26...White Moon...

Aizen studied the world beneath him. It was all his now. The second incantation was complete. The ritual was nearly finished. All he needed now was the final chant. With its completion the wretched little town would be decimated and amidst the destruction the Oken would be born. Many innocents would die but that would only be the start. The horror would only mount higher as Aizen claimed the heavens and reigned down upon those unfortunate to survive the onslaught. He would enslave all, slay any who opposed him and rule all life; living or dead. He would become...God,

The thought was truly exciting. Aizen couldn't help but smile broadly and give himself a round of applause. This had been so easy, he had not even had to face any foes the entire time and now he had only a few more lines to chant before victory was truly his.

"Hmm, it seems that none dare to defy god. Very well. I shall make my position official with this final chant."

Aizen parted his lips to speak but no sound came out. Instead a thick torrent of blood spurted out. He glanced down at a sword piercing his chest. He glared into the reflection on the cold steel and noted the face of his attacker.

"Captain Hitsugaya...How clever. You snuck up on me without me noticing..."

Toshiro laughed. "Hardly. You were so engrossed in your own arrogance I could have charged at you head-on and you never would have known! Without you zanpakuto you are no longer able to trick me! Without that little ace up your sleeve this battle is already over! Prepare to die Aizen, enjoy the eternal torments of Hell!"

Aizen chuckled heartily. "You poor little child...How foolish you are."

Toshiro felt a sharp stabbing pain in his side. He glanced down and saw Aizen's sword deep in his body. He hastily wrenched the blade free and staggered back to a safe distance. He took inventory of hi injury and held a small, pale hand over the large wound.

Aizen spun around to face his opponent and smiled. "You have been an ever persistent little worm. This time I will make sure to end you efficiently."

"You bastard!" Toshiro snarled. "I will never let you defeat me! For Momo...I...I will kill you!"

"Vengeance is such a dull motive. Such a pitiful act, especially for a captain."

Toshiro was unfazed by the taunt. He had heard Aizen's lies before. He had grown thick-skinned, or at least he hoped. "Give up Aizen. I told you last time we fought that I would sacrifice my rank to destroy you. It is no concern of mine, as long as I protect the world from a menace such as you!"

"Very well, young dragon. Face me." Aizen placed a hand over his wound and suddenly it glowed bright green. In a matter of seconds he moved it aside and the wound was cleared. He smirked at his own skill and nodded to his opponent. "I have mastered all manner of kido in my time. You have quite a mountain to scale before you can fight on par with me, young one."

Toshiro scowled. "Don't talk down to me Aizen. I will defeat you!" He roared like a wild animal and charged towards the traitor. Aizen waited patiently and swatted him aside with his sword. As Toshiro regained his footing Aizen turned on him and swung down upon his bare back. Toshiro only just managed to bring up his sword in time but the incredible force behind Aizen's swing forced the flat of the young captain's sword to smash into his ribs. Aizen's blade was pressing against his cheek, slicing a burning trench into his flesh. Toshiro tried to move his head backwards, out of the way but there was little room to move. He kicked out and knocked Aizen back enough so that he could get back on his feet and scream, "Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru!"

The young boy's sword became coated in a thin layer of frost and as he swung it toward his foe a great dragon made of ice shot forth, soaring across the battlefield. Aizen thrust his sword into the beast's face, splattering ice all over himself. Before it could freeze him he forcefully raised his reiatsu, shattering the weak prison and pushing his opponent back.

Toshiro grew agitated, roaring with utter insanity. He raced across the battlefield summoning dozens of the icy serpents, sending them all towards the enemy at once. While he waited he screamed as loud as he could, "Bankai!" Icy wings burst forth from his back and soon his hands were encased in frozen gauntlets. A frosted tail whipped around behind him and with a grunt of effort he unleashed anther wave of watery dragons.

Aizen seemed relaxed as he cut down each and every monster to cross his path. He moved with almost graceful movements, destroying the opposing creatures with ease. He made his way towards Toshiro, wading through the sea of frozen fangs.

The young dragon was lost in a daze of fury. He did not notice Aizen creeping up towards him, too absorbed in his relentless hacking and slashing. Dozens more dragons surrounded Aizen and each of them rushed in for the kill at once, their jaws snapping down on him in unison. Aizen cried out in pain and Toshiro smiled.

"I got you...I finally got you!" Toshiro laughed joyously but it was cut short quite literally when Aizen materialized before him. Aizen seemed to tower over him as he stood there, silent, motionless. Toshiro was paralysed. All he could do was stare as the blade arced down upon him, burying itself deep within his shoulder and carving on down his torso until a great rift was cut across his body.

The young captain started to fall, his knees giving way but he drove his sword into the earth, holding himself up. He cursed under his breath and pushed himself back up onto his feet. He could barely stand and he was beginning to stumble forward. Rather than fight it he went with the momentum and brought his sword up high. He let out one last mighty battle cry and made one final dash towards the enemy.

Aizen rushed to meet him as well. He set off on a slow jog, slowly building speed until he was sprinting towards the young foe.

"Aizen!" Toshiro roared, pushing his wobbling legs to propel himself forward. Aizen raised his own sword high and prepared to finish the wounded dragon off.

The two never even crossed swords. Aizen didn't even strike the boy.

Toshiro fell forward, hitting the ground with a deafening crash. He landed face first in the dirt, several metres away from Aizen. Blood loss and exhaustion struck him down before Aizen could. The little captain breathed his last during his mad dash and started tilting forward. His body started to shut down and his legs gave out on him, throwing him forth into the ground. He had dropped his sword a few paces earlier and the icy wings had crumbled to dust. He had deteriorated before he could reach his greatest opponent and now he had died with his vendetta unavenged. Such was the ultimate shame for a warrior.

Aizen frowned, disappointed merely because he had not been able to deal the finishing blow. He sighed to himself and prepared for the final incantation...again...

This time he was wary. If Toshiro had arrived, then surely other captains would be on their way. He would either have to prolong the ritual and fight...Or finish things before they arrived. He decided to go with the latter option. He bowed his head and begun the final chant.

Wide, terrified eyes gazed up at the darkened sky. Darkness enshrouded all of Soul Society and not a single trace of sunlight could pierce through. Even the darkest night paled in comparison to the abyss which drowned the world now.

Taru howled madly, throwing his tar-coated fists to the heavens. "Bow down to me! Beg for mercy you pitiful insects!"

One such warrior refused. Ichigo Kurosaki, a down-hearted hero with nothing but the weapon in his hand, gripped his sword and charged head on towards the cackling madman. He roared with untamed rage, his blade enveloped by a spreading orb of blazing energy. As he neared he swung his sword, unleashing the mighty blast upon the monstrosity which had become of Taru.

The sky was lit up for the briefest of moments as their blades clashed and their duelling reiatsu crashed together. The explosion was, in the blink of an eye, like the sun. The glowing fireball subsided within the darkness and the world was thrown back into shadows. Ichigo attacked mercilessly, hacking madly at his foe, not daring let the demon take hold and launch his own offensive.

He's strong...Very strong...I can't let him attack me! I have to keep him at bay until I can think of a plan...

Taru brought his sword up to guard the opposing swing. As Ichigo used the momentum to spin on his heels and hack at the opposite side, Taru brought one blackened hand up and caught it effortlessly in his palm. Ichigo was shocked, but he remembered many Espada had such abilities. It was nothing to panic about. He had to stay calm, collected. He smiled confidently rather than get agitated. "I see you've gotten stronger."

"Ha! Your blade is nothing but a blunt stick against me. I could destroy you with my bare hands!" Taru goaded. The rotting pile of meat dropped his sword and watched it soar down to the ground below. When he glanced back at his foe a venomous grin spread like cancer across his necrotic face. "You are already dead, Kurosaki. Can you feel it?"

Ichigo cursed under his breath and started blinking rapidly. He was growing tired, his eyes drifting shut without his consent. His shoulders were slumping and it was becoming hard to breathe, as if his lungs were being crushed from the inside.

Taru smirked. "My ressureccion is unlike any you have ever seen. All those you have fought before merely summon their hollow powers and manifest it upon themselves. It made them physically stronger and faster, but that was all. I however have a different power. Rather than make myself any stronger, I use all of my hollow powers to affect the area around me to gain my advantage."

Ichigo's eyes widened. He would have protested, denied his words but instead he doubled over and coughed violently. A mouthful of thick black paste spurted out into his hand and he stared at it in disgust.

"Do you understand now? I am not stronger...You are just wearing down. Your lungs are filling with tar, your blood is flowing slower and your body is breaking down. I don't even have to cut you down, this world will destroy you soon enough. Every breath you take is killing you." His laughter then was like a blade piercing his chest. "Everyone will die unless you slay me right now. In a matter of minutes every soul in this godforsaken place will be eradicated and the world will be mine!"

Ichigo shook his head and slammed his blade down on Taru's forearm. The thick goo which oozed from his pores stopped the sword, like a liquid shield. Ichigo grunted with effort and tried to force it down, to slice through his pallid, decaying flesh but Taru's arm remained unscathed.

"Give up." Taru spat. "You cannot defeat me. You cannot destroy the shadows. This hopeless endeavour will only end your life faster."

With a great roar Ichigo drove his fist into Taru's face. The rotting abomination was hurled far back where he landed in a heap. "I don't care!" Ichigo snarled. "I will never give up! I will fight until the very end...For that is the oath I swore when I became a shinigami!" The brave young warrior swung his blade in a downwards arc, a surging mass of energy flowing forth to strike the enemy. Ichigo panted heavily and unleashed another Getsuga Tensho upon his foe. Ichigo glared at the beastly silhouette amidst the billowing clouds of smoke and dust. "A beast without honour such as you would never understand, but I promised to protect everyone, living or dead. I will not stop fighting until they are safe, even if I have to sacrifice my own life!"

Taru's silhouette disintegrated and the foul creature appeared right before Ichigo, a murderous scowl affixed to his face. In a blur of movement he backhanded his foe and growled. "You fool! How dare you defy me!"

As Ichigo clambered back to his feet he wiped the blood from his lips. His eyes were like blazing suns, lighting the path to destiny. "No, you are the fool. You will never win! No matter what happens to me I will stop you!" Ichigo charged once again into the darkness, striking out at the barely visible opponent.

Every movement Taru made simply melded his body into the shadows around him. His speed was hard to match in daylight but in this abyss he was practically untraceable. Ichigo struggled on, hacking and slashing until his blade connected. He smirked and put all his weight into the edge of his sword. The blade cut down ever so slightly, but he could feel it digging through Taru's flesh. It may not have been a fatal blow, but to know he could still hurt him meant something.

Taru groaned and drove a fist into Ichigo's gut. The force of the blow actually lifted him off his feet and for a moment Ichigo was hunched over horizontally in mid-air. As gravity dragged him down Taru sped up the process by smashing his heel down into the warrior's spine. Ichigo cried out as he was sent hurtling down to the ground below.

The darkness made it impossible to tell where the ground is and to Ichigo he felt like he was falling for eternity, never to hit the ground...Just forever falling, deeper and deeper into despair. He tried to catch the air around him and slow his fall but it did nothing to help him. He was unable to stop. In the back of his mind a little voice begged for him to hit the ground and not get up again. Ichigo pushed it aside and instead tried once again to gain traction on the air. The ground hit him before he could even reach out.

He hit with a jarring thud. The pain swept over him faster than he could blink an eyelid. One second he was falling, the next he felt like the world had just crashed down on him. His bones felt like dust and he couldn't move. He had no idea where he was. His head was spinning and everywhere he looked there was only an eternal emptiness, a void of black. He wanted to cry out in pain but his lungs could barely draw in enough air to breathe let alone scream.

Normally such a fall would knock him around a bit, keep him down for a few moments and leave a few nasty bruises and cuts...But now...Taru's vile trickery was making everything worse. He was winded and yet the tar filling his lungs was preventing him from getting his breath back. He could feel his own blood pouring down around him, though it felt thicker, heavier...If only he could see it...If only he could see his blood...then there would be a little bit of colour in this place.

"Are you done already?" Taru taunted from the charcoal-choked heavens. "Right now your body is shutting down. Before you would have been able to get up instantly and resume fighting but now you cannot recuperate. By the time you even stand up you will have already drawn your last breath!"

"B-Bastard..." Ichigo whispered, unable to raise his voice. He propped one arm underneath himself and struggled to lift. He sat up slowly and waited for a moment. When he tried to stand him merely collapsed back down again. He tried again and again up couldn't climb back to his feet.

The deafening thunder-strike of Taru's feet on solid ground sent tremors through Ichigo's broken body. The decaying demon stalked his prey and stood over him. "Blood has stopped flowing to your legs. The human body cuts off circulation to your extremities to preserve a flow within vital areas. Right now your body is betraying you. Try as you might, but you cannot stand up anymore. Eventually your fingers will go numb, then your entire arm and then you will just lie there, staring up into nothingness and the life drains from your accursed soul! And even as your brain starts to die off, your heart will remain intact...So you can feel the pain of everything you've lost right until your dying breath! Isn't it wonderful?"

Ichigo reached up with a shaking hand and grabbed Taru's arm. He dragged himself up until he was closer to him and then thrust his sword into his stomach. The blade was barely visible in the lightless world but Ichigo felt reassurance when blood dripped down over his hands. Black blood pumped around the wound but it was cold, icy cold. Ichigo lost the strength in his arms and dropped to the ground, bumping something hard and metallic. He wrapped his fingers around his sword and frowned.

What the...My sword can't be...It's still stuck in Taru's gut...

Ichigo heard Taru drop like a bag of stones. Ichigo squinted through the darkness and saw something, a sliver of perfect snow-white. A length of ribbon danced in the air and Ichigo was mesmerized by. It had been so long since he saw it that he couldn't remember what it was. The gleaming white blade was struck into the earth and stood there. The wielder was nowhere to be seen however and Ichigo squinted harder.

"Ichigo..." A faint voice, a delicate whisper like the sigh of the wind.

Ichigo closed his eyes and thought hard. That voice, that soothing, gentle voice that sounded like a lullaby...It was familiar to him. As he opened his eyes once more he saw a face, looming over his, amidst the darkness. Two beautiful, deep blue orbs stared deep into his eyes. Around them tears started to flow. One of them landed on his cheek and Ichigo shivered. In the next instant he felt two arms encircle him and embrace him. An instant flood of warmth rushed through him and he could feel once more, but this was not pain...The familiar soul wept into his chest as she hugged him tighter. Ichigo wished to stay like this forever, in this comforting embrace. Her breaths were ragged and it sounded as if she too was struggling to breathe. He could feel her heartbeat...It was slow...Too slow.

"Ichigo..." She whispered once again, her voice becoming fainter. "I...I always..."

The heartbeat stopped.

The arms around Ichigo suddenly went slack.

The moonlight started fading.

"RUKIA!"

With this chapter I have officially written over a million words with all my stories combined. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far and I hope you will continue to enjoy it right until the very end. Thanks for reading and please remember to review!