he wanted!

As he cheered himself up like a fool, he noticed an interesting detail in the system interface.

Apart from equipment and abilities, there was a pencil icon at the end of every line.

Curious, he clicked the symbol next to gender.

Available options for the "gender" status:

1 - male

2 - female

3 - intersex

The list of options went on and on, and some absurd gender names appeared.

"A helicopter?! How can that count as a gender?"

Cangya regretted experimenting with his gender status.

But at least the mistake had revealed a crucial detail—he could customize his status to a certain extent.

That was probably why it was called the Character System.

His gaze moved to the race icon, which also had a pencil icon next to it.

"Will this work?"

He swallowed.

Every race in Bleach had unique abilities.

Soul Reapers had Zanpakuto and could unlock Shikai and Bankai.

Hollows had Cero and Sonído, while Arrancar had their own Zanpakuto and could release different forms.

Quincy also had their own range of abilities, such as Blut and other powerful skills.

There were also Fullbring users, who were born under extremely rare circumstances.

The diverse abilities of every race—he wanted those powers.

In the world of Bleach, only one person had blood from all the major races—the protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki, a powerful mix of Soul Reaper, Quincy, Hollow, and Fullbring user.

Even such great power was useless against the "Almighty" Yhwach.

That was enough to show how terrifying the King of the Quincy was.

His eyes vacant, he reached for the edit button beside the race option, prepared to be disappointed.

Available options for "race":

Soul

Human

The two options surprised him, and the second seemed completely unnecessary.

He didn't want to become "powerless" again.

"Can you show me more details?"

To his surprise, a long list of options appeared before him.

[Loading the 'Evolution Database' function.]

[Soul: the purest form of existence.

- Current evolution path (Hollow): Hollows are souls whose inner selves have been given form through the erosion of sin. Their reason has been taken by primal instincts and beastly desires, and they have existed since the very beginning.

Soul (base form) -＞ basic Hollow (inner self given form and governed by primal instincts) (achieved) -＞ Gillian (fusion with souls of similar affinities) (achieved) -＞ Adjuchas (formation of a new consciousness capable of governing primal instincts) (achieved) -＞ Vasto Lorde (partial reconciliation of primal instincts and consciousness) (achieved)

Potential evolutions on this path: Arrancar (???) -＞ ??? (???)]

- Another path of soul evolution (Soul Reaper): a soul that manifests its inner self through external means...

Soul (base form) -＞ ??? (???) -＞ ??? (???) -＞ ??? (???)]

[Human: a soul dwelling within a vessel of flesh in order to interact with the World of the Living.

- Potential human evolution path (Quincy): ??

Human (base) (achieved) -＞ Quincy (??) -＞ ??

- Another potential human evolution path (Fullbring user): ??

The Evolution Database will continue to update based on your knowledge.

The vast amount of information overwhelmed Cangya.

As he sifted through the options, he noticed an asterisk at the end of the list, beside an explanation for the many question marks.

Clearly, the status screen only reflected what he knew or remembered, and any gaps in his knowledge or memory appeared as mysterious question marks.

"When did I reach the Adjuchas level?"

The "achieved" marks suggested that he might originally have been an ordinary Hollow.

Somehow, after he became a Vasto Lorde, those memories had vanished or been discarded.

"None of that matters anymore."

He narrowed his eyes at the check marks before each potential evolution path.

He could revert to a previous evolutionary form, or even try the Quincy evolution path.

Compared to the ability to switch races at will that he had hoped for, this was a complicated method.

Still, he wouldn't complain about a power with such great potential.

That also meant—

"I can become a Soul Reaper too."

His face lit up with excitement.

Most of Bleach's story took place in Soul Society, and most of the interesting characters were there too.

Compared to the interesting events in Soul Society, Hueco Mundo was extremely dull.

"I want to meet Mama Unohana, Yoruichi, and Rukia!"

Setting his interests aside for the moment, remaining in Hueco Mundo as a Vasto Lorde would attract Aizen's attention.

Rather than wait, he could go to Soul Society and become stronger by obtaining a Zanpakuto.

He had acted passively all his life, letting others decide his fate.

What had he gotten in return? A lifetime of mental anguish and a bullet through his head.

Now, he knew what would happen in the future, had the power to switch races, and possessed an extremely useful system.

He had all the tools he needed to become strong and live as he wished.

How pathetic it would be if he became a doll in Aizen's hands.

"That won't happen."

Anger welled up in him at the thought that he might be controlled like a puppet.

After all, he hadn't been able to control his life in his previous life.

He'd had no freedom to decide his own future, not even the freedom to leave home outside curfew hours.

He had hated that life with all his heart.

The eyes behind his mask suddenly widened as realization dawned on him.

[Aesthetics of Death comprehended.]

[Innate ability: Aesthetics of Death 'Pressure' unlocked.]

He burst out laughing, as if seized by madness. His manic giggles echoed through the cave.

"Death by oppression. Ah, that's perfect. I love it."

Apache wondered whether the cruel nature of Hueco Mundo had destroyed his sanity in a single day.

"Hey, don't lose your mind. You can beat it, suppress your instincts!"

He turned to Apache with a wild smile, his terrifying aura made even more apparent by his glowing eyes.

"What do you mean? I'm a perfectly sane person... That's right, I am."

Apache couldn't help missing his gentle, considerate voice.

This noisy Cangya is really annoying.