Ulquiorra Cifer (Seireitou)

"If such a thing called happiness exists in this world, it should be something which resembles the limitless nothingness. Nihility is having nothing and having nothing to lose. If that isn't "happiness", then what is? The things reflected in my eyes have no meaning. The things that could not be reflected in my eyes, do not exist. There is nothing in you... nor in me."

- Ulquiorra's internal thoughts.

Ulquiorra Cifer (ウルキオラ・シファー, Urukiora Shifā) is the former fourth Espada in Sōsuke Aizen's army of Arrancar. He met his end after being defeated by Ichigo Kurosaki in the latter's Hollow transformation. It is later revealed that through an obscure method, Ulquiorra resumed his life as a Hollow and eventually regained his status as a natural Arrancar. He was recruited by Kurama Kawahiru to become a member of the Quasso Regios.

Appearance
Ulquiorra is a slender, yet fairly muscular, male Arrancar of average height with a melancholic appearance, fairly short, messy black hair, pale white skin, a black upper lip, and green eyes with slit-shaped pupils similar to a cat's. Part of his bangs falls between his eyes, and he has distinctively thick eyebrows. He has teal lines that descend from his eyes, making it appear as if he is crying. His facial expression rarely changes, and he is almost always frowning. He wears typical Arrancar clothes: a white jacket, black sash, and a white hakama. However, his jacket seems to have longer coattails than others, and the collar is rather high.

Like most other Arrancar, he possesses remnants of his former life as a Hollow in his appearance. His Hollow hole is located on his sternum where a heart would normally be (though initially, the hole was located on the base of his throat; a change that was seen in both the manga and anime). The remainder of his Hollow mask lies on top of his head, forming a broken helmet. He was formerly the fourth-ranked Espada, once signified by the tattoo on the left side of his chest; however, this tattoo is presumed to no longer be imprinted on his chest.

Personality
Ulquiorra is a very cold, callous, dispassionate figure, and is rather aloof, brooding, and indifferent, willing to harm both his comrades and enemies should they ever get in his way. He refers to anyone he does not find interesting as "trash" and treats them as expendable. Despite this, like most of the other top Espada, he is not particularly violent and will only fight when provoked or ordered to by Aizen.

Ulquiorra has a strange habit of killing victims he is particularly interested in by stabbing them with his bare hand in the same location as his hollow hole, as stated by Grimmjow. Whether he is consciously aware of this habit or not is unknown. During a speech to Orihime, he claims he does not believe in human emotions, which he refers to as the "heart", reasoning that if his eye cannot see them, then they do not exist. These words, and much of Ulquiorra's overall behavior, can lead one to assume that he is a firm believer in the concept of materialism, which also connects to his aspect of death as an Espada, nihilism. In the last seconds of his life, he seemed to have finally found his own "heart" and understood feelings.

His cold demeanor allows him to stay completely calm and in control in most situations, and he is not easy surprised or caught off-guard. However, he does not seem to comprehend the human trait of fighting against all odds or the very concept of the Human heart/emotions; during his latest battle with Ichigo, he completely overwhelms the Shinigami after releasing his Zanpakutō, yet Ichigo continues to fight on regardless. This briefly causes him to lose his cool, causing him to shout at Ichigo out of frustration that "to continue fighting is pointless". He then transforms into his Segunda Etapa form in an attempt to show him "true despair". He also seems to contradict himself, telling Ichigo that it's natural for humans to mimic hollows to become stronger; but they will never be the equal of hollows, though the Arrancar are doing much of the same by imitating Shinigami.

Ulquiorra is also highly perceptive, cunning, and analytical. During his and Yammy's first visit to the human world, he makes several surprisingly accurate remarks on the humans who confronted them. He theorizes that Orihime Inoue's healing power is a temporal-spatial ability, which Aizen later describes as the rejection of fate, and comments on how Ichigo Kurosaki's Bankai can easily cut through Yammy's defenses. He also notes Ichigo's power fluctuation, which varies between very weak and stronger than his own.

Ulquiorra seems to be demanding as well, such as when he came to Orihime's chamber and ordered her to eat a meal an Arrancar servant brought in, claiming that, for Aizen's benefit, it was her "duty" to stay alive. When Orihime hesitated, he threatened to force the food down her throat, or strap her to a table and feed her via an IV. This also implies that, while he prefers not to dirty his hands, Ulquiorra is fully capable of committing truly abhorrent and inhumane actions without feeling any shred of remorse or hesitation.

After Ichigo's hollow form overwhelms and strikes him down during his last battle, Ulquiorra still maintains his composure and calmly berates himself for being defeated by a "Human-turned-Hollow". Believing that he no longer has a purpose in life, now that he was quickly defeated by his opponent, he then demands that Ichigo kill him, and compliments Ichigo when he decides to use a point-blank Cero to kill his opponent, claiming that the lack of mercy was "rather Hollow-like". This is a marked departure from most of his fellow Arrancar, who mostly died cursing their enemies or with an abject fear of death.

History

 * "I was born at the bottom of the pit where no light shone. As if pressed together by the darkness, I lay there, uncertain of what to become; born under those dark sentiments. I had a white form. My comrades were all... in pure black. In those black forms, with their eyes shining and teeth baring, they were certainly eating something. And then... there was nothing to me, except my eyes. I felt nothing. No, rather... it was possible that what I felt was "void", yet I could hear nothing. I could bite nothing. I could smell nothing. I could feel nothing as I touch. I could not rest. I had no companion. Just walking, alone... The things reflected in my eyes have no meaning. The things that could not be reflected in my eyes, do not exist. Walking, Walking, Walking, Walking, Walking... When I had arrived at that thought... I have found something extraordindary. It was, somewhat, the place of birth for those... strange translucent objects that dotted this world. It was the first time... my eyes have been captured. With no color, with no sound, with no scent, it only exists there. Not interacting with anything, it only exists there. It was the closest existence to "void" that I had ever laid eyes on. I sank my body... into that great "void". There was nothing there, even I had lost my line of vision and dissolved into the void, and felt as if everything had disappeared. Happiness."

As a Hollow, Ulquiorra felt alone in the world, being white while those around him were black. He wandered Hueco Mundo alone, lamenting his existence, until one day he came across a white tree featuring many sharp spines. Ulquiorra found it satisfying due to its emptiness, and sank into it, destroying part of his mask, finally at peace. An unspecified amount of time later, he was recruited by Sōsuke Aizen into the Espada.

Zanpakutō
Murciélago (黒翼大魔 (ムルシエラゴ), Murushierago; Spanish for "Bat", Japanese for "Black-Winged Great Demon"): Ulquiorra's Zanpakutō, in its sealed form, takes the form of a standard sized katana with a green handle and sheath. The guard has two curved extensions from its long sides, with a line going through both sides to give it an eye-like appearance.

Quotes

 * (To Orihime Inoue) "The fact that you only have two escorts is a bit anticlimactic, but having those annoying walls fixed in place suits me just fine, since rushing a conversation isn't really in my nature."
 * (To Orihime) "What would you have me say? "Don't worry, I'm sure he's still alive." Ridiculous. I am not here to comfort you. I don't understand why are you so fixated on life and death? At any rate, your friends will soon be annihilated. So what if that's one step closer? They should have seen this coming from the start. If they couldn't see it coming, the fault lies in their own foolishness. Laughing them off as a group of idiots would be sufficient. Why can't you do that? If it were me, and my friends entered Hueco Mundo without first gauging their strength, I'd be infuriated by their stupidity."
 * (After being called "Ulquiorra-kun") ''"...It's Ulquiorra.
 * (To Ichigo Kurosaki) "Even if you rise up a thousand times, there will be no victory for any of you."
 * (To Orihime) "Hearts, you say? You Humans are always so quick to speak of such things. As though you carry your hearts in the very palms of your hands. But this eye of mine perceives all. There is nothing that it overlooks. If this eye cannot see a thing, then it does not exist. That is the assumption under which I have always fought. What is this "heart"? If I tear open that chest of yours, will I see it there? If I smash open that skull of yours, will I see it there?"
 * (To Ichigo) "Do not lose your composure, do not break your stance, stretch out your awareness, and do not let your guard down for even a second."
 * (Regarding Hollowfication) "No matter how similar your appearance and techniques may be to those of an Arrancar their power is as far apart as heaven and earth. When a Shinigami or Human wishes to gain power, imitating Hollows is an appropriate course of action. However, because they are imitating, Humans will never be equal to Hollows."
 * (Before entering Segunda Etapa) "If you do not know it, then I shall enlighten you. This is the form of true despair."
 * (To Ichigo) "You are a fool, Ichigo Kurosaki. You challenge an opponent whose strength terrifies you and think that you can win. It is beyond my comprehension. If it is due to what you Humans call a 'heart', it is because of that heart that you suffer injuries and it is because of that heart that you will lose your life."
 * (While dying) "I see. This. Yes. This thing in my hand is the heart?"

Behind the Scenes
The information listed on this page is a fanwork based on Ulquiorra Cifer, and will depict non-canon elements. Thusly, this article will only be used in works of the author unless permission is given by another user. In addition, some parts of this page's content is derived from Bleach Wikia. This text is available for use under the GNU Free Documentation License.