Is the Soul King Yhwach’s Father & Will Ichigo Become the Soul King in Bleach?
Tite Kubo’s Bleach has provided us with a variety of colorful and intriguing characters. And while those who have not read the manga know only a portion of these, those who have will know that Bleach has one of the more diverse sets of characters in the story. One of them is the enigmatic Soul King, who is mentioned on several occasions before he is finally seen in the final arc of the manga. Although completely passive in all of his actions, the Soul King played an important part in the final arc of Bleach and his overall role in the story is essential for the very existence of the world of Bleach.
Due to his enormous importance, the Soul King, of course, had to be a topic here on Fiction Horizon and in this article, we have decided to answe several major questions about him, including whether he is Yhwach’s father and whether it simply a position one can overtake, or an actual entity that is unique to the world of Bleach. Let us commence!
Who is the Soul King in Bleach?
The Soul King is the head of Soul Society, but because he is thought of as having an absolute nature, the Soul Society citizens see more symbolic value in the Soul King’s existence. The Soul King, who rules over Soul Society, however, doesn’t live in the Seireitei region; instead, he lives in a higher dimension, where the Soul King Palace is also situated. His Royal Guard bodyguards, commonly known as Division 0, are people he has personally chosen. The Soul King is also Yhwach’s father and the architect of this world, Hueco Mundo, and Soul Society.
The Soul King existed before Soul Society existed, and its history begins with the Soul King. Through his ability known as The Almighty, the Soul King created Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the human world out of a so-called primordial world, and since then has acted as the fulcrum for the maintenance of these three dimensions. At some point in the past after Soul Society was created, the Soul King bestowed on Hyōsube the title “Manako Osho” (Monk Who Calls the Real Name).
Why was the Soul King sealed?
At an unspecified point in time, the Soul King’s limbs were separated from his body, and not long after that, he was sealed in a special barrier that kept his powers at bay. Now, we know that the ones that sealed him were the Shinigami, but it is not clear whether he demanded it himself or whether the Shinigami did it for some other reason.
Although Jugram later states that the actual enemy are the Shinigami, which is often corroborated by the fact that a spontaneous attack by him hit only the Shinigami, missing the Quincy in the process, but we cannot disregard the fact that the Royal Guard was composed of Shinigami and that it was not implied in any way that they were keeping him imprisoned, but that they actually protected him. So, it is not known exactly why he was sealed, but supposedly it was to control his powers in some way.
What are the Soul King’s powers and abilities?
The Soul King, who is in charge of all of Soul Society, possesses spiritual abilities that are unmatched in scope. The Quincy king collapsed from sheer exhaustion when Yhwach, who likewise possesses great spiritual power, first possessed the entire range of the Soul King’s abilities. It also took some time for Yhwach to recuperate from his body having fully taken on the Soul King’s abilities.
Yhwach’s body was now leaking so much of the Soul King’s reiatsu that it took the form of innumerable “shadow creatures” and fell upon the Seireitei, where the “shadow monsters” attempted to destroy it. Two of the Soul King’s own body parts, the heart, and the left arm, were able to accumulate enough reiraku to exist as self-sufficient beings, which Yhwach recognized and put in his service, even giving them members of the Schutzstaffel, his personal bodyguard. This is another example of the Soul King’s power.
The Soul King has the power to grant the Ōken to individuals he determines to be deserving of being a member of the Royal Guard, enabling the holder to enter the dimension in which the Soul King’s palace is located whenever desired. When the Soul King bestows the Ōken, he causes the Royal Guard’s bones to transform into the Ōken by implanting its talents into the bones of those he has selected to join.
The Soul King himself has the same ability to predict the future as his son Yhwach. The Soul King, in accordance with Yhwach’s idea, predicted every aspect of his struggle against Soul Society, including the fact that Yhwach would eventually succeed in invading the palace of the Soul King. Ichib Hysube claims that the Soul King possesses a power known as The Almighty. Using this power, the Soul King allegedly once altered a world known as the primeval world in such a way that the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and this world were all produced from this primeval world.
Is the Soul King stronger than Yhwach?
Although we all know the story of how Yhwach killed and absorbed the powers of his father, the Soul King, we still cannot say that Yhwach is stronger than his father. Sure, he was able to absorb – although with a lot of difficulties – his father’s powers, but the latter was in a weakened state and was sealed. There is no way we could say that Yhwach was actually stronger than the Soul King. The Soul King had enormous powers and even without using his full potential, he would be able to defeat Yhwach, had he not been sealed and weakened significantly.
Is the Soul King a Quincy?
The Soul King is the King of Soul Society, whose existence in it is as symbolic as it is absolute. The King is in the Soul King Palace, located in a special dimension within Soul Society, which is protected by the Royal Guard. He is simply a god or god-like entity that created the world as we know it, but is now sealed and really doesn’t do much.
The Quincy, on the other hand, are humans of high mental energy who long ago learned to use the spirit motes around them as weapons to ward off the hollow’s frequent attacks, which were lured by their high reiatsu. Unlike the Shinigami, Quincy completely wiped out the Hollow, which, if destroyed excessively, upsets the balance of souls in the world.
As you can see, the Quincy are mostly human entities and while their powers do come from Yhwach, who was the son of the Soul King, the latter himself is not a Quincy but a spiritual entity in itself, completely different from all other groups in Bleach.
Is the Soul King evil?
This is a question that has not been answered directly, but from what we can infer, the Soul King was not evil. But, we don’t think he was good either. He was simply a neutral spiritual entity that is responsible for maintaining the balance of the world and its existence. We don’t think that he was classifiable under any moral category, especially since neither the Shinigami nor the Quincy considered him to be evil; the former protected him, whereas the latter fought for him.
Is the Soul King Yhwash’s father?
Yhwach was born a baby far too weak to move his arms, legs, or eye limbs. But even as a baby, he had the unique ability to give a piece of his soul to others to heal them of their ailments, no matter what kind. Even if someone had a serious illness or lost a body part, all they had to do was touch the little baby to be healed. The downside was that the people who touched Yhwach only had a short lifespan in return, of either a few years, months, or days.
When the people who possessed a piece of his soul died, their souls were automatically absorbed by Yhwach, giving him their life force and abilities. As a result, he was eventually strong enough to open his eyes and move his arms and legs. Furthermore, by absorbing other souls, not only did his own power expand, but his own life lengthened as well. The people of that time worshiped the child because of this gift and named him after the god they believed in.
After some time, when Yhwach gained his hearing and became aware of it, he henceforth adopted that name as his own. Yhwach was the first Quincy that ever existed and is therefore known as the father of all Quincys. According to Isshin, his blood and thus a piece of his power is present in every other Quincy today. He himself, as it was revealed later on in the series, was indeed the son of the Soul King.
Who killed the Soul King?
During the Quincy War, the King briefly appears at his Royal Palace after the members of Division 0 arrive, along with Byakuya Kuchiki, Renji Abarai, Rukia Kuchiki, and Ichigo Kurosaki at Reiōkyū, where one of his subordinates asks if he is awake. A few days later, Yhwach, his son, arrives at the Soul King’s Palace and proceeds to slaughter many of the Soul King’s vassals and subjects before arriving at the Soul King’s room and stabbing him in the chest.
Soon later, Ichigo and his companions enter the room, where Yhwach informs them of the Spirit King’s predicament before telling them that there is nothing they can do. When Ichigo draws Yhwach’s sword to assist the king, Blut Vene’s veins spread across his right side and drive him to sever the King’s torso.
Ichigo’s actions are explained by Yhwach by revealing that the Quincy blood cannot accept the Soul King’s presence. Yhwach explains to Ichigo how he forced Ichigo to attack him by giving him the Reiatsu still present in his sword, which his blood reacted to by reviving the Soul King. As the lower half of the King’s body and the containment pod fall to the ground, Yhwach declares that the Soul King will never rise again.
In the meantime, in the Seireitei below the Palace, 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake initiates the Kamikake ritual to save the life of the Soul King at the expense of his own after previously being saved by the King’s right-hand man, Mimihagi. He does this by bursting a big black hand from his orifices, ascending to the palace, and grabbing the King’s upper body.
As Mimihagi’s eye starts to roll in surprise at this, Yhwach remarks that Mimihagi is the only thing his eyes can’t foresee and asks if the Soul King is starting to become nostalgic about Soul Society after protecting it all this time. close. Ichigo stops Yhwach by seizing his arm and blocking his attack, allowing Yoruichi to pass them and build a Kid barrier around the Soul King with a number of seals. Yhwach tries to eliminate both the Soul King and Mimihagi.
Before stating that they will have to remove the monarch, Yoruichi observes that Mimihagi has stabilized the situation. However, the barrier cracks when Yoruichi briefly loses focus after being wounded in the shoulder by Ury Ishida, sending the upper half of the King flying in the direction of Yhwach, who takes Mimihagi from her. Yhwach fully absorbs the Spirit King after absorbing Mimihagi.
Will Ichigo become the Soul King?
We actually do know where this one came from, but no – Ichigo Kurosaki does not become the Soul King (unless Kubo does a very silly thing and completely changes the lore of his series). The Can’t Fear Your Own World light novel reveals that the Royal Guard had plans to kill Ichigo, i.e., sacrifice him, to turn him into the new Soul King after the old one died, but that was avoided. The Echoing Jaws of Hell story confirms this and we’re actually not sure that Kubo would have ultimately agreed with such a development for Ichigo.