The vault room releases a cold draft as it opens. The pedestal upon which Las Noches' most valuable object normally sits stands empty. One would think this is nothing short of a catastrophe, and perhaps it is. Nevertheless, the Espada's meeting was an altogether aloof affair as always. Yes, Arrancar are being abducted but, we are Hollows after all so killing each other is in our nature. It is only natural for scores to be settled clandestinely in Las Noches from time to time. Some Espada even cast aside the notion of the Hougyoku going missing as being a problem. Natural Arrancar are the superior breed, according to those Espada who were coincidentally also natural Arrancar. They conveniently glossed over the fact that one-third of natural Arrancar making it to Espada are eventually demoted to Privaron Espada, with their replacements being — you guessed it — Shinigamified Hollows, Hougyoku Arrancar.

They cast lots. Lots! And the lot to carry this investigation further fell upon Séptima Espada Rey Lagarto (@eiri-yuki). Interests might be piqued that the last Número to enter the vault, coinciding with the Hougyoku's disappearance was Privaron 106, Anastacia Torbellino.

The vault room beckons; a computer screen to the right of the entrance allows access and registers all those who enter. The Sekki Sekki liner around the entrance seems untouched at first glance, the room is softly lit by wall and ceiling panels casting no shadow. Where shall the Espada begin his inquiry?

A steady breath, echoed into the room which normally housed the Hogyoku, a deep heave in, and a long-drawn exhale. Rey's steps were light, his boots just barely ringing against the stone. The fact that the other Espada had decided this on lots wracked his brain as he moved over towards the computer terminal and set his fingers upon the keys, firstly putting in his credentials, then secondly moving to draw up the access logs. He'd already been briefed the latest disappearance was a Privaron, the former sixth Espada Anastacia Torbellino.

He hummed as the computer took its sweet time to process his access requests, the technology having been hardly maintained as the more scientific minds of Las Noches had simply faded away, and the upkeep was a bit lackluster. 

"Now now Anastacia, what exactly are you planning?" He spoke aloud to himself as records started to appear on the screen, trying to delve for more clues.

The computer's hard drive rattled and beeped and then presented the requested access log. The last ones to enter before Anastacia were members of her Fracción who are all among the missing Arrancar. The logs before that dated from the last Shinigamification where multiple Espada were present to witness — before the disappearances.

"A whole rogue little legion? How curious....I wonder what they're planning, perhaps being a Privaron just doesn't sit right with her anymore. But...there's no way she has the power to activate the Hogyoku alone, at least...she shouldn't." He contemplated aloud as he lifted a hand to run a few fingers through his silvery locks, slicking them back. His eyes began to dance around the room, eventually centering on the case and the pedestal. Even with the enhanced security it seemed as though the room itself was relatively unmarred, at least from the outside. There had to be traces of intrusion somewhere, as the relic wasn't meant to be moved from this room, even by the Espada themselves. 

"I could get better angles with the Drakes....but I doubt releasing in here is the best idea...now focus." He gave himself something akin to a pep-talk as he closed his eyes briefly, trying to sense out any traces of spiritual pressure that might have clung to the room. Traces were typically harder to spot, but with enough time and effort they weren't impossible to feel out.

Faint pings return the Pesquisa's inquiry — but even now that the Hougyoku was missing, its overwhelming phantom still stifled any other Reiatsu source. Added to that, the Sekki Sekki liner didn't permit any Reiatsu from entering or leaving the regular way. Only a faint pulse came from a tiny object on the floor behind the pedestal; a bead the size of a child's marble, its shadow oblong and in many ways in stark contrast with the all-illuminating light in the room despite its tiny circumference. 

The traces and pings he could feel all seemed faint, distant, and empty. Many of them were hard to decipher their traces having faded long ago, and many were from the other Espada themselves. With a sigh Rey slowly blinked his eyes open again, returning to the more manual and laborious search. He spied the marble he felt, its odd shadow and narrowed his eyes towards it. It's purpose was hard to decipher, but with such strange disappearances and no leads from the Exequias he had to be weary of everything in this room, even a small marble.

His reiatsu was suppressed due to the Sekki Sekki lining the room so trying to exert force to move it was out of the question, he needed an object. So, he simply drew his dagger-like zanpaktou twirling it between his hands and flicking it towards the marble with a fairly light, but accurate snap of his wrist. 

"Even if it is a trap, it can't be enough to destroy my zanpaktou.." He thought to himself briefly, waiting to see just what would happen...for all he knew it could be a bomb, or some sort of negacion device.

The bead shot away when the dagger hit it, bouncing off the far wall and coming to a stuttering halt on the floor. Its shadow, however, wobbled and stretched for a few seconds more before settling back to a form appropriate to its size and shape. That in itself might have been a strange occurrence but stranger still, for many reasons, was that it cast a shade at all in a place designed to not even allow a full-grown person to cast any shadow. Even presently, the Espada looked bleak under the soft yet all-consuming light of the vault room. A necessary measure, someone once determined while designing the vault.

The bead's shadow shivered again, very briefly.

Rey eyed the bead with a narrow gaze, a touch of paranoia overtaking him. Granted with the situation it was only natural to exercise caution and Rey always had a knack for taking caution to the extreme. but it seemed this bead was his only clue within the room itself. It was time to outgrow his paranoia. He reached down and grasped the bead, moving to lift it in between his index and middle fingers, turning it over briefly, seeing if the movement caused any further distortions in its shadow.

A pulse, the bead came to life and the shadow it cast grew exponentially. Dark blots expanded and cover Rey's physical being and then he was gone.

Result: Rey only hesitated a little before picking it up, leading to a minimal loss of time.