Bleach: Brave New World - BNW Chapter 17 The Certain Future
As the one who permitted the world to exist, and witnessed the consequences of that decision, Ichibe came to understand that interfering will always bring destruction.
Even when you think that this world is being unreasonable and chaotic, it’s actually being balanced in its own way.
If he ever wished to interfere with its development, he would have never let go of his power.
He never actually lost his control over the darkness. He once thought that it has an existence on its own and it has nothing to do with him, but that was only back in the day, millions of years ago. Now, he has a better understanding of his power, and he could grasp the world in the palm of his hand if he wanted, but that doesn’t mean that he would.
Ichibe learned that nothing remains the same, everything changes, even him. Even if he didn’t like something, he never felt that he had to make a move. The world is ever-changing, whether he likes it or not.
However, as the person who created the world and everything in it, Reio felt that this world needs guidance. Yes, he learned to accept his creations, but he never managed to accept what some of them were doing to this beautiful world after he bestowed life upon it.
Changing anything now would only bring destruction to this world, and it would be a massive waste, and perhaps too late, to start everything over from the very beginning. He was quite satisfied with the world itself, he just felt that it needed a bit of guidance, and to do that, he had to take action.
It was impossible for him to do anything the way he used to be. He hoped that Ichibe would finally decide to correct the path of the world, but his favorite creation never did. Therefore, he decided to take his place.
However, Reio never thought that once he would take a corporeal form, like Black did before, he would also forget everything about his old self–– Light.
Reio coming to life didn’t really change anything, in fact, it only saved Ichibe from his boredom.
Ichibe was finally excited about something again! He saw something new in this newcomer; Reio was different. It even felt like he had always yearned to meet him, like this was meant to be…
It felt weird, neither of them understood it.
They felt like they already knew each other. The first time they met was also unique; both knew the names of each other, which really brought them many questions.
But naturally, none could answer them…
Despite this liking, the two were very different. Ichibe liked to observe and Reio liked to act, and even interfere. He healed for no reason, and then he taught others how to heal. It was quite interesting to see Shinigami, and even normal men, pick up new skills that Reio was teaching them. But Ichibe didn’t really understand the meaning behind saving lives.
And when men came complaining about how they have never been gifted the ability to defend themselves, Reio even taught them not one, but two of his techniques! He first taught them how to absorb Reishi, creating spirit weapons, and then he taught the others who couldn’t do that how to give it and how to take it back.
Reio didn’t stop there; he also helped them get rid of the Hollows by banishing them far away from the Shinigami and the Quincy’s lands.
In this way, Reio gained respect from both Shinigami and Quincy, and some of them even began to call him: god.
For some reason, Reio never stopped interfering with the world, which made Ichibe question his true intent. But he never really tried to stop him. In fact, he even helped when Reio asked him to do a few things.
It didn’t take Reio long before he took a land, a realm for himself between the Shinigami land and the Quincy land, and he even built a house there. This was something that Ichibe never even thought of doing, despite living in this world for much longer!
Ichibe however was interested in knowing why Reio did that, so he asked casually and the latter said that he only did that to end the conflict between Quincy and Shinigami.
But that only made things even worse.
It didn’t matter whether they liked him or hated him: everyone feared Reio. It was clear to everyone that he could destroy both sides if he wanted.
However, the Five Noble Houses’ hatred for Reio was incomparable to anyone else’s, they even hated him more than they hated Hollows.
Once the ancestors of this land, the superior race, and the most powerful creatures in the world, they now became equals to what they have loathed the most, men!
Even teaching them how they can manipulate the Hollow powers didn’t change that fact, but it helped them gain back a bit of their status.
In fact, that status boost only caused the war to break out between the two parties.
Ichibe watched Reio’s endless pleading to both sides to stop the war, but what the latter didn’t understand was that the hatred between the Quincy and the Shinigami was just too blinding, to the point where they no longer cared about what he was wishing from them. It was so blinding in fact, that it eventually made them forget they even feared him.
Reio finally understood that no matter what he did, the certain future would never change.
Just as they were too busy fighting each other, a new enemy emerged from the far, far lands.
An army of different new types of hollows came marching from the north; it seems that not only Shinigami and Quincy were evolving!
“You’re not helping them?” Ichibe asked, watching the endless waves of hollows charging at the Quincy and the Shinigami armies.
“Even if I help them now, something else will occur. They will always hate each other, they will always kill each other. No matter what I do, they will always hate me. Nothing is going to change the certain future, not even me.”
Ichibe’s eyes widened upon hearing these words, and couldn’t hide his excitement, “And what is this future?”
“Let’s just sit here and watch it happen…” Said Reio indifferently.