Transcension is one of the core concepts of the Phantom Blade series. It means reshaping a person’s Sha-Chi by artificial means so the body can produce power far beyond the human norm. It sits close to Occult Arts and the Ghost Envoy arts, and understanding it is the fastest way into the setting.
How it works
Sha-Chi is the source of a martial artist’s power in the Phantom World. Transcension amplifies and controls that Sha-Chi artificially, which is where the superhuman fighting strength comes from. It also brings serious side effects: loss of emotion, a shortened lifespan, and bodily mutation among them. The technique is held mainly by The Order, and it is the foundation the Ghost Envoy arts are built on.
Methods
- Ghost Envoy arts — The Order’s method: it turns a person into a Ghost Envoy with no will of their own
- Venom-Heart Art — Ghost Hand’s own technique, fighting poison with poison to force out latent potential
Side effects
- Loss of emotion and of a sense of self
- A sharply shortened lifespan
- Possible bodily mutation
- Risk of the Sha-Chi running out of control
- Irreversible damage to the mind
Who is affected
- Soul — took Ghost Hand’s Venom-Heart Art, and has sixty-six days left
- the Hook — a B-rank Ghost Envoy produced by the Ghost Envoy arts
- Xianzhe — a converted Ghost Envoy under Inanis