Zrocker119: Hey everyone. I'm sorry for the long over due chapter, but as I'm certain that most of you are aware, things have gotten very hectic as of late. Between the virus & general life problems, I haven't had a lot of time to sit at my computer and write. But I got this chapter done so that's a small victory for me.

Stay safe and health everyone and enjoy the chapter.

-Chapter 8-

.

.

.

There was something wrong with this forest. The moment that Ichigo had crossed to the other side of the river and gone into the trees all of the sounds that would be associated with such a location had returned. The clustered trees, once so densely packed together as to allow little to no light, had thinned out, allowing the stars and moon light to grace the Shinigami with some visibility.

But that wasn't the current issue that he was facing. It was a simple thing and yet that was the sole reason as to why it infuriated him so.

He was lost.

The worst part was that Ichigo didn't even know how. He had been running in the exact direction the old hermit had pointed him in, not deviating from the path in the slightest. Resting near a tree, Ichigo glared at the shallow cut in its base. The one that he had marked it with some time ago.

Something was keeping him from leaving the forest. That was never a good sign.

"Okay, now I'm starting to get pissed!"

"While that isn't something that is all that difficult for anything to accomplish," Tensa ignored the scalding glare his counterpart sent him, "I agree that all this running around is doing no more than wearing you down."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ichigo let out a sigh. Like in nearly every other situation that he had found himself in, Tensa was right. He was doing nothing but wasting time and energy.

And time was a luxury that he couldn't afford to waste. Everyone in Fairy Tail was counting on him to complete this quest. Without it, everything that they had done to keep the guild going would be for nothing.

With that thought in the back of mind Ichigo drew his sword and point it forward. If he couldn't run out of here, then he would just have to blast his way through. While he would hate to destroy such a beautiful forest, it was standing between him and his goal.

"Getsuga…"

Raising the blade skyward, a miniature vortex of spiritual energy surrounded it before he brought it crashing down.

"Ten-"

The energy Ichigo had been feeding into his signature attack suddenly stopped flowing, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He couldn't sense any energy, magical or spiritual, as the air was so densely packed with both that it was causing an interference.

But killer intent was a whole different matter altogether. And just as he had been about to unleash his attack...the blood lust directed towards him had Ichigo thinking back to his first encounter with Kenpachi.

Something had seen what he was about to do, and boy did it want him dead for it.

The rustling of leaves was his only warning.

Something came spearing out from the underbrush. Ichigo's insane reaction time and reflexes were the only thing that kept him from being impaled as he parried the blow. He only had a moment to register that the object appeared to be a branch of sorts before two more came at him in a pincer maneuver.

Leaping into the air and instinctively creating a platform to stand on, Ichigo realized his folly too late as the array that surrounded the Island kicked on. With the gravity suddenly cranked up to eleven, Ichigo had to twist between the projectiles as he fell.

Planting a hand to the forest floor he made to push off, only for his arm to be snared by a vine. Ichigo only had a moment to notice that he was caught before being dragged along the ground and through bushes that now sported razor sharp thorns.

As the thorns began to pierce and tear his body, Ichigo kicked off a passing tree, launching himself forward. This created the slack that he needed to cut the vine. freeing his wrist and flipping to his feet.

His moment of respite was cut short however as dozens of more vines shot out from all directions. Ichigo's arm was nothing more than a blur as he slashed all that came towards him to pieces, having been in a similar scenario before only this time he had much larger targets to defent against.

Throughout all the hacking and slashing, Ichigo caught a glimpse of a tall, humanoid figure standing amongst the trees. With a burst of speed, Ichigo broke through the vines, his sword trailing behind him as it lit up with energy. The flare of power illuminated the surrounding area allowing him to see just what was trying to kill him.

The creature was tall, standing a full meter taller than Ichigo himself, very thin with tree-like limbs and a deer skull and antlers for a head.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

Bringing his sword to bear Ichigo unleashed a tidal wave of blue energy, tearing through everything that stood in its path. But his target watched with an impassive gaze, bringing its clawed hands forward and clenched.

Then the forest moved.

The entire forest floor broke apart as gnarled roots erupted from below, converging on the creature and encompassing it in a protective dome just as the crescent wave impacted.

With its vision now obscured and focused on protecting itself, Ichigo turned tail and booked it in the opposite direction. Whatever that thing is, he couldn't fight it here. Not when it obviously had some sort of control over the forest.

An enraged roar echoed from where he fled. A moment later a cloud of mist shot past him. Ichigo had to drop to his knees and slide beneath a clawed limb as the creature formed. As he passed under it, Ichigo slashed at its extended limb but did little more than scratch it.

Another roar emanated from its mouthless head, slamming its hand into the ground. The forest around him shaking was Ichigo's only warning as more roots erupted at his feet, nearly impaling him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the trees bend and twist right before they sprouted roots.

Thankfully his speed was as broken as ever, allowing him to avoid being ensnared. Cutting through the roots, Ichigo tried to close the distance between them, but every time he drew near the creature would turn to mist and appear further into the forest.

As more and more roots closed in, Ichigo charged a Getsuga and sunk his blade into the soil at his feet. A pillar of energy erupted around him.

With a thick cloud of smoke covering him, Ichigo took a moment to catch his breath. But despite the trouble he was having, the orangette couldn't keep the smirk off his face. It had been far too long since he had been in a fight this intense.

With a simple swipe of his blade, Ichigo dispersed the lingering smoke, revealing the destruction that had been left in the wake of his attack. The forest had been devastated. Everything within a hundred meter radius had just been wiped from existence, giving him a clear field of view.

And at the very edge of the newly created clearing stood the creature that had pushed him on the back heel. Kneeling down, it pressed its clawed hand to the upturned soil and rock, a low bellow escaping its throat. It sounded almost sad to Ichigo's ears.

A small part of Ichigo felt guilt for causing it grief, but it hadn't given him much of a choice. Gripping the handle with both hands Ichigo prepared to continue, when he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye.

He had no time to react. Whatever it was snatched him by the back of his shirt as it passed by, pulling Ichigo off his feet and dragging him out of the clearing and into the forest. Before Ichigo could even begin to process what the hell was going on, he broke through the treeline and into a large open space.

Ichigo heard a grunt before being unceremoniously dropped, landing ass first in an undignified heap.

Now that he was no longer being dragged about Ichigo was able to see what it was that had snatched him.

The man appeared to be in his late twenties and stood a good five inches taller than Ichigo himself. He had a pretty pale complexion that was mired with dirt and grime and had long, spiky black hair that reached just past his shoulder blades and grey eyes. He was quite rugged, with a thick beard that could make any other man jealous.

His clothes were almost nonexistent, being little more than a pair of dark pants that were incredibly ragged and a shirt that was in similar condition. Both were torn to a degree that it allowed one to see that he was quite svelte, packing a healthy amount of muscle all around.

"Well," Ichigo stood, patting himself free of the dirt that had clung to his form, "While I don't like being manhandled, I guess that I owe you one.

"...Y-you're actually real." From how surprised he looked, Ichigo would wager a guess that the stranger hadn't spoken to someone else for quite some time.

"Last time I checked? Yeah, I'm real enough."

Ichigo's dry delivery earned a hearty laugh from the man, though it quickly devolved into a fit of coughs. "Gods," the man said after calming down, "haven't laughed like that in...I don't know how long." He shot a heated look at the forest they had retreated from before giving Ichigo a lopsided smirk. "While I would've preferred the company of a beautiful woman, I'll settle on whoever you are stranger."

Ichigo held out his hand. "Ichigo Kurosaki, Fairy Tail wizard."

The man let out a low whistle as he gave Ichigo's hand a firm shake. "Fairy Tail, eh? Now I definitely can't complain about your company. Not everyday someone gets to work alongside a member of the number one guild."

The shinigami's small grin fell at that. "Sorry, but I'm afraid that hasn't been the case for some time now. Well before I ever joined. The whole country thinks we're nothing but a joke now."

The man's smile immediately fell, "What the-but that's…" He took a couple steps back, scratching his head in obvious confusion. "That can't be right! Sure, I recall you guy's causing a bit of trouble here and there, but the public loved you guys."

"Trust me, you're not that only one that wishes it wasn't." Ichigo messaged his neck in an effort to work the kink out of it. "Gonna take a shot in the dark and guess that your Chrona. Belno's son?"

The man froze. Returning his attention to Ichigo with a wary gaze. "How do you know my mother?" His lax stance sharped, muscles tensing up to fight should the next thing he heard be something he didn't like.

This didn't go unnoticed to Ichigo, who raised his hands in a placating manor.

"She was the one that gave me the quest." Ichigo took a moment to take in their surroundings, before turning his gaze back to where they had come from. Looking closely, he could just make out the form of the creature from before staring at them from deep within the forest.

"Is there someplace safe we can sit down and talk? Preferably somewhere far away from that."

Chrona took one glance at the creature and waved it off. "You don't gotta worry about old Leshy there. As long as we stay out of that particular section of forest, that old Forest God won't harm us. Besides," the skin along his left arm became gray like ash and a flame appeared in his palm. "I'll just have to re-educate it as to why it shouldn't fuck with me."

The appearance of the flame caused the so called Leshy to disappear back into the depths of its forest. One he was certain that it had left, Chrona let the flame fade and his skin returned to normal. "Follow me back to my camp. It'll be dark soon and you've no doubt got a lot to share with me and I with you."

Ichigo nodded in agreement. Looking over his shoulder one last time he made to follow Chrona, but couldn't help but ask one question.

"Was that really a God?"

Chrona paused mid step, turning around for only a moment, allowing Ichigo to see the knowing smirk that he was wearing.


.

.

.

It didn't take long for the duo to arrive at Chrona's camp, it being a small wooden shack that was located near the edge of a clearing. The inside was filled with scavenged supplies from the previous research expeditions, mostly journals and notes on the geography and ecosystem of the Island.

Shortly afterwards the sun had begun to set, leading to Chrona to get a fire going. Grabbing a couple of logs for chairs the two made themselves comfortable around the open flame, soaking in the heat as the dropping temperature set in.

Ichigo had pulled out his rations while Chrona settled with some wild game that he had caught earlier that day, cooking it on a spit roast.

Only when their appetites had been settled did Chrona question Ichigo as to why he was here. The Shinigami was quiet for a moment before breaking the new to the long lost son.

He handled it pretty well all things considered.

"Ten years...has it really been that long?" Chrona had hunched forward slightly, trying to comprehend the amount of time that had passed. Tears gathered in his eyes as the reality of everything came crashing down. "My mother?"

"Retired, but seems to be in good health." Ichigo could almost see the weight lift off the man's shoulder. He understood more than most what it was like to feel like they had abandoned a loved one.

"She thinks that I'm dead, doesn't she?"

"Yeah. After you failed to return, her and the council pulled the request from all boards."

Chrona raised his head and gave Ichigo an inquisitive look. "If that's true, then why did my mother give the quest to you?"

Grabbing a nearby stick, Ichigo began poking at the coals. "My guild was under the threat of being disbanded and Orga believed that this quest was the only way to shift the public's opinion, or at least show the council that Fairy Tail can still accomplish some good."

"Belno was against it at first, but after telling her that I was going regardless of what she thought, she gave me her blessing on the condition that I find out what happened to you."

"Hmm, that sounds like my mother alright." Wiping his eyes, Chrona gave Ichigo what had to be his first genuine smile in years. "Well now that I have back up, the odds of getting off this damn island just went up a fair amount."

That reminded Ichigo of a question that had been on his mind since he first set foot on this island. "Just what is this place? The magic here is unlike anything that I've felt before. I was never the best at sensing energy, but ever since I arrived It's like I'm back at square one."

The long believed to be dead mage gave a bitter laugh. "Yeah, I had a similar problem for the first few months. Made tracking down anything a real pain in the ass. As for what this Island is though...I couldn't really tell you. The only place worth checking out is the temple at the Islands center, but I haven't been able to take more than a step before that shows up."

Ichigo raised a brow. "That?"

"That one that guards the temple entrance. It never speaks, just attacks as soon as I step too close. It's too observant to just sneak past. The only thing to do is face it head on, but it's incredibly fast and durable." Chroma rubbed his ribs absentmindedly, "Nearly blew a hole through my chest the first time I fought it. Been trying to become strong enough to take it out ever since."

"When was the last time you fought it?"

"The last time? Think that was about...one, maybe two months ago. No matter what kind of training I do, it seems to always find a way to almost put me down. Was going to resort to using my trump card next time I challenged it, but with you here...I think we stand a good chance."

"What is your magic?" Questioned Ichigo, "You summoned that fire earlier so I can only assume you use fire based spells."

"No," At the orangettes confused expression Chrona smirked but didn't elaborate further as he ducked into his shelter. "Don't worry about it. You'll find out soon enough. For now get some rest. It'll take most of the day to get there so we'll be leaving at the crack of dawn."

While Ichigo wanted to learn more about the man he was temperately partnered with and his capabilities, he wasn't gonna argue about heading to bed. Between the barrier and fighting that creature, the events of today had left him mentally drained. Digging through his things Ichigo pulled out the sleeping bag that he had brought along.

From what he had seen of this Island so far, Ichigo's gut told him that tomorrow was going to be his biggest challenge since his and Chad's arrival. With that in mind Ichigo rolled out his sleeping bag and crawled inside.

He was going to need all the sleep that he could get.

.

.

.


.

.

.

The duo had set out the moment the sky had begun to brighten. Following Chrona's lead the two made their way towards the temple at a moderate pace, stopping every so often to either drink or eat, with Chrona asking questions about how things were back at the mainland. His questions ranged from the Guilds to how the royal family was doing.

Ichigo did his best to answer what he could, but given how busy he had been up till that point, he wasn't ashamed to admit about his lack of knowledge on the politics of the country.

Though why did he ask about the royal family?

As the duo moved along Ichigo noticed that the air seemed to grow heavier than it already was. When questioned the stranded mage revealed that the concentration of ethernano would be even denser the closer they got to the temple and that it was a natural occurrence.

"It's just through the next thicket of trees," spoke Chrona.

The orangette noticed his clenched fist. "You gonna be alright?"

There was a moment of silence, before Chrona let out a slow breath. "I've been trying to defeat this thing for ten years." He shot Ichigo a reassuring smirk, "I'm more anxious than anything."

Ichigo allowed himself a smirk of his own. "Then let's get this done and get you home."

Steeling themselves the duo burst through the treeline and into a small clearing, where Ichigo could finally see the temple that the old hermit had been talking about.

It was much smaller than he had been expecting, being hardly any bigger than the guild hall back home, but he suspected that most of it was hidden underground. Its appearance reminded Ichigo of the Mayan Temples that he had read about in school, only it seemed to be in much better condition than any ancient structure had a right to be.

"This is weird." Ichigo glanced at Chrona who seemed to be more on edge than he was before. "He's not here."

"What do you mean?"

"It's exactly what I said,'' Chrona said, pointing at the top of the ruins entrance. "The bastard's usually just sitting right there waiting for me to show up."

Well that couldn't be good.

Keeping an eye on their surroundings Ichigo reached behind him and slowly drew his blade. The tip of the sword had just left its sheath when the sound of fluttering wings reached their ears.

Ichigo quickly dove to the side, just as something heavy impacted the space he had previously occupied. Without waiting for the cloud of dirt to dissipate, Ichigo swung at the figure that he could see crouched within.

There was a flicker of movement and his blade met resistance. A growl emanated as the smoke cleared, revealing the hulking figure that rose from within. It was absolutely massive, standing at least twelve feet in height, possessing red skin and white hair. Upon its back stood a pair of white, angelic wings, more than large enough to support its muscular frame.

It was adorned in monk-like attire, with neck beads and geta sandals. All of these key features reminded Ichigo of the Tengu from his home culture mythology.

But the appearance of his attack wasn't what caused him to worry. What did though, was the blade of his Zanpakuto that it had caught in the grasp of its right hand. Faster than Ichigo thought would be possible for a creature of its size, the Tengu yanked the blade, pulling Ichigo forward and punching Ichigo in the chest with its other, torso sized fist. Spittle flew from the shinigamis mouth, his ribs all but shattering as the force of the flow sent him crashing into the temple wall, becoming buried under the rubble.

"Ichigo!" Chrona reached out but was forced to move, the Tengu suddenly upon him. With practiced movements, the dark-haired mage weaved around the beast's blows. Forced on the backpedal, he was unable to activate his magic and counter attack.

"Fuck off!" Flipping over a punch, he panted a foot in its face and used it as a springboard. Before he could gain any distance however, the Tengu snatched him by the foot. Chrona could only curse as it slammed him into the ground repeatedly, each impact earning it a gasp of pain before throwing him across the clearing.

"Rrraaaaaaahhhhhh," the Tengu brought up its arms to guard against the pissed off sword wielder, who returned to the fight with a sword encased in energy. Unlike before, Ichigo's attacks actually did noticeable damage to the monster's skin, tearing great gashes in its forearms and drawing blood.

The Tengu took exception to that and stomped its foot, shattering the earth and throwing off Ichigo's balance. With his footing compromised Ichigo was unable to properly defend himself as the Tengu unleashed a flurry of blows, each being more than enough to shatter stone.

During the onslaught a flicker of movement caught Ichigo's eye. The Tengu must've sensed it because it suddenly unfolded its wings and took to the sky but was too late as Chrona came crashing down on top of him.

The mage had undergone a transformation of sorts. He now stood nine feet in height with skin the color of dirt and had gained a significant amount of muscle mass throughout his whole body. His shirt was gone and now had gold colored runes one his torso, biceps, forearms and cheeks.

With a roar the transformed Chrona the base of the Tengu's wings, tearing them right off its back before grabbing its head and repeatedly smashing it into the ground. The Tengu didn't take this lying down, throwing elbow after elbow onto the mages side, the blows went ignored.

With a final shout, Chrona popped the Tengu's head open like a ripe melon, it's brain matter splattering the ground near Ichigo's feet. Once upon a time the orangette would've been left disgusted at such a brutal, but after everything that he had witnessed throughout his time, it was just another distasteful memory.

"Well that was much easier than I was expecting." Resting Zangetsu on his shoulder, Ichigo gave Chrona's new appearance a look over. Just what the hell kind of magic was he using.

Rolling his shoulder, Chrona fixed his gaze on him and got in a boxing stance. "That wasn't him."

A chuckle came from behind Ichigo, causing the shinigami to lash out but froze when he felt a weight appear on his blade.

"I knew you'd prove to be entertaining to watch."

Wha-

"Ichigo!"

The aforementioned Fairy Tail mage couldn't even react as something impacted against the top of his skull. There was a moment of stillness before Ichigo fell to the floor, clutching his head as a silently screaming escaped his throat.

"Come now." Spoke a voice that was eerily familiar.

A pair of geta sandals appeared in his field of view. Glancing up Ichigo came face to face with the old hermit from the other day smiling down at him. The diminutive old man stepped to the side, lashing out with a kick to Ichigo's head that sent him tumbling across the clearing, only stopping due to Chrona catching him as he passed.

"You okay?" Chrona asked, helping the dazed shinigami get to his feet.

"Y-yeah," Ichigo shook the dizziness off, glaring at the old hermit. "A take it that he's the one that you were talking about."

"Nailed it right on the head," Chrona shifted in his stance just a bit, putting more weight on his feet as he prepared to charge. "Don't let his appearance fool you. That small body packs quite the punch."

Despite the situation, Chrona smirked when Ichigo rubbed his jaw. Oh he was more than aware of that by now.

"Ah, I see you're taking me seriously." The old man spoke as he eyed Chrona's form. "To think you fight me using the soul of the Archean. You must be desperate to leave this humble island."

The smirk that had adorned his lips previously fell as Chrona addressed his foe. "None of my lesser Take Over souls were working. Figured I'd step it up a notch. But why are you talking all of a sudden? Just decided to be more talkative?"

His question went unanswered. "It's fitting that you should use the power of a God to face me." The hermit's gaze shifted to Ichigo, his arms spread out as his body was enveloped in a vibraint, white energy. "Then I better give it my all against my fellow Gods."

Ichigo could feel Chrona's curious gaze but elected to keep his eyes on the being in front of him. "You're a god?"

"One of many," As he stepped towards them, the glow surrounding the self proclaimed god grew in intensity. His form began to shift, growing in stature till he matched Chrona in height and muscle and his weathered features regained some semblance of youth.

The God's clothes were unable to keep up with his growth, shredding themselves to pieces from the strain, leaving him completely bare to the world and even though the god was distinctly masculin, he lacked the reproductive organs that came with a male form.

Not that Chrona and Ichigo were complaining. The less they had to fight a nude man the better.

"Did he do this last time?"

Chrona shook his head. This was something new. "I fought him using the power of a lesser god last time and he completely dominated the fight. This form, Archean, is one of my more powerful Take Overs." He stole a quick glance at Ichigo. "Hope you've got more than that sword."

The orange haired swordsman readied his blade, a blue hue enveloping his form. "I've got a couple tricks up my sleeve."

Their foe took deliberately slow steps, the very Island seemed to shake each time his feet hit the ground. His arms were spread outwards, his guard down and body exposed. The two mages knew that he was goading them into attacking.

But for what reason, they couldn't tell.

"Come. Show this God, this...Forgotten One, the cusp of your strength." The Forgotten One blinked and Ichigo was suddenly behind him. He made to strike the man only for his arms to go limp, the tendon having been slashed.

The God let out a grunt of pain as the blackened blade tore into his side, making it almost all the way through before getting caught on his spine.

The smile never left his face even as Chrona clotheslines him, his neck bending back with an audible snapped.

The smile never left his face even as the force of the blow all but folded him in half.

With a shattered neck and spine, the Forgotten One rolled backwards with the blow, his body contorting in ways that it shouldn't have been able to in its current state and landed a solid kick to both mages chest.

"Hmhmhmhm," His upper body lurched upwards, the shattered bones and split skin mending before Ichigo and Chrona's eyes. The God looked over his repaired body.

"I see now."

The thin layer of flesh that covered his elbow's parted as two long, protrusions of bone jutted outwards, a razor sharp edge along the outer side.

He turned his gaze towards the stunned mages, his carefree smile more sinister than ever.

"You two will do just fine."

.

.

.

-End-