Late night, inside the dimly lit director's office of the hospital.
Ryūken-san walked over to his desk without saying a word, opened a drawer, and reached into a hidden compartment. With a quiet click, he pulled out an old, worn-out book and tossed it toward Amamiya Miyako.
"Read this first."
Miyako-san caught the book midair with a raised brow. "Eh? Some kind of secret Quincy technique?"
But once he opened the cover, his expectation faded. The contents weren't spells or techniques—it was history. Faded ink and brittle pages chronicled events from long ago. The writing felt heavy, as if carrying the weight of many lives.
"Two hundred years ago… a war broke out between the Quincy and the Shinigami… the number of Quincy drastically decreased…"
He read the passage out loud, his voice soft. Even in the Soul Society, this much was known. The Great Quincy Purge.
"Tch. Don't waste time on those surface-level details," Ryūken-san interrupted, adjusting his glasses with a cold gaze. "Look for the stuck pages in the middle. That's the part that matters."
"Yare yare…" Miyako muttered, carefully flipping through until he felt two pages unnaturally clinging together. He gently separated them.
"A thousand years ago… Yhwach, the King of the Quincy, led an invasion into the Soul Society?!"
Ryūken's expression remained stoic, but the gravity of the moment weighed heavily.
"This can't be... there's barely anything about this in the records…"
"You're right," Ryūken-san replied. "But the Ishida family kept this fragment hidden… because even among the Quincy, this was almost forgotten."
"But it says he died…" Miyako continued.
Ryūken raised a finger, "Read the last lines of that page."
Flipping to the end, Miyako's eyes narrowed. "The... Holy Selection Anthem…"
He read it aloud.
"The sealed King of the Quincy will regain his heartbeat in 900 years… his sanity in 90 years… and his power in 9 years…"
Miyako's fingers tensed. He knows the first part… but not the final line... he thought.
In truth, the complete Heilig Lied was this:
"The sealed King of the Quincy will regain his heartbeat in 900 years,
his mind in 90,
his power in 9,
and the world in 9 days."
That final prophecy was never recorded in writing—passed only among the pure-blooded elders loyal to the old ways. Miyako couldn't risk revealing that. Not yet.
"Ishida-san... what exactly does this mean?" Miyako asked, voice steady but probing.
Ryūken folded his arms. "The legend says that even after his defeat, Yhwach's spirit wasn't extinguished. The remnants of the Quincy believed in his return. But no one knew when."
He turned and stared out the window.
"That's why I'm sending you to Soul Society."
"Eh?!" Miyako's body stiffened.
"You've always wondered what happened five years ago, haven't you?" Ryūken's voice dropped an octave. "Then go to Seireitei. Investigate what really happened during Yhwach's first invasion. I need the timeline. I need the truth."
At that moment, Miyako understood.
The phrase 'a thousand years ago' was vague—almost symbolic. Ryūken suspected that Yhwach might already be awakening. That the mysterious death of countless mixed-blood Quincy five years ago… was part of the King's resurrection.
If the timeline matched up—then it was all connected.
"So that's it… you haven't spoken to Shiba Isshin-san yet," Miyako murmured under his breath. "His Shinigami powers haven't returned, so he's still out of the loop…"
He stared down at the closed book in his hand.
"I understand, Ryūken-san. I'll uncover the truth. I'll find out what happened a thousand years ago… and what's happening now."
Ryūken turned sharply. "No. Doing your best isn't enough. You must succeed. Dig into every crevice of Soul Society. Trace every footstep Yhwach left behind. I want everything."
At this moment, Amamiya Miyako was the final puzzle piece Ishida Ryūken needed to connect all the threads. Whatever Yhwach had done, Ryūken had to uncover the truth—no matter the cost.
"...Wakarimashita," Amamiya Miyako replied quietly. Even though he already knew the truth about Yhwach, without actual evidence, convincing Ishida Ryūken was impossible. And so, going to the Soul Society to investigate had become necessary.
After giving a respectful nod, Miyako turned and left the office.
Ryūken watched the young man's back disappear through the hallway. He lit a cigarette with practiced ease, exhaling a thin trail of smoke as he stared at the distant clouds outside the window. Yet his mind remained far from calm.
It was June 17, 200X—Ryūken would never forget that cursed day.
The message from Shiba Isshin had arrived: Kurosaki Masaki was dead, killed by a Hollow. And his own wife, who had collapsed into a sudden coma that very same day, passed away quietly three months later. Not even the top doctors at Karakura General could explain it.
Ryūken clenched his jaw.
Kurosaki Masaki was no ordinary woman. She was a Pureblood Quincy. With her skills and heritage, a common Hollow should never have been able to kill her in the Human World. And his wife—also a Quincy—had fallen without warning. The only thread connecting them was their Quincy bloodline.
And yet… Ryūken himself had survived that day completely unharmed.
Later investigation showed that the ones who died were all Gemischt, Quincy of mixed heritage. As for Masaki… there had long been speculation that she had been tainted by Hollow influence back in high school, which might have altered her bloodline classification.
But the biggest enigma remained: Why had nothing happened to his son?
To protect Uryū, the only family he had left, Ryūken had devoted the past five years to investigating the truth. But within the limitations of the Human World, there was only so much he could uncover. If answers existed, they would be found in the Soul Society.
'頼むぞ… Amamiya Miyako,' Ryūken thought silently.
Compared to Shiba Isshin, whom Ryūken had once met long ago, Miyako wasn't quite as powerful—at least not yet. But the young man possessed keen insight, reliable combat ability, and an uncanny sharpness for uncovering hidden truths.
Ryūken believed that if given time, Amamiya Miyako would surely rise to the level of a Captain-class Shinigami. That alone made him the best candidate to dig into Soul Society's ancient records—especially those tied to the Quincy.
As for Urahara Kisuke… Ryūken had long since given up relying on him. That sly fox always kept his cards too close to his chest.
He reached into his drawer and took out the old Quincy record book once more. Flipping to the hidden page, his eyes lingered on the final line of the so-called "Heilig Lied"—the sacred hymn.
"In nine years, he regains his power..."
Could it be that the source of that power was the life force of countless mixed-blood Quincy?
At that moment, Ryūken still didn't know about the Auswählen, the Holy Selection. But the timing lined up too well. It was entirely possible that 200X had been the moment when Yhwach had begun reclaiming his strength.
If that could be confirmed… then the truth behind Masaki and his wife's deaths would no longer be theory—it would be fact.
And more than anything else, if Yhwach had truly returned to power… there would be no stopping him.
Ryūken's cigarette burned low between his fingers.
And the one who remained untouched that day—his son—might not escape the storm next time.
"The so-called King of the Quincy, Yhwach…" Ryūken muttered, closing the book slowly.
He had no reverence for that ancient name. No loyalty to Quincy traditions. All he saw was a monster that had torn his family apart.
If this Quincy legacy ever dared to threaten his son again…
He would destroy it himself.
"Uryū..." Ryūken whispered, eyes narrowing as he looked out the window into the silent sky.