Soul King (Seireitou)

"Why does a man of your intellect sit idle?! Why... Why do you allow yourselves to be controlled by that thing?!" "That "thing"...? You mean the "Spirit King"...? Oh... so you saw it. Without the existence of the Soul King, the Soul Society would split. The "Spirit King" is the "lynchpin." If the lynchpin is lost, then it will all easily crumble. That is the way the world is."

- Sōsuke Aizen and Kisuke Urahara discussing the Spirit King's role.


 * "The man who sits on his throne, watching over the forlorn battlefields of Soul Society." - Seireitou-shishō

The Spirit King (霊王, Reiō; otherwise known as "King of Souls") is the ruler of the Soul Society, whose existence in Soul Society is as symbolic as it is absolute. He resides in Reiōkyū which exists in a separate and special dimension inside Soul Society that is protected by the Royal Guard.

Character Overview
According to a conversation between Sōsuke Aizen and Kisuke Urahara, the Spirit King is detailed as both a "thing" and "it". Urahara details that without the Spirit King's existence, Soul Society would be rent asunder. He is the "lynchpin". If the lynchpin is lost, then the world would simply crumble away and that is the way of the world. It's unclear what the Spirit King actually does, other than he has a specific system of "specialty duties" that are actively carried out. The duties apparently require a very high level of competency or skill of some sort. The Spirit King and the Royal Family are apparently completely indifferent to governing Soul Society; the Spirit King has given the full control of government of Soul Society to Central 46, thus being uninvolved with the day-to-day affairs of Soul Society.

The Spirit King appears to be humanoid in physique, with slicked back dark hair, and unusual eyes. He also has very thin eyebrows.

Powers & Abilities
Ōken Bestowment: Through some unknown mean, the Spirit King is capable of granting those whom he chooses as members of the Royal Guard with the Ōken, a special tool that allows one to enter the Reiōkyū dimension whenever they wish. This unique Reijutsu literally turns the bones of those into the Ōken. It appears that Sōsuke Aizen was attempting to replicate this power through sacrificing the spiritual enriched zone as well as over a hundred thousand souls.