The Phantom's March [Fantasia, Hueco Mundo]

''Are we just going to stay at home, swiping away at minor invaders so lackadaisically? They arrive in less and less every day, so much that we often find ourselves just loafing around doing nothing. The forest is won now, and safe; our work there is done. Now it's time to take the fight further, to their doorstep. We will get nowhere if we never face them at their own home... And now we have a way in...''

It began as a simple iota of light, an infinitesimal sparkle in the midst of the air, that began to slowly grow in vigor and size. As it expanded, it emitted an eerie tone that rose in volume and pitch relatively to the size of the light. It kept accelerating and accelerating until its luminescence was cast wide and far across the sand dunes. In the middle of seeming nowhere—the desert of Hueco Mundo—a great flash lit the land brighter than any light has graced the individual grains before. And then, it slowly faded as the whine dropped as well. A silhouette could be seen at the heart of this dying light, gradually coming into focus. When everything finally normalized, there stood two entities: The first was a teenager who planted their black boots firmly into the sandy surface to disturb the dunes. They were wrapped up in a great ebon cloak that did not even possess sleeves for their arms, and had a hood drawn over their head to disguise her identity. It was far too dark to determine the features below that shroud, but perhaps her companion could shed a little light upon the subject. Io, the wisp, was not much more than a floating ball of energy, a holy white in contrast to the dark black of the other. There was no face, no appendages, nothing whatsoever to really distinguish it. This spirit floated in the air giving off a soft light, and occasionally expelled flares of energy like the flares of a star. It seemed to be sharing the same type of light of that given off when they appeared here.

The humanoid figure turned to face the wisp, allowing some of the glow to reflect off of their features, showing the bottom side of a youthful face and its soft smile. ''Good work, Io,'' came her feminine voice in the strength of a whisper, earning her an alien hum in response from the wisp. With a nod, she would pull the drapes of her cloak to the side to free one of her arms, reaching back over her shoulder to where the grip of her sword was awaiting. She seemed to be wearing some sort of modern armor beneath her cloak, though it was shaded black just as well, making it difficult to really tell, especially in such an environment lacking in brightness. Her grip was firm, and with one attempt she slid a massive sword out of the sheathe on her back. This was a Claymore, one of the largest types of swords to have ever been created by the human race, and making the teenager seem so small in comparison. She held it in front of her, managing to tote the weapon with only one hand, while the other remained concealed under her cloak. It was difficult to tell, but her head turned to scan across the vast desert from her vantage point, trying to scout out any Hollows in the immediate area.

So far... nothing. Her spiritual sense was still lackluster, but it would be enough to know if she was being snuck up on. Not to mention, Io would warn her first if it ever got to that point. While her initial bravery had gotten her to invade Hueco Mundo, she still had a deep-ridden fear of what she was getting herself into. She had to reiterate it to herself: This was the home of the Hollow race, and she was just one girl. No, she did not have plans to exterminate this wretched kind in the matter of one trip, but she was assured to make a dent at the very least. So despite that all was safe at the moment, she made the decision to trudge forward through the desert in hopes of finding a victim. Sword at the ready, she would just keep moving, on and on until she encountered resistance... or otherwise reached the palace of their world. One way or another, she was ready for a fight.