Welcome to Gaia! ::

Something strange is happening. While some nap and others fight, mystery, terror, and disaster strikes one of the many alleys of the Seireitei. A message, splattered in blood, written in extremely neat, if not drippy, writing. Placed with an old elegance, the words are dried but smell fresh. Thirteen corpses kneeling before the wall on which these words are written, their weapons plunged into their own stomachs.

"Shattered are the ranks. Desperate are the members. We are failing, we are falling. We must step forward and not look back. To look back is to regret and despair over a simple stage in our evolution. We are better than those who do not wish for us to move on. Like the cavemen, they will die while we thrive. And if we grow bored, we will show them how expendable they are, just to make more. Like lambs to be slaughtered, they are our puppets. We will throw them around like we see fit. Come, join us, at any hour. Show the Shinigami that they will soon be obsolete. The ancient one has kept us in the dark for too long. Bygone eras will resurface, and we will leap forward in power. The monarch will not keep us chained any longer, for we will take the place of ancient beings, and take one giant leap for us all."

But this was not the only strange occurrence that plagued the Gotei Thirteen this day. No, it was only the beginning. Hell Butterflies were flitting swiftly through the skies, darkening it. The message written on the wall was being broadcast to every member of the Seireitei. Some had an extra bit of information in it. The location of this wall. The butterflies containing this particular information were sent out to all acting Captains and Lieutenants, as if purposely trying to gather their attention. The voice relaying it all was echoed and unrecognizable, clear and easy to hear, but hard to distinguish. And then, as the message finished, the Butterflies began disintegrating, turning to dust as if being burned to ash without heat, whisking away in the gentle wind.

The wind gets a bit stronger as the sky darkens further. The clouds gray over as an announcement booms forth from the sky. Heard by all in the Seireitei, it decrees ominous news. "A thief has broken into the Soul King's Palace. They have succeeded in escaping with a valuable treasure. They have an amount of essence from the Soul King himself. No details are known, but if they are found, they must be stopped."

And then the sky clears. From the center, the aerial horizon, shards of light are spat from the clouds, each one flying off towards a different direction, some aiming down into the Seireitei, others disappearing in a momentary blink of light, as if transversing the realms. Each one also contains a message. As they find their targets, Shinigami of the Captain rank, active or former, they dissipate, imparting a message onto their targets. It is among the five gravest words the Shinigami could put together: "The Soul King is missing."

Meanwhile, a man dressed in a traditional Kimono leaves the scene of the crime. Silent, and looking to be a young adult, he is ordered to stop by two soldiers. Ignoring them, he continues, shimmering for a moment as he suddenly exits their sight, the two soldiers forgetting his existence as he leaves.