(General P.O.V)

The abandoned city passed by her in a blur.

Her feet pumped with practiced ease as she picked up speed whenever she approached the edge.

Then she would lunge and clear the distance easily. It didn't matter that this was unfamiliar environment.

Her body knew what to do. It had been honed over several years of intense training.

Infact, she felt as if she could run even faster now. There was an invisible field of energy buzzing above her skin, adding strength to her movements.

It was intoxicating.

She hadn't been wrong either. She knew this city. It was customary to know high profile locations in her line of work. Missions could take her anywhere in the world after all.

Xebel had an interesting history.

It had started out as a place of banishment.

Constructed inside a maelstrom of water and strange phenomenon that could keep everyone away.

Surrounded by a dome of energy that restricted anyone without the gift of hard water manipulation from leaving. She couldn't verify if any of it was true though.

The League Of Shadows was more knowledgeable about the real world than what was under the sea.

'I've passed over this city center 2 times.'

Cheshire thought as she slowed down.

"This place is built to be confusing. Or rather...the placement of everything is too different from what I'm used to."

She mumbled to herself.

The plan had been to locate a hangar or docking of some kind. There was bound to be an underwater craft or something. How else had the people of Xebel gotten food or amenities from the outside world?

"Shit."

Cheshire cursed, removing her mask. What if the absence of everyone meant that the people had somehow used all means of escape to leave?

She shook her head. Now she was reaching. Coming up with conjectures not based on facts.

Too much thinking leads to overthinking. If she couldn't find anything in the city, then her best chance laid with the palace

She wore her mask, briefly wondering why it felt snugger than before.

It framed her face perfectly. Davian had done something to it but she'd thought it was only so that she could see the ghost that followed him around.

But now she suspected it was more than that. Cheshire willed the mask to show her more.

The buzzing around her skin grew stronger and with a click, her vision changed.

She turned her gaze towards the Palace and immediately ripped the mask of her face as she breathed heavily.

What the fuck was that?!! Her body shivered in fear.

It was like staring at the sun. If the sun was rotted and glowing sinisterly.

Next to that rotting sun, there had been another light. This one had felt familiar to her.

Davian.

Okay, so she wasn't approaching the palace just yet. She didn't think she would survive even from a relatively safe distance.

The kind of power both were throwing around...

She wore her mask and looked out into the city once again. Maybe the mask's new vision could show her something she had missed.

She was right.

The buildings and walls seemed to go transparent before her gaze. Within them, she could see lines of power.

Lines that were connected to the beam of light spearing through the air from the palace.

The lines seeped through the Palace grounds and out into the city, branching out. And even with the mask it was hard to stare at one for long.

They seemed to phase in and out of reality irregularly.

'That must have been what was confusing me.'

Cheshire thought to herself.

Then she spotted something strange. Or stranger, taking into account they were thousands of miles under the ocean in an underwater city.

The lines of energy seemed to converge in one particular place, east of the palace.

The section seemed to belong to a block of buildings with high walls separating it from the rest of the city.

Cheshire jumped, weaved, climbed and barely a minute over, she was standing on a watchtower looking down at the building.

Or rather...the Prison.

A rumble hit the city, causing the ground to shake along with a shockwave of dust that swept out through the entire area.

Cheshire managed to keep her balance but turned her eyes towards the Palace. She was almost a mile away!

The fact that the shockwaves from the battle could reach her was crazy!

Davian had gotten busy.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Time for her to do the same.

Was it dumb to investigate who was locked up in here without knowing why they were locked up in the first place?

Absolutely.

Was she still going to do it?

Undoubtedly.

She was Cheshire. Curiosity was her thing.

Besides, the Cheshire Cat knew how to protect itself. She must have imagine the purr of approval that seemed to come from the mask.

She shrugged and jumped into the yard.

(Davian's P.O.V)

With my Shikai active, the roar of power within me felt restless to be used.

Shunpo cleanly ensured I covered the distance between my previous position and the palace in a heartbeat.

My feet landed inside a wide chamber with barely any noise. I straightened up to study my opponent.

"You are fast."

A man said in a scratchy voice.

That's when I noticed it. The air in the chamber felt heavy and the source of that heaviness was...

Impossible.

This makes no logical sense.

I tightened the grip I had on Chesha Neko as I stared at the familiar old man seated on a rusted throne.

"Chase please tell me I'm dreaming. Otherwise, what is Barragan Luisenban doing in DC?"

I urgently asked my Zanpakuto.

"You cannot afford to get distracted. This is a mystery that will have to wait until you can get out of here alive. So attack."

Chase replied in a hard tone.

He was still mad that I hadn't cut my losses and left. He needed to understand that running away was not who I was.

"Attack? Fine. I can do that. But after this, you and I are going to have a looong conversation. Something tells me you're keeping things from me."

He didn't reply.

I didn't waste time either. He was right on one account.

This wasn't an enemy I could take lightly. From the start, I was going all out.

I poured everything I had in Chesha Neko and then flash stepped forward, intent on finishing this with...

"Eager to fight are we?"

Barragan came from the side.

I...

The air around us popped as I used my fastest speed to fall back.

Space grew narrow around me as everything went out of focus with me slipping into what I coined as Flash Time.

"Sonido."

Came the scratchy old voice and immediately the old Hollow King blurred, appearing to my front with his battle axe held above, for a downward swing.

He breathed out in exertion bringing the axe down onto my head.

I was about to lift Chesha Neko to block it, when my instincts screamed at me.

So I dodged the slash, only for the axe to bite down onto the ground and create a wide groove.

The ground shook as a large plume of dust thrown up was followed by pieces of rocks and marble.

I jumped off the ground, pushing off the side of a pillar before creating a platform of energy in the air some feet off the ground.

My breath came out in harsh exhales as I looked down at the devastation.

"He has me beat in everything. Speed, strength, skill..."

I said in disbelief.

I couldn't believe how outmatched I was!

Is this the difference between a lietenant class Soul Reaper and someone on the level of an advanced Captain?!

Can I even hurt him?

"Don't forget he's not just a mere arrancar, there is something else inside him. It feels like magic."

Chase informed me.

"Magic? Well that's just great."

I murmured.

"It's not too late to leave, My Wielder."

Chase added just as the dust settled.

"Leave?"

I shook my head.

"Not a chance. I will never turn my back on an enemy, Chase."

My smile was back in full and my breathing was under control. He'd caught me off guard but now I was ready for him.

I dismissed the platform of energy under me and fell with Chesha Neko unravelling into millions of threads that covered my body from head to toe.

The purple suit was back in business baby!

The instant I touched the ground with my soles, I lunged forward, using Reikaku to keep him in my awareness.

The ground behind me cracked from the burst of speed.

The air screamed as it was parted around my outstretched palm heading towards Barragan's neck.

Predictably, he raised the flat side of the battle axe to block my attack.

The strings around my palm extended to cover his Zanpakuto fully then I strafed to the right pulling on the strings and seeking to disarm him.

Without his Zanpakuto he couldn't use his Ressureccion which was related to time. Making the fight much much easier.

The axe slipped out of his hand and I made sure to throw it as far away as I could.

The weapon went sailing towards edge of the city. Barragan was left surprised for am instant which gave me enough time to wrap my strings around his neck.

I appeared behind him and tugged on them, severing his head from the neck.

Or so I thought. I felt the threads snap and give way.

For the first time ever, my strings had lost. They had a tensile strength stronger than metallic cables!

"Impressive. But not enough. Not nearly enough power to get past my Hierro, if you want to kill me."

He was behind me. How was he behind me?! I made sure to...

My thoughts were cut of by the feeling of dread creeping up my spine.

His hand was coming down to touch on my head. I couldn't let that happen or else I was a goner.

Move!

I flexed my energy. Pushing myself faster than I'd ever done before.

This particular Shunpo was not clean at all. Streaks of purple lightning devastated the surroundings as I evaded Barragan.

But I didn't stop there. I couldn't. Barragan had shown me just how much of a threat he could be.

He was my natural counter. Chase hadn't been exaggerating when he called him my first true challenge.

The only way I could win was by overwhelming him.

So I ran faster, appearing like a purple storm around him, my strings wrecked havoc, unfolding into whips of sharp threads that sort to slice him apart.

Blood would spray out of his wounds, before more would appear across his body but all of it appeared superficial.

I was faster than even Flash-time could keep up with, so I closed my eyes and trusted in my Reikaku to guide me.

I used sword constructs to hack him apart. Coming in for a knee shot on the face which made him stumble back before winding a clawed hand my way.

But I was already gone, sweeping from below and severing his feet tendons, destabilizing his balance.

I blinked and found myself crouching horizontally onto a palace pillar, bending the knees for more lunge power.

I sprung off it, causing the whole thing to break apart into chunks before I impacted Barragan with the soles of my feet, pushing him off the top of the palace steps, his body in free fall towards the city below.

Another flash step and I was above him, both hands aimed at his form.

My eyes caught his unworried gaze and I ground my teeth. He didn't see me as a threat.

Good.

The strings around me extended out and formed into numerous glowing purple hands around my body.

"Hado no.7: Akai Inazuma Maxima!!"

Reiryoku roared out of my body, extending to my hand constructs as easily as they poured into my real hands.

The sound started out like the chirping of overexcited birds.

Then came the rumble.

Sparks of red energy clashed against each other, combining into orbs of unstable charge before exploding forward in a streak of electric energy that was a meter wide across.

Barragan's eyes widened just as the attack landed. Someone was roaring.

It was me.

The power leaving my hands was astronomical. For the first time in weeks, my energy reserves fell to a quarter of the total amount I had.

The lightning beam sent the God-King of Hollows down to the ground, decimating the entire area and completely destroying a small section of the city.

I felt lightheaded for a second. There was a ringing in my head and my hands...

I lifted them up, they were charred and smoking. I grabbed my sheath and felt them start to heal while staring down at the crater Barragan had landed.

Slow laughter started ringing out. With a flex of power, all the dust hanging in the air was expelled, revealing Barragan. His chest was bare with strips of burnt fabric hanging off his frame.

He held out his hand to the side and something fast cut through the air.

No not his...

The Battle Axe I had separated from its owner landed in his hands.

"I see now. You are powerful."

He started, smacking the shaft of his Zanpakuto onto the ground.

"If I devour your soul, I will be able to stabilize this form. Prepare to die, young Soul Reaper."

I was entranced. The amount of power within him was staggering. I felt like a kid infront of a storm.

He took a step forward, twirling the jet black Battle Axe. A red jewel in the middle of the axe begun glowing as it exuded purple smoke darker than the purple I wielded.

"Rot...Arrogante: Domain of the Ocean God."

If he had been hard to beat before, now he was impossible.

"Maybe you were right Chase. He is too powerful for me."

I admitted grimly.

"What are you going to do?"

My Zanpakuto asked.

I finished healing.

"Well, if I want to survive, it's fairly obvious. I'll just have to grow stronger than him as we fight."