Serial Shounen Tite Kubo’s work entitled Bleach introduces a vast universe inhabited not only by humans, but also by spiritual entities such as Shinigami and Hollows, as well as humans who are gifted with special abilities to exterminate Hollows like Shinigami do, namely Quincy.
Quincy itself will be the main enemy that the Shinigami in Soul Society must face towards the end of the series. However, where did Quincy come from? Bleach actually? Here’s the history!
1. Who is Quincy?
Quincy is a special human race that inherited spiritual powers from their ancestors. Their main ability is to absorb and manipulate spiritual particles known as Reishi. These particles are used to create weapons in the form of swords and bows and arrows.
This power is then used to destroy Hollows. However, unlike Shinigami who purify Hollows and guide human souls to Soul Society, Quincy actually eradicate Hollows completely.
As a result, there is an imbalance in the number of spirits between the human world and Soul Society. This will certainly have an impact on the destruction of the world.
To overcome this, the Shinigami tried to negotiate and asked the Quincy to stop exterminating Hollows. Unfortunately, they refused the request. The reason was because Hollows had killed many Quincy, and they felt they could not stay silent.
Because they couldn’t find a way out, the Shinigami finally carried out a large-scale extermination of the Quincy race, making their existence almost extinct.
2. Starting from the birth of Yhwach
The origin of Quincy is Yhwach. This is in accordance with the rumored and believed history, namely about Yhwach who is known as the ancestor of the Quincy.
Yhwach was born around 1,200 years ago as the son of the Soul King. As a baby, he was abnormal. Yhwach was unable to move, hear, see, or even speak.
Despite this, Yhwach did not show any fear, as he was aware that everyone around him loved him dearly and would take good care of him.
The reason why Yhwach is able to receive affection from many people despite his abnormality is because of his ability to share his own soul with those who touch him. Come to think of it, who wouldn’t be happy after receiving a piece of the Soul King’s son’s soul?
Well, the people who received a piece of Yhwach’s soul became known as the Quincy. That is why Yhwach is so revered as the ancestor of the Quincy.
It is said that the recipient of Yhwach’s soul fragment will have a short life. Then, Yhwach will absorb the power of those who have died. This is where he gets his power for thousands of years.
However, in the history that Ishida studied, Yhwach was not the first Quincy. Because, before Yhwach was born, the existence of a figure who was able to divide his soul did exist, but was quite rare.
3. Legend of the Quincy
The history of the Quincy which originated from the birth of Yhwach gave rise to the legend of the Quincy known as “Kaiser Gesang”. This is a legend that tells of the existence of a “sealed king”.
According to the legend, the king who was originally sealed will gain his freedom. He will regain his heartbeat after 900 years, followed by his intelligence after 90 years, and his strength after 9 years. Then, in 9 days, he will rule the world.
However, to regain his power, the king must steal the impure Quincy power.
In Yhwach’s case, he performed the Auswhalen ritual to forcibly draw power from his Quincy descendants without having to wait for them to die first.
Well, that’s the history that discusses the origin of Quincy in Bleach. What do you think?