Chapter 1: A Brief History of the World
First, there was darkness, a directionless emptiness of spiritual particles. A formless void without nature, dimensions, purpose. And so it remained for a time that could not be measured.
Then, the first flicker. Two specks of spiritual dust in the timeless abyss. Two specks that...became one. How did this action come to be? Why did it come to be? Did it matter?
This new particle began to gather spiritual particles- otherwise known as reishi-from across the void. It did so without reason, only as a natural consequence of the first merger. This speck took in more and more dots of spiritual matter, until it could no longer be considered a speck. It could think, it could feel, it could act. And act it did, giving the raw mass of spiritual energy a form and a purpose. He would be known for all eternity as the Soul King. The lynchpin. The maker of all. The first Quincy.
The Soul King decided he was bored, unhappy, alone. So it decided to give the abyss a form of its own. It gathered all the reishi from all the abyss- and got to work. First, he had to create space- three realms, forming a cycle- the Living World, the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo. And then it created life in this space from the spiritual dust.
The world the Soul King sought to build grew larger, more complex, more alive, every passing day in its head. It's first few attempts at life failed, collapsing on itself, being unable to hold itself together like the King himself. So He decided His universe would require laws, concepts, forces. And for this task he grew two arms.
The left arm would govern progress, move the world forward, bring about change, growth. Reio could warp the world to its will, and it was from its form the basis of evolution and reproduction were founded.
The right hand would govern stagnation, a counterbalance to the left's desire for progress, allowing life to maintain its form. It stood for stillness and resolve. The Soul King would use the Reio and Mimi in equal measure until life reached a state where it could progress on its own. Thus, the Soul King would set its arms free, satisfied with their work. The right arm would be worshipped as a god in the city of Rukongai until it came to be part of a man who would rise to greatness.
Life was inexplicably tied to the Soul King's existence. Without the lynchpin, all life and existence would collapse. As the existence of all creation was tied to the Soul King, so were their emotions tied to its Heart. The Heart of the Soul King beat to the desires, hopes and dreams of all sentient life in the three realms. As these desires grew, so did the Heart. And just like the wants of Man, when it manifested it was comical, oversized and ungainly.
It is believed that a man from Sereitei once, in his hubris, created an object capable of tapping into the power of the Heart, enabling Man to give form to their wildest hopes and dreams. This object would lead to a series of events that would threaten the state of all three worlds.
Once it was satisfied with the world- or worlds as shinigami would come to view it- it has created, the Soul King would conceive its one true son. And to his Son he gave ownership and authority over all things in the world- all of its power, all of its knowledge, all of its people. He would be The Almighty, the one to inherit the universe and all of its wonders, past, present and future.
The Hands, the Heart and the Son. As the Soul King, exhausted from its work, went into a slumber, they would be the greatest powers in the world.
But there was one more. One that lay in the underbelly, forgotten yet always felt.
The Soul King's Shadow.
The one which governed life and death.