Cybele Prisca

the mad queen || female || bisexual || vasto lorde
late 20's-early 30's || 24 years || 622 years

APPEARANCE & PERSONALITY

Over the centuries, Cybele has developed a severe case of Dissociation, also known as Multiple Personalities Disorder, to the extent that she has created seven notably different personae in addition to her original self. Out of an internal dispute, she uses her shape-shifting powers to give each of her nine personae a unique appearance befitting their personality traits. The only definitive similarity between her physical forms is the silvery pale skin they all share while in a Reishi form. Each of the personae are unique and have differing opinions, both positive and negative, of each other, and have their own nicknames when conversing internally with each other.

Out of all of the personae, "Kisaki" is considered the "dominant" persona, meaning that she can take or keep control of her body at any time she pleases, seeing as she was the original persona. Outside of this "dominant" persona, the other seven may subdue others at will should they feel strongly about a situation, and thus Cybele's outward personality and appearance may change suddenly and without warning, at largely varying increments of time. Usually a persona can hold onto their control over Cybele's body for a decent amount of time, but it is not absolute.

In addition to this, no persona is absolute in their traits. Each persona carries their own interpretation of the traits listed above, though their views and how they act (or don't act) on them may vary greatly. In addition, traits from one persona may bleed through to other personae at random times, making Cybele a truly unpredictable being to deal with.

Inspired by the idea of how Shinigami confer with their Zanpakutou, Cybele has created her own sort of "Inner Worlds", a place in her mind using her imagination where her different personae may meet face-to-face and converse. The appearance of this fake "Inner World" may vary greatly. Though she uses it in a similar way to a Shinigami's Jinzen, it does not actually put her into a trance-like state or anything of the sort; a good analogy would be to call it her talking to the voices in her head, and giving her brain mental images of the events playing out in some far-away place.

All of Cybele's personae share the same memories and experiences. As such, each is fully aware of what is happening to each of the others. Cybele is capable of creating new personae at will if she feels there is a need to, though it takes some time for a new personae to gain the mental connection to the others to share memories and experiences; the previous personae can experience a new persona's experiences perfectly fine, but the new personae will have little to no knowledge of the others or what they have done.

Any of Cybele's personae are subject to slight to moderate visual variations in wardrobe and/or physique as she sees fit in certain situations.

KISAKI [Empress] _ _{APPEARANCE • VOICE}

Kisaki is Cybele's original personality, the 'real' Cybele, the current Dominant persona, and is a culmination of all her personae; she is an ambiguous matriarch, a jaded mix of gentle passion, unbridled brutality, near-uncontrollable lust, intense curiosity, covered in a broken facade of the royalty she once belonged to. She carries herself very highly and acts very formally in most situations, believing herself to still be the royalty that she was when she was still 'alive' in the more literal sense. Out of all of Cybele's personae, Kisaki has earned her nickname as being the "Queen" among them, the original persona and the most fitting to act as the leader Cybele is expected to be for her Krýstallo Legeó̱na.

She is very welcoming of those who do not intend harm, treating her subjects and subordinates as her "children", though she makes a clear distinction between the general "children" and anyone who would legitimately hold that relationship to her. In the public eye, among her own people, she would be seen as a very kind and passionate leader, and to an extent such is true, as she wishes for nothing more than peace of mind and the safety of her subjects and allies. However, Kisaki's unstable personality and fierce devotion to her subjects and close allies causes her to become very violent and ruthless in the face of enemies, showing very aggressive tendencies towards anyone who threatens her home and people. As a leader willing to do anything to protect her subjects and lands, she has no problems with deceiving those dim-witted enough to be tricked into doing her bidding, though she usually prefers to pursue honest business and agreements whenever possible.

Cybele's "Kisaki" persona stands about 5'9" tall, with long flowing white hair and a rather provocative figure, though not nearly as much as Shiroihime's. Her skin shines with a smooth, silver complexion, the only signs of her underlying age being some faintly visible wrinkles and veins on her upper thighs and waist, though otherwise she appears to be in her late twenties to early thirties. At most times, she wears a white dress with a long, flowing skirt and sleeves, and a deep V-shaped cut revealing cleavage though covering enough to still appear dignified and somewhat classy. Along with this she wears slim black heels. Her mask fragment appears as a thick ring of sharp, tooth-like black fragments seemingly jutting out from her neck just below her jaw and reaching up to mostly conceal her lower jaw. Kisaki's irises are an orange-ish red color when in a normal state. When in Resurreccion form, her headpiece appears as two small ear-like caps over her temples.

KUROIHIME [Dark Princess] _ _{APPEARANCE • VOICE}

"Kuroihime" is the name given to one of Cybele's first two additional personae, the name 'Black Princess' indicative of her black hair, being one of only two of Cybele's personae to have such. This personae was created to act as a "princess" to Cybele's kingdom in the absence of legitimate heirs to the throne, just in case she ever saw need to disappear as her "Kisaki" persona. As such, Kuroihime carries herself very highly, acting in a formal manner, though her mannerisms have devolved much since creation. She still performs in a formal manner, though she has become much more in-tune with more casual and baser desires. Where Kisaki would set moral boundaries on what she would do to achieve her goals, Kuroihime has no such boundaries.

Kuroihime is far more inclined to act upon her sense of lust and desire than Kisaki, much like her "sister" Shiroihime. However, unlike her 'sister' persona, Kuroihime still carries in her heart the care and compassion for Cybele's subjects that Kisaki bore. While her personality and mannerisms may seem cunning and manipulative to others, she is actually very caring and honest in her dealings. She prides herself on keeping her word at all times, regardless of consequences to herself or others, though her proclamations often come off as false boasting. She also shares Kisaki's unbridled wrath towards enemies, remaining unafraid to commit drastic measures to achieve her goals in any sense of the word.

Kuroihime stands at about 5'7" tall with straight black hair reaching down nearly to her knees, most of it running down her back. She has a slim, curvy figure, though notably less provocative than Kisaki's, especially less provocative than her sister persona Shiroihime's. She wears a thin, strapless black dress that reaches down to her knees with black leggings and black metallic boots. Her mask fragment appears as a black metallic collar around her neck similar to her sister Shiroihime, and her irises appear crimson red when in a normal state. When in Resurreccion form, her headpiece appears as two small horns grown symmetrically on her forehead.

SHIROIHIME [Light Princess] _ _{APPEARANCE • VOICE}

"Shiroihime", Cybele's persona that was given the title 'White Princess', is one of the first two personae Cybele created to alleviate tensions in her kingdom due to the lack of legitimate heirs to her throne. In some respects, she carries some of the same tendencies and mannerisms as Kisaki and her sister persona Kuroihime, in that she often acts very formally and holds herself to higher standards than most. In public, at least in appropriate situations, she acts as a princess and a person of royalty would, though unlike her mother and sister personae, she is much more arrogant about it, constantly feeding her own superiority complex.

Unlike Kisaki and Kuroihime, Shiroihime has no problems whatsoever with feeding her 'baser' desires. She finds herself often wrapped up in her hunger and lust, and is the most extremely manipulative of Cybele's personae. She often gives off an aura of being somewhat shy and an introvert in unprofessional settings, in an attempt to lure in poor, lost souls into her trap to feed her desires and pleasures. She is extremely self-centered and sadistic, seeing others only as tools for her own gain, contrary to portraying herself as one of the most caring and innocent of Cybele's personae.

Shiroihime stands at 5'11", the tallest of Cybele's personae, and has long, white hair similar to Kisaki's, though Shiroi's falls almost to her feet. Her skin is smooth and silver in complexion, much like the other personae. She also has the most shapely figure of all of Cybele's personae, her bust and rear more than ample, a form she figures most that she would seek to lure into her traps would find appealing. To accentuate this, she wears a very tight, small dress, cut to be a strip down her chest that seems to barely contain her bust, leading down to a very short skirt. She wears tall white boots with black trimming that reach up nearly halfway up her calf. Her mask fragment appears as a large metal-like plate that covers mose of her neck and upper chest. Her irises are a light, pink-ish when in a normal form. When in Resurreccion form, her headpiece appears as a singular, large black horn on her forehead with two bright red stripes around it.

KO [Child] _ _{APPEARANCE • VOICE}

"Ko" is the third additional persona created by Cybele, developed both as a means of stress relief for herself and a means of gathering information throughout her kingdom without being discovered. Ko's mind is far more childlike and innocent than the other personae; her innate lust for power and pleasure are drowned out by an overwhelming playfulness and attachment to others. Ko's only interest seems to be making friends and playing games with others, and generally enjoying life as a child. She doesn't worry about the other personae or their business, and though she sees the others as her seniors, she doesn't particularly care what they do or want.

Ko stands at about 4'1" tall, with white hair reaching just past her shoulder and silvery skin like the others. Her irises are a bright orange color. She wears a plain white dress adorned with black studs, as well as thick white gloves with black lining. Her mask fragment appears as a thick, single-row black studded collar around her neck, and she has similar accessories around her wrists. She often doesn't wear any shoes or other footwear. When in Resurreccion form, her headpiece appears as two small, diamond-shaped black caps over her temples, similar to Kisaki's.

SHOU [General] _ _{APPEARANCE • VOICE}

Cybele's fifth persona was given the title of "Shou", 'General', when she was created during the first Great Hollow War between Cybele's forces and Baraggan's army. She was brought about because Cybele required a less political, and more militarily tactical mind at the head of the armed forces against a threat like Baraggan's army of Hollows. She is very cold-hearted and sadistic towards her enemies, but very well-composed and keeps good track of her emotions and tendencies. She is very formal, much like Kisaki, and is very authoritative in her mannerisms when giving orders and organizing Cybele's armies. She is beyond confident, her arrogance making her believe that she is incapable of failing at any military operation. The pure force of her overwhelms that of most who would ever meet her.

In combat she is very calculative and merciless. While she feels no particular sexual lust like several of Cybele's other personae, she is very responsive to combat, blood, and death. These are the kinds of things that give her an immense rush of pleasure, and as such she is as much a masochist as she is a sadist. While she is too well-composed and orderly to provoke war where it is not necessary, she is more than happy to participate in wars already in motion. In battle she can occasionally lose herself if her opponent is particularly worthy of her attention in terms of skill or power. She doesn't have much of an opinion outside of combat, however, and mostly just acts on Kisaki's more formal mannerisms when not in combat or an instance of military command.

She stands at about 5'7" tall, with straight black hair reaching nearly down to her feet, fading to white towards the ends. She wears a long white dress with hints of a jacket's designs, not too dissimilar to the uniforms worn by Aizen's subordinates. The skirt of the dress opens about a foot below the waist in front, making her bare legs and black, thick heels visible, but nothing above. Her mask fragment is a well-hidden thin black band worn around her neck. She considers it symbolic of her binding duty to lead her soldiers to victory and protect those of her subjects without the power to do so themselves. Her irises are a bright, pink-ish red. When in Resurreccion form, her headpiece appears as very long horns protruding from her temples and curving back and upwards away from her face.

TOMO [Attendant] _ _{APPEARANCE • VOICE}

Cybele's "Tomo" personality was developed when Ko began to take on her own individuality and strayed away from her purpose of gathering information. Tomo was created as a more stable method of gathering information, to act as an attendant and servant to guests of Cybele's. Her personality, at first impression, seems very bland and lifeless, tame and arguably the most refined of all of Cybele's personae. She shows no signs of happiness or displeasure in groups or in public, preferring to remain indifferent as not to give away her intentions. She only enters open conversation when prompted, and otherwise only speaks as much as necessary to accomplish her task.

However, as with her other personae, there is a much more wild side to Tomo. Tomo succumbs to her lust notably more than the other personae, but mostly in private, or with select individuals only when she is particularly strongly overcome. She is very manipulative when she finds that she wishes to suit her own desires, able to play on her usual mannerisms to catch others off-guard. She is very sadistic and only cares for her own pleasure when seeking to fulfill her own desires, seeing others as little more than toys for her to play with, and not caring if injury or worse succumbs to her 'toys'.

Tomo stands at about 5'6" and has a very slim figure and, like all the other personae, smooth silver skin. She tends to wear a slim-fitting black dress with a short black skirt, both of which made of a cloth-like mesh that appears partially translucent, a tight-fitting corset and undergarment matching her skin in color underneath, with a black bonnet on her head. She wears black translucent leggins with slim black dress shoes, and long black gloves that fit tightly on her hands and arms. She has long black hair reaching down past her knees when unbound. Her irises are a deep, crimson red. Her mask fragment appears as a black, slim ring-like collar around the middle of her neck. When in Resurreccion form, her bonnet hardens into a helmet resembling a dragon's upper jaw as her headpiece.

MUBOU [Reckless] _ _{APPEARANCE • VOICE}

"Mubou", given the title for her recklessly curious nature, was the only persona to date that Cybele did not create on purpose. She came about of her own, borne of Cybele's suppressed curiosity for the world beyond what she knew. After having spent centuries in Hueco Mundo without ever leaving, the world of the living changed drastically in her absence, and though she found it intriguing, as a matriarch, she could not spare the time herself to appease her curiosity. Thus, Mubou was created as a means to simply enjoy life and discover as much as possible about this new world.

Mubou is endlessly curious and only cares about having fun, without care about consequences of her actions. She is a free spirit in every sense of the word, believing the rules of the world to bend to her whim. She aims to find amusement in anything and everything, from combat to games to destruction to rule-breaking, anything that comes to her mind is a new adventure to pursue. She is about as far from shy as possible, unaffected by people seeing anything and everything she does, however inappropriate, nor does she easily get embarrassed by the actions of others. She doesn't understand the concept of social regulations and decency, as she believes the only purpose in life is to have fun and be carefree, and anything contradictory to that might as well be an alien language to her.

Mubou stands at around 5'2" tall, with smooth white skin and medium-length white hair, reaching almost to her shoulders. She wears a slim black bikini, most of the time only the top visible, with a black hoodie a size or two larger than appropriate, zipped up to several inches below her belly button and reaching halfway down her thighs, with thick-but-plain black shoes. She has a fairly slim figure, nothing particularly boastful or provocative like many of the other personae unless she chooses to modify herself to display such. She has crystalline pink-purple irises. Her mask fragment is altered to take the form of a thick black scarf with white stripes wrapped tightly around her neck. When in Resurreccion form, her headpiece appears as a thick black headband around her forehead with two sharp horns protruding from above her eyes on the headpiece.

YAJUU [Monster] _ _{APPEARANCE • VOICE}

"Yajuu" is a monster created by Cybele simply to turn the tides of war. Yajuu has no interest if not combat; her only dream is to fight stronger and stronger of opponents, and defeat them all with her skill alone. She sees other beings as either comrade or target, and sometimes both. She is especially interested in others who seem to be as strong as her, if not stronger, and she is not afraid to fight those stronger, no matter how outclassed she may be. She gets a sort of sexual pleasure out of combat, and her lust shows more in the form of lust for battle than for pleasure itself. While she doesn't care much for killing unless it is directly called for, she does enjoy beating others within a hair's breadth of death.

She is passionate and remorseless, a ruthless machine built only for combat and warfare. She speaks very little, only enough to communicate her elation during combat or her curiosity towards potential opponents. She shows very little compassion for ally and enemy alike, and holds no regret in torture or dismemberment or combatants left alive. A warrior at heart, she fights to her last breath, and carries every scar that may fall upon her silver skin with pride over another battle won.

She stands at 5'9" tall with a slim but curvy figure, with long white hair and bright pink irises. She wears a skin-tight top similar to a sports bra, white against her silver skin, and similar shorts, both lined with thick black metallic lining, as well as similar tall boots. Her mask fragment appears as a thick black necklace that remains attached to the upper edge of her top. When in Resurreccion form, her headpiece appears as two small, pointed caps on her temples.

HISTORY

CHAPTER I • THE PRINCESS THAT NEVER WAS

As a human, Cybele was born into a Roman family of lower nobility in the late 14th century. The Prisca family was, while not a house of high standings, nor were they very popular with other noble houses, nobility enough to enjoy the luxury and benefits of nobility. Often times, they abused their power, thus leading the other houses and the general public to dislike them, but time and time again they proved resourceful enough to avoid their status as nobility being revoked. Cybele was the sixth child of the head of the house, the fourth daughter, and little was expected of her. She grew up being treated as any daughter, though she watched as her older siblings were pampered and treated much better than her, as they were expected to take over the household someday, while Cybele had almost no chance of such.

As she grew into a young woman, unlike her sisters, and contrary to the expectations and wishes of her family, her beauty came to flourish and clearly outshine her older sisters. Despite the family’s awful reputation among the Roman nobility and surrounding countries, she became something of an idol, and many a suitor sought her hand, but she refused them all, having set in her mind that she would prove herself better than her parents deemed her worthy. She would prove them wrong, and accepting marriage proposals from any lower noble would not do.

One day, however, she was attending a festival to celebrate peace with surrounding countries, and this is where she met a man named Aarón Louisenbairn, a young man and direct successor to a high noble house in Spain… the perfect target for her ambitions. She decided she would attempt to seduce him, to make him hers and play him into the palm of her hands to rise in power, if only to spite her parents. At first, her idea was successful; she had seduced him easily, her prized beauty easily enough to fool the heart of an ambitious young man. However, she had not expected such a man as Louisenbairn to be as valiant and chivalric as he was; she was used to her brothers and father, all of whom were very selfish and abrasive men. The kindness and care he showed her, as well as the passion he had for his kingdom, allies, and relationships, opened her heart in a way she had long forgotten was possible.

Soon enough, their love was known across many noble houses, and especially so in their own. Her parents, elated of the news, often tried to coerce her into manipulating the young Louisenbairn so that she may take over the house and usurp their throne. Though this had been her original intention, she no longer had any intention of using Aarón in such a way, and refused them at every turn. Meanwhile, Aarón often expressed to her concerns that his family was suspecting hers of attempting just such plots. She reassured him that, though her parents pleaded so, she did not have it in her heart to betray him.

Within a year of their blossoming love, Aarón was called away to war, as disputes between several Spanish noble houses in his area had become violent. Being the successor to the head of his household, he was trained as a valiant warrior, and was expected to take part in quelling the disputes, even if in bloody civil warfare. It was a rough year, and Aarón rarely had time to escape and spend with Cybele. She worried day and night, week after week, month after month, until finally she received word that the war was over, and her love had survived; not only had he survived, but he had been honored many a time for his bravery and leadership, and had been given the nickname and title “Baraggan”, or ‘warrior’, for his service. Upon his return from war, he immediately departed to meet her, and upon arriving at her doorstep, he proposed, and she happily accepted it.

However, their joy would be short-lived. Unbeknownst to Cybele, her parents had been plotting through the entire war to split them apart if Cybele would not concede to their wishes. They had been planting rumors and suspicions in both households of Cybele plotting to usurp the throne, and of a mass revolt that would immediately follow the wedding, that would ‘unfortunately’ result in Aarón’s death. While at first the young Louisenbairn refused to believe the accusations, his year away from Cybele had twisted his thoughts, and he could not deny that it was a possibility. The Prisca house, however, did not know that they had sealed their own fate in setting up their own daughter’s downfall.

The next morning, Cybele awoke in her countryside vacation home to fire. The entire manor had been set on fire. She quickly fled her room, and made her way outside, in time to see the entire town the villa resided in being burnt to the ground and slaughtered. She recognized some of the men as Aarón’s brothers, and then ultimately, Aarón himself walked out from the flames, a look of betrayal and madness in his eyes. What had she done to enrage him? Had they not been happily engaged only the day before?

Such was the last thought that passed through her mind before cold steel glimmering in the flames of her death cut clean through her heart.

And then, death. Blood for blood, blow for blow, bitter resentment was all the young, dead princess-to-be saw from her perch over her own lifeless body. She watched as her own miniature war waged about her, flames burning places she had come to love to the ground, childhood friends and bitter rivals slain in cold blood everywhere she looked. This went on for nearly an hour until only two stood on the bloody battlefield, both smeared from head to toe in blood. They were, of course, Aarón and her own father, ready to fight to the death. Her father said nothing, not even in her death revealing his own fault. Of course, now that she was dead, everything seemed so clear, especially with the immediate arrival of her father’s men upon the moment of her death.

They had been played for fools. Or rather, Aarón had. She had no idea what was going on; her own father had essentially plotted her death. She’d spent her whole life trying to escape his restrictions, and in the end it was he whom had decided her fate after all.

Their battle against each other lasted nearly half an hour, trading blow for blow, only glancing injuries for half an hour. But then, Aarón used his youth and speed to his advantage, and thrust his sword forward, aiming for her father’s heart… and missed, the larger man catching the blade safely between the armor on his chest and arm, before striking down hard with his own blade, ending Aarón’s life in one heavy swing. Cybele screamed as her love’s body fell, bloodied and broken, to the ground. But nobody could hear her. She watched as his spirit lifted from his body, much as she had felt of herself, and saw the bitterness and hatred in his eyes. Whatever they had told him, he had believed whole-heartedly. Did he have that little faith in her? Was this his true nature?

Nobody moved. The spirits of the dead were scattered about, but most were frozen in fear or confusion or sadness or pure anger. Cybele watched as her father grinned in triumph and marched away, leaving a dead daughter and a dead son, as well as many dead on Aarón’s side as well. She moved to apologize, but Aarón wouldn’t hear it. It was only a few moments later that she noticed the change; gradual at first, but then she noticed his body was contorting, growing, his skin darkening, the skin of his face tightening… no, something pressing out from inside. She watched as whatever was happening took a quick, gruesome finale, and he became a large black-skinned monster, roaring furiously in her face. She looked about, and found that several others had transformed similarly. Almost in the same instant, strange newcomers with unfamiliar faces appeared, armed with swords, and began cutting the monsters down. Aarón, if it was still him under that hideous form, turned and fled, and disappeared entirely in front of her.

She screamed. She pounded her fists on the ground, pushing herself up and running, sprinting, out of the settlement. She couldn’t stay there. She couldn’t watch Aarón’s dead body, she couldn’t see her own far too far away from his, she couldn’t bring herself to remember his scornful look, the way he glared at her like she had been responsible for this all. She closed her eyes and screamed, pounding her hands and arms and head and anything she could on the ground. She wanted to end this pain. She was already dead, she wasn’t supposed to have to feel pain anymore!

She looked at her hands, and found a nearby pond to look at herself in, and found that she had transformed as well, a grand feline form, not much unlike a lioness, a great queen of the plains. Somehow her own monstrous form didn’t strike her as frighteningly as the others’ had. In fact, she felt rather at peace suddenly. It was almost… surreal. She found herself simply not caring about what happened; she had been weak, and let herself believe Aarón would always trust and love her. She had been weak, and let him kill her. She had deserved to die, and now she would grow strong. Now she WAS strong, stronger than she ever had been before. She could feel it. She turned, and as if by instinct, opened the doors to her new life after death.


CHAPTER II • THE QUEEN OF HOLLOWS

It was nearly a decade before she found herself again. For all this time, she wandered the sands of Hueco Mundo, alone, slaughtering any who crossed her path. She would not be weak again. She would not let others into her heart. Trust would only lead to betrayal. Her parents that she should have been able to trust only saw her as an asset and nothing more, and only when she could have been beneficial to them. Her lover, whom she thought she could trust with her life, had just as quickly taken exactly that away. If not them, who could she trust? She could trust no one. She was alone, and that would always be so. She would be alone, and others would fear her. They may come to follow her, but they would not have her trust. She would know them, and use them as far as her needs would allow, but she would not trust them with her life. Never again would anyone have that trust.

Eight years into her time in Hueco Mundo, however, it became quickly apparent to her that her isolated lifestyle would not be beneficial for very long. As time went on, she weeded out those whom were weak, and she was not the only one doing so. It was at about this time that she came across a group of three other Hollow, calling themselves the Empire. Agil, a small, scorpion-like Hollow, not very strong but very intelligent. Argon, a humongous ape of a Hollow, but not very bright. Emil, medium-sized, almost humanoid, a seemingly almost perfect balance of power and intelligence, and the leader of their little group. They invited her to join them. She agreed, only so that her food source could be ensured; it was becoming scarcer, what with the weaklings of the sands becoming more and more scarce. It wasn’t until much later that she would learn of Emil’s status as what was known as a “Vasto Lorde”, the highest of evolutions of their kind. She didn’t even know there were evolutions; she just knew that she was hungry, and so she fed.

Her ignorance and distrust of them, however, quickly became an issue. They would often mock and ridicule her for her lonesome ways, repeatedly stating that sticking together was their best bet for survival… and especially hers, since she was the only member of the group that was still a Menos class Hollow. Emil ensured her that they only wanted what was best for her, but she refused to trust them, as she did all others. They split food from hunts, but beyond that, they were nothing to her. They had to be nothing to her.

One day, Emil left. It was a temporary leave, as he had heard rumors of other particularly strong Hollow arriving in the area, and he wanted to see if they could strike up some kind of agreement. The law of the land seemed to be a simple “survival of the fittest”, but the goal of the Empire seemed to be to make it something more grand, something better. Emil left to ensure that the newcomers would agree. However, with him gone, so was the massive Reiatsu that had been keeping a large group of pursuers at bay. With Emil gone, they revealed themselves, and attacked. Agil was quickly slaughtered and eaten in front of their eyes. Argon put up a fight for a while, but there were too many, and he was quickly overcome, and then the huge horde of Hollows set their eyes on her. They seemed to morph together as they overcame her, and she felt the boundaries of her own body seem to disappear, and everything turned black.

Who was she? For a decade she had been wandering, and she didn’t even have a name, or at least not one that she could remember. Why was this suddenly important? A hundred thousand voices seemed to swim in her head. No, not in her head; wherever she was, it was painful. A hundred voices crying out for an identity, for freedom, for purpose. But she had purpose. She had a name. What was it again? A light shone at the end of the dark tunnel, and millions of beady white eyes seemed to recede from it as she walked towards it. She walked into the light, and everything became clear. A stern white paw stomped out from the black mass as a tower of black flesh rose into the night sky of Hueco Mundo, crystalline white mask feline in nature staring out as Emil came over a distant hill.

“I am Cybele Prisca, and I will be Queen of these lands!”

She was surprised at how easily Emil had agreed to this. He was far more powerful than she was, however he claimed he did not have the mindset to be a ruler. After she explained who she was, now that she could remember herself, he had no doubts in vowing to serve her, as he said she would be the key to bringing order to the lawless deserts of Hueco Mundo. She could only hope that she could do so. At least in her rebirth through death, she could come to prove them wrong, to stand out against all that had been put up against her and come out stronger than before. She had overcome the first stage of a Hollow’s evolution, but she knew that if she were to truly become the Queen of these lands, she would need to continue to grow stronger herself. Emil was already a Vasto Lorde and much stronger than her, and she had no way of knowing how many others may have reached this status.

The two wandered the sands of Hueco Mundo for several decades. Their numbers grew and fell in a steady flow. Emil no longer had any need to feed on others for fear of regression, so most of their prey went to Cybele to consume. However, she went a long time without showing any signs of further evolution. It started to become a concern that something may have happened that may be preventing her from further evolution; neither had any idea if such a thing were possible, but they were running out of explanations. Emil said that Agil and Argon’s time as Gillian had been much shorter than hers. They began contemplating changing their plans, though they weren’t sure how.

Soon, they came across what seemed to be a ray of hope; in the sands, they found an unusual structure, a huge mountain-like piece of something not much unlike black diamond jutting out from the sands. Neither of them had seen anything like it before, in life or death. They spent the better part of a year shaping it, and soon enough it became a castle for Cybele to rule from. She took her place in the basin they had carved in place of a more traditional throne, and from there her rule officially began. It took some time for word of her claim to spread, but in the months that followed, weaker Hollow began to flock to the castle like moths to a flame.


CHAPTER III • BIRTH OF A LEGION

As word of Cybele’s claim to rule over Hueco Mundo spread, Hollow of all types seemed to begin to flock to the castle. Some came to whole-heartedly serve a proper ruler, some intending to use Cybele only as a means to survive in the harsh lands, some seeking to defeat her, and some finding her to be unfit as a ruler and challenging her. Those she could defeat, she put down herself. Emil eliminated those whom were too powerful for Cybele herself. It made her feel insecure, relying on another’s power, but for the time being it would have to do. Of the Hollows that gathered, some were accepted as soldiers, something short of being like kin. Others were simply secluded and consumed by Cybele in her rise to power. However, as she gathered followers, some were sent below to mine the excess black diamond-like material from below the castle, while the rest were trained to become the beginnings of her army. Those who opposed her but were not killed were sent to the mines, with those who did not oppose her either overseeing them or working alongside them as a show of decency. The black diamond was used to build additions to the castle, and intended to be used to craft armor and weapons for her army, but they had nobody with that ability present in their forces.

However, soon Cybele would become restless. As her fortress and army grew around her, she continued to fail to evolve even to the Adjuchas form. She and Emil began to wonder if there was something preventing this still, and soon it was discovered that Cybele had not completely overcome the mass of spirits inside her. Growths began to appear, with their own Hollow masks, similar to separate Gillian sprouting from her body. Direct meetings with Cybele were turned down while the issue was dealt with, as Emil attempted to guide her through it. It took some months before Cybele could regain completely control, and suppress the other souls trying to reach out, but the growths remained. The ordeal would have lasting effects, however; during the time she had spent trying to suppress the other souls attempting to reach out, they had somewhat merged themselves with her own, thus beginning her troubles with dissociation. After the ordeal, though she herself was still the same as before, she found the other heads adopting alternative personalities of her own in place of the souls commanding them before. Thus, ‘Kuroihime’ and ‘Shiroihime’ were borne, with Cybele naming her original form ‘Kisaki’. When audiences with the Queen were opened once again, the two new personae were introduced as her daughters, and heirs to the throne. Whether her followers accepted her word as law or truly believed this, she wasn’t sure of, but for whatever reason they did not question it, and that was well enough for her.

Within weeks after the ordeal had been passed, she went through the evolution into an Adjuchas-class Hollow. Her new form was not much larger than an average human, though still fairly humanoid, with a few feline touches and still a very cat-like mask. It was at this point that she also learned of her powers, allowing her to transform freely, which she used to continue her existence as all of Kisaki, Kuroihime and Shiroihime, as well as a new persona Ko, a childlike personality developed to give her freedom to live her life as more than just a Queen constantly bound by her duties, while also being able to more freely gather information without being suspected of becoming paranoid.

Her transformation into an Adjuchas could not have come at a better time either, for though she did not know it yet, war was on her doorstep, and nothing could have prepared her for the enemy she would come to face.


CHAPTER IV • OUTBREAK OF WAR

In the weeks that followed Cybele’s evolution to an Adjuchas-class Hollow, her castle had been visited by three self-described messengers, bearing a message that she was to cease her claim as Queen at once or suffer consequences. The third messenger was accompanied by the corpses of several of her followers. Having ignored the first two messages, of course she eliminated the third messenger where he stood for his insolence. Now she knew that whomever was sending these messages, they were serious. She didn’t have a name, but she knew she had an enemy out there, someone who seemingly intended to take over control of Hueco Mundo from her, or otherwise simply dethrone her and leave Hueco Mundo a wild wasteland. That, of course, she would not allow. In her new, more mobile form, she sent her own messenger, coordinating a meeting between her and the newcomer with some claim to the throne. In the hopes that the issue could be resolved peacefully, she went only with Emil to the meeting.

Her opponent brought two advisors with him, though his body language and general attitude suggested that he didn’t believe them necessary. He was a Vasto Lorde class, which concerned Cybele, but she’d ruled this long mostly as a Gillian, so it was not something she worried over too much. The talks went on for some time without seeming to break any ground. Cybele wanted full control of all of Hueco Mundo, as did this newcomer. Something seemed vaguely familiar about him, but it didn’t strike her from where until they took a break from arguing halfway through the discussions to finally make their introductions. Her heart froze over as the newcomer spoke his name in a cold, arrogant tone.

“I am Baraggan Louisenbairn, King of Hueco Mundo.”

Before words left her tongue or a single restrictive thought reached her head, she spat a venomous Cero at the so-called ‘King’, destroying most of the makeshift building in which they had arranged their negotiations, along with one of Baraggan’s advisors. Baraggan, the name that cold-hearted bastard Aarón had picked up after the civil war. It wasn’t his real name, but he had really taken to the title, preferring it used over his real name in the short time they’d spent together since his return, and the surname cemented his identity in her mind, and she knew this would not be a matter resolved peacefully. When the smoke cleared, Baraggan seemed undisturbed by her attack, his other attendant having taken shelter behind him from her onslaught. The table they’d been sitting at was no more, however, along with a huge gaping hole in the wall behind them.

“And I am Cybele Prisca, you decrepit, heartless bastard, and if you want these lands, you’ll have to pry them out of my cold, dead hands.” She may not have been a warrior in life, but her instincts and capabilities had risen immeasurably since becoming a Hollow. Aarón’s… no, Baraggan’s… skeletal jaw almost seemed to curl up in amusement, before he lifted himself to his feet and swung his giant axe downward, directly towards Cybele’s mask. Though Baraggan’s eye sockets were empty and black, void, she could still feel the same feeling as all that time ago; the cold resentment she’d seen in his loveless eyes the day she had died burned their way out of his lifeless eyes now. However, Emil stepped in the way, grabbing the axe and throwing it aside before Cybele even had time to counter. He turned, lifting her on his shoulder, and they disappeared.

Cybele was enraged, of course, having been disrespected so in front of her now sworn enemy, but in a short while she understood his actions, though not immediately after he had explained them. Baraggan was a Vasto Lorde, and seemingly well-known in the sands of Hueco Mundo, almost as much as herself. As much as her reputation could carry her, in direct combat she was not ready to face him yet. It was a fact she begrudgingly accepted. Besides, with only Barragan and one of his attendants present, any rumors that would circle around of her shameful retreat would stay that at best, rumors. They returned to their castle and prepared for war.


CHAPTER V • THE FROZEN CASTLE

Cybele’s black “Diamond Castle”, or Diamanténio Kástro as she and those who followed her had taken to calling it, was considered a wonder of Hueco Mundo. The castle was surrounded by one of Hueco Mundo’s rare sources of water, a large moat seemingly dyed black by the lack of sunlight, with a single bridge spanning from the outer edge to the singular main entrance through the outer walls of the castle. The castle itself rose in large spires and villas carved intricately out of the black diamond-like rock, presenting a vision both serene, majestic, and horrifying to those looking on from a distance. Below the castle now was a deep system of tunnels created by mining out the seemingly infinite amount of the black diamond used to further construction of the castle, internal and external (including some outposts), and now the mines were reopened as Cybele and some of her more intelligent followers set about manipulating it to forge armor and weapons for the upcoming war. Having never been opposed, Emil suggested Cybele not take the war lightly, as they had no idea what forces Baraggan may have mustered for himself.

Knowing herself to be more of a political and personal mind, Cybele created another persona to lead during the war; the new persona, Shou, swiftly took the reigns of the barracks that had been made of the upper levels of the mine, long-since mined out and moved on from, with outlying tunnels dug to move materials up and down into the deeper mines. There, she trained the Hollows in large-scale warfare, the likes of which she had studied during her time as a human. She knew the basics pretty well, and a new, martial mindset was able to go about directing preparations at the castle for defense against even the most capable of sieges, and for war parties to go out and lay waste to the newcomer “King”’s lands and forces. If she had her way, this would be a crushing victory. Underestimating the enemy be damned. The bridge connecting the castle to the sands of Hueco Mundo was quickly turned into a drawbridge, and kept up whenever it wasn’t necessary to have it down.

The first conflict was hard on Cybele. Though her mind as Shou was clear and calculating, she had ended up underestimating Baraggan after all, and the first conflict was a crushing defeat, though only because his forces had far outnumbered the small regiment she’d brought with him. Through her strategic maneuvering and leadership, her forces retreated with minimal casualties, and within a week she struck back, hard, and won the second conflict, resulting in heavy casualties on Baraggan’s side with still minimal casualties on her own side. If only her parents could see her now, leading an army against the man they had wanted her to manipulate. The conflicts went on, getting bloodier and bloodier as they went. Seemingly having realized the capabilities of Cybele’s forces, as time went on Baraggan seemed to make his own advances and casualties grew heavier on both sides. After a long decade of conflicts, the two settled on a ceasefire for an undetermined amount of time. Tensions were high between them, but the extended war was beginning to drain both of them as well as increase tensions across all of Hueco Mundo to an unmanageable level. A period of reluctant peace followed, ending the first war between Cybele and Baraggan.

During this time of peace, Cybele created two more personae; with Ko, the child persona, becoming more free-spirited, Cybele created “Tomo” to covertly gather information among her own ranks, routing out several spies and traitors even within the first week of the persona’s creation. Mubou, however, was created as an escape from her daily routine as the Queen, with Ko being restricted to not leaving the realm of Hueco Mundo on her own. Mubou was also borne of Cybele’s rising curiosity of what was changing beyond the realm she now called her homeland. The days of tentative peace rolled on, stretching into weeks, into months, until they were suddenly and violently disrupted exactly a year after they’d begun.

The second Great War between Cybele Prisca’s Krýstallo Legeó̱na and Baraggan’s forces began via an unexpected assault on her own castle. One day, a great boulder flew across the moat and cracked against the walls of the castle. Of course, Baraggan had never come so close to the castle, not tried to lay siege to it up until now, so of course he wouldn’t know how durable it was. Simple stones found from other places in Hueco Mundo would not do to damage her citadel. But when Cybele moved to the window, what she saw concerned her far more than any threat to her citadel’s form could. The army Baraggan had amassed was much larger than the one from a year ago, and it looked far more organized, and she was what appeared to be far more Adjuchas-class Hollows, and even a few Vasto Lorde at the forefront. That was trouble. She ordered the drawbridge lowered, as otherwise there would be no way for more of her forces to confront this army.

For the first hour, she fought at the forefront, as the Vasto Lorde in the army receded to the background and let the grunts die before their approach. After the first hour passed, Emil, fighting alongside Cybele, suggested she return to the citadel and allow himself and the other Vasto Lorde she had amassed that had agreed to follow her deal with the enemy’s subservient Vasto Lorde. She agreed reluctantly, knowing her Adjuchas form to be less than adequate to fight the Vasto Lorde. Her will be damned, if was like fleeing from Barragan all over again, but there was nothing she could do. For all her leadership and tactics, she was useless to fight the higher-evolved Hollow. So she receded to the Crystal Terrace, one of the highest points in the castle, and watched the battle unfold from there. The fighting against Baraggan’s Vasto Lorde was long, but victorious, as her own tore down the enemy’s with relatively few casualties, though that still left a large number of Adjuchas between her forces and Baraggan himself. Most of her Vasto Lorde were overwhelmed and retreated to the castle, without orders, as the onslaught of her armored Adjuchas rolled over Baraggan’s unequipped forces, resulting in a bloodbath on both sides once more, and she watched as things slowly turned in favor of Baraggan, as they had last time. It made her blood boil.

That is, until Emil announced his presence on the terrace. What was he doing up here without orders? Why had he abandoned the frontlines without orders? As she turned, she saw that he was followed by the other Vasto Lorde that had survived the onslaught, and they were lining up against the far edge of the terrace, looking on as Emil approached her, his Reiatsu uncomfortable to her. What was this? Mutiny? Now? She gritted her teeth, rage boiling over. Kisaki took over, the betrayal too much to take. It was like Baraggan all over again. She drew upon the rage that had become her fuel so many years ago. No words were needed to be said; they understood that this would be the end of one of them. While the armies clashed below and the favor of the battle slowly turned in Baraggan’s favor, Emil was here, now, fighting her for control of the army. Would he surrender after defeating her? Wait… had she already resigned herself to defeat?

No. She couldn’t lose here.

The battle lasted longer than she would’ve liked, and there were several times she thought she had almost died. When their attacks met, it was odd; it felt like Emil wasn’t putting his all into it, and his eyes seemed to be on the verge of an apology, but then went to steel once again and resumed his cold-blooded instincts. All that talk he had said about unifying Hueco Mundo under a peaceful rule… was it all a lie? After nearly half an hour, she won out, striking a fatal blow to the Hollow, shattering half his mask and nearly bifurcating him diagonally in the process. From her senses, she knew the situation on the ground below wasn’t good. Baraggan’s forces had almost reached the wall gates and, though she still had far more forces inside where those sent outside had come from, allowing Baraggan to enter within the walls would be a defeat in itself.

Turning back to Emil, she saw him smiling. Smiling? His lips parted, as if to say something, when his body disappeared into Reishi and Cybele instinctively absorbed him. A look of shock came over her. Why was he smiling? She was exhausted. She looked up to the other Vasto Lorde. They were grinning, too. Were they to overtake her now that she was weak? They moved, at a slow gait… and walked right past Cybele, to the edge of the terrace behind her, and leaped out. Explosions of Reiatsu among Baraggan’s army across the bridge told her that they had resumed fighting in her name once more. Then, she remembered. Emil had mentioned some months ago that, to become a Vasto Lorde, one must consume a Vasto Lorde, but Cybele had not been willing to spare the highest of her soldiers when another war with Baraggan could be imminent. She would worry about her own evolution selfishly after the immediate threat was dealt with. Had he done this to trick her into evolving herself? Of course. Her army needed a capable leader now more than ever. She felt as every fiber of her being felt rejuvenated, as her body shifted and become new once again, as it had once she’d become an Adjuchas.

She flew from the terrace, a slim, crystalline white figure of beauty and mercy, but also of relentless destruction. She landed at the frontlines on the bridge,nearly shattering it, Reiatsu pouring out of her so furiously that the moat around the castle froze into a solid, crystalline mass, and thus it has remained to the present day. Her rage was at its utmost limits. Though she had never cared to admit it, now it became clear that this war had taken her closest advisor and the closest thing to a friend she had left in this life. She would not lose this battle. She lead her forces in a rejuvenated charge, and her bloodlust grew as her new persona Yajuu took shape, tearing apart the enemy with such force and ferocity as her army had never known from her. The frontlines weren’t sure whether they should be scared themselves or not, but they appeased themselves at accepting that she was on their side. The bridge was cleared in ten minutes, and more of her army poured out from the citadel to combat the forces on land. With her other Vasto Lorde fighting elsewhere, the battle was progressing smoothly now. Baraggan must’ve been shitting his pants by now, Cybele thought. Feeling her army capable enough of turning the tide at this point, she began carving a bloody path straight through the enemy army, until she finally came to confront Baraggan, one on one.

This time, there was no point in running away. Now she could stand on equal footing… no, she would be victorious. Behind her, wave after wave of her army crashed against Baraggan’s, overwhelming frontline after frontline, slaying his forces with relative ease. She looked at his eyes only, and saw nothing. No compassion for the dead, or regret in leading the charge, or shame in not moving to join the charge and turn the tide. It infuriated her more. She switched back to her Kisaki persona, insisting on killing this bastard as her original self. The battle between the two went on, and though her army suffered casualties, including most of her Vasto Lorde as they grew exhausted, it was still her victory on the battlefield, though Cybele and Baraggan were fairly evenly matched. Soon enough, he raised his hand, admitting that he knows when he’s defeated, and that he would retreat for now. Cybele had half a mind to reject the offer, and to slay him then and there, but she had far too much on her mind, to grieve, for her army to grieve and rebuild from. But now she was capable. She allowed him to escape, but their next meeting would be his death.


CHAPTER VI • A NEW AGE

And so, a time of peace returned. However, this one was different. This time, there were no continued threatening messages from Baraggan, or minor conflicts along their borders. For a time it seemed as though perhaps he had truly surrendered and made way for her as Queen. Of course, there were scars from the Second Great War; her castle was changed forever. The crystal clear water that had surrounded the castle was frozen solid, painted with all sorts of colors that glowed furiously when affected by Reiatsu, but no amount of attempts at mining or experimenting on the once-fluid moat could put even so much as a crack in it, no less turn it back to water. It froze the drawbridge in place as well, making it a normal bridge once more, not that it was necessary anymore. In addition to this, the corpses of the fallen seemed to be frozen in place. Perhaps this was some sort of combination of her Reiatsu as a newly evolved Vasto Lorde influencing Baraggan’s time-based powers. She would have a permanent reminder of both her failures here, as well as, ultimately, her crushing victory.

However, it was not long before her spies reported that, as she should have suspected, Baraggan was simply avoiding conflicts while he gathered his strength once more, though he seemed to not have any interest in quarrelling with Cybele further any time soon. Likely, he planned on targeting another, less-capable upstart whenever one should arise before taking on her. She would have to move quickly with such rumors, to snuff them out before he could even gain a chance to take the notion for himself.

Of course, things could not stay the same forever. Her spies reported to her one day that something strange had happened in Baraggan’s encampment, his open throne room. Three men, seemingly Shinigami, had appeared and easily defeated his defenders, and opposed the self-imposed “King” himself, offering for him to join them. Baraggan had refused. Typical, and not an idea that disappointed Cybele in the least. It would be a shame if he were to roll over to a new opponent so quickly, but she did wonder what it was that the Shinigami sought. She wouldn’t need to wait long, however, as soon this Sousuke Aizen found himself at her doorstep too. She took her personal guards and met him at the gates, though he made no attempt to attack her or her guards, as she made no attempt to attack him.

What it turned out that the Shinigami wanted intrigued her; he came to her with an offer to put an end to the fear and danger that the Shinigami pose to Hollows. He, of course, was lying to her to some extent, but the peace he proposed to her was something that she had sought after for so long that she couldn’t ignore the offer. Of course, she had her own conditions. Aizen seemed to seek taking control of Soul Society for himself; she simply requested that once his goal had been accomplished, that she would be undisputed Queen of Hueco Mundo, and would have his support if need be. The offer was accepted, though she didn’t trust him completely. That part had not died out completely, after all. She and her army were quickly converted to new forms, “Arrancar” as Aizen called them, and introduced them to their temporary new home in Las Noches, where she became the Segunda Espada, one of the highest of the officers in Aizen’s forces, a temporary position she took no joy in accepting beyond that she knew it would achieve her goals.

However, her personality didn’t adapt to the new body very well. It took some time for her powers to adjust to her new form, and for some time all of her personae fought vigorously for control. Eventually, Kisaki, the original, took Dominance once more, but not before being deemed a potential threat to the Espada and Aizen’s goals. In addition to this, while her personae were scrambling between each other, some of her more perceptive personae had picked up some rather troubling information; it turned out that what Aizen had proposed to her as his goals were not entirely true. Where he had suggested he sought peace and unity, he meant to lay waste to countless Shinigami, humans, and even Hollow to achieve his goals. This upset her, and she confronted the Shinigami about it, but her plan backfired greatly. She had planned to challenge him, and perhaps find victory where Baraggan had found defeat; she had not, however, anticipated how powerful he was.

Ultimately deemed too much of a threat to the other Espada and their cause, Cybele was locked away deep underground in a prison of Aizen’s devising. Of course, many of her followers lead several attempts to rescue her, but they met with death and defeat and imprisonment as well, some even used to feed newcomers. She had one guard, but Aizen wasn’t stupid, and neither was Cybele; with the power of the Espada he’d gathered, she knew a violent escape wasn’t an option. So she simply had to bide her time, collecting what news she could glean from her warden, and choose the right moment to escape with more subtlety. In time, she came to receive more and more infuriating of news, but she did not let it get the better of her. News, such as Baraggan taking her position as Segunda Espada; a position he’d likely taken only to spite her, and that she was sure he was using only to his own ends. News, such as Baraggan’s and, ultimately, Aizen’s defeat on the battlefield, two enemies she had hoped to destroy on her own defeated while she was locked away here. But still her warden came, and thus she was wary. There still seemed to be someone powerful in charge up there, and she knew not their power. Without an army to back her up, she had no intention of trying to break out.

It was during this long imprisonment that her other personae began to shift from their original goals, to become corrupt in their idle time and to become more perverse. Was isolation and longing really such a powerful thing? Kisaki came to condemn most of her personae as successors, especially the “princesses” Shiroihime and Kuroihime. She could feel her grip no the personae weakening, and needed a successor, but seeing none of the current personae as suitable, she created a new one; Kara, blank, a fresh mind cut off from the mental connection to the other personae until the time was right, created to see the world through new eyes; starting with this imprisonment.

Her time to escape was coming, and it would not be long before she would find herself free once again, and returned to her throne at the Diamanténio Kástro.