Power was exploding from Yhwach's body, or what at least could be assumed as his body. The black substance had completely taken over and was now covering the corpse while dissipating into atmosphere in bursts.

The new world made by Yhwach was slowly crumbling. What was left of the Seireitei was unassumingly falling apart as well despite if those present couldn't confirm this with their own eyes. If the world as they knew it was ending before they went to the Soul King's palace, there was no doubt it would be right now.

With the previous Soul King dead, and the one who planned using his demise to bring his reign being recently cut down, the worlds were once again headed to their destruction due to being unstable. It shouldn't be a surprise when a figure stepped forward, willing to make the sacrifice that only he could give.

If anyone took a moment to think about it, there was no reason to argue that this was the only person that could save the universe as they knew it. There was no other person more fitting than someone who could have a relation with every known type of being. With his soul being a perfect combination, he therefore had no bias between any one world. He could belong to everyone, and no one at the same time. There would never be a shinigami having an advantage over a quincy, or powerful hollows suddenly taking over the soul society.

Maybe, quite possibly, balance could finally be realized.

Ichigo announced that he would take on the roll as the Soul King, sacrificing himself for the sake of the world, just as he had countless times before. The question to all was how in fact would he go about doing this?

After a quick shout to the air for Riruka, a pocket of space opened up revealing the girl called upon and Yukio.

"I need you to take the Soul King's and Yhwach's power and put it in me."

"What do you-"

"I have no way of absorbing this power on my own, I need your help to become the next Soul King."

"But I've never stored anything inside of another human being before, you could-"

"Judging from how the last Soul King looking, I'm not exactly expecting to be running around and talking as I am right now. Please, Riruka, just tell me if you can do this."

"Yes...I can"

"Anyone else have any objections?"

Head Captain Kyoraku lowered his hat over his face. "I'm sorry Ichigo, it seems we keep on having no choice but to use you like this. You're so young, it's such a shame, you've really grown"

"Don't say that, it's fine. You know as well as I do that no one else is capable of doing this except for me." He shared a sad smile with the Head Captain.

"Ichigo," Kisuke pushed to the front of the group. "Before you go through with this, let me give you an old man's advice that you should leave no room for regret. If there's anything that you want to do before going through with absorbing the Soul King's power, you should probably do it now while you still have the chance."

The look in Kisuke's eyes gave the impression that he knew even more about him than Ichigo thought. He knew exactly what the older man was talking about, but there was still reason to be nervous despite knowing that it was true.

Ichigo turned his head to the side to make eye contact with one person in particular. Rukia, the one who started it all. Slowly, he started to walk over to her.

After seeing each other after all this time, there was no chance to sit down and talk about everything each other had gone through in the past months. He saw before that she finally became a lieutenant, he wished that he could have been there for that exciting time in her life. After having another time of her almost dying in this whole ordeal, Ichigo knew that he couldn't avoid doing what he knew he wanted to. It just sucked so much that they had to once again say goodbye to one another.

Ichigo thought that the last time they did this it was sad, but now that didn't even compare. Back then he knew that everything would still exist as it had before, he just wouldn't be able to see it. Now, he wasn't even sure if he would remain conscious of anything. He would be alive for the sake of keeping the worlds in order, but from what it looked like, he wouldn't be 'alive' from a human's point of view. Pretty much it looked as though he would be in a coma for all of eternity. At this point, no one even knows if anyone will still be alive or all the worlds will just completely start a new, with new people.

He said her name as he reached a close proximity. Her eyes were wide and staring at him intently. Suddenly he reached out for the side of jaw and made a connection to her mouth with his. Really this was the first kiss he ever had, it was a shame he didn't know if he would ever get to enjoy an experience such as this ever again.

The kiss lasted a long time in his mind, slow and passionate, really he was surprise how his body seemed to know what to do all on it's own. It was helpful since all he wanted to do was enjoy the moment and not think about it too much. Somewhere in his mind he knew that there were people around them watching, one of them being her brother. But this was one of those times where he really didn't give a fuck.

"Sorry about that," he said as they broke apart. They were both breathing heavily, trying to contain their smiles. The world around them once again began to crumble reminding everyone on how little time they had to spare. Those smiles soon faded as he said, "Goodbye… Rukia."

Unable to continue the bitterness of the moment, he flash-stepped away, returning to Riruka. There was a slight blush on her face from looking at the scene a few seconds ago. She briefly shared a look of despair with Orihime, knowing what each other was thinking. However nothing could be done at the moment, she had a job to do.

Ichigo closed his eyes, bracing himself for what he thought would be an impact of power being thrust upon his being. Instead, he had retreated to his inner world, facing his hollow and zangetsu.

"Well, are you guy ready for this?"

"Ready to get a body of my own? Hell yes, I hate being in this hell hole." one half of Zangetsu, previously thought to Ichigo as his inner hollow, was smiling maniacally, his body was practically twitching in excitement.

"What do you mean by that? Aren't we going to be exactly what the Soul King used to be?"

"Just because the old Soul King ended up like that doesn't mean you will Ichigo. Yhwach ate the Soul King's power and retained a human form. The power couldn't be controlled in his body since he didn't have a right or left hand to extend his powers to. You will not have this problem since we are here with you and share your soul. It shouldn't come to you as a surprise Ichigo that I will be your right hand, the defender."

"And I will be your left, the attacker." Both halves of Zangetsu looked proud, as though they found the proper place for their complex mix of souls.

The trio smirked at each other, finding themselves once again working together, though now maybe finding a bit of order in the chaotic mind they share.

From those on the outside of this mental encounter, all that could be seen was the increasing glowing around Ichigo's body. Fear of the unknown welled up inside their bodies as a white light gradually take over the world around them and the last of the floor crumbling beneath their feet.

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Hey guys, this was just something I was thinking about when reading the recent chapters. Let me know if there's any grammar mistakes and whatnot because honestly I'm a little buzzed right now so there probably is some... anyway, thanks for taking time out of your day to read this, I really appreciate it. Hope you have a great day!