“Tear out the soul!”
NameRui-Ling Kazanari
Age"He stopped aging at around 17."
Gender"Male"
Race"Vessel of God"
Height"5’5"
Weight"179 lbs"
Aliases/TitlesAirgetlam, Spirit Hammer
AppearancePersonalityRui-Ling didn’t take immortality and eternal youth too well. For one, it killed his chances of getting it on with his high school crush, and two, all his personal identification was useless now, as even the most blockheaded police man would understand that a 17 year old who had a 50 year old passport probably was using a fake one. Needless to say, Rui-Ling is someone who’s far from happy. He’s bitter, cynical, and provocative, a person who goes out of his way to anger humans, who don’t understand the curse of immortality, and youkai, who don’t understand the joys of mortality. Nevertheless, being a miserable immortal doesn’t really make one’s life fun at all, and so, Rui-Ling is also generally rather depressed.
He’s a big-mouthed pessimist who has, over the years, seen a lot of shit and obtained a lot of experience. Rui-Ling laughs at the ideals and desires of others, but simultaneously wants to support them. As he’ll probably outlive his own children, if he’s even capable of having them the first place, he sees his path in life as that of a mentor, to make sure that the newbie Chasers don’t do stupid things that would either kill them or make them into the same type of monster that he is.
Of course, most Chasers just see a pissy, edgy kid who looks down on people.
BackgroundA long time ago, Rui-Ling was an exchange student in Ireland, learning Irish-accented English and making friends with Europeans. His parents were globe-trotting members of Doctors Without Borders, and wanted to instill a sense of worldliness into their son early on in life. And yes, Rui-Ling did attain that. But he got that by accidentally slipping into the world of the Crimson Sky, almost dying while being chased by some sort of monster, before falling into a hole and breaking his arm in three separate places.
Essentially, it hurt like a bitch, and he promptly fell unconscious, right as the wolf-monster found him, its tongue lolling on the side of its canine mouth.
When he came to, he found himself on a small island. The grass was lush and green, while the ocean lapped at its beaches gently. The cold wind smelled of salt and brine, calming his mind. Rui-Ling was able to convince himself that he was perfectly fine, and that the Crimson Sky had just been a dream.
And then, he realized that his left arm was missing, and that a cloaked individual was standing before him. The stranger towered over him, and a silver arm reached out from the shadows of the cloak, piercing his chest and grabbing his heart. Silver was pumped into his veins, countless metallic threads jutting out of the torn seams of his shoulder. They wove together to form an arm, and with that, the figure was gone.
Rui-Ling fell back into darkness.
When he awoke a second time, what laid before him was the werewolf, dead from internal injuries. The blood that bled from the wounds on his body were of silver, and, as he watched, they sealed up before his eyes. It was clear to him that now, he wasn’t really human.
Rui-Ling worked alone when he went out in the Crimson Sky. He lived his normal, human life for as long as possible, graduating from high school and starting two years of a degree in biology, before deciding that his parents would realize that his appearance never changed, and faking his death. From there on, he attended his own funeral, before moving to another country by swimming from one shore to another. With a perfect immortality and boundless vigor, even border patrols couldn’t stop him, and eventually, Rui-Ling made it to Mongolia, where he spent most of the rest of his life.
After a few decades working as a monster-buster there, he realized that he wasn’t making as much money as he wanted, and took to walking to China, before swimming to Japan and, after a few misadventures, eventually settling in Sonomachi.
Powers
Airgetlam, Silver Arm of the King of Gods – The silver left arm of Rui-Ling, Airgetlam could be considered a spiritual weapon, capable of piercing through both the physical and the magical. It can touch the very soul of a being, and, in the same vein, has the ability to tear or beat them out. However, this intangibility only lasts up until his left shoulder, and, outside of being an indestructible, intangible soul-stealing arm…that’s it.
A certain amount of physical force is required in order to dislodge a soul from its body, but after that happens, the body is put into a comatose state that can’t reverted until the soul is put back into the body. In a way, one can almost think of Airgetlam as the strongest non-lethal weapon in existence, capable of stopping any spiritual being without harming their physical vessel.
Claimoh Solais, The Soul’s Piercing Light – The ‘power’ that resides in Rui-Ling’s right hand, Claimoh Solais isn’t actually an artifact. Instead, it’s just a spell that Rui-Ling created and named after the Sword of Light because it worked well, thematically. Utilizing Airgetlam’s soul-taking abilities, Claimoh Solais is a spell that uses those souls as ammunition, creating powerful beam blasts that are rather effective against any physical or magical obstacle. Despite this, however, Claimoh Solais is a spell that is largely ineffective against living beings, making it an offensive spell used more for removing obstacles while Rui-Ling is running towards someone with the intention of punching out their soul.
Originally, it was meant solely as a way of destroying souls, because some people deserve to die for real.
The Legacy of the Tuatha De Dannan – As a vessel of a dormant god, Rui-Ling is, essentially, an immortal with eternal youth and vigor. He doesn’t need to sleep or eat, and he can push past the boundaries of ordinary humans, performing superhuman feats. However, this immortality of his is a big pain in the ass, in that, unless he dies, it doesn’t really reveal itself at all. Rui-Ling, once he sustains injuries, can only heal if he kills himself or falls asleep. A broken bone, for example, would not heal until he stabs himself in the throat and his whole body resets itself.
Essentially, it’s a real pain in the ass whenever he fights a merciful, gentle opponent, because then there’s no way he can properly take advantage of his immortality without having to kill himself. At least he's used to the pain now?
SkillsSuicide - He knows exactly how to kill himself with his bare hands…though generally, he prefers a less hands-on approach.
Martial Arts - With a black belt in Muay Thai, Aikido, Karate, and Wu Shu.
Card Games - He has a wicked Vermillion Ulith deck.
Mathematics - He’s half-Chinese.
Exploring – He’s a veteran in the Crimson Sky.
Weapons"A bottle of souls.
A very sharp stiletto.
A handgun with a clip of six bullets.
Various fast-acting poison pills."
EquipmentHis cellphone. A Samsung Galaxy that he plays games on.
An extra set of clothes in a small backpack, usually to replace his dirty ones if he has to kill himself to resurrect.
A bottle of sleeping pills, as a gentler way of healing from his injuries.
OtherRui-Ling could, funnily enough, be considered a glass cannon. In the end, his body is still limited to the utmost capabilities of a human. A gun is still a very viable weapon to use against him…at least until he starts slashing his throat and instantly resurrecting himself. Then, it’s like a horror movie.
Claimoh Solais destroys all non-living things. Against a human or a youkai, it’s basically a stripping beam. Against a robot or an cyborg, however, it’s a death sentence. Both those things has gotten him into trouble in the past.
As his abilities stem from his ‘divinity’, they technically cannot be classified as a supernatural power. After all, a soul is a very natural thing, even if it's fired at people like a stripping beam...
Due to his countless years of death experiences, Rui-Ling's reflexes and instinct are top-notch when it comes to evading danger.. He also might have become a masochist.
The best way to picture Rui-Ling is that of an angry old man in the body of a good-looking young adult.