Anima Redistribution Mechanism

The Anima Redistribution Mechanism, alternatively known as ARMs, is a unique type of Soul Catalyst created to passively gather ambient Anima and store it for later use. They have existed across EWO's history in relative secrecy, and have recently made a resurgence in the modern era as a result of [REDACTED]'s experiments.

Overview

In essence, an ARM is a weapon or item that functions as a portable Anima storage device. In ancient eras, ARMs took the form of Soul Catalyst weapons made of materials with low Anima resistance, allowing them to store and output Anima as their users saw fit. The process by which ARMs were crafted was tedious, meticulous, and had low success rates. This process was lost to time due to very few records of its existence, until two companies in the current era rediscovered the method. Century Research Innovations (CRI) is considered the premier modern ARMs production company, though they are the only ones to publicly disclose their research and development. AIM is the other manufacturer of modern ARMs, having done so as an underground organization through their black market network. Even with today's resources, ARMs are difficult to create, and the only significant improvements to the creation process were its success rate and the streamlining of ARM designs. At every ARM's core is a unique gem or material with a low Anima resistance that can stockpile energy for later use. Users can then manipulate the stockpiled energy in a form best suited to their personality and the ARM's core. Almost all ARM wielders manifest a highly-durable armored shell around themselves for protection. Modern ARMs are just as diverse as their ancient predecessors, consisting of various weapons with Anima gem cores embedded in their construction. Some wielders prefer to use what is effectively an Anima-based equivalent to the Plasma Blade, consisting of a tube with the gem installed in its center and decorated according to the user's personal preferences. ARM-based armors can vary wildly in design like the weapons they manifest from, but one universal trait is an armored spine with a segmented glowing gauge to indicate the ARM's current Anima reserves. This gauge will drain accordingly, depending on how many Soulcrafts are used or how much damage is taken. Idle movement and light combat drain slowly, but engaging in active combat, defending against projectiles, or performing advanced Soulcraft will drastically increase the usage rate. An ARM-based armor can withstand up to .50 Caliber firearms. Anything greater than or equal to that caliber disrupts the armor's uniformity and forcefully dissipate the Anima layer. Such a disruption exacts a heavy toll on Anima, requiring the Mechanism to recuperate and leaving the user without armor or weapons.

Naturally, an ARM cannot recharge while in use, forcing users to disengage their equipment to recharge and rely on a backup. Seasoned ARM wielders typically carry two to alternate between, recharging one while using the other. Currently, there is no known method of bypassing the charging process. A user can manually charge the ARM with simple Anima Infusion, provided they have the necessary time, concentration, and stamina. The Anima blade generated for combat can be sustained with minimal to extensive Anima depending on what characteristics the user imbues into it. If Anima use is limited, the user can simply cycle their own Anima into the Mechanism rather than draw from its reserves. If an ARM is recharging, it must hold a certain amount of Anima within itself before the user can produce a blade; any Anima poured into an empty Mechanism will be put towards storage until a threshold has been reached. No matter how great an ARM's storage capacity, there is a definite limit. Overloading one can result in a lethal explosion capable of incredible destruction depending on the ARM's construction and how excessive the charge provided was. AIM has exploited this fatal flaw to make ARM Charges, constructing ARMs from low-grade materials and high-resistance cores. Regardless of how it was used, ARMs must recharge up to a certain level before it can be used again.

ARMs may receive elemental attributes through the gem used at its core. The materials used in the hilt's construction are typically gather to compliment the gem core's element. If a user has a preference for another element, an ARM will manifest that desired element even if the gem core isn't attuned to it. Should the desired element directly oppose the gem core's natural attribute, the ARM will either output incredibly weak Anima or outright fail to produce anything. It is up to the user if they wish to maintain versatility or specialize in a certain element.

Elemental Attributes/Affinities

While many elemental affinities can be applied to ARMs, the rarity of unique ARMs with elemental attributes reduces the amount of affinities down to a small number. They are as follows:

• Fire
• Ice/Water
• Lightning/Wind
• Earth/Crystal
• Solar/Lunar/Twilight

These elemental abilities can oppose or enhance one another depending on which elements are used. Fire can overpower Ice or Water, but it can also be extinguished by the same elements. Wind and Lightning can augment Fire, enhancing its destructive nature or prolonging its duration; and yet it can be obstructed or insulated by Earth/Crystal. Ice may augment Earth and Crystal, but Water can very easily erode it. Solar and Lunar affinities stem from gem cores that have been heavily steeped in sun or moonlight, thus providing their symbolic attributes to whatever weapons they become. As they exist outside of the other four elements' influence, Solar and Lunar ARMs can only affect each other in the same way Fire and Ice/Water do. Very rarely do Solar and Lunar ARMs combine their powers, but the Twilight that results from their union is of incredible power.

In the end, elemental affinities depend on the user, their creativity, and the strength of their Soul. If their Anima can sustain it, the user can overpower their opposing element or augment an ally's element to turn the tide of battle in their favor. However, the optimal and favorable strategy is to wield an ARM with a favorable element rather than overpower its nature.

Despite many attempts at synthesizing a Void-based ARM, it is impossible to weaponize nothingness without the power of a Void Avatar. The never-ending cascade of failures have discouraged almost all ARM manufacturers from continuing research into Void ARMS. Whatever rare successes exist are a flawed, imperfect attempt at harnessing the Void. Such "Dark-Forged" ARMs possesses an innate strength far greater than others at the cost of exacerbating the negative traits of its user.

List of ARMs

Ancient ARMs

Found in ancient ruins across EWO's various worlds, these serve as a historical anchor for the concept of Anima Redistribution Mechanisms. These ARMs are meant solely for display as historical artifacts.

• Kabuto Horn - A long sword forged in the shape of a Japanese rhinoceros beetle's horn, with a red gem embedded in its handguard's center. Can produce a red chitinous armor also based on the rhinoceros beetle, or wielded in tandem with the following ARM to produce a much stronger armor.
• Stag Horns - A set of armored gauntlets with adorned with horn-shaped blades resembling a stag beetle's. On its own, it can manifest a blue stag beetle-like armor, or it can be Wielded in tandem with the above ARM to fuse both their individual armors together.
• Hopper Shell - A pair of chitinous gauntlets with shields resembling a grasshopper. They bore incredible defensive prowess, using Anima to create larger shields to protect a greater area, or for offensive purposes by creating a pointed shield. It generated a yellow-green grasshopper-like armor when the user needed it.
• Scorpion Stinger - A set of armored gauntlets and greaves modelled after a scorpion. The gauntlets had sharpened metal stingers on each fingertip which could be used to inject Anima into an enemy. Its user was known for manipulating his Anima to work like poison, and would use these stingers to poison enemies. It could also create a purple scorpion-like armor when the user needed more protection.
• Wolf Fangs - A pair of long daggers shaped like wolf fangs used by a feral warrior who sharpened his daggers' blades with Anima. When the warrior needed armor, he forced his Anima to create a blue, wolf-like armor. Many believe this ARM to be the common ancestor to all modern ARMs.
• Spider Weave - These gauntlets were able to create a web of Anima to trap enemies with, allowing its user to brutally pummel their prey to death. Rumor has it that this ARM's user often worked with the Scorpion Stinger's user to utterly decimate whatever battlefield they fought on. It can generate its own indigo, spider-themed armor as well.
• Defiant Sin - A greatsword that can conjure Anima copies of itself, wielded by a great warrior from Hell long ago. This was one of two blades that he wielded.
• Hellish Focus - A Katana wielded in combination with Defiant Sin, capable of concentrating Anima into its edge to create a supernaturally sharp blade that could cleanly slice through almost anything.

Modern ARMs

Neutral Attribute

• Clawed Obsidian - Befitting its user's wild, rambunctious nature, this ARM is a Plasma Blade-esque weapon with a spiked handguard and a clawed, almost feral design philosophy. Its blade is uniquely curved, producing an amethyst claw made of Anima that can be wielded almost like a sickle. It can also manifest a longer, scimitar-like blade if so desired. When its armor is deployed, the hands are covered by sharp Anima claws capable of slicing through thick concrete without effort, further emphasizing its name.

Fire

• Crimson Sun - Owned by [REDACTED], this ARM is forged from one of two legendary crystals. Embedded in an ornate, katana-like hilt with a sun-like tsuba, Crimson Sun generates an Anima blade with fiery characteristics despite its name, possessing incredible strength and speed when its armor is manifested.
• Kagatsuchi's Rage - A fire-attributed katana ARM. The materials used in its construction were retrieved from a volcanic hot spot. When active, its blade glows red hot as if plunged into the magma it was forged from.
• Surtur's Twilight - A fire-attributed greatsword with great heft and weight, but equally great strength and power.
• Agni's Brimstone - A fire-attributed ARM in the form of a series of sharpened knives made of brimstone, as its name suggests.
• Dagon's Claw - A fire-attributed ARM crafted of a blood red gem that mounts heavily armored, clawed gauntlets when activated.
• Vulcan's Axe - A two-handed war-axe with a Cinnabar gem found in the same volcanic hot spot as the materials used to create Kagatsuchi's Rage. When Anima flows through it, the blade glows red-hot and cleaves through almost everything in its path. It has oddly high compatibility with Jupiter's Saw, the fire and lightning intertwining when the two ARMs are wielded together.
• Flametongue - A fire-attributed ARM forged as a mighty longsword marred black from the intense flames it produces. Part of the Terminal Eikonic ARM series, it is said that this weapon holds Ifrit's rage within it, producing an armored form imbued with infernal anger and fire marked by a pair of horns and sharp claws. For a time, it was paired with Crimson Sun, bolstering both weapons' fire powers and allowing their user to unleash incredibly hot flames. By sacrificing its Anima reserves, Flametongue can perform the Inferno Charge attack, wreathing the user in flaming Anima and launching them forward in a powerful thrusting attack.

Water/Ice

• Poseidon's Trident - A water-attributed ARM taking the form of a trident.
• Susano-O's Arrows - A water-attributed ARM taking the form of a bow that fires ice arrows.
• Cyan Moon - Owned by [REDACTED], Cyan Moon's gem core comes from Crimson Sun's rival. Rather than creating a new weapon from scratch, the gem was instead embedded in its owner's existing sword, reinforcing it into a weapon of even greater power and formidable speed. Its namesake imbues the blade with the moon's cold shadows to wield in combat, freezing the Anima channeled through it. Though it could use a Lunar attribute, its wielder favors the Ice attribute, resulting in constant water vapor and cold mist surrounding the deployed armor.
• Orochi's Heads - A water/ice-attributed ARM taking the form of 8 throwing knives. The knives perpetually maintain themselves as a set of 8, always regenerating no matter how many are thrown away. It was made from a beautiful sapphire found washed ashore. After researching the gem, it was determined to have been part of a cult that worshiped the ocean, but was lost to the depths of the sea when the cult violently split into two separate factions.
• Cthylla's Tendril - An Ice-attributed ARM forged from a dull yellow crystal found near R'lyeh's Vengeance, manifesting barbed Anima whips as weapons.
• Chione's Buckler - An ARM containing an Ice affinity through a beautiful topaz gem infused with a blizzard's overwhelming force. When manifested, it generates a clawed buckler shield that can release gusts of arctic winds or waves of icicles when swung. It can be wielded simultaneously with other ARMs, though it has reduced compatibility with Vulcan's Axe due to their opposing elements.
• Icebrand - An ice-attributed ARM created as a rapier-like longsword with an engraved, slender blade made of lightweight materials as part of the Terminal Eikonic ARM series. While proficient as a stabbing weapon, its blade is still wide and sharp enough to slash through targets with ease, especially when coupled with its potent ice-based abilities. If paired with other Water or Ice-based ARMs, Icebrand is able to greatly bolster their ice powers, as demonstrated with its consistent use with Cyan Moon. Sacrificing its Anima reserves produces the Diamond Dust attack, flash-freezing a large area around the user to immobilize and weaken anything caught in its range.

Wind/Lightning

• Izanagi's Spear - A lightning-attributed ARM in the form of a Naginata.
• Apostle's Cyclone - A wind-attributed ARM which takes the form of a pair of large, three-pronged shuriken that can unleash Anima copies of itself as projectiles.
• Levinbolt - Part of the Terminal Eikonic ARM series, Levinbolt is a lightning-attributed ARM taking the form of a single-edged longsword with a strange, lightning bolt-like design to its blade. Developed under the codename "Vajra," it is an incredibly powerful ARM capable of manifesting its own high powered electric oscillations to temporarily function as a pseudo-High Frequency Blade, or discharging all of its stored Anima as the powerful "Judgement Bolt" attack.
• Emerald Tempest - This ARM is lightning-attributed, made from a gem found in the ruins of an ancient society that seemingly worshiped light, the sun, and lightning. This gem emits a unique green lightning when Anima is passed through it, which has been harnessed into a powerful Anima beam sword. The hilt housing this gem is of simple design, crafted from fine silver and adorned with anodized titanium parts in green. It emits an Anima beam which occasionally sparks with the green lightning.
• Storm Cleaver - A lightning-attributed battle axe with runes carved into its blade. These runes allow the user to create an Anima tether that will return the axe to their hand should it be knocked away.
• Hydra's Wing - A Wind-attributed ARM crafted from a greenish-blue gem embedded in a lightly-armored gauntlet with a hidden blade beneath the user's wrist.
• Jupiter's Saw - An ARM with a powerful Lightning attribute coming from its brilliant amber gem, gathered from a sacrificial altar dedicated to a lightning god. It takes the form of a longsword with a silver serrated edge and a gold lightning pattern running down the blade, with a decorative white and gold hilt wrapping. Like the Levinbolt, Jupiter's Saw can temporarily function as a pseudo-High Frequency Blade if infused with enough Anima. It has a notable fondness for Vulcan's Axe, augmenting the latter's flames with its lightning to create powerful attacks.

Earth/Crystal

• Sarutahiko's Club - An earth/crystal-attributed club-like ARM. Another legendary weapon, famous for its ability to crystallize Anima along its surface and for being nigh-unbreakable, both traits associated with its former user's Anima enhancements and fighting style. One day, the club's user fell in battle, and the Anima enhancements it carried died with the warrior, transforming this club into a pile of wood scrap with a single amber gem. The gem and scrap were found and crafted into an ARM that retained all of its previous characteristics.
• Hades' Bident - An earth-attributed ARM appearing as a two-pronged spear.
• Gaea's Limbs - An earth ARM coming in the form of armored gauntlets and greaves.
• Grindstone - An earth/crystal ARM forged as a hefty longsword fortified with the earth's power as part of the Terminal Eikonic ARM series. Even without its earth/crystal powers, Grindstone possesses incredible weight and sharpness, making it a fearsome sword on its own. Compounded with its ability to create a jagged, crystalline edge, Grindstone is a formidable weapon of overwhelming strength that can enlarge itself to defend its user's allies if so desired. A mighty sword and shield in one weapon. Sacrificing its Anima reserves unleashes Titanomachy, a barrage of crystals that sprout from the ground to impale any poor soul caught in its wake.

Twilight

• Twilight Raptor - This ARM is made from the bones of an ancient creature best described as resembling a Velociraptor. These bones were infused with moonlight and sunlight through some unknown process, and the ARM channels those powers through a hybrid of a Light attribute and minor Dark-Forged capabilities. Its weapons consist of a pair of clawed gauntlets, one infused with light and the other infused with shadow. If used in tandem with Clawed Obsidian, the latter's claws are simply augmented by Twilight Raptor's powers.

Solar

• Lucifer's Buster - An ARM with the solar attribute that manifests a phantom arm mirroring the User's own arm. Another artifact of cult worship, the gem used to make this ARM belonged to a cult dedicated to a demon of light. No one knew the light demon's name, so it was referred to as "Lucifer." Rumor has it the gem was used to summon this Lucifer, but all it could manage was one of its arms; thus, its ability to summon a phantom arm.
• Apollo's Needles - A solar-attributed ARM that shapes Anima into relatively weak needle-like swords that can be repositioned according to the User's will. The materials gathered to produce this ARM were blessed by a priest who worships a light god, bestowing this ARM with its light-based weaponry. The ARM was later refined to generate its signature needle swords.
• Solaris' Light - A solar-attributed ARM constructed as part of a pair. Solaris' Light is an Anima-based energy blade weapon with a crucifix design, producing a golden-white blade with two auxiliary spikes acting as part of a handguard. The hilt itself is crafted of a pure white metal alloy, inlayed with various gold details referencing its sun theme and terminating in a spiked pommel. The blade emitter features asymmetrical flared components, one side shorter than the other to indicate which way the weapon is meant to be wielded. This and its sibling ARM, Lunaris, were crafted from a gold and amethyst gem pair found in angelic territory.
• Brightburn - A solar-attributed ARM with a royal design fit for a king. Part of the Terminal Eikonic ARM series, Brightburn is infused with powerful light powers suitable for Heaven's finest warrior. Its armor manifests a heavenly dragoon's armor, equipped with wings of light capable of blinding or outright smiting lesser foes caught in its wake. Should the user discharge all of its Anima in one attack, they can unleash the ultra-concentrated Gigaflare beam.

Lunar

• Lunaris' Shadows - A lunar-attributed ARM, crafted as Solaris' sibling ARM. Lunaris' Shadows is also an Anima blade weapon, though it is of a more "traditional" sword hilt design. Its gunmetal hilt features violet inscriptions that reflect its moon theme, and it features flared emitters on both ends. The emitters only feature a single flared component, continuing the moon theme with violet crescent moon engravings. Despite the dual emitters, Lunaris' Shadows emits a shorter blade from its lower emitter rather than creating a symmetrical dual-ended Anima blade.
• Everdark - A lunar-attributed ARM created as a dark counterpart to Brightburn. Part of the Terminal Eikonic ARM series, Everdark is infused with an overwhelming darkness. Rather than a dragoon's armor, Everdark manifests armor made in the image of a dark king with a cloak of shadows. Rather than unleashing all of its Anima as one powerful attack, Everdark can instead transform into the Shadow's Severance, a single-edged Anima blade with a supernatural sharpness.

Dark-Forged

• Dark Damnation - A blackened ARM created from a rare, unholy gem found in the vilest depths of Hell. Said gem was embedded in the guard of a mighty longsword, forged from Damascus steel in hellish Anima to steep it in unholy power. Uniquely, the sword's fuller has the Anima supply gauge embedded in it, allowing its user to take note of their remaining energy with a glance at their blade. The armor generated from this ARM retains the spine-mounted gauge, and its design only strengthens its user's terrifying presence. Wielded by [REDACTED].
• R'lyeh's Vengeance - Crafted from a dark amethyst gem found at the site of eldritch worship, R'lyeh's Vengeance created an asymmetrical, spiked armor deeply steeped in the eldritch horrors it bore witness to. The ritual sacrifices that empower it result in power fluctuations, but a user with enough willpower can use these fluctuations to their advantage or stabilize the ARM altogether. Its gem is embedded in the center of a dark metallic tube with a primary emitter lens and two secondary emitters that vent the unstable Anima when its blade is ignited. While a suitable melee weapon, its user relies more on advanced Soulcraft and Anima manipulation.

ARM Extensions

As its name suggests, an ARM Extension is designed to augment an already-existing ARM by providing additional weaponry, mass, or Anima storage capacity. They are alternatively referred to as EX-ARMs. An Extension is typically its own weapon rather than an Anima beam blade, though it extend such an ARM's effective range depending on the overall design. Typically, Extensions do not exert any additional influence on the user's armored form unless they will such a change, simply supplementing their Anima supply and Soulcraft capabilities. Thus, they are universal upgrades that users can freely trade without restriction. If elemental attributes are applied to an EX-ARM, it will reinforce or otherwise bolster the elemental effects.

• CRI Striker Series - Developed by Century Research Innovations, the Striker-series ARM Extensions are a set of armored gauntlets that cover the user's entire arm. Each gauntlet is designed to match its corresponding section of the afterlife, with an ambidextrous design and a gem embedded in the back of the glove. The three Extensions are:
  • Paradiso Striker - This Striker unit is specifically tuned for Angelic users, allowing Angels and Angel Hybrids to use it to its fullest potential. It is constructed from white and gold alloys, with a smooth and lightweight design optimized for speed and quick Soulcraft casting. Uniquely, the Paradiso Striker amplifies healing Soulcraft a considerable amount.
  • Purgatorio Striker - This Striker unit is optimized for those who possess a Dark Soul. It balances offense, defense, and flexibility, though it focuses on generally enhancing Soulcraft above all. Constructed of dark silver alloys and carbon fiber-like materials, Humans are best suited to wielding this Extension, but Hybrids are able to use it to a lesser extent.
  • Inferno Striker - This Striker unit is designed for Demonic users, augmenting Demons and Demonic hybrids and providing incredible destructive power. It focuses on heavy, blackened armor plates with a red, flesh-like material beneath for great defensive and offensive potential. The Inferno Striker greatly boosts offensive Soulcraft.
• Proto-Hazard Gear - AIM's attempt at creating an EX-ARM, the Proto-Hazard Gear is a gear-shaped pendant with its gem core embedded in the center. It is decorated with yellow hazard stripes and red test markers to denote its prototype status, which is also where the EX-ARM derives its name. While a successful product, the labor and material procurement costs proved too expensive for mass-production as intended. Thus, only three prototypes were created and tested. It uniquely affects all armors produced with its power by adding hazard stripes or sleek, sharp spikes to the user's armor; other additions varied according to the user's will.
  • Mass Hazard Gear - A mass-production variant of the Hazard Gear made with significantly cheaper materials, thus lowering its output compared to the prototype. Though this was done in hopes of mass-production, even these lower quality materials were too expensive for large scale production as AIM desired. Instead, it is sold as a limited production EX-ARM on the black market. It features purple and silver hazard stripes and removed test markers to differentiate itself aesthetically.

Mass-Production ARMs

Mass Production ARMs are produced with the bare necessities. Their materials are mediocre at best, and they have all the necessary safety restrains. They possess relative weak power in comparison to more unique ARMs, but they can be created in large quantities in one given batch. Mass Production ARMs consist of serviceable melee weapons embedded with Anima-laden gems, primitive firearms crafted to fire Anima blasts, or a simple gem encased in metallic alloys to function as a grenade. They lack in power and are prone to failure due to instabilities in the creation process, but they can be easily replaced in the event of such failure.

Trivia

• ARM-based Armors deploy much like Kotaro Minami and Nobuhiko Akizuki's transformations in Kamen Rider Black Sun. Rather than summoning the Driver first, the armored gauge will manifest along the user's spine before the rest of the armor wraps around them in mass of Anima tendrils and armored plates.
• Etymology:
  • Surtur's Twilight is named for the Fire Giant of Norse Mythology and based on the sword he wields.
  • Orochi's Heads come from myth of Yamata no Orochi.
  • Fujin's Sluggers is named after the Japanese Wind God. Sarutahiko's Club is the same, named for the Japanese Earth God.
  • Defiant Sin and Hellish Focus are references to the Devil May Cry series.
  • The Striker ARM Extensions are named after the three stages of the afterlife and the chapters of the Divine Comedy: Paradiso (Heaven/Paradise), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Inferno (Hell).
• Ironically, only one ARM is neutrally-attributed compared to other attributes having at least 3 ARMs affiliated with that element.
• The Terminal Eikonic ARM Series references the different Eikonic weapons featured in Final Fantasy XVI.