Chapter 16

"Welcome, humans," Ichibe greeted them, flourishing his arms as he presented them the interior that sits beyond one of the largest doors. "This is The Observatory. It holds the records of history long since passed, the mystery, the magic and the truth of the Universe."

Chad, Ishida, Renji, Rukia, Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san were walking in front of them. Meanwhile, Ichigo pushed the wheelchair where Inoue sat, stepping inside. He glanced around him. Okay, it was a planetarium. Sure, it was big—huge, even. The dome stretched high overhead, smooth and black like some kind of endless void.

He guessed it was supposed to be impressive, but honestly? It just looked like a blown-up version of the one back in Karakura Town where their instructors used to drag them for school trips. Nothing groundbreaking.

The lights were on, too, which kind of ruined the whole vibe. The dome was not even running, so it was just a plain, empty ceiling—not much of a spectacle.

And where the hell were the seats? At least back in Karakura, they had chairs you could lean back in, even if they were uncomfortable as hell. Here, it was just a big open space. He let out a quiet sigh, already feeling bored. If Ichibe were going to try to blow their minds, this was not the way to do it.

'Even Rukia and Renji—who frequents the Human World—seemed unimpressed. And that's saying a lot,' Ichigo thought.

"I see that you're not impressed," Ichibe sighed before transitioning to the next subject. "As you can see from your surroundings, we have yet to fix what Yhwach did. However, I made a point to call for your attention and have you transported here once I was able to repair the portal." Then the Zero Division member changed his demeanor into something menacing. "She's beginning to awaken. And you need to know who you are about to deal with."

"Yes," Ichigo responded resolutely, his hand gripping Inoue's wheelchair.

"I'm assuming that you want to know just what exactly Orihime Inoue is," Ichibe's gaze whipped towards Inoue, his earlier mask friendliness gone. "Yes, you…my dear, sweet child. It is high time to know just who and what you are."

"I um…" Inoue hesitated.

Ichigo walked and stood on her right, whereas the rest of their comrades lined up with them…showcasing an image of solidarity.

"Perfect," Ichibe grinned.

"Let us start. I ask a question. And you, humans, shall answer. Now, when you ask a question, raise your hand, and I shall answer. I do not need unnecessary theatrics. We are running out of time. Am I understood?"

"Yes!" came their collective answer.

"Orihime Inoue, by all accounts, is a Fullbringer. Question: What is a Fullbringer?"

"Fullbringers are spiritually-aware humans born with the ability called Fullbring, which allows us to manipulate the souls that reside in all physical matter. They are also known to have pieces of the Soul King inside them," Chad explained.

Ichibei chuckled mirthlessly. "And what is a Soul King?"

"A god."

"A god. This is a clarification. What is contained within a Fullbringer's soul is not just a piece of the Soul King. It's the presence of a god. Whoever that god may be." Ichibei snapped his fingers, and an image of the sealed Adnyeus appeared in the dome.

"Does this mean that there is more than one god?" Uryuu clarified.

"We do not call it the Royal Family if it is not the case, right?" Ichibe asked rhetorically.

"Is Orihime a resident of hell or a witch?" Rukia asked, her voice betraying emotions.

"No. She is as human as you have always known her. But she is not like all of you," Ichibei eyed each of the people in the room pointedly. His eyes first landed on Rukia and Renji. "She may have powers that bear names similar to Hado, Bakudo, Kaido or any kind of release phrases, but she is not a Shinigami."

His eyes then landed on Uryuu and Sado. "She may use reishi-based constructs but she does not absorb reishi from her surroundings, but she is not a Quincy. She may use objects of affection as conduit to her powers but she is not just any Fullbringer."

Then, Ichibei locked eyes with Ichigo. "And certainly she is not like you. In fact, whereas you are the One of All, an Einer von Allem as what Yhwach believed you to be, she's None of them All, a Nichts von Allem. She is as human as you have always known her."

"Why are you doing that?" Uryuu asked.

"Doing what?" Ichibei played along, his lips curving into a knowing grin.

"Why are you constantly referring to us as humans? You're even including Rukia and Renji. It's as if you want us to point it out."

Ichibe let out a hearty laugh. "Smart Quincy. The Royal Guards truly fell not just because of your brute force but by your intellect. You humans sure are very talented and astute." Then he stopped smiling, now suddenly morbidly serious. "It's really a wonder why you, you pathetic little creatures, are so special, so coveted."

Ichibe looked at Ichigo. "Did you know, Ichigo, that the Gates of Hell do not open in Soul Society nor Hueco Mundo. It only opens in the World of the Living. It really makes one very curious as to why even the largely unknown and uninvolved Hell would give you, humans, special consideration."

"In all three Realms, humans are the only creature capable of being and making the impossible…possible. That was the reason why you are so precious. Ichigo, you are the perfect incarnation of the Soul King, created by balancing all four kinds of souls into one…contained by a thing that we call a holdlet. The Hogyoku is an immortal piece of artifact, and yet it can be completely sealed and destroyed by a human body. That it is considered a scientific breakthrough for the denizens of Spiritual Worlds to be even given the chance to experiment on humans. Isn't that right, Kisuke Urahara?

Ichigo saw Urahara-san flinch. It was like he recognized something from what Ichibe said, but the green-clad man remained silent.

Ichibe looked at them one by one. "Your souls are incarnations of the Soul King, and yet everything revolves around humans…a Shinigami's foremost rule: to never kill a Human unless in absolute necessity. The Quincies from the World of Living's code of honor…their sworn duty to protect humans. Humans are such an addiction to Hollows that Fullbringers come into existence."

"Why, Ichigo. Why are Humans so special? Why is it that humans are all loved by all incarnations of a Soul King? What do all humans have that the other races don't? Come on, Ichigo! You know the answer to that! Or should we have a little experiment right here, right now?"

Ichigo gritted his teeth in annoyance. This old bastard is goading them to do something. It was like he was asking to be pummeled into kingdom come!

Ichibei snapped his fingers. Chains erupted from the ground, ensnaring them.

Ichigo struggled against the chains, unable to escape. "Bast-"

"Don't even try to escape. Those chains are made from Sekkiseki. It will repel Spiritual Pressure." Light emanated from the dome above and showed a very familiar scene.

"Stop! Don't!" Renji shouted.

The projection showed Renji as he was about to arrest Rukia in the World of the Living.

"Call him, Rukia! And the guy who stole your powers will die. And don't even think about protecting him. You should know very well now, right? When you were being attacked before, you didn't escape. I let you escape! This time, my attack will be serious!"

"Such a bastard…that he could stomach doing this to his long-time nakama Rukia, only to beg later on to save her. Is this really the extent of their bond? The Shameless."

"Hey!" Ichigo warned.

Renji's eyes were wide with shock before he looked down in shame. The clip stopped before disappearing, only to be replaced by a more recent one. This time, it showed Uryuu just as he was about to accompany Yhwach to the Royal Palace.

"Go home, Kurosaki. You can't stop His Majesty. Go home and don't throw away your life here."

"Oh, would you look at that?! The Great Betrayer."

"Stop!" Ichigo barked.

"Kurosaki…" Uryuu faltered.

The screen went blank again before shifting to a scene set in Soul Society. It showed Chad as he confronted the current Captain Commander of the Thirteen Court Guards

"True, I don't know much about Rukia. I may not know enough to give up my life to save her; however, Ichigo wants to save her. Ichigo went all out for her. And that's enough. That's all the reason I need to put my life on the line for everything."

"And we all knew what happened next,' Ichibe jeered. "He got defeated. The Fool."

"STOP!" Ichigo shouted louder, struggling to break away from the chains. His reiatsu burst for a moment before it got snuffed out by the presence of his binds.

"If that's not enough, why don't we hear the thoughts of one Nakama Killer," Ichibe's eyes landed on Rukia. The screen did not play anything. Instead, a voice recording echoed from the surrounding area.

"I ran away because I was afraid to fight you. I came back because I was afraid to face my cowardice in the future. I stabbed you because I couldn't bear to see you in pain. The only one I had saved was my ugly self."

Slap! The sound of palm hitting against cheek reverberated across the seemingly endless space.

"INOUE!" came the surprised chorus of voices from the people.

"It seemed that the Sekkiseki chains were of no match to that strange reiatsu of yours, girl," Ichibe, towering and smug as ever, chuckled, his deep voice reverberating through the room. "I'm even impressed that you have the strength to stand despite your injuries."

"Please take those back," Inoue said, her voice steady and firm. "You don't get to say those things about them. You have no right."

"Inoue!" Rukia cried out. "Please. He's dangerous…We don't know what he would do to us! It's okay!"

Ichibe laughed. "I don't want to hear that from you, Hypocritical Bitch. You're the one who went to Hueco Mundo to save your comrades, and yet what happened to your so-called resolve?"

"Save us, Kurosaki-kun!"

THWACK! Ichigo's fist flew through the air, slamming Ichibe in the jaw. "Renji is not shameless. He was trapped between his duties and his friendship. Uryu is not a betrayer. He did what he did to win the war without bloodshed. Chad is not a fool. He will never be a fool because he is held by his own strong moral principles. Rukia did what she did because she knew that killing Kaien would be a greater honor than to die as the Hollow that killed his wife. And Inoue…Inoue is not what you say she is! She is the most compassionate out of all of us! She is a woman who will stand by her values despite the odds against her. She's a human! The most human of us all!"

Clang! The chains loosened and released them.

Ichigo immediately put his hand at the small of Inoue's back, slowly guiding her to sit down in the wheelchair.

"Precisely." Suddenly, the light turned on. "Even if odds are against you, it is human to defend the people you hold dear. It is human to deny predetermined destinies. It is human to reject unacceptable realities. It is all human will."

"We are getting sidetracked," Yoruichi-san interrupted. "I thought we were running out of time."

"Ah, always the speed-loving woman," Ichibe beamed. "All in due time, Shihoin. All in due time."

The Zero Division member then addressed the whole group. "For as long as human history existed, humas are the only creatures in all Three Realms to never fail to create a religion. You know, why? Because you are such lonely creatures, pathetically lost and desperately looking for something…someone…just for the sake of never being alone again. Human philosophers believed that Humans are bifurcated by nature. An aspect of a Human dwells in the material world, yet they continuously yearn to be with the Divine."

Ichigo felt shivers run down his spine.

"There's something in your Human Will that would always attempt to impinge and trespass upon God's territory…you know like that story about the Tower of Babel…humans and their attempt to reach God. Funny thing is, a very famous figure is also coincidentally named after that particular story…The Whore of Babylon…Just like how Inoue Sora described their mother…a whore."

Ichigo saw Inoue wince at the mention of the names.

"You humans call whatever you find unknown as 'monsters' because you cannot understand it…because you fear it…yet It is quite ironic, don't you think? You, humans know so much about Shinigamis, Quincies, Hollows, etcetera, etcetera but you remain clueless about yourselves. To the eyes of the rest, you are the monsters. You are the illogical and twisted ones. You have always been the backward creatures. You, humans, are the devils."

"You've seen The Soul King…a being composed and the source of all kinds of reishi, and despite the fact that he has been dismembered several times, he remains tangible, visible, and concrete. Now, my dear children, what is it that you have that we don't?"

"It's kishi, isn't it? The physical matter that makes up our living bodies. The thing that makes us humans in the first place," Ichigo answered, his voice direct.

"Ding! Ding! Ding! You're correct. Now where does kishi come from?"

Silence ensued, as the occupants of the room were unable to answer.

"Ah, I'm right. You, humans, do not know who you are. She is the source of that kishi. That's the reason why Humans have always been a central figure to the rest of the races. That presence of the Soul King that resides within the reishi that makes up a Shinigami, Hollow or Quincy unconsciously reaches towards her miniscule presence within living humans. Just like how you and your kishi yearns to be with the divine, the afterlife...or to make it more simple, reishi."

"Her miniscule presence?" Uryuu repeated.

"Why, yes. You didn't think I'd be butchering The Soul King alone now, did you?"

Ichigo's blood ran cold. "There are two lynchpins?"

"Hahaha. Of course, there are two. How else can Life and Death be kept separate? If the Soul King regulates the flow of reishi, who would regulate the flow of kishi? Another question…where do you think she is right now?"

"Inside Inoue?" Chad offered.

"Good guess. Correct yet inaccurate. She is ever-present in the kishi that makes up the World of the Living. She is that very physical matter. What do you think is her name?"

"Soul Q-" Renji answered but something prevented him from speaking "-Ackk!"

"Are you alright, Renji?" Rukia rubbed the red-headed man's back to comfort him.

"Why can't we utter her name?" Urahara-san stepped forward.

"But of course, I mutilated her, in a way completely different from the Soul King. Whereas Adnyeus, the source of Spiritual Particles is dismembered tangibly; she, the source of Physical Matter, was mutilated abstractly. That includes cutting up her name…"

"The Anti-God?" Ichigo suggested.

"Ah, that being standing in opposite and equal measure to a god…the supposed-devil figure…much like how Sora Inoue called his father. Given that Orihime Inoue has powers that trespass and impinges upon a god's territory I'd say it would be partially accurate."

"You divided her name, didn't you," Ichigo said, catching how Ichibe's eyes glinted in recognition. "Whereas you sealed the Soul King inside a barrier shield, you sealed her by using your calligraphy pen-like Zanpakuto to divide her essence."

"And what makes you think I'd do that?"

"If her name was cut off, then that would mean her name cannot even be remembered by anyone; thus, cannot also be invoked. Except for you. That's the reason you're telling us this story in such a roundabout way. Because you're careful not to invoke her true name because it may as well summon her."

"Nothing really escapes you, Ichigo. I sealed her so that her powers cannot be used by beings that would abuse it...so that the likes of Aizen or Yhwach would fail to fully grasp herpowers beyond comprehension. Yhwach was close though...I think he was about to realize the truth about her when Orihime fought against him."

"But where's the rest of her name?" Ichigo challenged, sizing up the larger man.

"Why are you asking me?" Ichibe laughed boisterously. "You should have known this by now. You're the humans. You're the ones that, at one point in your lives, lived on that thing you call Earth. Think. Where and what concepts could her other names be found? There's actually a reason why all human religions are partially correct in describing the afterlife. And there's a reason why I am called Manako Oshō-The Monk Who Calls the Real Name."

Ichigo thought for a moment. It has to be something abstract. If the names and words: Soul King, God, Anti-God, Spirits, Humans, Life, Death are to be combined, what would be the underlying theme?

Ichigo realized. 'Wait…names and words…Ichibe's domain collocates with languages…but not just language…an aspect of language that encompasses these words…but still remaining distinctly separate from each other is...'

"Your face says you have the answer."

"The Pen is mightier than the Sword...that was you. It's Literature," Ichigo declared with confidence. "Her other name is sealed within literature...a concept ever-present but remains distinct and separate from each other...the concept by which humans have tried to explain their own nature since time immemorial. Unifying and yet divided. And with all of your pointed remarks about everything that we are as humans...you're telling us that she is also that being we call as Mother Earth."

"Mother Earth?" Rukia repeated.

"Because regardless of culture, literature, mythology and religion, there is always a Mother Earth figure that governs the mundane world and nurtures life, and a Sky King entity that presides over a territory beyond mortals. In Greco-Roman tradition, humans believe in Ouranos/Uranus and Gaia/Terra. In Vedic/Hindu Mythology, there is Dyaus Pita and Prithvi Mata. The Sumerian goddess Ki is associated with the earth and often paired with Anu, the sky god. Together, they represent the earth-sky duality in early Mesopotamian religion. The list goes on."

"Is that the reason why the Shun Shun Rikka were named after flowers?" Chad asked Ichibe.

Ichibe's answer to Chad was a wider beaming smile, before continuing to debate them. "But those literature are vastly different from one another."

"Precisely. That's how you probably sealed her. While the Soul King has somewhat retained some of his body, the counterpart must have been the opposite…complete and total separation," Urahara-san joined, giving his own comments.

"I see," Uryuu thought for a moment. "In Hebrew and Judaic thought, the concept of the sacred feminine is present in various forms. The Shekhinah represents the divine presence or indwelling of God, often associated with nurturing, protection, and compassion. Although not explicitly feminine in all sources, in Kabbalah, the Shekhinah is seen as the feminine aspect of God's presence on Earth, and is considered to be closely linked with both the people of Israel and the physical world. Binah is associated with the nurturing, maternal aspect of divinity that gives form and structure to creation."

"And it's really not that surprising considering that Inoue Orihime unconsciously resurrected three supposed-to-be dead mothers. Masaki, Katagiri and Hisana," Ichibe added.

"What?" Rukia went still. "Hisana-onee-sama was with a child before she died? Does Nii-sama know of this…"

Ichibe merely put his finger on his lips. "Oops. I have said too much."

Urahara-san probed, "Then does that mean Ichigo is the reincarnation of the Soul King, and that Inoue is the reincarnation of this Mother Earth/Anti-God?"

"No," Ichibe said with a straight face. "They're not. Ichigo was nothing more than the perfect incarnation of Adnyeus, whereas Orihime Inoue was just the purest manifestation of that thing. They are not reincarnated gods playing a melodramatic theater, meeting once again in another life or five more. So, Ichigo, perish whatever worry you may have regarding the authenticity of what you feel about this girl," Ichibe gestured towards Inoue.

"W-What a-are you g-going on about?!" Ichigo stammered, feeling the heat creeping up his face.

"Denial is not just a river in Egypt, ya know!" Ichibe shrugged. "Anyway," he snapped his fingers again and a sound played out.

"If I were the rain, that binds together the sky and the earth, whom in all eternity will never mingle, would I be able to bind two hearts together?"

"Is that...Inoue's voice?" Chad asked.

"Oh, my God!" Inoue squeaked, hiding and burying her face in her hands.

"Hey! That's an invasion of privacy!" Ichigo protested, seeing as Inoue's ears had reddened.

"Unfortunately, I do not subscribe to the same moral standards followed by humans," Ichibe explained. "I do not see anything wrong with playing this if it makes a point."

"Thats-!" Ichigo began.

"Let me be clear...Ichigo, you are not the sky. And Orihime, you are not the earth. You're both the rain. Your conscious decisions to share and connect with each other and the people around you are what makes the Soul King and her meet again. And for that, I thank you."

"Why are you suddenly thanking us?" Ichigo cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

"Why not? In this tale, I am but the villain that pried star-crossed lovers away from each other's tender embrace. At least in this manner, they meet again. Maybe that's why I never intervened in how you met. Don't you remember, it was raining at that time when you first met Orihime Inoue as she was dragging the dead body of her brother to your family's clinic?"

"I uhmmm…"

"It was also raining when Inoue Orihime learned of how your mother died. And it was on a rainy day that Inoue said the words you've heard earlier. Ichigo, if Aizen hadn't interfered with your life, your Pure-Blooded Echt Quincy mother would have still been attacked by another Hollow, and would still have met your Noble-House Shiba Family Member father. The only difference is that you would have been born in Soul Society."

Ichibe raised his hand as if to stop them from interrupting, like he was saying that there is no time left. "If you were born in Soul Society, you would be a complete being made of reishi, and you would never encounter Inoue Orihime's soul. She would remain a regular human devoid of powers…a pure being of kishi. But fate is a funny thing. That timeline never came to be. Because of the choices that people make. And that's the same right now. You and Inoue have always made the choices. Not the Soul King, not Her. You, humans. That's what makes you special. It's your will."

Ichibe then focused his attention on Inoue, kneeling down in front of her to see each other at eye level. "Orihime Inoue, all humans are her children. All humans carry her presence within them. It is not just you. But you are her purest manifestation. The responsibility now rests in your shoulders. Are you prepared to take that burden?"

"No," Inoue responded in a voice that even Ichibe was caught by surprise. Then, Inoue glanced around, her eyes landing at Ichigo. "But we are."

Ichibe chuckled as he stood up. "I see. For now, I must bid you farewell. Until next time."

A flash of light exploded, and everyone found themselves back at the front gate of the Kuchiki Manor.