Valley of Screams

A Valley of Screams (Kyōgoku) is a dimension that forms between the Human World and the Soul Society, stemmed from the Dangai. Valleys of Screams are pockets of space, varying drastically in size, that are composed of souls ejected from the reincarnation cycle and reside in the space known as the Garganta. Despite the fact that the Reiatsu in the Garganta is incredibly unstable, to the point where no one can move through it if they do not constantly release their own Reiatsu to create footholds, the Valleys of Screams are able to exist as dimensions of Reishi for an unknown reason; Yoruichi Shihōin theorizes that they are able to do so because the very structure of their Reishi is different from that of normal Reishi.

A Valley of Screams can also be modified by individuals with certain powers, such as Fullbringers. At the behest of Kisuke Urahara, Riruka Dokugamine used her ability to insert and remove anything into and from an object she likes to place a small Valley of Screams into a box, and Yukio Hans Vorarlberna used his power of manipulating space with electrical power to shape it into a room and rails; this created a quick method of transportation between areas, achieved by marking a location with a stake to determine where the Valley of Screams will travel. This modified Valley of Screams even managed to enter the Royal Realm, a feat usually impossible unless one has an Ōken. It also allows for stealthy travel, as those riding in it do not need to exert any Reiatsu.

At some point during his research in Hueco Mundo, Kisuke Urahara recruits Riruka Dokugamine and Yukio Hans Vorarlberna to modify a Valley of Screams for the purpose of entering the Soul King Palace. Once this is constructed, Yukio, Riruka, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, and Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck use it to travel to the Royal Realm, where they meet up with Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends. Yoruichi Shihōin explains that they are going to use it to invade the main palace without exerting any Reiatsu, thus creating the opportunity for a surprise attack. Memories of Nobody introduced the Valley of Screams long before its introduction in the manga, and its explanation differs from Yoruichi's. There is only one Valley of Screams, and its appearance is a regular occurrence that happens naturally due to souls getting lost trying to get to Soul Society; as such, it can only be accessed from the Human World. The lost souls that create it are known as Blanks. The valley is primarily a rocky area with many canyons and mountains. At its center is a long wooden pole, which was to be used to sacrifice Senna on. There is also what appears to be numerous Shoji-type structures, with white tassels attached at the tops, embedded into the cliff sides. These, along with the surrounding landscape, begin to produce Blanks that merge with the Shinenju. Blanks resided in this place, separated from their memories. The memories merge into the Shinenju and return to the Human World. The Blanks remain incomplete until they come in contact with the Shinenju and become whole again. Subsequent to their expulsion from Soul Society, the Dark Ones claimed this to be their homeland until they would invade Soul Society and take their revenge. The Valley of Screams eventually expands to a point where it connects Soul Society and the Human World, allowing a town in the latter to be seen from the former. The Onmitsukidō is sent inside to investigate, but the mission is declared a failure. As a result, Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya is assigned to investigate from the Human World. Aiming to fulfill their need for revenge for their exile from Soul Society over a millennium prior, the Dark Ones attempt to collapse this dimension in order to force the Soul Society and the Human World to collide, destroying both worlds in the process

Rukongai

Rukongai (Wandering Soul City; "Rukon District" in the English Dub) is the largest portion of Soul Society and the most populated. Rukongai is divided into 320 districts (80 in North Rukongai, 80 in West Rukongai, etc.), each numbered in descending order on how far they are from the center; this results in the higher-numbered (and farther) districts decaying into slums. Thus, while District 1 is peaceful and lawful, much like the antiseptic lifestyle of early-Edo Era Kyoto, District 80 is a hardscrabble, violent, crime-infested area that more depicts Heian era Kyoto. The duties of the Gotei 13 Divisions include defending allocated districts of Rukongai. However, which Division is responsible for which district has not been stated. The living standards in Rukongai decline sharply beyond the fiftieth district, with an increase in people wearing rags and no footwear. According to statistics from the last 550 years, no Rukongai resident wears sandals beyond District 59.

Rukongai is full of families that are not related by blood. People die at different times and places, and it is rare for a person to find their real family in the vast Rukongai. When a soul arrives in Soul Society, they are given a ticket according to the time they died and are sent off in different directions. Even if two people were to die together, if they do not receive tickets at the same time, they will not know where the other is. Several hundred years ago, Kōga Kuchiki suffered a mental breakdown after being framed and facing potential death penalty. After killing Shinigami pursuing him for a while, he eventually went to Rukongai to kill innocent civilians within, as revenge against Soul Society for shunning him, and to send them a message of hopelessness.

101 years ago, many souls in Rukongai mysteriously vanished due to the experiments of Sōsuke Aizen. These occurrences continued for about a month before the Shinigami sent Kensei Muguruma and a team from the 9th Division to investigate. The Visored were Hollowfied in a forest in the west of the 6th ward of the Fugai District on the same night that the 9th Division team arrived to begin their investigation. Tessai Tsukabishi used forbidden Kidō to teleport the Visored back to the lab of Kisuke Urahara in Seireitei in a bid to save them. When the balance of souls between the Human World and Soul Society is endangered, the Shinigami can request permission to kill citizens in Rukongai in order to restore the balance of souls between the two worlds. When the Wandenreich destroy a large amount of Hollows, 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi orders members of his Division to kill 28,000 Rukongai residents without first attaining permission to restore the balance of souls.

Soul King Palace

Soul King Palace (Reiōkyū) is the official residence of the Soul King, located in a separate dimension within Soul Society. The Soul King Palace consists of several layers, with one layer suspended above the other. The lowest level is comprised from many buildings of the same style to that of Seireitei. From this, a large stairway leads upwards to a wide and flat expanse, with both areas at the base and top of these stairs being lined by rows of huge, circular pillars. Floating above are five discs with numerous buildings on each, while suspended higher still is a large cylindrical structure that has a conical top and bottom.

The sekkiseki walls that surround Seireitei are ordinarily intended to protect the Soul King Palace, instead meant only to fall down to Seireitei in times of emergency. However, if emergencies occur in succession, they remain in place around Seireitei indefinitely until things are returned to normal. The Soul King Palace is further protected by 72 barriers between it and the Seireitei. Should these barriers be forced open via clothing constructed from an Ōken, they cannot be closed off for 1 hour and 40 minutes due to the sheer defensive power of the clothing. 597Senjumaru's guards Senjumaru and the Divine Soldiers. There exist a group of elite guards known as "Divine Soldiers" (Shinpei) which are led by Senjumaru Shutara. Each guard wears a black hakama with a gray sash tied around their waist and a black mask with four light-colored lines tracing over their heads, and their hair is tied into a long spike at the back of their head before being left to hang free about halfway through the length.

They are all armed with swords. 599Guard lands The Second-Class Divine Soldier. There is a much more powerful version of these soldiers known as a "Second-Class Divine Soldier" (Nikyū Shinpei), which Senjumaru refers to as the "Shield of the Soul King" (Reiō no Tate). It resembles an ordinary soldier, but is extremely large and wears a circular black hat on its head. The backs of its wrist each have one-half of a large, black, circular shield on them. After absorbing the Soul King, Yhwach drastically altered the appearance of the Soul King Palace, most notably by bringing the Wandenreich city to the palace and placing the main palace at ground level while covering parts of it with ice. He also connected the five floating cities nearby to the Wandenreich city, thus creating a massive Quincy Zeichen, and formed a massive, tower-like palace with Silbern on the top for his new stronghold, which he calls the Wahrwelt, Vāruveruto; German for "True World", Japanese for "True World Castle") because it will be the cornerstone of his new world. One of the five branches forming the city is known as the Zwei Ast, Zuvai Asuto; German for "Second Branch", Japanese for "Second Branch City").

Hueco Mundo

Hueco Mundo, Wekomundo; Spanish for "Hollow World", Japanese for "Hollow Sphere") is the dimension in which Hollow and Arrancar usually reside. It lies in between the Human World and Soul Society. An unchanging night covers the sky, an endless white desert covers the ground. The tree-like objects are not plants, but rather quartz-like minerals.

The landscape of Hueco Mundo is a seemingly never-ending white desert, with a multitude of dunes, littered with boulders. In Hueco Mundo, the moon is on the opposite lunar phase of that in the Human World. The vast desert seems to lack any bodies of water and contains rocky formations. Like in Soul Society, the atmosphere is filled with a high concentration of Reishi, thus allowing smaller Hollows to gain nourishment despite the lack of Human souls.

Similar to the case of real world deserts, active life in Hueco Mundo appears to be few and far between. Hollows generally dwell below the surface or in other areas until something provokes them to leave their shelter, like the intrusion of a foreign entity. According to the Shinigami, all Hollows dwell in Hueco Mundo regardless of their shape, size, or power. Hueco Mundo is located between the Human World and Soul Society, though it is separated from the bordering dimension known as the Dangai. It can only be accessed via Garganta, which tears the dimensional fabric separating the worlds, allowing Hollows to travel to any other dimension at will.

Soul Society

Soul Society, Souru Sosaeti; Japanese for "Dead Spirit World") is an afterlife (also called the spirit world). This is also where Shinigami live and where most Souls dwell until they are reincarnated into the Human World. Shinigami enter and leave Soul Society by unlocking the Senkaimon and using a Jigokuchō. Pluses, on the other hand, enter Soul Society through the ritual of Soul Burial. When people die, they are assigned a number to a part of Soul Society according to when they died. Spirits can be born in Soul Society as much as in the living world, with the Shinigami acting to balance the souls. Intruders can pass through the Senkaimon in the same manner, but only in soul form. This allows spiritual beings, such as Ichigo in his Shinigami form, to enter without permission.

Humans can also use such a gate through the use of Reishihenkanki (Spirit Exchangers), which convert solid matter into Reishi. Finally, Hollows can also directly rip a hole to Soul Society from Hueco Mundo, or in the case of Arrancar, using a Garganta. Soul Society is maintained by the Soul King, whose existence is pivotal to the balance of the world as it regulates the flow of souls into and out of Soul Society, leaving administration to the Central 46 Chambers and Nobles.

The Soul King lives in the Royal Palace in a separate dimension in the very core of Soul Society, which is protected by the Royal Guard; as a separate dimension, this is not considered part of Soul Society itself. The King does have a specific system of "specialty duties" which are actively carried out but the exact nature of these duties is unknown. The dimension can only be opened with a tri-pronged golden key fittingly named the Royal Key (ōken). The location of this Royal Key is passed down verbally from one Gotei 13 Captain-Commander to the next, the former holder being Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. According to Rangiku Matsumoto, no Shinigami has ever seen the king. Another part of the government are the Noble Houses (Noble Families in the English version), especially the four Great Noble Houses, which are considered to be the highest of them all. The lower noble houses all serve one of the four each.