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HWE Reiki

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Description

Name: Reiki

Alias: ghost ogre, ghost demon, spirit demon etc.

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Rank: 2-3 Kaijin

Race: Undead Yokai

 

Height: As a spirit, a Reiki can be as large as any Oni was in life or expand themselves to nearly Kaiju size.

 

Weight: Being spectral undead, Reiki are technically weightless but they can make themselves 'feel' as heavy as they did in life when exerting a physical force.

 

Powers:

 

Hell Hath Fury - A Reiki's condition as an even more furious spirit has turned it into an engine of pure unrelenting hatred and death. It hates itself for dying, it hates the ones responsible for slaying it if its death was particularly violent and it hates every other living thing for being alive while it is caught in torturous limbo. Being dead and so aggrieved a Reiki holds nothing back and expresses the utter limits of Oni strength and brutality at any given opportunity. As such, it cannot be hindered by material means of attack and cannot 'die'. If anything it is even stronger in death than it was in life.

 

Supernatural Vendetta - Reiki are especially aware of those responsible for their demise or those who otherwise defied them. A Reiki can haunt these individuals or the place it was slain near indefinitely until it has taken revenge or settled whatever unfinished business it has that keeps it from moving on. It can locate these chosen sources of its ire even in places that would otherwise bar its passage such as shrines or other places with holy ground. Furthermore, if the Reiki doesn't wish to be found then it can remain hidden even from skilled exorcists for long periods of time. As a rule of thumb, the older and more powerful the Oni, the more dangerous and illusive the resulting Reiki will be.

 

Unholy Savant - Being dead carries with it a number of perks for an Oni, the Reiki has even greater ability to wield magic on top of its already formidable strength. These often manifest as supernatural abilities as opposed to spells, rendering common counter measures to casting  less effective.

 

Weaknesses:

 

Unfinished Business - Reiki do not deviate from the focus of their rage or whatever goal they feel they have to finish for long. Once the burden on their death has been lifted, a Reiki can finally move on. Whether this comes by finally accomplishing its goals, succeeding in its vengeance or through the forced pacification of an exorcism, the result is the same. The Reiki fades away, its rage spent. Furthermore, the perpetual glow of a Reiki's body always alerts those nearby to its presence should it manifest corporeally.

 

Holy Ground - Reiki cannot enter or manifest on Holy Ground, particularly those of Orient faiths. If the target of their rage enters such a place they cannot follow. However Reiki are relentless and will be waiting for their target to eventually come out even if it takes years. Reiki have been known to find creative ways of either luring their target out of such places or using some calamity to destroy the site, allowing them to continue their single minded objective.

 

Exorcism - Reiki can be forced away with a divine rituals and instruments. The strongest of which force it to reform back at the place it was slain. If the exorcism takes place at the grave site itself, it stands a chance of stopping the Reiki permanently. The Reiki will fight this with everything it has and the greatest of them required significantly powerful Enigma sensitive individuals to locate let alone put to rest.

 

----

 

"Wait wait wait! Hold on. You're telling me that wicked souls that come back as Demons - Oni - can themselves die and come back as GHOSTS!" The Miko exclaimed. It was apparent that the Oni family seemed to get worse in nature with every revealed member.

 

"Regardless of their prior human existence, Oni ARE creatures of flesh and can be killed. Even by natural causes. Oni can starve to death, they can drown or even fall ill. Granted, most Oni don't allow themselves to suffer the disgrace of dying outside of 'glorious battle'. Even so, Oni are living and when they die under circumstances that even they deem intolerable, Oni can linger and foment into a horrific and terrifying apparition; the 'grandfather of Oni' called a Reiki." Kaitheros answered tactfully.

 

"So Oni don't die when they are killed?" Ruki asked in exasperation.

 

"It's thankfully not a common occurrence in the world, like an Onryo it is the rare Oni that has unfinished business or died in a manner that drives them to a point well past rage that creates a Reiki."

 

"If Reiki are the ghosts of Oni, then what's different about them?"

 

"A Reiki appears in the same condition it died. So if it lost an arm, it would still have but a stump upon leaving its body. All of its injuries are laid bare for all to see. If it died of starvation then its body would still be emaciated and its belly distended. Furthermore an Reiki's form always glows a pale blue. Making any corporeal manifestation of itself easy to track."

 

"So they are just dead Oni that glow blue huh. Like the Hitodama you told me about?"

 

"Most Yokai that are undead are very close to their spiritual origins and thus often glow like a Hitodama yes. Being a ghost of a very powerful Yokai, Reiki can even have spiritual flames erupting from their wounds or orifices."

 

"Great, now I have to worry about undead Oni that fart blue fire. WONDERFUL."

 

"If that was the limit of a Reiki's abilities the world would much better off." Kaitheros commentated, himself perturbed by the Oni family's penchant for extremes in every facet of life...or unlife.

 

"They don't get stronger the angrier they get do they?" Ruki asked hopeful.

 

"That is thankfully true. Reiki unlike Onryo do not get stronger from or sustain themselves off of anger alone. They also do not cause a spiritual plague associated with a curse."

 

"That's not exactly a good thing is it?"

 

"I'm afraid not. Reiki are the opposite of Onryo in much the same way Oni oppose humans. Onryo are indiscriminate, a Reiki on the other hand is extremely and unrelentingly discriminate. A Reiki always carries a powerful vendetta related to either its death or enemies it was unable to vanquish or some goal it did not accomplish."

 

"I don't understand. Oni seem like the type to love senseless destruction and death. What kind of things would actually drive an Oni into becoming a Reiki?"

 

"Remember that there is a strong dose of pride and a warped sense of 'honor' among Oni. If you can legitimately beat an Oni at a challenge, you will have earned its begrudging respect. Mankind by far is woefully unprepared to ever defeat an Oni in a fair fight much of the time. This has led to many accounts of Oni being tricked into their demise. If an Oni dies as a result of being 'cheated' by someone, it can easily cause the sort of spiritual disjunction that prevents it from moving on peacefully. If it has enemies that it was never able to settle its issues with in life, it might feel so passionate about it that not even death will prevent it from seeking them out. If the Oni had a powerful goal that it was unable to finish due to its death, it will continue its efforts as a Reiki."

 

"What if it just 'dies' for no real reason?"

 

"Then it may simply haunt the place of its death until it has burned off the remaining karma it had before death. One way or the other, all Reiki have a great deal of unfinished business that arise from either extremely violent or passionate demises."

 

"But you can avoid a Reiki right? Can't you just avoid the place where it died?"

 

"A minor counter measure at best. If you are the target of a Reiki that has personal business with you, there is nowhere you can hide. It will haunt you and any who wronged it to the ends of the earth until it has exacted its revenge or finished what it wished to do. A Reiki is deeply connected to those it blames for its death and it can find such poor unfortunate souls as long as it exists.”

 

"So you there is no safe place from a ghost ever?" Ruki asked despondent.

 

"Remember, Reiki were Oni in life, not human. Even with their massive increase in supernatural power from being so entrenched in the Inner Planes, Reiki are vulnerable to sacred arts and a shrine is holy ground. They cannot cross it."

 

"So a Reiki wouldn't be able to come in here then." Ruki surmised with relief.

 

"True, but a Reiki is no longer alive and can haunt the grounds outside of a shrine for years on end waiting for its chance to get its spectral claws on its target. It may even be patient enough to  orchestrate calamities that fracture or destroy the shrine and allow it to finally claim it's victim. There is also the matter of a Reiki simply going after everyone associated with the target to try and goad them into facing it. Delaying a confrontation with a Reiki only increases the fury it releases when it can finally face you."

 

"Can you lay it to rest? If patience and compassion can 'save' an Onryo then it would certainly work on a big bad Reiki right?"

 

Kaitheros grinned.

 

"You're learning little one. Indeed, a Reiki can be exorcised and if its unfinished business is lifted, then it can be laid to rest. However, doing so is by no means an easy task." The theropod warned.

 

"Oh no, what can it do now?"

 

"Reiki are surprisingly elusive when they wish to be. The stronger they are the harder it is to hide AND the harder it is to find them if they don't wish to be found. Drawing out an Reiki requires a great deal of joint effort, faith and Enigma sensitivity."

 

"So...someone like me can do it?"

 

"Yes Ruki, someone like you would have greater luck forcing a Reiki into the open then many of the highest clergy. There was one such Reiki that devoured children at a temple in Nara. It haunted the bell tower of that temple and none of the priests could even find it let alone drive it out. When it seemed like they would have to abandon the temple, a 'child of the gods' came to the temple and finally flushed out and defeated the Reiki."

 

"That sounds amazing! So there were really famous figures like that?"

 

"Indeed. A few of your 'hundreds' of ancestors were such figures and they had the same potential you do...even if a few of them never realized that potential." Kaitheros mused absently. "In either case, tracking down the Reiki's grave site and exorcising it there is the most effective method. But it is also exceedingly dangerous as the grave of a Reiki is its source of power and where it is strongest. If it is forced away or beaten someplace else, it will return and reform at its grave site, angrier and more determined than ever."

 

"So if I learn how to deal with my ancestors...then I can learn how to deal with ghosts like Onryo and Reiki."

 

"I know it's a lot to take in but much of what you can learn here will directly aid you against the predations of such wrathful Yokai, if only to protect you from their direct assault."

 

"Thero-Kun?"

 

"Yes?"

 

"Could you tell about these people in my family tree that were...well...like me?"

 

"Sudden interest in your dusty old bloodline?"

 

"I-I just need to know what they did...you know, for reference."

 

"I suppose I can share what I know of a few of them. You might be surprised how much their tactics differed from each other."

 

For the rest of the night Kaitheros shared some of the misadventures of a few of Ruki's more 'gifted' ancestors. Some even taking long treks into the mountains to find enlightenment and push their limits. Kaitheros enjoyed Ruki's wonder of what some of her ancestors had accomplished...even if he knew that not everything in the mountains sought enlightenment to help others. Some things that lived on those mountains were as harsh and cruel as the mountains themselves.

 

----

*Insert jokes about this poor Reiki not Even. Having. LEGS. , here.*

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Comments1
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AkityMH's avatar
I don't know what is worse. Onyro or Reiki. I guess Onyro since everyone is at the risk of misery and such, but a Reiki seems about as about in some regards.