The sun broke over the horizon.
Ulquiorra stood on the rooftop, watching the needle inside the glass sphere
The Log Pose had reset.
He lowered his hand and looked across the island.
Where the city had been, only empty space remained. Shadows burned into the ground marked where bodies had stood before his spiritual pressure erased them.
Ulquiorra turned his head toward the opposite side of the island.
He sensed them there. The remaining presences huddled together on the ledge, watching from a distance.
He didn't move toward them.
Ulquiorra stepped to the edge of the roof and launched himself forward with a single leap.
He landed at the island's edge.
He lifted the Log Pose again, checking the needle's direction.
Then he jumped.
His feet touched the water's surface for a fraction of a second before he pushed off again.
He left the island behind in seconds.
He continued moving forward for hours, the needle in the Log Pose pointing straight ahead the entire time.
Then an island appeared on the horizon.
Ulquiorra slowed as he approached. The landmass grew larger with each passing moment.
Massive trees rose from the jungle canopy, their trunks wider than ships. Ferns the size of buildings spread across the landscape.
A volcano erupted from the island's center, smoke rising from its peak.
Ulquiorra's feet touched the shore.
He looked down at the Log Pose. The needle spun wildly, unable to settle on any direction.
Ulquiorra set the Log Pose back in his pocket and moved forward.
He sensed two presences. Far stronger than anything he encountered since waking up in this world, stronger even than the old human at the lighthouse.
He moved toward them.
Something massive crashed through the foliage to his right.
A creature emerged. Twenty meters tall. Dark green scales. A T-Rex.. It lunged, mouth open wide enough to swallow him whole.
Silver light flashed down the center of the dinosaur's body.
The two halves slid apart and crashed into the jungle floor with earth-shaking thuds.
He didn't even acknowledge the corpse and continued walking.
The ground trembled beneath his feet.
A shockwave rolled through the earth, splitting trees at their roots. Massive trunks groaned and fell around him in slow motion.
He kept walking.
Each step brought him closer to the source. Each shockwave grew more violent. The jungle began to thin as trees were reduced to stumps, then nothing at all.
Ulquiorra emerged into a clearing.
Two giants stood in the center, separated by a hundred meters.
The first wore a navy-blue cape that whipped in the wind. His eyes burned with savage joy. A dark-grey beard hung to his waist. In his hands: a broadsword bigger than most ships.
The second giant matched him nearly meter for meter. His blonde beard was shaped like an axe blade, wearing a wide grin that stretched across his face. In his hands, he held a massive battle axe.
Their weapons met overhead.
The shockwave tore outward in a visible ring of compressed air, pushing everything back.
Ulquiorra stood at the treeline, completely still, just observing the giants.
The giants separated, both laughing like children.
"Gabababababa! Your strength hasn't dulled, Brogy!"
"Gegyagyagya! Nor has yours, Dorry!"
They charged again.
Sword met axe.
The collision reshaped the landscape, carving new trenches into the earth.
Then they separated with mutual nods.
Both raised their weapons in salute.
"Seventy thousand and four hundred duels!" Dorry's voice boomed across the clearing, proud and joyful.
"Gegyagyagya! And Seventy thousand and four hundred draws!"
Dorry's eyes shifted mid-laugh.
He looked directly at Ulquiorra.
Brogy followed his gaze, lowering his axe slightly.
Dorry's laugh returned, welcoming now.
"Gabababababa! Forgive us, friend!" He planted his massive sword in the ground. "We didn't mean to keep our guest waiting!"
Dorry stepped forward, his shadow falling over Ulquiorra like a passing cloud.
"You stood close to our clash, small warrior." His voice carried genuine concern. "Are you hurt?"
Ulquiorra looked up at him.
"Your clash poses no danger to me."
Silence.
Dorry and Brogy stared down at the pale figure standing before them.
Then they erupted.
"Gabababababa!"
"Gegyagyagya!"
Their laughter shook the ground itself.
Brogy slammed his axe into the earth.
"An interesting human, aren't you?"
Brogy's laugh echoed across the clearing as he leaned forward, studying Ulquiorra with beady eyes.
Dorry planted his sword more firmly into the ground and tilted his head.
"What brings you to Little Garden, small warrior?"
"The Log Pose pointed here." Ulquiorra lifted his gaze to meet Dorry's. "How long until it resets?"
Dorry's expression shifted.
Brogy's grin faltered for the first time.
"Well..." Dorry scratched at his beard. "A full year."
Silence.
Both giants watched him. Waiting.
Ulquiorra blinked once.
"I see."
Nothing else.
Brogy scratched the back of his head.
"Most humans would be screaming right about now." He sounded genuinely confused. "A whole year stuck on an island full of dinosaurs..."
"Gabababababa!" Dorry's laugh returned in full force. "Well, it doesn't matter! We have a guest to feed!"
"Gegyagyagya! That's true!" Brogy hefted his axe onto his shoulder. "Will you join us for a meal, small warrior?"
Ulquiorra looked between them.
He thought for a moment.
"Yes."
An hour passed.
A massive fire crackled in the center. A tyrannosaurus roasted over the flames.
Ulquiorra sat cross-legged on a boulder.
Dorry sat to his left, tending the fire with a tree branch he used as a poker.
Brogy sat to his right.
Dorry leaned forward.
"You haven't told us your name, small warrior."
Ulquiorra looked up from the flames.
"Ulquiorra Cifer."
Dorry stood, towering over the clearing. He placed one massive fist against his chest.
"I am Dorry, the strongest warrior of Elbaf!"
"Gabababababa!"
Brogy rose simultaneously, mirroring the gesture.
"I am Brogy, the strongest warrior of Elbaf!"
"Gegyagyagya!"
Their laughter shook the trees.
Ulquiorra watched them both.
He nodded once.
Something about them felt slightly familiar.
Dorry settled back down, still grinning.
"So, Ulquiorra." He tore a chunk of meat from the roasting dinosaur. "Are you traveling alone?"
"Yes."
Brogy's grin faltered.
"That's... gegyagya... that's rough, little warrior."
Dorry nodded, his expression growing serious.
"A warrior should have comrades."
"I don't need such things."
Both giants went quiet.
The fire crackled between them.
Brogy looked seriously at Ulquiorra.
"Even the strongest warriors need someone to share their victories with!"
Dorry's laugh rumbled through the clearing.
"Gabababababa! Well, it doesn't matter what you think you need!" He slammed his fist against his chest. "For the next year, we're your comrades, Ulquiorra Cifer!"
Brogy raised his axe in agreement. "Gegyagyagya! Whether you like it or not!"
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Author's Notes:
Please leave your thoughts on the chapter.