Qi

Qi
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**Qi** (気, *Qi*?, lit. "Air") pronounced as **chi**, is the life force energy that can be found in every living and non-living entity, including in the atmosphere. It can be manifested and used to increase a user's various abilities, giving them hightened powers once fully mastered. This life energy is used by apparitions and sorcerers to fuel both their and augment their supernatural bodies to much higher levels.

## Description

Qi is pronounced as "chi", which directly translates to either "air" or "life force." This force is a tangible energy inside every living and non-living entity, with its major focus being in the center of the body. When drawn out an individual is able to manipulate it and use it outside the body. Qi can be used for many different techniques. Because there are physical limits to the strength of the Umoya's body itself, it is necessary to increase one's Qi to overcome this barrier and become stronger.

It is sometimes stated and assumed that the more concentrated the masses are, the more time the user requires to draw it out by when needed upon by its user. When users, mainly combatants, gather Qi, they are able to gain enhanced strength, speed, endurance, and can increase the power of their attacks to inflict greater damage to opponents. This energy can be lost when the user's Qi inside their body is exhausted. This however can be gotten back through Qi Restoration.

Qi circulates throughout the body and is generated from the being's

Qi also circulates throughout the body and is generated from the being's **Dantian** (丹田, *Pinyin: Dantian*?) which is located below the navel. Damage to these meridians acts as a weakness to apparitions and sorcerers with the regeneration to those parts much slower than other body parts. When the apparition, sorcerer or any living creature dies, the Qi within them will still continue to exist within their corpse but will emit the same sensation as the Qi of inorganics and the atmosphere instead of life.

### Origin

Dumisani was aware of the energy known as Qi when he was age 12. During this time, he felt his body automatically take in a type of energy he didn't and during a time he was enraged, he punched a boulder enhanced with his Qi that completely shattered it. After this event, he began to freely control the Qi in his body with his mind and how to visualize it. When he got to Japan at age 17 and after reading literature on the Wu Xing (or Gogyō in Japanese) and the Godai, gave him the necessary instructions on how to weaponize Qi and the blueprints of what would be the Shamanic Arts that future apparitions and elite sorcerers would use.

### Properties

Qi is also known the source of power for all apparitions and shamans as a whole. It is this energy that further boosts all the the respective individual's overall strength, speed, endurance and healing powers past their limits that exceed a demon's, though it varies greatly among the different individuals. Qi can be sensed by other apparitions and sorcerers as well, notifying them about the presences of other apparitions, sorcerers and fiends.

To know which type of Qi an apparition or a human possesses, another individual should simply focus Qi into their eyes and observe the individual they want to see. With this, they can see the color of their qi and what kind of abilities their qi can give them. But if they want their qi to be seen by individuals like humans or creatures that can't see qi, the individual would physically manifest their qi at any part of their body or around their body, making it physically appear to be ethereal and its traits can vary from person to person due to each individual possessing different elemental attributes. However, Qi can be seen by humans if the apparition or sorcerer uses it wills it.

Each individual's Qi is unique, and it is rare for different individuals' energy to be the same, due to its traits varying from one individual to the next.

## Elemental Attributes

   Like in the Wu Xing Chinese philosophy, every Qi has an attribute to one of the **Five Elements** (五行, *Gogyō*?, Pinyin: *Wǔ Xíng*) in Chinese and Japanese philosophies. Like in the Chinese philosophy, the five elements found in Qi follow a cycle of restoration, weakening and hindering effects with one another and is initiated when two individuals make physical contact with each other, just like how some elements hinder and restore each other in the Wu Xing philosophies. These attributes have been proven to greatly effect the flow of battle between Umoya that possess different attributes.

The five elemental attributes in Qi are as follows:

* Wood (木, *Moku*?, Pinyin: *Mù*)
* Fire (火, *Ka*?, Pinyin: *Huǒ*)
* Earth (土, *Do*?, Pinyin: *Tǔ*)
* Metal (金, *Kin*?, Pinyin: *Jīn*)
* Water (水, *Sui*?, Pinyin: *Shuǐ*)

### Qi Types

Although Qi is a universal energy, it can be different depending on the elemental attribute of the individual.

Due to this, there are five different types of Qi:

* **Fire Qi** (火気, *****Fire Qi*****? Pinyin: *Huǒqì*) (red in color) represents fire.
* **Metal Qi** (金気, *****Metal Qi*****? Pinyin: *Jīnqì*) (white in color) represents metal.
* **Water Qi** (水気, *****Water Qi*****? Pinyin: Shuǐqì) (blue in color) represents water.
* **Wood Qi** (木気, *Pinyin: Mùqì*?) (green in color) represents wood.
* **Earth Qi** (土気, *****Earth Qi*****? Tǔqì) (yellow in color) represents earth.

### Restoration Cycle

The **restoration cycle** (Chinese: 生, *Pinyin: Shēng*?) or **cycle of creation** is where the element supports and purifies the other and strengthens them, appearing as if they were moving in a clockwise direction. In terms of the restoration with the cycle being is as follows:

* Wood restores Fire in the way wood is a fuel to fire.
* Fire restores Earth the same way as ash is produced from wood been burned.
* Earth restores Metal in the way mineral ores are produced in the earth.
* Metal restores Water the same way metal produces water (due to vapor condensation on the ores' surface).
* Water restores Wood the same way water enables plants grow.

### Overwhelming Cycle

The **overwhelming cycle** is an imbalance within the **destructing cycle**, while following the destructing cycle's direction. The grandparent element provides too much control over the grandchild and weakens the element. Each element excessively restrains another beyond the normal extend. This usually occurs when an element is in excess:

* too much Wood overacts Fire
* too much Fire overacts Earth
* too much Earth overacts Metal
* too much Metal overacts Water
* too much Water overacts Wood

### Weakening Cycle

The **weakening cycle** is the reverse of the restoration cycle and in simple terms an anti-clockwise version of the restoration cycle which goes as follows:

* Wood weakens Water by "drinking" it.
* Water weakens Metal by "rusting" it.
* Metal weakens Earth by "digging" it.
* Earth weakens Fire by "smothering" it.
* Fire weakens Wood by "burning" it.

### Destruction Cycle

The **destruction cycle** (Chinese: 克, *Pinyin: Kè*?), also known as the **hindrance cycle** is where a Qi attribute of one element overcomes the other elemental attribute. This is the process where one element surpresses, controls, dominates or overcomes another element, preventing it from establishing its power. A simple example can be through a metalic knife can cut wood into pieces, hence controlling the shape of wood (though not destroying the chi energy)

The destructing cycle is as follows:

* Water hinders Fire the same way water quenches fire in actuality.
* Metal hinders Wood the same way metal cuts down the wood like an ax or a saw.
* Earth hinders Water in the way the earth tames the water like a dam.
* Fire hinders Metal in the way that fire melts the metal, minerals and alloys in real life.
* Wood hinders Earth in the way wood conquers the earth like a plough.

### Insulting Cycle

The **insulting cycle** is an imbalance within the controlling cycle, where that, what is destroyed, enjures the destroyer. The imbalance follows along the opposite route of the **destructing cycle**, each element can insult the one that normally restrains it. The reverse of the destructing cycle normally occures when the balance is broken, especially when one element is insufficient. An interpretation of this can be through this: Weakening cycle: Earth can bury Wood. Water washes away Earth. Fire enjures = evaporates Water.

The insulting cycle is as follows:

* too much Wood insults Metal
* too much Metal insults Fire
* too much Fire insults Water
* too much Water insults Earth
* too much Earth insults Wood

## Usage and Abilities

**Hightened Sensory Abilities:** Once an individual awakens their Qi , the user gains a much hightened version of their sixth sense where they are granted the ability to sense the presence of other Qi around them. By sensing Qi the user is able to capture every single detail of a person's characteristics such as their height, weight, gender and even hairstyle. Users can also imbue their Qi into their surroundings so as to aid in their sensing of the terrain around them to help guide their way through obstacles and give them a detailed layout of structures. Qi that has been lost will show when the person's aura is not completely formed or is fading away. There are two ways in which Qi can be sensed. These are:

1. By cloaking the body in Qi in order to "feel out" their surroundings
2. Gather and focus Qi around their eyes, which can work although they are closed or opened.

**Life Force Destruction:** Qi is known to attack the soul by causing severe damage from within the target's body and affects their life force, almost as if one's very soul has been struck, and can cause fatal damage even if they don't hit vital points.

In terms of fiend exorcism, attacks imbued with affects the fiend's life force and their atoms. also, by fighting in hand-to-hand combat imbued with Qi, individuals can kill fiends bare-handed with the "**Soul Divergence**" technique.

#### Application of the Qi life force destruction

**Soul Divergence** (魂逕庭, *Kon Keitei*?) also known as **Hun Jing Ting** (魂逕庭, *Hún Jìng Tíng*?) in China, is a form of Qi application and a technique that apparitions use in tandem with hand-to hand combat or their proficiency with weapons to combat their opponents by affecting the soul of their opponents. The visual manifestation of this technique is the kanji of the word **divert** (傷, *Kizu*?, lit. "scratch, wound, damage, scar, hurt etc") on the practitioner's back hand or on the blade, bullet, arrow, etc. of the Reiqi Weapon.

Many apparitions use this technique in their battles against fiends. Soul Divergence is especially effective on fiends, who are usually taken off guard and defeated by the second impact that affects them both internally and externally.

**Hightened Physical Capabilities:** Although apparitions have supernatural levels of strength and speed, along with unlimited stamina and endurance, they still use their Qi to further enhance their physical and combat abilities. Physical attacks or weapons infused with Qi are stronger than they would normally without.

By making their Qi flow directly into their blood vessels and muscle fibers, users of this technique can drastically increase their attack and defense power to twofold of the full potential. However, this poses significant danger to an individual's opponents.

**Presence Supression:** Only Qi users who have mastered their own energy and can control its flow are capable of suppressing it as a way to conceal their presence from others. It is stated that the technique is performed when the user has a steady focus on the flow of their Qi by remaining calm and relax. This technique makes it ideal to perform sneak attacks on opponents or for espionage purposes, as he demonstrated in all his missions and battles while his presence was concealed and later perform surprise attacks on his opponents with high perception abilities while their guard was down.

**Qi Weapon Imbuement:** Apparitions and Shamans can imbue a weapon with Qi , turning it into a weapon that is more versatile than its previous state. This allows them to deal permanent damage to the souls of their opponent.

**Manipulation:** This ability allows a master Qi user to take control over their energy, including infusing their Qi into living and living and non-living things, similar to psychokinetic abilities. The user only needs to exert a small portion of their own Qi to utilize such techniques.

**Pressure:** Those who possess high amounts of Qi emit their own from their hand and send it above their intended target, causing them to be weighed down by the immense pressure, almost similar to weighing them down with gravity.

### Combat Oriented Techniques

##### **Zei-sei**

**Zei-sei** (勢性, *Zei-sei*?, lit. "Rebound, Redirection") is a form of combat developed to combat against individuals that have an attribute that hinders theirs or having more Qi than them. This allows a Qi user to use their opponent's Qi against themselves, making it a strategy that is perfect to counter against powerful Qi users without having to worry about the hindering cycle or wasting any of the user's own Qi in the process. As demonstrated by Loyiso Sango, a Fire-Attribute Umoya, in his sparring battle against his younger sister Amari Sango, a Water-Attribute Umoya. In order to initiate the rebound, the user must follow three steps:

1. **Qi Suppression:** The Qi user must first weaken a single part of their body, for example their arm or leg.
2. **Deflecting incoming attacks:** After suppressing their Qi, the user must withstand and deflect an opponent's incoming attacks. To successfully ward off the attacks properly, the Qi user must synchronize their Qi's frequency with their opponent's own Qi by following the principles of Ying and Yang and find balance between them.
3. **Energy Ride:** Finally, the Qi user must sort of "ride" their opponent's Qi current and send it back with an attack to deal major damage.

## Trivia

* It is said by IKItheindize that the concept of Qi in the Apparition Tales universe was inspired by the life energy of Qi in Chinese and Japanese mythology and culture, along with the mythical Yōkai and their abilities from Japanese mythos.
* IKItheindize is also a fan of Yuji Kaku's Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku, which is why Qi used here is almost similar to the Tao in the Jigokuraku universe, in terms of elemental attributes and similar execution of abilities, that is.
* Like Yuji Kaku, IKItheindize was also inspired by the concepts of Qi, Taoism, Buddhism, Shintoism, to create the Apparition Tales Qi.
	+ 'Cultivation' from the Xianxia cultivation genre in Chinese myths and stories also served as inspiration to create this unique ability.
* The Apparition Tales Qi is also inspired by the 'Tenchi' energy in the Webtoon manga series, BlackSun.