THE ESSENCE OF LIFE: "SOUL POWER"Soul Power is the energy a soul receives when its bearer performs an action (acting as the "actor") that benefits another person (the "benefactor"). Soul Power is the measurable impact a being leaves on other souls, regardless of the morality of the action.
Core Principle: Every action, whether noble or nefarious, etches its mark on a soul. Each action is rewarded with Soul Power, which is stored within the soul. The greater and more enduring the impact, the more Soul Power is amassed. The morality of an act (good or evil) is irrelevant; only its significance counts.How Soul Power Is Gained: Soul Power is gained through the actions performed by the actor. These actions are cssified into three types:Minor Acts: Minor actions that do not significantly impact others—for example, feeding a beggar or committing a petty theft—grant a minute amount of Soul Power.Moderate Acts: Actions that affect the benefactor (but not others broadly), such as saving an orphan or committing murder, grant a greater amount of Soul Power than minor acts.Massive Acts: Actions that impact a significant number of people—for instance, saving a county from a tyrant or starting wars that result in many deaths—grant a medium amount of Soul Power.The Nature of Soul Power: The nature of Soul Power can be cssified according to how the benefactor judges the action:Harmonious Soul Power: If the benefactor perceives the action as just or righteous, the actor receives Soul Power that aligns harmoniously with their soul, thereby reinforcing its stability. This creates a harmonious transfer of Soul Power.Dissonant Soul Power: If the benefactor deems the action unjust or wicked, Soul Power is extracted forcefully, and the actor receives energy that aligns dissonantly with their soul, disrupting its bance. This creates a dissonant transfer of Soul Power.Every action a being takes leaves an imprint on the minds of those who witness or experience it. This imprint shapes the subconscious perception of right and wrong within each benefactor. The nature of an action is ultimately determined by these psychological perceptions.
At the time of judgment at the Gates of Reincarnation, the nature of a soul is determined by the predominant type of Soul Power it contains. For example, if a soul is filled with harmonious Soul Power, it can refine its Spirit Power into heavenly energy in the Spirit Realm. Conversely, if a soul is filled with dissonant Soul Power, it refines its Spirit Power into demonic energy in the Spirit Realm.
THE COSMIC REALMSThe realms are cssified as follows:
The Mortal World: This is the starting point for every soul. Souls in the mortal world are unaware of how Soul Power works. The purpose of life in the mortal world is to fill one’s soul with Soul Power. Once a soul is filled to the brink with Soul Power, its journey in mortal life ends. The soul is then collected by the Reaper and sent to the Gates of Reincarnation to determine its future path.Gates of Reincarnation: After a soul reaches the Gates of Reincarnation, one of three scenarios occurs:Path to the Soul Realm: If the soul is completely filled with Soul Power, the Gates of Reincarnation send it to the Soul Realm, where its journey continues.Sent Back to the Mortal Realm: If the soul is not entirely filled with Soul Power, it is sent back to be reborn as a mortal, allowing it to continue accumuting Soul Power.Banishment to the Abyss: Even after seven cycles, if a soul fails to completely fill itself with Soul Power, it is banished to the Abyss.The Spirit Realm: A soul filled with Soul Power is sent to the Spirit Realm, where it is reborn as a formless spirit. In this realm, the spirit spends its initial days forming a physical body using the Soul Power stored within it. Once the body is formed, the spirit begins to amass spiritual energy (sometimes referred to as Spirit Energy) in a vessel above the soul called the Spirit Ring. The spirit’s aim in the Spirit Realm is to accumute enough spiritual energy in the Spirit Ring to ascend to the next realm.Heaven/Hell: Spirits that have cultivated sufficient Spirit Energy can move to Heaven or Hell, where they refine their Spirit Ring to store even more spiritual energy and rise through the ranks of their aligned factions.Abyss: The Abyss will be expined in more detail in future sections, as it is somewhat unique
CLASSIFICATION OF BEINGS AND ASSOCIATED POWERSThe beings in this world are cssified as follows:
The Mortals: Mortals have only one purpose: to live life and accumute Soul Power over seven cycles of reincarnation. Mortals reproduce to continue their legacy and the principles of their lives through their children. If a soul fails to collect enough Spirit Energy within seven cycles, it is banished to the Abyss, ending its journey in the world.The Spirits: Spirits are born in the Spirit Realm. At birth, a spirit is formless, and its soul exists in a pure, undefined, and raw state. After a spirit is born, it begins to use its spiritual energy to form a physical body. Once the body is created, the spirit forms a Spirit Ring around its soul—a vessel that stores spiritual energy. The spirit then gathers Soul Energy, which is refined within the soul, and the refined spiritual energy is stored in the Spirit Ring. During the process of refining Spirit Energy into the soul, a small amount of Soul Power is generated. The nature of Spirit Energy is as follows:Demonic Energy (Violent & Unstable): This energy is chaotic, destructive, and violent. It is attuned to the Demonic Path, and those whose souls gather dissonant energy naturally resonate with demonic energy.Heavenly Energy (Stable & Harmonious): This energy is serene, structured, and peaceful. It is attuned to the Divine Path, and those whose souls gather harmonic energy are naturally drawn to it.Spirit Energy serves as the foundation of a spirit’s transformation. As spirits accumute this power, they build their final vessel. Spirits, like mortals, can die and reincarnate. However, when a spirit dies and reincarnates, the following occurs:
Upon dying as a spirit, all accumuted Spirit Energy is lost as the Spirit Ring shatters, and most of the Spirit Energy returns to the Spirit Realm. The remaining Spirit Energy, stored in fragments of the Spirit Ring, degrades over time and eventually returns to the Spirit Realm.The spirit is then reborn and must reaccumute both Soul Energy and form a new body and Spirit Vessel. The spirit does not retain any memories from its past life, whether as a spirit or as a mortal.If a spirit dies repeatedly:Its new body becomes progressively weaker—from a strong form to a frail, childlike vessel, and eventually to the form of a small creature.The amount of Spirit Energy gathered is proportional to the remaining energy in the soul.Ultimately, if a soul fails too many times, it loses its capacity to form a proper body and becomes an empty vessel, unable to harness any more Soul Energy. The soul decays over time and becomes merely a Spirit Object.Once a spirit fills its Spirit Vessel with the Spirit Ring corresponding to its path, it is acknowledged as belonging either to the race of demons (if filled with Demonic Energy) or to the race of gods (if filled with Heavenly Energy). It is important to remember that a demon can be kind and a god can be cruel; good and evil are matters of perception. For example, a feared conqueror may generate dissonant energy, while a ruler who protects their people may generate harmonic energy—even if both take lives.
Demons and Angelic Beings: Once a spirit fills its Spirit Ring with the spiritual energy of its path, it gains the right to enter Hell or Heaven, depending on that energy. If a spirit refines Demonic Energy, it goes to Hell; if it refines Heavenly Energy, it goes to Heaven. Once on its designated path, the spirit begins refining its Spirit Ring by fusing its Spirit Energy into it, thereby increasing its strength and capacity to hold more concentrated Spirit Energy. Once the fusion is complete and the Spirit Ring empties, the soul can begin refining more concentrated spiritual energy. When the soul is filled with this concentrated energy, the spirit becomes eligible to be a Lord’s candidate or an elder.The Lords: The Lords are the ultimate beings of this world. More details will be expined in subsequent sections.THE SUPREME REALMS: HEAVEN AND HELLThe Spirit Realm is more complex than it appears. It is divided into two sub-realms: one known as Heaven, which hosts godlike beings, and one known as Hell, which hosts demonic beings.
In Heaven, the supreme order is that of the Celestials. The Celestial Order embraces traits such as order, healing, life-saving, and justice. The strongest members of the Celestial Court become the Celestial Lords. Within Heaven, factions focus on upholding righteousness (as defined by their own standards) and efficiency.
In Hell, the absolute order is defined by the Demonic Commandments, which embrace traits such as murder, chaos, and torture. Simir to the Celestial Court, the Demonic Commandments culminate in the Demonic Lords. In Hell, only secret factions exist, as the Demonic Lords exercise absolute command over their armies. These secret factions consist of Lord candidates and elders who are in a constant process of attempting to dethrone the current lords.
THE ABYSS: THE REALM OF THE UNKNOWNSouls that fail to amass sufficient Soul Power after seven cycles of reincarnation in their mortal lives are consigned to the Abyss—the realm of uncertainty and the enforcer of the world's core ws. The will of the Abyss exists solely to uphold and enforce these ws, ensuring that the world functions as it was intended upon its creation. To maintain bance without vioting these ws, the Abyss casts these souls deep into its depths. There, they must use the remnants of their Soul Power to cw their way upward, struggling from the depths of the Abyss toward the Abyssal Land. Upon reaching the Abyssal Land, the soul is infused with Abyssal Energy, transforming it into an Abyssal Spirit. Unlike ordinary spirits, an Abyssal Spirit possesses no free will and is bound to the command of the Abyss. It assumes a form dictated by the Abyss and must forge an Abyssal Ring around its soul to draw in and refine Abyssal Energy. Abyssal Spirits grow in a manner simir to ordinary spirits, but once their Abyssal Ring is fully formed and filled, they are summoned before the Abyssal Tribunal. Those deemed worthy become Reapers—enforcers of the world's ws under the will of the Abyss. Only the most powerful ascend beyond Reapers, becoming Abyssal Lords, beings who inherit a fragment of the Abyss’s will, enabling them to act as the ultimate arbiters of bance and judgment.
The Abyssal Lords wield the will of the Abyss to enforce the ws of the world. To maintain the tranquility of the world's ws, the realm allows the Abyss to host the Abyssal Tribunal. This tribunal judges the actions of spirits and members of both Heaven and Hell—determining whether they have vioted the world’s ws or instigated disputes without due process.
More details on the Abyssal Tribunal will be provided in future sections.
THE LORDS' CANDIDATESMembers of each path can ascend to become a Lord. To achieve lordship, a candidate must complete the following steps:
Traits: A candidate must identify and cim a trait as their own. A trait is the essence of the Lord—the quality by which they live, breathe, and ultimately become the embodiment of that trait. The candidate must fuse their Spirit and Soul Energy with this trait, thereby empowering it and achieving complete mastery.(For example: Malphas is the Lord of Malevolence. To become the Lord of Malevolence, he had to master Malevolence by fusing his Spirit and Soul Energy with it. Once he achieved mastery, Malphas became the embodiment of Malevolence.)
Legends: After mastering a trait, the candidate must leave a sting mark on the world through that trait. Lords etch their path into existence so that they are remembered. When a significant mark is left on the world by a Lord through their trait, it becomes their legend—the unique identification of that trait.(For example: Malphas had to inflict chaos, war, and destruction upon the world with his malice, thereby marking his legend as the incarnate embodiment of Malevolence. His legend is defined by destruction, malevolent intent, and the consequences of his actions.)
Domain: Lords can create personal realms imbued with their trait and legend. Within a domain, a Lord's power is significantly increased, enhancing all reted attributes. Lords can deploy two types of domains:Permanent Domain: This is a domain established in the area to which the Lord belongs (Hell, Heaven, or the Abyss), where they are invincible and fully aware of all that occurs. To establish a permanent domain, the Lord must imbue an Object of Power into a location using their spiritual energy.Battle Domain: This domain is deployed during combat. In this case, the Lord must recall all previously deployed shadows back to their body before engaging in battle.Objects of Power: An Object of Power is a relic associated with a Lord or Lord candidate. These relics are imbued with the Soul Power and legends of the Lord or candidate. To create an Object of Power, the Lord must obtain a decayed soul vessel that has become a spiritual object and infuse it with their trait and Soul Power. The Object of Power is intrinsically linked to the soul and the traits of the Lord or candidate.Trials: A Lord or Lord candidate may administer a trial or create a challenge. The trial can be tailored for an individual soul (a personal test or path) or designed for groups of souls (such as in dungeons or sacrificial rituals). If the Lord or candidate is satisfied with the trial's outcome, they can reward the participants with an Object of Power, a rune embedded with their Soul Power, a fragment of their legend, or Spirit Energy.THE LORDS: THE APEX BEINGS OF THE WORLDLords are the apex beings who embody eternal concepts or sins, with up to eight per path. The Lord of each path can influence the actions of entire worlds. They are the supreme entities capable of traveling between realms.
Shadows: Lords can cast a shadow that contains a small fragment of their power. They control this shadow to move freely within the mortal world and the Spirit Realm. A Lord may also project a portion of their consciousness into their shadow, allowing them to experience the world directly. Although a shadow contains only a fraction of a Lord’s power, it remains formidable.Curses and Blessings: A Lord can impose their will by cursing or blessing a soul as they see fit. To cast a curse or blessing, the Lord must expend a significant amount of Soul Power during the ritual and may even need to sacrifice an Object of Power, which is destroyed in the process. To prevent misuse, curses must have a way to be broken, and blessings can be revoked if certain conditions are met. Additionally, the Lord must use a spiritual object (a decayed soul) to channel the effect. Once cast, the curse or blessing is permanently etched into the target’s soul (or souls). These effects are categorized into two types:Wide-Range Curse/Blessing: When a Lord wishes to impose their will over a rge area, they cast a wide-range curse or blessing. This type requires a substantial amount of Soul Power to cast.Individual Curse/Blessing: When targeting a single individual, a Lord employs an individual curse or blessing, which requires less Soul Power compared to a wide-range effect.Once cast, the effect is permanently embedded in the target’s soul(s).Soul Ciming: At the time of death, a Lord can cim the soul of a spirit or mortal, subject to certain conditions:A mortal must reach the end of their natural lifespan and willingly surrender their soul, driven by a burning desire or purpose.At the precise moment when the Reaper is poised to collect the soul, a Lord may intervene to cim it.The Lord must empower the soul (or spirit) to fulfill its final desire after death—provided that this does not viote the ws of the world. For example, while a Lord cannot grant immortality, they might cause the soul’s body to initiate a pgue or enable the acquisition of a cure after death. The final wish must adhere to the ws of fate; otherwise, the soul cannot be cimed, and the Lord’s desire will not be granted.When a mortal reaches the end of their life, the Lord must end that life using a bde infused with their trait (an Object of Power—for example, the Bde of Suffering in Malphas’s case). The mortal must be aware that only the Lord is permitted to end their life.After the mortal’s death, the Lord must take a cherished object that held great significance for the mortal—such as a ring, neckce, or even a part of their body (e.g., a heart or bones)—to serve as a binding token.The binding token is inscribed with a rune filled with the Lord’s Soul Power and spiritual energy. Once the rune is inscribed onto the object, it is sacrificed to etch the rune into the soul. After this process, the soul becomes a designated servant (such as a Herald or Keeper) within the Lord’s domain.All of these must be carried out in the presence of a Reaper.For example, unlike Bhira, Malphas did not interfere with his own lifespan and willingly accepted to surrender his soul to Malphas. His body was infected with a pgue; Malphas discerned his deepest desire and granted his final wish of obtaining bread and water. In death, he unleashed the pgue, thus fulfilling his final wish and cementing his destiny as the doom of Thira.
THE REAPERS: KEEPERS OF THE SOUL CYCLEReapers are servants of the Abyss who oversee the process of death and enforce the ws of the world after the passing of mortals and spirits. They guide the souls of the departed to the Gates of Reincarnation and maintain cosmic order, preventing undue interference by higher powers in mortal affairs. Reapers exist in all realms except Hell and Heaven. They are guided by the will of fate to monitor the lifelines of mortals and spirits, collecting their souls at the end of their natural lifespans.
THE CANDIDATE CHALLENGE: THE DUEL FOR LORDSHIPThe world permits only eight Lord positions per path. However, a Lord candidate can ascend to lordship by formally challenging the incumbent whose position they desire. To challenge a Lord, the candidate must have mastered all the powers outlined in the Lord Candidates section. Several procedures must be followed to initiate the challenge:
The first step is to formally announce the challenge in person and submit a written notice to the Abyssal Tribunal. A candidate may challenge a Lord only once, and a Lord cannot refuse the duel. Refusal by a Lord results in the stripping of their title.The duel is conducted in the presence of witnesses and is governed by cosmic w under strict conditions.Both parties face significant stakes, as the duel operates on a "winner-takes-all" principle. If the candidate wins the duel, the Lord is stripped of their authority and associated legend. Conversely, if the candidate loses, they are stripped of their legend and lose their status as a Lord candidate, becoming an elder within their respective realm. Although elders remain potent, they no longer hold the supreme power of a Lord and instead serve as mentors or advisors.The outcome of the duel is absolute and irreversible, ensuring that only the most deserving and powerful ascend as Lords. This process enforces a natural cycle of renewal, where legends are continuously tested and only the strongest, most impactful beings remain at the top.Abyssal TribunalThe Abyssal Tribunal is convened to judge members of the Celestial, Demonic, and Abyssal paths when their actions viote the ws of the world—or to settle disputes without resorting to a duel.
Structure of the Tribunal: The Tribunal is composed of three Abyssal Lords, each representing a core aspect: Bance, Obligation, and Price. Unlike Celestial or Demonic Lords, Abyssal Lords do not seek worship or followers; they exist solely to enforce the natural ws of the world. The Tribunal’s rulings are absolute—no Lord, whether Celestial or Demonic, can defy their judgment.
There is a process involved in the tribunal hearings. The hearing goes as follows.
If it’s a lord who has vioted the ws of world, then:
The accused Lord cannot refuse the call—any attempt to resist results in immediate banishment to the Abyss for an eon.This summoning does not kill the Lord; instead, it draws their essence into the Tribunal’s domain.If the accused is a spirit or a member of heaven, hell or abyss:
Although the summoned being can defend themselves, but cannot lie in the tribunal.The accused may present their arguments and attempt to convince the Lords of all paths of their justification.Once all arguments have been heard, the scales of bance are presented. The Lords then pce a token of obligation on the scales to signify their judgment. When the scales seal the verdict, the chains of Price bind the accused if they are found guilty; if not, they are freed.In disputes involving an object, the contested item is pced in the custody of the Abyss until the Tribunal concludes its proceedings. The parties then engage in a trial by combat in the Tribunal’s court. Once a judgment is rendered, the winning party receives the disputed object, while the losing party must pay the price for summoning the Lords—a price determined by the Abyssal Elders.Consequences of a Guilty Verdict
For a Spirit: If a spirit is found guilty, they lose the majority of their spiritual energy.For a Demon or God: If a demon or God is found guilty, they either lose most of their spiritual energy or are chained in the Abyss’s dungeon for an extended period.For a Lord: If a Lord is found guilty, they may be required to forfeit an Object of Power, surrender a cherished legend, or be imprisoned for eons.Shards: The Tangible Tokens of the Spirit WorldShards are the tokens of the spirit world. It is a physical manifestation of the spiritual energy that permeates the realm. Any spirit in the Spirit Realm can crystallize a shard.
Shards function like tokens or currency, representing an individual’s refined power and legacy without interfering with the more abstract cosmic ws of world.
How can one create a shard?
A spirit must concentrate in order to crystallize a spirit shard. Once the spirit is ready, it must draw spiritual energy into its soul and refine that energy. This refinement process has two effects:
The soul regains a fraction of its Soul Power ( as the tokens effect lives when its traded)The spiritual energy crystallizes into a physical shard, creating what is known as a spiritual shard.This process is reversible. one can use Soul Power to recharge their spiritual energy like a battery. However, if the soul cannot produce a shard with the same concentration, the process cannot be reversed. In such cases, attempting to refine the energy will result in physical damage to the spirit. If the process is successful, the sprit energy in the shard is reabsorbed and the shard disappears.
There are limitations to this process. Just cause sprit can create a shard, this does not mean that a spirit can create an infinite number of shards. A shard is merely a by-product of refining spiritual energy into Soul Power, and only the Lords know this secret. The number of shards a spirit can create depends on the amount of Soul Power in the soul and spiritual energy in its Spirit Ring, as governed by the ws of equality. Once a spirit has produced shards equal to its avaible energy, no additional shards can be created until more energy is accumuted.
At the early stages of cultivation, spirits produce base-level shards. These shards are raw and unrefined, embodying the initial concentration of energy gathered from their actions. As the spirit evolves, it can refine its shards further by increasing the concentration of spiritual energy within them, thus making them more valuable.
The refinement process becomes more complex if a spirit attains the status of Elder, Lord Candidate, or Lord:
Elder/Lord Candidate Refinement: These beings have the ability to concentrate and upgrade shards, increasing their energy density. They can also etch runes onto the shards to enhance the shards capacity.Lord Refinement: When a Lord etches their trait—the unique, defining signature of their power onto a shard, it becomes uniquely valuable. The shard then carries not only refined energy but also the imprint of the Lord’s legend, making it significantly more valuable and even usable in the Abyssal Tribunal.Value of a Shard:
The value of a shard is determined by the concentration of spiritual energy it contains. To finalize the value during transactions, the involved parties can invoke the Scales of Price. These scales fix the transaction’s value according to the shard’s concentration and, in return, extract a small fraction of energy from the shard as a fee. The rarity of shards is maintained by the inherent limits of the spirit vessel and the cost involved in their creation and refinement. A refined, trait-etched shard is far more valuable than a base-level shard, reinforcing the idea that spiritual power is hard-earned and cannot be casually manufactured.
High Spirit Areas: Natural Reservoirs of Refined EnergyIn the spirit world, there are areas where spiritual energy is densely concentrated. In these areas, a spirit can refine spiritual energy much faster than in regions with lower energy density.
The physical remains of dead spirits are gathered and buried together. As these bodies slowly decompose, they release residual Spirit Energy into the environment. This process creates zones of exceedingly high ambient Spirit Energy, known as High Spirit Areas. These areas are the result of the cumutive energy released by countless spirits dissolving into the earth over ages.
In High Spirit Areas, the abundant ambient energy allows a spirit to harvest Spirit Energy at a significantly faster rate. This not only accelerates spiritual cultivation but also makes the creation of shards much easier, reducing the time needed to produce them.
High Spirit Areas are rare and can be found only in certain regions where bodies of spirits are buried in abundance. However, these areas take a long time to form, as the remains must decompose and gradually release their Spirit Energy.
Access to these areas is highly restricted, and only those of high importance are permitted to cultivate there.