Devour Realm

The **Devour Realm** (食い道, *Kuidō*) is one of the realms that wandering Souls undergoing reincarnation may traverse upon. For Souls that no longer have a vessel to call their own, upon entering the realm, they lose all sense of self upon their invasion of the realm, for their very essence is devoured by the realm itself. Those that have been claimed by the realm are placed at the mercy of the **Bàojūn**, the rulers of the Devour Realm. The Bàojūn then decide whether the wandering Soul continues its reincarnation process or becomes a resident of the realm.

## Overview

Though the Devour Realm has very little logic to it, it seems to hold a system of governance in the form of an oligarchy, headed by the Bàojūn. As stated prior, wandering Souls, released from their tethers in the form of a vessel, that enter this realm are essentially wiped of their very being, similarly to Blanks. The majority of Souls that enter this realm via their reincarnation cycle often end up as either Blanks or Hollows if they are given exit. Upon being stripped of their sense of self, the wandering Soul is brought before the Bàojūn, where they judge the karma they have accumulated, similarly to Hell, but instead focuses on their desire on want and attachment, rather than sins themselves.

However, to the Bàojūn, even the accumulated karma isn't always interesting to them when it comes to their judgement, instead deciding the fate of souls on sheer whims most of the time. It is through this that Blanks can be created, where the Bàojūn return emotions, not necessarily the same emotions of that specific Soul, and send them off to the Valley of Screams as a way of disposing them. The emotions put into the Blanks are their desire in searching for memories, even if it isn't their own.

Certain other Souls are given emotions of desire, along with a higher form of sentience, being recreated into a Hollow. Hollow Souls from the Devour Realm have an instinctive want of something, even if it is not something they themselves are aware of. They also have shown to be instinctively more hungrier than other Hollows, holding a higher chance of performing cannibalism.

The Bàojūn have claimed that Souls that have the karma of want or attachment have a higher chance of stumbling upon the Devour Realm, similarly to a gravitational pull.

For the Souls that are not given an exit by the Bàojūn, they become incorporated into the Devour Realm itself, joining the very structure of the realm, continuing its non-sentience. The Soul could go the entire remainder of their life without gaining any form of sentience, as the realm itself, along with the Bàojūn, decide if the Soul gains anything of worth to itself. As the Devour Realm devours what it wishes to, it will take away aspects from the Three Worlds, other realms, or otherwise, that have been deemed garbage, such as discarded thoughts, memories, emotions, abilities or otherwise. Though it is possible for the discarded thing in question to be returned to its owner, if it is never retrieved, it shall remain within the Devour Realm, unless it has been gifted away by the Bàojūn, or given to the residents by the realm itself.

Souls that are still tied to a vessel that have unfortunately stumbled into the Devour Realm will slowly be eaten alive by the realm. Their flesh, their blood, their thoughts, their memories, anything that could be devoured, they will slowly lose, becoming crazed and slowly give into the embrace of the thought of being eaten. There is a chance for fighting back against the realm itself, but doing this for extended periods of time weakens the visitor, requiring mental fortitude. There are certain safe spots within the realm that ignore the maddening effects and devouring, but they are not common and can be blocked off by the residents of the realm, claiming such special places as their territory.

If you could relate the Devour Realm's time to that of Soul Society's, a million years within this realm is equated to that of one second of Soul Society's time.

There does seem to be objects such as structures and plants that exist within the Devour Realm, but they are non-sentient. There also seems to be a constant storm within the Devour Realm, which some believe to be responsible for the maddening effects of the realm.

## Jūmín

The **Jūmín** (居民, Chinese for *"Resident"*) are the majority of the inhabitants within the Devour Realm, most making up the realm itself. Born via the judgement of the Bàojūn, they are at the complete mercy of their oligarchical rulers. Though their very being is made up of Soul, their appearance shifts depending on their overall age and power. The evolution of a Jūmín is not something that can be put into an equation easily, as it's mostly based off of random occurrences, and the whims of the Bàojūn. Through their evolutionary process, despite their appearances changing,

Jūmín are unable to be seen outside of the Devour Realm, if one is so able to travel outside of it, unless they have gained a vessel to inhabit via their possession ability. Like the majority of Souls, sentient Jūmín function off the principle of Reiryoku.

They cannot be harmed even within the realm, with the exclusion of a vessel they are possessing, unless one is using a **Duànjué** (断绝, Chinese for *"Sever"*), which is created by abusing the realm's logic, but little information about its existence is known outside of the realm, mostly its name. However, they have shown to be able to harm others within the realm, including other Jūmín, without showing the need for a Duànjué.

There does not seem to be an age limit for the Jūmín, as the Bàojūn have shown to have existed for an unquantifiable amount of years.

Jūmín seem to lack a gender as a species, up until they reach the level of a Bàojūn. When that level is reached, they seem to identify as both male and female, being able to essentially swap between these two genders.

### Diǎndàng

**Diǎndàng** (典当, Chinese for *"Pawn"*) is the basic stage for a Jūmín in their life. After being stripped of their concepts and becoming integrated within the realm itself, Diǎndàng become non-sentient, but still hold an existence. The Bàojūn equate their existence to that of limbo where they know they're alive, but they are unable to move, let alone hold a thought. Some even think that they are unable to feel. Because of their non-sentience, they hold no sort of special powers, with the exclusion of one. They are one of the two largest forms for a Jūmín.

* **Basic Spiritual Power**: All Diǎndàng, despite their non-sentience continuously emit a Basic-level of Reiatsu, being easily disposed of, despite their immense size.

* **Reishi Absorption**: Passively, the Diǎndàng absorb the Reishi nearby as a sort of nutrient. After they have absorbed it, they filter it out of their body. It is believed that this is their form of breathing.

### Qíshì

**Qíshì** (骑士, Chinese for *"Knight"*) is the secondary stage within a Jūmín's lifespan. This evolution has a true level of sentience, allowing for movement, despite their tree-like appearance. With this evolution comes vision for the Jūmín, allowing for them to be able to see. Along with their added vision, they are now able to form thoughts, but they cannot be deemed coherent enough for anyone to understand, with the exclusion of other sentient Jūmín. Though they blacken and gain eyesight, it does not seem like their appearance changes much from their time as a Diǎndàng.

The evolution into a Qíshì, as stated before, is random phenomenon, or the mercy of the Bàojūn. They are fed the waste that circulates within the Devour Realm, that then becomes incorporated into them, turned into further nutrient and power.

* **Average Spiritual Power**: Despite gaining sentience, they do not yet have control over their Reiryoku, but it has become elevated enough to be deemed equivalent to that of a non-seated Shinigami or lower ranked members.

* **Reiryoku Absorption**: Similarly to their Reishi Absorption ability, Qíshì can passively absorb the Reiryoku around them, but this is a rare ability, even to Qíshì. It can be gained eventually through their life via a sort of mutation, but it more commonly gained via their evolution into a Qíshì.

* **Body Modification**: Though Qíshì generally keep their large appearance, they are able to stretch their body longer momentarily to deliver strikes upon a target, or for other purposes.

### Zhǔjiào

**Zhǔjiào** (主教, Chinese for *"Bishop"*) is the tertiary stage within a Jūmín's lifespan. They finally gain more humanoid-like features, despite being grotesque monsters. Their body from their time as a Qíshì, and prior, is shed, almost like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. While they gained vision from their Qíshì evolution, they now lose it, instead gaining a mouth. However, with their loss of vision comes more powers at their disposal. They now hold the ability to form coherent thoughts, though their intelligence is nothing to brag about, while holding the ability to speak.

Like most Jūmín, Zhǔjiào gain this evolution by the random phenomenon of the Devour Realm, or the mercy of their rulers. However, there are times that Qíshì absorb the Reiryoku of other Qíshì or Diǎndàng, where it instead stays within their body rather than leave it, becoming a part of them. This is also a rare phenomenon as Jūmín do not normally have this type of power. The Bàojūn say that a mutation that allows this power could occur any time for a Qíshì, or it was put into them somehow, but it is mostly born from when they become a Qíshì.

* **High Spiritual Power**: With their evolution comes even more power. They gain a far better control over their Reiatsu signature, allowing for them to mostly hide their presence. At this stage, they are capable of fighting against Lieutenant-level Shinigami, but some Zhǔjiào may not be too able to reach that level because they are not as powerful as they should be.

* **Tūnshí** (吞食, Chinese for *"Devour"*): An ability gained by achieving the level of a Zhǔjiào. By chomping the air, they are able to use their Reishi Absorption ability, but instead as a form of devouring, thus opening a space within the air they could use for travel. They do not seem to hold the ability to close the Tūnshí, as the Reishi must be reformed to fix what has been eliminated. The Reishi devoured by this ability is converted into Reiryoku, which is added into their overall power.

* **Enhanced Body Modification**: Their Body Modification ability becomes more potent, as it allows for them to stretch their body in various ways, similarly to that of a Blank, such as turning their limbs into tendrils and striking at their opponents.

* **Sùdù** (速度, Chinese for *"Velocity"*): Through the pores on their body, they are able to chomp away at the air in whatever direction they wish, flinging themselves for faster movement. Though, they could use their mouths for a higher amount of movement, but that would leave them open.

* **Vessel Appropriation**: Despite being of a higher caliber, Zhǔjiào still cannot be seen by anyone outside of the Devour Realm. To circumvent this issue, they are able to, momentarily, chomp away the distance between itself and its target, allowing for them to be seen. During this time, the Zhǔjiào can grab onto the target's very Soul and insert themselves into it as an unwanted inhabitant. This can be resisted through various methods, such as having a higher amount of mental fortitude than that of a Zhǔjiào, despite them emitting the madness from the Devour Realm during this process, or methods such as having a higher amount of Reiryoku. This is similar to a Gigai, but they control the body indefinitely, essentially taking it over permanently, removing the control of the original host. Though a Zhǔjiào could emit themselves around their vessel, like a companion of sorts, the Reiryoku emitted still comes from the vessel they inhabit. This process could be considered similar to that of Hollowfication. Interestingly, the vessel becomes accustomed to the Jūmín's power, and thus will not collapse under it. Along with the possession, the Jūmín gains the knowledge of their vessel, incorporating it into their own knowledge.

* **Zhēngjié** (症结, Chinese for *"Crux"*): Is the unique ability gained upon becoming a Zhǔjiào. Through their various input of discarded aspects, they meld together into an ability for a Zhǔjiào to use and abuse. However, whatever is the most prominent aspect from what they've taken in, that becomes their Zhēngjié.

* **Sensory**: By feeling the Reiryoku and Reishi in the area, the Zhēngjié are able to feel around and sense for presences within the area. If they cannot detect it via Reiryoku, they are able to feel the difference in an area's Reishi. However, because there is no Kishi-related abilities for them, they do not function too well within the Human World, having to solely rely on the presence of Humans, or otherwise, until they can appropriate a vessel for themselves.

### Chē

**Chē** (车, Chinese for *"Rook"*) is the quaternary stage within a Jūmín's lifespan. Though very similar to the Zhǔjiào, they gain a bigger body, a pair of peculiarly-formed wings, and regain their eyes from when they were Qíshì, thus returning their sight. They are essentially deemed as a bigger Zhǔjiào.

Uniquely to them, they evolve into this form via the amount of time they spend within their vessels when they are Zhǔjiào. However, even vessels have a limited lifespan, and are generally not able to evolve from just one vessel. It is within a Zhǔjiào's best interest, if they seek further evolution, to bounce between several vessels, as they gain new properties to themselves, such as being fueled by the desires that their vessel had before their possession. Aside from age, a Zhǔjiào's vessel are passively eaten away by through the Soul, which then becomes part of the Jūmín in question.

* **Great Spiritual Power**: Upon reaching the level of a Chē, Jūmín achieve Reiryoku on the level of a Captain. They are now able to control their Reiryoku, such as hiding their presence.

* **Flight**: Through their peculiarly-shaped wings, they are able to achieve the ability of flight. However, if they are damaged too heavily, they will be unable to fly any further until the damage is healed.

* **Xiūbǔ** (修补, Chinese for *"Mend"*): A restoration technique similar to that of a Hollow's High-Speed Regeneration. By chomping down onto the injured limb, the Chē is able to release the absorbed Reishi and apply it to their flesh, essentially stitching back what was lost as a healing factor.

* **Jiān Jiào** (尖叫, Chinese for *"Screech"*): By releasing a powerful burst of Reiatsu from their body, the Chē have shown to essentially neutralize their threats momentarily, even after they have finished the attack. It seems to be a mixture of Reiatsu usage and a powerful sound wave, so the attack has the potential of being nullified via specific methods. More experienced Chē can release this technique from their large mouth in the form of a concentrated wave for greater effect.

* **Kishi Absorption**: Through their evolution, the Chē gain the ability to passively absorb Kishi, something that is solely found within the Human World. Like their Reishi ability, the consumed Kishi is transformed into Reiryoku once it is absorbed, empowering the Chē.

* **Sàngshī** (丧失, Chinese for *"Forfeit"*): When a Chē leaves their vessel, if said vessel hasn't had its Soul completely devoured, they are able to leave a small portion of their own Soul. This piece of the Soul is independent from a Chē, and gain the abilities of a Jūmín, up until the level of Zhǔjiào. However, these aspects are unable to evolve any further, and are generally weaker than normal Zhǔjiào. These aspects are also unable to hold the power of a Jūmín's Zhēngjié because of how they were created.

### Bàojūn

**Bàojūn** (暴君, Chinese for *"Tyrant"*) is the quinary and final stage in the evolution for a Jūmín. They truly take on the shape of a humanoid being, if not it being a mixture between a humanoid being and an accumulation of their other forms. Though their wings are not present the majority amount of time, they can manifest them to allow them flight. They also seem to be able to manifest a multitude of diamond-shaped eyes to enhance their vision and overall power. Unlike other Jūmín, they are able to exist within the physical realm without a need of a vessel, being the only type of Jūmín to do so.

The achievements required to reach this form is unknown, and not one the Bàojūn hold any interest in divulging the secrets required to reach this form. However, if another Bàojūn were to appear, they are honor-bound, by their own rules, to accept them as one of their own. There are only four Bàojūn in existence currently. Because they are a rare species, and tend to not leave the Devour Realm often enough, the powers they may gain from this form are largely unknown.

* **Soul Dissection & Sewing**: A power they seem to possess, but has only been seen within the Devour Realm, implying they cannot do it outside of it. By using the discarded concepts that find themselves within the Devour Realm, the Bàojūn have shown to modify Souls, and then sentence them off to other locations.

## Trivia

* The Devour Realm uses the image of the Salomon Singularity from the video game Fate/Grand Order.
* The Devour Realm has a Chinese naming scheme.
* The Devour Realm takes heavy inspiration from the Hungry Ghost Realm from Buddhism.
* The Jūmín's evolution names, with the exclusion of Bàojūn, follow chess pieces.