Author Notes: Contains some massive spoilers for the sequel fanfic for when this one is completed- mainly how this interpretation Yhwach came to be and how Old Man Zangetsu relates to him.

Also more differences between this fanfic continuity's Yhwach and the manga's version.

Chapter 34: Firebird Discord


The middle aged man with sunglasses looked downwards as he thought back to his ancient past...several millennia ago when he was completely different from now.


(A somewhat youthful and feminine voice speaks)

To know my origins, I must start at the end and backtrack to the beginning. I was born Genzai, one of five sons of Jimmu and Ai-Hiratsu-Hime, with four other brothers named named Kako, Mirai, Fukakujitsu and Suizoi.

My father who later became the Soul King- was named Emperor Jimmu, the son of Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto and Tamayori-Hime along with three siblings Itsuse, Inahi, Mikenu- in his sovereignty obsessed insanity, he murdered all of them and took the place of Amaterasu no Mikoto as the supreme rule with the Royal Family, remnants of the old system opposing him.

His grandfather was Hoori, the third son of Ninigi and Sakuya-bime. His brothers were Hosuseri and Hoderi. His wife was Toyotama-hime, the daughter of the Sea Dragon God, Ryūjin.

His great grandfather was Ninigi no Mikoto, the bearer of the three ancestors of the Zanpakuto weapon- the Sword Kusanagi, the Mirror Yata no Kagami, and the Jewel Yasakani no Magatama. His wife was named Sakuya-bime, the daughter of Ōyamatsumi, the mountain god elder brother of Amaterasu.

His great great grandfather was Ame-no-Oshihomimi and Takuhadachiji hime no Mikoto, the son and daughter of Amaterasu no Mikoto and Tsukiyomi no Mikoto. Beyond that is a realm currently out of my comprehension.


My father focused on maintaining the flow of the land of his domain and dividing himself in order to reach divine ascension. We would maintain the duties of the flow of time in his land- past, present, future and uncertainty.

When I was still Genzai, I had the duty of watching over the aspect of the present as I flew over my father's land in an invisible form in the dark space high above the earth, never coming to rest or landing on the ground to have a closer look. I was both male and female, filled with compassion to the point my shadow brought fortune to those who were under it and I would always incinerate myself every night so I would be reborn on the next day. It was an agonizing duty to perform each day, my father gradually became more apathetic to my situation as he separated himself to become more ascended. I was told that my personality was authoritative, hardened and out-spoken; but I would always be alone when Kako or my mother would not be present.

My brother Kako gave me advice...,which as I think back on it, seemed to be terrible in retrospect. Looking back on him, he gave the impression that he was a hot-headed, yet kind person..., but I got the impression it was a mask for his truer...more twisted personality. Mirai was quiet and emotional...until Kako's words gradually made him arrogant as the seeds of ambition were planted into his mind. Fukakujitsu was unique; completely dull yet his modesty stood out. He would eventually leave on a journey to find true enlightenment. As for Suizoi...he was just there, nothing exceptional about him at all. My mother was perhaps the best part in this life as she would comfort me after I had completed my duties...until she vanished one day and Kako was smiling as if it were something to be proud of. My father was gradually becoming less of a considerate father and more of an object that could not be communicated with directly. Eventually, I closed my eyes and was in darkness- a darkness that I could not escape from right away.

I remember being in a dark void as I felt myself becoming something else as I would be reborn in the Mortal Realm. Thrice it occurred, thrice it had failed to result in anything being born. Eventually the fourth time provided me a chance to be reborn.


(The feminine voice becomes an middle aged voice with a deep baritone)

I was reborn as a baby that could not see, hear, speak, or even move. Oddly, I was not afraid, so I didn't cry because I somehow knew that I survive this turmoil due to my Present power, retained from my previous life as Genzai, except more enhanced to my reincarnation's suitability.

The people around me treated myself with great reverence due to my ability to bestow something they lacked on their own. I later found out that it was due to my ability to share my soul with others in order to perform this deed onto them. Those who would touch me received a fragment of my soul to heal the wounds that they could not do on their own accord, but at the same time- their various aspects would be imprinted onto the fragments they had received- allowing them to share with me, their thoughts and individual abilities to for my use as well in order to understand them and help them when I could.

As I shared my soul with the people around me, my body began to function on its own- going from a helpless, still born to a truly omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent entity in the form of a mortal man that could be their powerful leader. I began to hear a name called out to me- "YHWACH"- a variant of the name of the unknown deity they worshipped, it was bestowed onto me by them to accept, which I did in gratitude for what they had done for me.

Due to them, I had become able to see the world on the same level as other beings, became able to live longer due to my charity towards them and have people that I could have bonds with...like the true family I never had in my previous life.

My mother was the closest out of all of them, calling me Juha Bach instead of what others insisted on in order for myself to acknowledge my humanity above all else.My life seemed complete- a great leader of my people, having close comrades to communicate with and a supportive wife that was once a girl who I had healed when I was younger. She had married me out of both gratitude and how I was kind to everyone around me, seeing me as her sun.

Then one day, a dark, devilish and charismatic voice in the depths of my Soul compelled me to have them change their way of life- these people were an older race of Quincy that had powers quite different from those of the current generation- they had not learned the current technique of the Quincy under my banner would later use. Instead of repelling, rejecting, reversing, and reconstructing Hollows into the next realm of existence; I had my people taught in the way of extinguishing them entirely- though I later suspected it was actually something infinitely worse, but did so regardless of how I felt. It wasn't entirely due to stubborn pride, but rather the inner voice promised that my actions would lead to a world without fear, and the cycle of death and rebirth would end- thus no more Hollows would not be born and everything would be at peace. This fact comforted me while a threat was slowly approaching my home as a result of my decisions.

My actions eventually created an imbalance in the system that the Soul King had organized, because those souls that came to the World of the Living did not return to Soul Society due to their destruction due to my methods, leading to an increase of Souls in the World of the Living instead of an equality. As a result, the Soul Society would spill into the World of the Living, melding life with death, ending the cycle of life and death- what they considered to be the end of the world.

The Soul Reapers came and decided to annihilate the source- while I was strong enough to withstand their attacks, the others died- including my mother, comrades and wife. I was left for dead after being dealt with enough injuries to fall unconscious. I slowly reverted to my helpless state until it happened to my shock. I reacted unconsciously due to both the fear of dying and that of losing those that I had bonded with. creating several massive columns of blue light that engulfed their cold bodies as their Souls were assimilated into my own, in order to restore my functions. I was able to stand up, but I came to the horrific realization- that I had killed them in order to sustain my life and when I closed my eyes, they were in my inner world. I realized that I was a monster who both give power to extend my life through connection and take it back in order to become even stronger- a being that was not even human to begin with.


(The voice became much morbid, colder and somewhat bloodthirsty in tone)

The man known as Juha Bach was dead...I am Yhwach, the Progenitor -The Father of the Quincy. I am their king, and my blood flows in every Quincy under my banner, for I have spawned them all from myself. Knowing that I had assimilated my community, I offered a deeper connection with all of them- unification of will with myself as the dominant identity. They loyally compelled out of loyal and friendship, I would use the souls that I had gathered to take on their identity in order to find potential mates to procreate with in the form of my mother or wife to create offspring to build up my forces. If the need arose, since they were now me, I could mate with the extensions that were the females to asexually reproduce heirs from my form. Realizing it was not enough to merely mate with my own Quincy and I would eventually die by an enemy's hands once the Soul Reapers found out that I had survived the attack several years ago, I sought to produce mixed breed heirs to inherit my will and powers due to their potential to be stronger.

I later named the ability that I had joined with my community, referring to it as the Auswählen (Select), an ability to retain my powers through the assimilation of my race. I later limited it to merely the "unworthy" that perform evil behind my back and try to wipe out their own brethren. Due to clever pragmatism, I limited it to the truly monstrous Quincy that did not follow the rules and treated my "family" cruelly- I would steal their powers and entire being to make them my own in order to decrease in-fighting. It is considered fatal to its target, particularly those who are already weak. If one gets only a single touch of the beam of light that I summoned on the Quincy in question, they will be stripped of their powers alone, so they cannot cause harm to their fellow Quincy anymore. It absorbs energy from those Quincy judged to be evil and sends it to myself as well as those Quincy who deserve the power more in a righteous redistribution of strength. The sinful perish, while the virtuous are revitalized with greater strength than before, it transfers pure energy instead of just Spiritual Particles so the strength of the redistribution is greater than just taking in Spiritual Energy from the environment. But, do not see me as cruel, once I see the Quincy has admitted to their sins, I revive them by expelling them out of my body/return their powers- I had even revived my community to show that I don't just take lives into me forever despite rumors of being a Soul eating monster who feeds on my own kind. They do however, now share their thoughts and abilties with me in order to find the more dishonorable Quincy in my ranks. Not all the Quincy across the world agreed with my way of thinking, saying that I had gone mad with power and forgot my mission to protect in favor of creating war and imbalance.

I eventually found a way to engrave a letter or special word onto my greatest of my offspring's soul directly I could share out my Soul more directly in order to establish my fighting force. By doing this, I eventually created my empire, the Vandenreich (Invisible Empire) and crafted a dimension for my people to escape the attacks of the Soul Reapers called the Silbern (Silver). Now that I have guaranteed that I am a trustworthy leader to my people, set forth my plans for peace in the future and have already sense that my heir will born to inherit my powers and my Soul...I can now fight without worrying about disrupting the peace of my kingdom. To fight against the Soul Reaper that destroyed my home, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto in revenge, a need to establish my way is righteous and...yes, because all strong beings, even myself possess a thirst for battle.


(The deep voice returns to being level headed and calm, but now a white shade of sunglasses shines in the background)

And that was my mistake, what I thought was bliss, was merely the broken ambition of a man who was trying to attack like a battle seeking monster in the guise of a benevolent God, due to the loss of his life through his misguided actions. I am the Yang to his Yin, the remaining sanity that still existed in his Soul and the heirs that followed after his demise, through his Stammbaum technique of sharing his Soul with them along with their powers- essentially making sure that they are all himself incarnated into the living world in case the predecessor dies so he or she depending on the incarnation will carry out his plan to end the cycle of rebirth and death.

I would appear in their souls and tried to warn his descendants not to follow in his footsteps, but it fell on faint ears every time. I hope with this young man or perhaps his child one day, that he can overcome Yhwach's warped madness and possibly use that power of theirs to improving the lives of both Soul Reapers and Quincy. Until then, I will protect his life until he meets with them- the Stammbaum.


The dark clothed man with sunglasses then turned to Ichigo as he told the Soul Reaper what Hao had meant with a cold voice-

"I am apart of your Zanpakuto power, but I am also a sign that you are apart of a powerful lineage within the Quincy called the Stammbaum- I am indeed this Yhwach and by extension, you are him as well as his latest incarnation. And with Orihime's Soul melding with your own, she may have this trait as well. The Quincy of the Silbern seek out to end the cycle of rebirth and death, that is why they are seeking to kill all of the Quincy that are descended from him- including your siblings and the Ishida clan. Do not worry, I will take care of this while also making sure you learn Bankai...Ichi...go...," the middle aged man told Ichigo, but then paused as he saw his master's face, causing his eyes to widen under his sunglasses.

It was a blank stare of disinterest to as everyone in the room looked especially shocked and the middle aged man's sunglasses titled slightly as he stared with confusion at his master's reaction.

"So they're trying to have me die because of what my mom's people are trying to do and I'm the reincarnation of a long dead man who started that mission...doesn't change the fact that to me, you're Old Man Zangetsu. Though, I'm thinking Juha Bach is a much better name the Yhwach if you want to be called that too- sounds really pretentious like you're trying to pull the middle finger on those church places or something.," Ichigo replied with a calm matter of fact tone as ridiculed the Quincy progenitor's name. Hao snickered at what the orange haired boy just said at the moment.

"Y-you do not understand..it means when you were born, you became yourself, your mother and Yhwach at the same time, he is all of his descendants including you. So we need to kill you in order to prevent a tragedy to occur.," said Opacho with an attempt to be imposing, that failed due to her inherent cuteness. Ichigo wordlessly replied by grabbing one of the odd shaped Zangetsu and cutting the ground with a Getsuga Tensho swipe, creating a fissure in the building as he did so.

"That's a load of crap if I ever heard it! I can tell by how your brat of a boss has been acting towards me- that it's all some petty grudge from a while ago and I don't give a shit on something so small.," Ichigo spoke as he critiqued their motives. Hao's smiling expression faltered a little bit when Ichigo spoke this statement.

"I'm me. My mother was herself and Yhw-hatever is Yhw-hatever. I'm sick of guys like you that have been coming into my life without warning, trying to kill me just because you want me dead for whatever you have planned. I want some answers to why you know how you know about me and my mom!," Ichigo continued as he pulled out one of the swords and pointed it towards the brown haired boy in the purple suit.

"You must've gotten here through some ridiculous power. I'm going to kick each of your asses so I can get back to getting this power to beat up somebody stronger than you. You- the sissy, you're first.," Ichigo shouted as he declared that this one would be the first to be defeated.


Chapter 35: Falling Stars