Ever since I was born, all I saw was pale-white sand and dust, along with that hook-shaped moon.
No companions, no emotions, no thoughts. There was not even any meaning to my existence.
I did not even know what my own name meant, because no one would ever call it, or remember it.
But since something like a name had appeared in my mind, it surely had a reason to exist.
That was how I comforted myself. Deep down, I hoped that one day, someone would remember my name and call my name.
Only then would the name Ulquiorra Cifer truly fulfill its purpose!
And so, day after day, carrying the hope that someone might remember my name, I walked barefoot through this Hueco Mundo of endless sand and dust.
I encountered many things and saw many things, but that ceaseless slaughter and devouring did not let me feel the meaning of life. On the contrary, it only made me feel increasingly lonely and empty.
If the meaning of our birth was simply to die...
Then... wouldn't it have been better if we had never been born at all?
We came from nothingness and would ultimately return to nothingness. Then perhaps remaining within nothingness all along, becoming part of it, was the correct choice?
That thought stayed with me for a long, long time, until that smiling Shinigami appeared before me.
He extended his hand toward me and grasped me with that hand filled with warmth and emotion.
From those hands, I felt many things. His warmth was the first warmth I had ever touched that was made of flesh, blood, and emotion.
So... scorching and burning.
He looked at me and called my name.
From that day onward, I knew that the name Ulquiorra would be remembered. It would