The War against Aizen is beginning to draw to a close as the noose begins to tighten about the traitor's neck. Shinigami from the First Captain-Commander Genryuusei Yamamoto to the last member of the Thirteenth Division have made preparations to defend Seireitei and Karakura Town against the insidious Arrancar and Hollow army that Aizen commands with the aid of the two Shinigami traitors that side with him; with Ichimaru Gin and Tousen's aid, Aizen has his sights set upon the little town in order to create the Royal Key.

However, something new has begun to happen. Reports are starting to filter into Seireitei of creatures that vanish and reappear without warning or hints of their presence. They are creatures that, inexplicably, defy all known ways of sensing them until they attack patrols that are out. And attack they do; the more Shinigami that have gathered to a patrol, the more swiftly that these creatures will appear

The creatures are unknown, new entities. They flock to those with strong reiatsu and once within fifty feet of a Shinigami, they begin to, for lack of a beter word.. nullify it. Consume it. This has given rise to their title of 'Nulls'. It has been discovered through the reports that these creatures secrete a venom that even the captain of the Fourth Division has not been able to neutralize yet.

Perhaps the most alarming thing is that no one is safe from these creatures. They attack Hollows and Espada as willingly as they attack Humans and Shinigami. If one has a large amount of reiatsu at their fingertips, these creatures will pursue their prey without hesitation and abandon. And despite the fact that they can be destroyed, more and more keep coming and pursuing those that have large amounts of power. The lack of discretion and prejudice amongst whom is being pursued is leaving those that are being attacked left with only one option.Either they work together against these creatures or risk the destruction of the spiritual world's balance as they know it..

The Winter War has come to an end and the forces of Seireitei have succeeded in triumphing over Aizen. With the traitor confined to twenty thousand of years of imprisonment, they had succeeded in winning though not without heavy cost.

Ichigo Kurosaki, the Substitute Reaper that had been ordained by Seireitei itself to take care of Karakura Town had sacrificed his own powers in order to bring Aizen down. He survived as human for a year, but events began to move again to force him to return to the idea of using his powers and regaining them. In the meantime, however, something  far more interesting had occurred. Several of the Espada, however not all of them, had been reborn through the purifying powers of the zanpakutou of the Shinigami forces that had gone to Hueco Mundo to assist Ichigo's attempts to free his friend, Orihime.

The finding of the Espada amongst the ranks of young Shinigami at the Acadmey has caused a severe amount of fervor throughout the command structure of Seireitei. For the year that has passed, the Espada, now turned Shinigami, have been kept under severe observation. Now with the fact that they have graduated from the Academy and are seeking positions within the Divisions themselves, not the least of which are amongst the still empty Captain spots of the third, fifth and ninth Divisions, many are unsure how to react to the former enemy now turned ally.

However, it seems that while the Captains and others remember the Espada as they were, the Espada themselves appear to have no recollection of whom or what they were at the end of things. Instead, it seems that they have been given a clean slate for a new start at life. So far, it remains to be seen just whether or not that the Espada will remember their former lives or not.