"Ah!!?"
'The Soul King's contingency plan was the Soul King himself.'
Hearing Sora's words, Ichibe'e was utterly bewildered.
He understood every word Sora said, but when they were put together, why was he so confused?
The Soul King's contingency plan was the Soul King himself. What did that mean?
Ichibe'e couldn't figure it out.
So, he simply asked Sora: "My lord, what does that mean?"
"The meaning is the meaning!" Sora said mysteriously.
Then, seeing Ichibe'e's even more confused face, Sora smiled: "Alright, I'll stop teasing you!"
"The Soul King's contingency plan being the Soul King himself refers to the current state of the Soul King!" Sora said: "Why is the Soul King's body dissipating?"
"You said the world is absorbing him, and I agree with that, but likewise, it's also because the Soul King's will no longer exists, so his body is dispersing."
"Because, in a sense, the Soul King is already dead. Things that are dead, of course, will dissipate. Do you understand that?" Sora looked at Ichibe'e.
"Of course!" Ichibe'e nodded: "I can understand that!"
"I see, so that's how it is? I thought it was just a natural phenomenon!" Ichibe'e was very shocked.
But regarding the most important question, he still hadn't figured it out.
Ichibe'e looked at Sora: "So, my lord, the Soul King is dissipating. Where is the contingency plan?"
"Don't rush!" Sora smiled: "I know you're anxious, but you really need to calm down first. Let me finish before you get anxious!"
Sora continued: "Precisely because the Soul King was reduced to this state, and precisely because the Soul King is dissipating, this is the Soul King's contingency plan!"
"Think about it. Over the many years in Soul Society, haven't there been countless geniuses who wanted to become the Soul King?"
"There have been, of course, there have been, and many!"
Sora said: "If they came to the Soul King Palace and saw an ancient monster that had lived for who knows how long, one who was omniscient and omnipotent, the strongest in the world, then of course they wouldn't stand a chance!"
"But if they came to the Soul King Palace and saw a mummy like this, then there would be many options!"
"They could devour the Soul King and become the Soul King themselves!"
"Don't deny it. There must be people who thought that way!" Sora quickly said as Ichibe'e seemed about to speak.
"Well... I can't deny that!" Ichibe'e nodded with a bitter smile: "It's the truth! We witnessed Yhwach's downfall back then!"
"Exactly!" Sora nodded as well.
At this point, Ichibe'e looked at Sora again: "So, what is the contingency plan?"
"Heh heh, you're really impatient. Alright, alright, I'll explain!" Sora said: "The contingency plan is that the Soul King can reincarnate!"
As Ichibe'e looked on in shock, Sora said: "For the operation of the Three Worlds, one very important thing is the cycle of reincarnation. You know this, don't you?"
"Well... I do know, I just..." Ichibe'e's expression was one of shock: "The Soul King can also reincarnate?"
"Why not?" Sora shook his head with an amused smile.
Seeing Ichibe'e's bewildered expression, Sora understood what he was thinking.
"I know, you're thinking that when a spiritual entity reaches a certain level of strength and dies, they don't completely dissipate into the most basic Reishi. Instead, they turn into individual particles, right?"
"At that point, those Reishi particles are completely useless. So the Seireitei pushes these particles… essentially, the deceased Captains, into Hell. In Hell, these large-molecule Reishi are worn down and converted back into Reishi, maintaining the balance between the two worlds."
"In this situation, the large-molecule Reishi are broken down very thoroughly… there's no concept of reincarnation!"
"As for the sand of Hueco Mundo, it's the result of countless Hollows accumulating. Hueco Mundo doesn't have the tradition of pushing deceased Captains into Hell like Soul Society does. When a Hollow dies there, it dies, becoming a handful of yellow sand!"
"In that case, the sand naturally cannot reincarnate either."
"But look more closely at the Soul King's decomposition!" Sora pointed at the Soul King.
Ichibe'e also looked.
With Sora's hint and looking more carefully, Ichibe'e indeed noticed a difference.
"Th-this... th-this is absolutely insane!" Ichibe'e exclaimed in shock.
Because the Soul King's decomposition was very clean. He was being broken down bit by bit into the most basic Reishi!
"So, you understand now, don't you?" Looking at Ichibe'e, Sora smiled: "The Soul King indeed has the potential to reincarnate!"
"When this physical body of the Soul King completely dissipates, that will be the moment the Soul King reincarnates!"
"When not dead, the Soul King indeed couldn't think of a way to deal with the world's problems. But what if he no longer needed to hold the position of the Soul King?"