Reiryoku: The stuff of confusion?

Hello! Welcome to Hiei's guide to Reiryoku. In this short guide, I will be informing you of just exactly WHAT Reiryoku is, what it does and HOW it is manipulated.

Now, to understand how Reiryoku works, you firstly have to know what it is. AND how it differs from everyone's favorite word, Reiatsu.

Now, Reiryoku is literally translated to "Spiritual Power". What this means is that it is essentially the fuel of a Shinigami. The higher the Reiryoku pool, the more powerful the spiritual being. They can fight for longer, are more dominant while fighting, and can take a blow better than someone with a lower spiritual energy. This is in general, as in some cases even those with less spiritual power may be more resilient to a blow, for example. However, this is a rare occurrence, and shouldn't be taken for granted.

Reiatsu now. Reiatsu is translated to "Spiritual Pressure". Now, contrary to popular belief, there is only one display of Reiatsu, and isn't in fact used in any form of attack. By releasing their Reiryoku into the air as a display of potency, Reiatsu is felt. The higher and more potent the Reiryoku, the stronger the Reiatsu will be.

As this is cleared up, lets move on.

Reiryoku can be used in many different ways, some even unique to certain races, and others not so much. Every being, dead or alive, possesses Reiryoku. Above a certain level, abilities start to show themselves. This is a rarity amongst humans, thus why Fullbringers numbers are significantly lower than Hollow or Shinigami numbers. The first ability Reiryoku grants, when it reaches past a certain level, is the ability to see ghosts: Pulses, Shinigami and Hollow-kind (Arrancar included). As it continues to develop, that is when you will start to see Fullbringers (This is also how potential Shinigami are found, and Hollow's appear to be at a relative level of Spiritual Prowess from day one).

Reiryoku can be controlled. A skilled user can prevent any from escaping their body, thus hiding their presence from spiritually aware beings. The opposite, as mentioned before hand, is Reiatsu. Reiatsu is, therefore, the force felt when Reiryoku is amplified / used.

Different races use Reiryoku for different things. The most common is to improve their physical prowess. Others include;

Shinigami: Kido, Hoho and utilizing their Zanpakuto.

Vizard: Hollow Mask, Kido, Hoho and utilizing their Zanpakuto.

Arrancar: Cero, Bala and Hierro.

Menos-class Hollow: Cero, high speed regeneration.

Quincies: The odd one out. While they may use their Reiryoku to form a bow, they in fact collect Reishi from the air (Spirit particles).


Another point here, being bought up from the topic I currently joined. I wanted to explain the limiter system Shinigami Captains and Lieutenants must use when in the human world, as to clear up any issues.

A quote:

Quote :

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.

Taken from Bleach Wiki

Now, what does this mean? What this means is that a Captain who has gone to earth would, theoretically, be that much weaker than they are in Soul Society. It was shown during a fight involving Toshiro and an Arrancar that releasing the limiter is a HUGE power increase. However, as things work in this RP, a Gap of 20 (Battle formula) is the equivilent of a Captain fighting a Lieutenant. As such, it would be like they lost 10 from their stats, maybe 20 at a push. They are still stronger than the average Lieutenant at full power even while limited like this.

I hope that clears some things up.

Hiei - More guides to come if I feel people need to know more shizzney.