Minyak Bumi

Minyak bumi (bahasa Inggris: petroleum, dari bahasa Latin petrus – karang dan oleum – minyak), dijuluki juga sebagai emas hitam, adalah cairan kental, coklat gelap, atau kehijauan yang mudah terbakar, yang berada di lapisan atas dari beberapa area di kerak Bumi. Minyak bumi terdiri dari campuran kompleks dari berbagai hidrokarbon, sebagian besar seri alkana, tetapi bervariasi dalam penampilan, komposisi, dan kemurniannya.

Gempa Bumi

Gempa bumi adalah getaran atau guncangan yang terjadi di permukaan bumi. Gempa bumi biasa disebabkan oleh pergerakan kerak bumi (lempeng bumi). Kata gempa bumi juga digunakan untuk menunjukkan daerah asal terjadinya kejadian gempa bumi tersebut. Bumi kita walaupun padat, selalu bergerak, dan gempa bumi terjadi apabila tekanan yang terjadi karena pergerakan itu sudah terlalu besar untuk dapat ditahan.

Tanah longsor

Longsor atau sering disebut gerakan tanah adalah suatu peristiwa geologi yang terjadi karena pergerakan masa batuan atau tanah dengan berbagai tipe dan jenis seperti jatuhnya bebatuan atau gumpalan besar tanah. Secara umum kejadian longsor disebabkan oleh dua faktor yaitu faktor pendorong dan faktor pemicu. Faktor pendorong adalah faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi kondisi material sendiri, sedangkan faktor pemicu adalah faktor yang menyebabkan bergeraknya material tersebut. Meskipun penyebab utama kejadian ini adalah gravitasi yang mempengaruhi suatu lereng yang curam, namun ada pula faktor-faktor lainnya yang turut berpengaruh:

• erosi yang disebabkan sungai-sungai atau gelombang laut yang menciptakan lereng-lereng yang terlalu curam
• lereng dari bebatuan dan tanah diperlemah melalui saturasi yang diakibatkan hujan lebat
• gempa bumi menyebabkan tekanan yang mengakibatkan longsornya lereng-lereng yang lemah
• gunung berapi menciptakan simpanan debu yang lengang, hujan lebat dan aliran debu-debu
• getaran dari mesin, lalu lintas, penggunaan bahan-bahan peledak, dan bahkan petir
• berat yang terlalu berlebihan, misalnya dari berkumpulnya hujan atau salju

Pencemaran Udara

Pencemaran udara adalah kehadiran satu atau lebih substansi fisik, kimia, atau biologi di atmosfer dalam jumlah yang dapat membahayakan kesehatan manusia, hewan, dan tumbuhan, mengganggu estetika dan kenyamanan, atau merusak properti.

Pencemaran udara dapat ditimbulkan oleh sumber-sumber alami maupun kegiatan manusia. Beberapa definisi gangguan fisik seperti polusi suara, panas, radiasi atau polusi cahaya dianggap sebagai polusi udara. Sifat alami udara mengakibatkan dampak pencemaran udara dapat bersifat langsung dan lokal, regional, maupun global.

Global Warming

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. According to the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the 20th century. Most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the 20th century has been caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, which result from human activity such as the burning of fossil fuel and deforestation. Global dimming, a result of increasing concentrations of atmospheric aerosols that block sunlight from reaching the surface, has partially countered the effects of warming induced by greenhouse gases.

Climate model projections summarized in the latest IPCC report indicate that the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the 21st century. The uncertainty in this estimate arises from the use of models with differing sensitivity to greenhouse gas concentrations and the use of differing estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions. An increase in global temperature will cause sea levels to rise and will change the amount and pattern of precipitation, probably including expansion of subtropical deserts. Warming is expected to be strongest in the Arctic and would be associated with continuing retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice. Other likely effects include changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, species extinctions, and changes in agricultural yields. Warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe, though the nature of these regional variations is uncertain. As a result of contemporary increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, the oceans have become more acidic, a result that is predicted to continue.

The scientific consensus is that anthropogenic global warming is occurring.Nevertheless, political and public debate continues. The Kyoto Protocol is aimed at stabilizing greenhouse gas concentration to prevent a "dangerous anthropogenic interference". As of November 2009, 187 states had signed and ratified the protocol.

Shinigami

Shinigami (死神, "death god(s)"; Viz "Soul Reaper(s)") are a race of spiritual beings that act as enforcers and psychopomps who all share similar supernatural powers. They are souls with a high level of innate Spiritual Energy, recruited from the ranks of the residents and nobility of the Soul Society. Like all spirits, they cannot be detected by normal humans. Shinigami use their Zanpakutō, supernatural swords that are the manifestation of their owners' power, to perform soul burials on Pluses. Shinigami also use their Zanpakutō as well as magic known as Kidō to fight their arch-enemies, the Hollows.

Overview

Shinigami are souls that have supernatural powers. As such, their bodies are composed of Spiritrons (spirit particles) instead of atoms. This means that just like most other types of spirits, they can only be seen by other spiritually aware entities, which excludes most humans. Nevertheless, they are quite capable of influencing their environment. When souls with exceptional spiritual energy train their bodies, they reach the level of Shinigami. The most talented of them become affiliated with various organizations like the Thirteen Court Guard Companies and the Stealth Force. Sometimes, a Shinigami is born among the residents of the Rukongai, and in some rare cases from Seireitei.

Shinigami are the personification of death. Their job is to send spirits to the Soul Society (the afterlife) in order to maintain a balance of souls between it and the material world, and to exorcise evil spirits. Because of their duties Shinigami possesses supernatural abilities such as:

• Longevity: While they can age and die of natural causes or as a result of physical injury as regular humans, Shinigami have extended life-spans and it is not uncommon for one to live for thousands of years.

• Enhanced Endurance: While they can be injured and die like regular humans, it takes considerably greater injuries for the latter to occur than it would in regular humans.

• Reiryoku: Shinigami also naturally give off Spiritual Energy, which varies greatly in magnitude with the strength of a Shinigami. Additionally, unlike humans, they do not have to eat anything to sustain themselves, though they engage in the act none the less as Shinigami and other spiritual beings only become hungry when they used too much Spiritual Energy within a short amount of time.

• Kidō: The technique that Shinigami use to focus their Spiritual Energy into magic spells of various powers.

• Hohō: A variety of techniques associated with movement, including jumping and shunpo (flash step).

• Zanpakutō: The most prominent supernatural power possessed by a Shinigami is their Zanpakutō, a supernatural sword (which can be in the form of any kind of Japanese sword) generated from the Shinigami's soul. A Zanpakutō is a physical manifestation of this force concentrated into a blade.All Shinigami have a Zanpakutō, but not all of them carry one with them.

Shinigami operations are based out of the Soul Society, where departed human souls reside. Travel between the human world and Soul Society is extremely limited and monitored, but some Shinigami are stationed in the human world to carry out their duties and therefore must often travel between the two.

It is also implied that Shinigami receive salaries, like workers in the real world.

Appearance

Most Shinigami appear like Humans, a notable difference being their mostly old-fashioned garments by 20th-21th century standards (see Gotei 13 Uniforms and Onmitsukidō Uniforms), and their Zanpakutō which is in most cases tied to their obi sash.

There are, however, a few Shinigami who are less Human-like in appearance. For example it seems that between Shinigami there are much greater variations in body-sizes than between Humans, as there are real giant-like entities (e. g. the four guards of the four gates to Seireitei) and also ones with extremely small stature among them (e. g. Yachiru Kusajishi). This variation seems to occur not just between Shinigami, but also between regular dwellers of Soul Society, too.

Variations do not just occur in size but in overall appearance, too, the most notable example being Captain Sajin Komamura, who appears like an anthropomorphic canine.

Duties

• Konsō (魂葬, Soul Burial): the process by which a Shinigami sends wandering Pluses (souls) in the living world and send them to their respective place. Either Soul Society if they are good in life, or to Hell if their life was full of evil acts (such as murders, theft, etc). Konsō is performed by using the hilt of the Shinigami's Zanpakutō, tapping the soul on the head and transporting them to the afterlife.

• Hollow Cleansing: When a Shinigami slays a Hollow (evil spirit), with their Zanpakutō they cleanse their sins. Once this takes place a Hollow will return to its former state as a Plus and is led into Soul Society. This is called sublimation. Souls that live in the Soul Society are reborn again into the human world. Not all Hollows are sent to the Soul Society. Since Zanpakutō are only capable of cleansing sins committed after becoming a Hollow, Hollows that committed serious crimes when they were still Human are sent to Hell when they are slain.

Also, if they are destroyed by a Quincy, Hollows are completely vanquished and cannot ever return to the Soul Society.

• Soul Governance: Shinigami are responsible for governing the flow of spirits between the Human World and Soul Society. This is commonly carried out by balancing the total number of souls by moving and managing them in the human world. All of the soul-related jobs are under their authority.

Training

Shinōreijutsuin (Spiritual Arts Academy): sometimes called the Shinigami Academy. The majority of training for individuals (that is, souls residing in the Soul Society) wanting to become Shinigami is done through the Shinigami Academy. It is a six-year academy, during which time its students learn how to use their Spiritual Energy properly, fight Hollows, and perform Soul Burials. While the exact date and details of its foundation are not specified, the academy seems to have been founded by Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai about 2000 years before the Bleach storyline.

Not much is known about the conditions on which a dweller of the Soul Society is admitted to the Academy. One elementary requirement seems to be that the individual has to possess a certain, above-average level of Spiritual Energy, and has to be able to perform some basic feats using that. Becoming hungry seems to be a good sign in Soul Society for hopeful Shinigami candidates, because feeling hunger means that the person in question is capable of using up Spiritual Energy.

It is at the Spiritual Arts Academy where all the military forces of Soul Society are formally taught. While a majority of students are taken into the Gotei 13, there are those who have a special affinity for certain forms of combat that get taken in by the two more secretive and selective branches of the military, namely the Kidō Corps (excelling in Kidō) and the Onmitsukidō (excelling in Hohō and Hakuda).

The Shinigami Academy is one of two groups that is not under the jurisdiction of the Central 46 Chambers.

Combat

The cleansing of Hollows is very dangerous task, as most Hollows are no more than mindless monsters thirsty for devouring more and more souls, be it a Plus, a Human soul still in its body, or a Shinigami. Moreover, Hollows who have some of their human consciousness remaining are even more dangerous, as they can be swift, strong and cunning adversaries, utilizing various tricks to avoid purification and catch their prey.

Taking these facts into consideration, Shinigami have to be highly trained in defending themselves and other spirits from being devoured, while being able to land a critical strike on the Hollow itself with their Zanpakutō.

Zankensoki: basic Shinigami fighting techniques. Zan refers to sword fighting techniques. Ken refers to unarmed fighting techniques. So refers to moving techniques. Ki refers to Kidō. All of which require the controlled usage of a varying amount of Spirit Energy.

Kidou

Kidō are a type of sorcery used by Shinigami. They can be used for various purposes, such as healing, attacking, and restraining. Healing seems to be a more general skill, while attacking and binding require an incantation to be recited beforehand. Demon arts spells are divided into two major groups: destructive spells, used for direct attack, and binding spells, which are spells that restrain someone or have other effects. These forms of demon arts spells are performed by calling out a complicated and often long-winded incantation followed by the name of the spell, which causes an effect once the name has been recited. Lesser versions of the spells can be used by calling out the name alone, but their effectiveness is reduced when used in such a fashion.

Hand-to-hand Combat

Hand-to-hand combat is not elaborated upon by the majority of Shinigami. The Onmitsukidō troops, however, especially those of higher ranks such as Suì-Fēng, are known to be well-trained in this field.

Agility

Hohō (agility), like hand-to-hand combat, is not elaborated upon by every Shinigami. Flash steps (Shunpo), a movement technique that allows the user to move faster than the eye can follow, is implied to be part of this category, and most (though not all) Shinigami are able to perform it to some degree. Another skill, though not necessarily related, is the ability of some Shinigami to walk on air using spiritual power. By collecting and solidifying spiritual particles beneath their feet, Shinigami can gain traction on thin air to either freely move about or to stop themselves from falling.

Swordmanship

Zanjutsu (swordsmanship) is the most used form of combat among Shinigami, since their Zanpakutō is the most effective way of dispatching any given opponent. As the name suggests, it involves using a Zanpakutō and its various special abilities to attack an opponent. In addition to its basic form, each Zanpakutō has two enhanced forms: Shikai ("initial release") and Bankai ("final release"), which change the sword's form to unlock its potential and that of its user.

Missions Aids

To aid in their missions, particularly when said missions involve more than simply dispatching a Hollow, Shinigami have a number of unique items to assist them in their duties. In addition, it should be noted that all Shinigami captains and lieutenants have their spiritual energy reduced by about 80% when they enter the human world by use of a spiritual limit, represented by a seal called the Gentei Reiin (限定霊印, "Soul-Limiting Symbol"), which resembles the symbol unique to their division, in order not to cause unnecessarily high damage while there.

In extreme cases, where their full power is needed, they can request a limit release. The command to release the seal is Gentei Kaijo (限定解除, "Limiter Release").

Skull Symbol

Though not officially named, it seems to be an important tool for Shinigami during missions in the real world. It can basically force out one's spirit from a human body or a Gigai (see also below), a human soul or an artificial one alike (see also below). Rukia Kuchiki has the Gokon Tekkō, a glove which has this skull symbol on it, which she uses several times to force Ichigo out of his body. Kisuke Urahara also has a skull symbol on the end of his cane, which can be used in the same manner. The skull also appears on Ichigo's Seal of Approval (see below). They always touch Ichigo's forehead with the symbol, it is unknown if pressing the symbol against other body parts has the same effect or not. (Uryū Ishida uses Ichigo's seal to remove Noba's soul by striking it on his thigh; it seems poking the forehead is only done for dramatic reasons.)

Jigokucho

Jigokuchō are completely black butterflies that serve various purposes. They guide the Shinigami through the Senkaimon when travelling between the Soul Society and the Human World, thereby saving them from the inconvenience of passing through the Dangai Precipice World. Jigokuchō are also used as messengers between Shinigami, often carrying important orders. It is implied that Jigokuchō are bred and taken care of by Shinigami in Seireitei, the latter task being carried out usually by new and inexperienced members of the Gotei 13. Jigokuchō, like the Shinigami themselves, are only visible to spiritually aware beings.

Gigai

In certain circumstances, a Shinigami will need a way to stay in the human world for long periods of time, interact with the living, and/or recover their powers when the need arises, all of which they cannot do in spirit form. Thus, the Gigai was developed.

Artifical Soul

Artificial souls, as the name suggests, are souls designed by Shinigami scientists to separate a Shinigami's spirit from a Gigai, should they be inhabiting one, or to evict stubborn spirits from their corpses if necessary. It is commonly called Soul Candy, as the Shinigami Women's Association complained that the name "Artificial Soul" was not cute and had it changed.

Modified Soul

Modified souls are artificial souls designed to enhance regular human physiology, making them capable of battling Hollows equally. The modsouls are condensed into tiny, candy-like orbs and placed into corpses to achieve their function as soldiers to combat Hollows. They are also more independent to fit with their purpose. The mod souls were exterminated after the experiment was halted due to ethical reasons, since they were intended to be used to reanimate human corpses to use as weapons against the Hollows. But there are still a small amount left; namely Kon, Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba.

Memory Replacement

In some cases, a human witnesses a Shinigami purify a Hollow or affect his surroundings in a significant way. To keep the incident a secret, Shinigami perform memory replacement with an item called Kikanshinki (記換神機, "Account-Replacing Spirit Device"). When used, a bird's head pops from the top of the device and produces a puff of smoke. The human it is used on is knocked unconscious and wakes up a while later with a new memory. However, the new memory that the human acquires is random and often based on the limits of what they themselves will believe. For example, Ichigo's family merely believed they slept through a truck crashing into their house when it was used on them. Conversely, Orihime Inoue, who has a much more active imagination, believed that her house was attacked by a yakuza gunman.

Soul Phone

A vital tool for any Shinigami stationed in the real world, this variation on a cell phone functions both as a regular phone and as a communication line with the Soul Society. It receives information about the time and exact location of a Hollow's emergence via a Global Positioning System (GPS). A Shinigami's kills are also recorded in the phone and can be used as currency (according to the bounty placed on each Hollow).

Subtitute Shinigami

A Substitute Shinigami (死神代行, shinigami daikou) is someone who became Shinigami by obtaining another Shinigami's power, or by going through a much harder and riskier process to transform him/herself into one. Obtaining another Shinigami's power is done by thrusting his/her Zanpakutō into the person's chest who wants to obtain the power. However, the percentage of success is low. In the case of success, the person normally obtains around half of the Shinigami's power, and only temporarily. In Ichigo Kurosaki's case however, the whole power of the original Shinigami, Rukia Kuchiki was transferred into him, due to his enormous innate spiritual power.

This practice is forbidden by the Soul Society, as it can give birth to rogue Shinigami with great power, thereby it is only applied as a last resort measure.

In the case the individual borrowing the power being a Human, several difficulties arise, illustrated by the example of Ichigo. In order to be able to fight as a Shinigami, he has to leave his body and get into soul state, which can only be done if he is "killed" (at least put into clinical death) by the "skull symbol" of another Shinigami, or if he swallows a Soul Candy, forcing his soul out of his body. In the former case, his body needs to be taken care of until he finishes his job and re-enters it.

Soul Society has rules for acting Shinigami. If one appears and the Shinigami recognizes his/her existence as being beneficial to Soul Society. They will give that person the "Seal of Approval for acting Shinigami", thus is how the tradition goes. This item serves several functions. One is to identify the owner in the case he/she meets other Shinigami, another is to indicate if Hollows are nearby via an alarm sound. The alarm can only be heard by the owner, and the item itself is only visible to other spiritually aware beings, allowing the owner to keep it with him/herself all day long without attracting unwanted attention. The Seal of Approval can also fulfil the functions of the Shinigami "skull symbol", being able of forcing out spirits out of their bodies, which comes in handy in the case of a Hollow attack, when the Substitute Shinigami has to leave his/her body immediately. The Seal of Approval has a skull symbol similar to, but not identical to the one carried by regular Shinigami engraved on it.

Quincy

The Quincy (滅却師 (クインシー), Kuinshī; lit. "Monk of Destruction") are a line of spiritually aware Human warriors. They use their ability to absorb and manipulate Reiryoku to create bows and arrows from spiritual energy. These arrows and their related techniques are dangerous to spiritual beings. They were destroyed more than 200 years ago. There are only two known living Quincy; Uryū Ishida and his father, Ryūken Ishida.

Overview

Quincy are spiritually aware humans able to absorb and manipulate Reiryoku into weapons. Unlike the Shinigami who use a sword as their primary weapon, the Quincy's weapon of choice is a bow or a crossbow. These are constructed from spiritual particles drawn from their surroundings. This is also unlike the Shinigami, who rely on their own innate spiritual energy. (As a reflection of this, the Quincy have white spirit threads like normal humans, while Shinigami have red spirit threads.) A Quincy bow is summoned using an artifact called a Quincy Cross. The only limit to a Quincy's ability to create and fire arrows is their own stamina and ability to absorb ambient spirit particles. Quincy also have various tools and battle aides that can increase their power or serve as secondary weapons.

Reiryoku Absorption & Manipulation: A Quincy primarily absorbs spiritual energy from the atmosphere and combines it with his or her own spiritual energy to form weapons. They have an easier time collecting this energy in environments with higher concentrations of spiritual particles such as in Soul Society or Hueco Mundo. To a sufficiently powerful Quincy, there is no difference between spiritual particles and spiritual energy as a source of power. They can manipulate spiritual energy for offensive purposes. A Quincy most commonly reshapes spiritual particles into various types of bow and arrows but can also concentrate spiritual energy into the form of swords, Seele Schneider, or Gintō.

• Quincy Bow & Spirit Arrows: All the Quincy have the ability to create a unique spirit bow and subsequently generate spirit arrows for the bow by using a Quincy cross or pentacle. The bow and arrows are made up completely of reiryoku from the user's surroundings and last as long as the wielder's stamina and Reiryoku reserves allow.

Spiritual Awareness: As a spiritual being, the Quincy can sense Hollows and other spiritual beings at a significant distance or tell in what direction they are in.

Appearance

The final point of contrast between the Quincy and Shinigami is their respective choice of uniform. While the Shinigami wear traditional, black, flowing hakama, the Quincy wear white, form-fitting, high-collared tunics. These bear some resemblance both to Mandarin Chinese dress and to cassocks of Catholic priests. This gives the Quincy a distinctly "foreign" or "Western" style compared to the Shinigami. One peculiar recurring motif of Quincy is that of a cross, which appears frequently on their uniforms and artifacts. The cross is not the same shape among all Quincy (e.g. Uryū uses a Celtic cross, while Ryūken uses a pentacle). There is also a six-pointed cross that appears on the back of Uryū's Quincy tunic. The differences between Quincy and Shinigami in costume and iconography are minor compared to the differences in weaponry and ideology.

History

The Quincy were scattered all over the world at one time. They were relatives of magic hunters who specialized in the war against Hollows. All the Quincy were destroyed by the Shinigami over 200 years ago in order to prevent the destruction of the world. Shinigami govern the souls between the Human World and Soul Society, which maintains a balance that if not kept would result in the mutual destruction of both worlds. All souls, including Hollows, are subject to the Shinigami governance of maintaining the balance. Quincy completely extinguish Hollows. Thus the souls that come to the Human World do not return to Soul Society and therefore the souls would increase only on the side of the Human World. Meaning, the Human World becomes heavy in souls causing Soul Society to spill over into it; mixing life and death. The ultimate result would be the end of the world. Since the origin of the Quincy, many years passed with Soul Society trying to appeal to the Quincy that the handling of Hollows should be left to the Shinigami. The Quincy refused to accept the situation. As time went on, the number of Quincy increased and the cycle of souls became more unstable, forcing the Shinigami to reluctantly wipe out the Quincy in order to maintain the balance of the world.

The Quincy line was closely monitored over the decades, as their numbers continued to dwindle. Later the Quincy advanced the idea that since they were already among the living and still more numerous at the time, they could act as "first responders" to Hollow attacks; protecting humans until the less-numerous Shinigami could send a representative to finish the Hollow off. Embittered by the recent war, the Shinigami refused to participate, opting instead to allocate their limited resources to reacting to the most dangerous Hollows and current Hollow attacks. This caused great enmity towards Shinigami by Uryū Ishida, Ichigo's classmate and a Quincy, whose grandfather, the last advocate of the Quincy plan, had been slain by a team of Hollows before the Shinigami could arrive.

Philoshopy

While they're trained to confront Hollows in order to defeat them just as Shinigami do, the biggest difference between the Quincy and Shinigami, since ancient times, is whether to kill or not to kill Hollows. As the Shinigami, who tried to purify Hollows with their Zanpakutō and send them to Soul Society, versus the Quincy, who stuck to the thorough killing of Hollows. The idea is a simple concept of Human Justice/Vengeance. "Hollows devour souls of Humans, so why must it be that those who harm and kill friends and relatives get sent peacefully to Soul Society?"

Quincy Combat

Archery

Archery is the most used form of combat among the Quincy. Since they're still human, maintaining a distance from highly dangerous Hollows as well as launching numerous attacks on multiple opponents gives them a great advantage offensively and defensively.

Ginto

Gintō (銀筒, Silver tubes) are small silver cylinder capsules that store spiritual energy in a liquid form and are used by the Quincy for spell-casting in the same way that Shinigami use Kidō. Like Kidō, they're activated by calling out various commands.

Hirenkyaku

Hirenkyaku (飛廉脚; lit: "Flying Screen Step/God Step", Viz: "Flying Bamboo-Blind Leg") is analogous to the Shinigami Flash Steps or the Arrancar Sonído. The Quincy Hirenkyaku allows the user to move quickly over short distances; according to Uryū Ishida it is faster than flash steps, though Mayuri Kurotsuchi's superior speed suggests that this is just a generalization. To perform the technique, the user gathers spiritual particles under their feet and rides them to the desired location. Like the air-walking skill displayed by most Arrancar and Shinigami, it can also be used to hover or fly for long distances. Mayuri compliments Uryū on being able to use this technique at such a young age, suggesting that it's difficult to master.

Rare Quincy Technique

To go with their bow, the Quincy have a number of rare special techniques to give them an edge in combat:

• Ransōtengai (乱装天傀; lit. "heavenly wild puppet suit", "disheveled paradise puppet" in the Viz translation) — This is a high level technique that allows the user to control their body parts using strings of spirit energy controlled by their brain, forming lines or strings out of countless spiritrons. By using this technique, the user can control their body as one would a puppet, allowing them to move freely despite paralysis, broken limbs, or any other force that would impede normal movement. It was originally created to allow elderly Quincy to fight effectively, and is rare enough that Mayuri had never encountered a Quincy (out of the 2661 that he examined or studied) who could use it before Uryū. Mayuri stated it as "the most powerful technique for the Quincy," but he did not know of the Quincy: Letzt Stil, which means as far as Mayuri knew it was the strongest.

• Quincy: Letzt Stil (滅却師最終形態（クインシー・レツトシュティール）, Kuinshī Retsutoshutīru; Japanese for "destruction sage: final form, Quincy", German for "last style", Viz Media Translation, "Letz Stile"): is the last resort for a Quincy using the Sanrei Glove. It gives the user a tremendous amount of power, but at the price of loss of their powers upon its completion.

The only way for a Quincy to regain their powers after using the final form is to first exhaust themselves both mentally and physically. They must then be hit exactly 19 mm to the right of their heart with a spirit arrow. After this, a pentacle-shaped scar will form on the point of impact and their powers will be restored.

Quincy Item

The Quincy possess numerous artifacts and equipment which help them in different ways.

• Hollow bait: This item is a small, coin-shaped disk that attracts Hollows when crushed. When used by Uryū, the bait, in combination with Ichigo's powerful spiritual pressure, was able to draw a Gillian-class Menos out of Hueco Mundo.

• Quincy Bangle (装身具, sōshingu; lit. "Accessory"): The Quincy Bangle is an artifact designed to mimic a Quincy's natural powers. It works by drawing in spirit particles from the environment, much like a Quincy does regularly. It can only be used properly by those who are already adept at forming and directing spirit particles.

• Quincy Cross (滅却十字, mekkyaku jūji; lit. "Destruction Cross"): Standard equipment for any Quincy, the Quincy Cross acts as the focus for a Quincy bow. The cross need not necessarily be in a cross shape, as Ryūken's cross is a pentacle.
• Sanrei Glove (散霊手套, sanrei shutō): This is a powerful Quincy artifact that can increase a Quincy's power exponentially, but requires a dangerous and exhausting type of resistance training by wearing it for a week while constantly firing spiritual arrows to master. The glove works by scattering the spirit particles in the surrounding area, making it much harder to form a working bow. If a Quincy can summon a bow and use it for the required amount of time, they will have undergone a massive increase in power. When removed, however, the glove will release the user's energy all at once - first transforming them into a being of tremendous strength, the Quincy: Letzt Stil, and then forcing their Quincy powers to gutter out completely.

• Seele Schneider (魂を切り裂くもの (ゼーレシュナイダー), Zēreshunaidā; German for "Soul Cutter", Japanese for "That Which Slits the Soul"): The Seele Schneider is a thin sword that can be fired similarly to an arrow. It's much longer than a standard arrow and functions something like a chainsaw: the spirit particles of its blade vibrate at ultra-high frequencies, loosening the molecular bonds between any spirit matter it cuts so that the Quincy user may easily absorb the freed spirit particles. Uryū also stated that using it increased his spiritual power. The Seele Schneiders Uryū uses are stolen from a secret storage room under Karakura hospital.

• Gintō (銀筒, Silver tubes): Gintō are small liquid-filled capsules that store spiritual energy, and are used by the Quincy for spell casting in the same way that Shinigami use Kidō. Like Kidō, they are activated by calling out various commands.

• Soul-synthesized silver (霊化銀, reika gin): Soul-synthesized silver was used by Ryūken Ishida to construct the hidden chamber in which Uryū trains.

• Soul-synthesized glass (霊化硝子, reika gurasu): Like soul-synthesized silver, soul-synthesized glass was used to construct the hidden chamber in the Karakura Hospital.

Arrancar

Definition :
An Arrancar (破面 (アランカル), arankaru; Spanish for "To Tear Off", Japanese for "Ripped Mask") is a Hollow that has removed its mask and has gained Shinigami-like powers

Overview :

Arrancar are the result of Hollows removing their masks. However, an average Hollow removing their mask would not be a problem for the Gotei 13. To hold their own against the Gotei 13 the ones removing their masks would need to be Menos or stronger. The Generic term for a Arrancar is Shinigami-Hollow Hybrid.

Psuedo-Arrancar have not developed much in the past few decades. If not for Sōsuke Aizen, who after contacting the pseudo-Arrancar has tried to create full Arrancar by using the Hōgyoku.

The number that the Arrancar have are not the order of their strength, but rather the order of their birth. Though it only applies to those numbered eleven and above. First, via the Hōgyoku, they are reborn from Hollows into Arrancar. Then, according to the order in which they are born, they were assigned a number, starting with eleven.

Arrancar And Ordinary hollow have different in several ways :

• Humanoid Form: A Menos usually takes on a human shape when it becomes an Arrancar. The only ones that will definitely get a 100% humanoid form are Vasto Lorde-class Menos. For the remaining two levels, there are many who don't get a completely humanoid form, despite becoming Arrancar. Therefore, the closer one looks to a Hollow, the lower its power of reasoning. Though Arrancar can give up their human forms in order to obtain enormous power. This new form will retain remnants of their past selves, like fragments of their removed masks and a Hollow hole. While some Arrancar (e.g. Nnoitra Gilga and Tia Harribel) prefer to conceal these remnants, others choose to hide their faces completely to escape unwanted attention. Most also have a colored marking of some sort on their face, though some only gain these markings upon the release of their Zanpakutō (Ex: Nnoitra, Szayel Apporo, and Harribel). A few cases that include marks visible without the release of a Zanpakutō include Ulquiorra's tear marks, Sun-Sun's pink dots, the dashes under Grimmjow's eyes, the marking which runs across Nelliel's cheekbones and nose, and the marks on Yammy's cheek bones.

• Physiology: Uryū Ishida theorized Arrancar share not only the powers of Shinigami, but also their anatomy. During his battle with Cirucci Sanderwicci he aimed for the area where the Chain of Fate would be located, and upon striking it Cirucci immediately lost not only her release form and mask fragment, but seemingly all traces of her former power.

• Zanpakutō: The Arrancar seal the nuclei of their abilities within the form of a sword. It is entirely different from what Shinigami use. When they release their Zanpakutōs' seals they unleash their true power and their true form. The combat efficiency of an Arrancar with a released Zanpakutō is increased several times over. Therefore, an Arrancar's release of their Zanpakutō is merely a temporary restoration to their former selves, granting them any powers their Hollow form possesses. The act of release is called Resurrección (Spanish for "Resurrection"), which is activated with a command phrase followed by the name of the sword. An Espada's Resurrección is nothing like that of a normal Arrancar.^[11]

• Soul Separation: In the case of Coyote Starrk and Lilynette Gingerback, when other Hollows evolved to Arrancars, They split their power between their bodies and their swords. But for them they split their power into two bodies, thus creating a different type of Resurrección. When they become one again, their full power is released.

Clothing Style

The Arrancar under Aizen's command have a standard theme for their clothing. Their uniforms consist of a white jacket, black sash, white hakama, and black and white boots that bear an opposing similarity to a Shinigami's sandals; in essence, the uniforms are basically inverted Shinigami uniforms. Arrancar uniforms display more variation than those worn by shinigami however.

Personality Traits and Mindset

While most of the Arrancar either develop or retain their own personality traits, the majority (not all) of Arrancar shown in the series appear to be similarly cold, cruel, ambitious, impatient, selfish, overconfident, ruthless, arrogant, impulsive, brutal, relentless, battle-hungry, overbearing, short-tempered, indifferent, and/or egotistical.

Not all Arrancar residing in Hueco Mundo are loyal to Aizen. They prefer not to interfere with his plans, presumably because of Aizen's immense amount of power and army of servants. It is for that reason many naturally-evolved Arrancar felt it necessary to align themselves with him to obtain more power. While some Arrancar choose to follow Aizen in the hopes he will deliver them salvation, others ally with him purely out of respect. As Aisslinger Wernarr put it, Aizen is someone who is fearless, which creatures born out of fear and pain, such as Hollows, find admirable.

Although Arrancar are Hollows who have gained Shinigami powers, most still refer to themselves as Hollows (such as Ulquiorra, Zommari, Grimmjow, etc.) This is similar to how Ichigo Kurosaki still refers to himself as a Shinigami despite his steady evolution into a Visored.

Arrancar Rank : Arrancar also have rank like hollow and shinigami

Espada

The Espada are the top-ranked Arrancar in Aizen's army, and the primary antagonists in the later half of the series. The Espada at the time of the group's introduction consists of nine males and one female. Each Espada member is chosen for their superior combat ability and then assigned a number from 0 to 9 (with 0 being the strongest, while 9 being the weakest) that indicates their rank and relative power level, which is tattooed somewhere on their body (Grimmjow's is on his lower back, for instance). Each Espada embodies an aspect of death, which ties into their personalities, beliefs and powers. The Espada are given control over the Números and are regarded as the strongest Arrancar in existence. Similar to the power gap between captains and lieutenants in the Gotei 13, the strength, speed, intelligence, and power of the Espada far surpasses that of the average Número. As Aaroniero Arruruerie notes, all of the Espada except him were at least Adjuchas-class Menos before becoming Arrancar. Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck was formerly the 3rd Espada before she was tricked and exiled by Nnoitra.

Privaron Espada

The Privaron Espada are former Espada who have officially lost their rank and are assigned a three-digit number. Being former Espada, they are far stronger than normal Números. They reside in the part of Las Noches called Tres Cifras. As mentioned by Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio, these former "naturally-created" Espada were rendered obsolete after Aizen began artificially creating Arrancar to meet his own standards. It is also noted that Aaroniero Arruruerie was one of the original Espada, but his original number was not mentioned since it is possible he was demoted to a lower number in accordance to the arrival of more powerful Espada.

Numeros

These Arrancar are the combat specialists. They are assigned a two digit number at birth from 11 to 99 to indicate their age (Número 11 being the oldest, while Número 99 is the youngest). The basic Número uniform consists of a white-collared jacket and robes held with a black sash. However, the uniform is customizable, giving each Número a sense of individuality. The fighting ability of Números is thought to be superior to all other Arrancar, except for the Espada (current and former).

Fraction

The Fracción are a subsection of the Números that directly serve a specific Espada. The number of Fracción for any given Espada varies: Nnoitra Gilga has just one, while Szayel Aporro Granz has at least a dozen. There are a few Espada that apparently prefer to fight alone, such as Coyote Starrk, Yammy Llargo, Zommari Rureaux, Ulquiorra Cifer and Aaroniero Arruruerie, who seem to have chosen not to have any Fracción under their

Exequias

The Exequias are Arrancar that are part of the execution division, apparently charged with termination of intruders and rebels. They are the equivalent of Soul Society's Onmitsukidō. Their captain is the bull-headed Rudobōn, who can spawn a seemingly infinite amount of the soldiers that form this group using his Zanpakutō.

Las Noches

Aizen's Arrancar reside in Las Noches, a massive, white-colored fortress that resides in the center of the Hueco Mundo desert. When Barragan was King of Hueco Mundo, it was nothing more than a large throne and a few pillars. It wasn't until Aizen took over that the fortress became more elaborate and complete. It is shaped like a large dome with various towers and stands surrounding it, many leading to underground passageways. The inside is filled with huge cylinder-shaped buildings, many of which are destroyed during battles between Ichigo and the Arrancar. The inside of the dome has a day sky painted on its surface, making it seem like a blazing hot desert (even though it's always night in Hueco Mundo). In the center of the fortress is the building where Aizen and his Espada spend most of their time, often having meetings across a long table.

Power And Abilities

Like Shinigami, Arrancar have a multitude of combat skills and abilities, some of which are similar to those of the former, and some of which are variations on ordinary Hollow powers.

• Bala (虚弾 (バラ), bara; Spanish for "Bullet," Japanese for "Hollow Bullet") Bala is an Arrancar alternative to Cero. The technique hardens the user's Spiritual Pressure and fires it like a bullet. Although it is weaker than a normal Cero, it moves about twenty times faster and can be fired at a much higher rate, but the damage is much the same. Stronger Arrancar can also fire a more powerful Bala, while retaining its twenty-fold speed.

• Cero (虚閃 (セロ), sero; Spanish for "Zero," Japanese for "Hollow Flash," "Doom Blast" in the Viz translation) are high-powered energy blasts that can be fired from various body parts, such as mouth, tongue, hand or fingers. Only Gillians, Adjuchas, Arrancar, and the Visored have so far been shown to use Cero attacks, and it appears that stronger entities can use it more efficiently. Various Arrancar and Hollow characters display variants of the technique, such as the Espada-exclusive Gran Rey Cero, the Cero Oscuras that Ulquiorra Cifer can use only in his released form, as well as the Cero Sincrético performed by Pesche Guatiche and Dondochakka Bilstin.

• Garganta (黒腔 (ガルガンタ), garuganta; Spanish for "Throat," Japanese for "Black Cavity") is how Arrancar and Menos-class Hollows move to and from Hueco Mundo. Kaname Tōsen, Kisuke Urahara and Mayuri Kurotsuchi have also demonstrated the ability to use the technique. It literally tears open the dimensional fabric separating the worlds, revealing a tunnel of whirling, torrential energy that must be focused and solidified to create a discernible pathway.

• Hierro (鋼皮 (イエロ), iero; Spanish for "Iron," Japanese for "Steel Skin") refers to the hardened skin of the Arrancar, which is a result of their compressed spiritual power. While their skin is strong enough to block even released Zanpakutō bare-handed, it is by no means impenetrable. Stronger Arrancar generally have proportionally stronger skin than usual.

• Negación (反膜 (ネガシオン), negashion; Spanish for "Negation," Japanese for "Anti-Membrane") are energy fields are used to rescue fellow Hollows. Only the Gillian-class Menos have shown the ability to use it. Negación fields surround a target in a square beam of light that isolates the target from the dimension they are currently in, making it impossible to harm them. The field then pulls the target towards the Menos that created the field. Espada have a special cube-shaped device called Caja Negación (反膜の匪 (カハ・ネガシオン), kaha negashion; Spanish for "Negation Box," Japanese for "Anti-Membrane of Negation") meant to simulate Negación fields, which are used to punish their subordinates if necessary. The cube, when used on a subject, traps them in an alternate dimension from which there is no escape; however, this assumes it is being used as intended. More powerful Arrancar, namely the Espada themselves, can escape given enough time.

• Pesquisa (探査回路 (ペスキサ), pesukisa; Spanish for "Inquiry," Japanese for "Probe Circuit") is the Arrancar equivalent of the Shinigami ability to sense Spiritual Pressure. It functions very similarly to sonar.

• Resurrección (帰刃 (レスレクシオン), resurekushion; Spanish for "Resurrection," Japanese for "Returning Blade") Most Arrancar have the ability to seal their power within a Zanpakutō. Upon releasing their Zanpakutō, they gain all of their former unique Hollow abilities back, essentially 'resurrecting' their old selves. When using this ability, they essentially combine their human form and their Hollow form, incidentally increasing their power considerably. As another note, when an Arrancar uses his or her Resurrección, it heals all minor wounds.

• Sonído (響転 (ソニード), sonīdo; Spanish for "Sound," Japanese for "Sound Ceremony") is the Arrancar equivalent of the Shinigami Flash Steps and the Quincy Hirenkyaku; it allows the user to travel at incredibly high speeds for short distances. Use of Sonído is punctuated by a brief static sound, in contrast to the "swish" sound caused by Flash Steps.

Tsubasa Chronicle : Infinity Arc

Infinity is one of the worlds visited in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.

After the trascendental events of Tokyo, the group (now Sakura, "Syaoran", Kurogane, Fai as a vampire and Mokona) arrive in Infinity.

The futuristic and decadent world is dominated by the mafia to the deepest levels, who organize illegal figthing tournaments for their personal enjoyment and give out great prizes, in a very dirty game style. The Infinity story is narrated from chapters 136-153 (Volumes 18-20), but the story begins 3 months after the arrival to the country (What happened to that point is later shown in flashbacks), but this wasn't the original destination after leaving Tokyo.

Story

The story in Infinity begins with Sakura sitting on a throne, along with "Syaoran", Fye, and Kurogane, who are fighting to her orders on a chess table. This is the "chess tournament" that the House Vision organizes, a multimillionarie company whose head is actually the head of the mafia, Eagle. In this tournament there is a "Master" who uses mental control to give orders to the 3 pawns or fighters to confront the enemy team; also, the strength of the "Masters" is key to achieve victory. Their only rule is to defeat the enemy team using all necessary methods.

Eagle's most important subordinates are Lantis and Geo, who would sometimes question their cruel methods in the tournament, and with whom he watches the combats in a monitor. He is surprised that the 4 mysterious fighters who appeared 3 months ago would still be undefeated. Eagle knows nothing about them but thinks that they're after the money they're offering as a prize.

During the first combat of Sakura's team, she remembers in flashbacks their arrival to the country Clone Syaoran visited before and destroyed everything. She couldn't help her pain when she heard a woman blaming the feather which brought them so much misfortune.

After the battle, the group returns while Mokona greets them. Sakura goes to rest, exhausted. The other part of the flashback is shown, where "Syaoran" is being blamed by the village children, who throw rocks at him. Sakura gets into the middle, trying to protect him.

Kurogane tries to help "Syaoran" so that he wouldn't blame himself for those events, and also to keep regarding the Princess just as the Princess and to not get closer to her. Kurogane feeds Fye with his blood, while they notice they are being watched again.

Once again, we see another flashback of Sakura in dreams. Clow talks to his daughter, saying that i's natural to feel lonely if you can't be with the ones you love. He says he feels the same way (probably about Yuuko). Clone Syaoran comes to meet her, but Clow tells Sakura no matter what, they won't be able to touch each other. But still, he decided to fight for her, which might be because of his lineage- the blood running in his veins- and he won't give up.

Sakura wakes up, confused about the dream; but the scene changes to "Syaoran" who remembers Clow's words, and is determined to fight for Sakura even if he doesn't recuperate "that heart". For what it seemed, Clow was talking to him and not to the Clone. This flashback has not been yet explained.

Another combat closes for Sakura's team. This team is breaking the rules by using shocking weapons and such. Although Eagle allows this to happen, Geo is not very happy about it. Sakura's hesitation along with the bugs got the team paralyzed.

Now Sakura remembers in a flashback the time they arrived to Infinity. Her goal was to win the prize of the human chess tournament and restore the country Clone Syaoran went to.

Syaoran stands up, trying to cheer up Sakura and telling her they'll win. Although blood is pouring down his eye, Syaoran is still fighting by closing his eyes and sensing his enemies, striking them with all his might. They finally win, much to Kurogane's amusement because he realized that is what he taught the Clone in Outo, but still he learnt it through the eye. Eagle realizes that they'll make it to the end, so he wants to "wake her up".

Back in the apartment, Sakura goes to bed exhausted. Meanwhile Syaoran, Kurogane and Mokona hang out to drink. In her room, Sakura tells Fye that even knowing that Syaoran is the original, he's not the same. His resemblance with the Clone... his gaze, his voice... and everything upsets her because he's still not Syaoran-kun. But just then, Chii interrupts Fye (telepathically) by telling him that Ashura has finally awakened!

Sakura realizes that something happened because of Fye's expression, and pleads to him not to smile if he doesn't feel like doing so. Fye tells her to do the same, because despite her pain, since Toyko she has never showed it to anyone. Then when they got to Infinity she locked herself, to avoid everyone but especially Syaoran, and in this fight. Fye noticed that she's changed, and knows there's another reason why she wants to stay in Infinity. But the others can't know about it; so Fye won't tell them even if he doesn't have much more time left.

Syaoran falls asleep quickly, while Kurogane and Mokona talk about Sakura and Fye. Kurogane comments that they are hiding something and especially Sakura. Mokona doesn't know about it if she slept during their talk- Sakura and Yuko.

The combats proceed and thus they reach the finals. Eagle asks Lantis to tell Geo and invite Sakura to dinner with him, but alone. Sakura goes but Syaoran tries to stop her, saying nothing at all. Kurogane tells him to just say something if he doesn't want her to go, because no one will understand him otherwise.

Eagle comments on her good manners while asking what she's really after. Her response was "to get the other prize". This prize is, to cross the worlds alone.

Therefore a flashback begins, of Sakura and Yuko talking (while Mokona was sleeping), which looks like Infinity after their arrival.

Yuko warns her, if she wants to go on by herself, the others will oppose and will chase her anywhere she goes. Sakura says she wants to avoid the future she saw back in Tokyo, where she had a vision. Sakura is also a dreamseer, not like Yukito though, since she can only see little fragments of the future, whereas Yukito can forsee events of a great importance, and who was Sakura's mentor to interpret these dreams.

She wants to avoid at any cost this future, which is why she wants to leave by herself, so before they can meet again she had already met Clone Syaoran and choose a different future to the one she saw. Yuko in turn, tells her that when she arrives to a world with the method of crossing worlds alone, she should inform her while Mokona sleeps, wheter what she wants happens or not her choice will be irreversible.

Sakura still didn't answer to Eagle's question of who told her about the prize. Eagle tries warning her that with the prize she'll only be able to cross worlds once, and she won´t be able to choose where to go. This is a wish that "she" will grant her next day, like Eagle says. Sakura gets back tired, while "Syaoran" accompanies her to her room, but she shut him the door, telling him "from now on he should decide for himself."

The final fight comes, but before Sakura talks with Fai, where she tells him to value his life the most from now on. The Master of the final combat is no other than Eagle himself who tells them he'd prefer the fight to be one on one. The first to fight will be "Syaoran", to whom Kurogane tells to be careful, even after the fight is done.

Sakura tries to apologize to "Syaoran", she tells him she's sorry for having hurt him. After calling him "Syaoran-kun", Syaoran tries to tell her that's not really his name but realizes it doesn't matter.

Eagle warns Syaoran to change his fighting method, even if it is to use magic, though it will depend on the Master. Syaoran then drops his weapons and takes out his sword. An "automata" appears, who will be his opponent. (This is Hikaru, from Angelic Layer, in a human size and no longer small).

Geo complains because this is a war machine and Syaoran will be no match for it, though Lantis tells him it was his own choice to fight it.

Hikaru attacks Syaoran very fast, and is knocked down to the ground with the "Rolling Thunder" kick (the same one of Suzuka's and herself in Angelic Layer). Kurogane on the other hand realizes that these fast attacks are due to the fact that the automata doesn't feel any pain.

Another flashback of Sakura is shown.

Yuko alerts Sakura that Infinity is the place she's looking for, where she'll find the method of crossing worlds alone. To achieve this, she has to enter the other travelers too. But she has another wish, and she can't wait for Mokona to take her there. Yuko warns her that the price for choosing where she wants to go would be too high, and even worse if it's somewhere she's already been; to which she replies that she doesn't want to go where she's already been.

Yuko tells her the price to pay will be her "good fortune", as the "favored daughter of the gods." That, according to Yuko is the only thing that's helped her go so far, and by getting rid of it there won't be anything left to protect her. Yuko still warns her that it doesn't mean she has to be "alone" to achieve her wish. Even so, there would only be a 50% of chance to get where she desires.

She decides to hand over her luck, which she will mantain until they leave Infinity.

The battle continues, as Sakura hesitates because of "that future" she saw. Syaoran is hurt and asks Sakura to stop looking at him and focus on winning. Hikaru launches her most powerful attacks, even using Athena's final attack in Angelic Layer, the "Astral Emission". Fye hears Chii's voice again, telling him that if he stays too long in the same place, Ashura will eventually find him.

Syaoran is determined to put an end to this combat and uses his "Raitei Shourai".

After the impact of these attacks, the ring is nearly destroyed, while Hikaru falls defeated to the ground. Eagle decides to end this combat, and Sakura thanks the exhausted Syaoran for this victory. At this moment the prize appears, this is the method to cross dimensions alone: Freya (the one in Celes is Elda).

Syaoran grabs Princess Sakura, while Kurogane yells at her to not do something stupid. Nevertheless something unexpected happens as well: Freya opens an interdimensional gate which makes Chii (Elda) in Celes react, connecting the three worlds (Celes, Infinity and the world which Sakura wants to go to). As Syaoran keeps holding her, Fye has a flasback of his past.

In his flashback, we get a glance of a decrepit boy under a tower, where it's snowing. A voice asks the boy if he wants to leave that place, but also implies that only one of them can get out, "either him or the other". The voice says he's chosen, and another boy falls from the top of the tower and dies. The voice in turn, tells him that his choice saved one life but ended another, and therefore having to bear eternally with that sin would be his curse.

He is told that soon someone will come to pick him up and get him out, but if someday he'd find someone who exceeds the great magic power for the which the both were locked there, he would have to-

Here ends the flashback, with king Ashura appearing at the end, who gets the boy out and tells him that the world is not limited only to what he's lived up to that moment.

Back to Infinity, the Chiis appear and each one holds one of Sakura's feathers which return to the owner. Fye attacks Kurogane in a trance state, grabs Syaoran's sword and impales Sakura. Fye remembers the last words of the voice, telling him if someone like that should appear (meaning someone who has a greater magic than Fye) he would kill him.

After having attacked Sakura while not being conscious of it, Fye realizes what he had done, as everyone watches and yell at him not to remove the sword. Fye explodes in anger and the scene now switches to Yuko's shop (glancing at a little tube which looks exactly like the one from Chapter 01), while Yuko explains that the feathers in both artificial beings had come into resonance and with Sakura obtaining those two feathers, she had exceeded Fye's current magic (diminished by the lack of one of his eyes). The three worlds became connected, but still the Princess has only a 50% chance to reach the one she wishes for.

Fye is still in shock, screaming nonstop. Sakura, still alive, divided her soul and body- and it is her soul which gives him comfort, telling him she's sorry, and that the future can still be changed. She asks Syaoran and Kurogane to take care of Fye, until the day they meet again. Once said this, her body leaves with Elda to Celes and her soul leaves with Freya to another world.

Sakura's soul dissapears and reaches the world she longed for: the Dream World. Kurogane stops Fye, and he crumbles as the combat stage does. Lantis mentions that the future has changed and that neither has died, something they'll explain with "her" to all of them once they are safe.

The three arrive to the apartment, and Yuko opens a comunication to explain. Princess Sakura is inside a tube (much like the one in Chapter 01), which is in fact the Dream World. Yuko replies that the world she wanted to go to was that one, and that right now she's inside a dream. Eagle mentions that Sakura was a dreamseer (yumemi) as Lantis, and she predicted the combat's finale in her dreams. What he saw was, Fye killing the princess and afterwards killing the rest of his companions- Mokona stops his narration because he doesn't want to hear the rest.

Yuko tells them that she changed the future by avoiding what Lantis predicted in his dream. She didn't mean to be impaled by Fye either, because she knew what would happen later, but the curse was too powerful. Since she couldn't break it, she wished that her companions wouldn't suffer the same destiny as hers. Thus, Sakura paid with her fortune the place she'd go to, and an additional price to save the lives of her companions. That additional price was her right leg (since she was hurt in Tokyo, she never recovered- which it would have, if she hadn't sacrificed for their lives).

Sakura knew that her feathers were in Celes, since the feather in Tokyo brought back her yumemi power. Fye reveals that he created Chii by using a feather and that when he came to Yuko's shop he pretended not to know anything about the feathers. Plus, he knows that "Syaoran" realized something else. Which is, that he saw how Yukito said "in this world there are no more fragments of her soul" which didn't fit when Fye said to have found a feather in Syaoran's clothes back in Hanshin. As a matter of fact, Mokona always felt the power of the feather since she woke in Yuko's shop, but didn't know who it was. Who also knew the truth was Yuko, she also knew about the curse and she protected herself from it.

Since Yuko possesed a greater magical power that Fye even with his two eyes, in order to avoid the curse when everyone met at the store, Yuko kept herself in a different dimensional state, which is why she wouldn't get wet with the rain. Fye questions her why she'd let him go along, but she could no more stop him than allow him because it was his wish.

Yuko warns them that Sakura's feather is inside a dream, since dreams form a world of their own too, called the Dream World. Princess Sakura left there because she knows that Clone Syaoran will go there looking for it.

The party must choose which of both -soul or body- should be saved first, though Mokona can't choose the next destiny. Fye then asks Yuko to return to Celes, where Sakura's body lies.

Fye offers to pay with his right eye, which would mean him losing his sight. Kurogane argues with Fye, telling him that so far him and the princess have done what they have always wanted. Yuko also warns them that they can't go to the Dream World yet, since only the souls can get there. But she tells them as well not to worry because there's still a long time before the clone arrives, and also that the princess is being accompanied by someone else (refering to Watanuki).

The four of them decide to leave to Celes, before that "Syaoran" confesses that he wouldn't say anything about Fye because the princess had trusted him, in each one of his lies.

Meanwhile, Fei Wang is angered by the fact that Fye didn't kill "Syaoran". Sakura had seen something in the future, something that would make "Syaoran" reveal all of his magical power, and become more powerful than Fye. Sakura in turn changed this future with her fortune and right leg, which was contrary to Fei Wang's plan. Nevertheless, this wouldn't worry him because the next curse will be executed when they reach Celes.

Eagle apologizes for having known this situation and not having said anything about it, at least he offers them clothes for their new destiny. Kurogane replies that he must apologize for having spied them too, though he wasn't the only one (meaning Fei Wong). The payment will be done with the money of the tournament, which is something Sakura didn't achieve by herself and it was everyone's effort.

Yuko asks one last condition, which is for Fye to use his magic to travel between dimensions at the same time that Mokona transports them - he was lying when he said in Hanshin that he could only do it once. Fye asks Mokona to retrieve Souhi, and he uses his magic to seal the sword into Kurogane's left arm.

Thus, the party goes to Celes, combining Fye's magic with Mokona's power to cross dimensions. At Infinity, Eagle, Lantis and Geo are left, the last one wondering if it's right what they've done. Eagle replies it is, since he's not a real dreamseer, they only said it so they would believe them. The reason for this lie was something that Yuko and Sakura asked them for, which was for them never to know the truth about the future Sakura wanted to avoid: the only one who would have died would have been "Syaoran". Geo complains that he should've told him before, but obviously he would have stopped him from doing so. Thus Eagle paid a debt to Yuko.

There is nothing more painful than knowing what is about to happen and being unable to do so, Eagle wishes that they might find happiness at the end of their paths, those who are important to the Witch, but to whom he's unable to help anymore to not interfere.

Tsubasa Chronicle : Celes Arc

Celes Country, (セレス国) in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle is Fai's home country. It seems desserted since the only people seen are Fai, Chi and Ashura.

The Begining

After having sealed King Ashura, Fai tells Chii (a creation of his own) that he can no longer stay in this country, nor this world. So then he decides to go to the Dimensional Witch (Yuuko) so he can never see him again. Chii turns into a barrier to the seal of King Ashura, so Fay can know if he does wake up.

It is cited that Ashura resides in Ruval Castle, a floating castle with wings. Celes country is covered in what appears to be an eternal blizzard.

Little is known about this world except it seems to be a magical based country. Two of Sakura's feathers had fallen into Celes, and with that feather's power Fye was able to create Chī, who he made in the image of his mother to comfort the inanimate corpse of his twin brother. He also imprisoned Ashura in a deep slumber, which Chī guarded until Ashura's awakening.

Fai's Past

Once occured the events at Infinity, thanks to Fai, Kurogane, "Syaoran" and Mokona's payment, the group arrives to a world where the Princess' body lies, it is Celes Country, the same one that Fye came from. The tragic happenings and revealing flashbacks from Fye's past cover chapters 154 until 166 (half of volume 21 and 22)

Upon reaching this world, next to them is the sight of the majestic Ruval Castle, place where Fye grew up. Mokona can't feel Sakura's body, since she always followed the feathers' aura, the essence of her soul, and now they're after a empty body with no soul. However, Fye says that she must be in the castle, because the only auras from living souls come from there, the rest of the people is dead.

"Syaoran" uses Fuuka Shourai to transport everyone to the entrance of the castle, since the stairs are only an illusion. At arriving they find a whole lot of dead soldiers' bodies, wearing the same clothes that Fye does. Syaoran feels ill, though he says its nothing and they proceed among the corpses until they reach the Throne Room. There they find King Ashura.

The King welcomes Fye, who says it wasn't planned for him to go back, but Ashura says he's been waiting because he promised he'd make his wish come true. But he isn't the only one, there's also a decrepit child who signals Fye and says to him, "you killed me".

Thus begins the first part of Fye's past (in flashbacks), which will mix with the main story until the outcome of Celes' story:

• We're shown a young blonde kid trying to climb a high wall and not reaching it, while the people in Valeria talk about the birth of the nephew of the Valerian Emperor, but the unexpected happened: a child wasn't born, but two, twins who because of their condition and for the meaning of their birth, were called "the twins of misfortune".

The fact that they were twins was a bad omen, along with bad crops, deterioration of water quality and the sudden death of the kids' father led the whole nation to think that it was because of the misfortune they brought into the world. For this, their mother also killed herself, feeling guilty that she had given birth to the princes. They also had immeasurable magical power, both together were stronger than the Emperor himself. To get rid of the calamity they meant, killing them meant to have more disasters, the Emperor orders to take them away so they'd take the misfortunes with them, the misfortunes of being twins, misfortunes of having a long life due to their enormous magical power, the misfortunes of being born.

This is the curse that the Emperor imposes them: only if they were unhappy the kingdom will prosper and the people will be happy. The Emperor takes them to different places inside the same valley where magic can't be used and time flows differently: one atop the tower and the other in the bottom of the pit surrounding it. The valley is the place where the bodies of the criminals of Valeria are thrown. There they are forced to remain until the end of the days with no one digging a grave for them and without their bodies decomposing, staying there forever with no rest whatsoever. In this cruel place the Emperor pretends to leave the twins, unless one decides to die, being freed from the stigma of being twins. Both princes look at each other and confirm that they won't let each other die, and they end up in the sinners' valley, alone and separated among huge piles of corpses, the silence and the cold snow falling in the place. Below is Yuuy, yelling at his brother Fye atop the tower, that both of them would escape from there and with their magical power they'd leave to another country, while he's piling up more corpses in the edge of the pit to try to reach the top. Fye laments and more bodies are thrown into the pit. Yuuy continues his attempted escape while bodies still drop, among these are elderly, children, even a mother and his baby. Yuuy believes something happened in Valeria for this to happen and wants to leave as soon as possible to get Fye out and know what's happening outside. In a useless attempt to climb, Yuuy realizes that a corpse is carrying a letter with him, and reads it. The letter says that the Emperor of Valeria has lost his mind and is killing off innocent citizens, asked help to neighboring countries, and points out that it's their fault for being born as twins. Yuuy, enraged, keeps trying with all his heart but his efforts were in vain, until finally someone again falls into the pit. Is none other than the emperor of Valeria, wounded but still alive. The Emperor blames of everything to the twins of misfortune, everything began because of their birth and it'll be over today, since there's only him and the twins alive in the kingdom. The Emperor takes his sword and himself through the neck, cursing the twins, who'll pay the sin of being born, living as the last inhabitants of Valeria, forever abandoned in the valley with no one to know about their existence.

Yuuy screams while Fye cries and calls him from the top of the tower. Yuuy curses that all this happens just for being twins, just being born, since when is that a sin? Yuuy wonders if the same will happen if they go somewhere else, if it'll happen again just for them being alive, is it a sin to live for them?

Time goes by and the two of them are decrepit and crumbling, with a long blond hair and clearly malnourished body. Fye curses himself because if he had died at the time, none of this would not have happened and Yuuy to live with that burden which torments him.

If he'd die now, Yuuy could get out and live without being one of the twins of misfortune, so he repeats over and over again that he wants to die, but first he needs to say to someone to help Yuuy (ie is what we were shown in a flashback in the third part of the country of Tokyo). For a moment the action is back to Celes and the decrepit child is identical to the depressed Fye from the flashback, and as Ashura tells Fye, "that day, he made a choice."

• Back to the flashback, Yuuy hears a voice that asks him if he wants to get out, which he believes is nothing more than hallucinations. However it's not, it's Fei Wang Reed who through his usual interdimensional crack, offers the young man out of there. Yuuy says that even if they leave, it will happen again in other countries for being twins, Fei Wang replies that he did not come from another country but another world (that's why he can use magic), and each world is governed by its customs and laws. Yuuy wants to go to another world, but Fei Wang says that only one of the two can leave, he has to choose between him or his brother.

Yuuy (or it so seems) asks literally to "get Yuuy out", this decision brings to Fye falling from the tower, before crashing to the ground, they both see each other and exchange their experiences as a payment for this choice. So Yuuy sees how Fei Wang asked his brother the same question. Fye falls and dies, Fei Wang says that this life has stopped with his choice and this will be a burden that he shall carry forever, he also asks him if he could go back in time and make another choice, if he could revive the dead, what would he do? Fei Wang says that for this to happen, he must meet two curses, which will be fulfilled after he leaves with the person who will come to pick him up.

The first curse says that if someone with a magical power superior to his, this power guilty of locking the twins and the misfortune, would appear to the magician, he'll have to end his life.

The world crumbles down and someone appears, Yuuy believes he comes from Gehena (hell). It's King Ashura, asking him if he wants to get out. Yuuy answers that he's got something to do, then the King says that to do so, get out and fulfill his wish. Ashura extends his hand and ask his name. The young man says "Fye".