A vast, desolate expanse stretched endlessly under a dark, starless sky. Pale sand dunes rolled on forever, lifeless and barren. The air was still, suffocating in its silence.

Kurosawa Ren stood alone in this wasteland, his gaze sweeping across the bleak horizon. He had wandered for what felt like an eternity, yet he had not encountered a single soul. It was as if this white sea of sand was his final destination.

"Is this... the afterlife?"

His last memories were of a cramped hospital room. The ceiling, coated in layers of dust, was the last thing he saw before he drew his final breath, his body surrendering to the ravages of illness.

Ren had been an ordinary man—a small-town boy who had clawed his way up through years of relentless study. He had broken free from his family's financial struggles, earned a degree from a prestigious university, and landed a coveted position in a major corporation.

For years, he worked tirelessly, climbing the social ladder. He bought a house, a car, and secured a comfortable life in the city. Back in his hometown, he became a legend—every parent's example of success.

Then, fate played its cruel hand.

A diagnosis of late-stage stomach cancer shattered his hard-earned happiness. The disease had taken root too deeply. Chemotherapy barely slowed its spread. Desperate, his parents sold everything, moving him to a small county hospital for what the doctors called "conservative treatment."

Two months later, his body failed him.

"The past is gone..." Ren whispered to himself, letting the memories slip away like grains of sand through his fingers.

The present was all that remained.

Standing in the endless desert, he took a step forward. A sudden rustling sound behind him made him freeze. The sand shifted unnaturally, revealing something massive beneath its surface.

Then, it emerged.

A monstrous body, white as bone, slithered from beneath the dunes. Gigantic, insect-like legs clawed at the ground. Its form was grotesque, armored, alien.

"What the hell is that?!"

The realization struck him like a thunderbolt.

"Wait... this is... my body?"

A mix of horror and fascination filled him as he turned his gaze downward. His upper half was still humanoid, though covered in a hardened, bony exoskeleton. His arms, large and clawed, radiated an unnatural strength.

But from the waist down, he was a centipede-like abomination. A long, segmented tail stretched meters behind him, the sharp tips of his legs digging into the sand.

"So… I've become a Hollow?"

The pieces began to fall into place. The barren white desert, the eternal night sky, the gaping hole in his torso where his heart once was—it all aligned perfectly with what he knew from his past life.

"Hueco Mundo… I'm in Bleach."

Ren had been a devoted fan of the anime and manga in his previous life. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to find himself inside its world, let alone as a Hollow.

"Hah… This is insane."

Yet, instead of fear or despair, a strange exhilaration bubbled within him. He clenched his claws, feeling the raw power surging through his monstrous frame.

"This is... kind of awesome."

But reality quickly settled in.

Hollows were the hunted. Soul Reapers from the Soul Society patrolled the realms, purging their kind without hesitation. If he was discovered, he'd be exorcised—sent to the afterlife if he was deemed innocent, or dragged to Hell if judged guilty.

And then there were the predators within Hueco Mundo itself. More powerful Hollows roamed these lands, devouring the weak to grow stronger.

"If I stay like this, I'll be nothing more than prey."

Then, another thought surfaced.

Aizen.

If he was in the era where Aizen ruled Hueco Mundo, then he would have to be even more cautious. The former Soul Reaper captain conducted relentless experiments, transforming Hollows into Arrancars. Many died in the process.

"Damn it! I have no idea what the timeline is. If I still have time to grow before the main events, that'd be ideal. But if I've arrived in the middle of the plot or, even worse, after it—I'm screwed."

"ROAR!!!"

A deep, guttural growl interrupted Ren's thoughts. He turned sharply, instincts flaring.

A massive Hollow, resembling a green-scaled lizard over two meters long, lunged toward him. Dark yellow saliva dripped from its jagged maw, its eyes locked onto him with predatory hunger.

Boom!

Ren barely reacted before his instincts took over. His massive centipede tail, buried beneath the sand, lashed out like a whip. The sheer force of the impact slammed the lizard Hollow into the dunes, half-burying it.

But it wasn't dead yet.

As it struggled to rise, Ren launched forward, his powerful fists crashing down.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"GRRRHH—Ugh!"

His relentless blows shattered the Hollow's mask into jagged pieces. Its claws flailed weakly, only to be crushed under his hammering strikes. The once-mighty predator now lay broken, twitching in the sand, a faint whimper escaping its mangled form.

Dark green blood splattered across Ren's body and the surrounding dunes, but his fists didn't stop until the creature fell completely silent.

"Hah…"

Ren exhaled deeply, staring at the lifeless husk before him. Killing this Hollow—one smaller than himself—was not physically difficult. But for someone who had lived a peaceful life in his past existence, it was a mental hurdle he had never crossed before. Thirty years of being an ordinary human, and he had never taken a single life—not even that of a chicken.

But this was no longer his old world. This was Hueco Mundo. If he hesitated, if he showed mercy, he would be the one lying in the sand, torn apart and forgotten.

Steadying his breathing, Ren forced himself to embrace his new reality. He had been reborn into the world of Bleach, and if he wanted to survive, he had to adapt—and fast. There was no room for hesitation.

The unknown timeline only made things more uncertain. His best course of action was simple: grow stronger as quickly as possible. This world was ruthless, but it also presented opportunities—opportunities to rise beyond his limitations, to wield power beyond imagination.

His gaze drifted down to the corpse of the Hollow he had just slain.

He knew the laws of this world.

Hollows devoured one another to grow stronger. The strongest among them could evolve into Menos-class beings, and eventually, the legendary Vasto Lordes.

Ren clenched his jaw. He had no choice.

Suppressing his lingering human instincts, he reached for one of the lizard Hollow's severed limbs, its dark green blood still oozing from the wound. Without hesitation, he lifted it to his masked mouth and bit down.

Crunch. Crunch.

The grotesque sound of tearing flesh filled the air. The Hollow's flesh was unexpectedly rich, neither repulsive nor nauseating. Instead, it was delicious.

Was it because this Hollow happened to taste good? Or had his very nature changed? Had his new instincts as a Hollow reshaped his desires?

Either way, he didn't stop.

As he swallowed the flesh, a surge of power coursed through his form. His spiritual pressure flickered—growing, strengthening.

Excitement flickered in his eyes.

His gaze fell back to the remains of his kill.

With a hunger he had never known before, Ren continued his feast, devouring every last scrap of the fallen Hollow.

This was the first step.

The first step toward true power.