37 Chapter 37
10 chapters ahead in my Pat.reon. Patrèon.com/ Oldherd.
<---------------------------------->
Chapter 37
(General P.O.V)
Ash opened his eyes and found himself standing on a purple platform measuring about a meter across. On the edge of the platform was the open air. Down below, more purple platforms drifted around in open space. And even lower than that was a pool of darkness that took up everything in his vision.
"Where am I?"
He looked around in budding panic. The last thing he remembered was enduring the weight of Urahara's spiritual pressure. This was clearly not the eccentric scientist's underground training chamber. To his sides were more purple platforms and the sky was only populated with more of the same thing. At the top though, the sky had cracks that leaked out particles of purple motes of light that gathered around and formed into more purple platforms.
It was a world unlike anything he had ever seen before.
'... name...'
A word, as if drifting in the air from down below reached his ears. Ash looked down and squinted. Nothing happened for a second. The platforms kept on drifting around aimlessly. The one he was standing on collided against another, pushing both away but Ash paid it little mind.
"I know I heard it..."
He muttered to himself, curious but ready to activate his Quirk and defend himself if the need arose.
A pair of yellow eyes opened from down below, in the black void and looked up at him.
'...name...'
The whisper appeared. This time louder. Ash stumbled back and lost his footing, falling off the platform he had been standing on and...
He suddenly woke up with a yell, throwing off the sheet of clothing on his body before falling off the makeshift stretcher he had been lying on. All around were bodies of injured civilians and corpses being carted away. Ash blinked to get rid of the dust covering his face and hair.
"Hey! Get the Medic! This one's alive!"
Ash had someone say before a few individuals arrived and tried to stop him from getting up.
"Take it easy son. Evac will be here shortly."
"What...?"
Ash asked, trying to throw off the hands that were running down his body, checking for injuries.
Ash stiffened, pausing in his actions and ignoring the concerned hands. Before his eyes was a new text box from the Ouroboros interface.
One that was confusing.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
(Active Missions)
(Fulfill the terms of the contract offered to you by Urahara Kisuke.)
Rewards:
Quirk Evolution.
Vacation In A Chosen World.
Temporal Units: 140.
Time Loops remaining:- 5/5.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
(Mission Complete)
Rewards:
Quirk Evolution (Activate?)
Vacation In A Chosen World (Activate)
Additional Rewards:
Soul Of Ascension :- Urahara kept his end of the Bargain and used the Hogyoku on you. The process was mildly successful and you now possess a soul capable of handling transcendental power. All soul abilities from different worlds are within reach. With enough study and practice, you can become the next Soul King.
Temporal Units:- 144
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
(Active Missions)
(The Avengers Need You.)
(Prevent Piotr Maximoff's Death)
Rewards:-
Random rare skill.
Zanjutsu manual.
Temporal Units:- 144
Time Loops remaining:- 10/10.
Loop commenced.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
(Elsewhere)
A few hours before Ash had woken up, Urahara, Yoruichi and Tessai had just completed repurposing the formation to send Ash back to where he came from. Yoruichi had still found the whole thing to be highly unnecessary and she knew that it would be a point of contention between her and Urahara for some time.
"Yoru, this is for the best." Urahara spoke up, knowing her mood was at an all time low.
"This is our mess to clean up. Ash is not from here and the more he stays the more the future he told us about will change due to his involvement."
Yoruichi saw the light of the Formation cover the still unconscious teen and transport him away.
"I hope that you can see he's better off..."
"Better off?" She rounded up at him.
"How would we know that Kisuke? You said that you had no idea if the Hogyoku even worked or not. We might be sending him to a battlefield without a way to defend himself."
And true enough, she was right on the Hogyoku part. There hadn't been any shower of light or signs to show that it had carried out it's function.
Urahara had placed it on Ash's chest and... nothing had happened for 10 whole minutes before he had taken it back. If she didn't know better she would have thought that Urahara had sabotaged the whole process in his rush to get rid of Ash.
But there was nothing she could do now.
"Let's just go and figure out how to get Ichigo back. Isshin and his sisters are inconsolable."
Yoruichi turned around and begun to walk out of the room.
Then time stopped. The three of them found their bodies frozen in place as the world itself became bleached of color. A gray covering everything.
At the space where Ash's body had laid before getting transported away, green flames started burning before forming up into a featureless humanoid figure made up of fire.
"Kisuke Urahara, you have broken the rules."
A voice that sounded highly neutral and monotone spoke up, the figure's mouth opened up widely dripping a green sludge that popped and bubbled, producing noxious fumes that made the surroundings start to disintegrate into green energy. The Reishi in the air was affected as well. The spirit energy being overtaken by a green mist.
Urahara couldn't speak or do anything really. The last thought he had as the flames and smoke consumed, not just him but Karakura, the human world, the universe, the other dimensions and finally everything that the Soul King had created was, 'I was wrong Yoru. Your trust in people is not what destroys the world, my arrogance and shortsightedness is.'
The whole Bleach universe was consumed, by a green vortex, leaving nothing behind.
The effect was instantaneous. Any and all written or projected media across the Multiverse of the Bleach universe disappeared. It was like Ichigo and the rest of the inhabitants of the world, Aizen, Yamamoto, Yhwach, men, women and kids, never existed. The green energy had killed not only the world but also the idea.
The only being in existence with the slightest knowledge of what Bleach had been was Ash and he had no idea what had happened.
A towel was placed on his shoulders as he watched the flames from the explosion caused by the Hulk buster armor's fight with the Hulk in Johannesburg.
He was back. Had been for the last 5 minutes. Just sitting in the back of a police car. Ash was being kept captive because a) Shield was coming for him and b) he didn't feel like actually fighting against the authorities. Some recognized him of course. The battle of New York had been high profile, something seen all over the world. He was a star, though he had been missing for the last 3 years if he was up to date with the canon timeline.
Which also meant running away from Shield would carry the risk of him being labelled as Hydra. These events were right after Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Plus, Ash was done running. Something inside him felt lost. Why was he back? The last loop's mission showed that he had completed it. But how? Did Urahara complete his end of the bargain and then send him back?
Or did the Ouroboros Interface do it for him because he was unconscious when the mission was labeled as complete? All this was running through his mind when a shadow appeared next to the police car's window. Ash looked up and saw agent Coulson smiling down at him from the outside.
Another agent opened the car door and Ash stepped out, with his hands held together by handcuffs. Coulson looked at the cuffs.
"I don't have the key."
He said.
In response Ash activated his Quirk on his hands alone and pulled them apart. The cuffs snapped like twigs. He held up both hands.
"Don't need one."
Coulson nodded.
"Follow me. Let's get you home."
The teen paused for a second, looking around at the devastation caused by one superpowered fight. There were medics, police and even the red cross trying to help clear the debris and find if there was any buried survivors underneath the rubble.
Ash diverted his course, leaving Coulson and the other two agents moving towards the Quinjet in favor of helping a crew remove a huge chunk of concrete blocking the entrance to a collapsed building.
"Hey! Wait!"
He ignored the calls, hearing the flashes of cameras and feeling the gazes of the people gathered stuck on him. He stepped over the cordon, shifting to his unbreakable state mid walk.
The police let him through, stumbling back in a little fear and causing some commotion.
"Stop."
An officer, probably a high ranking one blocked his path, his hand on the handgun strapped to his hip. Ash motioned with his chin towards the wreck.
"I just want to help."
He told him. There was a sort of... supersense, telling him that there were people stuck inside the rubble.
"Please."
The officer looked unsure for a second before sighing letting him through. Coulson also stopped the agents from going after him, partly because he wanted to ensure that Shield's involvement was kelt to a minimum, especially right now as tensions from across the globe saw what was left of the organization being monitored heavily. He himself was still in shock after the betrayal he suffered from some of their own.
Ash breathed out a sigh of relief as he reached the wreckage. The workers there all stepped back to a safe distance, allowing the teen to grab onto the edge of the concrete chunk and heave, lifting it up.
Gasps rang out across the gathered but far away crowds. The debris must have weighed over 2 tons but he was carrying it easily. He took a few heavy steps and placed it away from the entrance of the collapsed building on the sidewalk. A short clearing of the door by the aid workers, saw close to 10 people being saved.
Cheers rang out as Ash walked back to Coulson. The man looked at him strangely.
"Good job."
He finally complimented, making Ash smile in gratitude.
"Thanks."
They walked towards the Quinjet and boarded it.
The real surprise came when Ash entered and saw a very important figure inside the craft.
Fury turned to face them.
"Can someone tell me why I had to wait 5 whole minutes for you to finally decide to board the motherfucking jet?"
All Ash had to say was,
"Aah...nice eyepatch?"
