"What's the problem?" Ichibe'e murmured Sora's words.
Then Ichibe'e smiled bitterly: "Of course there's a problem!"
Ichibe'e pointed again at the Soul King's limbs: "Look again, my lord!"
"Oh, let me give you a hint. The Soul King's limbs were severed!"
"Oh! Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! I understand what you mean!" Hearing Ichibe'e's words, Sora looked at the Soul King and suddenly understood.
He did understand what Ichibe'e meant.
The Soul King's hands and feet were cut off, meaning that normally, when cut, some stump would remain, like the base of the legs and the last part of the arms.
But the current Soul King appeared to have the limbs severed completely at the roots.
At the same time, Sora probed with his perception and discovered an even bigger issue.
The Soul King's body was actually continuously dispersing!
Although this dispersion was very subtle, it was constantly happening!
Seeing Sora's understanding, Ichibe'e continued to explain: "The Soul King, although sealed within this crystal, his body is also constantly disintegrating!"
"This disintegration is constant. The Reishi that makes up the Soul King's body is continuously dispersing into this world! It's as if the world itself is absorbing him!"
"What it would be like after the Soul King is completely absorbed, I don't know, but I have a feeling it won't be good!"
Ichibe'e shook his head with a bitter smile: "After all, the current Soul King is indispensable. If the world absorbing the Soul King could make it self-sustaining, that would be great..."
"But according to our research, that's not the case. Once the Soul King completely dissipates, the world will still be destroyed!"
"And if that happens..."
At this point, Ichibe'e suddenly stopped. His eyes held a strange light as he looked at Sora.
Then, Ichibe'e said quietly: "If that happens, the world will be destroyed!"
"But we who live in this world, of course, won't let the world be destroyed. So what do we do?"
Ichibe'e asked and answered himself: "It's simple. Since this Soul King is destroyed, like a machine that has run for too long and reached the end of its lifespan."
"In that case, just add another Soul King to use as fuel to continue the operation. Isn't that right?"
"You understand now, my lord?" Ichibe'e showed a peculiar smile: "Frankly speaking, we in Zero Division say we protect the Soul King, but with the Seireitei below, how many times would the Soul King actually be attacked?"
"In reality, although we appear immortal, we know very well that each of us is also just fuel!!?"
"Hiss!" Hearing Ichibe'e's words, Sora gasped.
He understood completely!
The Soul King was fuel, but the world needed the Soul King to maintain its operation. So, to prevent the world's destruction, the Five Great Noble Families came up with various methods.
And the simplest was: when one Soul King died, another Soul King would be used to replace him.
This was a very common method among the Five Great Noble Families.
This was why Ukitake could potentially replace the Soul King, and similarly, Ichigo was also an artificially created candidate for the Soul King.
If something went wrong, like if Yhwach wasn't used as the replacement in the end, it would have been Ichigo who was used instead!
Thinking further, Hikifune's actions also seemed suspicious. It was like fattening someone up before slaughter!
But that was a person, not a pig!
For a moment, Sora felt a chill run down his spine.
However, as if seeing what Sora was thinking, Ichibe'e spoke: "My lord, the reason I'm telling you all this is because you are someone I can speak to about it."
"However, many people don't know about these things. In this world, the number of people who know this might not exceed five!"
"Of course!" Ichibe'e added: "We're not counting those who figured out the world's workings through their own intelligence."
"Having said that, our attitudes as those in the know are also very contradictory!"
"On one hand, we wish more people knew, so we don't have to bear all the pressure alone. On the other hand, we prefer fewer people to know, to protect our positions."
"But personally, I hope more people come to know!"
"Because the more people who know, the more people there are who can help us think of a solution!"
"I also know that this world is abnormal. What kind of world needs to use a person as a torch to burn?"
As he spoke, Ichibe'e let out another long sigh.
"It's also somewhat ironic."
"Back then, the Soul King's power was omnipotence and omniscience. There's no way he couldn't have known that the Tsunayashiro Clan was going to ambush him with the others!"
"Yet, the Soul King was still reduced to a torso, suggesting he chose this path himself!"
"But the Soul King's selfless devotion ended up like this..."