Weeks passed within the Menos Forest.
At least, Stella assumed they were weeks.
There was no sunrise beneath the endless canopy of pale stone trees, no moon moving through the sky, and no clock to tell her how long she had been hunting. There was only darkness, hunger and the constant sound of Hollows moving.
Fortunately, Stella had become very good at hunting them.
A Gillian stumbled between the giant stone pillars, its massive feet shaking the ground with every step. Its mask was cracked, one of its arms was missing and purple liquid dripped from several wounds across its body.
The poison had already spread through most of it.
The Gillian released a weak roar and tried to open a Garganta.
Several long white arms shot out of the darkness and wrapped around its body.
The Gillian struggled, but it was already too weak.
Stella emerged from behind one of the stone trees, her enormous form towering over her prey.
CRACK!
The mask split apart.
Stella bit into the Gillian's head and began devouring it.
The creature's screams joined the thousands of voices already buried inside her mind. Most disappeared almost instantly, crushed beneath Stella's will, but a few caried on whispering.
They clawed at her memories, repeated their names and demanded control of her limbs.
Stella staggered backward, her enormous hand clutching the side of her mask.
For a moment, she forgot where she was.
Stella punched one of the stone trees in frustration. The trunk exploded, sending chunks of white stone flying across the forest.
She forced the new souls beneath the others, crushing their wills before they could gather around a single thought.
For weeks she had consumed everything she encountered. Gillians, even ordinary hollows.
Her spiritual pressure had grown enormously.
She could feel power pressing against the inside of her body, desperate to escape. The spiritual pressure leaking from her body caused weaker Hollows to flee before she even saw them.
But she still had not evolved.
"What else do I have to do?" Stella muttered.
She would have to consume again and again while preventing even one of the Hollows inside her from stealing command.
And she could not allow another Hollow to devour any part of her.
A single careless battle could destroy her future.
The surrounding darkness shifted as a medium sized creature walked towards her.
It stood on four legs and resembled a giant black jackal. White armour covered its shoulders and spine, while a narrow bone mask concealed most of its face.
Stella immediately recognized what it was.
"An Adjuchas."
The jackal tilted its head.
"So you Gillian can speak."
Its voice was deep and rough, but completely intelligent.
Stella stared at it hungrily.
The Adjuchas stared back.
"You have consumed many of my servants," it said.
"Were those yours?" Stella asked. "They were delicious."
"The name is Vorr," he said. "I rule this region of the forest. Every Hollow within it either serves me or becomes my food."
"Congratulations."
"You misunderstand your position."
Vorr slowly walked around Stella, examining her unusual body.
"You possess the shape of a Gillian, yet your spiritual pressure is greater than some Adjuchas. You have also retained your individuality. You are on the verge of evolution to become an Adjuchas."
Stella narrowed her eyes.
"Serve me. Once you evolve, you may become one of my hunters."
For several seconds, Stella said nothing. Then she started laughing.
"You should be thankful."
"But your answer disappoints me."
Vorr released a low growl as a cero condensed before his mouth.
Stella crossed four of her arms in front of her body. The red beams struck her limbs and exploded leaving scorch marks across her hierro.
She rushed through the smoke, roared and swung at him, but the Adjuchas vanished.
He reappeared on one of the stone trees.
"Your power is impressive," Vorr said.
She opened her mouth.
A red sphere began forming in front of it.
Vorr sighed.
The Cero suddenly changed colour.
Purple veins spread across its surface as Stella forced her soul venom into the unstable spiritual energy.
Stella fired directly into the ground.
The resulting explosion filled the entire area with poisonous smoke.
Vorr jumped backward, but several drops of purple liquid landed across his armour.
His movements immediately slowed.
"What… is this?"
Vorr tried to escape, but the poison had already entered his body.
Stella lunged through the smoke. And her arms surrounded him from every direction.
Four missed.
Two were deflected.
The final pair pierced his hind legs and pinned him to the ground.
Vorr fired another Cero at point-blank range.
Stella turned her head barely dodging the beam.
Her main hands closed around the Adjuchas's body.
Vorr struggled as she lifted him toward her mouth.
She bit through his mask and Vorr screamed as Stella devoured him alive.