Chapter 120: Dialogue with the Soul King

The Soul King—linchpin of the Three Realms. If Soul Society, the Human World, and Hueco Mundo were wooden boards, he was the nail binding them. Revered as the balance’s guardian, his state was pitiable: limbless, organs removed, entombed in an amber cocoon for millions of years. A torture no sane soul could endure.

“Young man, do you want to be the new Soul King?” The Soul King’s voice pierced Yamabuki Haruto’s mind, chilling his spine.

Become that? Haruto shuddered. No way. “Absolutely not!” he roared inwardly. If you want retirement, find Yhwach—your son’s perfect for it.

“Are you frightened by my form?” the Soul King asked, his tone gentle, like an elder to a child.

Haruto nodded vigorously. Who wouldn’t be? He knew his limits. Day one as Soul King, and Ichibei Hyōsube would carve him into a silent pillar. “I’m just a Gotei 13 Vice-Captain. Why me? If that’s all, I’m out. Goodbye—forever, hopefully.” He pulled his hand from the cocoon, stepped back, and reached for the door, confirming no harm loomed.

As he moved to leave, the Soul King’s voice returned. “You will die. Soon, Soul Society faces an unprecedented catastrophe, and you will perish in it.”

Haruto froze, hand on the door. The Quincy invasion. As Eleventh Division Chief of Staff, he’d fight in the Thousand-Year Blood War. “You’ll die at Yhwach’s hands,” the Soul King added, calm as ever, his Omniscience and Omnipotence piercing time itself.

Haruto’s fists clenched. He turned stiffly. The Soul King, who saw past and future, had no reason to lie to an eighteen-year-old. Yhwach’s Almighty. Haruto’s hybrid powers—Reversal, Silver Angel’s spatial Shikai, Vollständig: Silver Angel’s four-winged might, Hierro, Blut Vene, and regeneration—were formidable, but not enough. “I won’t be the only one to die. Why me specifically?” he asked, steadying his voice.

“Millions of years ago, I saw all futures,” the Soul King said. “All changes were within my grasp—except you. Your arrival shifted the world line irreversibly. You’re vital to this world. You cannot die yet.”

Haruto’s blood ran cold. He knows I’m a transmigrator? His existence, unbound by Bleach’s rules, defied the Soul King’s foresight. “Are you telling me how to survive?” he asked.

“No. I’ve seen all paths. You die before dawn,” the Soul King replied.

Despair gripped Haruto. At eighteen, death felt distant, but now the Shinigami’s scythe loomed. He took two deep breaths. “If that’s it, thanks. I’m leaving. Everyone dies, but I don’t believe in fate.” My fate is mine, not heaven’s, he thought, echoing the defiance he once mocked.

“You’re leaving? It’s been long since anyone spoke with me,” the Soul King said softly.

Haruto stepped forward silently.

“If I could help you survive, would you stay longer?” the Soul King asked.

“Damn it! Why hold back?” Haruto flashed to the cocoon via Shunpo, grinning. “You’re the Omniscient Soul King—you’ve got a way, right?”

“You must gain power to rival Yhwach before the war,” the Soul King said.

Yhwach, the Quincy King, wielded the Almighty—Omniscience and Omnipotence that rewrote futures. Only Aizen’s Kyōka Suigetsu countered it, hypnotizing Yhwach in the Thousand-Year Blood War. Without it, Ichibei fell in seconds, and Ichigo’s triple-fused Bankai shattered uselessly. Aizen’s sacrifice saved Ichigo from a second death.

“Train harder before the war?” Haruto asked, skeptical.

“It’s not that simple,” the Soul King said. “No training can match Yhwach in time. But I offer a shortcut. Will you take it?”

Haruto’s mind raced. Yhwach’s Almighty was near-invincible, but Aizen proved it fallible. Kyōka Suigetsu was the key. To survive, Haruto needed a power to break the Almighty—or rival it.