Soul King Palace

"While it's true that the name "Spirit Palace" refers to this entire space as a whole... Strictly speaking, the place where we are standing right now is the "Spirit Palace Approach" - an entryway leading to the Palace proper. Do you see the large cocoon-like building floating at the end of this pathway? That is the main palace, the Royal Citadel. That's where you'll find the Soul King. And then we have the five disc-like structures floating around the Citadel. These are the Zero Estates. Our own personal castles. Upon each of those discs rests an entire town... And the Soul King grants one of these towns to each of us to rule." — Kirio Hikifune in "THE FIRE"

Soul King Palace (霊王宮, Reiōkyū) is a separate dimension kept suspended in the skies far above the Seireitei that serves as the official residence of the Soul King and its Royal Guard.^[1]

Overview[]

The Soul King Palace consists of several layers, with one layer suspended above the other. The lowest level is comprised from many buildings of the same style to that of Seireitei. From this, a large stairway leads upwards to a wide and flat expanse, with both areas at the base and top of these stairs being lined by rows of huge, circular pillars. Floating above are five discs with numerous buildings on each, while suspended higher still is a large cylindrical structure that has a conical top and bottom.^[2]

Defenses[]

The sekkiseki walls that surround Seireitei are ordinarily intended to protect the Soul King Palace, instead meant only to fall down to Seireitei in times of emergency. However, if emergencies occur in succession, they remain in place around Seireitei indefinitely until things are returned to normal.^[3]

The Soul King Palace is further protected by 72 barriers between it and the Seireitei. Should these barriers be forced open via clothing constructed from an Ōken, they cannot be closed off for 1 hour and 40 minutes due to the sheer defensive power of the clothing.^[4]

There exist a group of elite guards known as "Divine Soldiers" (神兵, Shinpei; Viz "Holy Soldiers") which are led by Senjumaru Shutara, who refers to them as the "Blade of the Soul King" (霊王の刃, Reiō no Yaiba). Each guard wears a black hakama with a purple sash tied around their waist and a black mask with four light-colored lines tracing over their heads, and their hair is tied into a long spike at the back of their head before being left to hang free about halfway through the length. They are all armed with swords,^[5] and are strong enough to effortlessly defeat a squad of Soldat.^[6]

There is a much more powerful version of these soldiers known as a "Second-Class Divine Soldier" (二級神兵, Nikyū Shinpei; Viz "Second Level Holy Soldier"), which Senjumaru refers to as the "Shield of the Soul King" (霊王の盾, Reiō no Tate; Viz "Reio's Shield"). It resembles an ordinary soldier, but is extremely large and wears a circular black hat on its head. The backs of its wrist each have one-half of a large, black, circular shield on them.^[7]

Yhwach's Changes[]

After absorbing the Soul King, Yhwach drastically altered the appearance of the Soul King Palace, turning it into the Wahrwelt (真世界城 (ヴァールヴェルト), Vāruveruto; German for "True World", Japanese for "True World Castle"; Viz "Castle of True World").^[8][9]

Admittance[]

The route to the inner dimension in which the palace resides can only be opened with "a key", fittingly named the Ōken (王鍵, Royal Key), the location of which is kept secret, only being passed down verbally from one Gotei 13 Captain-Commander to the next.^[1] There are only two ways to enter the Spirit King Palace:

1. With the permission of the Royal Guard. They don't have to be there physically, they only need to want the person to enter.
2. Make a Royal Key by creating a Royal Guard.^[10]

A Royal Guard can also open up a Chōkaimon (超界門, Super World Gate) to send someone directly to the Human World, and use the same gate to send said "someone" back, but to do so requires syncing the arrival and departure times.^[11]

Transportation[]

The only known method to get from section to section of the Soul King Palace is to be catapulted into the sky, in the direction of the intended destination.^[12]

Soul King Palace Layout[]

Soul King Palace
Location Name	Location Information	Location Picture
Soul King Palace Front Approach (霊王宮表参道, Reiōkyū Omotesandō)	The main entrance into the palace is the surface path which consists of a long paneled path suspended in the air, leading to the inner portion of the Palace itself.[13]
Soul King Greater Palace (霊王大内裏, Reiō Daidairi)	The large floating cylindrical structure at the end is the main shrine (本殿, honden), Soul King Greater Palace. This is where the Soul King resides.[13]
The five giant floating discs are the Zero Division Riden (零 (ゼロ)番 (ばん)離 (り)殿 (でん), Zeroban Riden), the Zero Division's castles. On each disc there is a city, which the Soul King entrusts to each individual member.[14]
Tenjirō Kirinji's City	It is the floating city that is the headquarters of the Royal Guard member Tenjirō Kirinji. It has multiple buildings that make up the city. The principal building is called "Kirinden" (麒麟殿, Qilin Palace) and contains a large underground area that encompasses healing hot springs.[15]
Kirio Hikifune's City	It is the floating city that is the headquarters of the Royal Guard member Kirio Hikifune. It has multiple buildings that make up the city. The principal building is called the "Gatonden" (臥��殿, Lying Pig Palace) and has a large area for food preparation, presentation and dining.[16]
Ōetsu Nimaiya's City	It is the floating city that is the headquarters of the Royal Guard member Ōetsu Nimaiya. It has multiple buildings that make up the city alongside the edge of a large body of water. The principal building is called the "Hōōden" (鳳凰殿, Fenghuang Palace). This is a small and simple shack near the edge of a cliff. There is also a larger building called the Galaxy Hōōden, which is a flashy building for parties and entertainment.[17]
Senjumaru Shutara's City	It is the floating city that is the headquarters of the Royal Guard member Senjumaru Shutara. It has multiple buildings that make up the city. One of the rooms is covered entirely in dozens of different fabrics, and has a medium-sized cushioned seat made of wooden bars at the top of the set of stairs. Senjumaru uses this room to take measurements of those whom she creates Ōken Clothing for.[18][19][20][21][22]
Ichibē Hyōsube's City	It is the floating city that is the headquarters of the Royal Guard member Ichibē Hyōsube. It has multiple buildings that make up the city, with a mountain range in the middle of it. The principal building is called the "Itanoma" (板の間, Wooden Floor). It is a training dojo, which takes the form of a small building at the top of a flight of stairs carved into the side of a mountain.[23] The air is filled with incredibly dense Reishi, which initially prevents visitors unused to such density from moving or breathing properly, though it can be adapted to with time.[24] Ichibē trains visitors in the inner chamber.[25]

Guards[]

The Royal Guard, also known as the "Zero Division", are the protectors of the Soul King Palace and its residents, particularly the Soul King. Though they commonly remain within the palace, when the Royal Guard do need to travel, their preferred method of transportation takes the form of a huge pillar called the Tenchūren (天柱輦, Heavenly-Pillar Palanquin). While this pillar is able to freely exit the inner dimension, it is unable to return to the palace on its own and is instead entirely reliant on outside assistance to do so, such as Kūkaku Shiba's Kakaku Hō (花鶴砲, Flower Crane Cannon).^[26]

Trivia[]

• Yhwach considers the Soul King Palace to be nothing more than a "decaying grave".^[27]

References[]

Navigation[]

Soul King
Soul King	Adnyeus • Heart • Left Arm • Right Arm
Soul King Palace	Soul King Palace • Gatonden • Hōōden • Kirinden • Irazu Sandō
Royal Guard	Kirio Hikifune • Ichibē Hyōsube • Senjumaru Shutara • Tenjirō Kirinji • Ōetsu Nimaiya
Related Articles	Ōken • Yhwach • Soul King Palace Residents • Primordial Sea • Torrent of the Soul King's Power
Appearances in Other Media
Soul King Hosts	Jūshirō Ukitake • Hikone Ubuginu • Aura Michibane • Rangiku Matsumoto • Fullbringers
Related Articles	Ōin • The Almighty

Locations
Human World	Kagamino City · Karakura Town · Karakura High School · Karakura Hospital · Kurosaki Clinic · Urahara Shop · Bount Mansion · Naruki City · London
Soul Society	Rukongai · Seireitei · Soul King Palace · Central 46 Compound · Nest of Maggots · Shin'ō Academy · Sōkyoku Hill · Gin Tonbo · Kuchiki Manor · Central Great Underground Prison · Wandenreich City · Silbern · Wahrwelt‎‎ · Western Branch · Reverse London
Hueco Mundo	Forest of Menos · Las Noches · Negal Ruins
Others	Hell · Dangai · Valley of Screams · Garganta · Primordial Sea