Transcendence
Chapter 04: Recovering
Ichigo walked through his home town, Karakura town was its name. Walking through it one would see the white and plane buildings that made up the small city where tens of thousands of people lived and worked. But if they walked through what Ichigo was now, they would be in a nightmare.
All around Ichigo everything was faded and dark, yet you could see clearly through the oily appearance to see the destruction laid out before him. He could see so many things around him, blurred objects that he could be made out as black blots in his vision. He could also hear many different things, so many different things that it all turned to white noise.
It was all around him, circling and fading in and out of focus as he tried to make sense of what had happened to his beloved home. He ran through it, searching for anything, anyone that could answer his cries as he tried to understand what was happening. Every so often the world faded and was replaced with a desolate landscape within a void of darkness.
All around him he could the creatures calling to him, trying to entice him closer. He ran, trying to escape the knowing whispers that were so clear he thought they were right beside him. But as he ran from the void he returned to the destroyed town that he called home. But as he ran through it he would see thing, the black blots forming into sharper imagery. But as soon as they did he wished for them to fade, from both sight and memory.
He saw his friends, impaled on black spikes, and their body torn apart as if they had been set upon by wild dogs. Their flesh rotted and was infested with black maggots and other rodents. Their faces carried on horror and fear, their cold lifeless eyes still carrying the last remnants of that terror before they died.
Ichigo turned away from the sight, to horrifying to see people he had grown up with in such a manner. But as his sight turned from that it set upon and even more gruesome one.
His family lay on the ground, in polls of blood, as Hollows surrounded and slowly devour them. Ichigo stepped back, despairing at the sight of young Yuza as she stared at him with wide open dead eyes. He could almost feel the accusation in them, asking why he did not save her, why he was not there to protect everyone.
Ichigo recoiled back, his entire being shook with fear and grief as he tried to survive the horrow he was witnessing. He felt his foot tap into something, looking down he saw it was a hand. And at closer inspection he realized to his rising dread it was that of Rukia. On the ground, the lower half of her body completely gone, blood and bodily organs fell through and splattered across the ground.
He looked back and saw that she was not alone; all the Shinigami he knew lay there. Piled on top of one another and evaporated and brutalized in ways he could never imagine. Ichigo sunk to his knees and tried to cover his ears, the white noise soon faded and the cries of those he lost called to him.
"Nii-chan!" Ichigo heard his sisters calling, their screams echoing all around him. "We're so scared; where are you?!"
"Ichigo!" Tatsuki screamed, fear present in her voice. "What's going on?"
"Don't leave us!" His sisters cried out, their words choking in their throats.
"Where are you? We need your help, why aren't you here?" Rukia called, frantic and terrified, Ichigo rocked back and forth covering his ears in futility as he tried to block out their cries.
Shutting his eyes did not stop as the world continued to appear before him. His friends dying and being impaled, screaming for someone to save them. His family all crying out for him, as they are surrounded by Hollows. His Shinigami friend, being cut down by Arrancar mercilessly, hacked apart like lambs for the slaughter.
"How unfortunate that your weakness is the cause of all this,"
Ichigo looked up and saw Aizen, looking down at him with the same haughty smile and his hands in his pockets. Standing before the pile of all the Shinigami Ichigo come to know and consider friends and allies.
He could see their faces, all mixed with horror as their wide dead eyes stared at him. He could see it despite them being lifeless, the accusations and the demands; they were asking why he wasn't there to save them. Demanding to know why he let them all die.
"Had you been stronger, they would not have suffered as they did," Aizen said, breaking Ichigo's already shattered spirit even further.
Ichigo sat there in the darkness as his world crumbled around him. He had lost everything and there was nothing left for him, it was all over he had failed everyone. He screamed to the heavens above, as blood rained down upon everything, turning the entire world red.
Wallowing in the blood drenched dirt Ichigo cursed himself for not being there when they needed him. He tried to save Orihime and yet he was still too weak to save her, and now he had last everything he held dear to him. Always he let others down and failed to protect them and this was the result, he a shield with nothing to defend. He was worthless.
Ichigo's world darkened as a massive shadow appeared above him. Ichigo didn't care much to look back, yet he had enough to acknowledge that a being was standing behind him. A massive shadow of a large horned and wings demon stood above him. Its flaming green eyes glaring into the substitutes own now glazed orbs. Ichigo's saw its claw rise and prepare to strike, yet he did not move or care for the coming blow.
He had nothing left and now he would at least find some peace in oblivion. His last thing he felt before darkness claimed him completely was large claws ripping open his throat and the taste of blood in his mouth.
Ichigo shot up from his bed with a cry of shock, his hand moving to his neck and feeling if it was still there and unperforated. He found that his neck was not ripped open, much to his relief, but that did little to settle his thundering hear. Ichigo breathed heavily as sweat poured down his body, his eyes darted around the room trying to search for anything that was trying to harm him.
He saw no one else, he was alone. As his heart and nerves settled he began to take in his surroundings in much more detail. He first realized that he was sitting comfortably on a bed; the sheets were damp with sweat and in some cases droplets of dried blood.
Gazing further around he saw he was in a small room with a balcony that took up the whole wall beside his bed, giving him a view of a waterfront. He could hear the waves moving gentle in the distance and smell the salt water of the ocean. Ichigo also heard others; he could hear casual conversation in the distance yet couldn't pick up on the words.
Ichigo tried to stand and find out where he was, but was stopped when two hands grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back onto the bed. Ichigo grew frantic for a moment, thinking he was being attacked again; he tried to struggle but halted when he saw it was not a demon trying to kill him. But a woman, similar to the people he saw in that ruined city.
She had long green hair and even longer eyebrows. Over her glowing white eyes were green tattoos of a strange design. She was quite tall as well, standing around six feet seven inches, and she had a very lithe a curvaceous form. Ichigo may be prude but even he can notice a beautiful woman when he wanted to. Yet despite that he could feel the strength behind her, she was strong most definitely as she kept him down easily enough with some effort.
"Stop, you mustn't move, your wounds have not been healed," She said, pressing down harder to get the point across, Ichigo actually winced a little as his shoulders flared a little. Obviously she was right that his wounds hadn't healed, those spikes in his back were still causing him all kinds of drama.
"Who are you?" Ichigo asked quickly, he had a lot more questions going through his mind but finding out if this person was friend or foe was probably for the best.
"My name is Shyria, now please rest," She pulled the blanker over the substitute and placed a hand over his chest. "Remain still, I will retrieve the healer."
She straightened up from the bed and quickly left the room, leaving a bewildered and shocked Substitute Shinigami to ponder what was going on. Ichigo had no idea what was happening, he looked around to find himself in a very homely room. He could see a small dresser nearby and also several other pieces of furniture, all were made of finely crafted timber.
Obviously it wasn't a cell so he didn't have any reason to think these people thought him a prisoner, unless they give accommodation and treatment to their detainees. But either way he had the find out where he was and what he was dealing with if he was under house arrest or something along those lines.
Ichigo threw the sheets aside and swung his feet off the side of the bed, ignoring the sudden ache of his muscles as he did so. Standing up slowly he took a step forward and fell down to a knee before his foot could touched the ground. Straightening up Ichigo steadied himself this time, feeling a little dizzy as he tried to keep himself from falling again.
As he stumbled out onto the terrace, his body falling onto the railing that saved him from a likely painful fall. His gaze rose up and out to the afternoon sun that descended over the horizon off over the ocean.
His gaze scanned the world he could see from his balcony, finding that he was in a large settlement. He could see several buildings lining the shoreline, while further in he saw a large forest area. Although the local was interesting it on its own, it was the people who were occupying this settlement that drew his attention.
Long eared and oddly coloured skinned men and woman, the closest things he could think of was something out of a fantasy novel he might have read once a few years ago. Ichigo couldn't believe what he was seeing, there was no way this could be what he was looking at right now. Ichigo wanted to say this was a dream, the sheer outlandishness of this situation was simply to impossible for him to believe.
But with all he had felt and been through he knew better than to deny it. After all many thought souls and gods were non-existent, yet he was one of the few to know the contrary. Maybe this was some sort of spiritual realm where all these mythological beings all existed. It would make sense considering there were more than just one spiritual realm out there than just Soul Society and Hell. Hueco Mundo could attest to that theory, but then why wasn't he told about it? Did Soul Society and everyone else know?
"I told you to remain in bed," Ichigo turned to see the woman who was there when he woke up.
But she had two people behind her, a large man and young woman.
The elven woman rushed over and took Ichigo by the arm, slowly walking him back to the bed. She was muttering in some sort of language Ichigo couldn't understand, but he knew enough that she was talking about him.
"I may not be a druid but I can tell when you are unwell and shouldn't be out of bed," Ichigo was forced to sit and then lay down; she kept her hands firmly pressed onto his shoulders as she glared into the substitutes eyes. "Do not rise from this bed again, understood?"
It was practically an order, an order that she expected an answer from and only the right one.
"Okay," Ichigo replied, not wanting to see how she would act if he tried to ignore her orders to stay in bed.
"Good, I will leave him to you then Quintis," She said, taking her hands of Ichigo's shoulder and walking over to the waiting man and woman.
"Ande'thoras-ethil," The man said, nodding towards the woman.
"I hope so, it has not been easy handling him since he arrived here," She replied with a tired sigh, moving off towards the door, with all those night terrors and screaming she has barely been able to get any sleep.
As she left the room Ichigo was left with two people who sat beside his bed. The man was a staggering seven feet in height, and was a solid build of muscle. Long green hair and a heard covered his weather-beaten face as he stared down at Ichigo. He wore simple green and brown leather clothing and held a crooked shepherds staff in his hand.
Beside him was a young woman, maybe a teenage from how young she looked and also how small she was in comparison to the woman from earlier. She had long purple hair that fell freely down her back, with long eyebrows and glowing white eyes. She wore similar cloths as to the man, yet they clung to her tightly, showing off her curves and feminine feature quite well.
"Hello young man, it is good to see that your condition had improved." Quintis said, yet despite his kind words his expression was that of stone, hard and not betraying any other emotion.
"Who are you? Where am I?" Ichigo asked, wanting to know where he was and also get the hell out of here.
"My name is Quintis Jonespyre and this is Adelina, you have been under our care since you arrived here," Quintis answered, gesturing to the young woman beside him before continuing. "You are currently in Feathermoon Stronghold off the coast of Feralas."
"Feralas? Where am I?" Ichigo asked, not knowing a single think in relation to exactly where he is.
He had never heard of Feralas, was it the world or was it a country or maybe it was just a little area that was called Feralas. He had to know where he was and if he was somewhere in Soul Society or in some other spiritual realm.
"As I said off the coast of Feralas, but to be more specific Kalimdor, do you not know where you are?" Quintis replied, looking at Ichigo carefully, he looked confused and anxious, that worried the Druid greatly.
"I was… in that city… trying to get away from that… demon…" Ichigo stated, trying to remember what happened to him.
He remembered the city with more of these elves; he found it almost laughable to think that these people were elves. It sounded to fantasy for his liking, sure Death Gods and vengeful spirits but still that was nothing like what he was seeing here.
How he even came to be in this place escaped him, everything was so fuzzy and broken that it was impossible for him to recall how he came here. The city he remembered, he could recall most of it, bits and pieces of his time walking through it.
'Did I lose some of my memory?' Ichigo thought, wondering if it was amnesia or possibly some sort of psychological stress brought on by not sleeping for several days and being placed in stressful situations.
Ichigo tried to recall what he saw, going over the different details in his mind as he tried to piece together his memory. He was in the city, he was running from the Demon and then he was attacked by a giant tree and then he was in the forest. He ran through it, looking for help, looking for…
'Kurosaki-kun…'
Ichigo felt his heart stop when he remembered, he saw her there. Scared, terrified, she was in danger and there was no one there to protect her.
"I need to leave, I need to get home," Ichigo said, fear seeping into his words as he tried to stand and leave.
But he found a pair of hands descended onto his shoulder and forced him back down, that girl was surprisingly strong, but he pushed back. He sat up and tried to move again, but she fought to keep him from leaving with all her strength.
"You are too injured to leave now, you must wait," Quintis said, moving forward to assist his younger counterpart if needed.
"I can't wait! I have to get back, everyone is in danger, I have to get back to Hueco Mundo," Ichigo said frantically, trying to get the young elven woman to let him go.
"Hueco Mundo?" Quintis inquired, not familiar with the words he was speaking.
"I have to leave; I need to get back there before he kills them!" Ichigo cried out, desperate to try and get back, but he was pushed back onto the bed by Quintis, and then held down by Adelina.
"Calm yourself, you cannot leave." Quintis said, with some authority in his words as his face began to crease slightly with noticeable irritation.
"I have to, my friends they're in danger, if I don't go they will die!" Ichigo yelled, struggling even more against the woman who was nearly on top of him and trying to pin the Substitute Shinigami down.
"If you go, you will die," Quintis said plainly. "Your wounds are not healed and you have only just recovered from a serious affliction, you are also in the middle of an unforgiving land. If you left you would not make it two days before hunger and thirst took you."
"Please calm down! If you stay you can recover and then leave when you are better." Adelina said, trying to calm Ichigo down who was continuing to wrestle with her for freedom.
"I can't I need to leave now!" Ichigo said, sitting back up and trying to push the woman away from him, but she held his wrists and shoulder firmly and didn't budge.
"Calm yourself boy," Quintis said, his brow furrowing and his voice growing deeper as his irritation turned to fury at the boys abandon.
Ichigo was able to twist out of Adelina's grip and tried to move to the door, but Quintis moved between him and his path. Ichigo balled his fist and despite his wounds burning he glared up at the man who was stopping him from getting home.
"Get out of…" Ichigo started, moving forward threateningly.
"I said calm yourself!" Quintis roared, releasing a powerful gale against the boy, not enough to knock him off his feet but make him recoil in shock.
Ichigo was motionless for a moment as he felt the man force him back with a gust of wind that appeared from nowhere. Ichigo's anger was forgotten for a moment as he tried to figure out how he did that, was it spiritual energy or something else.
"Good, now you will remain in that bed until we have healed you." Quintis said, moving forward and forcing Ichigo to take just as many steps back before he fell onto his bed.
Quintis stood over the young human boy and glared at him, he would make him understand that he couldn't leave here.
"And if you do not regain your senses I will beat it back into you if I have to." Quintis said, an edge to his words, and Ichigo for some reason could tell that he would do just that if he actually disobeyed his orders.
"I see you have at least enough sense when to avoid further injury," Quintis remarked quietly to himself. "You are not in your homeland anymore boy, this is Kalimdor and it is an unforgiving place for those who know nothing of its lands."
"But… I…" Ichigo started, trying to regain his composure so that this guy would understand.
"But nothing, you are injured and this forest is deadly, as are the many other regions that surround it." Quintis schooled the boy on his mistake. "Where would you go? How would you get there? You obviously don't know where you are so how would you get home?"
Ichigo tried to argue back, say that he would have found a way back. But he couldn't, he knew he was right, he had absolutely no idea where he was or where in the name of Kami that place is in relation to the realm he had landed on. But despite his loss for words and having no way to argue with the man's logic, he had to try and voice his need to return home.
"I need… I need to get back; everyone is in Hueco Mundo fighting I need to get back," Ichigo said, scared at the prospect that they may be in mortal danger, or worse, dead.
"I do not know of this Hueco Mundo, is it somewhere in the Eastern Kingdoms?" Quintis asked, he had said that term again.
Quintis had heard of the Eastern Kingdoms many years ago, about the races that live there and the trying times they had suffered. But he paid them little mind as his own home was in danger in on its own.
"What? No, you know the realm of the Hollows?" Ichigo said, he had a deep sinking feeling right now and he didn't like it one bit. "What about Soul Society, the Seireitei, the Shinigami?"
A look of confusion cross the druid's faces as they shared a look, both having no knowledge of any of these places.
"Perhaps I will leave the questioning when your mind is clear, Adelina see to his wounds and make sure they are properly healed." Quintis ordered, and the young Druid nodded before going to work, turning he addressed Ichigo next. "Eat something; you're likely famished from not eating properly of the last week and a half."
"Wait, week and a half? How long have I been here?" Ichigo became erratic; he had been out for a week and a half, that couldn't be right.
"As I said: a week and a half," Quintis said with an aggravated sigh, the boy was noisy and very uncooperative. "Now get some rest, and do not cause any more ruckus."
Ichigo slumped back, his hand on his brow as he tried to understand what was going on. That Quintis guy didn't understand a word he said, he didn't know about Soul Society or even Hueco Mundo. He didn't even realise that when he said Shinigami it meant a race of Death Gods but some other place. Where was he? Where had he been sent when that Espada threw him through that rift?
Ichigo looked to see that the young woman that came into the room was inspecting his wrist; the one he noted was broken. It was wrapped in a few thick bandages and locked in place with several wooden braces.
A moment later she cupped her hands over his wrist, and as she did her hands began to glow with a wispy green glow. Ichigo was surprised a little by the sudden action, at first he wanted to yank his hand away. Thinking it was the same as that green fire that those demons had used. But he stopped himself when he felt the dull ache in his wrist evaporate and he felt a tingling sensation work its way up his arm.
"What are you doing?" Ichigo asked, Adelina looked at him for a moment but did not halt in her channelling.
"Checking your wrist, it was broken for some time and I am making sure that it is healing properly." Adelina replied, before she gave him a smile. "You are lucky it was us who found you, had it been anyone else you may not have survived your wounds."
"How bad was it?" Ichigo asked, he knew that he had been kicked to the shit house and back a few times from a bunch of different people.
"Very, had we not found you and treated you of the corruption, you may no longer have been of this world," Adelina replied seriously, and Ichigo realized that he was lucky to have survived going through what he did.
From his fight with the two Espada and then his trip through that Nether, he was lucky he was still breathing after both experiences. But still there were a lot of things nagging at him mind right at that moment. The most important one was where he was and how he could get back home?
"I have heard the boy is awake."
Quintis stood before a large desk, its frame not straight or neatly cut, but warped. It was bumpy and bulging in different places, yet still smooth to the touch, a unique aesthetic piece for the room. Sitting behind it was the seasoned Sentinel Commander of this Stronghold, the same commander in which it was named after.
Shandris Feathermoon was a beautiful and fierce Ranger-General of the Sentinels, having ten thousand years to hone her skill as a commander and with the bow. She had long blue indigo hair tied into a pony tail; her hands were entwined together and in front of her smooth and unblemished face.
"That is correct, he woke thirty minutes ago, Adelina is tending to his wounds," Quintis replied, looking at the Sentinel Commander in the eye as he gave his report.
"Is that wise?" Shandris inquired calmly, but one could see the glint in her eye as she expressed unease at leaving a young girl in the presence of a potential danger
"He is strong, but still wounded and weak, and I trust that should he attack or threaten her she will be able to defend herself." Quintis replied, confident in Adelina's skill to protect herself and if not to find aid in the warriors that patrol this entire isle.
"If he was human I would agree with you, but the possibility he isn't still lingers," Shandris replied seriously, ever since he had come here her warriors had been on edge and she knew exactly why.
"I am certain he is human, the taint is not his own," Quintis assured his commander, yet he was not completely sure what he was dealing with.
Exposure to Fel energy corrupts the body and soul, twisting and turning it into a monstrous reimagining of your previous form. Making you akin to a demon than whatever you were before. Even subtle exposure could cause a lingering change, orcs were reported to once have brown skin, and even still they have a dark aura about them that is similar to demons.
The fact the boy was so resistant to the energy flowing through him showed that he was far from normal. There was enough Fel energy within the boy to turn him into a demon completely, yet he appeared to be completely resistant to the change and fought it off with sheer will.
But there was something else within the boy that he had sensed, it was feint and almost completely hidden. He didn't know what that power was, but whatever it could be; it was enough to resist the corruptive influence of the demonic.
"How can you be sure, he could be a demon possessing a body?" Shandris said, bringing Quintus back to the conversation.
"I have foreseen such things, and I know that he is not possessed or harbouring any demon." Quintus replied, but there was still a question lingering in his mind. "Yet the fact he was exposed so severely makes me wonder what was the cause of his corruption."
"Were you able to figure out where he came in contact with this energy?" Shandris said, she could only name a few places her could have come from, especially if he had been walking for several days. Yet with those wounds, he couldn't have travelled far, possibly from the Desolace, reports did state that there was a demon conclave near the borders.
"He made reference to a city and a demon, but before he could explain he became frantic and needed to leave. Shouting that he needed to get home and save his friends." Quintis stated, and he noted that the Sentinel Commander looked incredulous at the claim.
"So you think he is a simple victim then?" Shandris asked, not willing to simply accept that the boy was a normal victim of demonic rituals.
It was not a far-fetched theory, but still the fact that Quintus had said that the boy should be either dead or have mutated into a demon made her wonder what he was. There were few things that could resist corruption, and not all of them were good and pure. Because a foul energy cannot taint what is already foul.
"Based on his injuries, it isn't hard to deny that he was attacked, and by his account by a demon." Quintus said, and he believed him, the claws on his back were oozing with corruption, definitely demonic in nature.
"I hope your right; as much as I find this suspicious we cannot afford to have another threat appear from nowhere." Shandris let out a sigh, she had too many problems to deal with in Ferelas and she didn't need another coming her way.
"I understand, I will continue to oversee the boy to make sure he is healed and Elune willing not a threat to us." Quintis said, hoping to the Goddess that he was anything but, considering that presence he felt.
"Good, notify me if something happens." Shandris replied and waved her hand to him as a sign to leave.
Quintus departed quickly, returning to his room of the Inn, he had much to do and little time to do it. Healing the boy won't take long and he had to find out what exactly happened to him and what he was. Although this may seem to be a fool's chase, he could simply be a boy who met unfortunate circumstances.
But he had to make sure that was not the case otherwise there could be consequences that he even he couldn't begin to imagine happening. As he sat at his desk he looked at the two items he had acquired from the boy.
A large black and silver blade, the weapon matching the boy carried in height equally, it was a work of a master craftsman and had not a single scratch marred it surface. When it was brought here it was covered in blood and splinter of wood that clung to the drying gore. The boy had certainly been fighting, and from the looks of it, demons and trents. This would likely help him narrow down where the boy was when he was attacked and tainted.
But despite the weapons obvious durability, it was unremarkable, no great imagery laid across its surface nor did it have a hilt or cross guard. Only those who looked with their eyes would see a simple blade that likely needed to be sent back to the blacksmith to get a new handle. But if you were attuned to forces beyond the normal realm of perception, as was Quintus, you could see that it was more than just a blade.
This blade held within it power, great deals of power that radiated off the blade in pulses not to dissimilar to a heartbeat. Quintis felt it whenever he touched the weapon; it was heavy not only in weight but the power that flowed from it. It felt as if the very essence of the weapon was weighing down on his entire being by simply holding it.
Was there a consciousness within the blade, telling him that he was unfit to wield the weapon? These thoughts ran through the wizened druids mind for many nights as he tried to study the weapon and learn its secrets. To pass it off as a normal blade would be to pass off the Moon Well as a simple water hole.
He knew that there was more to this boy; after all he had felt something beneath all that demonic energy when he came here. Quintis knew that the boy may appear human but he was something more than that. He didn't know why but he felt like he had to find out what it was, the importance of it outweighed all other things.
Quintis just hoped that what he found was not what he prayed the boy was not.
Ichigo was alone in his room now; Adelina had left about two hours ago after checking his wounds and rewrapping his bandages. She also did some weird healing kido on him, when he asked about it she said it was druidic magic. He had heard of a druid before, he remembered something about them being a cult back in Ancient Europe.
Yet from where he was sitting it looked like something out of a fairy tale, but he knew better than to pass it off as fiction, he was a death god from another world so who was he to judge.
But as he lay there on the soft bed he could do nothing but stare blankly at the roof and think about what has happened over the last few days. Since his arrival in Hueco Mundo and up till now, everything had spiralled out of control. And as of now things were only getting worse.
He hadn't noticed it at first but there were some very unsettling things he had discovered. The first thing he noticed was that he could eat, not to strange? Of course not, so no need to worry. But the second thing that he noticed made it apparent that everything was not okay, in fact it was very bad.
He couldn't sense any spiritual energy, not from people, not even from the world around him. Everything had no spiritual energy whatsoever; he found that weird, but also very disturbing. Soul Society and Hueco Mundo were both build upon spiritual particles, as was the world of the living built on normal matter.
So that meant that this place wasn't a spiritual realm like them, meaning this was like the world of the living. But he was certain that this was not the world of the living that he called earth, not by a long shot.
He had so many different theories going through his head, and the ones he was coming up with were only making his apprehension worsen. So many different things kept popping into his head and as he dug deeper he found them almost all could be true.
He had travelled through some sort of dimension realm, called the Twisted Nether. It was almost similar to the Dangai, except a lot bigger and full of more than just one thing wanting to kill you. But it was much more different than the Dangai between the World of the Living and Soul Society.
He noted that the Nether was outside the normal law of physics and also seemed to be in the void of space. He saw nebulas and planets across the sky, if that didn't say space then he didn't know what did. Ichigo could eat and drink water, despite being a spiritual being and that being impossible because spirits can't drink normal food as normal matter and spiritual matter can't mix. Meaning that he has a faux body, but that was also an impossible thing, how did he get a fake body?
This place was not a spiritual realm as there was no spiritual energy or particles in the air, meaning it was similar to the world of the living. But if this place was not earth, then it came down to something that made his blood chill. He was on a completely different planet.
That thought alone made his blood chill and his heart stop beating; he had been sent to another world across space and was more than likely trapped on it. He had been sent here through the rift by that damn Espada. He had been sent to die, but now he was going to be living with a far worse fate. Trapped on a world while everyone back home is either in danger or doesn't know where he is. The thought alone made him want to die, he was stuck here away his friends and family who could be dead and he wouldn't even know about it.
He remembered the different images he saw in his nightmare, his friends and family being murdered and Aizen being the one organising the killing. It felt like he was going insane and this was some kind of twisted hell, looking calm and peaceful yet he was away from his home that he didn't know still existed or not. The fear of not knowing was worse than the despair of knowing, and he was experiencing it right now.
Ichigo felt himself cracking under the pressure; he was trapped on another world. He could simply start running around saying this is all wrong, this couldn't be another planet and he was overreacting. But that was foolish because of two simple facts. There were two freaking moons in the sky and he was surrounded by a race of people he has never seen before and was up until a few hours ago thought only to be a myth.
Ichigo felt so weak, not from the long day or the damn affliction that Quintus said he was recovering from. But the revelation that he had finally answered his question and brought about the cold truth that he had been dreading since he got here. Where the hell am I?
Ichigo let his eyes close and prayed for dreamless sleep so that he wouldn't be haunted anymore of what may be happening back home.
Three days had passed since then, Ichigo was still restless. Every day he felt what sanity he had left was slowly slipping away from him. He didn't even feel like eating anymore, losing his appetite at the fact that he would be stuck on this planet for the rest of his days. How was he meant to keep going when he didn't know if he was needed back home, were his friends and family okay or were they in mortal danger and needed him.
Ichigo wanted to get home but knew these people couldn't help him, sure they had magic and such but he doubted they could send him to another planet. He had spoken a few times with Adelina, learning a little from her about this place and her people, mostly vague details. But he barely listened to her entire explanations, to many thoughts were going through his mind; most he wished would leave and never come back.
Adelina seemed quite interested in him though, likely because he is the only one of his kind on this entire planet. She kept asking what humans are like and such, from what they do and their culture. He gave her a few things he knew and let her sum it up on her own. He didn't mind her really, she was nice and friendly enough, but he wasn't in the mood to make any friends.
For now he was strolling around the forests on the island, Quintis said he should walk around and get some fresh air and work out his muscles. Saying he should be well enough to walk around unhindered. But still it did little to help him get his mind off his current predicament, trapped and with no way home.
"Ichigo, are you feeling alright?" Adelina inquired suddenly, Ichigo looked at her and saw her concerned features.
She was always by his side helping him around, saying she is his healer and she needed to make sure he was healthy in body and mind. Ichigo was thankful she saved him, but right now it would have been better if he died. Being trapped here and unable to get home, that would depress anyone, but for him he was going insane at the thought of being forced away from his home.
"Yeah, don't worry about me, I feel fine." Ichigo replied, shaking off her concern and returning to his thoughts, something he realized were only making him feel worse.
"Ever since you woke you have been very disheartened, what is wrong?" Adelina inquired once more, leaving Ichigo to ponder what to say.
He couldn't really tell her what was really going on; there was no way of knowing how these people could react. If he said he was a Death God she would think he was insane or in the slightest chance believe him, they could react in all kinds of ways. Putting him into an asylum, or whatever counts for a madhouse around here. Or more likely, kill him outright as a potential danger.
"I have people back home, family and friends, and when I was sent here there was a battle going on," Ichigo started, despite him only telling her a skimmed version he couldn't help but feel his frustration work its way onto his features and his fists clench tightly by his sides as he said the next few words. "I'm afraid that their dead and I need to get back to make sure their okay."
Adelina was quiet for a moment, weighing his words and his reaction as he spoke them. She could see that he was very distraught, obviously they meant a great deal to Ichigo. To see him deteriorating in such a manner because he couldn't be there was something she hoped to save him from suffering.
"I will speak with Quintis, maybe he can help you return home," Adelina said, smiling reassuringly at Ichigo as they continued their walk.
Ichigo would have been happy about that; he knew eventually he would need to tell them about what he is. But he would like to do it at least in a way where they can't accuse him of being a demon or monster. Or a mental patient.
Ichigo returned to his room with Adelina as night fell over the small island, Ichigo flopping onto his bed and laying there. While Adelina took up position next to him, still eager to speak with him on his culture and what being a human was like. Ichigo didn't know why she was so interested in it, what made him such an interesting subject.
"Can I ask you something?" Ichigo inquired, Adelina nodded in affirmation. "Why are you so interested in me?"
"I have never seen a human before and been able to speak with one about their ways," Adelina said, fascination in her eyes, obviously meeting him must have been a big moment. "I have always liked observing different cultures, but usually they are savage and primitive, like the trolls or ogres."
"Yeah, what makes you think humans are so different than them?" Ichigo asked rhetorically, looking out at the last flicker of sunlight that was setting over the horizon and hoping that he could at least get some rest and maybe a dreamless sleep.
"Because your people have always fascinated me, you seem so much like us but are so different," Adelina replied, smiling slightly.
"Wait, always? What do you mean always?" Ichigo asked, it sounded like she had known about the human race for a long time now, but that couldn't be possible.
"Well when your people came here from across the sea we didn't know who or what you were," Adelina said. "You were a completely new race; one we never knew existed, on another continent we never knew still existed."
Ichigo sat there shocked, what she was saying couldn't be true. There were humans here? On another planet, that couldn't be possible. It had to be something else; maybe he had been going about this all wrong.
"There are others out there, humans like me?" Ichigo asked, rising up and looking at her with hope and anticipation on her answer.
"Yes, but why are you so surprised…?" Adelina started, but Ichigo beat her to the punch as he leapt out of her bed and kneeled down right in front of her.
"Tell me about them." Ichigo said, grabbing her shoulders and looking her in the eye.
"What?" She said, surprised by his sudden action and liveliness.
"Tell me all you know about these people, where did they come from and where are they." Ichigo pleaded, if there were humans here then maybe everything wasn't lost.
The chance of humans being on another planet was impossible; no two same species could exist on the same planet no matter the similarities between one world and another. Maybe he got carried away with that line of thinking of being on another planet. Maybe this was some sort of dimension he was stuck in, or possible just another realm between realms, like Hueco Mundo.
"Well, I don't know much, I know a few things." Adelina said, deciding to tell Ichigo all she knew about the human race from what she had heard in hearsay and bits and pieces of information.
Shandris leaned heavily on her desk; she was tired, both physically and mentally. Ever since she arrived here in this forest and settled on this isle nothing good has come of it. Her forced were meant to observe a Naga force that was massing on the Isle of Dread off the coast of Feralas. The same Isle that was only a mile off the same one she was occupying as her fortress.
Originally she intended it to be on the mainland, situated on the Forgotten Coast. But with Sea Giants in the area along with rampaging water elementals that was impossible without having to sacrifice many lives to secure the area. So she had to take the isles.
Her forces were only eighty in number, a powerful force in the right hands of a skilled commander. But even so she was dealing with a lot more than just Naga; more threats have entered this place over the last few months. The Horde being one of these threats, they had set up an outpost near the lower wilds and deep into the forests.
But luckily they were far enough away to not be a major issue, but even if that was the case they still had their hands full. The Naga were indeed massing on the isles, rising up from the sea and gathering an army.
"We need to attack them quickly, they are gaining numbers too quickly," Shandris looked to one of her officers, one of several within the room.
Felenora was the one who spoke, but Shandris did not agree with her words.
"They may be growing in number, but we cannot attack them without thinking." Shandris said, an attack on the Isles would be suicide.
The Naga were amphibious serpent people, they were dangerous on land and even worse in the water. If they tried to take the Isles, they would be surrounded and trapped with no way of escaping. If their backs are to the water, the Naga who hide beneath the waves could easily attack them, trapping them on two fronts.
"We cannot wait for them to strike first, we may not be able to overcome them with skill and determination alone," Sierras said, looking over the maps. "They already outnumber us two to one, and that continues to grow and lessen our chances of defending this isle from an attack."
"We are also very close to their main strongpoint, we would little warning of an impending attack," Another officer stated.
"I am fully aware of this; I chose this isle as it is isolated and also defendable." Shandris said. "We have been preparing this fortress for months now, to weather an attack when it comes."
"The Naga may have numbers on their side, but when they come they will face a hail of arrows from the roofs of our structures and the canopies of our trees." Shandris said. "Alert the Sentinels to take up positions, and start preparing for an assault."
"We may not have the numbers needed to repel them," One officer stated, some unease in her tone.
"If it is not numbers we need, then let the resolve of our warriors be what drives these vile creature back into the depths from which they came." Shandris said. "Go and prepare the warriors, we likely do not have much time on our hands."
Shandris kept her eyes on the map as her officers filed out; despite being determined that she would be victorious she knew that the odds were against her. She had little defence for the Isle, no walls or barricades; it was open on all sides for an attack. She had expected such things, but not against the numbers she was seeing here.
Just fewer than one hundred warriors were hers to command and all of them may not be enough to stop the enemy that will likely be bearing down on them in a matter of days. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed help to win this. Yet none would come.
She had requested reinforcements over two weeks ago, yet the only reply she was met with was excuse. That most of the Sentinels were being redirected to defend Ashenvale, from constant harassment from the Warsong Clan. Shandris agreed with this action, yet they had reserves and other ranger parties in other regions that could assist her.
But again she was denied, and left with the small few she had under her command. Every single day she waited the enemy grew stronger, but she could do nothing but wait. An attack would only end in disaster, assaulting the coast of the Isle of Dread with so few would result in half their deaths. Leaving the other half to defend the captured beach, as the Naga circled them from all directions. Leading to a final stand, and inevitable deaths.
Shandris prayed that when the attack come they would be ready for it and that this fortress will be in Night Elf hands when the battle is done.
Ichigo was looking over a large map of central Kalimdor, courtesy of the Inn Keeper Shyria. Ichigo had a lot on his mind right now, but none of it was filled with despair or doubt, but hope of returning home. He may have found a way to get back and right now he was looking for a certain place that may hold the answers to doing just that.
He moved his finger over the map looking over several different locations that were displayed over the hand drawn leather map. His target he found off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh, Theramore Isle, the only Alliance settlement in Kalimdor.
He had learned a lot from Adelina, mainly about the human's that live in this world. Mainly about where they are and also a little bit about their people and what they are like. One thing he found out that was interesting was that they use magic, not like what Adelina could use. A different kind of magic, one that manipulate powerful forces of this world and beyond to achieve feats beyond the capabilities of normal men.
With this power they could do much, summoning fire from nothing and incinerating a person or an entire force with a wave of their hand. Others can bring hailstorms to rain down shard of ice and even freeze a person solid. And even turn a person into sheep, that's kind of neat.
They also were adapting at creating portals and teleporting themselves across great distances, sometimes saying form one side of the world to the other. Ichigo had caught onto this instantly and question Adelina on it, she didn't know much about the subject as she did not study the Arcane, as they called it.
But she said that in Theramore that the leader of the city was a powerful Magi named Jaina Proudmoore, who is said to be a master of the arcane. Ichigo knew exactly what he had to do from that point on.
He needed to leave for Theramore as soon as possible, and find Jaina Proudmoore. If he was able to convince her about what he was and also about his problem, then she could help him return home but creating a portal. She would likely have some sort of spell that could send him back, to his dimension or planet or whatever he was from. If she did that he could get back and save everyone.
But he needed to be quick about it; he had been here for nearly two weeks and who knows how long in that Twisted Nether. The sooner he left the sooner he returned home; he looked over the map and found the quickest path he could find. But still it would be a hell of a hike; it was literally from one side of the continent to the other.
Even worse he would need prevision, food, water and other supplies in case he comes across something. Ichigo quickly got to work on figuring out what he needed, he had a plan now and a way to get home.
