Ichibe Hyosube, a name that was chosen for the only living man that has witnessed the chaotic, primordial world. Ichibe came into existence with the innate ability to determine the true name of all things. He was the first to wield a sword, the first to bring order, and when Soul Society was created, he was there to choose the names of all things in it.

Black is his power, and before him, there was only blackness from which he released his Zanapkuto. As long as he’s surrounded by it, he could fill his cup with the blackness and drink the essence of the world itself.

In this world, things that have no name can hold no power, no existence; only darkness. Things that were given names, created light. In a way, it could be said that he permitted this world to exist by releasing his own power.

Due to its importance, the name he was given carries a curse; those who are unworthy to speak it will lose their voices if they do. Captain of the Royal Guards, the High Priest, and the Monk Who Calls the Real Name; he goes by so many titles and is called so many names, but even he was once part of the darkness.

….

Over ten million years prior to the Quincy Blood War.

Ichibe came into being in a chaotic, dark, primordial world.

When he first opened his eyes, he couldn’t help but notice how insignificant and simple it was.

“Nothing is here but darkness.”

Very few things were but darkness swallowed them all; he who is darkness was the only one to survive. When he first came to be, Ichibe identified himself as ‘man,’ and men were hunted by those he identified as Hollows.

When one of the Hollow mistook him for what he identified himself as he called his Zanpakuto out of the darkness and struck him down and brought order to the land he took as a place to observe the world. However, at that moment, what he noticed is that the Hollow wasn’t truly dead, and it just returned to the darkness to be freed again.

Men were so weak; yes they looked like him, but none had any abilities like his. They couldn’t defend themselves and in the face of Hollows; they could only run or be eaten. After watching them for too long, Ichibe became certain that the only thing that made them different from ‘Animals,’ the name he gave to some creatures to separate them from Hollows, was the fact that they could talk.

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This made him say, “I’m a Shinigami…”

Being different didn’t make him feel special; in fact, it only intensified his feeling that this world is really dull.

Fortunately, this world’s greatest attribute was how ever-changing it was, and men, who he thought looked and behaved a lot like animals, changed, and began to evolve and make… more things!

Soon, Humans became his favorite creatures. They live in groups, something they kept from their prior animalistic state. They shared their knowledge, helped each other, and at night, they slept in what he named ‘Houses.’ At some point, these humans came to him asking for help, which he called prayer, and even worshiped him as an Ancestor. However, he wasn’t; he never had an offspring, their true ancestors were the very first five he thought deserved to also be called Shinigami.

They were the first who fought the hollows using weapons born from their souls, much like Ichibe. But the hollows changed as well, taking many other forms as the world evolved around the two sides.

As things kept coming out of the darkness bringing light upon this world, Ichibe grew weaker, to the point that he felt he should blend in with Humans, but he never did.

After so many years of watching the world evolve chaotically, by his own admission, Ichibe was joined by a few “exceptional” beings, namely the ancestors of the five Noble Houses, and the one to be eventually named the Soul King, the King of All Souls.

He was the most peculiar of the bunch, neither a man nor a hollow, making people mistake him for both, but never Ichibe. He noticed something special in him; he had a physical existence. Up to that point, everything he saw was merely a soul. But this thing also had a Body. He was the first Shinigami to have a mask like a Hollow. He could also use the power that wasn’t within him to create weapons, ones that didn’t work in the same way. The King of all Souls could remove other souls from existence.

Hollow and Shinigami alike feared him, but he was nothing to be afraid of; he was just different, like Ichibe once was, which made the latter feel extremely interested in him.

“What’s your name?” Ichibe said.

“I don’t have a name.”

Ichibe smirked, “You do; you just haven’t heard it yet.

You rule all creatures; thus people will call you Reio, King of All Souls.”

Reio raised up his head, “Reio… and what’s your name?”

Ichibe was a bit surprised, for millions of years, he was busy naming and identifying everything in this world, but he never stopped to ask himself this question.

“I don’t have one.”

Reio smiled, “You do. Since you got to give me a name, then I shall tell you yours.

Your name is, Ichibe Hyosube, the first to be.”