Scarlet (Echo Sapphire) (Scarlet's Nen)

ScarletSapphire

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Scarlet's Nen

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Nen Overview

Affinity: Specialization (formerly Manipulation)
Nen Type: Parasitic Curse (Nen Beast) | Subcategory: Compound Type
Ability Name: The Curse of Time (Phases I - IV)

Time Taboo (former) | Manipulation (pre-death ability) | On physical contact, nen enveloped a person by using the principle of Shu, rendering them completely unable to move; however, they maintained full consciousness. They were “frozen in time” until Scarlet willingly released her aura from the target or if concentration was broken.

Phase I: Chronos | Manipulation | A more advanced application of Time Taboo incorporating En so that it does not require direct contact to activate. This ability is the manipulation of molecules within the area of extended aura, thus giving the appearance of ‘stopping time’. Like Time Taboo, living beings inside Chronos maintain full consciousness but only perceive time at 1/10 of their natural reaction speed, with nen users having a higher speed of perception. The length of time this ability can remain active is proportional to the size of the affected area.

Phase II: Chronos’ Void (CURSE) | Specialization/Dimensional Conjuration | A conjured dimensional space inhabited by the parasitic nen beast bound to Scarlet. The area of Chronos becomes the dimensional space and creates a barrier which cannot be entered or exited by others without Scarlet, who is unknowingly guided by the nen beast to her target’s location. Upon entering the void, Scarlet is subjected to the brunt of all experienced emotions (usually terror) of the beings trapped within it. Victims regain their bodily controls inside but experience torturing sensory deprivation: complete blindness and deafening silence in a seemingly never ending void. Once activated, this ability MUST transition to Black Hole or Death's Reprise. It cannot be cancelled or reversed.

Phase III-a: Black Hole (CURSE) | Specialization/Dimensional Conjuration | The conjured space collapses in on itself, killing anyone inside for the parasitic nen beast to collect and feed off their life energy (aura). Because this ability is triggered when Scarlet loses her resolve, the life energy is collected at a fraction of the efficiency of Death’s Reprise. While bystanders can hear the tormented whispers of victims, Scarlet hears their screams of terror as the victim’s life energy is swiftly and painfully removed.

Phase III-b: Death’s Reprise (COVENANT & CURSE) | Specialization/Dimensional Conjuration | It is not truly a stand alone ability, but rather a controlled version of Black Hole. If Scarlet triggers Death’s Reprise before losing her resolve, the efficiency of life energy collected is maximized. Since the aura cost to activate this ability is lower than Black Hole, it is a symbiotic ability as both host and nen beast benefit with less risk involved. From her strength and resolve in maintaining control, Scarlet can silence the tormented whispers of the victims inside to be left unheard by anyone.

Phase IV: God’s Awakening (COVENANT) | Specialization | Life energy previously collected is stored in an aura reserve by the nen beast, which is utilized by this ability. Depending on the amount of stored life energy, Scarlet can instantaneously heal any wound for a very brief time. However, the amount of energy required for this or any additional seconds of healing is immense and grows exponentially. In its true form, Scarlet would exchange her sanity through the nen covenant for the power to heal; however, the curse has prevented her from using it in its original form to fulfil its fundamental principle of protecting Scarlet.

Phase IV: Hand of God (COVENANT) | Specialization | An application of God’s Awakening using Shu that requires direct contact with 1-2 other living beings to share the regenerative aura; however, this shortens the duration by half for each additional person. In its true form, Scarlet would have exchanged her sanity for stronger aura through the nen covenant to heal. Due to the cost and risk of the nen covenant, the curse fulfilled its fundamental principle to protect Scarlet, even from herself.

Post-Mortem Resurrection

Source: The Curse of Time & The Covenant of Mind

Abilities Created in Post-Mortem:

Time Taboo → Chronos: Formerly known as Time Taboo, Chronos is an advanced version incorporating En that grew stronger in post-mortem. Scarlet’s hyperfixation on the past, her desire to ‘stop time’ in order to return to a similar period of their lives, was what inspired her to develop Time Taboo initially. While Time Taboo affected people directly enveloped in Scarlet’s aura through molecular manipulation, Chronos expanded the range to include any living being or objects inside the aura field.

Abilities Strengthened in Post-Mortem:

Chronos’ Void
Black Hole/Death’s Reprise
God’s Awakening/Hand of God

The Curse of Time

The series of abilities, known together as The Curse of Time, are believed by Scarlet to be a compound nen ability gained through a post-mortem curse where Scarlet experiences increased sanity loss in exchange for the abilities. However, this is partly incorrect as Chronos is just an advanced version of her original ability, where Chronos’ Void and Black Hole are a curse from a parasitic nen beast not of her own design. God’s Awakening/Hand of God are abilities gained through a nen covenant, while Death’s Reprise is a version of the curse ability, Black Hole, that she can freely control. Learning the truth behind her nen brings many realizations and forces Scarlet to confront the demons that continue to haunt her. Upon learning this, she must either heal her trauma by overcoming all the demons or literally let it consume her to death.

CURSE OVERVIEW:

Source: Lily, upon her death born from unbridled hatred of the world and anything in it; grown stronger in post-mortem.
Fundamental Principle: To protect Scarlet from eminent harm, even from herself.
Background: When the sisters began learning the basics of nen and determining the kind of hatsu they’d like to develop, Lily had a growing morbid fascination with curses. This interest in curses came from their original nen teacher having an ability to place curses on her victims. Though Scarlet had no interest in studying curses in detail, Lily thought having an ability similar to their mentor’s was what she needed to finally protect her big sister who was always selflessly protecting her. She had yet to completely decide how to develop this hatsu at the time of her death, so instead she made a desperate plea in her final breath born from hatred of the world to protect Scarlet. Her knowledge of curses was enough to know how to make her plea come true, thus creating The Curse of Time.

Curse Activation:

The curse inflicts harm upon anyone with perceived ill-intent or threat to life by Scarlet, punishing them with an excruciating death for their attempt. This involuntary activation is dependent on Scarlet’s emotional state, thus fear or anger can trigger the curse activating against her will. An example of this is during the Yorknew City Arc, when she is on her killing spree in fear of Neon’s life. Any parasympathetic survival response (aka a ‘fight, flight, freeze, or fawn’ response from the triggers or perceived threat), can become an involuntary activating condition for the curse.

Abilities Created by the Curse:

Chronos’ Void: The dimensional plane of existence the parasitic nen beast lives within. As Lily never showed Scarlet the deeply rooted darkness and hatred in her heart for the world, the nen beast took on Lily’s desires to keep her darkness hidden, thus hiding itself within the void.
Black Hole: Chronos’ Void collapses in on itself, killing anyone inside for the parasitic nen beast to feed off of their life energy (aura). Life energy is stored inside a hidden nen vault, in which the nen beast can grant Scarlet access to use through God’s Awakening/Hand of God.

Curse-Effected Abilities:

God’s Awakening & Hand of God: Though the curse existed first, it could only add conditions and limitations on top of the ones the nen covenant innately set in order to protect Scarlet from harming herself through the abilities' usage. These conditions and limitations were vital to Scarlet’s post-mortem resurrection.

Parasitic Nen Beast:

Appearance: Lily’s decayed corpse (unseen by Scarlet until during the Dark Continent Arc).

Nen Covenant of Mind

Before her own death, Scarlet forged a nen covenant which exchanged her sanity as ‘currency’ for greater power, power that could protect the one she loved most: Lily. This nen covenant converts her sanity into a more pure version of her aura, which in this concentrated form takes less overall energy to use. She can apply this exchange of sanity to aura on the major nen principles or her hatsu, though she typically limits it to the hatsu requiring it.

This is a self-imposed covenant; however, Scarlet mistakenly believes it is a curse that both triggered her revival and became the activating condition for her new nen abilities to develop. The nen covenant only created God’s Awakening/Hand of God, though it remains true she was brought back to life (in part) from a curse. The real curse, born of Lily’s unbridled rage and hatred, was already bound to Scarlet moments before the covenant was. Additionally, the curse’s abilities Chronos’ Void and Black Hole already existed upon her death, but Scarlet could not freely use them until after years of training resulted in her unknowingly brokering sanity through her nen covenant as the activating aura and adding on conditions/limitations to the curse abilities.

COVENANT OVERVIEW:

Source: Scarlet’s desire to save Lily right before her death; grown stronger in post-mortem.
Fundamental Principle: To protect the ones she loves by exchanging Scarlet’s most valued resource: her mind.
Benefit: Scarlet can exchange her sanity for stronger nen that allows her to heal almost instantaneously for a couple seconds, but at an immense cost/drainage rate. However, the curse has changed the exchange from sanity to stored life energy instead to protect Scarlet from killing herself by using this ability for too long.
Consequences: If Scarlet utilizes this covenant with ill-intent (ie. the opposite of protecting those she cares for; ie. for her revenge), the cost to her sanity will be far greater. Usage of her abilities that exchange sanity for concentrated aura will drain at a much faster rate, putting her at great risk of permanent harm in a short period of time.
Background: As Scarlet watched her sister take her last breath in excruciating horror, she made a desperate vow to offer her greatest resource in exchange for a more powerful or concentrated aura in order to save the one she loves most. Because Scarlet had always been selfless when it came to protecting her little sister, she did not hold value onto her life; she was willing to die at any moment if it meant saving Lily. However, Scarlet valued her mind more than her life as it was her greatest asset in ensuring their survival. Thus, her sanity - the ability to maintain mental control through their worst experiences - was the most valuable asset she could offer in exchange for the abilities she needed to save Lily through the covenant.

Abilities Created by the Covenant:

God’s Awakening: In exchange for her sanity, Scarlet would gain a more powerful aura that she could use to heal herself; however, the original cost and speed in which sanity drained was immense. Due to this, the curse added additional conditions and limitations to protect Scarlet from herself.
Hand of God: An application of God’s Awakening that allows Scarlet to share the healing benefits with up to 2 people in direct contact, but the time in which the ability could be activated would be cut in half for each person. Inversely, the speed in which sanity would drain would double, but the curse prevented this from effecting her sanity to instead using the stored life energy.

Covenant-Effected Abilities:

Chronos’ Void: In order to have gained mastery over activating this ability beyond of involuntary use from the curse, Scarlet unknowingly forged a pact with the nen beast to offer a small portion of sanity as concentrated aura to freely activate this ability.
Black Hole: An unintended side effect of having expended excessive sanity through the covenant, means Scarlet is more likely to lose her control in maintaining Chronos’ Void, thus having it collapse into Black Hole and making the nen covenant a double edged sword she must always be aware of. Depending on her emotional state when activating Chronos’ Void, her sanity drain may be even faster.
Death’s Reprise: A version of Black Hole that has less risk and cost, but it requires Scarlet to maintain her resolve and control over Chronos’ Void before activating.

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The Curse and The Covenant

In order to gain access to Chronos’ Void and Black Hole/Death’s Reprise, Scarlet unknowingly forged a pact with the parasitic nen beast of Lily’s curse, offering concentrated aura converted from her sanity by the covenant. This concentrated aura satiates the nen beast’s hunger in a way her regular aura does not, thus granting Scarlet the freedom to voluntarily use its abilities. This took years of training to ‘master’ the abilities she believed to be her own, having honed her aura through her mind. However, the rate/cost for which her sanity converts varies, depending on her emotional or mental state, meaning it is more costly when she is greatly distressed than when she maintains an unwavering emotional or mental resolve. The difference in rate/cost may also be related to the core emotion behind her nen usage - balancing a scale between the desire for vengeance (a negative purpose) vs. the desire for control in protecting a loved one (a positive purpose).

Scarlet’s resurrection was only possible due to both the curse and covenant creating a balance with one another. Without it, Scarlet would have not been brought back to life. The curse needed the ability formed by the covenant (God’s Awakening) to heal Scarlet, while the covenant needed the curse to use the collected life energy of others (from the self-defensive activation of Chronos’ Void and Black Hole) to heal her as sanity would have been insufficient. Through these perfectly aligned conditions, both the curse and covenant persisted in death, thus growing stronger in post-mortem and bringing Scarlet to life once more. Even though Scarlet’s attempt to protect Lily was unsuccessful, it was not in vain for the nen covenant allowed Lily’s curse to breathe second life into her. In the end, Lily was able to fulfil her dying wish of protecting her beloved older sister.

Conditions, Limitations, & Effects

The Curse of Time: A compound subtype of abilities gaiend through a delicate balance of Lily's parasitic nen curse and Scarlet's nen covenent.

Colour Code for conditions/limitations added by the curse or covenent: Curse | Covenent

Phase I: Chronos

Aura extends from the user up to 55 metres, quickly halting all motion from objects and living beings inside the bubble. Objects or persons caught in the aura while mid-air remain suspended. Though this ability is the manipulation of molecules within the aura bubble, it gives the appearance of ‘stopping time’. The user is able to enter or exit the bubble, moving unrestricted by the aura’s effects. Living beings within the area are able to comprehend their surroundings at a reaction time 1/10 of their normal, with the exception of nen users who are able to comprehend their surroundings at half their normal baseline speed without the use of nen. Chronos also acts as a form of En, where the user can immediately know the number of people within the area and how many of them are Nen users. Chronos can also change in size at the user’s will.

STORY INFORMATION

Scarlet’s nen first awakened at age 9, where a house maid began to secretly teach her and her sister the basics of nen. She had been developing a manipulation technique, one that she hoped could help her gain control in the vile world she lived within. Though she knew time was not on her side, and that death’s door waited for her and Lily just like the others before them, she desired time more than anything. She longed for the simpler days while Lily desired a future together where they would have all the time in the world to love, grow, and learn. Scarlet’s initial manipulation hatsu, Time Taboo, was a childlike attempt to protect her and her sister from the ticking of time that approached them. This hatsu was unrefined as she only began developing it, but it awakened to its full potential from her overwhelming grief and guilt for Eliza’s murder in post-mortem as Chronos.

While slowly dying, she stared at her reflection in the mirror, having unconsciously triggered Time Taboo onto herself in an attempt to stop time and prevent their cruel fate. However, because the control of time itself is beyond the fabric of reality, Time Taboo instead became the building block in creating Chronos. She made a vow to sacrifice herself for the power to protect those she loves, namely Lily, which formed her nen covenant. Though Scarlet remains unaware of the covenant's existence at all. Rather, Scarlet believes her death became the activating condition for her nen abilities to form via a self-imposed curse, which strengthened in post-mortem. While it is true her abilities did become stronger in death, she mistakenly believes her covenant is the curse, while failing to understand a covenant and curse co-exist together. The covenant she made laid the foundation to later provide an ongoing exchange (her sanity) for controlled access to the abilities born of the curse and all combined abilities known as The Curse of Time.



  • Initial Activation: Nen Curse (unknown to Scarlet) + Nen Covenant on Sanity + Scarlet’s Death;
  • User must have recovered all temporarily lost sanity from the last triggering of Black Hole;
  • User must have sanity above 80%;
  • User must be able to fully see the intended area of effect (visual range);
  • User must be able to see the face of the nearest person (the first person to be affected);
    • (ex. cannot be activated behind someone’s back with the exception of seeing their face clearly in the mirror or in reflections);
  • User must not be constrained or under the effect of another nen ability;
    • Chronos cannot cancel out the effects of a nen ability already impeding the user’s free will or ability to move;
  • The aura cannot extend beyond an enclosed space (ie. a closed room);
  • In open spaces, the aura can only expand in a spherical form from the user up to a maximum of 55 metres;
  • For every 5 metres, the length of time the ability can remain active decreases, using the below time vs. range scale;
    • The aura cost of using the ability for each additional 5 metres increases steadily to the time it can remain activated for;
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Phase II: Chronos' Void

If Chronos’ Void is activated, the affected area of Chronos will be enveloped by what has been described by its survivors as ‘an infinitely expanding void of nothingness’. Living beings within the void cannot see or hear anything, becoming isolated within their own dimensional pocket and completely separated from anyone who may have been next to them momentarily ago. They are left in mental anguish as they experience sudden and severe sensory deprivation. However, beings within the void regain their bodily control and can activate their own nen abilities if desired (the effect of which is unknown).

At a cost, the user may enter or exit the void unhindered, with the further ability to traverse the dimensional void to approach individuals trapped within. The user can individually release living beings from the void through direct contact and a key phrase. Afterwhich, the dimensional void surrounding this person will fade, allowing them to see the world outside the sphere, and pass through the barrier to the outside unhindered. The cost for using this ability is reflective of the user’s emotions: the more volatile or negative the user’s emotions grow, the higher the sanity drain is.

Once Chronos’ Void is activated it cannot be undone. It is a ticking time bomb of resolve until the next stage, Death’s Reprise or Black Hole. If the user’s resolve fails, the void will collapse into Black Hole, otherwise the user must willingly activate Death’s Reprise to release the nen ability. Though unconfirmed, it is assumed that if the user is caught inside the void as it collapses into Black Hole/Death’s Reprise, they would die..

STORY INFORMATION

It is believed Scarlet’s post-mortem nen awakening was the catalyst for this hastu, followed by Black Hole/Death’s Reprise, unconsciously from her immense grief and desire for control over time (to undo what has been done). However, both Chronos’ Void and Black Hole were created when Lily’s curse attached itself to Scarlet, which only grew stronger in post-mortem. The nen covenant was the nature of these abilities are irreversible once activated, acting as a cruel reminder to the parallels of death, and the realization that she will never be able to resurrect Lily. She is plagued with survivor's guilt over why she was able to experience a post-mortem nen revival and not Lily. Though this is answered from the manifestation of God’s Awakening, her resolve in asserting control and purpose in avenging Lily is the sustaining will power behind controlling her newfound abilities.

In her years of training, Scarlet eventually was able to add conditions through her nen covenant to gain access to this ability. However, the cost of being able to activate had to include limitations in exchange which act as a restraint, testing her resolve and preventing her from using the abilities for needless violence and destruction. If she loses herself too much, she is unfit to make the best decisions on how to use this ability; therefore, she is unfit to wield such a devastating power and is willing to lose herself completely to protect others.



  • Activation Cost: 5% of sanity converted to aura;
    • Note: original cost from curse was 3x before the effects of the covenent;
  • Chronos must not be any larger than 30 meters;
  • At least one living being must be inside Chronos to activate;
  • User must be able to detect the aura of living beings inside Chronos to activate;
    • (ex. people with their nen or aura sealed away, like Chrollo at the end of Yorknew, do not count and cannot activate the ability);
  • User must be able to see every living being in Chronos to activate;
    • (ex. a person hidden around a corner in an open space will prevent the ability from activating unless the user can see them);
  • Once activated, Chronos’ Void cannot be undone; it can only progress to the next stage;
  • For every minute Chronos’ Void is activated, the user will experience a temporary sanity drain of 5% - 10% (emotional/mental state dependant) for every living being trapped inside;
    • This will add up very quickly if used recklessly or inefficiently;
  • To release a being trapped inside, the user must enter the void to make physical contact with a target, and speak the phrase “release this soul”;
  • If the user’s sanity reaches 15% or lower prior to willingly entering the next stage, the void will uncontrollably collapse into Black Hole;
  • If the user loses their mental/emotional resolve, the void will uncontrollably collapse into Black Hole;
  • If Chronos’ Void collapses into Black Hole, the user is unable to reactivate this ability for the length of time it takes to recover enough of their lost sanity, with the potential of never being able to activate it again if moderate or severe sanity loss is permanently sustained;
  • Effects on the user OUTSIDE the barrier:
    • they will be haunted by ethereal whispers of souls previously lost to the void at an increasingly intrusive level depending on the users sanity;
  • Effects on the user INSIDE the barrier:
    • they are faced with the brunt emotions of the trapped beings all at once (usually terror), as a test of their continued resolve in being able to remain control;

Phase III: Black Hole/Death's Reprise

If the user loses their resolve or sanity while Chronos’ Void is active, Black Hole is triggered. In Black Hole, the user has no control over the efficiency or stability of the power. However, if Chronos’ Void is willingly transitioned to the next stage, Death’s Reprise, the user can maintain control of its destructive powers.

Any living beings trapped within Chronos’ Void upon the activation of Phase III will instantly die. From the outside when Phase III is activated, the bubble shimmers, melds, and morphs into a fold of space that the human brain cannot comprehend. Those looking directly at this barely incomprehensible space will begin to feel or hear faint tormented wails. This experience is at worst uncomfortable and unnerving, but not painful for bystanders. The aura then abruptly collapses in on itself and explodes into twinkling dust, fading into nothingness. The life energy of all living beings killed is collected by the parasitic nen beast residing within at varying rates depending on the version of Phase III activated. The user may only access the collected life energy for use of Phase IV.

Phase III-a: Black Hole

When people are killed by Black Hole, the user has no control on how much life energy is extracted and collected by the nen beast that exists within the void. Upon the victims’ death, the user hears their screams as their life energy/aura is drained from them. Bystanders brave enough to watch from the outside are haunted by tormented whispers, presumably belonging to the collective of lost souls in the void.

If Scarlet’s emotions are volatile when this ability is activated, her aura expenditure is higher than if she maintained mental/emotional composure

Phase III-b: Death's Reprise

When the user willingly activates Death’s Reprise they maintain full control over the ability. When people are killed by Death's Reprise, their life essence is extracted and collected by the nen beast within the void. When Death’s Reprise is active, the user has full control over the tormented whispers, being able to silence them for themselves and any bystanders brave enough to stare into the folding space.

Even if Scarlet’s emotions are volatile when this ability is activated, her aura expenditure is the same as if she maintained mental/emotional composure (ie. still lower than Black Hole’s).

STORY INFORMATION

If Scarlet ends up losing her mental/emotional resolve OR depletes her sanity to 15% or less while Chronos’ Void is active, it will trigger the activation of Black Hole. Upon its activation, she will experience heightened grief and potential madness (if her emotions were already volatile) through a flashback, as if she were trapped in a living hell. For Scarlet, this often is reliving her sister's death due to her C-PTSD. When the flashback subsides, Scarlet usually goes into hiding as in some instances she may faint shortly after. This is what ended up happening in her Yorknew City rampage, having activated God’s Awakening in this state, thus being unable to properly monitor the life energy usage before it depleted causing her to faint.

Death’s Reprise did not exist at first, only being developed through years of training with her Nen Master, Keturah, as a way to learn how to control the effects of Black Hole. There were 2 major times Black Hole previously activated, where Scarlet was not trained enough in nen to understand what was happening.

The first time Black Hole activated was during her post-mortem awakening, when she unconsciously (and unknowingly) killed her killer by activating a small black hole over his head while her body was still in the Time Taboo stasis. After she awoke from death, her nen was still manifesting (particularly God’s Awakening - healing her fatal wounds) and her aura was volatility reactive to any threat in her immediate vicinity. She had no control over this as she came to, but witnessed as the sheer force alone was enough to dismember her captors. The second time was at the Clubhouse, where she lost control over an abusive patron (who also died) to the horror of herself and Keturah. This was the first time either of them were even aware of said power existing, alongside Chronos’ Void.

Scarlet has only activated Death’s Reprise 5 major times since developing it, once to test the progress of her training, once during her ex/late-husband’s wake, once to eliminate more of her ex/husband’s allies, once to save Neon from an assassination attempt, and once* on her rampage after finding Dal’s corpse in the hotel room (*though this was more literally many minor activated clusters, one after another in quick succession).

In a further attempt to prevent needless harm being done by her own hands, there is a restriction to Death’s Reprise to prevent her from killing innocent bystanders; however, making use of this skill on a large scale is potentially life-threatening to herself because of it. She must be certain that a person with negative aura (nen-user or not) is present (as detected by the En properties of Chronos), before activating to avoid the consequence. In her vengeance against the families involved in trafficking, Scarlet used Death’s Reprise during Shawn’s wake to quickly eliminate a large portion of her enemies (ie. the associates and clients of the Sapphire trafficking operation). It wasn’t until later she realized how reckless she was with this ability in her vengeance, understanding how if she were to unleash this power indiscriminately she could die from the direct loss of life energy by killing innocents on accident.



  • Activation Cost: 5% of sanity converted to aura;
    • Note: original cost from curse was 3x before the effects of the covenent;
  • Black Hole: The user must have lost their mental/emotional resolve holding Chronos’ Void for it to trigger;
    • Black Hole can also be triggered if the user has less than 15% sanity remaining
  • Death’s Reprise: The user must willingly activate this ability, with more than 15% of their total sanity intact;
    • Activation cost: 10% of sanity converted to aura ;
  • There must be at least one living being inside Chronos’ Void for either Black Hole or Death’s Reprise to activate;
  • Black Hole costs the user a large amount of aura and twice as much aura if emotionally volatile;
    • (ex. if the user is acting on their own accord with intent to harm, not if triggered by a survival response);
  • If Black Hole is triggered, the amount of life energy that is extracted can only range between 1% - 20% of the total life energy available;
    • Dependant on the user’s emotional/mental state;
  • Death’s Reprise costs the user 1/2 the aura as Black Hole;
    • The aura cost remains the same regardless of the user’s emotional/mental state;
  • If Death’s Reprise is activated, the user can successfully extract all available life energy so long as there is ONE person with negative aura or intent inside the area;
  • If Black Hole is triggered, the user is unable to reactivate Chronos’ Void (and subsequent phases) again for the length of time it takes to recover their aura back to 50% or higher and their sanity to 50% or higher;
  • If Black Hole is triggered, the user will suffer severe mental distress which may result in erratic and unpredictable behaviours;
    • This is NOT the same as sanity drain, but if the user has less than 10% sanity, they are guaranteed to enter an indiscriminate frenzy;
    • Additionally, if the user is already under mental/emotional duress, they are more likely to blackout in their frenzy;
    • These behaviours are often correlated to a “fight, flight, or freeze” response and can range from indiscriminately attacking anyone around them, fleeing the scene in panic, or experiencing a mental shut down where they become non-responsive;
  • For Death’s Reprise, if there are NO people within the space who exude a negative aura or intent (ie. an innocent or ‘good’ bystanders only), the total life energy from the ‘good’ people is drained from the aura storage vault;
    • If the vault reaches zero stored life energy before this consequence of harming innocents is completed, then the essence is directly drained from the user’s life essence, with the potential of this being fatal to the user;

Phase IV: God's Awakening/Hand of God

With substantial life energy collected through Phase III, the user can expend any or all storage energy to be granted invulnerability for a short period of time. This time is dependent on the amount of stored life essence, up to a maximum of 5 minutes. However, the amount of life energy needed to sustain Phase IV for 5 minutes would require a genocidal level of energy collected.

While God’s Awakening is active, any injuries the user sustains will instantaneously heal. As a result, this ability makes lethal attacks appear to pass right through the user harmlessly, including nen attacks or weapons. The user can share this aura through Hand of God to heal other living beings, thus benefiting from the instant regenerative effects. However, the length of time Hand of God can be activated is greatly reduced for each person it is shared with.

STORY INFORMATION

Another ability that Scarlet was unaware of existing until her late adolescence, this ability developed as a result of her nen covenant, particularly the vow to protect the ones she loves most; however, she believes it is all part of a self-imposed curse. In a desperate attempt to save the already deceased Lily, Scarlet activated God’s Awakening in her final breath after manifesting it through a nen covenant. She intended to use Hand of God on Lily, but died only seconds later. In post-mortem, the ability grew stronger and became half of the reason for her resurrection, having been thought to have used a very raw and unrefined version to heal her fatal wounds, but not completely, thus leaving the predominant scar on her throat. When she first discovered God’s Awakening, it was after the second time Black Hole activated (at the Clubhouse), though it took a couple years later until she developed the understanding how to properly channel and refine the power.

When she was on her rampage in Yorknew City, she had used Chronos’ Void in pursuit of the Spiders (and any Mafia that got in her way), in fear over Neon’s safety and her grief of Dal. She remained in a state of frenzy due to the emotional and mental anguish she was in and iIf someone were to look closely at her eyes, they would note they were glassed over from pain. As her emotions mounted, her usage of Chronos’ Void/Death’s Reprise repeatedly resulted in the final attack becoming Black Hole. Having collected enough life energy, she was able to activate God’s Awakening as an otherwise lethal blow passed through her harmlessly. The spiders who she encountered in the pursuit were Machi, Feitan, and Nobunaga. She had a few passes with them before Nobunaga made his decisive blow, set on killing her. Yet, both Machi and Feitan observed God’s Awakening in action, noting that she appeared to remain unscathed while Nobunaga stood on the other side bewildered. He was certain he felt the typical resistance of human tissue and bone, yet she was still in one piece. This piqued their interest as Chrollo could find the ability incredibly useful; however, they did not learn the conditions or restrictions to the power, so expected to have to torture her for answers.

Machi quickly attempted to restrain Scarlet using her nen threads, but Scarlet twisted out of them, intentionally severing her hands as God’s Awakening immediately healed them again. This took the Spiders aback, having looked like she phased through her threads. It didn’t take much more fighting before Scarlet expended her stored life energy, thus fainting from the action and being taken back to the Spider headquarters. When Scarlet awoke, Chrollo had already been given the run down of what happened and immediately recognized Scarlet (as Echo) from his visits during her shows. With the full intention of having Feitan torture Scarlet for answers, Chrollo planned on stealing her ability. However, when Scarlet recognized him as her childhood friend and was unable to register his words which implied they had met more recently. In the end, Chrollo did not steal her ability, but has every intention to if she were to ever betray him in the future.



  • A minimum amount of stored life energy equivalent to the lives of 10 basically skilled nen users is required to activate;
    • Note: original cost from curse was 3x before the effects of the covenent;
  • Activation Cost: 15% sanity (draining 5% per second afterwards) OR half of the user's total aura with a draining rate of 5% per second;
    • Sanity usage takes priority, then personal aura usage;
  • The user must have more than 20% of their own sanity available to use and activate this ability;
  • The user to must open all their nen nodules to allow the flow of the additional aura;
  • The user’s aura must flow freely and not be using any of the 4 major principles or advanced principles;
    • This leaves a short window of defencelessness/opportunity for someone to strike;
  • The user must first use the stored life energy before their own aura or sanity;
  • The minimum amount or stored life energy needed to activate will only persist the ability for 1 minute;
    • Each minute requires an increased amount of aura for each additional minute (4x) where x=minutes, up to a maximum of 5;
  • The length of time God’s Awakening can be active is entirely dependent on the amount of stored life energy;
  • For Hand of God to work, the user must maintain direct contact with the being it is being shared with;
  • The amount of healing God’s Awakening can do is proportionate to the expenditure of the user’s sanity/aura;
  • Though God’s Awakening can be shared through Hand of God, the maximum length of time it can remain active will be cut in half for every additional person;
    • Hand of God can only be extended to two additional people (one for each hand);
  • The user cannot use Phase IV after already having taken a mortal wound or having any limbs severed;
  • Phase IV cannot reattach any already severed limbs, only instantaneously heal those that would have been while the ability is active;
  • The user cannot use Phase IV if they are under the effect of another nen ability;
  • Phase IV cannot resurrect the dead after brain activity has ceased or if vital organs are already severed from the body;
    • (ie. decapitation, the heart has been removed from the chest, etc.);
  • Failure to stop the ability before all stored life energy is expended will result in the user to lose consciousness, rendering them entirely vulnerable and defenseless against any further attacks; this includes any additional beings affected by Hand of God;
    • Stored life energy drains at an alarming rate, forcing the user to be acutely aware of the remaining energy available while using this ability;
  • If the user depletes their stored life energy while mid-healing, the wound will not heal, likely resulting in death; this includes any additional beings affected by Hand of God;

Additional Information

Relationship of Nen to Trauma

Oftentimes the use of her abilities will invoke a flashback from her traumas, the severity of which is impacted by the extent of sanity exchanged for ability usage. This can be from the loss of sanity itself causing a distortion in her reality or from the subconscious and formerly repressed memory of her death/post-mortem revival itself; a scene that haunts her the most. Though she rarely activates her skills, she will in order to save the lives of those she cares about the most. However, if she experiences severe enough triggers from her trauma, it may cause Chronos’ Void/Black Hole to activate against her will from the curse.

This parasympathetic survival response (aka a ‘fight or flight’ response to trauma triggers or perceived threat), remains the activating condition for the curse in its original purpose.

Due to her nature and unreadiness to pursue therapy, she has not been able to master or prevent this outcome as she does not understand most of her triggers. As a maladaptive coping mechanism, she withdraws and self-isolates, deciding its best to bury her emotions as much as she can and avoid becoming close to anyone for fear of being vulnerable and losing control. However, this eventually leads to severe breakdowns from constant masking and emotional burnout. It isn’t until just prior to the Dark Continent Arc/Succession War Arc, that Scarlet begins to pursue therapy. She has to undergo a specialized nen-based trauma therapy due to the nature of her abilities being directly connected to the worst of her pain. Months into therapy, it is learned that she is actually cursed by someone else (her sister) not herself. Having begun to understand some of her trauma and fully coming to realize the relationship between the involuntary ability activations and her trauma triggers, she learns an external entity - the parasitic nen beast - is to blame.

Curse Removal

The conditions to remove this curse, besides through nen exorcism, is for Scarlet to heal her past traumas involving the one who birthed the curse (ie. Lily and her murder).

While Death’s Reprise is the nen representation of her regaining control over her fears and trauma, it is also a representation of holding onto the past in an unhealthy way that hinders her healing. This means Scarlet needs to enter Chronos’ Void and activate Death’s Reprise onto the nen beast itself. If she fails in this confrontation through loss of sanity or resolve, Black Hole will activate instead, instantly killing her. She enters the void unaware of this fact, but discovers when confronted by the nen beast for the first (and last) time. It is presumed that if Scarlet was inside Chrono’s Void when Black Hole or Death’s Reprise activated, she would perish, so this confrontation requires immense resolve from Scarlet in order to succeed.

Healing the Trauma

The risk and trade off for acquiring these nen abilities, both in her covenant and through the curse, is substantial on Scarlet. Though they were in part manifested through Lily’s curse born of immense hatred, grief, and despair, those same emotions are what continue to haunt her. However, if she uses the abilities for good, it has less detrimental effects to her as it was her own unrelenting desire to protect those she loves that forged her covenant. Both the good and bad emotions are required to grow her powers further, as they form a delicate balance which binds the curse and covenant together, just like fate’s threads binding the two sisters. It’s a double-edged sword that she doesn't learn how to navigate until the Dark Continent/Succession War Arc.

In order to heal from the trauma that haunts her, she needs to learn how to live with and be kind with herself when she experiences the strong emotions without letting them consume her, though she is not that far along her trauma recovery, having mostly just buried the pain deep inside. This maladaptive coping mechanism results in loss of control over her emotions and subsequently her abilities, if active at the time. Without knowing how to take loving care of her inner child, she can only continue the internal struggle of being trapped in the past or pretending it doesn’t exist. To reach her full potential, she would need to undergo years of trauma-informed therapy and treatment to address the root cause; however, she requires a nen master therapist to assist her in this, as her powers are deeply connected to these experiences. Doing one while ignoring the other will only create imbalance in herself. As trauma recovery begins, she wonders if finally being at peace would mean losing her abilities. As it turns out, Scarlet must confront her inner and literal demons haunting her. In a life or death situation, she must bear witness to the parasitic nen beast of the curse for the first - and last - time and overcome the obstacle it brings in a one-time chance at ridding herself of it.

When the nen beast is defeated, she loses Chrono’s Void and Black Hole/Death’s Reprise, but begins the transformation of Chronos and God’s Awakening into a new ability.

Her only wish is to no longer feel the excruciating pain from her grief, but doesn’t yet realize that her healing journey will not rid her of the emotions. She will have to accept the reality which will always live with her, but through healing she can coexist with the pain and grief in a self-compassionate and meaningful way. When Scarlet begins to recognize this later in the story, she comes to terms with her lived experience and uses the growth to further nurture her nen abilities into a less destructive power and one that is congruent with her newfound purpose in life.

After the nen beast is exorcized, she continues therapy for a couple years. Through this work, she develops a singular ability, the merging of God's Awakening and Chronos: Heaven’s Butterfly, an ability reflective of Scarlet’s transformative experience of healing and growth through adversity and grief.

Background Story

When they were both learning to develop hatsu’s, Lily took on a fascination of curses and wished to be able to protect her big sister one day, like she always did for her. Scarlet also desired an ability that could protect Lily, but instead of looking to the future, Scarlet would reminisce about the past. To a simpler time when their innocence was still intact, had a dream of being able to one day control time to return there. Lily, on the other hand, looked forward to a future where no one got in their way. As the days got more difficult, Lily would become engrossed in thinking of ways to get there, no matter the cost while Scarlet would find escapism into the past as the best tool for herself. Because of this, Scarlet continued to treat Lily like a naive child that always needed protecting, much to her displeasure. Though they both were still children, Lily wanted her sister to see her as capable of protecting both of them. She no longer wanted to feel helpless in this cruel world.

Lily’s affinity was conjuration, from which she obsessed about creating a world where no one could touch the two of them (the impassable barrier of Chronos’ Void), a world they are the masters of (the ability to move in between the dimensions and free those trapped), and could crush anyone (Black Hole) from attempting to hurt them (the limitations on victim’s intent/malicious aura). This idea became the building blocks of the curse that is now bound to Scarlet. Scarlet found Lily’s obsession with curses a little over the top, sometimes morbid, but since their nen teacher had a curse-based ability, thought it was only natural she would be so fascinated by them. The sisters also had a vague idea of nen covenants, having heard of them in passing from their master. However, because of Lily’s growing morbid obsession, Scarlet tried to keep her sheltered from the horrors of their prison to prevent her mind from becoming anymore corrupted. When Scarlet learned her affinity was manipulation, she became focused on developing an ability that can control others, and one day, time, in order to preserve the innocence of Lily. This is when she developed Time Taboo.

Upon her death, Lily was filled with unbridled hatred that Scarlet never knew was possible from her sister. She cursed the world in her final breaths, that if anyone were to try to harm Scarlet, that they suffer a death more excruciating and maddening than her own. This vehement curse created the tormenting experiences of those trapped inside Chronos’ Void and the excruciating death of being crushed within Black Hole.This curse, though meant to be an ability that protects Scarlet, feeds off of her emotions and drains her aura at a faster rate when fueled by anger or hatred. It is a parasitic type curse and though it does not have a visible conjured nen beast, one does exist within the dimensional conjured space of Chronos’ Void, which finds joy in mentally tormenting anyone trapped. It is this parasitic beast that drains the life aura of those inside and stores it for use later, with Black Hole being the means of consuming this energy for the parasite. The parasite’s ability activates as it feeds off of both Scarlet’s aura and emotions, whether good or bad, when she switches to Chronos’ Void.

The first time Chronos’ Void and Black Hole were activated, was an involuntary activation of the curse upon her death. Because of her failed effort to save Lily using God’s Awakening/Hand of God, the ability instead absorbed aura from the victims of the curse. This aura was used on her own body, which was locked in a stasis from Time Taboo when Scarlet unconsciously activated it on herself. It was only mere moments before Time Taboo then expanded and became Chronos.

The adolescent years Scarlet spent learning how to ‘control her hatsu’, were actually years of her unknowingly forging new conditions with the nen beast through her nen covenant, offering it to feed off the concentrated aura from Scarlet’s sanity in exchange for free use of its abilities. The parasitic beast eventually allowed her to voluntarily activate Black Hole as Death’s Reprise, as she began to gain control over her emotions meaning it would not feed as regularly. In order to appease its growing greed, it needed to give her more freedom in using its abilities.Though it decided to allow Scarlet to freely activate Chronos’ Void, it forces her to see it to the end (ie. once activated there’s no going back) in order to satiate its hunger for aura (Black Hole/Death’s Reprise), even if the aura ends up coming from her. The parasite is more efficient in collecting aura when Scarlet’s motivating emotions for its use are for protection, as that aligns with her innate abilities. However, the parasite finds the vulnerability and chaos of Scarlet in volatile situations more innate to its own nature, as it is a curse born of pure hatred and rage, thus, it feeds on her aura and/or mind at a faster rate when these are her driving emotions. It will also grow greedier if more living beings are trapped within the void, draining her sanity faster in order to consume their life aura through Chronos’ Void/Black Hole sooner.

The parasitic beast lives within the dimensional void and has never been seen due to the loss of sight and sound for those trapped within and it never shows itself to Scarlet. The possibility of this ability being a curse from someone else is not explored until it is accidentally discovered during the Dark Continent Arc as Scarlet is in therapy. Once she is ready, she has to confront her inner demons, and the nen beast (who resembles Lily) behind the curse within the ability itself.While Scarlet believes herself to be a monster, the truth is that her nen was manifested from a desire of pure love, not hatred. It is ironic, given she believes that Lily was the embodiment of this, but in fact she is actually the darkness contrasting and haunting her own light. If Lily were to have grown older with Scarlet, she may have eventually revealed her true nature and become a person truly fueled by selfish or even evil motivations.

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