Infernal Spirits

Infernals are creatures born from a **Lost Souls** spirit devouring itself from the inside out. These creatures live to devour a persons soul radiance, as a means to remain tethered to the mortal realm. Infernals generally do not increase in strength (come back to this because this depends on when I want to bring in Abyssals more often).

## **Overview**

### **The Transformation Process**

Most individuals who die will peacefully move on into the afterlife after their death. However, some may continue to stay within the realm they were born into because their souls not ready to transition over into the next phase and it remains connected to the realm they are apart of. This is where a Revenant or another skilled professional would come in to aid them pass over to the afterlife, but if no one is able to reach the lost soul it shall end up transforming into an Infernal. The timeframe in which this can happen could be anywhere from just a few minutes to a few years, it all depends on the emotional state of the soul, what the reasons are for them choosing to stay, if they have been eaten by another creature or a variety of circumstances. There is no one reason for a lost soul to transform into an Infernal, but a multitude of them that makes dealing with them very difficult at times.

Once a lost soul begins transforming into a Infernal, it usually starts with a glowing in their chest right where the heart should be and each color is specific to the soul in question. However, these colors can be used to predict which class level the soul may transform into, but for information on that check the classification tab down below. Moving on, the next step in transformation will be a curved swivel appearing on the soul's forehead, that has straight line piercing down the middle with spades on each end. Followed by the souls radiance changing color as well to match the same color the glowing in their heart and a circle of radiance will form around them, which acts as a barrier preventing any outsiders from entering. Afterwards, the souls chest will explode and a black hole will devour the individual from the inside out. Meanwhile, the sclera will turn black as the iris changes to the color of their heart and as they are being eaten from the inside out, their new body will crawl outside of the black hole completing the transformation into a Infernal.

### **Tendencies & Appearance**

Most Infernals lose their mind to their hunger, relying on their instincts to guide them instead, but recent studies have found Infernals still retain some semblance of who they were before hand. Many Infernals will tend to be attracted to a certain location, person or object that will cause them to linger in areas, in which those things are present and it appears that most Infernals often have focused targets that they are especially interested in. Most skilled professionals or students in training will be able to identify the patterns of an infernal, when attempting to pin point their location or understand its movements.

### **Classification**

* **Green = 4th Class**
* **Yellow = 3rd Class**
* **Orange = 2nd Class**
* **Red = 1st Class**
* **Blue = Special Class**
* **Purple = X Class or Variant**
	+ A purple glow usually means its an **X Class** level infernal creature, but it may also mean a **Variant** which means it can range in class selection so it could be any of the other ones or Variant may mean that it will have variants levels of strength throughout a fight and could get stronger or weaker as time goes on.

## **Types of Infernals**

I want each way they all die to be unique, lets figure this one out.

### **Banshee**

Banshee's are vengeful spirits, that many misconceive as just female, but any spirit can transform into a banshee. Banshee's are souls that are entirely born from the negative emotions of hatred, fear, sin and all types of emotions that bring this spirit to life. Unlike other Infernals Banshee's had no prior life or existence before they were brought into the world as an infernal, but instead they are essentially the amalgamation of many prior souls, feeling and emotions belonging to those past lives. Additionally, their manifestation is a result of these emotions pouring into a meta-physical well that mixes together and sprouts them into existence. Lost souls are also capable of being turned into Banshee if this energy is directed towards them, but this doesn't happen to often and isn't something a professional should have to worry about.

Banshee's like to stay hidden in areas, such as caves or forest that are nearby small towns or villages. Its not common for them to venture into cities, but instead they'll send other Infernals into those places for them. Their rage is directed into these smaller areas, in which they use their abilities in an attempt to devour these smaller territories and take them over, so they can build on their power. Through taking enough souls they will be able to to materialize into the physical world as a living and breathing individual with actual flesh and blood coursing through their veins. Since, Banshee's are entities born from nothing and have never lived an actual life there has been much debate over how to treat them. Some professionals feel nothing when getting rid of a Banshee because they were never alive to begin with, but recently the question has been asked by many scholars interested in the question, which is "If Banshee's have souls, then doesn't that mean they are alive? If not, then what does being alive actually mean?" This is a hotly debated topic, that seems very simple from the outset, but on closer inspection the details get very muddied.

Moreover, Banshee's are the strongest variation of Infernal Spirits because they are able to access spiritual elements that allow them to manifest their own abilities and their reach isn't limited by their location or an object like it would be with phantasms or their not solely obsessed with people as Ghouls are. Instead, Banshee's are much more calculates in their approach, often building homes in the outskirts of the place they are attempting to take over and they use charms, wishes and healings to lure people in. Taking their time to drain a persons soul, so they won't catch the attention of any professionals ready to exorcise them and for limited times for the day they are able to manifest themselves a human body in order to hide amongst us. Their very cunning in their approach, which often leads to them being of the higher levels of 1st class and special classes respectfully.

**Identifying a Banshee**

Since Banshee's may appear as normal humans throughout the day, there has been plenty of work that has went into how one can identify a Banshee amongst the crowd because Banshee use techniques like Mirror Image and Novis to mask their radiance flow. (A list will be compiled below)

* **Temperature**
	+ When a Banshee is around the room may get colder or they skin may even feel cool in warm areas, plus one could always check for their chilling breath and look for any sensitivity to heat. Warm temperatures weaken their control over their radiance and eats away at the amount of time they can remain in human form.
* **Housing**
	+ When investigating area's outside of the villages or towns a banshees may be presently involved in, coming across homes in caves, forest or other strange areas may be a sign of a Banshee because they build homes not only to lure people away or keep valuable items inside, but also as a means to safely recuperate their radiance. However, its very important to inspect the house thoroughly, since the professional may be stumbling upon an Alchemist's Cabin and if they have jurisdiction to be out there, infiltrating their house without the proper papers could lead to backlash for the programs and agencies involved.
* **Animals and Nature**
	+ Animals often will not react to a banshee one way or another because while they are exceptionally good at sensing spiritual elements, it seems that they don't recognize banshee's at all. Researchers are unsure why this is a case, but scholars have attempted to use this as evidence for banshee's having no claim to life. Moving on, in forest tree's tend to gray, leaves may go through cycles a lot quicker and become red or yellow during summer. Inside caves insects will gather in huddles, as to get away from the banshee's frenetic energy because unlike animals the insects can feel their presence.

**How to get rid of a Banshee**

* **Containment**
	+ Banshee's cannot be exorcised outright, they must first be put in a zone in which they can be dealt with. Since they are always feeding off of hordes of people at once they have to be cut off from their supply of radiance through using a **Veil** or placing down **Sealing Tags.**
* **Sealed or Reverse Flow**
	+ After containing a Banshee within a location there's only two ways they can be taken down, they must be sealed or hit with **Reverse Flow** and for both of these options it won't be easy. Generally speaking, Banshee's need to be worn down before they can be sealed away or finished off with **Reverse Flow** in order to ensure the job is finished and if they aren't the sealing or the counter balance of reverse flow may not be enough to finish them.

**Abilities**

* **Deadly Hymn**
* **Transforming into Human Form**
	+ **1st Class: 2 hours**
	+ **Special Class: 4 hours**
	+ **X Class: Unknown**
* **Phantom Mist**
* **Spiritual Radiance**

### **Ghouls**

**Ghouls** are the most common form of Infernal that a professional is expected to run into, while working on the job. Ghouls are simply lost souls that transformed into Infernals because for whatever reason they we're unable to pass into the afterlife in time. Unlike the others, ghouls are fixated on humans and they are more likely to feast on a humans flesh rather then absorb a humans soul. A few researchers, such as Dr. Valaina hypothesized that this is happening because ghouls are attempting to regain their humanity and this seems to have been confirmed by one of the most recent ghouls, classified as the Flesh Walker. Moreover, ghouls lurk within vastly populates areas and amongst crowds of people, sometimes its hard to tell if a ghoul is present because of their ability to shapeshift and hide their presence well. Generally, speaking most Ghouls are very weak, often hanging around the 3rd class for most and occasionally reaching 1st class status, it is very rare to find a ghoul that is a special class or higher because they never actually eat souls. Ghouls will take no damage from physical attacks when they are in physical form and will only be able to take spiritual attacks when they are in a spiritual form.

**How to get rid of a Ghoul**

* **Exorcism**
	+ The Only way to get rid of a Ghoul is through exorcising them, once exorcised the lost soul will be released from the shell of the Ghoul they are apart and will be able to be sent into the afterlife.

**Abilities**

* **Ectoplasmic Howl**
* **Ghosting**
* **Shapeshifting**

### **Phantasmic Creatures**

**Phantasmic Creatures** are creatures that are born within a **Phantasm**, which is an event that occurs the moment a moment a person dies while experiencing a tense emotion. When phantasms are created this doesn't necessarily mean that a phantasmic creature will manifest within the area, as it could just mean that the person who does left behind a particular essence or feeling. However, dependent on the emotion that was left behind a creature may form inside the phantasm and this could lead to an influx of Infernals or attract more Dark Forces Creatures. Phantasmic Creatures are tied to an object or place in which their soul is tethered because at the moment of a persons death their essence seeps into the object environment they felt such a strong connection to and are unable to stray to far from their attachment. An Infernal that is attached to a person is not a phantasm and is likely a Ghoul that's still remembers their ties to the individual. Although, if that isn't it then the being must be a **Spirit Wraith** and if that's the case, be careful.

An Example of this can be seen at Old Baptist Church with the 2nd class creature Bill Grant, he was identified to be linked to the church, but his mind was obsessed with his dead wife's pearls box. He was unable to leave the church grounds, but he would only manifest into existence after Hikari had found the pearl box was removed from the toy bin. Akira hypothesized that if Hikari were to destroy the entire box that he would cease to exist, but Rin challenged that notion and explained that exorcising it was the only way to get rid of it because it's likely the creature was absorbed by a Dark Forces Creature.

Since phantasmic creatures are unable to stray from the environment in which they were born in, its very difficult for them to survive to long after they were born because there isn't anything for them to feed on, besides the essence of the person that gave birth to them. Housing environments are great sources of radiance and other spiritual elements in which Phantasms can sustain their life on, but being absorbed by a creature from the Krypt is probably the best thing for a Phantasm because they will be able to live inside that entity and spread themselves much father then they could've ever had before.

Phantasmic Creatures are the most varied group in terms of how strong they may be at any given moment, but its common to see plenty of them fall within the 2nd class because of the high amounts of radiance they'll be able to digest within just a few minutes of coming into existence. However, once they've absorbed the radiance in their surrounding area, unless the space is very populated they won't be getting much stronger than that. These creatures are also very dangerous when they are inside of an environment that full of radiance because they will have energy that they can continuously feed, which gives them great endurance when defending against threats.

**How to get rid of a Phantasmic Creature**

* **Destroy its link**
	+ All Phantasmic creatures are tied to an object, which keeps them bound to the object or environment they are attached to. This is often called a **Spiritual Tether,** by destroying this link the creatures will no longer have anything to latch onto and this will result in their bodies breaking down as a result and the creature will whither away. However, this may not happen all at once and instead the creature may be able to escape. Generally this isn't a concern because they often die soon without a energy to feed on, but its something to consider because if the creature is absorbed by a force from the Krypt then the situation may escalate.
* **Exorcism**
	+ Phantasmic Creatures can be exorcised outright, if they have been absorbed by a Dark Forces Creature. Its very common for Infernals to be hunted down by creatures from the Krypt, due to the high amounts of soul radiance they contain, but when they are absorbed the hybrid may still retain some of the essence left behind by the original soul and so may act in the same ways it was before. Only high level Dark Forces Creatures will be able to completely digest another soul without feeling some of the impact from that soul's existence.
* **Guide its Soul to Rest**
	+ Every Phantasmic Creature, is the essence of a person who had no choice in whether their soul transformed or not and instead the intensity of their emotions forced them into it when they died. This means that every Phantasmic creature is likely looking for an end to their suffering, but is unable to find that end because something in their life isn't finished. Its up to the professional to figure out what's the Phantasmic Creature needs to be accomplished in order to to lay their soul to rest, but the professional must decide the proper course of action. There are times when guiding the soul to rest may not be worth the risk and exorcising the creature may need to be the way to handle the situation. That said if the creature is tied to a place then its very likely that multiple souls have also been attached to the area as well and this means that those souls along with the creature will share the same fate.

**Abilities**

* **Ghosting**
* **Mortal Animation**
* **Soul Alteration**
* **Spatial Manipulation**
* **Teleportation**

### **Yoma**

However, there is another transformation that can also occur and that is when a highly skilled professional transforms into a Infernal Spirit. This occurs when the professional dies and does not pass over into the after life. Plenty of professionals will pass over into the the after life immediately, but its not uncommon to for a professional to transform because they are unwilling to let go of whatever they have left behind. The term form professionals who will not pass on into the after life are known as **Yoma** and the threat they pose is usually of the special class due to their radiance giving them a boost in power, plus their instincts as a Revenant stay intact and it seems their abilities somewhat merge with their new acquired strength as a **Yoma**. Steps have been taking by agencies to prevent this from occurring and lower the risk.

## **Powers**

### **Deadly Hymn**

**Deadly Hymn** is a technique used by Banshee's that disrupts and manipulates the flow of radiance within a person. Against non radiance users the shock to their radiance may kill them instantly, but supply the Banshee with bodies they can manipulate because some Banshee are able to manipulate people from the dead and bring them back to a state of near-death. This is a state in which the body still functions, but the individual mind is lost and the soul can't pass on to the afterlife because it is still locked within the body.

When this technique is used against **Starsplitters,** is not to kill them, but instead it is to manipulate the flow of radiance that an individual can utilize at any one moment. This technique is limited because the target must be able to hear the sound of the banshee and that means they must be close by to get them within range. To cover their basis banshee's will use this technique in combination with Phantom Mist in order to hide mask their presence. The range is dependent on the power of the banshee, but the way to identify that this is coming is through the sound of either an instrument or the sound of banshee's singing that is accompanied by a mysterious mist and sometimes shrieks may even signal that a deadly hymn is on its way. However, if a banshee shrieks one should expect something very powerful is coming because that means they have reached the edge of their patience and has likely cracked.

* **Hymn Ranges**
	+ **1st Class-**15-25meters.
	+ **Special Class-** 25-40 meters.
	+ **X Class-**?

### **Ectoplasmic Howl**

**Ectoplasmic Howl** is the ability for a ghoul to release a deafening scream, that secrets ectoplasmic fluid that burns the skin and attaches to the skin while draining the radiance of the body part its attached to. The fluid is a sticky and slippery substances that is difficult to rub off, so once to sticks to you its best not to touch it because it won't spread on its own without the persons influence and it only drains the radiance on that specific body part, but once its done the fluid will harden then chip off.

### **Ghosting**

**Ghosting** is the ability for Ghouls to phase through physical objects, but not spiritual ones and instead only higher level like 2 class and above are able to phase through spiritual items as well. Using M**irror Image** to match a ghoul's wavelength at the moment they are phasing through an object is a way that most professionals counterbalance a ghoul's ability to phase through an attack, but this can also be countered by the ghoul reverted into an unphased state.

### **Mortal Animation**

**Mortal Animation** is when phantasmic creatures merge inside their phantasm or bring their phantasms to life. Phantasmic creatures are also able to live inside of their objects and stay submerged within them until they are either triggered to come out or awaken naturally and this is another reason that being in a phantasm is so dangerous.

### **Phantom Mist**

**Phantom Mist** is a lure that's used by Banshee's to dull the senses and it only takes a few seconds to settle into a persons immune system. This is used to put normal people to sleep, confuse them, draw them towards their hideout and essentially Banshee's are able to do whatever they want with this mist. For skilled professionals the mist will take no longer than 15-20 seconds, for it to settle in and influence the senses, but for those that are capable of covering their nose with suitable equipment before hand will be able to avoid falling under this mist. However, one can be saved by another if they're wavelength is disrupted by another individual.

### **Possession**

Lost Souls are capable of temporarily possessing another entity. The rate at which they are able to possess someone varies quite drastically and so does the level or control they have over that someone does as well because it depends on the amount of spiritual control that person has when being possessed. This tactic is used by lost souls to stave off their soul's transformation into an infernal creature. Lost souls are not able to possess beings that are knocked unconscious, but they can possess people that are sleeping if that person is dreaming.

### **Shapeshifting**

**Ghouls** are able to manipulate and transform their bodies into anything they want them to be, but unlike Banshee's who can manifest a physical form ghouls remain spiritual. This allows ghouls flexibility when they are up against people trying to exorcise them because they also gain the attributes of whatever they are able to shapeshift into.

### **Soul Alteration**

**Soul Alteration** is the ability for phantasmic creatures are able to alter the shape of a persons soul through overwhelming them with their own spiritual radiance and reshaping their spiritual radiance. However, this only affects people who have no ability to guard their **spiritual core,** but higher level spirts like first class and second class are able to reshape the core of even the most skilled professions if they are able to directly touch them. The only way to counteract this is to channel Burst Limits at the exact spot that the creature is touching and using deamplification at the right frequency to repel the creatures attack. Otherwise, you can't allow the creature to transform you because the only way to be transformed back is through finding an exorcist and since their are less than five currently known in the world that's going to be tough.

### **Teleportation**

Only Phantasmic creatures are able to teleport, but their range is limited to the space or in the vicinity of the object they are connected to. There are two types of Phantasmic Creatures that can teleport and those are ones that are able to teleport anywhere within their space vs those that can only teleport within the range if the object they are connected. These two types of Phantasmic Creatures have their own limitations as well, which will be listed below.

**Spatial Phantasmic Creatures**

* Can Teleport anywhere within their space and also teleport inside objects as well, but they are limits in how many times an Abyssal can teleport before needing to recuperate their radiance. By teleporting inside of an object they will be able to recuperate their radiance much faster and utilize more abilities. Analyzing their teleportation pattern is also a good way to identify the class level of the creature a professional is dealing with at any given moment.
	+ Teleportation limits
		- **2nd Class-** Can teleport up to 3x in a row without needing to recharge. Recharge time takes up to 15 seconds.
		- **1st Class-** Can teleport up to 6x in a row without needing to recharge. Recharge time takes up to 30 seconds.
		- **Special Class-** Can teleport up to 9x in a row without needing to recharge. Recharge time takes up to 60 seconds.
		- **X Class-**?

**Item Linked Phantasmic Creatures**

* They can teleport anywhere within the vicinity of the object they are linked to and if they are linked to multiple objects then their range will expand to those areas. For Example, if a creature is linked to two objects that are in completely different areas they will be able to teleport to each object within those areas, but will not be able to teleport areas in between those objects, which would be outside of those objects range. Basically, they can only teleport to Items A and C, but if there's a road in between those two objects that we'll call item B they would not be able to teleport there. There are range limits, as well as teleportation limits to what each Abyssal can do as well.
	+ **2nd Class-** Range is 10 meters, can teleport up to 3x in a row without needing to recharge. Recharge time takes up to 15 seconds.
	+ **1st Class-** Range is 15 meters, can teleport up to 6x in a row without needing to recharge. Recharge time takes up to 30 seconds.
	+ **Special Class-** Range is 20 meters, can teleport up to 9x in a row without needing to recharge. Recharge time takes up to 45 seconds**.**
	+ **X Class-?**

## **Misconceptions**

### **Infernal Spirits vs Dark Forces Creatures**

**Infernal Spirits** are often confused with Dark Forces Creatures, that are derived from the **Krypt**. However, these two couldn't be any more different, creatures from the Krypt have physical forms and are without a soul, as far as the researchers can tell. Moreover, entities from the Krypt

## **Other information**

### **Infernal Creatures in the World**

Known as Ghost by most, these spirits are very popular in pop culture media and are prevalent in plenty of classical or ancient stories as well. It seems for most that these spirits play an exciting and fearful role inn peoples lives, which can be seen by the amount of paranormal activity media there is out there in the world. Moreover, these creatures spark belief in the afterlife amongst many humans whether they are away of the spiritual elements or not, but no one exactly knows what comes after their spirit passes on to the afterlife, not even the professionals know.