Six Realms

The **Six Realms** are six Mindscapes tied to Buddhism.

## Description

According to Buddhist teachings, the Six Realms are individual Mindscapes in which Souls wander while waiting for enlightenment. Each of these Realms can be visited through meditation or trance, and grants specific powers upon those who seek to use their might - usually through the use of a catalyst. Said powers are quite similar in nature to Divine Magic, albeit using Ki as their source.

A seventh Realm, the **Outer Realm** or **Buddha Realm**, is a spiritual Mindscape where those who have achieved enlightenment come to rest. Like all other Realms, it grants powers to the deserving, but can only be accessed by those who have achieved transcendence over their mortal existence. It is associated with **Metempsychosis** - the unique manipulation of the Soul.

## List of Realms

### Hell Realm

The lowest Realm, Hell or Naraka overlaps with Jigoku. It is the place of dwelling of several entities similar in nature to Oni, and is inundated with Miasma. It is associated with **Manipulation** - the ability to move items and control physical bodies and matter.

### Preta Realm

This shadowy Realm is still tainted by Miasma, and inhabited by voracious Undead and haunted Spirits that seek to satiate their undying hunger. It is associated with **Emission** - the ability to project one's energy as an elemental or ethereal flux.

### Animal Realm

This Realm embodies the vagueness of animal consciousness, and can thus only be seen as a blur of colors and constantly-changing stimuli. It is associated with **Transmutation** - the ability to change one's shape and change its properties and abilities.

### Human Realm

Humans are said to reside in this Realm, although this is only half-true : this is the realm that represents "humanity" in a pure, abstract sense. It is associated with **Reinforcement** - the ability to reinforce one's body and mind to perform supernatural feats.

### Asura Realm

A Realm populated by Demons of great power, wrathful and impulsive, it is a realm of pride, pleasure, deceit and power, despite its position as the fifth Realm. It is associated with **Projection** - the ability to create illusions and use one's fighting spirit as a mental weapon.

### Deva Realm

The highest Realm, called God Realm at times, it is a place of spiritual elevation populated by Devas, or Angelic figures, and represents the pinnacle of material elevation. It is associated with **Creation** - the ability to manifest items and rules.

## Realm Swords

Realm Swords are swords forged with a - real or metaphorical - shard of a specific Realm embedded in their blade. Due to this, they allow their wielder, if spiritually awakened enough, to bolster their own mastery of the corresponding realm. While Katana are the most commonly used medium to use as a focus for a Realm Sword, any weapon - or item - is theoretically usable.

### God Swords

God Swords are the pinnacle of Realm Swords. They are unique - a God Sword is defined as the most powerful Realm Sword for any given Realm. If another, more powerful Realm Sword is crafted, the previous God Sword crumbles to dust. Most of the greatest Six Realms techniques can only be used by wielding one of these.

* **Niraya** is the **Hell God Sword**. It can only be crafted through corruption made manifest, for example using Niramani.
* **Prethaia** is the **Preta God Sword**. How it was crafted is unknown, but it seems to be deeply tied to the realm of Umbra.
* **Tirchana** is the **Animal God Sword**. How it was crafted is unknown, but it is wielded by leaders of the Rakshasa tribes.
* **Manusya** is the **Human God Sword**. It cannot be crafted except by one who renounces all and embodies mankind.
* **Sumeru** is the **Asura God Sword**. How it was crafted is unknown, but it seems to be the main weapon of the Asurendra family.
* **Devaloka** is the **Deva God Sword**. It can only be crafted with ingredients such as divine blood or powerful holy relics.
* **Nirvana** is the **Outer God Sword**. It can only be crafted through the very bone and flesh of one who was deemed to be Awoken.

## God Truths

The God Truths are powerful Techniques used by those who claim a unique bond to a Realm. To use a God Truth, one must possess a powerful catalyst (mostly a God Sword) of the associated Realm, a deep connection to its values, immense self-mastery and talent for Ki use, and an immense quantity of Ki to spend in order to effectively use it.

It is most often thought that using a God Truth consumes part of its user's Soul, but this is only half-true. In fact, a God truth consumes so much Ki that it threatens the user's life. This is circumvented by converting a small portion of the user's Soul into energy which is then consumed. One who possesses enough power to directly use the God Truth - for example thanks to the Samsara Mystic Eyes - is immune to said drawback.

* **Lakshmi** is the **Hell God Truth**. It embodies perfect Manipulation and allows to manifest bodies of the dead to act as a personal army. When used to the fullest, it allows to infuse one's Soul within to create beings known as **Detachments**.
* **Shiva** is the **Preta God Truth**. It embodies perfect Emission and creates a bolt of destructive energy that chases its target and invariably destroys it by breaking down the target's physical body on a molecular level through elemental overload.
* **Parvati** is the **Animal God Truth**. It embodies perfect Transmutation and allows to act akin to a Philosopher's Stone for a short amount of time, performing immediate Alchemy and infinite transmutations effortlessly.
* **Vishnu** is the **Human God Truth**. It embodies perfect Reinforcement and allows to temporarily stop time by increasing one's physical abilities to the point that the very world seems to have stopped. Strength and stamina are similarly increased.
* **Sarasvati** is the **Asura God Truth**. It embodies perfect Projection and allows to manifest an illusion within a target's mind. This illusion is extremely realistic, to the point of changing one's perception of reality, retroactively if needed.
* **Brahma** is the **Deva God Truth**. It embodies perfect Creation and manifests a gigantic, spectral divine being, created from the user's emotions and desires. Said divinity possesses immense powers and acts as a protector for the user.
* **Krishna** is the **Outer God Truth**. By far the most powerful God truth, that of Buddha itself, it allows to reshape the world as though altering Akasha, although it mostly functions as a Phantasm Field instead. Only a Buddha can use it.

## Trivia

* The Six Realms are a fundamental part of Buddhist teachings.