Quick note to read first:
I suppose this can be classed as alternative universe, because in all likelihood the souls of the Quincys probably remained one with Yhwach when he died, but I've never really liked that idea, so I decided to write my own version, with As Nodt being at the centre of it, because he's my favourite Quincy. This is not slash, it's more angst and adventure based than anything else.
With that little note I hope you enjoy this new story!
Pain...so much pain.
My body...it feels...so very heavy.
I cannot move...am I breathing? I cannot tell.
Pure darkness is infecting my vision, and not a single sound reaches my ears.
Am I dead...?
That soul reaper, Rukia kuchiki, did she actually manage to defeat me?
No, no! It is not possible! Lord Yhwach bestowed his power upon me so that I would not fail! So that I would not end up...
An icy chill courses through my leaden bones as realisation hits me, and I force my eyelids open with a new found determination.
A deathly black sky hovers above, cracks of fierce lighting illuminating across it, and an ebb of fear pulses through me. I focus on putting whatever strength I can summon into movement, and getting myself a better view of these unfamiliar surroundings.
A pained groan escapes from me as I manage to force my body into a sitting position, sweat already pooling on my clammy forehead as I pant like a worn out dog.
Irregular, rocky columns are lined up as far as the eye can see, veins of lava swimming around and through them, giving off the intense heat that threatens to melt me to the bone. My throat is already like sandpaper, and I barely have enough saliva to coat the inside of my mouth, let alone to swallow.
Now I am certain of it.
All of my attempts to keep myself from this horrid place have been in vain. I have been judged, and given the ultimate punishment any man could receive.
I am in Hell.
My breath catches in my throat, my heart constricting painfully in my chest. As my adrenaline sets in I push myself onto all fours, the sound of my own panicked wheezing now flooding my eardrums.
This cannot be real, maybe I am merely dreaming. It is possible that I am still alive, all Rukia Kuchiki did is freeze my flesh, didn't she?
No, even as I try to soothe myself with these words, I know they are false. This is no mere dream, I can feel it in my very bones. The sky, the sound of the lightning cracking like a whip, the heat of the lava and the crushing pressure of this dark and dreary atmosphere, it is all very real.
I hang my head and screw my eyes shut, my fingers gripping at jagged pieces of loose warm rocks underneath them.
Did I really do such terrible things as too deserve a twisted fate such as this? I merely did what I had to do to keep living, is that so wrong of me?
My eyes begin to burn, but I cannot cry. Crying will do me no good now, it will only be a reflection of my own weakness.
No, what I must do now...is find a way out. I do not know if that is even possible, but I must try. I cannot wait here for Hell to consume my soul, it is the only thing I have left, and it will not be taken from me!
If I am here, other Quincys could also be trapped here. I am sure I could not have been the only one to have fallen, as those soul reapers were much stronger than I am sure many of us were anticipating, especially when they stole back their precious Bankais. But Lord Yhwach would have not fallen, surely? He is is the strongest being I have ever met, and I have always thought of him as being indestructible.
Such tumultuous thoughts are no good to me now.
I have no time to linger around, so I grit my teeth and slowly push myself to my feet, feeling my bones creak in protest as I do so, but I do not stop until I am standing.
I stumble at first, my legs shaky and barely able to support my body, but as I persist, I feel myself become steady once again.
As I regain my breath, my eyes wander around the landscape, trying to decide which way would be best to go. There is no way for me to possibly tell, as everything looks too similar. Rocky, lava filled columns seem to go on forever, with no sign of any man made structures or any other signs of anyone else in the near vicinity.
Things seem to be rather calm right now, in fact, they are too calm. This greatly unsettles me, as if a storm is brewing and I cannot even prepare for it. I can sense lots of reishi present in this atmosphere, but as for my fear ability, I fear it is lost to me. Also, even if I was able to use it, I do not think my body is strong enough to handle or control it. Which leaves me quite defenceless should anything happen, and this only increases my anxiety and swelling fears of this place.
Well, I will just have to take my chances and hope I make the right choice it seems.
After pondering for a few moments, I choose to walk to my left. There is not really any great difference between left or right, or forwards or backwards, it is merely a gut feeling to go left.
So I do.
I do not know how long I have been walking across this hot and rocky landscape, but it feels as if an eternity has already passed me by. I am surprised I have not collapsed yet, from exhaustion or even dehydration, but it seems this place does not work the same way as in life. I just seem to keep going, my feet keep on pushing forward, despite how worn out and weary I am.
My white Sternritter uniform clings to my skin as I continue to sweat profusely. The heat here is unrelenting, which is not surprising since there is such a high quantity of red hot molten lava everywhere my vision strays. It is fortunate that there are so many stray rocks to climb over, otherwise there are many places I would find myself unable to cross, and therefore unable to carry on this way.
Even though I do not wish to think it, I cannot help but think to myself that this is child's play compared to what I may find if I continue to wander. Something inside of my mind niggles away, telling me that maybe it would be best to stay here, there are worse things I will find if I continue to resist Hell.
But I must push past my own thoughts, I must find a way out of here. I cannot just give in, and that one thought alone is the only thing that is keeping me going. Otherwise I would have simply laid back down on that jagged rock ground and let Hell do with me whatever it so wished.
Suddenly, I hear the sound of explosions ahead of me, just behind one of the more larger lava pillars. My feet come to a standstill, out of fear or mere surprise I do not know. Up until now, there have been no other signs of any other beings being present here, but that was definitely some kind of heavy fire or explosion. Much like the sound of a bomb going off.
Maybe it would be best to avoid going near there, after all, I have no way to evaluate if they are a threat or not. But seeing as this is Hell, I would be inclined to believe they most likely are, and as I currently have no good way to defend myself, I must avoid a physical confrontation.
As I start to angle myself to go further left, the pillar of lava explodes with a thunderous boom, splinters of rock and dust splaying up into the air before crashing back to the ground below. The rock underneath my feet trembles from the sheer force, and my eyes widen as I stare at the remains of the pillar. Lava splatters back to the ground with a loud sizzle, and if I were any closer, some of it may have splattered on myself.
What could have caused such a-
A bright flash of emerald green zooms straight past me, missing me by merely a few metres, and even though I do not look behind me, I can hear the destruction of more pillars as the ground once again trembles beneath my feet. Whoever it was was mostly certainly aiming for me, which means my presence has been noticed.
Panic swells inside of my chest, but before my brain can even decide whether to flee or attempt to stand my ground against this unknown assailant, a long, glowing rod of green is thrust underneath my chin, the intense reishi overflowing from it causing my muscles to tense and my head to swim.
"You do not look like a hell guard, who are you?" A deep, solemn voice demands from directly behind me.
I try my best to speak, but as my throat is so parched, all that tumbles out is a hoarse cough.
"I will not ask you a second time, if you do not answer within the next ten seconds I will separate your head from your body."
If this assailant did that, I'm slightly curious as to know what would happen to me. Would I simply perish from existence? Or would I be reborn again, exactly where I had started from?
But I am not curious enough to test such a theory, so instead, I attempt to regain my voice, coughing and using the slithers of saliva still coating my mouth to try to soften up my throat.
"I...I am not...a hell guard..." I manage to grit out, rather painfully, as speaking causes friction in my throat. The rod is moved away from my throat slightly, but not completely.
"Then you are nothing more than a lost soul?" The voice enquires.
I nod, not wanting to speak and irritate my throat again.
"I sense that you have quite a bit of spiritual pressure, so you are no ordinary human. But at your current level, you are of no threat to me."
The rod is moved from my sight, and before I even realise what I am doing I am turning around to face the being who had just threatened my existence.
Sharp green and yellow eyes stare back into my own, the pupil a mere reptile like slit. I take the time to analyse the rest of the being's features; long, raven hair flows down his back, his pale skin like that of a ghost, and two large black bat like wings protrude from his back. Large white horns are perched on either side of his head, his appearance seeming like that of a fierce Demon. My eyes flicker down to his hands, which are black beast like claws, and of course one of them is gripping the long green rod that had just been at my throat.
But what stands out to me most of all, is the gaping hollow hole located in the centre of his chest.
"Arrancar..." I mutter before I can stop myself. His eyes narrow back at me.
"You know of the Arrancar. Are you a soul reaper? You do not look like one."
I shake my head quickly, well aware that soul reapers and Arrancar are foes. That being said, Quincys and Arrancars are also foes, so if he somehow realises this, will he end me because of it?
"I suppose it does not matter. As I said before, you are of no threat to me, so there would be no point in killing you." And with those words, he turns his back to me completely.
I should be relieved, grateful even, that this Arrancar is sparing me because he does not view me as a threat. But for some reason, I feel that I will need his power in order to exit this place. So, against my better judgement, I reach out and grab onto his upper arm. I feel his muscles tense underneath my hand, and his face turns towards me, his penetrating gaze downright chilling.
"What do you think you are doing?"
"You...you wish too...get out...of here...too?" I ask, even though my throat feels like it is tearing apart with every syllable I speak.
"That is no concern of yours," he responds, prying my bony fingers off of him with his claw. I let my hand go to my burning throat instead, beads of sweat dripping down the side of my face, my throat feeling as if it's now on fire.
As the Arrancar stares down at me, I can see something in his eyes...pity, perhaps? I was under the impression that hollows and Arrancar did not have the capability to feel such emotions, but I am certain I can see it in his eyes now.
"Why are you not using your reishi to deflect all the effects of this scorching heat?"
I blink up at him rather dumbly. Of course, he must be using his own spiritual pressure to counteract the heat, as it seems to be having no affect on him whatsoever.
I stare down at my hand. It had not even crossed my mind that although I have not consciously gathered any reishi, I am still a Quincy, and I still have my Blut. Which may be the reason this intense heat has not flayed the skin from bones, but the heat has still been able to have some affect me.
Concentrating, I focus on expanding the defensive capability of my Blut. I do not know if it will work yet, as I am obviously quite weakened, but if I can soak in enough reishi from this dense atmosphere then I can certainly ease my burning throat and regain my voice.
A sense of heavy relief washes over me when I feel the strength of my waning Blut start to gradually increase, and my mouth and throat flood with saliva.
I experimentally clear my throat a few times, and yes, the pain is substantially less now than it was before.
"You are able to gather reishi from the atmosphere quite easily, which would make you a Quincy," the Arrancar states, and feeling no sense in trying to lie, I nod, placing a hand over my chest.
"Yes, I am As Nodt, Sternritter F, the Fear."
The Arrancar stares back at me, before arching an eyebrow, the rod in his hand now completely dissipated.
"I do not remember asking for your name, or your title. A near powerless Quincy has nothing to offer me."
"While I am rather weak right now, it will not be permanent. I will get my power back, and when I do I will prove to be a powerful ally, Arrancar."
Suddenly, he closes the short distance between us, greatly invading my personal space. But I make sure to stand my ground.
"Why do you assume I am in need of an ally?"
"You will need all the assistance you can to get out of this place, will you not? I am willing to help, as long as I can also be free of Hell."
He seems to contemplate my words, his eyes never leaving mine, and I cannot tell what he is thinking.
"Do not get in my way, and you will listen to what I say and follow my orders. Is that understood?"
I bite back the urge to refuse, my pride screaming at me in the back of my mind. What good will pride do me if I am stuck in this wasteland for the rest of eternity? If this is what I must do for now, so be it.
"Understood," I confirm, and he steps back from me and out of my personal space. For some bizarre reason, when he is closer the atmosphere seems to become even heavier, depressive even. I cannot help but think it must be the aura of his spiritual pressure that causes this, which in itself is rather unnerving. But now my Blut defensive capabilities are being restored, I should be able to cope with it.
"Who are you, Arrancar?"
"I am Ulquiorra Cifer, Espada number four. Now come, we don't have time to wander around aimlessly," he orders, one of his claws latching onto my shoulder tightly. Before I can enquire as to what he is doing, he rises up into the air, dragging me along with him.
A startled shout dies in my throat as we ascend up into the black sky, and I find myself praying that I do not get hit by a stray lightning bolt.
But at the same time, I am glad to have found someone strong. Now maybe I have a fighting chance of escape. I will have to make sure I also get strong once again, as I know I and this Arrancar are only temporary allies, and he will not hesitate to kill me or discard me like trash if I come to be of no use.
I cannot let that happen.
Don't worry, I'm also working on new chapters for my other stories, I haven't abandoned them!
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the first chapter :)