To Surpass Expectations [Limited Open, DM first]

Inigo Olivier had been thinking long and hard on the words of Ulv Auber, the mysterious but exciting woman he had met during a recent training session in Seireitei. Her statements to him about how merely risking his life wasn't enough, and that recklessly putting his life on the line would simply result in meaningless death without accomplishing anything. He also considered her thoughts on starting out fights a bit easy to understand an opponent and what they are capable of instead of jumping the gun and going all out from minute one. While he was still unsure if he entirely agreed with either of these points, Inigo knew they were worth considering. Still, for him it was a lot of thinking and that had never been his strong suit.

What stood out to him most now was the intense desire Inigo had to grow more powerful in order to increase his odds of success as a Gotei soldier. His heroic tendencies would require far more strength than what was currently at his disposal. As such he now found himself in one of Earth's Wastelands, tentatively searching out for enemies to take down. As it stood he had yet to come across anything he could foresee himself fighting, looking primarily for low level Hollows bestial enough in nature to cause them to attack him on sight, but for the most part it was just...empty. Inigo had really underestimated just how big the Earth was.

After a while of walking through the barren wasteland Inigo had inexplicably willingly entered, he really started to feel the effects of doing so. The hot sun beat down on him which quickened the pace of exhaustion creeping into his legs from walking around for hours with no direction or objective in mind other than Hopefully some creature I can fight will pop up. Even as a Shinigami, a race renowned for it's incredible endurance and ability to survive almost anything, the thinness of Reishi in the area and extreme climate conditions meant Inigo was struggling anyway. "Maybe I should've packed some water or something....ugh, this friggin' sucks."

For a short while longer Inigo kept on moving, not wanting to get stuck in one place for too long. Eventually he came across a gigantic boulder easily the size of a house which, though odd due to being the only rock larger than a pebble for miles in every direction, seemed fine to rest near. Thanks to the shade formed on one of it's sides Inigo sighed with relief as he dropped to the ground and rested his back and head against the boulder's surface, taking in deep breaths of air even though as a Shinigami breathing wasn't entirely necessarily. Unbeknownst to him his chosen resting location was causing a stirring of what could best be described as a nightmare.

A minute or so into resting against a rather oddly large boulder Inigo's eyes began slowly opening and closing as he began drowsing off, unaware of the world around him. Unfortunately he would not be given the opportunity to sleep as almost immediately a deep rumble from beneath the earth he sat upon startled him awake. Shocked, Inigo leaped up and away about six or so feet and spun in place. Now facing the boulder, Inigo was surprised to learn it was in fact not a boulder but a twenty foot tall rock-covered Hollow with gigantic tree-trunk sized limbs and a mask only a mother could love. This behemoth of a Hollow slammed it's thick stony fists into the ground as it raised itself to it's full height and let loose a mighty roar "RAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!"

Though initially stunned to the point of staying entirely still, Inigo quickly moved past it and drew his wide bladed Zanpakuto from it's azure sheath and stood steadfast against his intimidating enemy. Knowing being put on the defensive against a beast like this would probably just result in his death, Inigo dashed forward and dropped to his knees midway, sliding directly through it's obelisk legs, and then turned and landed a swing of his sword directly against left heel. Unfortunately for Inigo even with his raw physical power, all that happened was his weapon rebounding off the leg as no damage was done to his target. Realizing the futility of his attack Inigo shouted through clenched teeth "Shit!!

As Inigo recovered from the failed attack against the rock golem Hollow the beast turned in place and raised it's right leg in the process. Before he could be crushed by the falling foot capable of turning a car into scrap metal Inigo dove out of the way in a combat roll. Though disgruntled with how this fight was going thus far he didn't allow these feelings to cloud his mind, for he knew doing so would be the same as suicide. The only way to stay alive at this point was to remain one step ahead of the gigantic Hollow, which would require every bit of attention and focus he could possibly muster.

With this in mind Inigo launched himself off his left foot out and around the monstrous being, keeping in mind to remain in it's blind spot. This allowed him to act quicker than his enemy could react, enlarging the advantage he was building against it. As he circled the beast Inigo struck his Zanpakuto against it's rocky skin repeatedly, each time doing as little damage as before. As desperation began overtaking his actions Inigo became more and more enraged at not just the futility of this battle, but his lack of strength in general as well. This anger began fueling his attacks, causing him to sink into reckless use of his full physical strength of which his body could barely handle. After a couple more rounds of basically forcing the Hollow to spin in place as he repeatedly attacked it, finally a glimpse of hope appeared as a particularly powerful hit from his Zanpakuto cracked a small area along the edge of his blade, sending out a light show of bright blue sparks on impact. "Neat!"

Before Inigo had a chance to celebrate his first bit of success in this fight his enemy suddenly sped itself up and swung it's massive tree-sized arm with blinding speed. Unable to dodge in time, Inigo did the next best thing and held his Zanpakuto in front of his body which served to at least protect his body from being crushed and crumpled like scrap paper. However, outside of that there was little to be done; the initial impact was devastatingly powerful, knocking all the air out of Inigo's lungs and sending him flying and skidding across the barren wasteland. Each time his body struck the ground another puff of dirt and dust was sent into the air, shrouding him and his location from the one who'd done this to him.

The first few moments after finally coming to a halt were riddled with pain and a severe inability to breathe. Inigo struggled to overcome the thick cloud of dirt seeping into his lungs, gasping desperately to survive. As the billowing dust spread through the air Inigo took this time to recuperate momentarily, regaining control over his breathing and position by pushing himself up so he sat with knees and hands against the hot earth below. Finally able to speak again Inigo's anger at the situation came to a head "F...fuck....why c...can't I do..more..?...FUCK!" Apparently his training with Ulv Auber meant nothing as he'd allowed himself to fall prey to a mere Hollow, unable to save even himself much less anyone else. Despite his mind and thoughts swirling Inigo forced himself feebly to his feet and gripped his Zanpakuto as tightly as he could in this weakened state. "I...can't fall here....I won't!"

In the face of death Inigo stood his ground, steadying the shaking of his limbs and spirit as he did. The odds were stacked against the Shinigami as his barely-damaged enemy rose to it's full height, casting a creeping shadow across the barren wasteland. The ever-so-slight breeze felt good on Inigo's badly beaten and battered body. Under his feet the dry earth was solid, keeping his wary feet still and strong atop it. Against such an opponent there was little for Inigo to do here; his skill in Kido was not high enough to save him, nor was there any secret hidden ability left to muster. In this final standoff he closed his eyes and remained statuesque, waiting to be struck down for the last time.

Such is fate that when a Death God was willing to accept their end, it would not come. Though he tried Inigo could not open his eyes as the whistle of moving air around the Hollow's titanic fist reached him alerted the Shinigami to his demise. Suddenly everything fell away as Inigo drifted off, presumably as his body and soul were crushed by the colossal monster he stood before; yet, reality was not so. Raging blue energy swarmed across his Zanpakuto and body, hiding his visage from the Hollow currently attempting to snuff out his flame.

As an inferno of energy raced across Inigo's body, warmth flooded his system and brought peace to his troubled mind. While the injuries he had already accrued in this battle to the death remained, in the place of pain was a sort of innately-good heat growing strong against the darkness radiating from the Hollow. As the azure energy cleared the Hollow was taken aback momentarily by what he was witnessing: In place of the scrawny Shinigami who barely seemed an adult in appearance was a man with the likeness of a mighty warrior. Inigo was now a full foot taller, brawny and armored to the point of seeming like a walking tank, and holding a massive golden blade few besides him could so casually wield with but one hand. The differences between this man and Inigo could not be overstated as outside of shared armor form and colors, they didn't even look related. Yet, he was Inigo. But also not.

This form's name was Priam, and he was the epitome of a hero: Strong and steadfast against all enemies, dedicated to protecting the weak, and mighty in heart and soul. Though the pain of Inigo's sustained injuries still rang throughout Priam's body, his powerful determination set it aside as he shifted his stance to prepare for battle. With the transformed Yūhi in his right hand, Priam rushed forward and dodged his enemy's attack with ease; in full imitation of Inigo's actions from earlier, he slid across the ground by dropping to his knees mid-stride, straight through the monster's legs. With startling power, Priam swung his Zanpakuto to his right, slamming the blade a solid foot into the back of the beast's lower limb; as blue fire ignited across the weapon, Priam's pain was lessened as many of his wounds began sealing. This was the true power of Inigo's Hero's Flame.

"WRRGGGHHH?!?!" Priam's enemy howled in pain and surprise as the now-renewed and stronger Shinigami landed a serious blow on it. To the animalistic beast it was difficult to tell what happened to Inigo and whether or not this new fighter was an entirely separate person. One thing was clear, however: whoever this was, was incredibly dangerous and capable of killing it. To Priam that truth was obvious. After all, how could one silly Hollow ever hope to stand against his heroic might? With golden blade in hand he would smite this degenerate enemy with the righteousness of a true Hero.

Before his enemy had a chance to react Priam withdrew his sword from it's leg and spun in place, swinging the massive weapon directly into the creature's back. Pebbles and fist sized rock fragments shot out from the sheer force of the impact which also sent spider-webbing cracks across the Hollow's back. Again, blue fire spread across Yūhi and caused more of Priam's injuries to heal and disappear, leaving him in significantly better condition than he had been in just moments before. Moving quickly, the transformed Shinigami launched himself off the ground and onto the Golem Hollow's right shoulder before lifting his Zanpakuto like a baseball bat. "Sorry, but I'm not dying here. Not today. Not to you."

As the Hollow desperately raised it's arms, Priam swung his Zanpakuto with as much force as his muscular body could muster and twisted his torso in the process like a professional batter, allowing Yūhi's blade to cleave straight through it's target. The result of his attack was the Hollow's head being split in two, sending a shock wave throughout it's entire hulking body which Priam dodged by launching from his position like a rocket before landing softly on the desolate ground. Once his enemy's body collapsed to the ground, creating miniature tremors as a result, it's spirit faded and vanished in wisps of clear white smoke. Meanwhile something similar was happening to Priam as blue energy covered his body and disappeared just as quickly, leaving behind a heavily-breathing Inigo who immediately dropped to his knees and then landed face first on the ground below. Though he had successfully bested his mightiest opponent to date, there would be no memory of doing so; only pain, injuries, and an odd feeling of having surpassed his limits.