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Hi folks,
I've started this thread to go into detail about the theory that I have about the variety of "species" that we've seen in Bleach. This is by no means completely accurate or supported by evidence.
The Original Soul Lifecycle - Humans and Pluses
The original soul life cycle in Bleach was fairly simple; and at this point in time there were only Humans, Pluses and Quincies (who were Humans blessed with the power to sense and manipulate spirit energy).
The first stage in this life cycle is the birth of a Human (as well as the creation of that Human's soul). The Human would live their life, die, and become a Plus. At this point the Quincies would step in and destroy the Plus, turning it back into raw spirit particles.
An exceptionally powerful Quincy, who we now know as the Soul King, would then take these raw spirit particles and manipulate them, forging them into a new soul to be placed into a new Human.
The New Cycle - Emergence of the Hollows
At some point in time, the first Plus was missed by the Quincies and fell into despair. This caused the Plus to go mad, and its most basic instincts took over, unlocking powers hidden deep within it. These powers took a direct effect on its body, transforming it into a terrifying monster that we've come to know as a Hollow. At this point, any Hollows that were created would be destroyed by the Quincies, and the usual life cycle would commence.
The New Cycle - The Menos and Arrancar
A whole multitude of Hollows arose as time went on; some weak and easily dispatched, others not-so-easily. After some time, Hollows emerged that had an insatiable hunger and attemped to devour each other, fusing together and forming Menos.
Eventually the Menos evolved from the Gillian into the Adjucas, and then the Vasto Lordes. Occasionally a Menos managed to break its mask and gain what we now know as the Zanpakutou, becoming an Arrancar. The Quincies were slaughtered by these new enemies, so the Soul King had to act...
The Complete Cycle - The Shinigami
The Soul King sought a way to fight back against the Arrancar, and eventually found a way to do this. By manipulating the soul of an Arrancar, the Soul King found a way to give it back its humanity; however, by doing this the "instincts" of the being were driven back, and it thus forgot how to use its core powers; this being was known as a Shinigami.
The Shinigami could learn to access their core powers by training, although they could often not use them to the same level as their Arrancar counterparts. They lived and trained in the same dimension where the Soul King resided; the Soul Society.
The Shinigami's core powers could be used to exterminate Hollows, but instead of completely destroying them, the Shinigami's powers "cleansed" the soul, causing the soul's instincts to enter a state or dormancy; this would result in the Plus being able to remain as it was without becoming a Hollow, and would result in a Hollow being transformed into a Plus with latent Shinigami powers (caused by its core powers being unlocked).
Eventually the Konso (Soul Burial) technique was discovered, which allowed a Plus soul to pass on without having to resort to the violent act of exterminating it (this could theoretically be performed on a Hollow too, but would be extremely difficult to perform).
I've started this thread to go into detail about the theory that I have about the variety of "species" that we've seen in Bleach. This is by no means completely accurate or supported by evidence.
The Original Soul Lifecycle - Humans and Pluses
The original soul life cycle in Bleach was fairly simple; and at this point in time there were only Humans, Pluses and Quincies (who were Humans blessed with the power to sense and manipulate spirit energy).
The first stage in this life cycle is the birth of a Human (as well as the creation of that Human's soul). The Human would live their life, die, and become a Plus. At this point the Quincies would step in and destroy the Plus, turning it back into raw spirit particles.
An exceptionally powerful Quincy, who we now know as the Soul King, would then take these raw spirit particles and manipulate them, forging them into a new soul to be placed into a new Human.
The New Cycle - Emergence of the Hollows
At some point in time, the first Plus was missed by the Quincies and fell into despair. This caused the Plus to go mad, and its most basic instincts took over, unlocking powers hidden deep within it. These powers took a direct effect on its body, transforming it into a terrifying monster that we've come to know as a Hollow. At this point, any Hollows that were created would be destroyed by the Quincies, and the usual life cycle would commence.
The New Cycle - The Menos and Arrancar
A whole multitude of Hollows arose as time went on; some weak and easily dispatched, others not-so-easily. After some time, Hollows emerged that had an insatiable hunger and attemped to devour each other, fusing together and forming Menos.
Eventually the Menos evolved from the Gillian into the Adjucas, and then the Vasto Lordes. Occasionally a Menos managed to break its mask and gain what we now know as the Zanpakutou, becoming an Arrancar. The Quincies were slaughtered by these new enemies, so the Soul King had to act...
The Complete Cycle - The Shinigami
The Soul King sought a way to fight back against the Arrancar, and eventually found a way to do this. By manipulating the soul of an Arrancar, the Soul King found a way to give it back its humanity; however, by doing this the "instincts" of the being were driven back, and it thus forgot how to use its core powers; this being was known as a Shinigami.
The Shinigami could learn to access their core powers by training, although they could often not use them to the same level as their Arrancar counterparts. They lived and trained in the same dimension where the Soul King resided; the Soul Society.
The Shinigami's core powers could be used to exterminate Hollows, but instead of completely destroying them, the Shinigami's powers "cleansed" the soul, causing the soul's instincts to enter a state or dormancy; this would result in the Plus being able to remain as it was without becoming a Hollow, and would result in a Hollow being transformed into a Plus with latent Shinigami powers (caused by its core powers being unlocked).
Eventually the Konso (Soul Burial) technique was discovered, which allowed a Plus soul to pass on without having to resort to the violent act of exterminating it (this could theoretically be performed on a Hollow too, but would be extremely difficult to perform).