AN: I've been racking my empty brain on this story's outline. I keep changing and redoing it, but finally! Finally it's done. HALLELUJAH, PRAISE THE LORD! This will have around 90-110 chapters.ヽ(≧ω≦)ﾉ
***********
"Old man," I said, getting irritated. "I want to know what happened to this place. Not how great it once was."
Night fell quickly in this strange world, darkness sweeping across the ruined landscape like a living thing.
The Cannibal had chosen a relatively flat expanse of rock overlooking what might have once been a harbor for our first camp. From this vantage point, I could see the strange red glow on the horizon, a constant reminder that I was very far from home.
The dragon lay coiled nearby, his massive body radiating heat like a furnace. His yellow eyes—or were they blue now?—(it's really tripping him out) gleamed in the darkness as he regarded me.
"THE DOOM." The Cannibal's mental voice took on an almost reverent tone. "A CATACLYSM BORN OF MAGIC GONE AWRY. THE FOURTEEN FLAMES—THE GREAT VOLCANOES THAT POWERED VALYRIAN SORCERY—ERUPTED SIMULTANEOUSLY. MOUNTAINS EXPLODED. THE LAND BROKE. THE SEA RUSHED IN. IN A SINGLE DAY, THE GREATEST CIVILIZATION IN HISTORY BECAME WHAT YOU SEE BEFORE YOU."
"Sounds like someone messed with forces they couldn't control," I muttered, thinking of Aizen and his experiments.
"INDEED." The Cannibal's amusement was evident. "THE VALYRIANS BELIEVED THEMSELVES GODS. THEY USED THEIR MAGIC TO BIND DRAGONS, TO BUILD IMPOSSIBLE STRUCTURES, TO EXTEND THEIR LIVES BEYOND NATURAL LIMITS. THEY DELVED TOO DEEP, BROKE TOO MANY BARRIERS BETWEEN WORLDS."
That caught my attention. "Between worlds? Like... other dimensions?"
"THERE ARE SPACES BETWEEN THE VEILS OF REALITY, ICHIGO KUROSAKI. PATHWAYS THAT SHOULD NOT BE WALKED. THE VALYRIANS FOUND THEM, USED THEM. UNTIL WHATEVER LAY BEYOND... USED THEM IN RETURN."
A chill ran down my spine that had nothing to do with the night air. "Are you saying something from another world caused the Doom?"
"I AM SAYING THAT PLAYING WITH THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN WORLDS HAS CONSEQUENCES." The dragon's eyes fixed on me with uncomfortable intensity. "AS YOU YOURSELF HAVE DISCOVERED."
I fell silent, digesting this. If the Valyrians had been messing with dimensional magic and it backfired catastrophically... was that related to how I ended up here? Had I been pulled through some weakened barrier between worlds when the Kōtotsu hit us in the Dangai?
My thoughts turned to my friends. Had they made it safely back to Karakura Town? Were they looking for me? Urahara would figure out what happened, surely. He always seemed to know everything about dimensional weirdness.
"Can you sense them?" I asked suddenly. "My friends? My world? Can you tell if there's still a connection?"
The Cannibal was quiet for a long moment. "I SENSE... ECHOES. RIPPLES IN THE FABRIC BETWEEN WORLDS. YOUR PRESENCE HERE HAS DISTURBED ANCIENT PATTERNS. THAT IS WHY I CAME LOOKING. BUT A DIRECT PATH? NO."
I tried not to let my disappointment show. "But you said the Valyrians could travel between worlds. There must be records, artifacts, something I could use."
"PERHAPS. IF ANY SURVIVED THE DOOM." The dragon shifted, scales sliding against stone. "THE TARGARYENS MIGHT HAVE PRESERVED SOME KNOWLEDGE. THEY FLED VALYRIA BEFORE THE DOOM, SETTLED IN WESTEROS WITH THEIR DRAGONS. THEY RULE THERE STILL."
"That's where we're going right? Good," I said decisively. "How far is Westeros from here?"
"MANY DAYS' FLIGHT ACROSS THE SEA. BUT WE SHALL NOT LEAVE TONIGHT."
"Why not?"
"BECAUSE NIGHT HAS FALLEN IN VALYRIA, FOOL BOY." There was genuine warning in the Cannibal's voice. "AND WHAT HUNTS IN THE DARKNESS HERE IS FAR WORSE THAN THE STONE MEN OR FIREWYRMS YOU HAVE ENCOUNTERED."
"But I didn't—"
As if on cue, a distant wailing echoed across the ruins, a sound unlike anything I'd ever heard—part scream, part song, wholly unnatural. I tightened my grip on Zangetsu.
"What was that?"
"A REMINDER OF WHY NONE RETURN FROM VALYRIA." The Cannibal's wings shifted, extending slightly as if preparing for swift movement. "SLEEP NOW, LITTLE RIDER. I SHALL KEEP WATCH. TOMORROW, WE BEGIN OUR JOURNEY WEST."
Easy for him to say. Sleep didn't come easily with those eerie calls echoing through the night. Still, I was exhausted after everything I'd been through. I closed my eyes and tried to reach inward, seeking the familiar presence of my Zanpakutō spirit.
"Old man Zangetsu?" I called in my mind. "You there?"
No response, just that same muffled emptiness I'd felt earlier. I changed tactics.
"Hey, Hollow! I know you never shut up when I want you to. Don't pick now to start."
Still nothing. I could feel their power—both aspects of Zangetsu were still with me—but the connection to their consciousness seemed blocked, or at least severely dampened. Another mystery in a growing pile.
"Tomorrow," I promised myself softly. "Tomorrow we start finding a way home."
*********
Dawn broke with a strange reddish glow, the sun rising behind distant mountains that steamed and smoked. I'd managed a few hours of restless sleep despite the occasional haunting cries from the city below. The Cannibal had remained awake all night, his massive body curled protectively—or possessively—around where I slept.
"YOU SLEEP RESTLESSLY, SOUL-WALKER," the dragon observed as I stretched my stiff muscles.
"Yeah, well, typically I don't sleep on bare rock with things howling in the distance," I retorted. "Not to mention someone invading my thoughts every time I start to drift off."
"I DID NOT ENTER YOUR DREAMS," the Cannibal sounded almost offended. "THOUGH I COULD HAVE. YOUR MIND REMAINS YOUR OWN... FOR NOW."
"For now? What's that supposed to mean?"
"THE BOND BETWEEN DRAGON AND RIDER GROWS WITH TIME. EVENTUALLY, OUR MINDS WILL BECOME MORE... ALIGNED."
I didn't like the sound of that. "I didn't sign up for a mind-meld."
"NO? AND WHAT EXACTLY DID YOU THINK YOU WERE AGREEING TO WHEN YOU PLACED YOUR HAND UPON MY SCALES?" The dragon's amusement was infuriating. "THE BOND IS MAGICAL, ICHIGO KUROSAKI. IT CHANGES BOTH DRAGON AND RIDER. ALREADY YOUR WOUNDS HEAL FASTER, YOUR STRENGTH INCREASES."
He was right, I realized with a start. The claw marks on my arm had completely healed, not even a scar remaining. And I did feel stronger, more energized despite the poor sleep.
"What about you?" I asked. "How does bonding with me change you?"
The Cannibal seemed surprised by the question. "IF YOU WERE A NORMAL MORTAL, IT CHANGES NOTHING. BUT YOU ARE A SOUL-WALKER. YOUR SPIRIT ENERGY—YOUR 'REIATSU' AS YOU CALL IT—INFUSES MY FIRE. MAKES IT STRONGER, MORE... DIRECTED. I CAN SENSE THINGS THROUGH YOUR PERCEPTIONS THAT DRAGONS NORMALLY CANNOT." He paused. "IT IS... NOT UNPLEASANT."
High praise, coming from him. I nodded and turned my attention to the immediate concern—breakfast. The purple fruit I'd found yesterday was all gone, and my stomach reminded me loudly that I needed more.
"We should find food before heading out," I said.
"UNNECESSARY. THE DRAGONFIRE THAT NOW FLOWS IN YOUR VEINS WILL SUSTAIN YOU LONGER THAN MORTAL FOOD."
"Yeah, that's not how it works where I come from. I need actual food."
The Cannibal made that rumbling sound that passed for laughter. "SO DEMANDING. VERY WELL, THERE IS A GROVE OF THOSE FRUIT-BEARING TREES YOU SEEM TO FAVOR A SHORT DISTANCE NORTH. WE SHALL STOP THERE BEFORE CROSSING THE SEA."
I gathered my few possessions—Zangetsu, the combat pass, the water container, and the strange book I'd found—and approached the dragon. After yesterday's first chaotic flight, I was slightly less terrified about climbing onto his back, though the prospect of spending days airborne wasn't exactly thrilling.
"ONE MOMENT," the Cannibal said as I approached. "THERE IS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE WE LEAVE VALYRIA."
His tone made me pause. "What is it?"
"THIS LAND... IT REMEMBERS." The dragon's voice had taken on that grave tone again. "THE DOOM DID NOT JUST DESTROY THE CITY AND ITS PEOPLE. IT TORE THE VERY FABRIC OF REALITY HERE. THERE ARE... POCKETS WHERE TIME MOVES DIFFERENTLY. PLACES WHERE THE DEAD DO NOT REST EASILY. DISTORTIONS IN THE NATURAL ORDER."
"You're telling me this place is haunted?"
"I AM TELLING YOU THAT WHAT YOU MIGHT CONSIDER 'GHOSTS' WOULD BE A RELIEF COMPARED TO WHAT TRULY LINGERS HERE." The Cannibal's eyes fixed on me. "TREAD CAREFULLY WHEREVER WE STOP. THE BORDERS BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH, BETWEEN PAST AND PRESENT, EVEN BETWEEN DIFFERENT WORLDS—THEY ARE THIN IN VALYRIA."
I made a Buddha face expression. Because what do I say to that?
Peace of mind, Ichigo. Peace of mind. Ignore the dragon. Think about food.
As I climbed onto the Cannibal's back, settling between two large spinal ridges, I thought about what he'd said. Distortions in reality, weakened barriers between worlds. It had to be connected to how I got here. And if the barriers were weak enough, maybe there was still a way back.
"Ready when you are," I called out, gripping the scales tightly.
The Cannibal launched himself skyward with that same stomach-lurching force as before. I managed not to yell this time, which I considered progress.
As we rose above the ruined city, I caught glimpses of movement below—shapes that darted between buildings, figures that weren't quite human anymore. And somewhere in the distance, what looked like shadows moving against the direction of the sun.
"HOLD TIGHT," the Cannibal's voice warned in my mind. "WE FLY NORTH FIRST FOR YOUR PRECIOUS FRUIT, THEN WEST ACROSS THE SMOKING SEA. THE JOURNEY BEGINS IN EARNEST NOW, ICHIGO KUROSAKI."
As the wind rushed past, I looked back one last time at the broken remnants of Valyria. For all its horrors, it might hold the key to getting home. But survival came first. Then information. Then, hopefully, a way back to my friends.
The Cannibal's wings beat powerfully, carrying us away from the cursed city and toward whatever awaited in the west. Ahead, a world of dragons and lords and ancient magic. Behind, the whispered memories of a civilization destroyed by its own hubris.
I just hoped I wouldn't share their fate.