A white glassy material. No reflections appear in it.

Any human or Manifest in contact with achromite loses the use of their Vigor.

It absorbs any mana nearby, including black mana.

It is used to make Achromatizers, special weapons that Expurgators use in their work.

Achromatizers can take the form of pretty much any weapon, just no guns because achromite is very sensitive to heat.

Only one company produces it, and they’re very secretive about where it comes from.

Changelings are monsters of darkness and shadow - they can dive in and out of shadows like Splatoon squidkids. They aren’t hurt by light, but they prefer to stay in the shadows because their natural predators are creatures of light called Lucifers.

Humans are toxic to Lucifers, so Changelings have evolved to take on the general appearance of humans, albeit still made of shadow.

Changelings traditionally wear human-like masks the same color as their soul (changelings still have normal colored souls like anyone else).

Cartesia is a world parallel to the Earth you know: it occupies the same space as our world, but on a different layer of reality.

Cartesia is a world full of magic and wonderful creatures. The primary residents of Cartesia are humans, Manifest, and monsters.

Travel between Earth and Cartesia is impossible, albeit with two exceptions: certain humans from Earth reincarnating into Manifest when they die, and the existence of IMPs.

Because of this impossibility of contact, Earth is unaware of the existence of Cartesia. However, Cartesia is very much aware of Earth. The powerful souls of Earth's humans manifest in Cartesia as will-o-wisps, constantly radiating mana. Cartesians harvest this mana and use it to power their world.

Some scholars theorize that Cartesia has a sway on Earth as well, as some of the monsters that live in Cartesia appear in the mythologies and stories of Earth cultures.

A glamorous but dangerous line of work; their job is to get rid of IRE and IMPs.

Organized into teams; each team has a sponsor that gives them assignments.

Teams either directly invite others, or they put out that they want more members and their sponsors search for new members.

In the main setting of the story, Cor, expurgation is a very competitive job - there’s a leaderboard based on performance, and the top teams are treated like celebrities.

Once a year, the #1 expurgation team gets a boon (minor wish) from the head of the expurgation organization / goddess of the city, The Matron.

IMPs are worth more points than IRE, but IRE are more common.

They are the only people who are allowed to own Achromatizers.

IMP stands for Interdimensional Metaphysical Poltergeist.

IMPs are unstable, dangerous creatures that exist simultaneously on Earth and Cartesia, in pocket dimensions called Intersections. Only one IMP exists in each Intersection at a time.

Intersections can appear anywhere, and organizations on Cartesia are constantly monitoring to see where they appear.

When someone enters an Intersection, they can’t leave until the IMP is gone or they are gone.

Intersections are intentionally made to trigger deja vu - they resemble liminal spaces, Backrooms-esque areas, or places ripped directly from a victim’s memory.

Derealization is the worst thing that can happen to you in an Intersection - where you slip out of your world and get stuck in between, becoming an IMP yourself.

There are two ways to derealize in an Intersection:

1. Succumbing to deja vu or nostalgia in the Intersection - it’s easy to get lost in your head in an Intersection, and it’s key to stay aware of where you really are.
2. The IMP physically touching you - even if it so much as grazes you, you’re instantly derealized.

IMPs look like humanoid silhouettes made of inverted colors.

They usually have more than two eyes, and they sometimes have rudimentary polygonal wings.

The only way to get rid of an IMP is to kill it with an Achromatizer.

The intelligence/sapience of an IMP varies from case to case, some seeming unaware of their surroundings and mumbling in indecipherable fragments and some being entirely intelligent and able to communicate coherently.

IRE stands for Insidious Residual Entity.

When black mana is left alone too long, it clumps together and manifests physically, but instead of a Vym crystal, it creates malicious creatures known as IRE.

IRE can take the form of any nonorganic object (mimic-esque).

Once they attack, they reveal their grotesque teeth, tongues, and strange eyes with multiple irises.

IRE exist most commonly in colonies, and they’ll create entire fake buildings to trap and kill people.

Their intelligence is being debated since they don’t speak and seem very animalistic when attacking.

Getting bitten by one will infect you with black mana poisoning.

They can only be killed by Achromatizers.

A substance in-between plasma and vapor; a colored energy comprised of the psyche of a human soul.

A human’s mana is the same color as the human’s soul, unless the human is feeling particularly bitter or hateful - then the mana becomes black.

Black mana is extremely poisonous. If you’re poisoned by it, you start saying all the nasty and hateful things you think but keep to yourself.

People used to dispose of black mana by just dumping it in isolated places (like how we get rid of nuclear waste), but that led to the creation of IRE; nowadays black mana is safely neutralized with the use of achromite.

Manifests are humans that have died on Earth and reincarnated into Cartesia, their wisps manifesting into a whole being. Not every human that dies becomes an Manifest, and the criteria for who becomes an Manifest is still unclear. The death is always unnatural however - nobody that has died from old age has become an Manifest. Manifest remember their lives on Earth.

Manifest can vary wildly in appearance - each Manifest’s form is a representation of how they see themselves. Most Manifest look like how they looked as a human with one or two unusual traits, while some can look completely inhuman. Manifests’ appearances can change as their self-perception changes.

All Manifest’s bodies are completely comprised of mana.

Every Manifest has a palm-sized marking called a Seal somewhere on their body. It’s the same color as their soul, and it resembles a mathematical curve on a Cartesian plane. There’s a lot of debate about why this is, but no definitive answer.

Every Manifest has a Vigor innately, and they don’t need a Vym crystal to use it.

Manifest eat mana - more specifically, mana that is the same color as their soul.

Unlike human souls that constantly radiate mana, Manifest souls constantly absorb mana.

The more an Manifest uses their Vigor, the more mana the Manifest needs to eat - otherwise, their soul starts to absorb the mana that makes up their bodies. You can tell an Manifest is starving when their extremities turn white and start to crumble away like chalk - this is officially called the Ouroboros Effect, but most people call it “the crumbles.”

If the soul completely consumes the body and there is no more mana left for the soul to absorb, the soul sputters out and the Manifest dies.

Manifests don’t age or get sick from normal illnesses, but they can be injured - they just need to consume mana to heal from their injuries.

Manifests can die from the crumbles if their injuries are severe enough and left untreated.

Manifest blood is the same color as their soul, and it can have unusual properties (can resemble lava, honey, etc.)

Manifests can’t reproduce - reincarnation is the only way to make more Manifest.

A glassy obsidian-like material with a rainbow sheen visible in the light.

Can “record” an Manifest’s Vigor - when an Manifest puts a drop of blood on a piece of mementonium, that piece turns the color of that Manifest’s soul; then, when mana of that same color is nearby, the mementonium absorbs the mana and replicates the Vigor.

If a filled shard comes into contact with a blank shard, then the blank shard will also become filled with the same soul as the other shard, and will have the same properties. If a filled shard comes into contact with another filled shard, but from a different soul, the two shards will "swap" - for example, if a red shard came into contact with a green shard, the red shard will turn green and have the green soul's ability and the green shardwill turn red and have the red soul's ability.

The vast majority of technology in Cartesia utilizes mementonium in one way or another. Certain Manifest's abilities have been the foundation for the technological advancements in Cartesia.

Manifest can apply for their power to be used in industry if they believe their powers to be useful when widespread; they'll receive a handsome pay if they're approved, like a patent. And they don't even have to continually give blood, since a single filled crystal can multiply to other blank crystals.

Black soul energy can "wipe" a filled shard, making it blank again.

Mementonium is fairly common - Manifest emerge from cocoons made of mementonium when they’re reincarnated.

A magical umbrella that produces a shield of darkness to temporarily protect its user from the sunlight. Used by creatures that require darkness, such as vampires and changelings.

Something that all sentient creatures possess, both on Earth and in Cartesia. An engine powered by thoughts, memories, and emotions, comprised of mana.

Everyone’s soul is a specific color. It can be chromatic (ROYGBIV) or metallic (gold, silver, bronze, etc.) No soul is white, gray, or black.

There aren’t any proven common traits between people with the same soul color; there are astrology-esque interpretations of a soul color, but nothing that everyone agrees on.

When someone dies, their soul vanishes without a trace. People aren’t sure if their soul is taken to an afterlife or simply just disappears from existence.

Probably what you're picturing. They exist in Cartesia, and they aren't inherently evil, but they still need to drink blood to live. Vampires can drink animal blood, but a vampire's physical form is shaped around what kind of blood they drink; since most vampires want to be humanoid, they drink human blood.

There’s a whole system that obtains and distributes blood (ethically - there’s magic involved that lets them produce a great amount of blood from a tiny drop).

Vampires also feed on mana, sort of - they feed on a certain emotion found in mana.

Different kinds of vampires feed on different emotions, and their soul color is determined by which emotion they eat.

• Red: feeds on fear. Red vampires are known as Ghouls.
• Orange: feeds on frustration/annoyance/anger. Orange vampires are known as Trolls.
• Yellow: feeds on gratefulness/praise. Yellow vampires are known as Saints.
• Green: feeds on jealousy. Green vampires are known as Paragons.
• Cyan: feeds on laughter/humor. Cyan vampires are known as Jesters.
• Blue: feeds on pity. Blue vampires are known as Wretches.
• Purple: feeds on affection (any kind other than sexual). Purple vampires are known as
• Pink: feeds on physical attraction. Pink vampires are known as succubi/incubi.

A vampire’s eye color is always the color of their soul.

Vampires have two main "components":

1. A gray gas that can shift into different physical substances, which makes up most of the vampire's body. It's called "smoke" because it resembles smoke in its raw form. Vampires' smoke constantly regenerates, so normally it's no big deal if a vampire is injured - sunlight, however, prevents regeneration and completely destroys smoke. Weapons made of things that were formerly living also weakens smoke greatly (wood, bone, etc.). Emotions sustain smoke.
2. A small ball of flesh that somewhat resembles a human heart - this is where the vampire's soul and "brain" reside, and where its smoke comes from - destroying it will kill the vampire instantly. The heart is very fragile, so the smoke around it is especially strong. Blood sustains the heart.

Vampires can reproduce normally, but a human that’s bitten by a vampire also turns into a vampire. Vampires that used to be human and were turned are called “thralls.”

Despite the name, thralls aren’t under the control of the vampire that bit them - it’s just that more often than not thralls stick around their sire of their own volition.

The easiest way to tell a thrall from a natural-born vampire is their ears - natural-born vampires have slightly pointed ears while thralls keep their round human ears.

Thralls are much less stable than natural-born vampires. Natural-born vampires slowly gain their vampiric abilities over time, while thralls get all their abilities the moment they turn, which can be overwhelming.

Once a natural-born vampire reaches maturity, they can take on any age they wish, but thralls are stuck at the age they were when they were bitten.

Vampires must be invited in order to enter buildings.

A unique power present in all human souls. Manifest have this power innately, while a human can unlock their Vigor by being near a Vym Crystal.

Vigors are tailored to a person’s soul, and manifestations of the Vigor are usually the same color as the person’s soul.

A person only has one Vigor. While a Vigor can evolve and a person can discover new aspects to their Vigor with personal growth, a Vigor cannot change and a person cannot possess more than one Vigor. As far as anyone knows.

A Vigor can be almost any power, although the majority of the population believes that there are two limitations to Vigors.

1. Vigors cannot alter time - stop time, travel through time, slow down time, etc.
2. Vigors cannot reverse death.

Vym crystals resemble diamonds, but they glow with a brilliant rainbow light.

They’re extremely hard to come by - only super wealthy people own one, and even then, the crystal is rarely larger than a dime.

A human that is close to a Vym crystal unlocks their Vigor.

Anyone that is close to a Vym crystal feels more physically and mentally stimulated.

However, overexposure to a Vym crystal is dangerous - it can cause overstimulation and mania, and once the crystal is taken away, extreme lethargy can occur.

Extreme overuse can cause the crystal to explode too.

Vym crystals come from humans - if a human’s mana gets too clumped up, it solidifies and manifests physically as a crystal in someone’s body, which is known as Vym sickness.

If not removed, the crystal grows and proliferates, until the person is completely consumed.

Most Vym crystals in the market come from safe surgical removals, but there are rumors of black market dealers letting the crystal completely consume people to get more material.

Vym sickness is extremely rare, hence why Vym crystals are so scarce.

Most people see Vym sickness as a good thing, since you can sell your crystal afterward and make a lot of money. Complications can arise, however, especially if the crystal appears near sensitive areas such as the heart or the brain.