It truly was an entire space of its own inside the hidden Precipice World. The sky was a never ending swirl of purple and black just like other sections of the realm, red clouds creating a haze throughout it from the constant flow of demonic power. The normally purple walls that flowed within had all solidified, long since cut off from any shifting time-space in the Precipice and turned into a maze of blackened walls, almost like a labyrinth of obsidian. In the distance, the long dead substance was morphed and sculpted into a dark palace, no doubt the end goal of the Soul Reaper army in their invasion. It fit for someone who controlled darkness and demons, covered in black spires and truly unwelcoming, blood red lights the only indication of any life inside.
Within the tallest spire, a silver-haired figure looked down to the tiny light he could see as the exit to the outside world. It had been some time since he had been in the World of the Living. Two years felt like so much longer in this frozen landscape. Without the normal shifting of time-space the Precipice World had, this hidden realm followed the same time flow as the Living World, but when there was no indication of day or night it was impossible to know how long one had truly spent within this labyrinth.
So far things were going as he expected. For the most part. His best case scenario had been that Theda would incapacitate her twin and deal with the Soul Reapers, allowing an easy capture of the Soul King. After that he could take whatever time he needed to take the King's crown and let Theda do as she wished until he changed this world into a far better one, thus erasing any damage she might do, even if he couldn't get rid of her. Life and Death could not be erased, only changed, even the Soul King had to respect such laws.
But, Ruala had managed to outwit Theda, returning them to more passive roles in the cycle of souls, and so things were now heading to the more complicated route he had been expecting. At the least Ruala was now dealt with and he didn't have to worry about her annoying magic. His only competition now was the Soul King himself, with no other soul capable of matching his magic, even those that had grown stronger within the Soul King's world.
His other concern was the loss of his Elites. With Luetha and Firiat now dead, he had lost two of his finest soldiers, warriors that he treated as daughters. Once he got the crown he had wanted to make sure they would stay at his side as his own Royal Guards, but he could not hold onto souls that had already passed on to a new form. The remaining three stood behind him, ready and waiting. With the enemy now inside, he had territorial advantage, but they had defeated two already. His only consolation was that two of Toshiro Hitsugaya's Royal Guards were disposed of as well.
"Make sure they split up." He ordered. Their best shot was to weaken the forces, not let the strongest fight together. With fewer Captain level and above fighters to go against, the remaining Solar Sisters should be able to wipe them out, especially within a tight space like the labyrinth. "And make sure our guest finds his new quarters in one piece."
"At your command, Master." Kazara bowed her head sharply before pivoting on her heel and leading her sisters out of the palace to head off the army.
"We'll have ourselves a little chat, Soul King, and then we will see which ending that poem has." Kamai said to himself, holding a folded paper in his hand, one edge frayed to suggest it was torn from a book. "And I assure you, I will not stop until either my ending plays out… or you kill me."
At the entrance, the Immortals signal that they see no ambush, beckoning the main force in. They came to a quick stop as they noticed an immediate problem.
The labyrinth.
Blackened walls at least ten feet high, though it shifted higher or lower in some places, their tops covered in thick brambles and thorns to prevent anyone from simply jumping up above. They could jump up on top now, but would that even help? Moving across such uneven ground was a maze of its own, and not all of the soldiers could just walk on Spirit Energy above all of it. On an order from Soi Fon, one of the Stealth Squad members jumped above to get a scouting position to make sure there was nothing hidden out of sight.
In response to the use of Spirit Energy nearby, the brambles sprung to life, seeking out the energy to fuel its movement. For so long it had only been surrounded by demons, but now it had access to the power of souls again. Startled, the assassin just barely jumped away, returning to the ground by his Captain.
"Just like the Precipice World, it reacts to Spirit Energy being used." Yamamoto noted. "If we try to go over at all, it will strike out to absorb energy for itself."
"So we have no choice but the maze." Toshiro frowned, looking to the multiple entrances into the obsidian walls, the thorns frozen once more with no soul to attach to. They could hear the laughter and shouts of demons within, no doubting eagerly awaiting them in narrow tunnels and dark corners to whittle them down one by one. "There's no point asking the full army to follow, it will be too easy to pick people off in a small space like this, and we won't have advantage in numbers anymore."
"Looks like this place was made to fend off armies like us." Ichigo scowled, not liking their situation.
"It has been made clear our enemy thinks well in advance. If he anticipated that he would be found and confronted, there's no doubt he would prepare." Poseidon agreed as he and the other Immortals returned to the main force, no ambush to be seen… yet.
"I expected the rest of his Elites and an army of demons, I should have guessed he wouldn't risk a simple raw fight between armies considering we're much stronger than the demons." Toshiro put a hand to his chin in thought. This was a huge obstacle, one he needed to consider carefully. The leaders waited patiently for orders. "No doubt the other three sister Elites are waiting for us within. In a tight space like this with no knowledge of what they can really do, it's just too risky."
"We've come this far, there's no turning back now." The leader of the Grim Reapers from England, or rather the supervisor of their Dispatch Management Division, William T. Spears, spoke gravely.
"Agreed. It's unlikely we'll be luring them back out, they have waited this long for you to come to them." One of the African leaders, T'Chaka, put in his word.
"I'm aware, but charging into a labyrinth will bring more loss than gain at this point." Toshiro argued. "I also don't like the idea that they probably want us to split up and we're just playing right into their hands."
"The choice is ultimately up to you, Your Majesty, as it's you this Dark Master is after." Zephyr of America's forces bowed her head respectfully. "Your life is far more important than ours, without you the world will fall apart."
Toshiro scowled at the reminder. He despised how valuable his life was, how careful he had to be. It felt so selfish to prioritize himself, but if he didn't and something went wrong, he took down the entire world with him. It felt so absolutely wrong to place his safety before the lives of his comrades, the people who came from far away to aid him in a fight all about himself.
"If we're splitting up we need to make sure the groups have a sufficient number of fighters Captain level and above." He stated to the leaders around him. "There are many from the Japanese branch who trained in the Soul King's realm for a time and go above Captain level, so I suggest taking one or two of them with you along with your own forces."
"And what will you be doing?" Senjumaru questioned with a stern tone. Knowing her, Toshiro guessed she wanted him to say he would hang back outside the hidden realm safely out of harm's way.
He would honestly rather eat his own foot.
"Whoever goes with me better prepare for their toughest battles yet, since I'm guaranteed to face off against one of the three remaining sisters." He stated. "I am their target."
As expected the seamstress was not at all pleased with his choice, but she didn't argue. With a trap this elaborate they were going to have to fight the sisters before they could get to their master, and the easiest way to drag them out was to trap them in return with their favorite bait.
"I will lead a group then." She spoke up. "A Royal Guard will be just as enticing to Elites like them."
"I will go with you." Her fellow guard Ichibe added in.
With them went the England branch and the Immortals, along with the boosted fighters from Japan; Byakuya, Momo and Shinji.
Ichigo and Oetsu took a third group with the African leaders and their comrades; Rukia, Renji and Kadin.
"If I may, Soul King, considering you mentioned it would be unhelpful with so many soldiers in a small space, I would like to volunteer my teams to guard the exit and the doctors." Zephyr stated calmly.
"Much appreciated, it will be good to have back up should a group need to retreat." Toshiro nodded to her. That left his old home warriors to follow him, Karin and Rangiku ready and willing at his side, as well as the Chinese Reapers. "Be careful everyone, we don't know what these three can do yet."
Their chosen leaders in front, the three groups began to depart.
"Oh hey, where'd Kenpachi go?" Ichigo stopped for a moment to ask. He realized he hadn't seen the bitter Squad Eleven Captain in a while after they dealt with Theda.
"He walked in a while ago." One of the African warriors stated.
"…" Ichigo looked stunned into silence.
"Well he's as good as lost." Renji sighed heavily.
"You better hope he doesn't die." Rukia crossed her arms to glare at the red-head. "He was almost defeated with all of us helping him, if he faces one of those girls on his own he could be in trouble."
"Then let's hope we find him first." Ichigo cut in, motioning everyone to follow. Their quick salutes and obedience startled him a bit, as he wasn't used to such respect, almost forgetting that he still had the uniform coat of the Royal Guard. Rukia and Renji still reacted as they normally would, though they did look somewhat ashamed as they noticed the responses of the others, forgetting that they were no longer Ichigo's equal. Kadin just followed quietly to avoid increasing the amount of awkward in the trio.
The three groups quickly realized how hard it was to determine time in this realm the longer they explored the labyrinth halls, the sky never changing except for shifting red clouds. Stress began to pile up on the soldiers the longer they went without seeing anything.
The demon cackling became quiet at some point and many got goosebumps as they wondered what that could mean. Who were they close to? Where had they all gone? What were they planning?
The sounds of fighting started up, signaling two groups that the third was in combat. It was Senjumaru and Ichibe's group, suddenly finding themselves swarmed with demons, big and small, grunts and stronger, but no Elites. They would have to thin out the den, it seemed, the Immortals with them making good use of their powers to do some crowd control.
But knowing that their group didn't have to face the horde didn't really relax the others. That meant they would have to face any Demon Lords waiting to corner them, and the group with the Soul King gulped nervously as they worried they might have to face more than one.
Toshiro gave a signal for them to come to a stop, everyone doing so at full alertness for any dangers. Those in back turned around to avoid being caught by surprise in that direction. There was an odd sense of hostility in the air.
They didn't need to worry about any back attacks here, though respect was given for their caution. Their opponent felt no need for such low tactics. Unlike her fox demon sister, this Demon Lord did not pull tricks or use any tactics. She approached them from the front, plain and simple, but not in the form they had seen her in before. She was already in her demonic state, eager to pick a fight with the Soul King at full strength.
"Look at this delicious buffet." The chuckling voice that came out of the demon in front of them sent shivers down their spines.
She was a werewolf, and for the most part she looked just as one would imagine a werewolf to be. Body covered in gleaming white fur just like her normal hair color, and limbs twisted into an animal form though longer than they should be and with oddly human fingers ending in sharp claws. The demonic part came through in the obsidian black horns curled up behind her tall ears and the spines going down her back, her tail more like a lion's with sharp spines at the end instead of fur. She didn't have any armored scales like her fox sister did, but based on the sheer muscle mass and thick skin it was clear she didn't need any. She bared her teeth at them, razor sharp and hungry for blood, eyes glowing red.
"I've looked forward to the day I get to stretch my legs." Lyrah Lafianna chuckled once more with a dark tone. "Even more so to the day when I get to taste human blood again."
"You wasted no time showing your true form." Toshiro replied.
"Why waste time playing around?" She sneered. "Normally I would love to play, but I'm SO hungry… and you came so willingly right to me."
"We'll defeat you just like we did the other two!" Rangiku shot back with venom in her tone.
"I look forward to your struggles." Lyrah was not threatened by their words, simply eager to taste blood once more, a predator finally having something to hunt again. It was why she fought alone, as the other two Elites did not want to get in the way of a wolf and their prey.
Instead, Korla and Kazara went to deal with the last of the three groups. Ichigo and the others found themselves within a courtyard among the labyrinth. It was an easier place to fight in… but it was also a dead end with only the way they came in through as a way out. That was quickly blocked off in a wall of shadow as the last two sister stood in their normal forms atop the walls, the thorns less invasive here in the larger clearing, leaving a way up and over if they so choose yet still nothing but a trap with the sisters there.
"What a lovely group of warriors." Korla said down to them with a light chuckle. "I hope you don't fear your own shadows."
Her hand moved with motions similar to a musical conductor, and in response the shifting shadows around them began to move. Fortunately, the group following Ichigo were the tribes of Africa, who had great experience against demons and unwanted shadows. Though some shook with fear, most were prepared with chants and Kido to fend off the darkness. They would not be bested by tricks.
The other problem left was Kazara, the air full of static as she concentrated the clouds above them into a storm for her use, a harbinger of lightning. Her power was not as easy to fend off for the group, who worried about the lightning smiting them down for good. Renji switched quickly into Bankai and was willing to let Zabimaru be a lightning rod, hoping he could manage to channel the electricity back at her. The snake took up a lot of room, keeping his coils to the edges to try and leave the warriors in the center unimpeded. If he got too close to the edge, however, the thorns would start twisting towards them.
It was like trying to fight in a cage slowly pushing inwards.
"I'll deal with the shadows, focus on the other Demon Lord." Kadin managed to suggest to Ichigo before moving further away to unleash his Shikai and manipulate the shadows away from the army, assisted by the shamans.
"Glad he came with us." Ichigo muttered to Rukia at his side before turning towards Kazara and thinking of a way to get to her. There were guns at her side that she hadn't drawn yet, her gaze watching them all coldly with no indication of picking a fight herself. She took notice of the Royal Guard's glare and met his gaze with her own, almost daring him to approach her. "I'm going to use my mask; she's got some intimidating Spiritual Pressure."
"Be careful Ichigo, get Renji to assist you." Rukia replied, worried about him. He always tried to take on the strongest enemy present, wanting to defeat them before they hurt his friends, but that tended to get him in a lot of trouble. They still didn't know the full extent of Kazara's abilities, only able to make guesses based on her power over the storm.
"Don't worry, I'll be cautious." Ichigo promised, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder before putting it up to his face and dragging it down, his Hollow mask materializing and boosting his own Spiritual Pressure. Kazara's expression changed ever so slightly at this reveal, finally looking interested as her attention zeroed in on him.
Each group had their own obstacle to face before they could proceed further into the maze.
All except for Kenpachi Zaraki, wandering aimlessly within the walls looking for any of the Elites he could pick a fight with, still full of anger and the thirst for battle, pissed at what happened to his best subordinates and being kept out of a fight. His only companion was the pink-haired child at his shoulder, quiet for now as they tried to find their way through, not seeing a single demon, basically ignored.
Whatever enemy came across him would likely face an untimely demise.
If he could find them.
I'm likely going to be doing a chapter for each group, though probably a combined one for Senjumaru's group and Kenpachi depending on how the fights work out. Lots of back and forth as they move around.