Foreword: Hello there! This is the revised version of the original prologue. From this point on, in between updating i shall be running an overhaul on all the current chapters. After some contructive criticism, it's been noted that i need to flush out my story with more detail and emotional depth, so please tell me how i'm doing and give me some feed back on what i could do to make it better!

Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns Bleach and all that pertains to it…not me.

The Cycle of Souls

Prologue: Familiarity

I wanted to sigh aloud. The familiarity of my dreamscape was becoming quite a nuisance. It was a dream that had plagued my mind for as long as I could possibly recall. The vast expanse of white sand; a desert shadowed by an eternally dark sky with only the moon for light. It bore the feeling of an empty prison. In the rare places where vegetation appeared there were sprouts of crystal tree-like formations that jutted randomly from the ground in the dark desert of …I don't know…not now, not ever.I always struggled to tack a name onto my surroundings, to pin them down.

Despite the oddness of the place, there wasn't really much to see. This time I really did sigh as always, I found myself wondering about the true name of this place. It was strange, I could hear its name echoing in my head, whispered by my own traitorous mouth, but never could I understand it; a large annoyance on my part. This place; whatever or wherever it was had always given me an odd feeling and that was no different now. In comparison to the peaceful and harmless scenery, I'd always known; felt that this was a place of death. Normally, one might consider information like this useful and under normal circumstances I would as well; the problem was that I didn't know where the knowledge came from. There was no reason for me to know such a thing. So why did I?

This nameless place was always quiet, save for the sound of a random wind blowing over the pallid sands. Truth be told, I rather liked it that way, and would much prefer it to stay like that. But it never did. The sounds that rang through the air were always abrupt and unsettling. The senseless roars of mindless beasts. They echoed through my mind achingly loud and resonated in a place that not even I could fathom. The most disturbing thing however, was that somewhere deep down I knew them for what they were; the cries of the hungry, the tired, the lonely, and the desperate. As always, my mind would reply: The cries of the weak. I felt the corner of my mouth twitch into a frown. More misplaced knowledge…but where did it all come from?

Patiently I waited for the dream to continue. I'd had the dream so many times; it often felt more like I was moving along on a scheduled conveyer belt than lying in a bed at the mercy of my subconscious. And so without warning the white desert began to fade, only to be replaced by a forest of tall, spindly trees that held their branches away from themselves as if they were calling out for me; come closer, come closer. Let me embrace you. I didn't need to look to know it was there, I knew it was, just like it was every night. Though after countless nights I was prepared for the sight that awaited me, yet nothing had ever haunted me more. Its body was odd; illogical really. After all what creature did you know that could function with an enormous hole punched through its torso? And yet as I stared at its white plated body and monstrously wide mouth, I knew that this creature…whatever it was…

...a nameless creature in a nameless place, how ironic…

It defied logic. And soon enough I began to wonder as I always did in my dreams; did such a thing exist here? Could logic exist in such a seemingly illogical place? After all, logic told me that there were no places of eternal night; logic told me that there were no such things as crystal trees; and the oddest thing so far was that logic told me I should fear this creature with its pale body and hollowed torso, but instinct…?

Instinct says that it should fearme.

Why? I pondered as I studied its empty stomach…that hole…it was important, I knew, but I didn't. I grew agitated, as I always did, it was nothing new. Perhaps I should just sit back and ignore it all…

And then came the last destination in my dream. I began to zoom along the forest, slipping further and further from it's grasp as the trees thinned only to reveal…..

Lo and behold…more desert.

There was thankfully, a respite for my eyes, which had long grown weary of the all too familiar scenery; however, it was a structure that I was also rather familiar with. Smooth white stone walls that rose up from the desert sands like a sultan's castle, its curved roof buffering the sandy winds. When I moved, it was never seemed to be of my own accord, but rather my body carrying me along a sort of memorized path. It led me through the buildings winding, maze-like corridors and soon I found myself in front of a pair of doors that I really didn't want to open, but seeing as I've never been able to not open the doors, I didn't bother to delay the inevitable. The hallway's light poured into the darkened room, casting pale illumination onto the faces of those seated at the long table in the room's centre. There were ten people seated and as I glanced at their faces, despite the fact that I neither recognized them nor recalled their names, I knew that I knew them. As always I would notice the empty seat on the left side of the table, a seat I knew to be mine. Slowly, my eyes drifted up toward the man who sat at the table's head. A man who's sharp brown eyes watched me calmly, an amused smirk gracing his lips as if his favorite form of entertainment had suddenly arrived in his midst. I detested that smirk that I knew far too well. I'd never be able to forget the man; Aizen. Even if the memory of his name were to leave me, I'd never be able to forget that smirk. That smirk that seemed to call out to me. That world that seemed to say 'Welcome back, -

It's always there that I would rise from my slumber, drenched in a cold sweat, despite the muggy warmth of my room. My name is Kanzenkiba Tomoe; I am a seventeen year old, high school senior. I am not necessarily well liked, but I am well known and tolerated by those around me. I study when necessary and generally bring home good grades; I am the captain of the judo club...perhaps that is why I am tolerated. I don't have many friends...no wait— I don't have any, just associates. So I'd like to think I'm fairly normal without many oddities to plague my existence. To be honest, the most unusual thing about me is that while my name is Tomoe and my mother calls me Tomo, under the guise of sleep…a different name surfaces. The name that claws from the depths of my subconscious…Ulquiorra Cifer.

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Afterword: Alright, I look forward to knowing what you think.

-Thanks in advance for reviewing! (lol),

BlackFirelight