I woke up to the sound of something large and heavy landing nearby.
My eyes snapped open, hand already on Zangetsu's hilt before I was fully conscious.
Dawn was breaking, the strange reddish sun casting long shadows across the tower top where I'd spent an extremely uncomfortable night.
No immediate threats. Just stiff muscles, an empty stomach, and the lovely morning breath that comes from not brushing your teeth for over 24 hours.
I stood cautiously, scanning the ruins below. Something had definitely moved out there—something big enough to make the tower tremble slightly.
"Please be friendly locals with breakfast," I begged, knowing full well my luck didn't work that way.
After a quick check to make sure nothing had crawled up the tower during the night, I made my way down the spiral staircase. My arm throbbed where the creature had clawed me yesterday. I unwrapped the makeshift bandage to check the wound—no signs of infection, thankfully, but it wasn't healing as quickly as injuries usually did in my spirit form. Another weird thing about this place.
I rewrapped it with a clean strip torn from my shihakushō and continued downward.
The city looked different in daylight. Less threatening, more... sad.
Whatever had happened here had been catastrophic—an entire civilization wiped out. The black stone buildings, once grand and imposing, now stood like tombstones marking the grave of something magnificent.
My stomach growled loudly, reminding me of priorities. Food first, archaeological appreciation later.
I moved cautiously through the empty streets, Zangetsu ready. The underground creatures seemed to prefer darkness, but I wasn't taking chances. The transformed human-thing from yesterday was another concern—if there was one, there might be more.
After about an hour of searching, I hit the jackpot—a tree-like plant growing in what might have once been a courtyard. It bore round, purple fruit about the size of apples.
"Please don't be poisonous," I said, picking one and examining it. The skin was tough but yielded to pressure, revealing juicy flesh inside. It smelled... not bad. Kind of sweet, actually.
My stomach insisted this was perfectly fine cuisine. My brain reminded me that eating random fruit in hell-dimension was how protagonists died in the first act of horror movies.
But hey, if it killed me, at least I wouldn't have to worry about finding a way home.
I took a small bite, ready to spit it out at the first sign of burning or numbness.
The taste was strange—like a mix of mango and something metallic—but not gross. I waited a few minutes. No sudden pain, no throat closing up, no psychedelic hallucinations.
"Good enough for me," I decided, and devoured the rest of the fruit, then picked several more to carry with me.
With food and water secured, at least temporarily, I turned my attention to information. I needed to find out where I was, what had happened here, and most importantly, how to get home.
The book I'd taken from the trunk was no help—still completely unreadable. But maybe there were other clues in the city, some kind of map or...
A shadow passed overhead, massive enough to briefly block the sun.
I looked up, squinting against the red glare, and felt my heart stop.
"No way," I breathed.
"No freaking way."
A dragon. An actual, real-life, fire-breathing dragon was circling above the city.
What the hell?!?
It was enormous, its wingspan wider than my entire house back in Karakura Town. Black scales covered its serpentine body, glinting with grey highlights where the sunlight struck them. Its head was horned and reptilian, with a mouth that could easily swallow a car.
I stood frozen, staring upward like an idiot.
Dragons weren't real. They were myths, legends, fantasy creatures from books and games.
Then again, most people thought the same about Shinigami.
The dragon circled lower, its massive head swinging from side to side as if scanning the ground. Looking for something.
Or someone.
"Time to go," I decided, backing slowly toward the nearest intact building.
Too late. The dragon's head snapped in my direction, blue eyes locking onto me with predatory focus. It let out a roar that shook the very air, then folded its wings and dove.
"Oh, COME ON!" I shouted the phrase a third time—or was it the fourth?—in less than 24 hours (pretty unprecedented if you ask me), and broke into a run.
I flash-stepped frantically, zigzagging between buildings as the massive shadow closed in from above. The dragon crashed into a structure behind me, sending chunks of black stone flying in all directions.
I didn't look back, just kept moving, using flash step to put as much distance between us as possible. But the heavy wing beats told me it was already airborne again, pursuing.
"This is ridiculous," I gasped, ducking into a narrow alleyway. "First eyeless chompy things, then zombie people, and now A FREAKING DRAGON? What's next, a kraken in the bathtub?"
I emerged from the alleyway into what must have once been a grand plaza. Rows of broken columns surrounded a circular space, with a cracked fountain at its center. Open ground—bad for hiding, good for maneuvering.
The dragon's shadow fell over me again. I spun, drawing Zangetsu as the beast landed at the plaza's edge, its weight cracking the ancient paving stones. It folded its massive wings and fixed me with a stare that felt... intelligent. Too intelligent for comfort.
"Okay," I said, holding Zangetsu ready. "Let's see how tough dragons really are."
I gathered my reiatsu, prepared to unleash a Getsuga Tenshō strong enough to at least drive it back. Before I could attack, however, the dragon did something I absolutely was not prepared for.
It spoke.
"WHAT MANNER OF SOUL ARE YOU, WANDERER?" The voice wasn't physical—it resonated directly in my head, a sensation both invasive and overwhelming.
I nearly dropped Zangetsu and my jaw, in shock. "You can talk?"
The dragon's head tilted, those yellow eyes narrowing. "AND YOU CAN HEAR. INTERESTING. MOST INTERESTING."
"You're... telepathic?" I asked, keeping Zangetsu raised despite my confusion. This is freaking mind blowing.
"YOUR MIND IS OPEN TO ME, AS FEW ARE." The dragon moved closer, its massive head lowering to better examine me. "I HAVE WAITED LONG FOR ONE SUCH AS YOU."
"Lucky me," I said, laughing awkwardly and backing up a step.
"Look, I'm flattered by the attention, but I'm really just passing through. If you could point me toward the nearest exit from hell-world, I'll be on my way."
The dragon made a rumbling sound that might have been laughter. "YOU KNOW NOT WHERE YOU ARE, LITTLE SOUL-WALKER."
"That's been pretty obvious since I got here," I admitted.
"So why don't you tell me?"
"YOU STAND IN THE RUINS OF VALYRIA, ONCE THE GREATEST CIVILIZATION THIS WORLD HAS KNOWN." The dragon's mental voice had the weight of centuries behind it. "DESTROYED BY ITS OWN HUBRIS NEARLY FOUR CENTURIES AGO."
"Valyria?" The name meant nothing to me. "And what world is this exactly?"
"THE ONLY WORLD." The dragon seemed amused by the question. "THOUGH I SENSE YOU ARE NOT OF IT. YOUR SOUL BEARS A DIFFERENT... FLAVOR."
That didn't sound creepy at all.
"Look, dragon—"
"I AM CALLED MANY THINGS BY THE SMALL FOLK. THE BLACK DREAD REBORN. THE SHADOW OF THE SMOKING SEA. THE CANNIBAL."
"The Cannibal?" I repeated, grip tightening on Zangetsu.
"That's... not reassuring."
"IT IS EARNED," the dragon—The Cannibal—replied, baring teeth longer than my forearm. "I HAVE CONSUMED THE FLESH AND FIRE OF MY OWN KIND WHEN IT PLEASED ME."
"Oh that's nice. Just great." I raised Zangetsu a little higher. "And what do you want with me, exactly?"
The Cannibal's enormous head moved closer, nostrils flaring as it sniffed the air around me. "YOUR SOUL BURNS BRIGHT, SOUL-WALKER. BRIGHTER THAN ANY I HAVE SEEN IN MANY LIFETIMES. I SMELL POWER IN YOU, OLD POWER, LIKE UNTO THE MAGIC OF VALYRIA YET... DIFFERENT."
"My reiatsu," I realized. "You can sense my spiritual pressure."
"IS THAT WHAT YOU NAME IT? FASCINATING." The dragon circled me slowly, tail sweeping across broken columns. "FOR DECADES I HAVE SEARCHED FOR ONE SUCH AS YOU, ONE WHOSE SOUL MIGHT MATCH MY OWN FIRE."
"Why?" I asked, turning to keep facing the massive creature.
"BECAUSE THE LONG NIGHT COMES, SOUL-WALKER." The Cannibal's voice took on a grave tone. "AND WHEN IT DOES, FIRE AND SOUL WILL BE ALL THAT STANDS AGAINST THE DARK."
"That's... cryptic," I said. "Look, I appreciate the doom prophecy, but I really need to find a way back to my own world. My friends are probably looking for me, and—"
The Cannibal lunged without warning, its massive jaws opening wide enough to swallow me whole.
"OH HELL NO!" I yelled, flash-stepping away just in time.
I reappeared behind one of the broken columns, heart pounding. So much for diplomatic relations with the local wildlife.
"Getsuga TENSHŌ!" I swung Zangetsu in a wide arc, sending a crescent of blue-white energy straight at the dragon's face.
The attack hit with explosive force, momentarily enveloping the dragon's head in light. When it cleared, the Cannibal stood exactly as before, completely unharmed but looking rather annoyed.
"IMPRESSIVE," its voice boomed in my head. "BUT FUTILE."
"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered.
"YOUR FIRE IS STRONG, SOUL-WALKER, BUT I HAVE BATHED IN DRAGONFIRE AND EMERGED UNSCATHED. YOUR LITTLE LIGHT SHOW IS... AMUSING."
The dragon lunged again, faster than something so massive had any right to move. This time I barely dodged, feeling the heat of its breath as jaws snapped shut inches from my head.
"Will you stop trying to eat me?!" I shouted, flash-stepping to the fountain at the plaza's center.
"I DO NOT SEEK TO DEVOUR YOUR FLESH, FOOL BOY," the Cannibal replied, circling me again. "I SEEK TO TEST YOUR METTLE."
"Test this!" I flash-stepped directly toward the dragon, swinging Zangetsu at one massive eye.
The Cannibal's head jerked back with surprising agility, my blade striking scales instead of the softer target. Sparks flew, but Zangetsu barely scratched the armored hide.
Great. Even my Zanpakutō couldn't pierce dragon scales.
The Cannibal's tail whipped around, catching me mid-flash step and sending me flying into a column. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs, stars dancing before my eyes as I slid to the ground.
"DISAPPOINTING," the dragon rumbled, advancing slowly. "I EXPECTED MORE FROM ONE WITH SUCH FIRE IN HIS SOUL."
"I'm just... getting started," I gasped, struggling to my feet with Zangetsu as a crutch.
My ribs screamed in protest—at least one was cracked, maybe more. In my spirit form, I should heal quickly, but this world seemed to be interfering with that too.
The Cannibal loomed over me, its massive head blocking out the red sun. "YOUR COURAGE IS ADMIRABLE, IF FOOLISH. PERHAPS THERE IS HOPE FOR YOU YET, SOUL-WALKER."
"My name," I said, straightening despite the pain, "is Ichigo Kurosaki. Not 'Soul-Walker.' And I'm a Substitute Soul Reaper from Karakura Town."
"STRANGE NAMES FROM A STRANGE WORLD," the Cannibal mused. "VERY WELL, ICHIGO KUROSAKI. I SHALL NOT CONSUME YOU TODAY."
"How generous," I said sarcastically.
"INDEED." The dragon settled back on its haunches, regarding me with those unsettling yellow eyes. "INSTEAD, I OFFER YOU A CHOICE."
"I'm listening." Not like I had many options with broken ribs and a sword that couldn't cut dragon hide.
"JOURNEY WITH ME, LEARN OF THIS WORLD, AND PERHAPS DISCOVER A WAY BACK TO YOUR OWN. OR REMAIN HERE, ALONE, UNTIL THE STONE MEN OR THE FIREWYRMS CLAIM YOU."
"Stone men? Firewyrms?" I winced as a jolt of pain shot through my side. "Those eyeless things that came out of the ground?"
"FIREWYRMS, YES. DISTANT KIN TO DRAGONS, THOUGH GREATLY DIMINISHED." The Cannibal's contempt was evident. "THE STONE MEN WERE ONCE HUMAN, BEFORE THE GREYSCALE TOOK THEIR MINDS AND BODIES. THEY HAUNT THESE RUINS, DRAWN TO THE WARMTH OF LIVING BLOOD."
That explained the transformed human I'd encountered. Some kind of disease had changed it—him.
"Not a lot of great options here," I admitted. "But why would you help me? What's in it for you?"
The Cannibal's mental voice took on an edge of... was that eagerness? "BECAUSE YOU MAY BE WHAT I HAVE SOUGHT FOR DECADES—A RIDER WORTHY OF MY FIRE."
"A rider?" I repeated. "Like... you want me to ride on your back?"
"IT IS THE OLD WAY, FROM BEFORE THE DOOM. DRAGON AND RIDER, BOUND IN FIRE AND BLOOD." The massive creature lowered its head to my level. "FEW REMAIN WHO DARE CLAIM DRAGONS IN THIS AGE. FEWER STILL WHO COULD HOPE TO MASTER ONE SUCH AS I."
"And you think I can?" I couldn't help the skepticism in my voice.
"YOUR SOUL BURNS WITH THE SAME FIRE THAT FLOWS IN MY VEINS, ICHIGO KUROSAKI. IT IS... FITTING."
I considered my options. Stay in this ruined city, fighting off monsters and slowly starving, or trust a dragon called "The Cannibal" that had just tried to eat me. When put that way...
"If I agree to this 'rider' thing, you'll help me find a way home?"
"I SHALL SHARE MY KNOWLEDGE OF THIS WORLD, AND TOGETHER WE MAY SEEK ANSWERS TO YOUR PUZZLEMENT." The dragon's mental voice turned stern. "BUT KNOW THIS, SOUL-WALKER: THE BOND BETWEEN DRAGON AND RIDER IS NOT EASILY BROKEN. CHOOSE WISELY."
I thought of my friends, of my family back in Karakura Town. I had to get home somehow. And if this overgrown lizard could help...
"Fine," I said finally. "I accept. But I have conditions."
"YOU ARE IN NO POSITION TO MAKE DEMANDS, LITTLE ONE." The amusement was back in the Cannibal's voice.
"Maybe not, but you approached me, remember? You've been looking for someone like me 'for decades.' So here are my terms: No eating people, no burning villages, and you actually try to help me get home. Deal?"
The dragon regarded me silently for a long moment, those ancient blue—wait no, it's yellow now?—eyes unreadable. Then it made that rumbling sound again—definitely laughter.
"YOU HAVE SPIRIT, ICHIGO KUROSAKI. VERY WELL. I ACCEPT YOUR... CONDITIONS." The Cannibal lowered its head further. "NOW APPROACH AND PLACE YOUR HAND UPON MY SCALES, THAT THE BOND MAY BE SEALED."
I hesitated. "There's no blood sacrifice or soul-selling involved in this, right?"
"MERELY TOUCH, FOOL BOY. THE FIRE WILL KNOW ITS OWN."
Still wary, I stepped forward, Zangetsu ready in one hand while I extended the other toward the dragon's massive snout. The scales were smooth and hot to the touch, like sun-warmed metal.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then a jolt of energy surged through me, not unlike the feeling when I first manifested my Shinigami powers. Heat flooded my veins, a fire that didn't burn but filled me with strength. My cracked ribs suddenly hurt less, the claw wounds on my arm itching as they began to close properly.
"What the—" I started to pull away, but the Cannibal's voice stopped me.
"THE BOND IS FORMED, DRAGON-RIDER." There was satisfaction in that ancient voice. "MY FIRE FLOWS IN YOU NOW, AND YOUR SPIRIT RESONATES WITH MINE."
I stepped back, examining my hand. It looked normal, but I could feel something different inside me, a warm presence at the edge of my consciousness.
"Is that... you?" I asked, tapping the side of my head.
"OUR MINDS ARE LINKED, THOUGH NOT FULLY MERGED. YOU WILL KNOW MY THOUGHTS WHEN I WISH IT, AS I SHALL KNOW YOURS." The Cannibal raised its massive head. "IN TIME, THE BOND WILL STRENGTHEN."
"Great," I muttered. "Another voice in my head. Just what I needed."
"I HEARD THAT, FOOL BOY."
"Yeah, I figured." I sheathed Zangetsu, wincing as my ribs protested. "So what now, oh scaly one?"
"NOW WE LEAVE THIS DEAD PLACE." The Cannibal lowered its shoulder, extending one massive wing to form a ramp of sorts. "CLIMB, IF YOU DARE."
I stared at the offered wing. "You want me to just... hop on? Like a bus?"
"UNLESS YOU PREFER TO REMAIN HERE WITH THE STONE MEN AND FIREWYRMS."
Put that way, dragon-back didn't sound so bad. Still, the thought of being hundreds of feet in the air with nothing but scales between me and a very long fall...
"You better not drop me," I warned, cautiously climbing the wing-ramp.
"IF I WISHED YOU DEAD, ICHIGO KUROSAKI, YOU WOULD ALREADY BE ASH." The mental voice had a distinctly smug tone.
"Damn," I grumbled, settling awkwardly onto the dragon's neck just behind its massive head. The scales were hot but not uncomfortably so, and ridged in a way that provided some handholds.
"HOLD FAST," was the only warning I got before the Cannibal launched itself skyward with a powerful thrust of its hind legs.
My stomach lurched as we shot upward, wind whipping my hair and robes. I let out a startled yell, clutching desperately at the ridged scales as the ground fell away at terrifying speed.
"A LITTLE DIGNITY, RIDER," the Cannibal chided in my mind. "YOU ARE NOT SOME SQUEALING CHILD ON HIS FIRST PONY."
"Shut up!" I shouted over the wind. "This is nothing like riding a pony!"
The dragon banked, wings spread wide to catch the thermal currents rising from the ruined city. We leveled off at what must have been a thousand feet, the devastation of Valyria spread out below us like a blackened scar on the land.
Despite my terror, I had to admit the view was... incredible. The morning sun cast long shadows across the ruins, highlighting the once-geometric pattern of streets and plazas. Beyond the city, mountains smoked and bubbled with volcanic activity, and to the east, the dark sea stretched to the horizon.
"Is this... better?" I asked shakily, adjusting my grip as I grew more accustomed to the rhythm of the dragon's flight.
"ACCEPTABLE, FOR A NOVICE," the Cannibal replied. "YOU WILL IMPROVE, OR YOU WILL FALL. THE CHOICE IS YOURS."
"Your teaching style could use some work," I rolled my eyes, but I was already feeling more secure. The ridge of scales before me provided a natural seat of sorts, and the wings' movement had a predictable pattern.
"WHERE ARE WE GOING?" I asked as we left the ruins behind, flying east toward the sea.
"WEST, BEYOND THE SMOKING SEA, TO THE LANDS WHERE MEN STILL DWELL," the Cannibal replied. "TO WESTEROS, WHERE THE DESCENDANTS OF VALYRIA RULE FROM THEIR FEEBLE IRON CHAIR."
"Westeros?" The name meant nothing to me. "And these descendants—do they know about other worlds? About how to travel between them?"
"PERHAPS." The dragon's mental voice was noncommittal. "THE TARGARYENS AND THEIR ILK PRESERVE SOME SMALL FRAGMENTS OF VALYRIAN KNOWLEDGE. THOUGH MOST OF THE OLD MAGIC DIED WITH THE DOOM."
"Wow," I deadpanned. "So I'm basically hoping these Targaryen people have an interdimensional travel guide lying around somewhere."
"YOUR FLIPPANCY MASKS FEAR, LITTLE RIDER." The Cannibal's observation was uncomfortably accurate. "IT IS UNBECOMING."
"Yeah, well, being stranded in dragon-world wasn't exactly on my to-do list today," I shot back. "So excuse me if I'm not thrilled about the situation."
The massive beast beneath me rumbled, that strange mental laughter again. "YOU WILL LEARN PATIENCE, ICHIGO KUROSAKI, OR THIS WORLD WILL TEACH IT TO YOU HARSHLY."
We flew in silence for a while, the ruined city shrinking behind us as we passed over increasingly volcanic terrain. Steam vents erupted below, sending columns of sulfurous gas into the air that the Cannibal navigated with casual grace.
"So," I said finally, "since we're going to be traveling together, mind telling me more about this world? Like, what exactly is the 'Long Night' you mentioned? And who are these Targaryen people? Are they going to freak out when a guy with bright orange hair shows up on dragonback?"
"SO MANY QUESTIONS," the Cannibal sighed mentally. "VERY WELL, FOOL BOY. LISTEN WELL, FOR I SHALL NOT REPEAT MYSELF."
As we soared over the Smoking Sea, the ancient dragon began to tell me of Westeros, of the Doom that destroyed Valyria, of the Targaryens with their silver hair and purple eyes, and of the Long Night—a darkness that had come once before and threatened to return.
I listened, trying to make sense of this strange new world, all the while wondering if I'd ever see Karakura Town again.
Behind us, the ruins of Valyria disappeared into the haze, and ahead lay a world of dragons, kings, and magic unlike anything I'd ever known.
Just another day in the life of Ichigo Kurosaki: Substitute Soul Reaper, high school student, and now, apparently, dragon rider.
Dad was never going to believe this one.