"That substance. It's nothing more than some... monstrosity! Yes, that is the perfect word to describe something so horrific as this stone of death." |
Kikai (奇怪, Japanese for "monstrosity"), although initially nameless, is a dangerous and widely unknown substance in the Bleach universe. It is an incredibly powerful substance, with very limited information about it in any of the Soul Society's records. Of the information gathered by the Gotei 13, it is known that it requires a large and unforgivable sacrifice to be created. Because of the sacrifice needed to utilize it, kikai is considered taboo by the shinigami. Despite this, many still practice the creation of said substance, believing it will offer them a whole 'nother level of power. A being that has infused a stone of kikai within themselves are known as dōbutsu.
Nature[]
Kikai is considered to be the "purest form of reiryoku." This is because it created by the sacrifice of spiritual beings, stealing the reishi that composes their bodies. Once stolen, the reishi is fused together; after the fusion, the spiritual particles become so compacted that they take on a physical form, which is that of a blood-red stone. Because of how much reishi is compressed into the stone, anyone that has a stone of kikai on their person (or within their body) is capable of feats unheard of in any of the spiritual realms. Although seemingly harmless, the amount of sacrificed beings must total over three hundred, which is why Kisuke Urahara named the substance kikai. For this reason, the creation of kikai is considered to be an illegal practice, with any shinigami caught doing so being executed without a trial.
Before the banning of the stone, kikai was utilized by many of the Soul Society's residents, most notably the royal guardsmen. These beings were supplied with the substance by none other than the Kasumiōji clan, a clan notorious for there creation of illegal items. However, after the bakkōtō incident, they stopped creating the substance, thereby stopping the supply-and-demand for kikai stones within Soul Society.
Kikai users[]
| Known users of kikai | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| User | Base of operations | Reason for use | ||||
| Soul King | Soul Society | Separation of the four main spiritual realms | ||||
| Kisuke Urahara | World of the Living | Creation of the hōgyoku | ||||
| The Creator | Soul Society | Creation of the dōbutsu | ||||
| Shinzō | Kōhai Tochi | To enter the "realm of the gods" | ||||
Behind the scenes[]
Kikai is largely based on the philosopher's stones from the anime/manga series Fullmetal Alchemist.
The term "kikai" was coined by Urahara, as he considered the stone to be a monstrosity, which is the English translation of kikai.