The Many Paths to Hell
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Blue Exorcist, they belong to Noriaki "Tite" Kubo and Kazue Kato respectively.
AN: To all my readers out there that are waiting on my other stories, forgive me. I was issued a challenge that I simply could not turn down, but I hope you enjoy the story none the less! =3
~ Ch 1 : Darkness ~
It was dark, something he was no stranger to. At least, that was what he had thought. This darkness wasn't the calm, cool variety that encompassed Hueco Mundo. No, this darkness was the kind that reached out with its icy grip to suffocate you in unforgiving blackness. It burned and froze. It crushed and tore. It was pain incarnate and it was where his soul had traveled to after his death as the quatro espada.
Ulquiorra Cife floated in the cruel, inky depths fighting pain and contemplating why he had been sent to this hell, for surely Hell was where he found himself. Perhaps it had been the final and cruelest act of the substitute soul reaper. Ichigo Kurosaki had refused to cut him down and in doing so had damned his soul. A soul reapers blade had the power to cleanse the spirit of hollow sins, but he had been refused such a final right and had faded into death unclean and damned. That woman was at fault as well. She had stood by and let it happen, watching as he turned to dust on the wind. Though ultimately, Aizen had been the one to abandon him to his fate at the hands of the crazy human/hollow/soul-reaper hybrid. They were all to blame for his place in hell and he began to despise them all the longer he thought on it. It was a monumental thing for someone who rarely felt anything besides emptiness and despair.
After what seemed like an eternity, there was finally a break in the unending torment. It started out as a blue light in the distance, fragile and small. It was so far away it seemed unattainable, but Ulquiorra coveted it none the less. Attainable or not, he would strive to reach it if for no other reason than it brought change to the never ending suffocating, painful, black, nothingness that tortured him.
For what seemed like another eternity, this small bit of light was his goal. Ulquiorra struggled for everything he was worth to reach it and slowly, but surely the entity grew larger in size. His prize for the agonizing journey was an up close and personal view of what appeared to be a raging blue bonfire. To his parched sight it was the singularly most beautiful thing he had ever had the opportunity to behold. The icy flames danced and played, frolicking in a delicate yet powerful play for his eyes alone.
He was unsure how long he sat there, drinking in the much welcomed sight, but at some point Ulquiorra decided that looking wasn't enough. He found himself ravished with the desire to reach out and touch the mystical phenomenon. As the former espada's hand came in contact with the oh so blue flames, he felt a terrible power flow through him like a rush of adrenaline. It pushed away the cold and the pain and pulled him from the darkness, spilling him through a grand, bubbling gate.
The next thing Ulquiorra was aware of was dropping naked onto a hard cold surface. Tremors wracked his body from the after effects of even a brief feel of the awesome power. Now, after such a long time alone in the darkness and pain, Ulquiorra was surprised to suddenly find himself in the company of another. This other's presence was brought to his attention by a cruel and twisted laugh.
Pushing himself up on unsteady arms, still trembling from the power he had but tasted, he found himself staring at a very familiar form. This cackling man before him was merely a dark silhouette of a figure with those wondrous blue flames set as his unearthly backdrop. It was not the fire that caught Ulquiorra's attention the most, however. That silhouette's shape was startlingly similar to his own. It had two webbed wings, a long and serpentine tail, clawed fingers, and long horns perched atop the head. The being that stood over him was obviously more robust, but the outline was too similar to go unnoticed.
"What are you?" Ulquiorra asked despite himself.
His question was met with another darkly, twisted laugh that bordered the realm of psychotic. Suddenly, the being had seemed to have his fill of laughter as he began to speak in a guttural baritone that sent chills down Ulquiorra's spine. "I am Satan, the God of Gehenna. I am your one and true master." Then, like a switch had been flipped, he was laughing his twisted laugh at something only he seemed to find amusement in. "But I know all about you, Ulquiorra Cifer."
Satan's flames seemed to spread, illuminating the area in a cerulean haze. The figure before him came into view with the brighter lighting and Ulquiorra found himself mesmerized by it. He had been mistaken in his assumption that the figure was very close to his own. Comparing the two was like comparing a house cat to panther. This being, this Satan, emanated power from his every pore. It rolled off of him in waves that washed over Ulquiorra in a heady flow, keeping him on his hands and knees.
In what seemed to be a teasing growl of a voice, Satan pointed at Ulquiorra's devil like body and croaked out. "No wonder they modeled your name after one of my own." He cackled while piercing green orbs drank in his form from the floor. Finally Satan's emotions settled on a mix of deep satisfaction and malicious glee as he spoke in his calmer, growling baritone. "Yes, you will make the prefect tool for my plans won't you?"
Ulquiorra was unsure exactly when it happened, but at some point between coveting the flames calling him forth from the darkness and actually seeing the being that commanded the icy fire, he had become enamored, captivated... Possessed. He would follow this being with his whole being. Even more faithfully than he had to Aizen would he pledge himself to this man with the all consuming blue flames. "Yes my master, I will serve you well."
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IVX: I can officially boast making the first Bleach/Blue Exorcist Crossover and we all have Darkxuin to thank for that...^_~