"Pure Soul Court... a fitting name."
With a slight stir of his thoughts, an invisible ripple of reiatsu carrying specific instructions traveled silently toward the Las Noches Main Palace, as though passing through space itself.
A short while later, in a side chamber of the throne room in Las Noches.
Kuchiki Byakuya sat straight-backed, attending to the palace's administrative paperwork. The pen in his hand paused briefly.
He raised his head. His silver-white Kenseikan gleamed coldly beneath the reishi lamps, and his handsome, stern face remained expressionless.
Yet deep within his eyes, he seemed to have received a will that could not be defied.
He set down his pen and slowly rose. The white haori signifying his status as head of the Kuchiki Clan and former captain of the Sixth Division remained perfectly arranged.
He walked to a massive full-length mirror in the chamber, which reflected his immaculate appearance.
He raised a hand, spiritual light flowing around his fingertips, and brushed them lightly over his standard-issue white Las Noches haori.
The haori's design remained unchanged, but its color slowly shifted from the signature pure white of Las Noches to a deeper, more subdued silver-gray with a metallic sheen.
The crescent-and-thorns emblem on its back quietly vanished.
In its place, a simple yet arcane silver crest appeared over his chest-not the family crest of any known noble house in Soul Society.
It was a symbol Liuyu had casually designed, representing "order," "purification," and "ancient heritage."
"Pure Soul Court..." Facing his reflection, Kuchiki Byakuya quietly repeated the new identity and mission His Majesty had just "bestowed" upon him.
A flicker of understanding crossed his eyes before they became still as an ancient well once more.
It was merely a return to his original identity.
As a noble, he understood deeply the necessity