Disclaimer:Bleach is a owned by Toei Animation, Funimation, Shonene Jump, and Tite Kubo. Overlord is Owned and published by Triumph Studios and Codemasters. No profits are drawn from this fanwork and it is openly and publically distributed purely out of love for the source material and the entertainment of the writer and readers. Please support the offocial release.
Victory is supposed to be sweet. That's what he had learned anyway, and to this point it had been true. Saving his family, protecting his home, rescuing Rukia, all of it. It had been so, so very sweet. The pain and suffering had been a worthy price to pay, but today. Today left every sweet victory bitter. Today hung a veil of regret and sorrow over everything he had done, and oh he had done it. Ichigo had defeated Aizen and saved all of Soul Society, no all the world from his megalomania. He had sacrificed every ounce of power he had ever worked for in order to stop this madman and what was his reward? The Maggot's Nest, a den of filth and illness filled to the brim with the cast offs of Seireitei. He and his closest allies had been shoved into holes in the back of this den of inequity where the Shinigami shove the people they want to forget. They were locked into what could generously be called closets, fed a bit when the guards remembered, and left to stew in their own filth for months. The only thing that infuriated Ichigo more than being treated like garbage, was knowing that people he loved were living the same nightmare.
He had made two attempts to escape, his first was a non-starter. Despite how healthy and in shape he was for a young man his age, even for a grown man in his prime he was little more than a sick mouse compared to the might he was used to wielding. He had spent two days trying to break down the door before he collapsed under the weight of his own pain and exhaustion. His second attempt, while more successful had also been met with a far more unpleasant ending. It was the second time he had been fed that week. He had made sure that the guards always entered to find him lying in a corner whenever they entered his cell until they began to grow complacent. This time however he was ready, as soon as the door had open, he rushed the guard striking him hard in the sternum and blindfolding him with a rag torn off of the prison robes he had been rolling in for months. This sudden distraction gave him a window to book his way down the hall way and find the others cells. He was barely able to call out to them before he was jumped by three larger men barring small clubs. Thay had wasted little time reducing the poor teen to a broken battered mess on the floor before tossing him back in the cell to heal. After that his already sparse meals became even rarer and his hope dwindled more and more.
The teens reflections escaped his mind and brought him back to the present. His light blond almost orange hair was long unkempt and would be matted from the time he had spent in The Nest before this had the guards not been ordered to ensure they all were clean and dressed presentably for today's ceremony. His body was still rather well toned, all that exercise had paid off for what it was worth here. He knew he was taller than most though his friend Chad still towered over him like the goliath he was. The loose white cotton robe he had been forced into before this was to make him look presentable. Image was important before you get murdered after all. He didn't bother restraining his sneer at the thought. As he opened his eyes to gaze out on the field before him. A barren cliffside overlooking the city, though he could not see behind him he knew this view all too well. The circular grid of the Seireitei stretched out below them giving all of the afterlife a view of what was about to happen. In front, between the stage and the assembled crowd, was a truly massive halberd. Standing taller than most buildings in his home town this colossal glaive was bound by four cords thicker across than a full-grown man and wrapped around the base of the weapon. Sokyoku, this hill where he had saved Rukia, where he had first shown that he was willing and able to stop anyone who wanted to harm the people important to him. He had fought off so many of the faces currently standing before him to do the right thing. He was sure for so long that he had been accepted by them. These Shinigami had been duped by Aizen into attempting to execute one of their own and when his deception had been revealed it was like a complete one eighty. They were on his side now and everyone was working together to bring this criminal to heel. Thinking back on it now and remembering what happened he was almost impressed how well they hid it.
His ruminations were interrupted soon however as his body was forced to his feet arms outstretched and lifted into the air. He was not the only person floating here, he knew that his friends were there just behind him. All of them condemned to this cruel fate. As he reached the zenith of his ascent Ichigo looked out over the crowed of gathered faces. So many of them were familiar, people he had fought besides, shared food with, bleed for, and now they have come to watch him die. Some faces however were more than just unfamiliar, they were outright bizarre. A structure in the back of the crowd had been erected. Raised to see above the crowd despite its occupants being seated. The people inside wore strange cloths that seemed to be from very foreign regions. All of them dressed in finery like gold and jewels and all of them accompanied by what could only be seen as armed guards. The first Man Ichigo noticed was rather average looking with blond hair who had a regal aura about himself, the teen thought he saw a crown on his head but couldn't be certain from here. Next to him was a beast of a man, tall and broad with a mane of red hair and a violent aura to rival Kenpachi's. The others while clearly important were too far back into the stand to be seen well from this distance. Before there was any more time to think on things the voice of the Commander stood and cleared his throat. He was not an impressive man where his figure was concerned shorter than average and rather small in frame, all that belied his real might of course. Ichigo knew beneath his robes was a man of pure muscle with the kind of Reiatsu that could crush most of the people in attendance. As he began speaking his voice rang out, amplified above the din of the gathered crowds.
"We gather here today in this sacred place to bear witness to the fate of evil." He began his tone harsh and steady. "Criminals Kurosaki Ichigo, Inoue Orihime, Yasutora Sado, Ishida Uryuu, Abari Renji, Inuzuri Rukia, you have been found guilty of the crimes of Sedition, Conspiracy, Treachery, Assault on the people of Seireitei, and destruction of property. Your sentence is death here upon the Sokyoku Hill; however, I am not without mercy. If you speak now, denounce the villain Sosuke Aizen and beg the forgiveness of myself the assembled peoples whom your crimes have harmed I am prepared to relegate your sentences to mere lives of imprisonment. What say you?"
Beg forgiveness? What kind of power trip was this senile old fool on!? He opened his mouth ready to scream fury and betrayal to everyone gathered here. Ready to set the record straight and denounce them all for liars and cowards, but nothing came of it. He screamed as hard as he could, roared rage to at the heights of his lungs, declared his need to avenge himself upon them all, but no sound came. His voice would not rumble and his voice would not form. He was being silenced; they all were. This was all just some twisted show, this play at mercy was just another part of the act. Disgust built up in the pit of Ichigo's stomach. Resentment like he had never felt before.
"Very well." The old man began again. "You spit upon the kindness of this old man and as such you all will face your ultimate fates." He turns his back to the assembled peoples and begins to walk away. "Release the Sokyoku!" At his words the ropes binding the massive halberd to the ground snapped and began to unravel. The spinning as they freed the behemoth kicked up winds and dust that blew out well past the end of the crowd and the sound of them cutting through the air was nearly deafening from this close. The unwinding was swift but as the teen watched what was surely his death grow closer and closer it felt like time slowed to a crawl. Even now he was not to be gifted the mercy of this ending quickly. At the apex of their ascent the cords flew away falling to the ground at the base of the cliff and for the barest of breaths the Halberd stood free tipping forward ever so slightly. As it entered freefall however, the great weapon shifted taking on the form of a massive flaming bird. The beat of its wings felt hot enough to roast a person alive. It hovered there starring at the assembled victims for three agonizing wing beats, as if judging them for every failing and crime in their lives. Then all at once it lets out an ear-piercing screech and streaks forward. It barrels towards them Ichigo front and center of it all doomed to take the wrath of this beast head on. In that instant true unbridled hatred welled up in his chest. Not the bestial fury of his hollow side, not the righteous indignation he carried when fighting to save someone he loved, true hate. He now knew why people could commit murder, why they could wage war, why they could become evil. In this innocent young man's heart has rested the same seed of darkness every living person bears and, in this moment, nourished by all these dark emotions and fed by this unyielding hatred it blossomed.
"Hello... Master." A rough almost elated voice echoed in Ichigo's ear, too quick to react to and far from the time to be doing so he simply continued to stare as his vision was blocked by bright flaming death. Suddenly everything went black, the heat faded into cold and the shock rocked the young man's mind. As his consciousness faded, he could only wonder to himself if this is what death felt like.
Sulfur, smoke and sulfur assaulted Ichigo's senses faster than any other sensations. With a jerking start he quickly sets himself up eyes shooting open to take in his surroundings, between the thick air and his own bleariness he spends a moment blinking everything into focus as the brown blobs all about him come into focus. "Oh good, no need for that acid after all Gobby. The master is awake." That voice, the same one from his execution. It was raspy and strained yet so full of malicious excitement it was almost contagious. "Welcome to your new life Master, my name is Gnarl and it is my very good pleasure to welcome you to The Dark Tower!" His eyes finally adjusting Ichigo took in the sight before him. His vision filled with the face of what could only be called deformed gremlins, mottled brown with short frames and hunched backs, the only thing more off putting than their appearance was how close they were gathering around him.
"Hey back the hell up! Give me some breathing room!" He calls out quickly before thinking. He was sure these creatures were ready to pounce on him and attack but they moved at his orders without hesitation. Each one of them dropped into a low bow as he got to his feet and looked at all of them. The stand out one a grey gremlin lumbers forward with a limp and starts speaking.
"Master! It does this old black heart good to see you so quickly taking to ordering your minions about. You are already more apt than your last predecessor, oh the evil we will get up too." Every word lilt with the sound of a barely restrained laugh. "Oh, it's been so very, very long since we had a new master. The evil your heart sang out to The Tower so beautifully too, I have such high, high hopes for you, my lord."
He looked around the room for a moment and soon noticed the others on the floor. Moving on instinct he bowls over the minions and rushes to his friends and starts looking for vitals. "Are they ok? Are they alive?" His voice begins to rise as he takes in the space they are occupying right now and realizes just how different it is. A dark room covered in dust and cobwebs, rubble strewn across the floor and barely holding together furniture all over the place. There was nowhere he could lay his friends. Just a grimy floor. "Where the hell even are we?" He is demanding answers at the top of his lungs and growing more and more irritated as the little grey fellow starts to chuckle.
"Oh, very astute Master, yes we are. The Seat of Ultimate Evil would should be nowhere else after all." The creature continues to chuckle to himself as if he had made some funny inside joke. "Get it. You know exactly where THE HELL we are." The other creatures seem to catch on to whatever this decrepit monster was saying as they begin to burst out laughing as well.
Fury rose up in the young man's chest, this thing was mocking him, these things dared to laugh at his plight! On sheer impulse Ichigo charged froward grabbing this Gnarl thing by the front of its ratty robes and hoisting it up to his face. "What the hell is so funny you little freak?" He shouts enraged. "What is this some kind of sick joke to you? A game? Drop the attitude and answer me straight." He had begun violently shaking the old decrepit thing as he made his demands.
"M ma master please I beg you stop! You shake me into pieces like this. I've learned my lesson I swear, no more joke. No more joke!" Gnarl began pleading amidst the assault his face twisted with pain, fear, and pride. "The Dark Tower, My Lord. We are in The Dark Tower in the realm of Hell sire! Soon to be your realm!"
Hell? Actual Hell? He couldn't believe his ears but, it made sense. The smell, the heat, the monsters, it made far too much sense. "They did it. Those bastards killed us all." A deep sigh of resignation escapes his lips before slowly giving way to a soft sad chuckle. A little laugh, the sort one releases when the tension is too high. Involuntary and sudden in a way that caught him by surprise and by the time he caught himself Gnarl had already squirmed free from Ichigo's grasp.
"Oh no, no, no master! Those lowly castoff reapers have done no such thing!" The little grey gremlin nearly danced in his new master's vision as he gestured about. "It was The Tower! The Tower felt you master. It felt the evil bloom in your heart, and it felt the hole deep inside you. The hole empty and ready to fill with Malevolence and Wrath." The impish creature was cackling with a twisted joy as it spoke. "The Tower felt the awakening of an evil great enough to rule it, and a potential for power grand enough to lift it back to its rightful place! It felt you master, and so it reached out. It plucked you and your servants out of the air before that wretched chicken of flame could reach you." Gnarl shook his head, his overlarge ears flapping back and forth as he did so. "No easy feat of course reaching across so many miles and dimensions to pluck you, and without the heart to boot." The tiny creature seems to grow somber for a moment as it continues. "Why, it took most of the Malevolence The Tower has been storing for oh so very long." Gnarl claps its hands together with a resolute smack. "But the was all worth it now! We have a new master and the Evil we shall bring will be worth every risk and then some."
The teen roars in frustration as the little gremlin rants on further. "What the hell are you talking about? Malevolence, The Tower, Hell, Master, what does any of that mean? You better start making sense you little monster or I swear to whatever twisted gods you worship I'll throttle you to death myself!" Where had that come from? Sure, Ichigo was mad, he had been mad before but this was different. He had never felt like this. Never been ready to kill over something so petty, and that was the part that threw him. He was absolutely ready to make good on that threat. The fear on the little things face was bad enough but worse yet, worse was the excitement. This thing was happy to see him acting like this, but he didn't have time to contemplate right now. Instead, he continued his tirade demanding more answers. "Answer me damnit!" He roared half tossing Gnarl in his anger. The creature hit the ground with a thud but seemed to simply bounce back from the abuse as if nothing had happened.
"Of course." Gnarl began in a sing song tone as if getting to his favorite part of a show. "Of course, master. I am Gnarl your humble advisor and Minion master. We stand within the audience chamber of The Dark Tower, the seat of power for The Overlord. A being of immense power and unquestionable evil whose fate it is to rule all the worlds. After the death of the last Overlord eons ago The Tower has stood inert passively drinking in the anger, hatred, suffering, and cruelty of the wretches condemned down here. The energy of these emotions is something The Tower and its Overlord can wield much like magic, or the spiritual power those Reapers you were captured by use. Malevolence however is far more potent." He starts gesturing towards Ichigo as he continued. "At the time of your execution your heart gave in to those dark emotions and turned towards evil! Truly a wonderful moment in every villain's life if I do say so myself." The creature seems to fade off for a brief second as if he were remembering something pleasant before snapping back into the current moment. "Of course, that evil, while wonderful, would not have been good enough but you see there is a hole in you master. A massive nearly bottomless chasm that is eager to be filled with power. You have the potential to be the most powerful Overlord ever, and The Towers standards are far too high to accept anyone less. So, you are our master now. The Tower chose you to be the new Overlord, and we are at your service."
"That... That doesn't make any sense." Ichigo storms off toward a pile of awkwardly places stones that looked vaguely like a chair. "I'm not evil! I don't want to hurt people! I don't like fighting if I don't have to! How can I be evil?" He paces a bit taken aback with those claims. He was a good person. Anyone would feel like he did in that situation. It doesn't make him evil. It couldn't be grounds for him going bad he just, he just didn't like that feeling is all. "People can be angry without turning into monsters. Assuming anyone who feels betrayed is evil is the dumbest thing I've ever heard."
"Of course, master of course." The little monster cooed from the other side of the room his voice placating as he continued. "Perhaps The Tower made a mistake. It has been oh so very long since we had an Overlord, but the decision has been made. You are the lord of the tower now; all its power and its servants are at your beck and call. We are yours to command lord. Any goal you come up with."
"Anything I want?" The teen thinks for a moment to himself before looking over the room and at his friends still unconscious on the floor. "Get them off the floor, those people matter to me. I don't care what you have to do but make them beds and get them set up safely." Before he had even finished speaking the little creatures were in motion acting almost as soon as he formed the thought itself. Piling up scattered bits of cloth on the scattered furniture and large stones, soon the people around the room were set up off the ground on something that looks relatively comfortable. The speed and precision they moved with was almost shocking to the teen.
"You see." Gnarl said as he limped his way up to the new Overlord. "Total obedience, not a single moment's hesitation. You could tell them all to jump into a fire and they wouldn't even stop to ask why." The teen takes a seat on the ruined chair watching everything happen as the smaller creature reaches him and continues. "If I may be so bold master. What was happening when we found you? The Tower was able to find you but we only got the barest glimpse." Just remembering the sham those Soul reapers put on caused the fury to well up in Ichigo's stomach and before he knew what he was doing the tirade began. Gnarl watched The Overlord rage with a satisfied grin on his face. Once the story ends the little monster asks one very simple question. "Well master. What do you want to do about it?"
A/N: Hello everyone! It's been quite a while I must say. Quite a while indeed. I've decided to pick up writing projects like this again to sort of get that sense of personal expression out of my system. I choose to revise this story rather than just pick it up where I left off because I personally believe my own style and flavor has changed and improved quite a lot from where I was ten years ago. Wow ten years? It's a weird thing to realize. At the same time it feels like not time at all and an eternity all at once. Well either way I hope you like the revision and dont be afraid to give me feedback.