Transcendence

Chapter 03: Delirium

Pain seemed like a very good friend to Ichigo, because it would always be there when he woke up and every time he lost consciousness. Yet it would be an even better friend if they had a long distance relationship. But it seemed to be a constant nuisance in the last few days for him, since it wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon.

Every muscle in his body was on fire, as if his entire bodily structure had been taken apart and reassembled after being put through a furnace. Not a single bone in his body did not feel like it was about to break apart. The only thing that had not decided to accompany this agony that was his current existence was the sweet embrace of death. Ichigo was starting to wonder if he really should be fighting so hard not to die, the many close calls were almost begging him to let go.

"Damn vermin, be gone!"

Looking up and allowing his eyes to adjust to the much brighter surroundings, he could see he was no longer within that demon hovel. Instead he was in a brightly lit and decorated room, a large cone shaped chamber filled with many different pieces of ornamentation.

Ichigo noticed a man fly through the air and collide with a book shelf, blood seeping from the front of his robes and flowing to the floor. Rolling onto his side Ichigo looked around the rest of the room, including the massive floating blue crystal in the center of it.

But he was not the only one within the room, there were many actually. Over a dozen robed men and woman were fighting against a large shadow that eclipsed them all in height and power. Ichigo didn't need to think hard on who was killing these people, it was that demon who was about to kill him just a moment ago.

"Refi Jal! Ashth nudab thterterl ni bafal!" One of the men yelled, sending a wave of energy at the demon that made it stagger.

"You will not cast me back to the Nether so easily!" Abraxus roared, sending out a stream of purple flame that carved the man in half from the chest up.

Ichigo crawled away from the fighting, moving towards the exit that was only a few feet ahead of him. The sound of magic exploding and colliding throughout the room echoed in Ichigo's ears, yet he kept on moving forward. He stood no chance against that monster and likely the people fighting it didn't either. He could smell the metallic scent of blood filling the air, and the screams of those who were being dispatched by the demon in due order.

Ichigo wanted to help them fight the demon more than anything, but he was just as likely to die trying to help them rather than himself. His only choice was to run and survive, but Ichigo doubted that he would make it far with how quickly that monster was killing everyone in sight. He spared a glance to see that nearly half had been murdered; the rest of the magical users would follow soon after.

Ichigo pulled himself out the door and onto a small narrow path, one that stood over a large open gulch. Looking over the sides Ichigo saw a large dilapidated botanical garden below, overgrown and in a great deal of disrepair. Using what strength he had left in his unbroken arm Ichigo pushed himself off the ground and to his feet, pain shooting through his body as he disturbed his wounds again.

It was a continual and ironic pain in the ass that he felt discomfort every time he moved, Ichigo just hoped that he would get bored of it soon and somehow be able to subconsciously block it out. Smiling a little at the thought Ichigo took a step forward. His smirk turned to a frown as he struggle to keep moving with the pain that accompanied it. The walk was slow; he idly noted that the bridge looked as if it was in need of repair.

Despite that it was holding under his feet; the stone was worn and in disrepair, chunks were missing, and it was overcome with moss and other arrays of fauna that made Ichigo doubt the stability of the bridge.

A loud roar echoed behind him along with an explosion, Ichigo turned to see if the demon was there. But he could see within the building it remained within, fighting against the people that were sorely outclassed by the powerful demon. Ichigo could see that the building was a large tower that shot up from the park below and up to the bridge before rising another fifty feet into the air and ending at a sharp point.

The walls of the tower cracked and shook, dust and dirt falling from the stone as the battle within its confines intensified. Ichigo turned away and continued to hobble away, picking up his pace in order to escape before the demon came in search of him. It would most definitely come for him, that demon would likely now have a vendetta against him for the wounds he had dealt it.

Ichigo spanned the rest of the bridge quickly and into a dark passageway, moving through the darkness to the other side. Ichigo could hear the sounds of battle dim in the distance, but he dared not slow down because of it. It could mean many things but he took only one into consideration, the battle was coming to a close and the Dreadlord would be looking for him soon enough.

A light shone at the end of the passageway and Ichigo did not stop, pushing himself that little bit harder he moved towards the exit. Shielding his eyes for a moment when the sunlight hit him, letting his eyes adjust before looking at the world ahead of him, and the substitute was shocked at the sight.

Ichigo found himself in a large open area, but as he gazed out he saw that this wasn't a simple ruin, but a massive city that had passed its prime. A large raised up cityscape was seen before him, built atop large foundations of stone on rock and soil, were dozens of buildings sat in uneven rows next to one another.

But at the base of the stairwell he stood atop he saw a large rectangular gulch that went out for nearly a kilometer and was a quarter as wide. Raised above it and connecting the two sides of the city were large platforms and bridges that acted as highways between one part and the other.

Hundreds of people moved across these bridges at that very moment, going from one side to the other. Despite the fact this place appeared to be in disrepair and falling apart as he watched they did not seem that concerned. It was as if they have lived here their entire lives.

"Nuashdie! Dath othienel a?" Ichigo turned suddenly to see a man standing to his right, before he could blink there was a sword right at his throat.

Ichigo didn't respond at first, instead focusing on the man that was holding him at sword point. But to say it right this person wasn't exactly a normal man, he wasn't even human. Sure had a similar human appearance, two arms, and two legs allowing him to stand upright like a normal human being, but different enough to show he wasn't. For one his skin was a light purple shade, head to toe. Long pointed ears and glowing eyes, bright white orbs that glared at him like white hot suns.

"Wait, I was… I was…" Ichigo tried to speak, but his throat was hoarse and he could barely talk without his throat getting scratchy. "A demon… is attacking…"

"Demon…" Ichigo turned to see another man was standing there, similar to the first but with white hair instead of blue and a much darker shade of skin.

The 'elven' man grabbed Ichigo quickly and pressed his sword to the substitute's throat, before pushing him back so Ichigo was dangling over the side of the stairs. Ichigo glanced back to see it was a long seventy feet to the bottom of the stairs, which were made of solid stone. Ichigo really didn't want any more bones broken, so he decided to play it nice and not antagonize these guys.

"What demon, what are you talking about?" The 'elf' demanded angrily, taking Ichigo by surprise that he could actually speak a language he could understand.

"He's at that tower," Ichigo said quickly, feeling the tip of the elf's blade sink a little into his neck. "The people there are dying, you need to…"

Ichigo couldn't finish his sentence before both he and the elf were engulfed in a wave of fire, knocking both off the top of the stair. Clearing the steps completely both he and the elf landed on the stone bridge hard and rolled past several startled residents. Groaning as he sat up Ichigo found the charred body of the elf in front of him, having taken the brunt of the attack and saving Ichigo from suffering a similar fate.

A cry of pain drew Ichigo back to the balcony at the top of the stairs, and to his horror the Dreadlord was standing there glaring down at him. On his clawed fingers was the other elf, impaled through the chest, while his other hand was doused in black fire. Ichigo quickly got to his feet and then leapt out of the way as a wave of darkness engulfed the spot he was in a moment ago.

"What did you do?" Abraxus glowered at the Shinigami, walking down the stepped and tossing the elf from his fingers over the side of the stairs. "What did you do to summon me here?!"

Ichigo didn't know what the hell he was talking about and didn't care. He had to get out of here and try to draw this guy away from all these people, or they would take the brunt of the demons wrath. Without waiting Ichigo shot up and ran, taking long strides to cover as much ground as he could and as far away from the demon as possible. If he could keep ahead of the Dreadlord he could probably lure it somewhere and then lose it.

His plan failed almost as soon as he made the first two steps. A massive shadow appeared above Ichigo before the Dreadlord landed in front of him, slamming into the stone resulting in a thundering crash. Ichigo staggered back trying to get away but felt a claw wrap around his entire head. Ichigo was lifted off the ground and dangled close to the demons face, whose visage as seen through the talons was one of pure rage.

"Tell me, you damn mortal, how did you bring me here!?" Abraxus shouted, raising his other claw and dousing it in fel green flames to entice Ichigo to speak.

In a desperate act of survival Ichigo tried to attack, slashing up at the demon with Zangetsu. The demons armor was nothing against the sharp edge of Zangetsu, cutting through the metal and flesh on the demons chest. Abraxus staggered from the attack and let out a pained roar, forgetting momentarily the one who caused the injury. Stabbing his blade into the demon's forearm, the demon screamed again and his attention turned back to Ichigo.

Abraxus threw the substitute away. Ichigo rolled against the stone before tumbling over the side of the platform. Ichigo fell thirty feet before colliding with a body of water, sinking into the murky liquid and struggling to find a way to the surface.

Abraxus growled as he looked at the large pond that the boy fell into, waiting for him to resurface. Looking at his arm he felt his blood boil at the fact he had been wounded so easily, out of his own carelessness no less. Once that human swam out of that muck he would ensure he suffers for these slights, he would assure it.

A savage grin appeared on his pale face as the human boy surfaced, choking and covered in sludge. Abraxus watched him swim to the edge of the water and pull himself free. Forming a ball of shadow fire in his clawed hand he planned to incinerate him there and now. He would not risk him escaping his grasp again.

His attack was stopped when he felt something lodge itself into his side, glancing down he saw an arrow lodged within his flesh. Looking to where it had come he saw a row of archers all ready to let loose their arrows upon him, and with a command from their leader they let lose a hail of bolts.

Abraxus shield himself with a veil of flame, melting the barbs into slag and burning the shafts of the arrows into ash. With the danger passed Abraxus returned the favor and sent the wall of flame toward the elves.

He knew who they were, the same ilk that served that Queen that promised to bring this world into the hands of the Legion. The same ilk that had failed them and allowed their kin to resist the Legion's invasion that ultimately led to the Legion's defeat. It was certain now that he was on Azeroth, there was no doubt in his mind about that.

The wall of flame descended on the elves like a wave, overwhelming them completely from all sides. But before it could consume them it was snuffed out, quickly vanishing from view and the intense heat disappearing instantly. The ambient temperature lowering itself considerably as the moisture is the air crystalized and formed snow.

Half a dozen well-dressed Magi appeared and took up position ahead of the archers, brandishing their weapons of gold and silver. Even after ten thousand years they still were vain fools, flaunting themselves with jewelry and decorations; it was pathetic in Abraxus' mind. Abraxus spread his wings wide and leapt into the air, rising high and then dropping quickly toward the cluster of arcanists.

Ichigo coughed up some water, while spitting out what felt like seaweed in his mouth. Ichigo threw Zangetsu out of the water and pulled himself free, rolling onto his back and breathing in deeply. He took several deep breaths before sitting up, his hand moving to his stomach. He was bleeding again; the wound must have opened up when he was thrown from the stairs or balcony.

Glancing around Ichigo saw that he was in that little parkland beneath the raised bridges. The place looked like a garbage heap, he could barely see past the large pastures of overgrown grass. At first he thought he saw some trimmed grass, but realized that was a thick formation of algae over a stagnant pond. This place had seen better days, yet the only thing he could say as surprising was the fact there was no rubbish or litter.

Loud explosions echoed above him and Ichigo knew exactly what was going on, that Dreadlord was fighting someone else. Seeing this as likely his only chance to escape he took it, getting to his feet he looked around for a way out of this massive ditch. He made out several passageways along the walls; he looked to the closest one and took off.

It may have been better to actually see about going at this slow as to not get lost, but Ichigo didn't have the luxury to do that. He was in unknown territory, with a demon hunting him, and likely the elves were now after him as well; he was in deep shit. So run fast and run far was the only philosophy that he decided to follow for the time being.


"We will cast you back into the Nether, demon!" An Elven Magi yelled, sending a ball of flame at the Dreadlord's back.

"Do not get to full of yourself Highborn!" Abraxus retorted, dodging the attack and responding with a volley of felfire.

The orbs of green flame were intercepted by a wall of ice, forming conveniently around the magi he had attacked. Before he could attack again his shoulder was encased in ice, courtesy of another elf that afterword's froze his left leg to the ground.

"Damn wretches!"

Releasing a torrent of felfire Abraxus freed himself, turning on the magi and sending a similar wave at him. But his attempt was futile, as another wall of ice intercepted his attack and saved the magi from certain death.

Abraxus was brought down to his knee by a barrage of arcane bolts from two of the Highborn magi. His armor preventing any serious injury, yet the cracks were starting to form. These ones were more skilled than those he killed in that tower, they had experience and skill. With the fact they were working together in cohesion allowed them to wound him easily. One on one against one of these magi and he would be victorious, but against five he stood no chance.

He glowered at the fact he was considering retreat, as much as their actions would only do so much to him. But he could not die to the hands of these low creatures, it would be a stain on his pride that he would not allow.

"This is far from over, you damn mongrels!" Abraxus cried out as he sent a wave of fel fire at the elves, engulfing the entire bridge in flames.

The mages extinguished it quickly enough; they channeled their magic and cast aside the smoke to reveal their enemy. But to their surprise he had disappeared. Moving forward the Mages tried to sense the demons presence, seeing if it had hidden itself away from them. But they could only feel the lingering essence of the demon, it had fled from them.

"Master Evershade, what do we do?"

Mordent Evershade was the leader of the Shen'dralar, and the senior-most Magi within the entirety of Eldra'Thalas. He has a chiseled face, with long white hair that fell just past his shoulders and a full beard. His glowing white orbs shone with arcane energies, similar to his staff. A long golden shaft rod that held a large finely cut sapphire.

"Go to the Arcane Pylon, if the tower was attacked we must ensure it is safe," Morden Evershade replied with some urgency, the consequences of the pylon failing were not something he liked to consider.

"Archmage," Mordent felt his blood chill, he had not expected him to come here.

Turning Mordent came face to face with a tall imposing elf. His face was chiseled and held no noticeable blemishes. Yet in his eyes one could see the radiating irritation and short tempter that hid beneath a mask of tranquility and benevolence. Dressed in light gold and emerald armor that was pristine and had nary a scratch upon it, with two duel-bladed swords fastened to his hip.

"Prince Tortheldrin," Mordent Evershade bowed in respect to his lord and master, while many others dropped to their knee in the presence of their Prince. "May I ask why you have graced us with your presence?"

"There is no need for pleasantries; I wish to know what has happened within my city," Tortheldrin said; waving off Mordent's etiquette and asking him kindly to explain.

"A Nathrezin appeared within the city, he appears to have attacked one of the Magister Towers," Mordent replied, speaking seriously with his lord, as he knew that beneath the calm and kind expression was someone who did not like having his time wasted.

In fact the only reason he likely appeared so benevolent was because he was in public, he tried to keep up certain appearances to the populace. But in truth everyone knew what kind of man he was, so the expression he wore was a mask, one that people often feared, because they knew beneath it was a monster.

"How did it enter the city? The demons that inhabit Eastern Eldre'Thalas?" Tortheldrin inquired, glancing off towards the east at that cursed place that was infested with demonic beasts and consorters.

The city of Eldre'Thalas was once the greatest in all of Kalimdor, second only to Azshara's personal palace Zin-Azshari. In its prime it was something that only a few could even hope to see with their own eyes. Inside these walls were the greatest magisters and arcanists who did the work of their great Queen, Azshara. Containing vast vaunts of arcane knowledge and artefacts that no mortal or immortal this day could even begin to understand.

"I am not sure my lord, but there appears to have been another here?" Mordent said, remembering seeing another creature with the demon, although it didn't appear that they were allies.

"Who?" Tortheldrin asked simply.

"I do not know, but it appears to be a human," Mordent replied, although he was not certain of that.

For millennia the Highborn of Eldre'Thalas have never left the confines of these walls, and those that did have never returned. But they have some knowledge of the outside world and the events that have played out recently.

From the battle at Mount Hyjal with the Legion, that resulted in the loss of the Elves immortality.

A race of green skinned barbarians from across the sea, having settled near the borders of Ashenvale.

And another race, calling themselves humans, that have allied with their former kin the Night Elves.

"A human, you mean those short-lived creatures from across the sea?" Tortheldrin stated, sounding amused at the prospect, but likely angry that such a creature would dare enter these sacred grounds.

"Yes my lord, it appears that he and the demon are enemies," Mordent said.

"It matters not, find the demon and purge it from this world, I will not have it undermine our efforts that we have struggled to maintain for the last ten thousand years," Tortheldrin said with finality, walking off with his personal guard, leaving the job of cleaning this mess up to his chief arcanist.

Mordent watched his lord go and was pleased that he did not displease him in some way. Tortheldrin was desperate to keep the pylons operational and ensure that the containment shield around their power source did not fail. If it did then they would face a bigger catastrophe than a Dreadlord.

"Go to the Magister Tower, see if there are any survivors, and ensure that the Pylon is still operational." Mordent ordered his apprentice, who quickly took off with a handful of warriors in tow to secure the tower and the pylon.

"What of the human?" another magi asked, but Mordent looked at the ground below to see the human had long since fled, likely taking to the tunnels that led to the outskirts of the city.

"It doesn't matter anymore, he will either die from his wounds or the ancients will finish him off," Mordent replied before walking off, the remaining warriors following his lead as they searched for the demon.


Ichigo leaned against the hard granite block and tightly wrapped his right arm with the white cloth to create a cast and arm brace. He was grateful that the cloth on the hilt of Zangetsu could be extended and even teared away, he had a lot of cuts and wounds he needed to seal. Ichigo cleaned them as best he could, without clean water or disinfectant all he could do now was stem the bleeding.

'I need to find help, I have to get some medical attention,' Ichigo thought to himself as he sat under a collapsed alcove, avoiding the attention of anything that may be watching him.

But on a good note he wasn't coughing anymore, although he still felt like he could die at any moment. But at least he could wrap those cuts up and not worry about his guts falling out at any moment. Ichigo leaned back against the stone and let out a sigh, allowing himself a short respite from the rough last few days.

"Alright, need to think, gotta think, need to figure out where I am," Ichigo mused quietly, yet with a certain amount of haste as he glanced around.

He was still in danger; there was no telling what could be here waiting to attack him at any moment, finding a safe place to hide would be a start. But he couldn't trust anyone, those elven people were dangerous, they couldn't be trusted, he needed to escape and get somewhere safe and wait. If he could do that he may be able to think for the first time in days.

"Alright, find somewhere to bunker down, I can do that," Ichigo said aloud, picking himself up and hobbling out of the alcove and quickly taking in his surroundings.

But there was still the lingering question of where he was now.

It was a hot humid climate and he could feel his skin tingling slightly, as if there was something in the air. Ichigo didn't know what it was, but he had a sinking feeling it could be similar to the energies that were in that Nether. He remembered that demon saying something about fel energy, so if this place was the same then this place would likely keep poisoning him as well.

Turning one final time he decided that direction is good enough, he had to keep moving in a singular direction to find a way out of these ruins. He should find an exit eventually, just get to the outskirts and look for a gate or something.

His trek through the ruins showed a lot of the architecture that was employed by the culture that had lived her. Obviously the people were very skilled masons and craftsman, creating monolithic structures that rivalled any culture he knew about. The walls were tall and smooth, often carved with historic depictions of faded figures and events. Once great statues that would have risen over fifty meters in height, now lay scattered across the ground and worn away by the flow of time.

Ichigo had no doubt that had this place not fallen to ruin and its occupants were able to maintain it, this place would have been a marvel to the world. Every corridor and paved road he went down he found the remains of great works of art, small shrines and statuettes depicting a feminine figure. Stone carved paintings that depicted great events in history, most focused on what appeared to be a large spring or well and a woman.

For the first time he actually felt himself relax, as if not every shadow around him was hiding something that would attack. His hand ran through his hair, the moss and greave that had accumulated dampening his palm, he couldn't believe how horrible it had been. How draining, how debilitating to go through that, sleep had been something he sorely missed, that sudden realization almost made him want to collapse then and there.

'I should rest… but not yet, got to find a way out of here,'

Ichigo passed along a final corridor before seeing a bright light ahead; he rushed forward, ignoring his fatigue, hoping he had found his way out of the city. But when he reached the end of the path he discovered that he was still deep within. Before him was a massive sea of white stone houses that went on for kilometers.

This massive city had been built at the base of a mountain, surrounded by massive white walls of solid stone. Ichigo looked across the vast city, seeing nothing but white and grey that went on as far as the eyes could see. Looking to his right he saw that nearly a kilometer away was the wall that protected the city, it must have been over one hundred feet tall.

Ichigo could just see beyond the walls, a field of green just peaked over the white stone. Ichigo saw this as his chance to get out, all he had to do was get to that wall and then find a way through. From there he could find out where he was and then find a way back to Hueco Mundo.

Ichigo rushed down the steps, eager to finally find a way out of this city.

Thousands of houses lined the wide street; they were small mansions in their own right. Offering great comfort for the people who once owned them, but now they lay empty and of no use. Ichigo had walked down this street for nearly an hour, moving for the far wall that he saw when he descended into this residential area.

Each house was several stories high and had many windows and a large balcony extending from the top of the house. They were spaced apart widely and had small stone walls that separated each residence from one another. But despite the numerous houses, there were many small parks and recreational areas where people could congregate and relax without having to travel far from home.

Ichigo has seen those other people up in the higher section of the city, elves he reminded himself despite the impossibility of that being what they were. Looking back he saw the wall that sectioned off that tier of the city from this one. Despite it likely being much more extravagant it wasn't as large as this area was, so why did they not have people down here?

They stayed up there and away from the rest of the city completely, isolated themselves away as if it wasn't safe to be down here. Also this place was falling apart, buildings were crumbling and they couldn't even cut the grass. It was obvious that these people were either in a massive decline, or something big happened here a long time ago, and may still be going on.

'There must be something here,' Ichigo thought, it could be considered paranoia, but with what he had been through the last few days he wasn't going to risk being naïve.

Ichigo stopped for a moment, his eyes darting to the small pond. He had heard something move a moment ago, he noted there was rippling in the water so he was not hearing things. Hearing a bush shake briefly Ichigo was certain he wasn't alone. Ichigo slowly pulled Zangetsu from the sheath and got ready for whatever it was to come out. Drawing Zangetsu as something shot from the bush, Ichigo levelled it at the head of the… plant.

"What the hell am I looking at right now?" Ichigo asked in bewilderment, looking at what appeared to be some sort of ambulatory plant.

It was a turquoise colored creature with a long stem body that had several wiry roots that acted like legs. With two thorn covered tendrils that appeared to be arms. Its head was simply a bunch of petals, surrounding a dark green pistil and several stamens. All in all, the thing looked like a walking plant.

"Uhhh, hello?" Ichigo asked, wondering if this thing was sentient in some form or another.

But it simply slinked away from the substitute, disappearing back into the bush. Ichigo stared at the bush for a moment, wondering if it was going to come back. After a moment he shrugged before moving off, sheathing Zangetsu and shaking his head for getting worked up. He had to admit that was very surprising, he had never seen nor heard of a plant that could actually move of its own free will. This place was starting to make him wonder if it was earth or some sort of spiritual realm he had yet to hear about.

But Ichigo came to a halt again when he noted another creature had appeared this time, but it wasn't a small little plant. This one appeared to be a tree, a tree that had a face and arms and roots that acted as its legs, with an afro canopy.

Ichigo looked at the creature for a moment and blinked in surprise, what the hell was he looking at this time. Ichigo took a few tentative steps forward, steps that the tree creature matched. As Ichigo drew closer he saw that the creatures bark was pale grey, as if the color had been seeped right out of the bark. The leaves were faded and dead, they rustled together as the creature hobbled forward.

When Ichigo was right in front of it he tried to say something but nearly had his face clawed off when the thing attacked him. Stepping away Ichigo dodged the wild claws this thing was sending his way. It let out a continual stream of groans along with its attacks. Ichigo could see that its eyes were black sap orbs, they were empty and lifeless.

This thing was definitely not friendly; Ichigo weaved around and leaped away before reaching for Zangetsu. As the tree attacked Ichigo removed its arm, hoping that it would be enough to deter the creature from attacking again.

It looked at the severed stump before letting out a howl into the air, loud and gurgling, it attacked again with its only remaining arm. Ichigo removed the other limb and then followed up with another slash that cut it in two. Its upper body fell to the ground and remained unmoving, as black sap seeped out of the wood.

Ichigo could smell the foul odor from the sap, this must have been the reason no one comes down here anymore. If whatever made this thing is likely just as fatal to whoever else stays down here long enough. Ichigo shouldered Zangetsu and moved off, eager to get out of this city before more of these things show up.

His wish did not come true, looking around he heard the sound of low growling and wood striking stone. In only a matter of seconds more of the creatures began to appear, from within houses and down the street. Their black eyes all falling upon Ichigo, while they hobbled towards him like a pack of tree zombies.

Ichigo bolted as soon as he saw them; he did not want to fight an army of angry tree men. If those people left this place to ruin then it was for a good reason and he wasn't going to stay around and wait for what made those thing to come to him.

His only luck in this was the fact he could outrun them. But every time he passed an intersection he saw dozens of them coming down the side streets. They were everywhere, but even so these things couldn't be so bad to force everyone out of this place. Surely they could have beaten them all, they don't look so tough.

Turning the corner Ichigo quickly found the reason why people may not want to live in this place anymore. Right in front of him was a massive tree, not so different from the ones he was trying to escape from. Aside from the fact it was five times as tall and about twenty times as large. A massive trunk of a creature, covered in grey leaves and vines, with similar dead black eyes.

"Shit," was all Ichigo could mutter before the inevitable came.

The massive grey barked creature let out a ferocious roar and raised both its fists.

Ichigo turned and leapt away, he felt the ground shake as the two massive tree limbs shattered the ground. Getting to his feet Ichigo ran for it, his eyes ahead of him and not looking back. Yet as Ichigo ran he felt the earth quake, he turned to look over his shoulder to see that the creature was right behind him.

Ichigo didn't have time to react to its sudden presence, nor did he have time to dodge the massive limb that crashed into his side. Ichigo was thrown through a house and then through another, where he came to a stop after losing enough momentum.

Ichigo was on the very edge of unconsciousness, he couldn't move and felt like just giving up right then and there. He just wanted to sleep and rest, to let the pain wash away and to finally get better. He closed his eyes and let his sight fade; his mind slowly went blank and let all his worries fade away.

"Ichigo!"

The orange haired substitute opened his eyes slowly and looked up, he saw someone standing in the shadow of a doorway. He couldn't see her face as she was turned away from him, but her clothing and hair he recognized almost instantly.

"Rukia…?" Ichigo wheezed.

"Ichigo, Run!" Rukia called out again as she dashed away, around the corner and out of sight.

Ichigo fought off his weariness and concussion, he needed to get up and follow her, he fought to stand up. Taking small steps towards the door he followed after her. Ichigo staggered as he felt the ground shake suddenly, then the wall he crashed through exploded outwards. Standing there was the massive tree; it smashed aside another wall and moved to attack.

Ichigo leapt forward and avoided being crushed, rolling onto his back and quickly shuffling towards the doorway. Ichigo avoided another gruesome fate as he passed through the door and then jumped to his feet. Leaning against the wall Ichigo moved forward, glancing down the hall he saw Rukia running ahead of him.

"Rukia!" Ichigo called out, following after her, staggering as he ran to catch up with her.

Ichigo felt the building shudder as that monstrosity tore it apart, trying to catch the substitute and likely use him for fertilizer. Ichigo ran to the end of the hallway and smashed through a door, he was back onto another street in the open. Ichigo looked down the road and searched for his Shinigami friend, but he couldn't see her.

Shaking his head he tried to make sense of what he just saw, maybe he was just seeing things. He couldn't think on the matter for long, the building he just came from was blown apart. Ichigo shielded his eyes as the rubble came raining down and quickly moved away. As he turned he saw the tree was there, glaring at him.

Ichigo turned and ran, he couldn't fight it and he couldn't reason with it, so he had no choice but to get to the other side of the wall. All the while the heavy thundering foot falls of that massive tree creature reminded Ichigo it was still behind him.

Ichigo came to the base of the wall and shot around the corner, he looked at it to see solid smooth stone.

"There's got to be a gate or opening somewhere!" Ichigo hissed to himself, listening as that massive beast drew closer with each passing moment.

Looking ahead Ichigo did notice what appeared to be a passageway, or at least a large arch in the wall. Ichigo jumped forward and away from the claw that tried to swat him again. Ichigo picked up his pace, and when he saw the archway right beside him he stopped and then bolted to the side. Cutting the corner Ichigo narrowly avoided the grip of the tree that crashed into a building as it tried to make the sharp turn.

Ichigo laughed at the massive trees fumble, as he turned back Ichigo skidded to a halt. Ichigo didn't find the exit as he hoped; this was a balcony that overlooked the surrounding forest. Running over to the side he saw that it was a steep two hundred foot drop to the ground.

Ichigo backpedaled and tried the archway, there was no way he could get down from here. But as soon as he made to leave his exit was blocked, and the glowering tree was standing guard. Ichigo looked over the edge; he was really thinking that the two hundred foot drop was more preferable than going against that thing.

The giant took a step forward, the platform shaking and groaning under its massive weight. As it reached halfway the ground beneath Ichigo jerked suddenly. A loud crack and the platform dropped down, staggering Ichigo and the walking tree. Ichigo steadied himself as he heard the stone beneath him begin to crack, fissure lines appearing along the surface and spreading.

The balcony jerked again as the tree took another step; Ichigo fell to a knee trying to remain on balance. He realized it before the giant did, who took another step forward without care as the ground began to crumble beneath them. The balcony was going to collapse, and the only safe way out of this was through the archway they came through.

Wasting no time Ichigo made a beeline for the door, having no time to go along the edge of the balcony that continued to fall away from the wall. As he passed the tree it made to grab him, but Ichigo ducked between its two stumpy legs and rushed away. The tree attempted to turn, and as it did the supports keeping the balcony upright shattered.

The balcony fell down before tilting back very sharply, Ichigo lost his footing and fell down and grasped desperately for purchase. Ichigo grabbed a small crack in the stone and halted his fall. Placing his foot on another crack Ichigo began the difficult climb back up, he was thankful that the platform wasn't completely at an angle.

He made a few feet before the stone beside him was shattered, Ichigo looked to see the tree giant was there and hanging on for dear life as well.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Ichigo yelled out, before pulling himself up quickly to avoid being hit by the massive wooden fist.

As the tree drew back is arm Ichigo let go of the platform and hopped onto the massive limb. Ichigo rushed along its arm and drew Zangetsu, intent on dislodging this bastard before he took the entire platform down with him. It tried desperately to slap the Shinigami off, but Ichigo kept his footing and continued his attack.

Ichigo slammed Zangetsu into the side of the trees skull and broke apart the side of its face, its bark was surprisingly soft and damp with black sap. The tree roared and tried to punch Ichigo off his shoulder, but that only ended with it punching itself in the side of the face.

Ichigo had leapt off the beast and back onto the platform, sinking Zangetsu into a gap in the stone and continuing his climb. But the giant did not let up in it attempts to kill Ichigo, trying to claw Ichigo off the wall again. Ichigo felt the wall begin to fall away, he tried to climb faster but his zanpakuto slipped from the crack and he fell off.

Ichigo collided with the head of the giant, who reached to grab Ichigo, but a timely swipe of Zangetsu cut off a finger and forced the hand to retreat. Ichigo then raised his blade up and slammed it into the creature's forehead. The tree roared and this time the hand was able to grab him, Ichigo had lost hold of Zangetsu and was defenseless.

Ichigo punched and screamed for freedom but to no avail other than to be shaken around like a doll in the hands of an unruly child. Ichigo was slammed into the platform, shattering against the fist and Ichigo felt his body being crushed in the grip of the giant.

But the real shock came when the platform fell apart, shattering completely. The giant fell from the platform, moaning in shock, while Ichigo still in its grip fell with it. They fell for only a few seconds, but it was the end of the fall that made the real impact on them both.

They fell through the roof of a large acropolis, shattering the roof and causing it to cave in on the rest of the building.


Coughing as he sat up Ichigo pushed a slab of stone off him and looked around, finding himself in a mostly ruined temple. The entire place was littered with broken stone and most of what once laid within was broken and shattered, likely from the landing as the roof was all but non-existent.

The only thing that remained unharmed in the collapse was the statue of a woman in the middle of the temple. Her features similar to those that he saw back within the city. On further searching he found that the giant tree creature was also present, but luckily wasn't alive. Its entire body had been destroyed, its limbs and torso shattered and broken apart as black sap seeped from the wood and onto the ground.

As light shone in from the mostly roofless building it glistened at a large piece of metal that jutted from the giant's head. Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief to see his zanpakuto was still embedded in the creature's forehead and not lost under all this rock. But he had to admit that the sight of Zangetsu impaled in the giant tree creatures head looked like out of a legendary tale, of a sword impaled upon a great and powerful enemy that it had been used to slay. He almost considered leaving it there as a monument to the victory over the massive creature, but snorted to himself in slight amusement before deciding against it.

Ichigo moved through the rubble hobbled over to the fallen Ent, the self given name gave Ichigo a passing thought that he had landed in Middle Earth or something. Shaking it off her quickly threw out the theory and went to get his sword back. Climbing up the body of the tree giant to retrieve his blade and finally get out of that death trap of a city.

Gripping his partner tightly in his left hand he wretched the blade free from the rotted wood. Looking over the blade for a moment to see if it was damaged, he was happy to see it was unharmed in the fall.

Ichigo sheathed his blade but did not depart immediately; his thoughts were not very clear on what was going on. He had no idea where he was, he knew he had been thrown into the realm called the Twisting Nether.

Now he was on some other plane, but was this actually a plane of existence similar to Soul Society? It didn't seem right, if this was another plane then wouldn't they know about it, and maybe Rukia could have told him. He had a bad feeling about this, something was not right here.

"Stop acting like a fool and get moving, don't you have people that need saving?" Ichigo looked down to see below him was Ishida, who was pushing up his glasses like he always did and not even remotely looking at him.

"Ishida?" Ichigo breathed, taking a step forward, only for the Quincy to walk off.

Ichigo took another step forward and slipped off the side of the tree giant, falling to the ground in a painful heap.

"Try to watch your step, if that is not too hard," Ishida said in a conceited tone, Ichigo looked up to see him walking for the exit.

Ichigo scrambled to his feet and gave chase, sprinting to the door and out into the open forest. He found himself in a rainforest, with trees that were hundreds of feet tall and blotted out the sun with their massive canopies. He could see dozens of different types of plants and bushes that he couldn't even begin to make heads or tails out of.

But as much as he admired the view he was searching for the white clothed Quincy, but he never found him. Ichigo took his head into his hand and thought this through; trying to keep what sanity he had left at this point. He had seen Rukia and Ishida, but they couldn't be here, there was no way they could be here with him. His rational mind told him they would not be here with him, it was impossible that they could be in the same place as he was.

"Kurosaki-kun," Ichigo eyed widened and his head shot up, he did not react to his name, but to the person who said it.

"Orihime," Ichigo breathed out, frantically searching for where her voice was. "Orihime!"

Ichigo charged off into the forest, searching for her, listening to her voice, she was here and he had to find her.

For hours Ichigo ran through the thick amazon jungle searching, with no apparent course or single direction to his movement. Driven by the urge to find Orihime, she was here somewhere in this forest. He could hear her calling to him, at times it was close and others it was distant, but he could always hear her when she called.

"Kurosaki-kun," Ichigo burst through a bush and into an open clearing.

He scanned the area and found her; she was standing only a few meters away from him. Despite the distance Ichigo could see the worry in her eyes; she was scared and looked to be on the verge of tears. Ichigo ran to her, he was happy she was safe and that he could finally take her back home. Ichigo didn't stop; he kept running and didn't let anything get in his way, not pain or exhaustion.

He reached for her and she did the same, as they were a hairs breadth from contact she disappeared. Ichigo fell into a heap on the ground in shock, his lungs were burning and his entire body demanded he stop. Yet despite this he tried to understand what happened, she was right there, he was so close.

"I was there, I saved her," Ichigo struggled to keep his composure as his frustration and stress tore at his rationality. "Why couldn't I save her?!"

Ichigo wanted and answer, someone to tell him why, and when he heard it he felt a cold chill run up his spine.

"To slow Shinigami," those words, those were of that Espada, Nnoitra Gilga.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Ichigo shot up as he heard her scream, turning to where he heard it he ran faster than he should in his condition.

Pumping as much power as he could into his legs, going so far as to use shunpo to cover as much distance as possible to reach her. He felt his body grow weak and numb yet the pain did not dissipate in the slightest. He felt the bile rise in his throat and his lungs struggle to receive air.

Ichigo didn't know how long he ran for; everything was a haze of running and screaming. He lost track of time and how far he had travelled; his only thoughts were of reaching her and saving her from him. The Espada's sadistic laughter ringing in his ears, Ichigo pushed himself well beyond his limit, and felt his body forcing him to slow down.

Ichigo finally halted near the edge of a small cliff overlooking the sea, with a small bay between the waters and the cliff. He scanned the muddy area and saw a dock on the edge of the water, its design unique and strange. Yet Ichigo's eyes were not on the dock, but on the soul individual who was standing at the far end of it.

"Orihime," Ichigo murmured, turning to find a way down there.

But as he took a step forward he fell to the ground clutching his stomach, pain shooting through his body anew as physical sensation returned to him. Drawing his hand away from his bandages, he looked at his blood covered palm with a pained scowl. Standing up Ichigo tried to walk, but fell again, this time emptying the contents of his stomach onto the ground. Vomiting up a slick of black liquid, but little of anything else left his mouth. Staggering back to his feet Ichigo fought to get down there, he had to get to her and see if she was alright.

Finding a small winding path down the cliff face, Ichigo descended down it and rushed to the docks. Ichigo felt his vision go black for a moment before it returned; yet it was blurry and the colors were much duller than they should be. Ichigo couldn't run anymore, he staggered towards the docks coughing up more black liquid and his vision fading in and out.

"You are so fucking weak!" Ichigo heard the Espada laugh, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Ichigo, get up, you have to keep moving," Rukia's supportive words reached his ear, but he fell to his knee and then onto his face.

Ichigo tried to stand but he fell into the mud, his strength was all but spent. He looked up to the docks and reached forward, trying to crawl towards it.

"You're dead Shinigami!" Grimmjow this time and for once he was sure that the mad Sexta was right.

Dragging himself through the mud he reached the docks, pulling himself onto the wooden planks he pulled himself over the lip. He looked over to see Orihime standing there, looking out over the sea; the sun was beginning to set in the distance and created a brilliant glow behind her. As she turned toward him he could see the sadness in her eyes.

Ichigo dragged himself a little further, trying to get to her and make sure she was safe. But he couldn't anymore; he had nothing left to give. Even if he wanted to keep moving, his body could not.

Ichigo's last sight was of Orihime, he reached for her but as his body finally shut itself down he fell forward and let his world fade.

His mind slowly drifted away into nothing, as his pain and worry faded away as sleep or death finally took him. The last thing in the waking world he heard was from the friend he failed to protect.

"Please don't die, Kurosaki-kun."