Chapter 42: Yhwach in the Wandenreich
"The situation is truly dire. A double collapse of both body and soul... is there really any possibility of him surviving?"
Inside a hidden cave, Yoruichi Shihoin gazed at Uryu Ishida, who was wrapped up like a mummy. Her expression was grave, her tone laced with doubt.
As Kisuke Urahara's childhood friend and fellow exile from the Soul Society, Yoruichi was one of Urahara's most reliable connections. Upon learning of the "Void Tribulation," she had been commissioned by Urahara to return to the Soul Society ahead of schedule to persuade key individuals.
She had been monitoring Uryu's arrest, but while she originally intended to use noble channels to intervene, she hadn't expected Uryu to be so fierce—not only staging a violent prison break but daring to throw a punch at the Gotei 13 and killing Mayuri Kurotsuchi on the spot.
Yoruichi was no stranger to Mayuri. After her exile, that mad scientist had often acted as the Gotei 13's "black glove," handling the dirty work—like slaughtering souls in the Rukongai to balance the numbers between the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo when Hollow populations fluctuated. Mayuri had used the convenience of his role to make countless people vanish onto his operating table. To those "in the know" like Yoruichi, "notorious" didn't even begin to describe him.
As a spectator who enjoyed a good show, Yoruichi had watched the events with great excitement and had decisively rescued Uryu from Captain-Commander Yamamoto's grasp at the critical moment.
She had expected to trade a few blows with the old man, but Yamamoto simply watched without ordering an immediate pursuit—which caught her off guard. Regardless, she saved the boy and rushed him to a safe house. However, she didn't expect the real trouble to start after the rescue.
Uryu's injuries were catastrophic. As the head of the Shihoin Clan (one of the Five Great Noble Families), former Captain of the 2nd Division, and former Commander of the Onmitsukido, Yoruichi had seen her share of casualties. She had seen wounds this severe before, but she had never seen someone sustain them without immediately breathing their last!
A holy voice descended from the heavens: "As long as I am still watching this world, the probability of Uryu Ishida surviving is 100%. However, up until this very moment, Uryu has not given up the fight. Naturally, I will not interfere with his battle on a whim."
Yoruichi looked up at the sky with a playful, curious glint in her eyes.
The Shihoin family was no stranger to the Soul King. Since He was suppressed, each of the five noble houses had divided up his legacy like looters sharing spoils—though they called it "safekeeping." The Shihoin family kept the various god-tier armaments bestowed by the King. Yoruichi had spent her childhood running around the armory; she was intimately familiar with the Soul King's aura.
Her attitude toward this mysterious, invisible "Observer" was subtle. To say it was the Soul King didn't quite match the aura, but to say it wasn't... who else could reverse time and possess omniscience?
After much thought, Yoruichi leaned toward Aizen's logic: this mysterious entity was likely a consciousness evolved from a part of the Soul King's body.
With this realization, Yoruichi remained silent but cautious—and slightly relieved. Ordinary Soul Reapers didn't know, but as a high noble, she knew that parts of the Soul King manifesting as independent entities weren't rare. Jushiro Ukitake of the 13th Division housed the manifestation of the Soul King's Hand within him. On the surface, they called it "enshrining," but it was a seal.
That entity, known as Mimihagi, originated from the King but was hardly a "benevolent god." It had caused massive upheavals in the Soul Society before being sealed. That tribulation was why certain Shinto families still kept specific ritual tools—like the Shinken Hakkyoken (Eight Mirror Sword) seen in the final war. Nominally a "ritual tool" useless for cutting people, it possessed the attribute of "Divine Reflection," specifically designed to counter and cut down gods.
Mo Yu could only remark that religious faith in the Bleach world was fascinating—where "worshiping" and "cutting to death" were essentially synonyms.
Ukitake's family had paid a great price for generations to seal Mimihagi. Ukitake himself, as the current host, had his internal organs consumed by the entity, which then inhabited his body to keep him alive. Despite his Captain-level strength, he was chronically ill, coughing blood every few days. But that was his ultimate trump card: if he faced an undefeatable foe and sacrificed his flesh and soul, he could manifest the power of the Hand.
Yoruichi's caution stemmed from this: if the Observer was indeed an evolved part of the Soul King, his mental stability was definitely suspect. But if he stayed at this current level of "oddity," it was acceptable.
Mo Yu ignored Yoruichi's appraisal. He focused on Uryu, his hand resting on his mouse. The cursor was hovering over the playback bar. If necessary, he would reverse time instantly to ensure Uryu's survival. But so far, he hadn't needed to.
Thanks to the persistent "character interference" from the 3D audience, Uryu's inner "Female" was constantly surging, whispering weak, submissive thoughts like "You should give up" and "It's time to accept death." Ironically, it was this constant nagging that kept Uryu's internal rage burning. That rage-driven will acted like an engine, continuously powering the Purity Fullbring.
In this state, even though Uryu had one foot in the grave, the moment "Death" tried to take him, it would be subjected to a frantic mental beating by Uryu. Death could only retreat, bruised and battered, wait a while, and try again—only to be pummeled again. It was a vicious, heroic cycle.
Among everyone who had touched the Purity system created by the Hogyoku, Uryu had gone the deepest (excluding the naturally "cheating" Ichigo). Even Grand Fisher hadn't reached Uryu's level of depth, as Fisher had mostly relied on his Arrancar foundations.
Mo Yu was genuinely looking forward to seeing how far Uryu could go. If Uryu could literally "beat death" into submission to drag himself back from the brink, his potential would be limitless.
Meanwhile, Mo Yu was also waiting for the reaction from the Wandenreich!
Those Quincies had been hunted like dogs eons ago, but they were a lineage stretching back to creation. They had spine; instead of fleeing beyond the Soul Society's reach, they hid right under their noses—creating an empire in the "Shadows" of the Seireitei.
For a thousand years, they hadn't stopped observing. Truthfully, those Quincies knew more about what happened in the Seireitei than Yamamoto did. This was why, in the final war arc, they were able to dismantle the Gotei 13 with such terrifying efficiency.
Enduring the fire of hatred for a millennium, they had studied and researched. Now, the King of the Quincies, Yhwach, had regained his consciousness nine years ago according to the timeline. He should be silently observing and gathering power.
Uryu's rampage in the Seireitei was something Yhwach must know about. And according to Mo Yu's deduction, Yhwach would act.
This wasn't based on "Quincy brotherhood," but on Yhwach's nature. Yhwach was the Son of the Soul King, but his birth was bizarre. Initially, he was a "baby" who couldn't see, hear, speak, or move. Mo Yu felt that at that stage, Yhwach was closer to the non-human state of the Hogyoku.
Unlike the Hogyoku, which grants wishes, Yhwach's power was more parasitic. He could bestow "pieces" of himself upon those who touched him, healing their illnesses and granting them power. But after a period of "completion," the host would die, and their soul, experience, and power would be absorbed back into Yhwach.
It was impossible to know how many souls he had consumed to finally take a human shape and be worshiped as a God. But this process left him with a flaw: if he stopped consuming souls, he would wither back into his original, senseless state. Mo Yu suspected that "Yhwach" wasn't even a true individual, but a composite persona formed by the collective will of those he had absorbed.
This theory had weight. A thousand years ago, Yamamoto had "slain" Yhwach, but he had only extinguished his heart, consciousness, and power—not truly destroyed him. That kind of mercy didn't fit the "Killing Ghost" Yamamoto. The only logical explanation was that he couldn't kill him.
Just as Urahara couldn't destroy the Hogyoku and had to seal it, Yhwach's nature was fundamentally non-human. This also explained why Yhwach was so much more cruel after awakening; the (believers/souls) absorbed over the last millennium were filled with hatred for the Soul Reapers.
Regardless, if Yhwach wanted to grow or even just stay "awake," he needed high-quality souls. And Uryu was a (peerless delicacy).
Uryu was powerful—not just in Purity, but in his Quincy talent. He had survived the Auswählen (Holy Selection) that killed mixed-blood Quincies like his own mother. That proved the purity of his blood. (His father, Ryuken, was the same, but he was smart enough to hide in the material world as a hospital director and never use his powers.)
A Quincy of Uryu's caliber was rare even in the Wandenreich. Moreover, his "résumé" of killing a Gotei 13 Captain made his loyalty check very high. Mo Yu believed Yhwach would never miss such a snack. This was why Mo Yu had told Aizen that Uryu was a "plot tool" to lure out the final boss.
Mo Yu monitored the safe house with multiple aerial views. Soon, his patience was rewarded. Two mysterious figures in white robes silently approached Yoruichi's hideout.
"The Quincies of the Wandenreich are here. Don't fight them. Hear what they have to say, then decide for yourself!"
Mo Yu's voice rang in Yoruichi's ear. She looked startled but held her ground as the two figures entered. They looked straight at Uryu, confirming his state, before saying:
"Yoruichi Shihoin. Hand over Uryu Ishida. We have the means to save him!"
Yoruichi smiled thinly. "Handing him over isn't the problem—I certainly can't fix him. But you two hiding your faces doesn't inspire much trust. If I let you take him, where would I find him? In a noble's private lab, or somewhere even more unspeakable?"
One replied: "You do not need to know. Uryu Ishida is not one of your kind. He belongs to us!"
The other was more direct. In a flash, he appeared at Uryu's bedside. Yoruichi instantly grabbed his wrist.
"Since you know my name, you should have heard of my title as the Goddess of Flash... Eh!?"
To Yoruichi's eyes, the man suddenly dissolved and vanished into the shadows. When he reappeared, he was already holding Uryu's body. He sank back into the shadows and vanished. The first speaker vanished as well. Yoruichi narrowed her eyes and muttered:
"That wasn't Shunpo. I feel like I've heard of this intelligence before."
Mo Yu spoke up: "In long-form stories, new characters usually show off in front of old ones to establish their 'coolness.' I didn't expect you to become the 'stepping stone,' Yoruichi. But don't overthink it—that was Shadow-Hopping. It's a spatial jump, not a movement technique."
Yoruichi didn't mind being "shown up." She stroked her chin thoughtfully.
"Quincies appearing in the Soul Society after all this time is no small matter. And their information gathering and efficiency are so high... it suggests their trail isn't very far away."
As a former intelligence chief, Yoruichi's mind was sharp. She was already deducing the implications.
Mo Yu didn't care about her deduction. The moment the Quincies appeared, he had "tagged" them. As long as they returned to the Wandenreich, it was a massive victory for him. To Mo Yu, "sight" was "authority." Once a map was lit up, he could manipulate it!
And now, the true face of the Wandenreich appeared in Mo Yu's vision.
In a lightless, hemispherical dimension, a massive palace of ice stood majestically. The circular Vandenreich emblem was its most prominent totem.
The two Quincies carried the dying Uryu through the ice palace. After a long walk, they reached a magnificent hall.
The hall was vast, dominated by a single throne. Sitting upon it, wearing a crimson cloak with long hair and a mustache, was Yhwach. He looked down coldly at the dying boy placed before him.
Though Uryu was on the verge of total destruction, his fighting spirit still burned like a wild fire, stubbornly beating back death. Even with Yhwach's eons of experience, a trace of appreciation surfaced on his cold face. He muttered:
"This boy... has real spirit!"
It wasn't an empty compliment. Having consumed countless souls, Yhwach could "read" them. Uryu's current state could only be described as "fierce."
But Yhwach didn't look at Uryu for long. He raised his head slightly, staring at the unseen space nearby, and whispered:
"You, who came here along with Uryu Ishida... who are you?"
After a moment, the holy voice fell from above:
"Who do you think I am?"
Yhwach didn't answer. He fell into a long silence.
Mo Yu, sitting before his computer, saw Yhwach looking directly into his "eyes" through the screen. He wasn't surprised Yhwach had detected his perspective; he was prepared for it.
The fact that the Hogyoku could understand Mo Yu's intent proved that in this World Bubble, things related to the Soul King could interact with him more deeply than others, who could only receive his interference one-way without knowing where it came from.
Mo Yu had experimented with the Hogyoku, trying to make it interfere with his reality or break the World Bubble's limits, with clear results: interaction was strictly limited to inside the Bleach world. Thus, while Yhwach could sense Mo Yu's "gaze," no amount of effort could reveal where that gaze originated from.
To Yhwach, this sight simply appeared out of nowhere—sourceless, yet independent and eternal. It was profoundly divine and mysterious.
End of Chapter
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