Flames of Duty

Chapter One: Rebirth

"How...?"

"The Soul King, together with the intervention of the Zero Division, has succeeded in recreating your body and preserving your spirit." explained Ichibē while sipping his cup of tea "Your death occurred recently, yesterday to be precise, so it was relatively easy."

Why did the Soul King do it? He wants me to face Yhwach again?" asked Yamamoto recovering the calmness for which he was known. If the answer to his question had been affirmative, he wouldn't have hesitated for a moment to face him again, because that was the Soul King's will and he would not disappoint him.

However, it seemed that his idea was wrong as Ichibē shook his head "Far from it. You are dead, Genryūsai. The Soul King has already made an exception to the rule to get you back, but not to face Yhwach again, but to solve another problem. A problem that could be as serious as our war against the Quincys."

"Another problem? What problem could rival the current crisis?"

"Tell me, what do you know about the circle of souls?" asked Ichibē in turn.

"That the Soul King is the one who regulates the flow of souls in the Soul Society. If he were not there, then our world, as well as the Hueco Mundo, the Human World and others would be ruined."

Ichibē nodded "That's true, but what you don't know, is that the Soul King also manages other worlds than those known. In truth, he is not even the only existing Soul King. From what he told me, there are many others like him who reign on other worlds." Yamamoto looked at him with surprised eyes "From what I know, a world with few souls, is managed by a Soul King, but once that world develops and souls increase, a new Soul King is assigned to that world, so as not to compromise the flow of souls among all the worlds. In these 'primitive' worlds a Shinigami or something similar is then assigned, so that all the creatures that pass through can find their way to the circle of souls. Obviously every Shinigami can be different or change over time, obtaining powers, reputation and appearance different from those like us."

The fact that you're telling me all this...is it related to the job for which I was brought back to life?" asked Yamamoto now with calm eyes.

"Yes, that's the case. You must know that the Shinigami of this world is being...controlled by humans and can no longer perform its duty, at least not completely." said Ichibē surprising the former Captain-Commander "In very simple words, they are using that Shinigami to bring the dead back to life, including souls."

Now Yamamoto was not only surprised, but also slightly worried "That shouldn't be possible. Bringing the dead back to life is not such an amazing thing, even I can do it in a sense, but also control the souls..."

"It goes against all the rules of the cycle of rebirth." nodded Ichibē "A soul that has already been reborn can no longer be controlled in any way, yet these humans have managed to get around the problem. From what I learned, they are creating something like copies when they bring someone back to life. This is a threat to the entire circle of rebirth, especially if this technique were to be passed on for years to come."

Yamamoto narrowed his eyes slightly before nodding "A soul takes time before being reborn. If humans had to go ahead with this system, no soul would leave that world anymore."

"Yes, that's problem. Fortunately, it seems that not all humans are allies, so those unrelated to this system live and die without any interference, thus allowing the Shinigami of that world to take their souls." Ichibē was silent for a few seconds "And that's why you've been brought back to life. To solve this problem, a problem born in your original world."