Ichigo Kurosaki woke up drowning in his own blood.
It wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last—but this time was different. He wasn't on Earth. Not his Earth, anyway. The sky above him pulsed a deep crimson, swirling with fragments of shattered reishi. Buildings bent unnaturally, curving toward the horizon like glass drawn into a vortex.
He pushed himself to his feet, coughing violently, his body already working overtime to repair itself. His Zanpakutō was cracked—both blades flickering, barely stable. Zangetsu had been silent since the sky tore open three hours ago.
Nothing felt real.
And yet everything hurt.
"This place…" he muttered, scanning the warped skyline of Karakura Town, or at least a twisted version of it. "Where the hell am I?"
A garganta opened overhead without warning. He jumped into stance instantly, ignoring the sharp stab in his ribs.
But it wasn't a Hollow.
Two figures stepped out—floating down effortlessly.
The first wore a long, pale coat and a blindfold.
The second had gears spinning behind him like celestial machinery, golden robes fluttering in a wind that didn't exist.
Ichigo narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
"Gojo Satoru," said the blindfolded one. "And the other guy's the interdimensional librarian. Don't ask too many questions—he gets philosophical."
"I am Julius Novachrono," the other said calmly. "And you, Ichigo Kurosaki, are a Chrono Anchor. You're one of seven."
Ichigo blinked. "A what now?"
Gojo dropped down beside him, crouching. "You ever have time go backward in your dreams? Like something's trying to pull you into a loop?"
Ichigo hesitated. "Yeah… lately it's been happening a lot."
"Exactly," Gojo said. "That's not a coincidence. Time is breaking. Worlds are collapsing. And someone—something—is trying to rewrite how it all ends."
Julius stepped forward, his hand glowing with layered glyphs of gold. "You are connected to the core timelines. Your existence stabilizes the flow of events across multiple parallel Earths. But now, someone is corrupting those flows. And you're next."
Ichigo glanced up. "You're saying this… world isn't mine?"
"It's a fractured copy," Julius confirmed. "Bleeding Nexus. A convergence point of corrupted realms. And it's drawing in versions of you from across timelines."
He turned.
Behind them, dozens of silhouettes stood in the fog.
Ichigos.
Older. Younger. Some hollowfied, some barely recognizable. One had no face. Another had a blade fused to his arm.
"Those are echoes," Julius said. "This Nexus was baited to trap you. Whoever's hunting the Anchors—he's collecting versions. Absorbing them."
Gojo stood, wiping dust from his coat. "And I'm guessing we've got company coming soon?"
Julius didn't answer.
The ground trembled.
A ripple tore through the sky like someone had fired a bullet through a mirror. A figure descended, cloaked in gray flames, eyes glowing with endless contempt. He moved with absolute certainty, blade dragging behind him.
"Who the hell—" Ichigo stepped forward, then froze.
He was looking at himself.
Or what might've been.
The figure wore a fusion of Shinigami robes and Quincy armor. Black horns curled from his head. A halo of reishi circled him like a crown.
Gojo whistled. "Okay. That's metal."
Julius stepped forward. "That's not just an alternate Ichigo. That's the one who fell. A version consumed by every path you rejected. He calls himself Noctis."
Noctis raised his sword.
It didn't hum.
It screamed.
"You don't belong here," he said, voice layered with hollow echoes. "You're interfering with ascension."
Gojo cracked his neck. "Yeah, we do that."
Then Noctis moved.
One flash step and he was on them. Gojo activated Infinity, catching the edge of the blade just before it hit. Sparks flew. Ichigo rushed in from the side, both blades igniting in orange light. Julius opened a gate, casting a delay spell to bend the next second.
Time bent.
Noctis sliced through it.
He wasn't bound by it.
Ichigo clashed blades with him mid-air. For a moment, they were equals—mirror images locked in chaos. Noctis grinned.
"You're not ready."
Ichigo growled, pushing harder. "Maybe not. But I'm still standing."
Noctis released a pulse of reishi so dense it fractured the earth below. Gojo intercepted with Hollow Purple, the blast carving a crescent out of the warped sky.
Julius grabbed Ichigo mid-fall, casting a seal over his fractured blade.
"This fight isn't winnable," he said. "Not yet."
"But—"
"We have to leave. Now."
Gojo opened a gate behind them, fingers bleeding from the clash.
Ichigo glanced back at the version of himself tearing apart his city.
"We're coming back," he said.
Julius nodded. "When the other Anchors are found. Then we fight."
The gate closed.
Far above, Noctis hovered alone in the bleeding sky.
He smiled.
And behind him, a second figure stepped from the shadows.
Madara Uchiha.
"They've begun gathering."
Noctis didn't turn. "Let them."
Madara's Rinnegan pulsed. "Soon, the cycle ends. And we begin."