The Broken Mirror Arc Information

Eighteen months have passed since the One Week War. It began with a series of attacks in the World of the Living by a group of Hollows. This, as it turns out, was a ruse to infect Shinigami with a parasite starting with Eighth Division Lieutenant Kaminari Hatakeyama. The parasite wrought havoc within the Gotei. Friend turned against friend. Father against son. Brother against brother. Bonds forged with sweat, tears, and blood meant nothing when this parasite took control.

During the ensuing chaos, an invading army of Arrancar known as the Espada broke a section of the Crimson Edge—the barrier that separates the Soul Society from the Hollow-filled desert of Hueco Mundo. Initial fighting within the first days was brutal and bloody as Hollow and Arrancar alike threw themselves into the Soul Society. Thousands remain missing to this day and are presumed dead. Thanks to Tenth Division Captain Kaito Toma's quick intervention, the Breach was well-guarded and the full army was unable to invade. Captain Toma was able to gather information about some of what the Espada was planning—including details on how they were able to break the Crimson Edge.

The Gotei Thirteen lost three Captains—Second Division Captain Kazuo Saionji, Fourth Division Captain Midori Hayashi, and Sixth Division Captain Isamu Gogatsu—and two Lieutenants—Fourth Division Lieutenant Juntarō Tsurumi and Tenth Division Lieutenant Ryōga Kisaragi—in the fighting within the first few days. The Divisions were almost thrown into disarray, but the remaining officers were able to hold morale together as the battle raged on. However, the Gotei was dividing its resources between the frontline battle and a secret battle against the Captain-Commander's Vault.

Due to the circumstances of J. Saionji's succession into Captain-Commander, the Captain-Commander's Vault was unable to be re-keyed to J. Saionji and had remained sealed. Captains Kei Makabe of the Fifth Division and Touko Ishizaki of the Twelfth Division worked tirelessly to open the Vault to find any information on how to repair the Crimson Edge. They succeeded. The two aforementioned Captains as well as Captain-Commander J. Saionji and Third Division Captain Daisuke Asami scoured the Vault until they found a scroll that described the mechanism that was used to create the Crimson Edge. The problem: it required a sacrifice.

J. Saionji presented the information, but not after it was leaked to Captain Lilith Blake. Captain Blake took it upon herself to be the sacrifice. During a final goodbye ceremony at the mechanism, Seventh Division Captain Ryōtarō Fujisaki took the place of Captain Blake forcefully. His sacrifice turned the sky in the Soul Society a bright crimson for twelve hours as the Crimson Edge repaired itself. However, the threat was not over.

A task force composed of Third Division Lieutenant Rekka Yoshida, Fifth Division Captain Kei Makabe, Ninth Division Captain Mifune, and "special wartime consultant" Tsubine Shirazumi was sent into Hueco Mundo to destroy the weapon that initially broke the Edge. During the battle, Lieutenant Yoshida was injured but the group managed to destroyed the cannon and defeat 4 of the Espada—including the leader, a being known as King Kiyomaru. The task force also recovered a group of surviving souls from when the Espada raided the Soul Society. The survivors were escorted back, remaining in quarantine until they were cleared of any traces of the parasitic infection.

So began the time of healing and rebuilding—and restructuring. J. Saionji stepped down as Captain-Commander and nominated Lilith Blake to take his place. She accepted the position, and the Gotei began a major restructuring. First Division Third Seat Fàn Xuěfēng and Third Division Lieutenant Rekka Yoshida were promoted to Captain of the Sixth and Seventh Divisions respectively. "Special wartime consultant" Tsubine Shirazumi was inducted into the Gotei Thirteen as the new Captain of the Eleventh Division with the recommendation of multiple Captains. Kayori Nakagawa, former Fourth Division Captain, was reinstated as well at the request of Captain-Commander Lilith Blake.


The Gotei has mostly recovered from the One Week War. However, the Gotei was not the only one harmed by the One Week War. The Shōjintoku, and by extension the Mikazuki, were hit just as hard as the Gotei Thirteen. Although it could have started a conflict, the Mikazuki's leader Asra saw it prudent enough to not assault the Gotei. This stance, however, has led to many radical elements within the Shōjintoku to flare up once more. With the death of one of the two moderate voices on the Mikazuki's Council of the Moon, the radical elements are rallying behind the rising star of the Mikazuki, Tenjō Norimune. Sinister things are afoot as the two powers once again have no common enemy to point a blade at...