King-Consort

Chapter 1

/ "Dialogue." /

/ 'Internal Thoughts.' /

// "Flashback Dialogue" /

The current strongest Arrancar, the formidable leader of the Espada, and now the de facto ruler of Hueco Mundo, had fallen into an abyss of unimaginable despair. Chain-bound, she was reduced to nothing more than a plaything, forbidden from leaving, and at the mercy of whoever decided to venture into her prison.

Arrancars had thick skin, quite literally. But no physical armor could shield her from the torment she had been enduring since the Wandenreich's crushing victory over the Hollows. The agony inflicted upon her was far beyond the mere physical—her soul had been shattered, her pride obliterated.

How long has it been? Time had become meaningless in her endless suffering.

The darkness that enveloped her was suffocating, an abyss that consumed her mind as much as it did her body.

What happens when someone endures days, weeks, months of pure darkness? Hallucinations. Her mind betrayed her. Faces of the past appeared before her eyes. Hollows, former comrades, current comrades, and even Aizen showed his smug arrogant smirk.

But the worst torment was the uncertainty. She had people who depended on her, people she loved—her three subordinates, who were more than just comrades. They were akin to younger siblings, even daughters.

How would she save them now?

She dreamed of battles lost, of her Fraccion falling one by one, their blood staining the sands of Hueco Mundo.

Or perhaps, an even worse fate.

Being captured.

Still, she did not cry. Hollows do not cry, they do not sob, they aren't supposed to. However, Tier Harribel is not a Hollow. Instead, an Arrancar, something many would argue is a far more complex and evolved creature.

She would give anything to see them again. To see their faces, to hear their voices. To see Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun smiling, even if it was just for a moment. She missed their banter, the way they bickered over trivial things, the way they fought beside her with unwavering loyalty. They had been her light in the endless darkness of Hueco Mundo, and now, in this void, she would give anything to have that light back.

She began to contemplate the unthinkable, a way out of this endless suffering.

'If I bite my tongue hard enough, I can bleed out.' she thought to herself, the idea taking hold with a grim determination. It was a way to finally take control, to make one final decision in a world where all choices had been stripped away from her.

It had been some time since anyone had come to do what they wanted with her. The silence was maddening. She was a Hollow, driven by instinct. The thought of death, once so distant, now loomed over her like a shadow. Her instincts screamed at her to survive, to fight, but her mind was drowning in the abyss.

"If I bite my tongue, I will die!" she then said aloud.

But the darkness didn't care. It whispered back, taunting her, daring her to do it.

"IF I BITE MY TONGUE HARD ENOUGH, I WILL DIE!"

She roared, the sound of her voice shattering the oppressive silence. She screamed into the void, hoping, praying that someone—anyone—would hear her. Yhwach, perhaps. Maybe he would come, if only to silence her. She wanted to see him, to see anyone, to see light, to feel something—anything. A beating, whatever they chose to inflict upon her, it didn't matter anymore. She just needed something, anything to break this unbearable nothingness.