Transcendence
Chapter 06: Unveiling
Shandris sighed a little, both in some content and also exasperation. She was content with the fact her fortress was being repaired, the buildings and structures were being rebuilt. In the last two days the stronghold that bore her name was nearly finished its reclamation. All the buildings were in perfect order, simple touch ups and repairs were being made, and within a few hours the Stronghold would be fully restored.
But her exasperation lay in the one who had single handily saved it from being destroyed. He was the one who defeated all those Naga singlehandedly, with a single swing of his sword, Ichigo Kurosaki. A human, in appearance, that possessed powers that she had never witnessed before in her ten thousand years.
Never had she seen the power that he wielded, capable of destroying a small army with a single slash. It was impossible to think that a boy so young could wield it, but she knew not to think him ordinary. He was more than human, that was for certain. She remembered her conversations with Quintis very well, she remembered the warnings she was given as to the boy's apparent hidden power.
She gazed out over the fortress for a moment longer; she leaned heavily on the railings of the balcony. She turned and looked at her company; Quintis was standing there and waiting contently in silence. He had been busy the last two days tending to the boy, trying to determine what he did and also what he was. Hopefully this visit would be more forthcoming with details than the last few.
"Is he a demon?" Shandris asked, wanting to either confirm or denounce her fears of what the boy may be.
"No, he is not a demon," Quintis replied.
"Are you certain, he could have simply been hiding it," Shandris countered, making sure that Quintis wasn't simply trying to save face from being wrong about his theory.
"I am certain; his power had not a single ounce of taint within it, in fact his power reminds me of another group that even I find hard to believe," Quintis said, actual doubt seeping into his words as he tried to speak it. "The Ancients."
Shandris looked at him sharply, not believing what she was hearing, from him of all people. He was actually suggesting that this boy was on similar terms to one of the Ancients, like Cenarius and Molorne. Preposterous, there is no way they could be so similar.
"You cannot be serious, saying such a thing is preposterous, maybe even sacrilege," Shandris said, she had little knowledge on the customs of the Druids, but actually saying that this being was similar to them sounded wrong.
"I said he is like them, for they are the closest divine beings I have ever been permitted to be within the presence of," Quintis clarified.
He doubted it as well, the mere thought of a simpe human boy possessing power similar to that of the Ancients sounded laughable. But he could not deny that he felt a powerful force within him, bound to the spirit realm. He had seen Elementals, Spirits of Nature, The Ancients and even felt the power of the Aspects. Yet this boy was like nothing else he had seen before.
His power reminded him of the Ancients. Simply because they had been risen up by a divine power and given purpose. When he sensed the boy he felt a similar sensation, the boy had been given this power from a divine source. Though not as bright and illuminating as Elune, he still sensed that beneath the dark oily substance on his being, he was someone who was made to bring balance.
"I cannot explain it, but the very essence of the boy, the divine power within him is not inherently evil, dark yes, but not evil," Quintis stated, appearing deep in thought.
"How can you be sure of this?" Shandris asked directly, facing him fully and looking at him carefully and wanting a direct answer. "I have never seen power such as his, even when basking in the presence of the Ancients I have never seen it."
"But you have not seen them unleash their powers against their enemies, I have," Quintis replied, he was there when the Ancients took to the field against the Legion ten thousand years ago. He knew very well what they were capable of, and he saw that same power within the boy.
"I hope you are right, because if he isn't, then we will have to deal with the boy," Shandris said.
As their conversation ended they were greeted by a sentinel, she walked in briskly and bowed to Shandris quickly.
"What is it?" Shandris asked.
"The boy is awake; he is demanding to know why we are holding him as a prisoner," The sentinel replied curtly.
Shandris and Quintis shared a glance before quickly moving off the balcony and towards the exit, not a single word was said between them. They knew what they had to do and where to go, they wanted answers and they were going to get it.
"Why the hell are you pointing your swords at me?!" Ichigo shouted, looking at the dozen or so Night Elf warriors pointing all sorts of weapons at him.
He had just woken up and felt like he had a hangover, guess depleting your spiritual energy did have some bad after effect if you didn't die. But he didn't expect to have a lot of warriors in his room and all of them basically jumping at him and pointing their swords and arrows at him. What the hell did he do to them?
"Quiet, do not move from that bed or we will end you," one Sentinel said, the tip of her sword at his throat.
"What the hell? Why are you threatening me for? What have I done to you?" Ichigo asked, gritting his teeth when they simply remained silent and had their weapons remain in place.
"If you must know, I ordered them to," Immediately the sentinels backed away, but their arrows were still aimed at him. "For we cannot know for certain if you will do something that threatens us."
Ichigo looked at the doorway and saw a woman walk in; she wore the same uniform as the sentinel but had some finer details on her armor. He also noticed the stoic face of Quintis as he walked in and beside the woman.
"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, not understanding what she was talking about.
"After your little display two days ago, I have decided to keep you under guard until I decide what to do with you," Shandris said.
Ichigo was silent for a moment, thinking hard and then remembering what happened when he blanked out. The Getsuga Tensho, he remembered using it and then everything went black.
"Wait a minute; just because I stopped those snake things you're holding me prisoner?" Ichigo asked, irritated by these people.
"Your deeds are not in question here, the methods in which you carried them out are," Shandris replied.
"What, I just used magic to stop them, what's wrong with that, Quintis over there does it all the time," Ichigo said, although he didn't really like saying the words.
He didn't really think he was using magic when using Zangetsu; it was more along the lines of its special ability. But still he had no idea how to clarify the weapon; also he couldn't tell them what he was. He had no idea what the hell these people would do, and from the looks of it if he did they might get even more aggressive and possibly violent.
"That was not normal magic boy; it was Divine power, used by powerful spirits and gods." Quintis said, staring at the boy seriously with his amber eyes.
"Tell me Ichigo, are you a Primal God?" Shandris inquired, she doubted he was an Ancient and wouldn't bother with that kind of question. The only thing she could consider close to them would be one of those savage spirits that the Trolls worship. Although she detested the thought of them being used in comparison to the guardian spirits of Hyjal, they did not deserve to be compared to such things.
"A what?" Ichigo asked, dumbfounded, Primal Gods? What the hell was that?
"Do not play coy with us boy, I can sense the spiritual energies within you, I have for some time." Quintis said, his usual frown deepening as he gazed down at Ichigo.
"You can sense it?" Ichigo asked, almost hitting himself a moment later at realizing he just blurted that out, why the hell did he do that.
"I am attuned to Nature and many forces of this world; it is mere child's play to determine that you hold power not of the mortal plane," Quintis replied, looking at Ichigo seriously before answering in a low and dangerous tone. "What are you?"
Ichigo didn't respond, he was conflicted on what he could say and what he shouldn't.
"We want an answer now, so it is best you speak, and you best not lie for I will know and ensure you do not lie again," Shandris warned him, glancing to her warriors who all had their weapon at the ready but formed a semicircle around Ichigo as incentive to make sure he understood.
Ichigo's mind went into overdrive trying to figure a way out of this, everything was going wrong. He was surrounded by a group of warrior women and also a likely powerful magical druid, and he had no power what-so-ever to defend himself and he was unarmed. So defending himself or escaping was out of the question.
But there was also the fact that he couldn't really tell them about who he was, because he was forbidden from doing so and also because these people are bat shit crazy from the looks of it. If he told them he would likely be burnt for being some sort of monster from the afterlife or from hell or some other superstitious crap.
But looking at the situation he was in now, going either way could yield the same result. If he ran he would die, if he talked he could die, if he remained silent they could result to torture or some other means of interrogation. Basically he was stuck with no way out other than to cooperate and hope for the best.
Letting out a sigh, he made his choice.
"Fine. I am a Shinigami, it means Death God or Soul Reaper," Ichigo said, some of the sentinels narrowed their eyes while Shandris arched and eyebrow.
"Shinigami, a strange title, tell me: what exactly is a Death God?" Shandris inquired, she could see it in his eyes, and no deceit was given when he spoke about who he was. And she doubted she needed to say it from the title he gave her; she doubted anyone would be foolish to make up being a god.
"A Shinigami is a spirit that sends the earth bounds souls of the dead to the afterlife, they find them and tap the pummel of the sword on their forehead and send them on their way," Ichigo said, giving them a rundown of what a Shinigami does. "They are also charged with cleansing Hollows, they are souls that have remained in the world of the living for too long and have lost their heart and turned into creatures of despair."
"When a hollow loses their heart they start hunting down other souls and try to devour them, attempting to fill the void in their souls. A Shinigami comes and removes that and is able to send their soul into the next world," Ichigo finished and waited.
"Interesting," Quintis said, glancing at Ichigo. "You ferry the dead to the next world, tell me of this place."
"Uhh, well… were not supposed to tell you…" Ichigo started, but as the bows shifted slightly. "Hey! Calm down, it's the rules; I'm not even supposed to be telling you this now!"
"Why, my people are blessed by the presence of many beings that wander the Emerald Dream and gifted by the Goddess herself," Shandris said, looking at him and wondering. "If you are a farrier of souls to the spirit world, who is it that you serve?"
The concept of the afterlife was always something many philosophers debated over, some making up strange theories as to where the soul goes after death. Some claim that they go to the Emerald Dream upon death, entering it and living there as they would here in eternal paradise. Others thought they would be risen up to the moon and live within a city that their goddess resides. A few even thought of a completely different spiritual realm where all souls go, no matter what race or beliefs one held.
The afterlife was not very easy to confirm, after all, when you have so many different spiritual planes you begin to wonder which one you go to or if there are others yet to be discovered.
"Well, I am a substitute, a human with the powers of a Death God." Ichigo said. "But all the Shinigami live in the Soul Society and that is where all the souls go."
Quintis spoke up quickly.
"The Soul Society? Is this where all souls go after death, even our people?" Quintis asked, he was one of the few philosophers that still debated on many different spiritual matters.
Shandris would have pinched the bridge of her nose at the question, she knew that Quintis was one to get overly involved in certain things and that usually caused problems. But had she done so, she would have missed the worried expression Ichigo had on his face. It was a very interesting expression; usually people believe that being worried meant only one thing, you were scared of being harmed.
That was true in this case, but for those with the right experience and training, you could tell what it was they were exactly afraid of. Shandris looked at him carefully and noted the expression that he had, he was not anxious about his surrounding or being harmed. So he likely was worried about revealing something. Based on the question he was asked a moment ago it was about the souls being sent to the afterlife, but since he showed little nervousness about his duty and when telling them where they were sent. It means that it was about who he sent there.
"Tell me Ichigo, do our people go to Soul Society?" Shandris asked, but she was not interested in the question, but rather what answer he would give to explain why they don't.
"No, they don't…" Ichigo said, she could tell he was telling the truth, but not the whole truth.
"Why is that?" Shandris asked, before Quintis could get a word in, she locked eyes with Ichigo and for a moment she could see him deep in thought thinking of the next words to speak.
"Because… I am from another world…" Ichigo said, he looked to see Shandris raised her brow in confusion.
"Do you mean a spiritual plane of sorts?" Quintis inquired.
"No, I mean like a whole different planet off in space," Ichigo replied.
That got some reactions out of them; many were looking at him with clear confusion and incredibility on their faces. Even Shandris was looking at him with slight surprise, but she kept her eyes on him and every expression he made. She saw exasperation and even some signs that he was tense, as if waiting for something to happen, but no deception.
"You are from another world in the Greater Dark?" Quintis murmured to himself, confused as to how that could be possible. "How did you come here? There is no way you traversed the distance between worlds without magical aid."
"I was thrown into a sort of portal back home, and I landed in a place called the Twisting Nether or something like that," Ichigo replied, but he didn't expect to see the grim and somewhat snarling face of the warriors, making him worry that he may have said too much.
"The Twisted Nether, the domain of the demons," Shandris growled, looking at Ichigo and finally getting the idea of why he was so wounded and also had such a foul taint on him. "How did you escape that place?"
"You know about it?" Ichigo asked, surprised they knew, he thought they would be disbelieving about different worlds and demons and all that.
"Yes, now answer my question," Shandris said with some force.
"I don't know, I was about to be killed by this big bat like guy before there was this gold light and then I was in some ruins off in the forest," Ichigo replied, raising his hands defensively as the visibly agitated warriors around him.
There was a tense, dangerously tense, silence within the room as the information was digested. Shandris remains silent and stares at him for a moment; she saw no deception or even agitation when he mentioned the realm of demons. He obviously didn't know of the importance of his passing through that realm, nor did he understand the implications of an escape from it. He was either the most gifted liar in the entirety of Azeroth, or his unbelievable tale was true.
"Quintis, let us go, we have things to discuss," Shandris said, turning and moving off towards the door.
"Hey wait! What about me?" Ichigo asked, wondering what they were going to do now that he had told them everything he knew.
"You will remain in that bed, you are not to leave it under any circumstance," Shandris said, not bothering to look back as she exited the room.
Ichigo moved to yell at her but she was already gone, the door closing behind her and leaving an exasperated Shinigami. He groaned a little, these people were very aggressive, even when talking to him they had to be so dominant and appear to be in control. He looked around and saw the arrows still aimed at him, with the rest having their hands on their swords.
"Why are you still pointing those at me?" Ichigo asked, he didn't expect an answer, and even if he did, he knew what it was going to be.
"We know what you are now, and we are not letting our guard down around you," one sentinel said, raising her arrow up right until it was pointing for the substitute's forehead.
'Terrific' Ichigo thought with a groan.
Shandris entered her private chambers with Quintis following closely behind, both were silent and did not speak a single word on their way back from the inn. Both were deep in thought on the information they had attained from the boy, the detail of his status as a Shinigami, and also his method of arriving here.
But that was little in regards to what they knew, there were many details they needed to brush over, and discover if they had any hopes of finding out who he really may be. But first they needed to discuss what they already knew about him.
"He was telling the truth," Shandris said, finding it surprising that she said that. "But I want to know how it could be the truth."
"I have to say, despite the impossibility of it, his theory does match up to several pieces of information I have gathered from him during his stay here, Quintis said, remembering several key details he had accumulated from his conversations with the boy and from Adelina.
"How so?" Shandris asked, wondering if there was a possibility, or simply just random facts that only suited the situation.
"The boy has no prior knowledge of this world, knowing nothing about the Arcane or of our people," Quintis said.
"That is not surprising, who knows maybe there are humans in the Eastern Kingdoms who have yet to hear about us," Shandris said. After all, him being part of a small community separated from the Alliance was more likely than being of a different world.
"Possibly, but he had no idea that there were humans on Azeroth what so ever, in fact when my apprentice mentioned it he became quite interested in knowing all he could about them, as well as the Arcane as I mentioned before," Quintis stated, Shandris nodded to this, remembering it clearly.
That did make some sense, there was no way that a single community or village could remain isolated for so long and not know about the outside world. Especially with what has been occurring for the last several decades, they had to know something was happening. But there was still some doubt about what the boy was suggesting, it was just too outlandish to believe.
"What about the claim of being from another world and being a Death God?" Shandris asked, wanting to see if the ever intuitive Quintis had a theory on that.
"I think we can both agree that other worlds exist, after all, the Legion is responsible for the destruction of many worlds across the Greater Dark, Quintis said, and getting a nod from Shandris. "Also from what we have learned in the last few years, the Orcs and Ogres are said to be from another world called Draenor, that is physical proof that traversal between worlds is possible."
Shandris had to agree, the Orcs and Ogres were like nothing she had ever seen before in her entire life. Although she had a lingering memory of something she remembered seeing a long time ago, something that reminded her of the orcs, but she couldn't place it.
"His status as a Death God then? I accept you felt his power, and said it was divine but dark, but could what he be saying really be true?" Shandris asked, actually wanting an answer for this question. "He who was given the power to ferry the souls of the dead to the afterlife, traverse the realms of mortals and spirits at a whim. It sounds too outlandish, even with all our knowledge we know not what lays beyond this life."
Quintis was silent for a moment, it was true, and they knew not what came after death or what would become of their souls when they departed from this life. But the boy possessed a divine power, given to him by his account, and it was similar to what he felt from the Ancients. Ichigo was not some simple spirit, but one chosen by a higher power to fulfil a duty that was instrumental to the protection of the world.
"I was not lying when I said his power was similar to that as the Ancients, he may not share their ties to nature, but he does share the essence of the power he was given to protect the world," Quintis said. "His power comes from a source that is familiar to me, but very different, had Tyrande been here, she would have thought that he was blessed by the goddess herself."
Shandris looked at him with wide eyes, was he being serious?
"You must be joking?" Shandris said, there was no way that could be true.
"His power is not his own, it was given to him not by another spirit, but his entire being was forged by a being that transcends our understanding and well out of the reaches of mortal men," Quintis said, looking out over the ocean and towards the moon, the White Lady, the symbol of Elune. "He may not have been blessed by Elune personally, but he was blessed by something else that is very similar to the Goddess."
Shandris was silent and stared at the Druid with a calm gaze, but her mind was going through many different scenarios and theories of how to denounce his claim. It was hard to do that as Quintis, despite the lack of solid evidence and here-say did make a valid point about the boy's claims to be of another world and have divine power. But there was something she needed an answer to.
"What are the chances he came here from the Twisting Nether?" Shandris asked, looking at the elder druid, who furrowed his brow in thought.
"The Twisting Nether is a prison, escape is impossible unless you open a door from the outside," Quintis said. "The chances of coming to a world, full of life and relatively safe, such as this at random are impossible at best, meaning one thing that is almost a certainty."
"He was brought here," Shandris said, to which Quintis nodded his head. "Who could have done it?"
"There are many, but him specifically of all the beings that inhabit that realm, it is even fewer, but who or what they intend to accomplish likely didn't succeed, as he is not with them," Quintis said.
"Unless he was, and just got away," Shandris said, making Quintis scowl in thought, remembering the boy found himself in a ruin when he exited the Nether. "We will need to speak with him on this, and also learn what his plans are."
"Theramore seems to be a likely course for him; possibly he is looking for a means to return home," Quintis said, remembering his very vocal stance of getting home to his family and friends.
Shandris looked at him quickly; there was no way she would let him leave these isles. Not while he still posed a threat to them or anyone else, she could not with clear conscience let him lose on the world and prey he doesn't do anything to cause harm.
"We will see soon enough," Shandris stated, moving and sitting down in her chair. "Go get him; we need to discuss this with him further."
Quintis nodded and departed, leaving Shandris to think over the events that were unfolding right before her. Everything was getting out of hand now; it was a lot more complicated than she had hoped for. A boy from another world that had the powers of a Death God, the exact nature of it still eluded her. The terms of power he could possess could be anywhere along the food chain that were Primal Gods, to Elemental Spirits, to the Ancients themselves.
He was an unknown element in all of this, and depending on what he could do, would determine if he was a threat or not. She hoped he proved to be a simple lost wanderer looking for a way home, because she did not know if they could fight against something with that kind of power.
The door to her chambers opened and coming in was Quintis, followed closely behind by Ichigo. But behind the Shinigami were twelve other sentinels who had their weapons ready and aimed at the boy. His irritation was obvious, based on the expression on his face.
"You wanted to talk to me about something?" Ichigo asked, his tone plain and sounded uninterested, his eyes looking at the different warriors who were still aiming their weapons at him.
"Yes, we have discussed about your claims of being from another world as well as what you are," Shandris said, and noticed Ichigo's gaze set solely on her. "I have yet to determine what to do because of this, and whether you are a threat or not."
"What the hell did I do to make you think I was a danger to any of you, you've been helping me ever since you brought me here?" Ichigo said.
"Yes, as it would be an obligation to help a dying boy, but we did not at first know what you were, we suspected you were a Demon, from all that fel energy you seemed to contain," Shandris said, noticing the boy's eyebrow raise slightly in confusion, another thing she had to keep a look out for, certain expressions for when she said something.
"I heard of that, I think that demon bat thing said it to me, maybe it was what was making me sick," Ichigo said, murmuring most of it to himself, remembering that almost deathly ill feeling he had when he was in the Twisted Nether.
"Yes, the demons populate that realm; they feed on the raw arcane energies there and invade worlds to satiate their endless hunger for all things," Shandris said offhandedly before moving back to the point. "But the matter still remains that we do not know what your intentions are while you are here."
Shandris gauged the young human boy's expressions and waited for a response, anything he said she could find if it was truthful or deception. There was no way she would allow him to leave this place without knowing if he was a danger, she would die before letting some unknown horror out into the world.
"I need to get back home, I can't stay here, I have people counting on me and I need to get back to them," Ichigo replied, desperation in his voice as he pleaded to leave.
"Why do you need to leave so urgently?"
"Because there is a war going on back home, a Shinigami named Sosuke Aizen is trying to take over the afterlife, basically he wants to become god," Ichigo said, actually anger working its way into his words. "The bastard has been trying to murder my friends, I can't let that happen, I need to get back and stop him."
"Hold a moment," Quintis interjected, looking at the boy seriously. "Tell us everything you know and we will discuss it, and I promise you we will make a decision forthcoming."
Ichigo was silent for a moment; he looked around and saw everyone was waiting for a response. He let out a sigh, he knew that they were a hard bunch and weren't going to let him go, he had no choice but to tell them what he had to.
"Alright, I don't have all the details but it goes like this." Ichigo started. "It all started when I had to get into Soul Society and rescue a friend named Rukia."
Over four hours had passed since Ichigo had told them of his tale of his heroic rescue of a falsely accused friend of his. Invading the domain of the Death Gods and rescuing her from execution and unravelling a conspiracy by one Shinigami to take the throne of Heaven and become the true god of that world.
How he had created an army to combat the Death Gods, using a powerful weapon called the Hogyoku. How he would sacrifice thousands of souls to create a key to gain access to the Soul Kings palace and take his throne. Bringing about a great calamity, should he not be stopped.
Ichigo had recounted it all and told them every little detail they asked about, including his language and other minor details. Searching for anything that would determine if there was any deceit in his tale, but none were found. His answers were clear and without any hesitation in replying, something that only strengthened his claim to be of another world. A fabrication would have easily been uncovered, but the boy's tale was too complex to simply be a fantasy, no one would put so much effort into it.
Shandris had sent him back to the Inn, saying she would think over it and speak with him again in the morning. She had spent nearly two hours mulling the information over in her mind, sorting through it all and making a determination. There was much she could see that still made little sense to her, despite his explanations that seemed to have gaps in it but were explained that he wasn't as well versed in those areas. A cleaver cover or simply him being truthful, either way she was left with some lingering questions as well as doubts.
Aside from that was his request, to leave and return home and try to save his world that may be on the brink of destruction. Although she would have allowed him to leave, she was stopped by lingering doubts; there were some things that prevented her from doing anything. Mainly about the boy's character, she knew little about it other than how he depicted himself in his retelling.
From what she could tell he was selfless and willing to put his life in danger for others, even complete strangers. Shedding his own blood and his enemies in order to protect others, yet never taking a single life in turn, she found that slightly naïve at leaving an enemy alive. But she cleared that from her mind for now, focusing on the boy's character.
He showed himself to be selfless and honorable, to a fault, but there was another thing that she found in his tale that caught her attention. He was humble, he would always speak about how he did this near impossible task yet didn't show or boast about it. He may have said some crude slang how he beat someone, but never did he boast and flaunt himself at it. Ichigo stated what he did and often how he did it and then moved on, never showing signs of swelling pride or arrogance.
For someone so young and temperamental he was modest, you rarely see that in most young warriors. Something she found quite admirable in the boy, despite his small eccentricities that made him seem volatile and often brutish.
"You have not spoken in some time," Shandris looked at Quintis, seeing his face lit up by the small light brought from the candles around her chamber.
"I am still mulling over whether I can trust him, and to my surprise I am finding it hard to think of him as a potential threat," Shandris said, letting out a heavy sigh. This was getting to become a very tiring and time consuming nuisance.
"I believe he could be trusted to a degree, he has not proven to be a danger to anyone in the fortress, in fact he has proven to be quite the opposite," Quintis said, looking to see Shandris was glancing at him and likely waiting for him to continue. "When the Naga attacked he took up arms and helped secure the Inn, saving likely everyone inside along with Adelina."
"Go on," Shandris said, waiting for him to make his point.
"He also protected me and her, saving us from the Naga who lead them; he saved us and pushed him away," Quintis said. "Had he not done that she would be dead and I as well."
"Are you basing this off observation or because you feel you owe him," Shandris asked.
"Both, the boy protected many others in his fight, saving them from being killed and because of that final attack, he stopped the Naga from causing a massacre," Quintis replied, looking at Shandris seriously. "The boy has proven his character, to me and to every warrior he saved that day."
Shandris remained impassive as she looked at the elder druid and weighed his words. They were right in that Ichigo had saved them from a likely horrible fate, the Naga were in great numbers and the chance of victory seemed impossible. She could not dispute the actions he performed, nor would she after that display of heroics. She wouldn't put stock in his past and actions unseen, but in what he had done here, and for that she could tell he deserved respect for what he had done.
She would need to speak with him tomorrow and let him know her decision had been made and that he will be departing these shores soon enough.
"I will tell him tomorrow he may depart for Theramore, so he can try and return home," Shandris said in response, actually surprising Quintis.
"Do you still have doubts?" The Druid inquired.
"Of course I do, I have no idea what the boy wishes to do, but I cannot hold him here indefinitely and risk him pulling some stunt to try and escape," Shandris said, letting out a defeated sigh before continuing. "Nor could I keep him here while his home may be in danger, nor could I make him wait while his family is in danger."
"Are you being objective or taking this personally?" Quintis asked, pushing the same standards onto her.
"Both, I cannot keep him here and I won't leave him to mule in despair while there is something he can do about it," Shandris said.
She remembered what it was like being young and considered still an infant, thinking you can do anything in the world and there would be nothing to stop you. She could see that determination in Ichigo's eyes, he saw a path ahead of him, to return home. And he would walk that path no matter what blocked his way.
Despite her concerns she could not allow herself to get in his way, she could find no reason to think him a liar. He wanted to go home and she would not stop him in that endeavor.
"He deserves to be with his family, I won't get in the way of that," Shandris said.
"Why?" Quintis inquired, curious to the Sentinel-Generals sudden change in demeanor.
"Because family is something no one should be ripped away from, it wounds you in ways you wouldn't believe," Shandris said, her eyes seemingly staring at something miles away. "I can see it in his eyes, the fear of losing them; I won't be the cause of someone losing the hope of being with their family again."
Not when there is a chance they can be saved.
Shandris felt some of her emotions leak through, remembering her parents, their images faded from so many millennia. But she would never forget her love for them, nor would she forget that day when they were taken from her. Taken away by demons, it had scarred her for years to come and still she felt the ache of it.
She never enjoyed that sensation, the despair and sorrow, consuming her from within and making it appear there was nothing left to fight for. She knew what it was like, and she would never allow that kind of feeling to befall another if she could help it. Shandris could still see the hope in Ichigo's eyes, hope his family and friends were alive and safe, she would not take that from him. She would allow him to hang onto that hope and continue to fight until he returned home and found them waiting for him.
It may seem a little too personal for her to make this judgment, but she found that Ichigo could be trusted. He was a good young man, and had done much for them, for this she will repay him in kind. And allow that hope to continue to burn until he returns back to his world.
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