Conceptual Power

Overview
Conceptual powers differ from all other abilities in the way that they function. Essentially, while various skills and supernatural abilities require the user to direct their own effort and attention in order to achieve the desired result, conceptual powers act directly through their associated concept. The user merely needs to guide the concept to function as they desire, and it will provide the effects, if they are within its scope.

As a consequence, conceptual abilities tend to be incredibly powerful and versatile. Within the scope of their concepts, they are almost limitless in their potential. Having almost no cost to their use, they can be employed so long as the one possessing the power has the will and mental clarity to direct the ability. Those with full mastery over their abilities may even control them on an unconscious level, having the world automatically rearrange itself to suit their will.

There is no way to acquire such abilities, short of being born with them, or in certain very rare cases, having an exceptionally powerful being bestow one with such a power. Furthermore, the only "training" or development of these abilities come through gaining a deeper undstanding of the concept.

People with access to full conceptual powers are very few, and those that do hold power over concepts generally are limited to the control of only one. There will generally only be one person that will hold full control over a single concept -- a person that would be none other than said concept's very embodiment.

Boundaries
[Flavor Text to Come~] 

Nature
Boundaries are, in the simplest definition possible, the forces that separate one thing from another. They shape the world as we know it, defining reality and showing where one thing ends and the other begins. In this way, it can be seen as the opposite of perspectives, or, rather, the flipside of the same coin.

Boundaries are responsible for, say, keeping the horizon steady by separating earth and sky, keeping the lake from becoming a great mud puddle by separating ground and water, or keeping that same lake from becoming a huge cloud by separating water and air. In essence, it is boundaries that keep everything in the world stable and not melding together into one shapeless mass of matter. Perhaps that is why humans have attempted to grasp this concept by separating their nations or states from one another through natural "boundaries" of rivers, mountain ranges, or just arbitrary invisible lines drawn between point A and point B.

Boundaries are, for the most part, clear-cut and easily-seen, while perspectives are almost always less defined and much more ambiguous. While perspectives can make a mountain fit on a dinner plate, boundaries must forcibly redefine the measurements that affect that mountain before being able to pluck it up and place it on that same dinner plate. On the flipside, boundaries can very easily kill something, simply by shifting them over the border of life and death, while perspectives would have to go through other steps in order to achieve the same result.

By manipulating boundaries, one is, in essence, redefining reality by manipulating those clear-cut separations between even the most basic of concepts. As with the manipulation of perspectives, it seems that nothing can escape the reach of the manipulation of boundaries, though it is clearly much easier to do some things as opposed to others.

Applications
(( I'll...uh, get to this later. Yeah. ))

Perspective
Far more than its simple name would suggest, it embodies one of the fundamental forces of reality - that of change, interpretation, and ultimately, equality. 

Nature
Perspectives are, according to Tiandao, the opposite of Boundaries.

Boundaries define reality by dividing one thing from another, whereas Perspectives alter reality by creating interactions between things. Where manipulating Boundaries entails redefining the very nature of things, manipulating Perspectives entail subtly guiding, twisting, and shaping the interactions between them. In this way, Boundaries can be said to act on the edges of objects, while Perspectives act on their centres. A boundary defines where small ends and big begins, but from a given perspective, even the smallest of things can be truly massive.

Perspective is what links the image of an object to the object itself, and so by touching what one sees, one can touch the object itself - thus, it is possible to hold a distant mountain in the palm of one’s hand. Perspective allows a single drop of rain to fill an entire ocean, or an entire ocean to be held in a cup. Through perspective, ten thousand things can become one, intent can become action, and something unseen can cease to exist entirely. With a subtle shift of perspective, it becomes possible to crack the earth with a single finger, or to pluck the glowing disc that is the sun from the sky.

In a practical sense, manipulating Perspective is to impose a specific understanding onto reality. By considering the nature of something to be different, it becomes different, by considering things to be the same, they become the same. Despite being a seemingly straightforward power, it subtly connects to all things, and there is virtually nothing beyond the reach of this power.

Applications
A rather common use of this ability, is to create “blind spots” - shifting the perspective of vision to create a small zone where nothing can be seen. Freed from any perception, such as place can contain, in theory, anything, and exist anywhere. These can be used to teleport, or to store objects, both great and small.

Another typical usage is to adjust the scale of various things - to make things be closer, or further away; faster, or slower; bigger, or smaller. Taken to extremes, this can effectively make people or things untouchable, by making them “infinitely” far from their surroundings, or freeze them in place by making even the most rapid movements extremely slow.

Another common use of this power is to create forces out of nothing, by playing upon the interaction between objects. Merely reaching out and touching the image one sees of something, is enough to strike it with a force that extends as far as the wielder of the power wishes it to. By sufficiently focusing the point of contact, it is possible to draw a line to infinity through an object, and thus impart an infinite force to it.

As the possible effects of this power are limited only be the wielder's imagination, it is impossible to list all of its potential applications.

(( Will edit this later as needed arararar >;c ))

The Unknown
Given the expanse of the universe, there is no such thing as knowing everything. That which is not known is the unknown-- and one of the greatest fears is the fear of what is not known. 

Nature
The unknown is something simple -- it is all that is not understood or determined in any manner. However, at the same time, it is a gigantic and complicated concept, as "the unknown" can literally be anything in existence depending on the individual or individuals in question. Through this, it is ultimately one of the most powerful and all-encompassing ideas that survives through every living thing. It may be what cannot be seen from one person's specific point of view, such as whatever may lurk in a dark corner, or all that an entire race does not understand, such as the concept of true infinity.

Applications
Depending on the capabilities of the individual behind the power, the manipulation of the unknown can be anywhere from harmless to downright disastrous. They may perhaps be able to take the form of something that is unknown to others, or to bring imaginary -- or rather, "unknown" -- monstrosities to life. It would even be possible to downright destroy a living thing's mind and perception of the world by altering their own concept of "known" and "unknown"...

It relies on the presence of others besides the user in order to be applied, but a mere gnat would suffice, as there are a hundred million things that a gnat does not know, therefore opening up an entire world of possibilities. Dreams of what are unknown could possibly be spun into reality. What could magnificent power behind the manipulation of the unknown be capable of?

Identity and the Undefined
Identity is something that everyone and everything that is, and will ever be, possesses. They are known by a word, or a name, or a physical form -- or perhaps all three.



Nature
ehehe getting to this later

Applications
ALSO GETTING TO THIS LATER.

Perception
Perception is what we might consider the result of the combined experience of all of one's senses - the means by which someone is aware of the world around them. 

Nature
Manipulating perception is more than simply creating illusions. Rather, it is the act of directly changing an individual's ability to experience the world. From the basic senses such as sight and hearing, to those lesser known, such as proprioception or nociception, to the rare abilities to sense auras or magic - all of these senses together make up an individual's perception of the world, and manipulating it entails nothing less than restructuring the world as they are able to sense it.

Unlike regular illusion magic, which functions by creating some new form or sensation to be perceived, this acts directly on the mind of the target. As such, the illusions it creates are effectively flawless, barring some deliberate clue left by the wielder of the power. By shaping the way someone perceives the world, it’s possible to subtly alter what they can sense, adding, removing, or altering small details; or to go further and completely reshape how they sense the world, effectively trapping them in a perfectly detailed hallucination.

However, affecting others’ perceptions in such a way is but one use of this power. It can also be used to see through illusions, or even into the minds of others. Being that there is no difference between affecting your own perception or that of another, it can grant these abilities to anyone, for as long as the wielder is willing to apply the effort needed to maintain the effect.

Owing to the way this power functions, it isn’t something that can be easily overcome. Only incredibly powerful individuals, or those whose own abilities deal specifically with the senses, have any hope of overturning its effects. To everyone else, it becomes impossible to tell if anything they perceive is real, or merely something fabricated by this power.

Applications
With a sufficient deal of control over this ability, it becomes possible to quickly and easily shape even complex “illusions” for others - to the point where even those who are aware of what is happening begin to doubt their own senses. There doesn’t seem to be any way to tell when this is being done, and as such there is no clear defence.

Used on one's self, this power can render one effectively immune to any other form of illusion, as they would be able to percieve the underlying reality near-instantly. It is also a potent tool for gathering information, as it can be used to experience distant events, amongst other things.

Of course, although the illusions this creates can be made flawless, they are still only illusions, and thus cannot actually affect anything, although they may seem like they do. Being stabbed by an illusionary sword would still hurt, although it won’t actually kill. This may be little solace, however, to those who are still the target of an old, powerful Yaoguai, especially when they cannot even trust their own senses.

Distance
(This Power/Ability is still under construction. It could be reworded, completely changed in scope, or even up and moved without notice. Thank you for your understanding.)

Distance is, in symbolism, representative of trial and, in retrospect, overcoming the obstacles you face. Perhaps it is best explained by the saying “It is not the beginning, it is not the destination; it is the journey that takes you there.” 

Nature
A Conceptual Ability that controls not an abstract but a well defined concept, the concept of Distance has existed as long as there has been two things to distance; which could, arguably, be held as the Fundamentals themselves.

For purposes of this ability, Distance is defined as "the degree or amount of separation between two points, lines, surfaces, or objects measured along the shortest path joining them"; thus, Distance is purely a physical concept. In this manner, Distance can itself be seen as a Boundary (between two physical points), and therefore in many aspects imitates the Concept of Boundaries, but it is much more limited in scale.

However, unlike the Boundaries which it imitates, Distance is a very well defined concept. It, like all Concepts, has no effect on that outside the scope of itself. Though it may be able to theoretically make a mountain the size of a Pea, it can neither make that mountain appear to be the size of a pea or weigh as little as that pea. It would only be theoretically possible to cross that mountain in a single step.

Therefore, the Manipulation of Distance is, in its most basic form, theoretically the Manipulation of Space itself.

Applications
((To be completed))

Possessor

 * Komachi Onozuka

Manipulation of Existence


Possessors

 * Ki


 * Character::Sunyata: In limited form