♤ Varia Kingdom (West)
♤ Cultivation method:
Westerners are born with a Void Crystal on their forehead that acts as a shield, a cage, a judge, and a bridge.
To gain power, they must "lower the crystal's wall" and let spirits in. Not all spirits are willing. One could collapse under the weight of one's own memories and get possessed or lose one's identity.
Western warriors could borrow abilities from the animal spirits, like night vision, smell, or speed. If they rely on animal spirits too much, their own human social skills could rot.
Or they could negotiate with human spirits. Human spirits retain their pride and history. They have conditions; for example, a northern knight's spirit may refuse to fight his own people, or he would cooperate under contract's terms.
♤ Ranking system: You can tell how strong a Westerner is by looking at the distortions in the air around their body, which take on shapes of floating spheres (1 to 9 spheral warrior)
♡ Lost Kingdom (East)
♡ Cultivation method: Very similar to that of the northerners, whose talent in cultivation depends heavily on their hair color. The difference is that easterners' hair is luminescent like that of algae, which serves as their lifeline.
Their hair helps them create their own oxygen and because eyes are useless in the dark, their hair also functions as a vibration sensor.
To move from one rank to the next, an easterner must perform the Descent (deep dive). They use Moon-Gravity to create a "Sphere of Water" around their bodies that keeps their bones from shattering.
Their mind must be in complete balance. If they push too little, the ocean can flatten them. If they push too much, their internal gravity can rip their cells apart.
They used to be the most powerful nation, but also the most fragile one because they are always only one heartbeat away from self-destruction.
♡ Ranking system: The longer, more luminous and more gravity-defying their hair is, the stronger they are and the deeper they can dive (1 to 9 Zone Reaver).
◇♧ The theory of "Great Gravity" ♤♡
The Great Gravity is the Fundamental Law that each nation uses to bend reality.
The theory of "Great Gravity" also suggests that the four nations were once one (universe).
◇♧ The Four Nations' power cost ♤♡
The power up system is literally a process of becoming less human to become more god-like. You level up by letting go of a piece of your humanity that is "holding you back".
◇ The North (Earth-Gravity)
- risk/cost: money/wealth -> it challenges your instinct for Security
- example: lots of knights end up as walking debts
♡ The South (Sun-Gravity)
- risk/cost: mind/sanity-> it challenges your instinct for Reason
- example: lots of hunters end up as walking ferals
♤ The West (Void-Gravity)
- risk/cost = memory/identity-> it challenges your instinct for Self
- example: lots of warriors end up as fractured collective of various spirits
♡ The East (Moon-Gravity)
- risk/cost = feelings/impulses -> it challenges your instinct for Life
- examples: lots of Reavers end up as emotionless husks