Anima.
Functionality wise, Anima and Aether can be used in incredibly similar ways.
Both can be used by warriors to enhance their abilities, both can be used to make fireballs and both can be manipulated to create pockets in time and space in order to defy reality, etc.
There were however some key differences in terms of application and origins.
Aether is everywhere and warriors can increase their ability to use it via exercising, external items and environment. Everybody and everything can use aether to some extent in order to do external damage and changes. Aether, in the other words, was the energy of life and nature...and technically death...
Anima on the other hand is internal only and it is a strange energy of the mind. Mental attacks, telepathy, telekinesis, basically the full mind over matter suite. Granted, said targets of such mentality focused abilities have to be alive or at least be capable of forming complex thoughts.
You're also either born with the ability to use anima or you're not, no two ways about it. This meant that only naturally sentient beings like humans and some select species of natural born aether beasts can use this stuff too.
Both anima and aether can also be used to make special tools and treasures, but the former can be done on the cheap without using external energy input, while the latter is more expensive and requires external energy usage. Supposedly the two can be combine to make absurdly powerful items, but they're viciously rare, with the ones being able to make them being even rarer.
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'...so I'm fighting a knockoff psychic?'
'Of course, that's also a mouthful of a term.'
[Meh, "aether warrior". Also, duck.]
"Bwah!"
While talking to his mental guide, Zhen Liu had chased the psychic kidnapper all the way to an open air street market.
However, nobody was currently manning these booths or shopping at them, due to being near the circus fire. Evidently, mass public incidents/possible tragedies were more important than the promise of commerce.
Unfortunately, this also meant that the kidnapper had an absolute bounty of ammo variety to use against him.
For the past minute or so, Zhen Liu had to dodge everything from cheap jewelery to toys to various sharp implements. At one point there was even a roasted goat's head flung towards him, the sight of which would haunt his nightmares for years to come.
'Alright, that tears it.'
As he kept dodging and running after the kidnapper, Zhen Liu attempted to connect his will to the Razor Maiden proto-kaijin that was currently chilling in his wooden backpack.
He had thought of using Nepherage or Frosttusk in this situation, but as he told Zhen Hai, there would be way too much collateral damage.
Addendum to rule#5: Try not to make/get into situations where lying is needed. Especially when you need to lie about magic bullshit monsters that may or may not be balance breaking.
That being said, mentally connecting to the protokaijin was...weird.
Gone was complex thoughts and words, replaced with pure instinct and raw emotions.
As odd as it sounded, the sensation reminded Zhen Liu of switching from high speed internet to a dial-up modem. It still worked, it was just a lot slower and less complex.
'Welp, I can at least give one command. Git'im.'
"KILL!"
SHUNK!
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'Huh? What's that sound? Did that brat pull out a weapon?'
Farisia had been spending the better part of her night attempting to lose her pursuers so that she may €deposit€ her prize to her ¢bELoved¢ master. Hence why she deemed it necessary to stress out her anima while also splitting up with her companion so that they may divide and conquer these reckless youths.
The two of them had done this song and dance before, and knew from experience that the best way to deal with multiple pursuers was to separate them, especially if it was a group of three.
There were always that one person who thought they could take down a simple maid, unaware of the mind breaking secret she hid.
'No matter. I'll just keep throwing things at him, get him more frustrated to breakdown his mental defenses and then-'
"CUT!"
"Wha-whoa!"
Before Farisia could put her plan into action, an unrefined yet razor sharp killing intent suddenly manifested from above her head. She felt as if an unbound guillotine was going to slice her face off. Luckily she noticed the feeling in time and managed to step out of the way fast enough before the source of the intent came slamming down on her former position.
"Missed?! Rage!"
"The Razor Maiden? No... something's wrong..."
Farisia knew all of the ¥wONderfol¥ creations of her €bEl•V€D+ master, including the aether puppet he had g€neR0u$ly "given" away to the Zhen Clan's Fourth Young Master. Which is why she immediately noticed something was off about this aether puppet.
"Cut! Slice! Kill!"
Enraged by it's failed opening move, the Razor Maiden began to wildly swing and kick towards Farisia, spinning all the while like the demented form of a ballerina. Granted, it's movement were still stiff and somewhat predictable.
Farisia effortlessly avoided the wildly predictable attacks, giving her time to think about what the hell was going on.
'How did it talk? Ventriloquism? No, the controller is too far away,' Farisia thought as she sidestepped an obvious axe kick.
"There's more than one person controlling this puppet? No...the puppet itself is alive! But how?!' Farisia's eyes went wide at the realization, not that anyone could see it under her face covering.
It was very faint, but Farisia could sense the nascent shape of a soul nestled in the form of the Razor Maiden puppet, or at the least something very similar to a soul.
The implications of this discovery was just about to dawn on her, but that moment was interrupted when a giant leg sized blade almost went right between her eyes. She managed to react fast enough that the blade only nicked her cheek.
'That was cl-'
"Gotcha! Now!"
'Shit! Gah!'
Evidently, Farisia didn't expect the Razor Maiden to suddenly use one of it's clawed hands to try and shank her in the stomach. She managed to throw up a hasty guard art, but was sent flying back quite a few steps by the sheer force behind the blow.
'Bah! It's like being hit by a bull... wait...is it...smiling?'
Farisia wasn't sure, but she swore that the Razor Maiden's smile grew a tad wider.
"Weakened prey. Chop Chop!"