Caius "Wraith" Chua

**Caius Chua**, also known as *”Yōulíng”* or *”Wraith“* , is a member is of the currently dwindling Bǎi Dìyù Shǔ; a sect of Chakrajan from Singapore. Due to internal conflict, the sect was nearly destroyed and its surviving members spread out to find new recruits or collect funds for rebuilding the sect. This resulted in Caius joining the Snake Tong as a way to make money for the Sect and continue sharpening his skills at the same time. Deadly and a prime example of a Chakrajan assassin, Caius brings the good death to those who have strayed too far from their Dharma and hinders the Wheel from turning, as well as those who stray too far from the graces of the Snake Tong.

## Background

Caius was born into the Chakrajan sect called the Bǎi Dìyù Shǔ, or the Rats of the Hundred Hells, an old and secretive group of magi who hid within Singapore, unseen, unheard, hunting down the people that become sources of corruption and misery from the world in order to quicken the turn of the  “Wheel of Ages”, killing with a vigor that could fill a hundred hells worth of sinners.

Unfortunately for the Bǎi Dìyù Shǔ, their order was divided in a schism. Many members viewed the current leadership as complacent, too tolerant of those who interfere with the Wheel’s motion with their corruption. This divide saw nearly three fourths of the members being killed by their own brothers and sisters in the order. Like many Chakrajan before them, death was simply part of the turning wheel that is existence, and the survivors scattered, hoping to find fresh start, or attempt to rebuild. Caius was actually a moderate in the schism, believing that yes, the leadership was getting complacent in their duty, but he also believed that the Bǎi Dìyù Shǔ should not go full dogmatic and disregard their own safety and the stability of the group just to carry out their duties to the letter. In the end, he had to side with the group that gave the “Good Death” to their corrupted leader and her loyalists, mostly out of pragmatism. Without proper leadership, and a lack of manpower and resources, the remaining Bǎi Dìyù Shǔ had to reconsolidate power by spreading out, finding new potential disciples, or earning the funds.

Caius decided to earn his contribution through the employ of another organization. Already savvy with the Snake Tong involvement with Chakrajan in the past,  he went east to the Philippines. For a long time, Fenghuang has convinced Chakrajan in the past that her organization, while a majority do not practice Chakrajan beliefs, are nevertheless allies in their cause of cleaning the sinners and the corrupted. But while the Chakrajan’s jurisdiction were meant to cover the entire world, the Sneks restrict it to their territories. While he already expected that there won’t be many who share his Chakrajan traditions, Cauis was surprised to see a few members in a Unit that did uphold Chakrajan tenets. It was a no-brainer on which Unit he would prefer to be assigned to after passing the tests for membership.

As part of Unit 11, the “Peacekeepers”, Caius gets to carry out his lifelong duty of being a guide to return others to their duties with kindness and understanding, as well as the bringer of the Good Death to those who dare strayed too far from their Dharma. His line of work includes eliminating members of other organizations that pry into the affairs or encroach on the territories of the Snakes, keeping his colleagues in line and hunting down traitors that betrayed or abandoned the organization. In his spare time, he is also seen doing vigilante work, dispatching of what he views as scum who are too far gone such as rapists, child molesters, and politicians, who are kept “safe” by easily bought police or through nepotism with influential people or people in government. His superiors have seen him as a useful scare tactic, deployed so that these “scum” in the country pay the Snakes protection money, only for Caius to show up anyway and provide them the Good Death. As a result, the “scum” who heard of the others die, pay more money or leave the country entirely.

While some of the other Bǎi Dìyù Shǔ prioritize finding new apprentices, Caius is in no rush to do so, nor is he that determined to amass as much funds as possible for his order. He personally believes that a Chakrajan should not worry too much about the politics and restructuring of the group, and he simply focuses on shouldering the burden of his own Dharma, and keeping the Wheel turning, one dead Dharma-straying scum at a time, while of course maintaining awareness of the current climate in the world, making sure that he must not be blinded by zealous devotion to his duty, and instead be mindful of the consequences of his actions.

## Personality

While those familiar with the Chakrajan would expect someone from the Bǎi Dìyù Shǔ to be grim, stoic, and serious, Caius, or Cai to his friends, is way more laidback than his Bǎi Dìyù Shǔ peers. He is usually seen with a smile on his face, and is very outgoing. He makes sure he does not become like the Chakrajan too obsessed with their duty to the point where they disregard consequences just so they could kill every single person that has gone too far from their Dharma,  which only leads to others seeking the elimination of said Chakrajan and his peers. He is more pragmatic in his duty as a Bǎi Dìyù Shǔ, joining up with the Shiai-shi, for there is safety in association with an established group in a region and benefits in being part of an organization that provides lodging, equipment, and other useful services for its members. He also does not expect others to openly “convert” and join him on his duties as a Chakrajan, for he knows that the path he walks down can tax the mind. One must confront unpleasant realities about the people they influence and the Wheel that sets all things in motion. For Caius, Destiny may be ultimately moral, but it sometimes carries dark truths that must be obeyed to serve the greater good.

Like many Chakrajan, Caius believes that he is given the hardest Dharma of all. To attain enlightenment, they must enforce the Dharmas of all other beings, and judge when a person's moral degradation has grown too harmful to themselves or others to be allowed to continue, and he is also expected to judge when it is appropriate to deliver the “Good Death”. He has a habit of asking people *“Think it will rain?”* right before he kills them because of the Bǎi Dìyù Shǔ training its members to use code phrases as signals for attack during group missions, and this habit connected with death is just one of the many examples where the killing duty of a Chakrajan could fully influence their lives in the most major or minor of ways.

[c]Many Chakrajan believe that it is of vital importance to possess a method of clearing one’s mind, a way to prevent one’s mind and soul from getting corrupted by their strenuous duty.

*"The most important thing is to find something where this rot cannot get you. I don’t care if it’s hiking in the woods, reciting mantras all day until your face turns blue, a week of casual sex in Osaka, Hell, I’ve tried all of those at least once. We can fix the repercussions of those. But when the poison seeps into your Atman, your soul, it’s irreversible.”*

*-Caius, when a colleague asks why he’s surprisingly chill for a Chakrajan*

And it is because of Caius’ careful exercise of hobbies and distractions that makes him have these laidback vibes. Despite all this, he still has his morbid side that comes out from time to time. Being exposed to violence and death since birth, he has grown desensitized to it. He is the type of person that would barely hesitate killing a defenseless old man if it meant granting an old war criminal the “Good Death”.

When not talking about the Chakrajan traditions he follows, he is otherwise a chill person, if a little snarky, to the point where you wouldn’t even suspect him of being a Bǎi Dìyù Shǔ. His favorite type of music is Acid Jazz. His favorite food is fried chicken. Caius is quite the dancer, lighting up the dance floor whenever he hits the club. He prefers his lads being tall, dark and handsome, and he is absolutely outraged that the Shiai-shi is lacking in that department. He is a good friend of James Agpalo, and many wonder if there is anything more to their relationship than just comrades and friends.

*”Why are there too many women? Why can’t the Wheel throw me a bone here?”*

*”What about that guy from Unit 8?”*

*”The last thing I need right now is a jealous woman breathing down my neck.”*

*-Caius complaining to a friend at a colleague’s birthday party*

Despite his notable Singaporean accent due to his native tongue, he is otherwise fluent in English and Tagalog after spending years in Shiai-shi.

## Abilities

### Physical Capabilities

Caius, like many Bǎi Dìyù Shǔ, were trained in a tradition greatly influenced by Hindu Chakrajan techniques. This covers both his magic and his style of martial arts. Since the Bǎi Dìyù Shǔ operated primarily as a shadow group that blended in with civilians in Singapore, he is also skilled in stealth, infiltration, espionage, tracking down targets in cramped and very populated areas. Be careful when he offers you a hug, too. He’s got deft fingers that can pick your pocket and steal your wallet, perhaps even your heart with this roguish charm of his.

**死亡之舞**

**Sǐwáng Zhī Wǔ: The Dance of Death**

Caius’ fighting style is a weapon-based martial art practiced by the Bǎi Dìyù Shǔ, and was greatly influenced by the martial arts used by Chakrajan sects such as those who devote themselves to the goddess Kali, hence the parallels with dance-like movements.It is characterized by highly agile and mobile movements, relying on the speed and flexibility of a warrior instead of their raw strength.

While also trained in unarmed combat, Caius is most deadly when armed with his guandao, utilizing the Dance of Death and turning into this storm of blades dancing in battle with acrobatic agility and unpredictability. The Dance of Death is an extremely difficult style to learn, but Caius has been trained since his childhood, and is considered a highly skilled practitioner of the craft. Thanks to its parallels with the Blade-dances of Kali-worshiping Chakrajan, Caius and Jaimi, the leader of Unit 11 regularly spar with one another in order to keep their Dances lethal at all times.

### Magic

The Bǎi Dìyù Shǔ primarily uses magic as a tool, like many Chakrajan. Caius is a jack of all trades type of Spellcaster, not necessarily specializing in specific fields of magic. Instead, he utilizes a variety of spells for tracking, familiars for surveillance, and even healing spells with origins that date to the oldest Chakrajan healers. Caius is also trained in Kalananda, magic from the Indian Chakrajan Death Magi which allows him to communicate with Ghosts and Spirits that remain in the world due to grudges and unfinished business, and even temporarily bind them into his service through rituals, turning them into temporary familiars. His usage of Kalananda has discolored one of his eyes, however, but he passes this off as Heterochromia.

### Equipment

**太虛幻境**

**Tài Xū Huàn Jìng**

**”The Realm of Heavenly Etherealness"**

One of the more powerful artifacts that were held by the Bǎi Dìyù Shǔ, said to have originated from Han Dynasty China and slowly passed down through the ages to their Zhuǎnlúnren predecessors. Caius acquired the weapon when he was 18 years old as a badge of honor for his service.

The Tài Xū Huàn Jìng is a guandao made of black steel, with its name engraved on the blade. While it looks cumbersome, it actually is nearly weightless to the user, as if it was ethereal, and can allow said user to fight with fast and agile attacks. This nearly weightless blade compliments Caius’ agile fighting style greatly. However, this is simply the secondary effect. The Tài Xū Huàn Jìng’s main powah is its ability to project a curse that temporarily turns a target’s body ethereal for several seconds, preventing their bodies from being affected by physical interference. However, the shock of the sudden shift from corporeal to incorporeal drastically makes the body more susceptible to magical interference. A pew pew laser blast from Jewelcraft that would otherwise have dealt negligible damage would be amplified into near-lethal levels if a target gets hit while under the Tài Xū Huàn Jìng’s effects.

Caius utilizes this ability as a set up for an attack by an ally, as well as utility during a fight, as an incorporeal body is also incapable of performing physical interference with other people. This “Ethereal Blast '' still needs to make contact with a target in order to take effect, and a skilled opponent can be able to avoid such an attack.

**Snake Key**

Caius' Snake Key is a combat Bowie knife. The blade itself was made with special materials that are not necessarily strong enough for heavy combat. The pride of the Pranaja Empu smiths, the steel during forging blessed the property to disperse mana. Since it disperses magical energy, the blade of the knife can't be reinforced with magic. However, the reason why it's named a key is because users can create holes within certain points of a Bounded Field. Since the blade merely disperses mana and not outright destroys it, it creates thinned and weakened areas in a Bound Field that is more susceptible of being bypassed physically without triggering an alarm for the owner.

It can also be used against an enemy using Reinforcement on his body. If the Key is stabbed onto the target's arm, for example, the magical energy of the reinforcement spell disperses to other parts of his body and his arm is now more weakened thanks to the lower amount of mana for reinforcement.

**S11 'BB' Bulletproof Body Suit**

Standard issue magic armor that Snake Tong provides its members. It is a black suit which was made to be bulletproof (tested with 9mm, 7.62, NATO/.308) and provides magic resistance, dispelling low level spells. It is considered to be one of the iconic uniforms of the Shiai-shi.

**"Shroud Ties"**

Shroud Ties are standard issue magic armor and head protection, cleverly disguised as neckties that allow them to blend in with the Bulletproof Snake suit style. By pulling down the tie and channeling mana through them, the ties transform into balaclava masks that provide full coverage of the head and neck. The material is made to be as bulletproof as the suits and also provide the same magical protection. The Shroud Tie can be deactivated by the user removing the mask, and it will turn back into their necktie forms.

Caius' mask is designed to look like an old ghost mask from folklore, with blood red eye sockets and a wide ghostly grin for intimidation akin to the Beating Ghost festival mask from Beijing.