Three Worlds

The Three Worlds (三界, Sangai), or simply known as the "World" (世界, Sekai) collectively, are the three conjoined realms that make up most of known existence, namely:

• The Human World
• The Soul Society
• Hueco Mundo

They were formed by Adnyeus, the Soul King, out of the Primordial Sea, and in the process, "life" (生, sei) and "death" (死, shi) were separated. Sealed by the Shinigami, the Soul King acts as a linchpin for the worlds, but his son Yhwach cannot tolerate "life" and "death" being apart and seeks to collapse the worlds.

Overview

Adnyeus splits the Primordial Sea into the Three Worlds.

The Three Worlds, as the term suggests, are three separate yet adjacent dimensions: the world of Kishi (器子の世界, Kishi no sekai), the world of Reishi (霊子の世界, Reishi no sekai), and the "paradise of sand" (砂の楽土, suna no rakudo). They are commonly known as the Human World (or the World of the Living), Soul Society (the afterlife for Human Souls), and Hueco Mundo (another realm of Reishi where Hollows dwell), respectively. These three dimensions coexist inside a featureless black void known as the Garganta.

The Soul King, sealed into a crystal by the Shinigami, keeps the Three Worlds separate.

Likely because they are not naturally meant to exist apart, the three dimensions need to remain in balance with each other at all times by keeping a roughly equal amount of Souls existing per world. Maintaining this equilibrium is the main purpose of the Shinigami. Should this balance ever be disrupted, or should the Soul King's influence ever be removed from the equation, the three worlds will forcibly try to merge with each other once again.

The Quincy naturally threaten the balance of the worlds, as they extinguish the souls of Hollows, causing an imbalance of souls. This eventually leads to the collapse of the worlds, mixing life and death together. Because of this, the Shinigami attempted to exterminate the Quincy 200 years ago. In truth, the Quincy are led by the son of the Soul King, Yhwach, who desires to end his father's endless humiliation, merge the worlds, and create a world without the fear of death.

Trivia

• The term "Three Worlds" is anglicized as "Triplet World" in Episode 394's eyecatch.
• Despite being an entire realm of its own, Hell is never mentioned to be a part of the Three Worlds. The reason has not yet been addressed in either the manga or anime.
  • However, in Ryōgo Narita's novel Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World, it is revealed that Hell predates the Soul King's tripartition of the worlds; one of the reasons for the Human World's creation was for it to serve as a "lid" to seal off Hell from the other realms.
• It was originally explained that the balance must be kept between the two worlds, the Human World and Soul Society, or else they collapse. It was later changed to three worlds, adding Hueco Mundo.

See also

• Dangai
• Valley of Screams