Desolation

Author—StupidX

Disclaimer—If I owned this, I would not desecrate it so.

Rating:T for implied violence.

No two bricks stood together. Every wall had been torn, every building burned. Nothing was visible but a barren waste.

"Aizen!" Ichigo screamed. Zangetsu cut through the air, but didn't land. Pure energy overpowered everything, making it impossible to breath. Only Ichigo and the object of his rage could handle the atmosphere.

The plant life had been destroyed, scorched to death. The dryness of the air and earth sapped what little life had been left. Green had turned to brown, then black and gray The slightest wind would have made the debris dust, but there was no breeze.

Aizen smiled serenely, even over the carnage. He was calm. His sword flicked lightly to catch every gargantuan swing of Ichigo's zanpakuto. Zangetsu was having no effect. They were at a standstill.

But neither had really used his sword yet.

Where there should have been voices and movement and emotion, there was only silence and stillness and death. The dry dirt was stained in places, red mixed with brown, the scent of blood long since faded. Upon close inspection bodies could be seen, withered and dried, and faded to gray, nearly indistinguishable from the rubble.

When Ichigo first let out a blast from Zangetsu, it was like a line had been crossed. Aizen began to unleash his full power, as did Ichigo. Bankai came, then hollow powers. They fought over Seireitei and Rukongai, and back, destruction following their steps. Death fell where they battled.

As tragic as the wastes surrounding, the walled area was truly heartbreaking. The deathstone wall was untouched, but everything within was leveled. The emptiness range more poignant for the obvious former human presence. It was like the soul of the place had become tortured and lonely. Like it had become Hollow.

And then it was over. Aizen looked up from his knees at the one who had killed him and smiled. "I have seen the emergence of a god..." He choked then, and died, having beheld his dreams brought forth, if only in the life of another.

In the center of the Court of Pure Souls, the heart of Soul Society, two figures remained, surrounded by blank glass. There the fury had been hottest. There, the destruction had become complete. Even the deathstone tower had not remained standing. The ground had been bleached white by the flames. And two lone living things were there at the epicenter.

Ichigo cast over Aizen's words. His hollow side had latched onto it and refused to let go. It whispered to him as he entered Yamamoto's court.

The general stood towering on a podium, his captains surrounding. He spoke solemnly, even sadly. "Kurosaki Ichigo. You have saved us all... but you have become everything Aizen desired. You have become the perfect merge of Shinigami and Hollow." His face grew harsh. "Such a thing cannot be!"

He grimaced as though his next words would cause him great pain. "In thanks for your sacrifices, we offer the best we can... a swift and painless execution."

In that instant, in the space of a heartbeat, Ichigo's two halves did something they had never quite done. They agreed. The mask covered Ichigo's face.

And all of Soul Society burned.

Kurosaki Ichigo knelt on cold glass, Zangetsu shattered beside him. Screeching, high pitched laughter echoed across the emptiness. Half of a mask covered the left side of his faces, tears pouring down the right. Between bursts of laughter he sobbed wretchedly. "Gone... all gone... all dead..." The laughter would wrench out again, and he looked all the more miserable.

Kurosaki Isshin stared at what was left of his son, whole in body, but destroyed in spirit. His own zanpakuto raised over the boy's head. And Isshin gave him the best he could.

The sword descended.