#basically ichigo defeats aizen and sacrifices half his soul in the process

[cywscross]

UraIchi PC3 --> “Beware the man you think you know.” ~ Catherine Fisher

“I didn’t sacrifice my soul to defeat one madman just for another to take his place. Not even for you, Kisuke.”

“That’s a shame. I really don’t want to kill you, Ichigo.”

“No worries. You won’t.”

[tciddaemina]

sunspurned - or, ichigo kurosaki as a dark souls character

this isnt a crossover I had ever contemplated before, but I read a fic that got me thinking. I spent all of last night thinking about this when I should have been trying to go to sleep, and so here we go, my take on a dark souls ichigo

there are three core components to ichigo's character and his character arc that I think translate very well into making a very interesting dark souls character. first is that he is a relatively normal human (okay give or take here) that grows to have great power, coming to challenge and defeat immensely powerful, almost godlike beings. second is that he falls from grace - he makes a sacrifice in order to defeat a great evil, losing his power and becoming lesser in the process (an act which, when I'm writing, I also like to pair with some sort of act of betrayal from those he was supposed to be helping (typically the greater soul society or central 46, the powers that be - you can thank cywscross's amazing writing for this basically always being my headcanon)). third is that ichigo is loyal. it is one of the core princepts of his character, that he does it all to protect his friends, fighting beyond the point of reason, that ichigo cares deeply and does not forget, that at heart he is a very kind soul capable of immense self sacrifice to protect those he loves. and within these three factors, you have some good stuff to work with when adapting him to a dark souls setting

and so we have ichigo kurosaki, once a night of some unnamed ancient golden kingdom, the last kingdom, the last holdfast of the beaming light. a normal man, who rises to face the threat of a destruction that threatens to swallow everything - an evil (likely Aizen if we're heading full AU fusion) who seeks to consume the sun, the source of the kingdom's bountiful light, plunging it into an era of terror and darkness

knight ichigo, called the golden knight in the time of his glory, eventually destroys the evil, making great sacrifices in the process, barely surviving, and while doing so himself somehow becomes a being of immense power, radiant and semi-godlike. he has swallowed the light of the sun, fought back the night, and now it exists beneath his skin, golden, glowing and immortal

he never asked for this power, he never wanted it, and that he has it is in itself a sacrifice he made. he never wanted glory - just to protect his friends, his family, his home, and now he is godlike

defeating aizen, doesn't actually get them out of danger though. the sun, the great flame, whatever you want to call it, is reaching the end of its lifespan and is guttering out, still dying. and if it does, so does the last golden kingdom

the flame needs new fuel, needs a new source to keep it burning, a new lease of life if it is to continue - if the last golden kingdom is to continue. something must be done

a sacrifice must be made

and ichigo, godlike, golden, with the sun beneath his skin, steps forward. he offers himself up, because if he can do this - if it means his home, his sister's, his friends, will be safe then it's worth it. anything is worth it

ichigo sacrifices himself, and they carve his living heart out of his chest and burn it within the great flame. and ichigo dies. it consumes his power, consumes him, but the flame is external and now so is ichigo, his heart a part of it, his immortal life the fuel to its flame

ichigo burns alive, smouldering from the chest, all golden flame and cracked embers, golden armor stained black and cracked. he is blackened, burned, smouldering to his bones, half flesh and half embers, neither alive nor dead, always burning

so ichigo burns, and he dies, and he lives all the same. before, condemned to an immortal life, and now further cursed with the facts he can never die, his very life bound to the eternal flame

what ichigo does not know as he is cast into the flame is that his sacrifice was not enough. the kings of the last golden kingdom bled his sister's too, knelt them before the flame and bled them to their bones to strengthen it further - three points to a sacrifice, the blessed blood of family, two guardians created to guard the burning heart, empty shades that would fight beyond the point of death to protect their brothers heart

as ichigo burns, he watches them bleed out, unable to stop it, unable to help. the flame takes him and his sister's blood pools on the stone and ichigo dies.

the tragedy is that it doesn't even save the last golden kingdom. they make the sacrifice, relighting the eternal flame, but their era is over now anyway. twilight has come, and the last golden kingdom crumbles and falls, clinging to its glory even as it fades, silence settling across empty streets like a shroud. the kingdom dies, not a soul left - none, save ichigo

ichigo exists in the ashes of a fallen realm, a knight of embers and ash, half burned and still burning, immortal and unending and unable to die, lingering in the silent and empty ruins of his once home, guard it, because it is the only thing he has left. just as his sister's shades guard his heart, ichigo guards their home, wandering the streets of the dead kingdom

with time, the story of the kingdom's demise is forgotten, and so is ichigo. he becomes just another ageless monster wandering the ruins, another ghost of embers and ash, endless and undying and immortal. the sunspurned knight they call him, always burning and half embers, cast from the blessing of the light

and so he lingers, guarding his ancient home and the last resting place of his family, the great temple where the ancient flame still burns, and with it ichigo's heart