Hollowing

Hollowing is a widespread phenomenon on all floors within the **Lower Floors**. Instead of dying, one's corpse will resurrect in exactly one hour. When you hollow, a piece of your soul detaches from the larger whole; you lose yourself the more & more you hollow.

## **Stages of Hollowing**

Hollowing has 10 uniquely documented stages for each death, with different symptoms:

1. Loss of emotions & indifference.
2. Depression & aforementioned symptoms.
3. Memory loss & aforementioned symptoms.
4. Inability to control the weave & aforementioned symptoms.
5. Loss of identity & aforementioned symptoms.
6. False memories & aforementioned symptoms.
7. Paranoia & aforementioned symptoms.
8. Semi-corrupted ideals & aforementioned symptoms.
9. Fully-corrupted ideals & aforementioned symptoms.
10. Destruction of soul: The corpse left behind undergoes several changes. A contract is born from the twisted & demented ideals born from the corruption of the shattered soul, using it's destruction as the sacrifice (assuming a contract hasn't been made, and if it has the extensions of said contract run rampant and out of control, the hollowed body will run rampant until exorcised by an exorcist.)

## **Cleaners**

Cleaners are those that protect the normal citizens of the lower floors against the hollows. There are 3 distinct types of cleaners that are arranged in order of power & scope.

1. Good Father or Mother: Oftentimes priests & nuns, these men and woman go around helping those lost souls who have hollowed once or twice by selling alabaster stones to victims for those who can afford it. Otherwise they may enter servitude of their particular church or religion in order to pay off the white-debt.
2. Practitioner: They deal in defensive measure in order to protect themselves from the hollows. They will guide those who haven't reached a certain threshold (1-4) to a good father. Their main role is to seal hollows that are in stages 5-8, and hope that they have family willing to pay for their white-debt.
3. Exorcist: Hollows that are completely hollowed and at stage 9 are exorcised on sight, in hopes of preventing widespread damage. Exorcists are often highly specialized warriors that excel on taking out the terrifying contracts presented by the corruptions of man.

## **Preventing Hollowification**

### **Medical Procedure**

There are a couple of ways to reverse Hollowification. In most circumstances, the loss of a soul is considered a religious matter so doctors aren't of much help; however the most experienced doctors have been known to stay the effects of Hollowification by keeping the victim's vitals working postmortem. Most are unsure why however some doctors have reported that they were able to "cheat" the Hollowification by doing this.

### **Items**

There are a couple of items known to reverse Hollowification, and even fewer to prevent it from happening entirely.

Item Table
 Alabaster (medium)
 Alabaster (large)
 Selfstone

## **Spells & Effects**

There are some spells & effects that would prevent one from hollowing.

1. If a corpse is risen from the dead before it can hollow, it cannot hollow. Afterwards it remains in a catatonic state for exactly 1 hour and follows the rules normally.
2. If a corpse is resurrected using divine or other types of magic, the hollowing is prevented entirely without repercussions.
3. If the spell **"Spare the Dying"** is cast on a corpse, the Hollowification is delayed for 1 minute.