Yhwach

Yhwach, the progenitor of the Quincy, is a large man with long hair down to his waist and a magnificent mustache, with a furrowed brow on his eyebrow-less forehead. He refers to himself as "I" and is called "Your Majesty" by his subordinates. He has a ruthless personality but also possesses arrogance. He has the ability to share his power with others, and when those who have received his power die, he absorbs their souls and power, gaining more power than before he shared it. In the story, it is mentioned that he fought and was defeated by a young Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto and the newly formed Gotei 13 a thousand years ago, but the details were not revealed in the manga. However, in the anime, it is written that he was injured by an ambush from Jiro Sasakibe and was hit directly by Yamamoto's Bankai during that time. He has the ability to perform the "Sanctification" ritual on all Quincy of his bloodline, allowing him to take their lives and power from a distance. Nine years ago, through "Sanctification," he killed all Quincy not of pure blood, including Masaki, and took their power. In the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, he led his Quincy subordinates in an invasion of the Soul Society, stole Genryusai's Bankai, and killed him. Later, he clashed with Ichigo in the Soul Society, overpowering him, but had to retreat temporarily when his time in the "Shadow Realm" reached its limit. Afterwards, he declared Uryuu Ishida as his successor and began a second invasion. Accompanied by Uryuu, Haschwalth, and the Schutzstaffel, he invaded the Royal Palace and ordered the Schutzstaffel to battle the Royal Guard. When the Schutzstaffel members were defeated, he used "Sanctification" to take power from other members of the "Sternritter" and revived all the members by sharing that power. He himself confronted the leader of the Royal Guard, Ichibei Hyosube, and although cornered, he unleashed his true ability and crushed Ichibei. He then killed the Soul King and absorbed his remains, causing the Royal Palace to fall and transforming it into the "True World Castle," the castle he desired. In the final battle, he fought Ichigo, activating the essence of "The Almighty" and destroying Ichigo's true Bankai, achieving a complete victory and taking his Hollow and Quincy powers. He then executed Haschwalth and Gerard with "Sanctification" before battling Aizen, Ichigo, and Renji in the Soul Society. Although he seemed to be overwhelming them, he was deceived by Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu and mispredicted, leading to his death by Ichigo's attack. However, he revived himself with his own ability, but immediately lost all his power due to the effect of Uryuu's "Still Silver" and was finally killed by the "Zangetsu" that emerged from Ichigo's destroyed Bankai. As Yhwach was disappearing, he tearfully revealed that his goal was to destroy the boundaries between the living world, the Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo, erasing the boundary between life and death and freeing people from the fear of death. Despite his death, the remnants of Yhwach's power remained in the Soul Society, and although they erupted even ten years later, they were effortlessly extinguished by Kazui's intervention. In the novel, it is revealed that after the Soul King's death, the Royal Guard placed a barrier on Yhwach's corpse to substitute for the Soul King and prevent the world's collapse. In the past, he was revered as a "God" in the living world, born with the "Fourfold Agony" of lacking sight, hearing, touch, and vocal sensation. Due to his abilities, he was sought after by those around him, and with their deaths, he took their souls and power, gradually overcoming the Fourfold Agony. However, to avoid returning to the Fourfold Agony, he had to continue killing and usurping power from both enemies and allies as long as he lived. His ability, "The Almighty," is activated by opening his eyes, which then display multiple pupils, allowing him to see and know all futures. This ability can nullify any power he becomes aware of, and he broke Hyosube's abilities with it. However, he could not see the future of beings of the same essence as the Soul King, and he was unable to foresee that the Soul King's right arm was in a place unknown to him or that Ukitake, who contained the right arm, would release it to prevent the world's collapse. After absorbing the Soul King, when he activated his ability, his body was covered in black shadows with multiple eyes, and he could see and alter any future he chose from the branching possibilities. However, due to the nature of the "seeing" ability, it was difficult for Yhwach to distinguish between illusions shown by Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu and the dreams and predictions during his power exchange with Haschwalth, making his ability also a weakness as it heavily depended on his own perception and judgment.