I Died and Became a Hollow, But I Get Stronger by Being an Idiot Chapter 7: Time Is Dead, and So Am I

Current EP: 5,310 / 10,000

You know what's weird about Hueco Mundo?

It's always night.

Always.

No sunrise. No sunset. No annoying rooster to wake you up. Just endless gray skies, dead trees, sand, and the occasional Hollow trying to chew your leg off.

At this point, I had no idea how long I'd been here.

Was it a day?

A week?

A month?

A year?

Who knows?

I sure don't.

I stopped counting after I built my seventh sand castle (and imdiately got attacked by a crab-shaped Hollow for it).

I sat on a dune, staring up at the endless sky, absentmindedly poking at a stick I found.

"Gruooh…"

(Ti is fake.)

[SYSTEM NOTICE: Experienced existential crisis in Hueco Mundo — 100 EP]

Current EP: 5,410 / 10,000

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Just when I was about to start talking to my stick (I was going to na him Gary), I noticed a lone tumbleweed bouncing across the dunes.

A single, rolling ball of dead plant.

I squinted at it.

Because here's the thing — there aren't any plants in Hueco Mundo.

So what the hell was this?

A trap?

A mirage?

A desert ghost?

A sentient ball of evil?

Only one way to find out.

"GRUOOOOOH!"

(OI! YOU WANNA GO?!)

I hurled my stick like a spear.

Missed.

The tumbleweed rolled to a stop… right at the foot of a towering, mask-faced, tree-sized nos Grande.

It lood over , a massive, hulking black figure with glowing eyes and a mask as big as a boulder.

It stared down at .

I stared up at it.

The tumbleweed just… sat there.

"...Grugh."

(Crap.)

[SYSTEM NOTICE: Accidentally challenged a nos Grande — 400 EP]

Current EP: 5,810 / 10,000

The nos took a step forward, letting out a low, eerie growl.

I did the only logical thing.

I picked up a rock, pointed at the tumbleweed, and shouted:

"IT WAS HIM!"

[SYSTEM NOTICE: Blad an inanimate object for impending death — 250 EP]

Current EP: 6,060 / 10,000

The nos hesitated.

Probably confused.

I took the chance, turned around, and bolted like hell.

Sand flying everywhere, lungs burning (figuratively, since technically I don't have lungs anymore), I ran.

I ran until I couldn't see the nos, the tumbleweed, or my dignity.

[SYSTEM NOTICE: Escaped impossible battle through sheer cowardice — 500 EP]

Current EP: 6,560 / 10,000

When I finally collapsed behind a bone-pillar, panting, I let out a weak laugh.

This place made no sense.

I had no idea how long I'd been here.

The sky never changed.

Ti didn't move.

But I was still alive.

Still stupid.

And slowly inching my way to becoming sothing greater.

One disaster at a ti.

[EP: 6,560 / 10,000]