A/N: Guys, the voting ends today 05/11/2021 midnight MST. Also, may I recommend you guy find a dark dramatic Sound track to play while you read this one. In case you guys are wondering, I was listening to a playlist but together by Ivoryyy over on youtube. I feel like if I give the title of the playlist, it will ruin the chapter, but if you don't care, check the end.

Ichigo got irritated very often, and he can get angry on occasion too; but that's a rarer occurrence, and it's usually reserved for situations that have truly tried his patience -he doesn't do it often.

He has been told that his temper is as fiery as his hair, but something people don't really see, is that the angrier he gets, the calmer he becomes. His is an anger that festers inside him, and instead of boiling over like magma, it freezes every vein in his body and causes his heart to slow to a calming beat that chills his emotions.

Hot anger blazes and then cools down once temperaments are smoothed.

Cold anger, cold rage creeps and takes root into the soul where there is no concept of forgiveness to be found.

So no, Ichigo doesn't get angry often, because he knows what his anger is capable of.

He likes to consider himself an easy-going guy who rolls his eyes at people or makes sure his opinions are in no way unheard so that no one makes the mistake of misunderstanding him.

He's only ever gotten angry at one person, and it's taken him months and years to have that steady discomfort of distrust edge away into something he can ignore and continue his life.

His anger is scary enough as it is- his rage, his rage is a thing of nightmares, both his and anyone else's because he hasn't ever let himself reach that height before.

They probably hadn't expected him to remember it. A defenseless human who had lost all his reiatsu saving the balance of the world, what could he do in the face of a threat he could not see? Ichigo really hadn't been able to compute what was happening until a patch of blood red was seeping into his shirt and gasps of pain escaped his lips.

The next thing he knew, he was opening his eyes to a reiatsu saturated environment that could only be Soul Society and a dread filling his stomach. He could breathe in the spirit particles and feel the dirt under his hands rich with energy. Ichigo could feel it.

He had been murdered by something he couldn't see.

Ichigo would be angry about that, would fester about it for years to come if it was only that.

But they had murdered his sisters too -he had seen the way the girls had been impaled by figures clad in black at the very last seconds of his consciousness, had seen the life edge away from their eyes and the way the men had just sheathed their weapons and stepped aside as if nothing had happened.

Ichigo thinks his friends might have gotten a similar visit too.

So he might've been angry if they had only gone after him, but they hadn't and so instead he raged, raged, raged….

R̷̡͔̼̩̖̤͈̗̘̻̖͉̝̞̫̺͚̦͎͕̀̐̀̇̒͂̀̕Ã̶̡̢͎͇̯͔̘͇͚͙̫̀̆̾̒͑͂̒̃͋̓̆̌̑͊̈̕Ĝ̶̢̧̧̨̢͙̲̳͖̳̖͕̯̹̹̯̖͍̬͙͇̝̗͕͎̞̥̣̤̱̗̥̺̱̼̗̿̐͌͜͜ͅĖ̸̫̝̗̺͚̤͙͖͙̩͓̱̒͌̍̍͊̆̋͐̇̈́̽́̄̄̂͑͊͊̀́̓̀̕͘͠͠͠͝ͅD̴̢̡̝̹͖͕̙̮͕̺̻͚͈̟̲͔̝͓̔̓̇͗̌̔̍͗̑̄̆̊͛̄̎̓̓͒͐̈́͑̔͆̊̚̕͠ͅ

He can feel it, the chill almost burning his blood and making his heart stutter in his chest. The power now coursing through him stronger, much stronger than it had been after he had used the Final Getsuga Tenshou those years ago

Ŝ̛̮̲̙͗͟͠o̰͇̩̓̓͘͞ͅ ̪̪̬͙̙̌̌́̐̑m̲͉̹͕͕̌͌͛̇͘ư̜̦̫̜̒̾͡͝ͅċ̳͗ͅh͚͉̏̋͂͟ ̯͌͢͝s͎̞̳͔̑̍̏͑t̪̰̃̓ọ͔̮̈́̓n͍͗g͉̙̎͠e̝͂r̖̝̓͗̌̕͟͢, A voice he could not recognize whispered in his mind like some ethereal being.

His life was not safe with those backstabbing people at the helm; his friends and family were not safe whether in this life or another.

So Ichigo could storm Seireitei right now and demand to know who ordered the kill, he could press his reiatsu onto all the habitants of Soul Society and demand to know the whys while he watched impassively as people chocked on the very air around them and fell one by one to their knees like the scum they are. He could do all that, it would bring satisfaction into him, but he's certain he would still not believe a word they said.

Pity.

His anger was something scary and seldom seen, but it was an emotion he could keep in check and one day pack away.

Rage was not like that, rage was unforgiving in the face of betrayal, it was a feeling of vengeance and no sympathy for anyone who stood in his path whether friend or foe, it was a glided sword that strikes down unto those who began it all and it does not stop -it can't stop.

So Ichigo scraps the idea of barreling into Seiretei, because he will not gain what he wants in doing so. That doesn't mean he doesn't go to Seireitei anyways.

The Old Man is not expecting him, Ichigo can see it in his eyes and in his posture. He's sitting at his desk as if the world around them weren't crumbling at the seams, because that's what it is to him, so that's how it should be for everyone. But he's not, he's placidly seated and Ichigo doesn't know what expression he has, or what he even looks like, but it must cut an intimidating picture because the Captain Commander doesn't even seem capable of standing, let alone unsheathing his Zanpakutō.

"You." He almost wheezes out, as if the words had been strangled out of his throat.

Ichigo finds a wicked smirk tilting the edge of his lips as he raises his head haughtily and looks down at this wizened old man. "Did you really think, it would be that easy?"

Ichigo gets exactly what he needs though. He has no need to fight to win, and while the Old man is not just about to roll over and tell him whatever he wants, he physically doesn't have a choice when Ichigo pierces his blade into the man's chest, grabs Ryūjin Jakka with his bare hands, and plucks the information straight out of his brain.

He could already feel emotions transmitted during battle by crossing blades with his enemies, now as he is, he can feel much more.

Ichigo doesn't know if the man dies and bleads out in his office or if he's found before that can happen, but Ichigo honestly couldn't care less because in the end, everyone who has something to pay for, will do so in interest.

So he walks away with the knowledge of how to get to the Soul King's Palace, and doesn't look back.

Getting there is easy. It's so, so ridiculously simple that he almost wants to go find Aizen's cell to laugh in his face but doesn't because laughter is such a faraway expression he can't even bring it up if he tries, and he doesn't want to see the man's smug smirk either.

He arrives at the Palace like a ghost who had always been there, and no one is really the wiser. He can feel the other inhabitants up in the clouds but knows they won't notice him due to how high his reiatsu is, and so doesn't bother with them just yet. Instead he goes directly towards the center building and finds the person- the being- he came to find.

"So you're here." The Soul King states, his eerie and fully black eyes piercing and seeing. "I knew you would come."

Ichigo stays silent for a couple seconds but doesn't show any shock at those words. "Hard way, or easy way?" he asks.

The being hums, utterly unperturbed by the power Ichigo is certain he can feel -he's the only one who probably can. He crosses one leg over the other and reclines his head on his perched arm.

"You were never meant to save the world, Kurosaki Ichigo." He says instead.

Ichigo finds his head tilting to the side slightly in query, his eyes impassive and reflecting an endless harsh winter. "I already have." He answers.

The being laughs, loud and hollow in a way Ichigo can relate because it's riddled with a deep sort of madness he can easily find in himself.

"No, you were always meant to destroy it." The King- the being stands from his throne and gives a mocking bow towards Ichigo, his grin tinged with insanity and sorrow but satisfaction too. "Be my guest, New Soul King. Destroy the illusions so you can see the reality! Destroy their fears so they can see what true terror is! Destroy the worlds as we know them, so they can be born anew!"

Ichigo watches as the being fades into nothing, his eyes reflecting the chaos of his words and a flicker of dying rage Ichigo knows very well.

He wasn't meant to save the world; the being had said.

That's fine with him, he can be a destroyer- he will.

The destroyer of worlds…

Not to be continued…?

Inspired by Playlist put together by Ivoryyy titled You slowly realize you weren't meant to save the world, you were meant to destroy it on youtube.

Voting closes 03/11/2021 at midnight MST, see current voting:

RcbT – II

PomH – II

W – V I

EP – V I

RoC – X

HoW – V I

TK – V I

MP – X I

PLV – I

TfTpO – IIII

TEFL – V IIII

LBU - IIII