ESPers
A relatively new type of spiritually aware human, whose members are all witnesses of the Kyuubi incident. While they are called ESPers because they possess innate supernatural abilities, they are not only naturally capable of bringing about supernatural phenomena, but possess bodies that are not only naturally superior to that of normal humans, but heal at an incredibly accelerated pace from injuries, to the point where, so long as they don’t die instantly from an attack, they will be able to completely recover from any sort of wound after only a few hours. As all confirmed ESPers were present in the city at the time of the Kyuubi incident, it is thought that their powers and unnaturally sturdy bodies are a side-effect from being exposed to the creature, but while there is a lot of evidence for this, it was not officially confirmed before the disbandment of the SDCD. Regardless, ESPers are often referred to as “Children of the Kyuubi,” by exorcists.
All known ESPers are listed as B-Class threats, however, because they tend to attract spirits, and consequently, are the ones who often get rid of them, the government seems content with simply allowing ESPers to exist, so long as they keep their powers and abilities a secret to normal humans. Known ESPers who are caught breaking this rule often ‘disappear,’ after a few ‘incidents.’
Kyuubi
A large monster the size of a city, whose unimaginable power made it possible for even normal civilians to witness it. A mindless avatar of destruction, no one knows why the Kyuubi exists, or how it was created, however it’s absolute strength is undeniable. Driven by uncontrollable emotions of hate and fear, it’s mere touch is enough to reduce anything in this world into nothing, and the more it destroys, the stronger it’s already completely overwhelming existence becomes.
The Kyuubi requires a host to exist, and it’s power is great enough that it can fulfill any desire it’s host has, no matter how impossible that desire might be. However, the Kyuubi cannot be controlled by humans, and although it has granted wishes in the distant past, the personality of the host was always completely destroyed afterwards.
Vengeful Spirits and the Reimyaku
The Reimyaku (Spirit Pulse) is a sea of souls that exists far beneath Japan. When people die, their souls retreat to that place, where their memories are cleansed, and they are eventually reincarnated as someone else in the future. This is the normal flow of things, however, those who die with lingering regrets, or feeling a particularly strong negative emotion, such as hatred or fear, cannot see the Reimyaku, and thus cannot (or will not) return to it. These souls wander amongst the living, and if left alone long enough, become twisted by either their own negative emotions or the emotions of the people around them, and begin to act aggressively towards humans. (Throw things, push people down stairs, etc.)
These angry spirits draw weaker spirits to them, and eventually things that resemble monsters in both appearance and ability are born from the unions. These spirits are dangerous and will kill or possess humans, thus creating more spirits, who will then be absorbed or become malevolent, and so on, and so on.
A vicious cycle.
It is important to note that spirits cannot be seen by normal humans. Things they cause are often labeled as “accidents” officially, and even a few natural disasters such as earthquakes, are not always because of natural causes, but are actually the result of thousands of spirits shaking the landscape in a (mostly futile) attempt to murder everyone on it.
The amount of spirits making up the Kyuubi was not possible to measure.
SDCD:
A government agency that once fought the supernatural under the command of the Ministry of Environment. Formed after World War II, the agency had large amounts of experience with fighting the supernatural due to many of it's founding members being members of exorcist families, such as the Tsuchimiya and Isayama clans. However, despite the large amount of talented members they possessed, their manpower was notoriously low due to their agents requiring a certain amount of spiritual power to be effective, and they often had to hire mercenaries or independent exorcists to help deal with large scale cases. Always interested in new personnel, they would even hire teenagers with spiritual potential for part-time, small scale jobs, with the benefits of the job often being enough to keep them around when they were older.
Members of the SDCD had the unofficial name of “exorcists” as they utilized their own spiritual power, or holy/enchanted/spiritual weapons in order to banish ghosts, although other types of youkai were also under their jurisdiction. Known as the signature weapon type of the SDCD, spiritual weapons/armaments are either items that are can channel some form of their user’s spirit power, bringing about an engrained effect. Or weapons or weapon materials that have existed for long enough (100 years) that they possess their own soul, and consequently, are just as capable of harming spirits as a spiritually aware human. The latter type of spirit armament is more powerful, as they all possess powerful unique abilities that can touch on concepts, and lay separate from their master, but they are more picky than the former, as they only recognize their master, and even for them, the more powerful weapons will often outright refuse to work until a certain ‘condition’ is met. (A time-space cutting sword that can only be drawn in defense of a loved one, etc.)
Such ‘living’ weapons are rare to the point of being virtually nonexistent in the modern world (Aka. Can’t have one through character creation) but the SDCD was said to have a few smiths capable of forging them...
While officially disbanded now, there was a common system created by the SDCD that is still used to determine the general destructive capability of Youkai or enemy forces.
Threat Level E
Almost no destructive capability. Non malevolent wraiths are placed within this category. Can be handled by even a single, weak exorcist, and are basically a nonexistent threat to even normal humans.
Threat Level D
Little destructive capability. Low level but malevolent spirits fall here, and while the damage they can personally cause is low, the fact that they tend to wander and congregate means that their existence is considered a 'warning sign' by exorcists.
Threat Level C
Most common threat level. Inherently malevolent, spirits of this class have ceased to be individuals, and have instead begun to combine with others like themselves. For safety purposes, these are often approached by a group of lesser exorcists, although an exorcist of average power is also considered to possess this level of destructive capability.
Threat Level B
An uncommon threat level. Youkai of this class are deemed significant threats, and are capable of some intelligent thought. They have been known to tear apart city blocks, and should not be approached without at least one expert exorcist.
Threat Level A
Formerly the highest ranking given by the SDCD, spirits of this level have condensed into Legions of hundreds of souls, and are capable of spreading mass destruction and chaos on par with that of a natural disaster.
Because a human body can only take so much power before breaking down, singular individuals reaching this level is rare, however, while embedded with a shard of a cursed artifact, the elite exorcist Isayama Yomi was given a ranking of this level not because of overwhelming force, but because she retained her intelligence even as a pseudo-evil spirit, and was capable of slaughtering entire teams of expert exorcists by herself.
Threat Level S
Highest threat level, and only ever assigned to a single being before the disbandment of the SDCD. At this level, the enemy existence is something that can not only destroy several cities with ease, but even tear through countries, and is considered to be an enemy that the SDCD "cannot efficiently handle." The Kyuubi was given this designation not only because of it's sheer destructive capability, but because it was almost completely invincible to all form of attack, and able to control things on a molecular level in its host’s brief moments of clarity. Approached with nothing less than overwhelming force, all elite exorcists, and even the current director of the SDCD were dispatched in a desperate bid to destroy the creature before Tokyo was destroyed, although even that attempt was still openly considered to be a suicide mission by pretty much everyone who took part in it.
Order of Eden
A cultist group that first became publicly active in 2007, it’s base of operations lies in Tokyo City, and it’s members all tend to wear light blue, seemingly ceremonial robes. Firm believers in their faith, they believe that an ordeal will soon be unleashed upon humans, and that only the strong and devout will be able to “reclaim the lost paradise.” They are notable for performing ‘miracles’ in front of crowds, showing off legitimate supernatural abilities under the guise of “holy power,” and while most pass it off as the work of street magicians they have still attracted enough members that their existence is monitored.
They seem to be aware of the Kyuubi’s true nature, and refer to it as “The Black Beast,” claiming that the creature was a warning sign for an upcoming trial from God.
As nothing resembling a trial has happened in a year, these claims are mostly dismissed by the populace.
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Originally Posted by asterism42
