Chapter 37: The Three Eons of Eternal Tribulations
Uryu Ishida froze. "I... forgot?"
A faint smile curled at the corners of Mo Yu's lips. "I remember when you used to introduce yourself, you quite liked adding the title [The Last Quincy], didn't you? You, who carried the million-year history and glory, the path and the pain of the Quincies upon your own shoulders—are you now telling me you don't know what Purity is? In my view, your Purity should have been off the charts long ago!"
In that instant, Uryu was struck speechless. The title "The Last Quincy" was indeed his common self-introduction. He used it to repeatedly remind himself never to forget a Quincy's duty. But after hearing from the Observer about the existence of the Wandenreich and the slumbering Yhwach, he had completely abandoned that title.
With a massive Quincy Empire still in existence and even the Quincy King ready to be resurrected at any moment, what right did he have to call himself the "Last Quincy"?
Mo Yu's soft chuckle echoed in Uryu's ear:
"It seems you're thinking of the Shadow Empire and Yhwach. But what I want to tell you is that regardless of the Wandenreich or Yhwach, in my eyes, although they still inherit the power of the Quincy, they long ago deviated from the Quincy essence. Your grandfather's lineage, however, is the true Quincy inheritance—because what you inherit is the Quincy Path and Glory, and that mission bestowed upon the Quincy by the Soul King and the World itself, stretching from a million years ago to this very day!"
Uryu was shocked and deeply confused. "A mission bestowed by the Soul King and the World a million years ago!?"
"This is an ancient secret born at the dawn of creation, concerning the ultimate fate of the entire world. In this current era, those who know these secrets can be counted on one hand. Listen closely..."
Mo Yu then began to recount the primordial history of the Bleach world to Uryu.
Since its birth, the Primordial Chaos World faced Three Great Tribulations. The Soul King was birthed by the world specifically as a power entity to counter these eons of disaster. In a sense, the Soul King and the Chaos World were two sides of the same coin—He was both the manifestation of the world itself and the world's dedicated "Super Tool."
At the beginning of his birth, the Soul King possessed the power of Quincy (Extinction). He struck with a ruthless iron fist, exterminating the terrifying Ancient Menos one by one and grinding them down into Reishi. Only then did he suppress the Tribulation of the birth of the Eternal Progenitor Hollow. However, although the Progenitor Hollow was never fully born, it existed in the shadows, influencing the world and causing souls to fall toward it, to be chewed and gnawed upon, becoming the carriers for its own gestation—the Hollows.
In a sense, although the Soul King suppressed the Progenitor Hollow, he did not truly solve the tribulation. Whether he couldn't or wouldn't is hard to say. Mo Yu suspected the Progenitor Hollow's existence wasn't that simple, but lacking evidence, he kept his theories to himself for now.
Regardless, as Hollows continued to be born, the power of the Quincy was passed down.
As a power entity birthed by the world, the Soul King's very existence was to carry out the world's hidden will. He had no complex persona or emotions, only a pan-spiritual will. He would not do anything meaningless; once He acted, it necessarily held a profound and indelible meaning for the entire world. The inheritance and continuation of the Quincy power was exactly such an act.
The Soul King was the world's birthed entity, and Yhwach inherited his power of extinction. From this perspective, Yhwach calling himself the Son of the Soul King had a certain legal basis—not through bloodline, but through the inheritance of a divine duty and path.
Quincies exterminate Hollows, grinding them into Reishi to persistently prevent the birth of the Progenitor Hollow while defending all living beings from evil spirits. This is the Divine Duty of the Quincy.
However, Yhwach and the Wandenreich had long forgotten this. What they craved now was revenge, ruling the world, and reshaping it. Of course, one cannot blame them entirely; these were choices made for the collective survival of the Quincies. But regardless, the Quincies hiding in the Shadow Empire, even if they still existed, had long ago lost their meaning to the world because they had deviated from their divine duty.
Uryu's grandfather, Soken Ishida, had actually had some dealings with the Shadow Empire years ago. He rejected their invitation and even refused to attain the power of Vollständig through Yhwach's blessing. He did not hide in the shadows like other Quincies, dreaming of Yhwach's resurrection and a counter-attack on the Soul Society to wash away their shame. Instead, he remained in the World of the Living, continuing to practice the Quincy duty in his own way, eventually passing everything down to Uryu through word and deed.
Uryu calling himself the "Last Quincy" was not wrong at all. Especially after the Wandenreich and Yhwach were destroyed, his title would be entirely genuine. It's just that, currently, he wasn't quite "qualified" yet.
In the original plot, although Uryu kept the words "Last Quincy" on his lips, the story's execution never dove deep into it. Consequently, during the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, his "betrayal" to join the Wandenreich was seen by many readers as a sudden failure in writing—as if the series was desperately trying to copy Naruto's "protagonist chases the runaway friend" trope. This was cited as major evidence of Uryu being a mere plot tool.
In truth, that arc wasn't necessarily just copying a peer; it had its own internal logic. If more effort had been put into describing the Quincy lore and keeping Uryu's plot aligned with the Quincy line, his character arc would have been much smoother. When a Quincy organization appeared, how could Uryu, who valued his identity, remain indifferent? After joining, he would have quickly discovered that the Wandenreich and Yhwach were the total antithesis of the Quincy spirit passed down by his grandfather. Combined with the truth of his mother's death, a call of friendship from Ichigo would make his turn-back perfectly logical.
At the end of the day, Uryu was just a supporting character. His existence was to serve Ichigo's plot.
However, that didn't matter now, because Mo Yu had expectations for Uryu. This expectation stemmed partly from his exploration of his own power. Someone once said that true power doesn't lie in what you can break, but in what you can change.
As a God, if he couldn't change everything at will, how could his supreme power be manifested? Of course, one must eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. Mo Yu was mostly going with the flow regarding Ichigo's plot—even without Mo Yu, Ichigo would reach the top. But Uryu was the opportunity for Mo Yu to flex his muscles and verify just how far his power could reach.
On the other hand, Mo Yu was touched by the fact that Uryu had not surrendered to the character-persona interference brought by the 3D audience and was still fighting back.
Heaven helps those who help themselves. If Uryu lacked the will and potential to fight his fate, Mo Yu wouldn't have bothered giving him the "Soul King's Divine Palm" buff or a starring role. He would have just let him lie low safely until Ichigo came to save him.
Mo Yu didn't tell Uryu all this. After Uryu finished hearing about the million-year karma, the Quincy inheritance, and his grandfather's choice, his soul was shaken to its core. He was dazed for a long time, failing to notice more pursuing Soul Reapers approaching.
Mo Yu, overlooking everything, noticed. With a slide of the mouse, the invisible Hand of God flew out. After a barrage of unblockable slaps and kneading, the Soul Reaper lost his grip on his Zanpakuto, his clothes exploded, and he was sent flying while coughing blood.
This was another result of Mo Yu's exploration: the Hand of God wasn't just for slapping or dragging; it could have subtle variations. For instance, upon contact, a single thought could convert the Hand into high-frequency vibrations, giving the enemy a "Disarm" curse or an "Internal Force" strike to the organs.
This versatility had deep potential, but it required time to master. Mo Yu was in no rush.
Uryu snapped back to reality and instinctively began to flee again, but his mind was elsewhere. He hadn't realized that the deep story behind his grandfather's kind hand on his head that afternoon was so vast. The glory and path of the Quincy were hidden within those simple teachings.
A trace of regret rose in Uryu's heart. If he had known this earlier, he would have trained harder, sought his father's advice, and become stronger—rather than running like this, letting the "Female" within him rise again and again as a fire of compromise and surrender, burning his mind and shaking his resolve.
Mo Yu noticed Uryu's wavering and spoke seriously:
"You are fundamentally different from Ichigo. Ichigo is naturally divine; even if he just wants to be an ordinary man, fate will push him to the top. You, however, need more than just power—you need the conviction to fight and resist. In this regard, I can help. The Wandenreich and Yhwach were wrong, not just because they deviated from the path, but because they wanted to destroy the Soul Reapers. And the Seireitei is also wrong, because Quincies have always been an indispensable existence in this world..."
Mo Yu's thoughts flickered. If the birth of the Quincy was to deal with the Tribulation of the Eternal Progenitor Hollow, then the existence of the Soul Reapers was to deal with the second of the Three Great Tribulations: the stagnation and death of Reishi within the Chaos World.
End of Chapter
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