#houriki

What stands out to me... (not really in a surprising sense, but more of a "so they want to phrase it this way" sense)... is the concept of Magic restrictions.

I've stated it before, but powerful Magic can cause Information Flares and disrupt the world's stability... that much is very well known.  And of course the 666 Arcanum is a system that regulates what types of Magic most people can do.

But something that gets lost in translation (in Japanese that is) is the fact that Houriki doesn't just mean "Magic Energy", it also means "Magic LAW", as in it is an established RULE.

Hi-deigokutsuipo... (Forbidden Magic) is also known as a "Forbidden Binding Law".

But when they mean "Law", it's not just something like saying "It's against the law to cast this spell".... it's more like: "This Magic command is limited to this function"... in other words it's a Code system.

Just as webpages have XHTML scripts... the world "runs" on these scripts and that script is the "law" that allows certain actions to function properly.

Does that make sense to you?  I hope I conveyed that properly.

Magic and the very energy it is made of are built from a "script" that defines what it does and also "limits" what it does... pre-written so to speak.  The 12-Steps standard (as Sol once stated).

But the Backyard *has* no limits... bypassing that law was an easy task for someone like Valentine or even the Universal Will... even Izuna had no problem getting past that "script".

What you’re actually seeing isn’t Ki, but the burning oxygen gas reaction that occurs as a result of the “Heat” Ki emits.

You’ve seen a Bunsen Burner before, right?  The more oxygen fuel a flame is given, the bluer and more concentrated the flame becomes.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flame

Normally, Ki itself is invisible to the naked eye, like many natural gases, of course trained Martial Artists like Jam and Chipp can sense its flow.

Ki or “Life breath” as it is sometimes known, is the internal energy potential Humans have inside them.

You’ve heard of the phrase “Burning Calories”?

Calories are a measure of energy storage potential that allows us to function.  Too much caloric intake and we gain bodyfat, not enough and we’re malnourished.

When Humans begin to harness and control that energy potential, it can transform in to a more potent force.  That force is classified as “Magic” in Guilty Gear standards.  Mana, in other words.

There’s different types of Mana, internal and external.  External is typically residual emissions, but more commonly comes from the Backyard.  Gears and Valentines tap in to Backyard Mana to supplant their immense power, especially with Gear Cells which are affixed gateways linking to the Backyard like a conduit.

Internal is what we call ‘natural energy’, it’s the energy we process and store in our Bodies after eating food.

The internal processing structure is defined as “Strings” to a Tuner like Kum Haehyun, only their trained eyes can see and manipulate it.  They can tweak it to bring out our best energy potential, but we also tweak it every time we train our bodies or exercise.

At first, Ki is unseen and invisible, but with training, the body can emit it like a gentle wind.

As practitioners learn to control the speed and intensity of this 'wind’, it can produce varied results depending on the use of techniques and mastery.

Ki is the Foundation Magic, so it has different “routes” depending on the type of training.  Jam’s Ki is based in the Fire element and becomes red to blue to white hot the more she refines it.

There are other practitioners who can manipulate Ki that results in Lightning, Water, or even Wind-based Magic!

Kliff Undersn takes it even further with his Reflex Roar, which is a highly concentrated blast of Non-elemental Ki, which is golden in appearance!  He even shaped the Ki as a Dragon’s Fangs!

The only indirect example I can give is when the Cradle was activated over Babylon.

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Sol: “That energy… could there be another Valentine?”

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Basically, Sol was able to “sense” a very powerful amount of energy coming from that location.

But, Chipp Zanuff states that he identified it as a ‘swirling mass of Ki’.

So then, it’s reasonable to establish the idea that what Sol “sensed” was a vast amount of Ki coming from the Cradle.

“Houriki” (Magic Energy or “Mana”) has the word “Ki” rooted in it as you may have guessed.  In order for any sort of spells to be cast, a person must be able to tap in to that energy and use the right code or “chord” program to activate a spell.

Still, raw Ki is not quite the same as Mana in this case… raw Ki has the power to amplify power output… much the same as the basic function of the OutRage.

In the case of Ekitoku the Dominator (Ekitoku 益篤 means “Increasing Fervor” or “Force Gainer”), so in a way it’s kindof like a certain 'Emperor’s Gauntlet’ from another anime.

If there is any sort of rule it’s this: Magic has to come from somewhere.

That “somewhere” is usually a fuel source developed from the Backyard.  Typically that source comes in two means: Houriki (Mana, or human strength) and Zeal from Zilpods.

Zeal is a liquid resource that can “convert” in to Magic that was somehow developed by the Sanctus Populi during the early stages of reformation after the Dawn of Revival in 1999.

Zeal is what makes Magic more of a convenience than technology that came before it when it failed.

Granted, there are certain affinities, but they are not something that can’t be overcome with training.  Ki is considered the foundation element, so anyone who is skilled in Ki has the potential to perfect their skills in other elements (Fire, Water, Lightning, and Wind).  You could say that, much the same way that OutRage “amplify” Magic of a caster… Ki amplifies a caster’s natural abilities to cast Magic.

There are however “unique properties” to each element that have the potential to alter the physical world.

Things like Dimensional Barriers, a means to slow down Time itself… “Temporal Change” (Time Travel / Dimensional Distortion) is another form of Magic… also Sound and Light (and by inverse relationship Darkness).

Magic is such a versatile substance that in fact it can create and alter life itself.

Further, there is even a means to deconstruct the source of Ki… namely a Living Soul.

By binding a Soul to a vessel or object, one can literally “remake” a living being that was once dead so long as the vessel is intact… this is considered a form of resurrection or to some small degree “immortality” (it is the means by which Justice was revived, via a technique developed by Dr. Faust in an attempt to save one of his patients).

In addition, there is a way to bind living cells to the very Magic-particle structure that makes up the Backyard in a semi-permanent state.  I’m sure you’re very familiar with what these cells are:

They’re called GEAR cells…

Gears are connected directly to the Backyard, and by extension they serve as “indirect gateways” in to the Backyard itself.  Just as Magic and Zeal are byproducts of the Backyard, so are Gears.

Of course, according to researchers, Magic is an “unnatural phenomenon” in the first place… an “energy that should not exist”.

So exactly what price are we paying for gaining access to this power that defies the natural laws and break any known limits?

Pretty much already did.

Read this, this, and this. (I will update the last link one of these days…)