Spiritus
Spiritus, officially known as Unexplained Internet Phenomena (UIPs) and colloquially known as anomalies. are digital/supernatural entities created when the soul of a deceased person becomes trapped within the Internet and transforms into a digital entity. Their digital form being influenced by who they were in life or by how they died.
Spiritus largely exist within the confines of the internet, where they manifest to the naked eye as unusual or terrifying online phenomena that cannot be easily explained. These are often called "anomalies" by people who don't know what they really are.
Most anomalies are benign, but some anomalies can be deadly as well, such as the infamous Red Room Curse, which is believed to have killed 54 people between 1990 and 2006.
Reports of "anomalies" manifesting in television and radio broadcasts date back to the mid-1950s. Due to the global adoption of the internet, TV and Radio anomalies have become much, much less common. Inversely, the rate of Internet-based anomalies, have gone up so dramatically that governments and private companies around the world are currently putting in measures to try and prevent them from occurring, to dwindling success, as Spiritus are always finding ways to bypass them.
What is not widely known is that UIPs and anomalies are directly caused by/are Spiritus. Spiritus, who are basically human souls given digital forms, have existed since the dawn of humanity, not as digital lifeforms but as regular ghosts who were bound to the Earth before the creation of the internet, which became their de facto afterlife after its release to the general public.
Some people seek out Spiritus (and vice versa) to form Pacts with them: a union between the dead and the living that allows both parties to unlock untold power. Humans that have made pacts with Spiritus are known as Pactmakers. Everyone can become a Pactmaker, but not everyone can be a Pactmaker. It's a mentally and physically taxing role, and many are unable to handle the challenges and risks that come with being one.
Forms and Fusion
Spiritus have multiple forms. By teaming up with a Pactmaker, Spiritus can either transform into weapons, or fuse with them to become much stronger.
Weapon Form
Almost all Spiritus can transform into some kind of weapon, whether that be a sword, a gun, a magical grimoire or even an additional set of limbs. Only Pactmakers are able to safely and effectivly wield a Spiritus weapon, and only experienced Pactmakers can wield two (or more).
A Spiritus' Weapon Type determines what kind of weapon the Spiritus becomes in their Weapon Form.
- Gun - pistols, shotguns, machine guns, bazookas, cannons, ect.
- Ranged - crossbows, bows, slingshots and thrown weapons.
- Polearm - spears, poleaxes, tridents, yari and pitchforks.
- Sword - swords, katanas, sabres, axes, ect.
- Melee - brass knuckles, sai, daggers, gauntlets, ect.
- Blunt - baseball bats, hammers, clubs, sticks and maces.
- Magic - grimoires, amulets, wands, rings, or just the ability to cast magic spells.
- Other - Any weapon that does not fit into the above categories. exoskeletons, chemical weapons, energy weapons, additional limbs, ect.
Spiritus/Human Fusion
If needed, a Pactmaker and their Spiritus can fuse together via the process of spiritual possession and digital reformatting to become as one. The appearance and power of the resulting being depends on the human host. Fusions are mostly used for online combat, but they can also be used to quickly traverse through the internet.
Spiritus and humans cannot stay fused forever, both parties will split up after some time.
Race
Spiritus are classified by Race. All Spiritus have two Races assigned to them (Ex. Toy/Garbage, Mystery/Machine, Food/Parasite).
| Alien | Spiritus that resemble aliens and other extraterrestrial life. |
| Angel | Spiritus are angelic in nature/appearance. |
| Aquatic | Spiritus that resemble aquatic animals/are associated with water. |
| Beast | Spiritus that are bestial in nature/appearance. |
| Coexist | Multiple entities counted as one individual Spiritus. |
| Demon | Spiritus that are demonic in nature/appearance. |
| Fairy | Spiritus that resemble or are associated with faries. |
| Food | Spiritus that resemble or are associated with food. |
| Garbage | Spiritus that are associated with garbage or waste. |
| God | Spiritus that have powers on par with that of a god/resembles a god. |
| Humanoid | Spiritus that are humanoid in appearance. |
| Hybrid | Spiritus that fit into 3 or more Races/Spiritus that are fusions. |
| Machine | Spiritus that resemble robots or other machinery. |
| Mystery | Spiritus that cannot be easily explained or fit into any other race. |
| Parasite | Spiritus that leech off other Spiritus and/or their pactmaker. |
| Plant | Spiritus that resemble/are associated with plants or nature. |
| Program | Spiritus that act like computer programs. |
| Sound | Spiritus that are associated with music. |
| Toon | Spiritus that resemble cartoons or operate on cartoon logic. |
| Toy | Spiritus that resemble or are associated with toys. |
| Virus | Spiritus that act like malware. Attacking computer hardware for various reasons. |
| Witch | Spiritus that are associated with witchcraft. |
Threat Level
Since 2019, Whitewoods has been classifying Spiritus by Threat Level based on how much of a threat to humanity they might pose. In 2022, the Quetta, Ronna and UTBD levels were introduced.
To their knowledge, all Spiritus start out at Mega-level, then slowly become more powerful by absorbing Soul Cores.
| Quetta | Spiritus that threaten the entire galaxy and in some cases, the entire known universe. Quetta-level Spiritus have never been recorded. |
|---|---|
| Ronna | Highly dangerous Spiritus that threaten humanity and in some cases, the entire planet. Ronna-level Spiritus have never been recorded. |
| Yotta | Very deadly Spiritus with abilities that could wipe out the population of entire countries. Only one Yotta-level Spiritus has ever been recorded. |
| Exa | Very dangerous. Some Exa-level Spiritus have the ability to level entire cities. |
| Peta | Spiritus that can cause serious damage to small populations and public property. |
| Tera | May cause severe harm or in extreme cases, death. Carelessly approaching one is not recommended. The majority of Spiritus rank a Tera. |
| Giga | Spiritus that are capable of inflicting severe harm to anyone, but not enough to kill them. |
| Mega | Benign Spiritus incapable of causing much, if any, serious harm. |
| UTBD | Unable to be determined or unknown. |
Death
The "weak spot" of all Spiritus is their Soul Core, which is protected by their digital forms. If this Soul Core is broken or absorbed, then the Spiritus will die.
Humans by themselves cannot kill Spiritus. Additionally, Humans who are directly killed by Spiritus do not become Spiritus themselves because the Spiritus that killed them absorbs their soul.
If they are gravely injured, Spiritus will shatter into digital fragments and "respawn" after 24 hours, often at a lower threat level then they were before.
When Spiritus die, they are reincarnated as a human with little to no memory of their previous life.
Trivia
- Spiritus do not age, they are permanently the age that they were when they died. Their forms do "evolve" over time.
- All Spiritus weigh exactly 21 grams.
- It is believed that there are currently around a billion Spiritus currently in existence.