Ichigo had no idea what to expect when he opened his eyes.

The world had gone to shit in the aftermath of the Soul King's death at the hands of Yhwach, the barriers between Soul Society, Hueco Mundo and the human world breaking down and causing the 3 dimensions to flood into each other.

Natural disasters on a scale never seen before began to ravage the earth, decimating the human population with every passing second.

In just a few scant hours, humanity would be annihilated, and the balance of the soul cycle irreparably damaged.

The only hope lay with Urahara Kisuke and the Royal Guard, who seemed to have some way to restore the Soul King and the balance between the dimensions, toiling away in what remained of the Soul King's Palace.

But all of it was for naught if nothing was done about Yhwach, who was hellbent on destroying everything that the Soul King had wrought.

That mission had fallen to Ichigo, who retreated into a meditative trance to obtain the pinnacle of his Shinigami powers, the Final Getsuga Tensho, once more.

The first attempt back during the war with Aizen had taken him 3 months in the Dangai, and this second, while much faster, had still taken far too much time.

If it wasn't for his comrades' sacrifice, he had no doubt that Yhwach would not have allowed him to live past the first minute in Jinzen.

Uryu, Chad, Orihime, Rukia, Renji, Byakuya, Toshiro, his own father and Uryu's too, and even Aizen, who had been released from Muken to do battle with their mutual enemy.

Each of them had fallen defending him, stalling for time so that he could achieve his ultimate power.

Their sacrifice was not in vain. Ichigo had emerged, in a transcendent state that vastly surpassed what he had achieved two years before now that he fully understood the nature of his powers.

But even that would have been futile before Yhwach's godlike powers, the result of him assimilating the Soul King's very existence, essentially turning him into the new Soul King, in other words, a God.

Would have, had it not been for the final trump card that Uryu had passed to him with the last ounce of his strength before passing.

The Still Silver, the special metal material that manifested in the hearts of Quincies that had their powers stolen by Yhwach's Auswahlen, harvested from the bodies of their respective mothers by their fathers and forged into an arrowhead.

The metal had the ability to negate Yhwach's powers for a brief moment by coming into contact with the Quincy King's blood.

Invisible to even Yhwach's Almighty that allowed him to observe the past, present and all possible futures, Ichigo had managed to stab it into him right before cutting him down with Mugetsu.

If it had worked as advertised, there was no way even Yhwach could have survived being struck by the ethereal blade of pitch black.

Ichigo had expected to see Yhwach's body hit the ground in the next moment.

Instead, the world around them seemed to shatter into prismatic fragments before he and the dying Yhwach were forcibly pulled by an unseen force to who knows where.

His eyes had shut instinctively, his consciousness dimming, and only when it returned and he was sure that he was no longer moving against his will did he dare to open them.

His first thought was that he had no idea where the hell he was.

This was certainly not the air above Karakura, where he had been battling the Quincy King.

Instead of a shattered landscape ravaged by violent winds and ceaseless rain, he was greeted by a stagnant grey world.

And he meant stagnant. There was no sign of movement whatsoever, not even the smallest hint of a breeze.

It was as though time itself had come to a halt.

The second thought that occurred to him was astonishing.

He still had his powers.

That shouldn't be possible.

The cost of using the Final Getsuga Tensho was the loss of his Shinigami powers. That had not changed since the first time he used it.

It was possible to regain them afterwards, but the fact that he would lose them initially was immutable.

Or it was supposed to be.

But he had them nonetheless.

His body teemed with absolute power.

In fact, it was even greater than it had been when he fought Yhwach.

Almost overwhelmingly so.

"What is this…?" He muttered to himself.

He had not been expecting an answer, but he got one anyway.

"Ah, finally lucid, I see." A gentle voice spoke just next to him, almost causing him to jump out of his skin and reach for a sword that he had briefly forgotten was no longer there.

Ichigo spun to face the speaker, and came face to face with…a man?

He wasn't sure if that was enough to describe the individual he was looking at.

He had gentle features, not unlike that of Ukitake, younger but not less weary, the look of someone who had seen the horrors the world had to offer, with blond tresses and orbs of molten gold for eyes.

He wore nothing but a white robe on his fairly muscular body, and yet exuded not even the smallest hint of indecency,

Instead, all Ichigo could feel was a sense of timelessness and unearthliness, something completely alien to humans.

It was just like being in the presence of the Soul King.

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked, not able to bring himself to use his usual abrasive and demanding tone on this person.

"Hm…I could tell you, but I'm not quite sure you would believe me." The being answered, a hint of amusement lighting his eyes for a moment.

Ichigo highly doubted that. With everything he had already been through, there really wasn't much left that could surprise him.

"Try me."

"Very well then. I go by many names and titles. YHWH, Elohim, Adonai, but I believe the one you would be most familiar with would be God."

"…"

Out of all the answers that Ichigo thought he would receive, that had not been one of them.

"God." Ichigo repeated in a tone that was not quite disbelieving, but not entirely accepting either.

"Yes, the Almighty, the Father of Creation, the big man upstairs, as humans these days call me." The man said without missing a beat.

This was…not entirely unbelievable, he supposed.

If a God like the Soul King existed, it wasn't that strange for the Biblical God to be real too.

He certainly gave off an aura of divinity that lent credence to his claim.

But, if God existed, why was the world going to hell in a handbasket once the Soul King croaked?

And for him to be talking to the capital G-O-D himself…

"Am I dead then?"

"Oh no, far from it. If you were dead, you would not be speaking to me. Or even my Angels, seeing as you are not a believer. You are very much alive, which is more than I can say for the one over there."

Ichigo looked in the direction that God was nodding in and tensed.

Lying on the ground not far from the two of them was unmistakably Yhwach.

But, he was not moving in the slightest, indistinguishable from the stagnant landscape around them.

He was undoubtedly dead.

"Quite the odd one. I sensed a power not unlike my own coming from him, ready to burst forth from his corpse. And your own considerable power of course, dissipating from your being. That would have been rather inconvenient for me if they ran rampant in this place, so I forced them back into you."

Ichigo blinked.

"Um…what?"

"I forced your powers and his into your body." God repeated unhesitatingly.

It explained why Ichigo had not lost his powers, but experienced a drastic increase instead.

But, his own powers, on top of Yhwach's, not to mention the Soul King's…

Wait, didn't that basically mean that he was the new Soul King?

"Oh crap." Ichigo cursed as he made that realization.

But…that might prove to be a good thing.

If the Soul King's powers were still intact, he could use them to fix the mess that Yhwach had made and put everything back the way it was.

Now if only he could get back…

"Hey, if you're God, then could you send me back to earth? The place has kinda gone to hell and I have to go fix it. No, actually, it might be better if you send me to the Soul King's Palace."

"I'm afraid that's quite impossible for me. Even with my powers, sending you to a different reality is beyond me."

"…A different reality?"

That was phrased rather strangely. Kisuke usually used dimensions to describe the various realms.

"Yes. I'm certain that you and the one over there are not native to this reality. Your words just confirmed it. As far as I can tell, our earth is perfectly fine. And I have never heard of this Soul King, or his palace, and I am aware of every other deity in this reality."

Ichigo froze, the implications of God's words finally hitting him.

This wasn't another dimension like Soul Society or Hueco Mundo, metaphysically separate yet connected to the human world.

If God's words were to be trusted, then this was a whole different reality.

He had some knowledge of multiverse theory, which enabled him to visualize the gravity of the situation.

If the Soul King's Palace did not exist, then Soul Society and Hueco Mundo probably didn't either, which meant that Shinigami and Hollows, and probably Quincies, didn't exist.

Hell, Karakura might not be in this reality either, or anyone he knew for that matter.

Ichigo's vision swam, and it felt like he might have collapsed if a firm hand had not clasped his shoulder at that moment.

"Do not lose heart, young man. There may still be a way for you to return home."

Hope surged in his chest and Ichigo looked back at God.

"Tell me."

"Before that, I'm afraid I require your assistance with a certain matter."

God faced forward with a steely gaze, deeply contrasting his warm demeanour up until that point.

Ichigo looked in the same direction and did a double take, forcing himself to swallow down his sudden fear.

What lay before him could only be described as an 'abomination'.

A beast of the utmost darkness, covered in a random mess of black fur, scales and feathers, far more massive than anything Ichigo had ever seen, vastly towering over even the likes of Yammy Llargo in his Resurreccion.

Each of its six black limbs, four forelimbs and two legs, extending from the vaguely simian torso ended in twisted, gnarled talons that were no doubt just as deadly as even the strongest Zanpakuto.

Six different wings, all different-sized yet scaled to the beast's absolutely monstrous stature, sprouted from various places on its back, a feathered one reminiscent of a bird, one that looked like a bat's, an even thicker one that probably had more muscles in it than Ichigo had in his entire body, and three distinct insectile appendages, each equally intimidating.

Seven tails, the most eye-catching and terrifying of them being the scaled-up scorpion stinger, sprang from the same location on the back end of the torso, each of differing length and shape.

And to top it all off were the seven long necks extending from the front end, each supporting a different head.

The first head was vaguely human, possessing the basic shape and a human nose. But the similarities ended there. Where its eye should have been instead were jagged holes, as though someone had cut into a canvas with a serrated blade. Its mouth was non-existent, and the lower jaw was covered in red vein-like lines. And most strikingly of all were the tree branch-like horns growing from its temples, covered in flames.

The second was a twisted, horrific mix between a human and a dragon. The feminine facial features, beautiful on its own, was ruined by its mouth, which extended far past the head and went down to the midpoint of the neck it was supported on, the long slits covered in teeth. Matted locks of silver-blue hair trailed down, crowned by two gargantuan horns.

The third head was shaped like a Hannya mask from Japanese Noh theatre, except the traditional two short horns were replaced with black, red-veined bull horns, each tip adorned with a Higanbana, the sorrowful flower the Japanese had associated with death.

The fourth was perhaps the most normal looking of the bunch, taking the shape of a wolf's head, its snout hanging open and revealing the massive blade-like teeth. Yet, despite its normalcy in comparison to the rest, Ichigo felt the greatest chill of fear run down his spine when he laid his eyes upon it, making it no less terrifying than the rest.

The fifth was grotesque in an almost artistic fashion, as though some demented artist had painted a hundred faces onto a blank head, each portraying a different human in suffering. And yet, one, right in the middle of the head, stood out from the rest in great contrast, bearing an expression of complete tranquillity amidst the sea of agony.

The sixth head took the shape of a dragon's skull, and nothing more than that. No scales, skin, muscle, blood vessels, nerves or organs in sight, it resembled undead monsters in various video games that he had played in the past, except this one was real and much more terrifying than some clusters of pixels on a tv screen.

And the seventh and final head was probably the most aberrant among them, simply because its features were completely indiscernible. In the split seconds he had taken to mentally register it as being that of a dragon, it had physically morphed into a lion's head. And just as quickly, into that of a bird, and then a bat, then a youthful black-haired human and back to a dragon. The only feature on it that remained constant was the quartet of horns, ugly, twisted things that were even spaced around its crown.

This…beast that lay before him, seemingly asleep, kept in that state by the countless golden bindings of God's creation, was unlike anything he had seen before.

Not even the Hollows, fallen human souls that had taken the shape of monsters, or that horrifying visage that Yhwach had gained upon absorbing the Soul King could hope to compare to the sheer terror that this thing inspired with its mere presence.

"What…is that…!?" Ichigo choked out, barely able to get a sound out with how tightly clenched his throat felt.

"Hm…well, being a non-believer, I suppose you've never read the Book of Revelations? Does the name 'Trihexa' or 'the Imperial Beast of the Apocalypse' ring any bells?"

"Not really." Ichigo privately thought.

But he could tell just by looking at it that this thing was serious bad news.

But, just how bad he could only imagine…

"Then what if I were to tell you that this was a creature capable of ending all of creation, my world and yours, and countless more?"

…Okay, that was considerably worse than he thought.

Still, he didn't have much trouble believing it.

Yhwach had the power to destroy Soul Society, Hueco Mundo and the human world with a mere thought, and this thing had just as much, if not even more power than even the Quincy King.

"I request your aid in defeating this creature and ending the threat it poses once and for all. Once this is over, I vow that I will do all in my power to return you to your world." God spoke with a firm tone.

Still, it did not sound like a demand.

He probably wouldn't begrudge him if he chose to walk away right now.

But, Ichigo couldn't.

His way home depended on it.

And even if he could, he wouldn't.

It was in his nature to protect even those he did not know, and this creature was not something he would wish upon his worst enemies.

"I sure hope you have a plan, because I don't think this thing is gonna go down without one hell of a fight, and no offense, but you don't seem as powerful as me."

The omnipotent being before him may possess abilities too numerous to count, but in terms of sheer power alone, Ichigo could sense that his outclassed God's by a mile.

That probably had something to do with the exhaustion he could detect a mile away from the deity, likely from the sheer strain of keeping the beast asleep for as long as he had, but even if he were at full power, Ichigo was almost completely confident that he would still be superior.

Showing no sign of indignation at Ichigo's words, God nodded.

"True, I may not be as strong as you or the beast, but the millenia I have spent sealing and observing it has allowed me to cobble together some semblance of a plan. With your immense power, I believe we have a good chance of success."

"I'm listening."

"Very well. When I first encountered this creature, I had presumed it to be a single lifeform, much like you have, I'm sure. However, my observations over time have led me to conclude that it is not a single entity, but seven different beings amalgamated into the abomination we see now, their individual might compounding to give it the overwhelming power that we sense. Were we to fight it in its current state, we would likely be dragged into a long and arduous battle, the outcome of which even I cannot predict. But if we can separate it into its seven components and eliminate each of them, then…"

Ichigo nodded, understanding the gist of the plan.

"Makes sense. But how are we going to pull them apart? It doesn't seem to be something as simple as cutting one head away from the rest."

"Indeed, it is not. Their fusion goes far beyond the physical and into the realm of the metaphysical. But, as I said, my time spent observing it has granted me a depth of understanding that no one else can boast. I am confident that I will be able to remove one from the rest. When I do, I ask that you eliminate it while I keep the other six suppressed. Once you have, I will separate the second creature, and so on until all seven are defeated."

"Got it. I'd like to say that we should get started, but…" Ichigo trailed off, looking down at his hand.

His empty hand, devoid of the familiar and comforting weight of his weapons.

His Zanpakuto had vanished when he had assumed Mugetsu's form, and though his powers were intact, they had not returned.

Likely because he was still in Mugetsu, judging by the long black hair that fell around his face.

And he had no idea how to manifest them, or if it was even possible in the first place.

"Is something wrong?"

"It's just…I fight at my best when I wield a sword. While I can fight without one, I'm not confident I'll be able to give it my 100%."

"I see. In that case, please take this."

God stretched a hand out to him, and in it, a magnificent golden blade appeared, its hilt presented to him.

It looked more ornate than practical, but there was no denying the power that rolled off of it.

"My personal blade, Deus Xiphos, the Sword of God. She will surely serve you well."

"A-Are you sure? This blade must mean a lot to you…"

"She does indeed. Still, I implore to take her. With my role in this battle, I will not be in a position to wield her. And if it can raise our chances of victory, the so be it." God spoke with conviction.

Ichigo gingerly reached out to the finely crafted blade and grasped it carefully, almost afraid that his mere touch would tarnish it.

And as his grip slowly tightened around the handle, he was not surprised to feel a small surge of dissatisfaction from the sword.

He had no idea if it would be on the same level as a Zanpakuto, but he had already expected that the personal weapon of God himself would possess some level of sentience.

And that it would not be happy to be used by someone other than its true wielder.

Still, beneath the discontent, he could feel a strong resolve.

The blade was willing to put aside its unhappiness at the situation and give it its all in order to slay this beast.

What could he do in the face of two great convictions but reply with his own.

He swung the blade once and then again, testing its weight.

Perfect, was the only word that could describe it.

"Alright then, let's do this."

Ichigo turned to face the beast, preparing for the first of seven long battles.

"By the way, not to jinx us, but on the off chance that we fail, what will happen?"

"We will almost certainly be killed, and Trihexa will be free to wreak havoc upon my world. The inhabitants will be powerless to stop it, and once it razes everything there is to the ground, it will likely move onto another world." The deity replied grimly.

But even when confronted with those hefty consequences, Ichigo felt no fear.

"Well then, I guess we just have to make sure we succeed, don't we?"

God could only watch in awe as the young man he had entrusted a herculean task to overcame the odds before his very eyes.

A single swing of his own golden blade, and an arm of the first of seven beasts was severed cleanly, joining the other on the ground, along with a horn and no small amounts of severed flesh, prompting a pained roar from it and frenzied movement as it attempted to strike down its opponent.

This first beast was one he was intimately familiar with.

After all, it was one of his many creations.

Goetia, the being he had created to act as the conduit between King Solomon and the 72 Demons and their counterparts, the 72 Angels, recorded in the Lesser Key of Solomon.

As a result, it possessed the abilities of all 72 Demons, the ancestors of the 72 Pillars, and 72 Angels, the first and strongest of his Heavenly Host.

Shortly after Solomon's death, he had made to retrieve Goetia before it could fall into the hands of the wise king's far more incompetent children and ruin everything he had wrought.

However, it had already vanished and to his shock, had been masked from even his omnipotence that allowed him to see every corner of the world.

It had been from tracking it down that God had come across the Imperial Beast of the Apocalypse to begin with.

Daring to take his eyes off the intense battle, God turned to regard Trihexa, now down to 6 heads with Goetia's removal.

On the surface, it did not seem to have made a dent in the mighty beast's power, but God knew better.

The results would make themselves clear when Goetia was defeated.

The other 6 beasts, he could admit he was not as familiar with.

He could certainly name them all, and after doing battle with them once before so long ago, could identify their abilities.

A crash off to the side drew his attention, and to his amazement, Goetia had fallen, its mangled body covered in numerous gashes, and the black taint of Trihexa's corruptive influence slowly washing off.

His partner in this endeavour was walking back to him, with only light scratches on his person and ruffled clothing as proof of the fierce battle he had fought.

God raised a hand to him, preparing to heal even those minor injuries to ensure that he would be in top condition, but he was stopped.

"Save your energy for the seal. I got this. Let's keep going." He said with so much confidence that even God believed him.

Channelling his divine power, he slowly undid the conceptual bonds between the second beast and the rest of Trihexa.

The half-human, half-draconic head woke as it was separated from the rest and gained a body of its own, releasing a thunderous roar from its far too big maws.

"Be careful, this one is far more dangerous than the last."

And he meant it.

For this second beast was Tiamat, the Chaos Karma, the Mother of Dragons, the Mesopotamian goddess of primordial chaos that had helped in shaping the world from the eldritch, chaotic essence of the Dimensional Gap.

Or rather, it was Tiamat's divinity, lost after her death at the hands of her own subjects and her subsequent reincarnation into her current, lesser draconic existence.

Lost, and found by Trihexa, who had devoured and corrupted it, giving rise to this ugly entity, a mockery of Tiamat's original divine beauty.

But twisted as it was, its power had the same basis as Tiamat's, allowing it to release a corruptive mud that allowed her to completely rewrite and twist any being unfortunate to come into contact with it into her personal puppets.

He was immune to it as he had found out in the last battle he had with Trihexa, but he wasn't so sure about his companion.

"Your next opponent will release a substance that will subsume you should it touch you, so I would advise you to steer clear of it."

"Is that so? Well, that won't be a problem. After all…"

Tiamat roared and charged at the young man as she was removed form the seal, the black mud that God was cautioning him about already surging towards them at an alarming speed.

"…Speed is my specialty."

And God lost sight of him completely.

His eyes searched the battlefield briefly, before Tiamat was blasted backwards, as though struck by a great force.

He found his companion in the spot previously occupied by the corrupted goddess's hulking body, a foot extended in her direction as though he had just kicked.

And that was exactly what had happened, God realized.

He had kicked Tiamat with so much force that the giant goddess had been thrown far off into the distance.

Once again, God was awed by his companion's sheer physical prowess.

It gave him hope that this plan may actually succeed.

God had not been anywhere near as confident as he had assured his companion he was.

He alone had faced Trihexa millennia ago, and he alone knew just how unfathomably powerful the beast was.

Even a part of it would still possess immense power, far greater than anyone outside of the World's Top 10 could exhibit.

He could not sense the full extent of his companion's power either, but that was exactly why he wasn't sure he would be able to succeed.

But, now he was certain.

This young man, Kurosaki Ichigo, was the one he had been waiting for.

Just as the Dream had said.

Unbeknownst to Ichigo, he had not been ripped from his world and arrived here by coincidence.

The Dragon of Dreams, the unassailable guardian of the Dimensional Gap itself, the Great Red, had torn him from his reality and brought him here.

To help change the bleak future that it and God had foreseen.

In the not too distant future, God would be weakened from maintaining the seal that his very existence would be compromised, rendering him unable to intervene when the son of Lucifer would stumble across the sealed beast and foolishly release it, believing wrongly that he would be able to control it.

Trihexa would rampage across the world, killing many innocents and laying waste to all realms, despite the various factions' coordinated efforts to stop it.

They would win, and seal Triheza once more, but at great cost.

God knew he could not allow such a future to come to pass, and Great Red agreed.

And so the Ultimate Dragon searched the countless worlds birth from and separated by the Dimensional Gap for a warrior, a hero with the power and the heart to face the beast down and end it.

And it found one.

A young man who rose against endless tides of despair, seizing victory again and again, and inspiring hope in others.

It ripped him from the point in time when his power would be at its greatest and brought him here to fulfil this arduous task.

God felt no small amount of guilt for tearing such a fine young man away from his world without his consent, more so for lying about it, but if given the choice, he would do it again and again.

For the sake of this world's peace.

God regarded the 5 beasts remaining.

The third was Mara, the demonic entity that had attempted to seduce and corrupt the Buddha, utilizing impossibly realistic illusions to tempt its opponents.

The fourth was the Beast of Gaia, a creature Gaia had spawned to slaughter the humans who had polluted her beloved Earth, but had been devoured by Trihexa before it could even begin its mission.

The fifth was the Contents of Pandora's Pithos, containing every evil and every sin known to man. And yet in the middle of all that chaos was Elpis, a tiny glimmer of hope. They too had been swallowed by Trihexa soon after the foolish creation of the Olympians had released them onto the world.

The sixth was the one least known to God, a being of extra-terrestrial origins, Angolmois. It had arrived on earth millenia ago, bent on devouring the planet and all life on it, but vanished soon afterwards.

And the last was the original, the real Trihexa itself. Already powerful on its own, it had devoured the aforementioned 6 to increase its might exponentially, putting it on par with beings like the Infinite Dragon God and the Dragon of Dreams, something thought to have been impossible.

Each was a terrifying opponent, certainly not ones that could be easily fought one after another.

Yet, God believed that Ichigo could do it.

He was, after all, the one who made the impossible possible.

And when it was all over…he would finally be able to rest in peace.

Ichigo breathed heavily, trying to regulate his breathing.

He stood over the carcass of the seventh and final beast, his last opponent.

It had proved vicious and desperate, trying to consume him to make up for the power it had lost with the defeat of the other 6, and the wounds that he had slowly accumulated from the previous battles not helping much, but no longer having to maintain the seal, God aided him in the final battle, healing his injuries and pelting the beast with powerful blasts of divine power.

The beast finally fell when Ichigo beheaded it, pouring a good chunk of his reserves into Deus Xiphos to produce a Getsuga-like wave of energy, ending the threat known as Trihexa.

"My eternal gratitude, young man. With this, my world is finally safe."

God smiled tiredly as he approached him.

"I'd say no problem, but that would be a lie. That was a pain in the ass." Ichigo half-heartedly complained.

"Indeed, a laborious endeavour it was." The deity chuckled.

"Now, about what we agreed on…"

"Of course."

God waved a hand, and a prismatic rift appeared in front of them.

"This is a gateway to the Dimensional Gap. It is connected to countless worlds, yours likely among them, but it is also a place of primordial energy, teeming with so much chaos that ordinary beings would have no hope of surviving even a moment within. However, with your immense power, you should feel only minor discomfort, if any at all. Once you are there, search for a red dragon flying around the realm. It will point you in the right direction." God explained.

And then, he faltered, and would have collapsed if Ichigo had not reacted and caught him in time.

"Hey, are you okay!?"

No sooner than those words had left his mouth did Ichigo see God's legs slowly dissolving to golden particles and dispersing.

Deus Xiphos shuddered in his hand, a wave of alarm and sorrow emerging from it.

"What is…!?"

"It appears…that I have reached my limit. I strained my divine essence too far keeping Trihexa sealed as long as I did. This is the result. I am fading."

"Isn't there a way to stop it!?"

"Fret not. I had foreseen that I would likely end up like this. I have long made peace with it. Now that Trihexa has finally been vanquished, the world is no longer in danger. It has endured without me for millennia, and will continue to do so even after I vanish."

Like his fallen son would say in the near future, 'the world continues to turn even without God'.

"But…!"

"It has been a long and tiresome journey for me. Now, all I wish to do is sleep. Please, allow me to have that. Honor this wish, even if it goes against your beliefs." God smiled wanly, the dissipation beginning to reach his torso.

"But before I vanish, I have one final reward for you, as thanks for helping me when you did not need to."

God pressed a finger against Ichigo's forehead before he could react, and with a flash of golden light, something fundamentally changed within him.

"What did you…?"

"My abilities and knowledge…I pass them to you. You may do with them as you see fit."

What God had passed to him was seamlessly infused into his very being, becoming a concrete part of him as his Shinigami, Hollow and Quincy powers were.

"I…I don't want…"

"Yes, perhaps this power is nothing more than a heavy burden upon your shoulders. Forgive me, for it is the best I can give you as I am now. And I must burden you more with one final request. My dear Deus Xiphos…won't you take her with you? She would be so terribly lonely once I am gone, but I believe you will take good care of her."

Sorrow now poured from the golden blade in torrents, and Ichigo could basically hear it wailing, pleading with its wielder.

God lightly tapped its hilt with a fading hand.

"This is farewell, my beloved partner. I know you do not wish for a parting like this, but I cannot bear to have you follow me in my demise. I implore you to put up with my selfishness one last time. This young man is your wielder now. Obey him, as you would me." He spoke softly and coaxingly.

Ichigo felt very much like a unwanted third wheel, intruding on the last words of a father to his daughter.

The sorrow emanating from Deus Xiphos grew no weaker, but now a sense of resignation lay beneath it, reluctantly accepting the inevitable end of its wielder.

The dissipation had now reached God's neck, leaving nothing but a head.

"Ah, just what awaits a God after death? Even with my foresight, I cannot find an answer. For the first time in a long time, I am filled with nothing but curiosity. Though my journey in this world ends here, a new one is about to begin!"

God's eyes were alight with a childlike sense of wonder, and for a moment, Ichigo felt glad for him.

And then, they were gone, along with the rest of him, leaving nothing but Ichigo, Deus Xiphos, the cooling carcasses of the seven beasts and the rift to the Dimensional Gap behind.

Ichigo looked down at the blade of God, now his.

"Well, I guess it's you and me now. I'm definitely no God, but I hope we can get along."

Ichigo felt a very small, almost undetectable sense of acceptance from the blade and smiled slightly.

They just might be able to make this work.

"Then, let's go. I need to find a way back and fix that damn mess that madman left behind."

Ichigo put a foot forward and stepped into the rift.

But that was not the end of his story in this world.

It was just beginning.

Whether he liked it or not.

Wow, it has been a really long time.

My grades haven't exactly pulled up yet, but because of some personal circumstances that I won't bore you all with, I ended up taking a break from school for a bit.

Unfortunately, I kinda forgot where I was headed with my other stories, so this new one is my attempt to rekindle the lost spark.

I'm not entirely sure how seriously I'm taking this story, I haven't really thought that far ahead, but hey, it'll be fun for me.

As you might have surmised from this prologue, this is a literal Godlike Ichigo story.

Nothing but Ophis and Great Red can even pose a threat to him anymore, but that almighty power brings about its own set of problems.

Trihexa itself won't play any further role in this story, not any I foresee anyway, but the beasts that comprised it still will in a way.

The seven beasts that make up Trihexa were inspired by the Evils of Man from Fate/Grand Order as players may have noticed, but since I don't play it myself and only 4 Evils were revealed at this point in time, I had to take a few liberties.

I can't really think of anymore to say right now, mostly because it's in the middle of the night and I have a splitting headache, so I'm off to take an aspirin and go to sleep.

See you guys next chapter.

As always, please read and review.