Soul

## Summary

> *The soul is an incredibly small structure made of an unknown substance which grows over time. Wear and tear on the soul actually grows the structure's complexity. It attracts the spirit and the age of the soul defines how large the spirit can be.*
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Spirit is a mist surrounding the soul, which can store mana. The actual shape of the spirit changes as one cultivates.

The soul is technically a program. (See Soul Dao)

## Creation

Since it is made out of Grandmist and has a *Soul Dao* Inscription, it can survive by itself in the True Grandmist Void without requiring a Heavenly Dao to function. However, the spirit surrounding it would be destroyed in the process if it has not been cultivated to the Black Hole stage.
The Heavenly Dao prevents True Gods from creating souls.

## Bond

Soul Bonds are bonds between two souls of the same Type that are nearly impossible to separate, independent of distance or space. Once a Soul Bond is made, only the Creator may have a possibility of separating it.

There are two types of Soul Bond in the universe. One that is made between two cultivators for eternity, and one that is made in the 1st Realm between new souls. Valyiska is an example of the latter case.

Soul Bound cultivators use a special technique to get both of their souls near each other. Close enough that the spirits of the two are integrated together for a period. The souls must be near enough for the Souls to form a Grandmist web between both souls. However, both Souls must be of the same Type. (See below) The type cannot be distinguished by mortals or even True Gods as the type is an indistinguishable change in the person's Soul Dao coated in Grandmist.

The Soul Bond has the benefit of enabling two souls to form a single being that has an interlinked memory and consciousness effectively forming a Hivemind. It is extremely difficult for an single soul to keep their own personality and even individuality from the other souls due to the typing, memories and point of view. The only difference that a soul may have is the control of an individual body.

## Type

Although souls are made form the same Dao, every soul has a specific type quality. Some may be heroic, others evil, some born of flames and the majority are plain.

The type itself cannot easily be changed and requires the strength of a God to change it. Usually a soul is changed for a devout Holy Knight up to a Champion in Belief. The change is gradual as a believer grows a deeper connection to the God. The soul type changes to the Dao-Domain of the God making cultivating that Dao easier but other Daos much harder to learn in both the present and the impossibly long future.

Although not permanent, the Dao type change on the Soul is very difficult to make into a 'Plain' type that can learn all Daos like a brand new soul can. Over time, the Dao type will change as the Soul dies and rebirths to learn new techniques that use other Daos.

For truly unique souls, like Valyiska's case, there is nothing a God, True God or Creator can do without destroying the soul back into Grandmist it is created from.

## Growth

Souls are always growing. However, there are three major ways to improve the growth.

* Age - actions performed during actions give a minor boost to growth.
* Reincarnation - The process of the soul going through reincarnation substantially increases the soul's size.
* Belief - Being a God can raise the soul through Mortal interactions.
* Devouring - The fastest possible method to increasing the Soul Dao's size through the banned dao related to devouring.

## Age

The soul has a set of predefined ages. These ages usually define the maximum Spirit and Mind levels.

The aging process consists of the *Soul Dao* that is inscribed into the soul to grow and increase in complexity. Over time, the Dao also programmatically becomes a larger Dao until it finally shields itself with Grandmist at the Creator's Soul stage.

* Newborn Soul - 1st incarnation, 1st Realm
* Infant Soul - 2nd Realm soul
* Young Soul
* Teen Soul - 10th Realm
* Adult Soul
* Old Soul - Divine
* Ancient Soul
* Ancestor Soul
* Founder Soul
* Creator's Soul - impossible to destroy

## Protection

The Soul is protected by the Heavenly Dao. to prevent a True God or peak Divine from destroying it. Only the creator can destroy it.

## Structure

The soul acts as an *Anchor* for the Spirit, Manifestation, and Body to work with.

* ****Soul****
	+ **Spirit** - Gravitation of Mana and anchored to be semi-solid made through Mana Runes
		- **Spirit Chains** - Link the Body with the Spirit
			* Brain - temporary location for the mind until the Sea of Memories stage is reached
			* Qi bound directly by spirit chains (Not as effective as the dantian or acupoints)
			* Acupoints and Dantian
				+ Qi is controlled through the Dantian and Acupoints
		- **Mana Structures**
			* **Mana Nodes** - Hold and bind mana to the source like a tree holding leaves
		- **Mind Structures** - Grown out of Mana and Psionic Power through Mind Cultivation
			* Psionic Crystal - Controls Psionic Power which can go phase through Mana.