"One time there was no death, there was no mortal or immortal,

First Bleach fanfic so be nice. Now, there's been a plot bunny keeping me awake for a couple of months now and now it's finally revealing it's self to the public. I will take my time to thank Crazy Laughter for beta-reading this and supporting me on this (Thanks again!).

Note! I do not own Bleach or any of its characters! Nor do I own "Rugaciunea Unui Dac" (trans: The preyer of a Dac), I just translated a part of it.

"One time there was no death, there was no mortal or immortal,
Nor the seed of life that gives you breath,
There was no today, nor tomorrow, nor yesterday, nor ever,
For one was all and all was one;
The time the earth, the sky, the heaves, the entire World
Were among the ones that never were,
That time there was only You alone, and often I do wonder:
Who's God is the one I bow to now?"

(M. Eminescu's "Rugaciunea unui Dac" – translation by Jessica P.)

The world is moved by questions; each "why" is like a portal that transports you into a world of movement, it offers you that aching desire to, to understand and to acknowledge a fact, or to simply have a purpose in life.

The need for a reason – that has kept us all alive from the very beginning. Take that away and we are like rocks, mere objects with no soul, and no need to survive. Without a reason, we can no longer live. It is as simple as letting someone drive their dagger through your heart. Reason is like a shield, and without it, without that thing that sustains you, you fall – a hopeless victim of the darkness that at one point threatens to devour us all.

"Achu!"

"Bless you."

"Thank you. My, this fog is horrible. I can't see a blasted thing. And now I'm catching a cold!"

"Now-now, there's no need for language. Remember what they say: fate is cruel; so be grateful that your fate is to have a cold."

"Cruel is the fate that awaits us all – we breath, we eat, we drink, we hate, we hurt, we laugh, we love, we cry, we live our lives, but that never is enough. Soon enough, after our bodies have passed their time and the souls have long since passed, all evidence of our existence will eventually seize to exist …"

(Jessica P.)

Few are those that managed to leave something that survived through the ages, fewer are those whose names are still remembered, and even fewer are those that are remembered for doing something good in this world …

"Hey, what is that over there?"

"Where? I don't see anything."

"Right there! Can't you… Oh my God…"

Long before Seireitei was created, even long before Hueco Mundo had been given a name, a creature that no one remembers did something so before his time and so terribly horrifying that in the end it lead to it's death. It was the one because of whom countless lost their chance to be remembered, to find a purpose, or to simply exist. It had been the first creature ever killed in the afterlife, the one that brought the idea of "kill" to the world.

All of it is but a distant memory, one that soon became a legend, that which at its turn became a myth, and now, in the end, only a forgotten fragment of our memory, forever sealed away behind oak doors, never to see the light of day again.

But as history has taught us, no secret can remain hidden, no matter the effort. Sooner or later, each dark corner will reveal its secrets to the light, and the older it is, the bigger the chance that the impact will be…

… for the worse…

Seireitei was unusually busy today, and such intense activity could not go unnoticed by Mayuri Kurotsuchi, captain of the Gotei 13's 12th Division. Usually, he would try and ignore as much as he could, but a series of recent events kept him on his toes more than usual. Especially when there was banging on his door every ten minutes.

"Taichou, we need your help!" someone kept yelling from the other side of the door. "Please open, we have a situation! Kurotsuchi-taichou!"

Enough was enough. "Nemu, what is happening out there?" The girl in question came to his side, files still in hand.

"I am not yet sure, Mayuri-taichou, but the hospital wing is overcrowded, almost like in the Winter War."

Mayuri did not give his daughter the chance to say anymore, for he already was following the shinigami that had disturbed him for the last hour, yet had chosen to ignore up until till now. Said shinigami, was talking rather fast for his liking as he was moving like a disorientated fly through the hallway, towards the autopsy room.

"We found two officers today. Maya and I were on patrol and we encountered them when … I never had seen anything like it, sir! They were all … and there was … Oh God! They were in a critical state! We tried to bring them to the 4th Division for treatment, but we were too late! Oh God, I will never forget all that blood!" But Mayuri was not interested in what he will never forget.

"What happened? Were they attacked by hollows?" Nemu asked as they reached the autopsy room, just as Retsu Unohana, captain of the 4th Division, was leaving. She could not help to overhear.

"They sure looked like it!" Mayuri's and Nemu's companion said, trying to hide his still fresh terror. "But I don't know … I really never seen anything like it –"

"You are mistaken …" Captain Unohana said in an even yet worried voice. Noticing the strange looks they gave her, she decided to continue. "The wounds you have seen were not placed there by hollows, nor by anybody else. Those wounds … have been inflicted on them by their own body."

Shock had taken over the unfortunate shinigami that just happened to find the bodies of his former friends, Nemu was trying her best to understand and Mayuri stormed into the room to see it for himself.

"What the – "

For once in his life, Mayuri Kurotsuchi was at a lack of words. The 12th Division Captain was usually a man that was hardly impressed by anything that once had been breathing. He was used to disfigured creatures; he dissected hollows for a hobby and often looked at people as potential test subjects. But this time however, not even he could have been able to stay impassive at such a sight. The remains of two shinigami lay on the operation tables of his laboratory, and if it was not for the cloths still on their bodies, then he would have never known what they once were.

"Unohana-taichou! Kurotsuchi-taichou!"

"What is it?"

"Five hollows have been found dead in the human world. They all died in the same manner as the two shinigami that were discovered earlier today!"

"What?"

"Taichou! Unohana-taichou, Isane onee-san has confirmed tree more deaths in the hospital wing. We think they died in the same way as the other two!"

Mayuri heard them talking, but he was not listening to a single word. He was not the type to be stunned, but at the moment, he was. As a scientist, he took pleasure in finding answers to every little question that crawled into his head. But as they say: there is a first for everything, and for the first time Mayuri started fearing the answer to the question that now dominated his thoughts.

"What the hell is happening here?"

A/N: Well? Liked it? Hated it? Think I need to get a life (I know you want to say yes at this)? Well, chapter one is one the way in any day now. Now I have to get a break from the computer. I've been working all evening. Well, see you soon! (amd it will be longer)