Bount

[Vereaux]

Bount - Souls of Two Worlds

Bounts are humans, but the central difference between Bounts and Humans, even the Quincy, are that Bounts are a mixture of a normal human soul, and a Shinigami. When a human dies, their soul goes to Soul Society, and when a soul in Soul Society dies, their soul goes to the Living World to be born again as another person. Every once in a while, however, when the soul of a human and the soul of a Shinigami try to cross over to the opposite side, their souls become entangle between dimensions, twisting together to form a single soul, and sent back to the Living World, this time as a Bount. A Bount is human, but their base soul components are that of a Shinigami. In order to live, they must consume other souls, similar to how a Hollow would. The difference between a Bount and Hollow is that a Hollow hungers for souls to fill the void of what was once their heart, and a Bount feeds because it has to in order to survive. If Bounts did not feed, they would eventually die out from starvation. It is also by feeding on souls that they increase their power, depending on what soul it was they ate.

Bounts can be thought of as the Living World's "Vampires," who drain other human souls and absorb them, making them their own. They are similar in this since to Quincy, for they also disturb the natural balance by absorbing these souls, but not destroy them. Once a Bount dies, the souls absorbed are returned back into the natural order of the three worlds. Absorbing souls gives them, in a sense, immortality, because it causes them to live forever. They can still die from wounds, but when they feed, any wounds previous heal over, and their energy partially restored. The more souls they take, the stronger they grow. Pluses don't give much of an increase in power, but when they absorb a soul from a living human, their powers increase more and faster. If a Bount were to absorb the soul of a Shinigami, however, their powers would instantly increase because of a Shinigami's power. Hollows, on the other hand, are not very good for Bounts. They get the same increase, but if too many are eaten, they begin to acquire their hunger as well. It is for this reason, having to absorb souls to survive, that one of a Shinigami's duties is to kill Bounts should they be encountered, as well as stop them from becoming too powerful.

Absorbing humans makes them live forever, but because of this, they do not age, and such features cannot go unnoticed for long in the Living World. Often times, they are treated as outcasts and vagabonds, forced to run and hide from the world in order to escape any harm that may be brought to them. It's in this sense that they are not accepted in any world, Living, Shinigami, or Hollow. Living as hermits and nomads among society, some form communities, but often disperse whenever humans grow restless of them. When attacked by Shinigami, they often don't last long if not trained. Constant attacks by Hollows also threaten their existence on more than once occasion. Bounts don't normally have any unique powers, but they do possess a number of abilities, such as the creation of a Doll.

A Doll is the Bount's equivalent to a Shinigami's Zanpakutou, but a major difference between them is that a Doll changes form over time as the power of the Bount increases. To acquire a Doll, a Bount must first summon it through a ritual and an incantation, unique to the person and Doll summoned. The ritual consists of sulfur, phosphorus, carbon, water, fat, magnesium, and lime, the ingredients of a human body, and when summoned, it is small in size but will grow in power as the Bount grows. A Doll is a Bount's power in physical form, much like the spirit of a Zanpakutou, but their personalities are more varied than those of any Zanpakutou. Like a Sealed form, Dolls are in a sealed state, normally in another object until released. These objects are varied between them, and are usually reflected in their abilities, though sometimes this is not always the case. The difference between the sealed states of Dolls and Zanpakutou are that Dolls are only released with one command, "Zeige Dich", meaning "Show yourself".

The main difference between Dolls and Zanpakutous are how they operate. Zanpakutous are normally dormant, but Dolls are always awake, and are self-sustaining when released, though easily resealed. Bounts can control their Doll, but this depends on a number of different factors, mainly by their power and their relationship with their Doll, just as a Shinigami's is with their Zanpakutou. If the Bount should acquire too much damage, however, they may lose control over their Doll. The Doll, then on, could undergo a number of behaviors, the two most common being that the Doll either attacks everyone in a berserk state, or attacks their own master. If the Doll should take too much damage, they would simply revert back to their sealed state.

By consuming souls, this increases their abilities, but at the same time, makes them infertile, except for one in a million Bounts. Their Dolls increase in power, but amongst those are powers the Bounts acquire themselves. When a Bount becomes strong enough, they start to acquire different powers over space manipulation. These are not usually well developed, however, as most Bounts focus on increasing the powers of their Dolls. Among these abilities is the power to open a Senkaimon at will, through the incantation: "Andere Welt anschliessende Port, tauch' dich sofort auf!" This, however, is not enough for the Bount to step through. It only opens the Senkaimon. To be able to pass through, the incantation "Mache sogleich das Tor fuer unsere Bounto auf!" must be recited, and several hours must pass for the Senkaimon to stabilize. Since Bounts are made by both human and Shinigami souls, passing through a Senkaimon would kill them because of the way their soul was joined, and the torrent of energies between dimensions would rip them apart. These incantations make it possible for them to pass through safely. To decrease the time needed for the portal to open, one simply needs to fire a Quincy arrow through the portal, stabilizing it instantly.