The Thousand-Year Blood War arc of BLEACH features the return of the Quincies, who were thought to have been driven to extinction by the Shinigami over 200 years prior to the events of the series. Returning far stronger and dangerous after hiding in the shadows of Soul Society, the Wandenreich became a powerful force with countless Quincies involved in realizing the vision of the Quincy King Yhwach, who uses his rare ability to dole out pieces of his soul to assign special powers based on the letters of the alphabet he carves into the very souls of his most powerful underlings, the Sternritter.