Hollow

**Hollows** are a race of creatures which are born from Human souls who, for various reasons, do not cross over to Soul Society after their death and stay in the Human World for too long. They are corrupt spirits with supernatural powers which devour the souls of both living and deceased Humans. Hollows settle in Hueco Mundo, but can cross over to the Human World and Soul Society whenever they want. Hollows are the opposite of Humans.

## Overview

Hollow are former Pluses (deceased Human souls) who lose their hearts to despair or regret, or they remain in the Human World for too long. Any spirit who is not guided to Soul Society by a Shinigami via Konso may eventually turn into a Hollow.

### Transformation Process

The majority of ghosts peacefully move on to the Soul Society after their deaths. However, some stay in the living world to fulfill certain goals, such as looking after a loved one, protecting a particular location, or pursuing a grudge from beyond the grave. However, with only limited abilities to interact with the living, and by definition tied to their goals, many ghosts find they are unable to cope when their loved ones move on or old enemies forget them. At this point, some will become dangerously obsessed with fulfilling those goals, even if the means to fulfill them renders the soul empty: for example, killing anyone who comes near a loved one in order to keep them from hurting that person. In doing so, the ghost warps into a Hollow and, ironically, often makes the focus of their obsession into their first victim, such as what Orihime Inoue's brother, Sora, does. This can be prevented if a Soul Reaper gives the soul a Soul Burial before it turns into a Hollow.

The process by which a soul becomes a Hollow usually takes months to years to complete, reflected by the length of the soul's Chain of Fate, which usually resides in the center of their chest, and connects to their bodies, if present. The Chain of Fate slowly corrodes over time, coinciding with the degradation of the soul's ties to the living world. The process can be accelerated under certain conditions, such as being attacked by a Hollow, giving into extreme despair, or using certain spiritual powers. When the chain completely decays, they become a Hollow when a hole opens up on their chest where the chain was attached, signifying they have lost their heart.

### Physical Appearance

All Hollows wear masks, which are formed from the hearts they had lost as Humans. This mask protects the naked instinct which is left in a being after the loss of its heart, and obscures the original identity of the Hollow. The masks of different Hollows can differ greatly in shape and form, but are always white and skull-like. The mask can be shattered, temporarily allowing the Hollow to regain its original identity, but it will regenerate after a short period once the Hollow takes over again.

Hollows have widely varying physical characteristics, rarely appearing the same. In terms of appearance, Hollows can range in appearance from furry (like mammals) to lizard-like to outright demonic. Hollows vary in size, though it tends to be fairly consistent among the various classifications of Menos. In Hueco Mundo, some Hollows are no larger than common pets. Most common Hollows are about twice the size of an adult Human, though it can vary to a degree.

It is revealed by Kugo Ginjo how Hollows gain their unique appearance and individual powers. When a Hollow's heart is carved out by the hole in their chests, the lost heart becomes its mask and changes its outward appearance to what it looks like as a Hollow. The powers a Hollow wields are manifestations of its heart.

## Destruction

Hollows are usually killed by splitting their mask and head in two, but most wounds which would be fatal for a Human will effectively dispatch them. When this is done by a Shinigami's Zanpakutō, the Hollow is not truly killed; its spirit is purified of the sins it committed as a Hollow. This allows the spirit within to enter the Soul Society as a Plus. In cases where a Hollow committed great sins as a mortal, its purification will summon the gates of Hell, through which the soul is dragged to its punishment. When a Hollow is killed by a Quincy, it is destroyed, soul and all, which has potentially disastrous effects on the spiritual balance of the worlds. The effects of other spiritual powers on Hollows, such as those of Orihime Inoue or Fullbring users, are unknown, partly because such occurrences are rare.

## Menos Classifications

Though most Hollows are simply transformed Human souls, a sub-group of Hollows known as Menos (Spanish for "*Minus*" or "*Less*"), exist. Menos are conglomerations of hundreds of normal Hollows, resulting in a single composite entity of far greater strength than any normal Hollow.

Menos are created when the void within an ordinary Hollow's heart becomes so substantial Human souls are incapable of sustaining it, at which point it begins devouring fellow Hollows. These cannibal Hollows are attracted to one another, and a mass inter-devouring follows, resulting in a Gillian. Following this transformation, the Gillian can evolve twice more, first into an Adjuchas and finally into a Vasto Lorde, provided certain conditions are met. Menos evolution is not only contingent upon the Menos eating other Hollows, but also upon the Menos' ability to avoid being eaten. If another Hollow succeeds in devouring even a part of their body, evolution becomes impossible for the one who was wounded this way. Menos-class Hollows are considered so dangerous Soul Society sends only highly trained Soul Reaper teams to handle them. These incursions seem to be rare, however, as Menos rarely leave Hueco Mundo unless attracted by large sources of spiritual power or encouraged to by other forces. There are three categories of Menos: Gillian, Adjuchas, and Vasto Lorde.

### Gillian

**Gillian** (Japanese for "*Lowest Great Hollow*"), also called **Menos Grande** (Spanish for "*Less Big*" or "*Big Minus*", Japanese for "*Great Hollow*") are the first and weakest of all Menos. In Human terms, they would be considered foot soldiers. There are many of them, and they all look alike. In Soul Society, they are the "Menos" who are generally referred to in textbooks. Gillians are huge, but they are slow and have beast-like intellect. Any captain-level Soul Reaper can destroy them with ease. Up to the point when Rukia Kuchiki meets Ichigo Kurosaki, she had only seen them in such textbooks, despite having been a Shinigami for many years. Gillians commonly attack in a group, and one is powerful enough to be a challenge for a Lieutenant of the Gotei 13. Gillians typically arrive in the Human World through the use of spatial distortions called **Kūmon** ("*Air Gate*").

* **Appearance**: Gillians are huge monster Hollows at least 2-6 stories tall, easily dwarfing even the largest standard Hollow. They all have a white mask with an elongated nose. Their bodies are covered from their head to their feet with a black covering reminiscent of a cloak. Around their neck is a row of thin white spikes. They have large, pointed feet wrapped in white bandages. They have large white hands with long, sharp, white nails, but they are commonly hidden within their cloak, rarely revealed even in combat. They have long tongues capable of breaking a fellow Hollow's mask.
* **Signature Skills**: Cero, Kūmon, Negación.
* **Evolution**: Though Gillians usually have no personality to speak of, which makes them dangerous since they have no mind of their own, one of the many Hollows which comprise it might gain control over the newly formed entity, reflected in the unique mask it wears in comparison to a normal Gillian. Only these Gillian variants have the potential to evolve into Adjuchas-class Menos. The evolution is facilitated by the continued cannibalization of fellow Hollows, even other Gillians.

### Adjuchas

**Adjuchas** (Japanese for "*Intermediate Great Hollow*") are the second classification of Menos. They are smaller than Gillians and far fewer in number. They are much smarter and stronger than Gillians, and are often the ones who lead Gillians into battle. Adjuchas are commonly solitary creatures, rarely joining into groups. They are powerful enough to challenge a captain of the Gotei 13.

* **Appearance**: Adjuchas can vary radically in appearance, anywhere from bulky humanoids to the jaguar-like form of pre-Arrancar Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.
* **Signature Skills**: Cero, Garganta, Unique Individual Powers & Abilities.
* **Evolution**: Adjuchas-class Menos are much smaller in population compared to the Gillian class, due to the rarity of any one Hollow being capable of overwhelming the many other Hollows which comprise the body of a Gillian. Furthermore, the Adjuchas must continue to devour Hollows, or its mind will be absorbed by the other Hollows comprising its form, and it will revert into a Gillian. The subsequent lack of an individual will prevent the reverted Gillian from becoming an Adjuchas again. If any part of an Adjuchas is devoured, they permanently cease evolving and possibly stop regressing into a Gillian, as the Adjuchas in Grimmjow's group asked him to eat them so they would not regress.

### Vasto Lorde

**Vasto Lorde** (Japanese for "*Highest Great Hollow*") are the third classification of Menos and the highest level of evolution. They are extremely small Hollows, roughly the same size as humans, and are extremely rare in number. It is said that their entire number within Hueco Mundo can be counted with the fingers on one's hands. The combat capabilities of a Vasto Lorde are above those of the captains of the Gotei 13.

* **Appearance**: Unknown.
* **Signature Skills**: Unknown.

Apart from the need to cannibalize even more Hollows, any special requirements for the creation of a Vasto Lorde are unknown.

Tōshirō Hitsugaya speculates if Sōsuke Aizen were to gain more than ten Arrancar at Vasto Lorde level, Soul Society would be doomed. Of the Espada, only Tier Harribel has been confirmed to have been a Vasto Lorde at the time of her recruitment.

## Powers

Like Shinigami, Hollows have a multitude of combat skills and abilities, most of which are usually unique to specific Hollows. The more powerful Hollows, however, have access to a range similar techniques of greater power or use than their own unique skills. Hollows usually acquire energy to power their abilities by devouring souls, but smaller ones can ingest energy from the atmosphere when in realms with a high concentration of spiritual energy, such as Hueco Mundo.

## Arrancar

*Main Article: Arrancar*

An Arrancar is a Hollow which has removed its mask, thus gaining Shinigami-like powers.