Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War season 3 is currently airing in the Fall 2024 anime series. The latest episode of the show revealed some more important information about the Soul King. Ever since Yhwach and the Quincies invaded Soul Society, he has had his sights set on a larger target.
While it was clear that Yhwach wanted to completely destroy the Soul Reapers, he had a plan to aim even higher, as by the end of the second season, Yhwach and some of the most powerful Sternritter had entered the territory of the Soul Reapers. Soul King. Yhwach's goal is to finish off the Soul King to pave the way for the destruction of all realms that entity maintains.
Soul King is one of the most fascinating elements of the Bleach world in general.
While fans have seen a lot of Soul Society up to this point, it wasn't until the end of Tite Kubo's original manga that we started to learn more about the character.
Who is the Soul King in Bleach?
As revealed in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 28, Yhwach's new omnipotent power allows him to see everything that happens at once. Yhwach sees the past, present, and future all at once, including the Soul King's own past. The Soul King, originally named Adnyeus, was essentially sacrificed to maintain the balance of the human, Soul Reaper, and Hollow worlds. He has been kept in stasis due to all of this, and is also connected to Yhwach.
Yhwach had previously explained that he was also a creature isolated from birth, and eventually had powers that connected him to the entire Quincy race. It seems that, as the son of the Soul King (which would explain why Yhwach has such realm-shattering abilities when at his strongest), Yhwach needs to finish off the Soul King to make his dream come true. I am destroying Soul Society into reality. But he needs Ichigo's help to deliver the true killing blow and break the seal around the Soul King.
How did Ichigo take Soul King's life?
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War then takes things to the next level with a thrilling ending that sees Ichigo accidentally take the Soul King's life. After seeing Yhwach's sword pierce his body, Ichigo hastily pulled it out even though his friends did not want to. After coming into contact with the sword, Ichigo's body began to move on its own.
Yhwach explains that Ichigo's Quincy blood is calling to him, and Yhwach's power is now flowing through the blade. Thus, it causes Ichigo to cut through the Soul King's body completely as the episode ends.
Yhwach reveals that the only true way to take the Soul King's life is to break the seal around the Soul King. The only person who can do that is someone who is connected to all the realms. Ichigo is not only human, but also has elements of Soul Reapers, Quincies, and Hollows within him. He is the only one who can take the Soul King's life. Meaning that all this time, Yhwach was intentionally luring Ichigo to the Soul King's palace just so he could be the one to take the king's life and push Soul Society into destruction.