Mist

Mist is an elementary particle of dreams. It is the basic building block that oneirosea is made of, and those with powers use it to fuel their various abilities.

Overview

Mist is created within human bodies in response to their brain activity. When a human dreams, the level produced is the highest. However, smaller amounts of mist are constantly being produced in response to thoughts, emotions, aspirations for the future, and so forth. Since diels recover their ability to use their powers over time, it seems that they can also generate mist, but it is unknown whether this is a feature of their human emulation program or due to their own identities.

Since mist is an ephemeral dream substance, it will burn and be destroyed when it comes into contact with solid matter. Most mist is produced in reality, and immediately evaporates. However, over thousands of years, the small amounts of mist that persisted eventually pooled together to form oneirosea.

Souls

A soul is a clump of mist that exists within every living human. It grows with the human as they age, eventually taking on an imprint of some of their memories and personality, and evaporates away once the human dies. The soul is still somewhat poorly understood by modern science, and there are many controversies and misconceptions surrounding it; however, it is certain that humans with powers have exceptionally large souls, and use it to fuel their abilities.

A human's consciousness seems to be linked to their soul. During particularly vivid dreams, the soul drifts into oneirosea, and the person's consciousness follows it. Astral projection is another technique that makes use of this property.

If a human dies in oneirosea, it is possible for their soul to become a demon, and even retain some of the original human's memories. However, this requires special circumstances and is exceedingly rare.

Mist in Reality

Under certain circumstances, it is possible for some amounts of mist to persist in reality.

Oneiric Tanks

An oneirosea-like environment can be temporarily generated within small areas, allowing demons to be held in reality without disintegrating. However, these environments take large amounts of energy to maintain. These tanks are generally cylindrical and resemble aquarium tanks. Both Alcyon Corporation and Labyrinth have access to this technology.

Abyssal Tears

Abyssal tears are gemstone-like aggregates of mist that occasionally form in the corner of humans' eyes as they dream, similar to rheum. They crystallize in a unique structure which protects them from reality, allowing them to persist. However, they are fragile and easily crushed into nothing.

They take the form of dark greenish-blue jewels, filled with maze-like patterns which are only visible under a microscope. They are usually smaller than a grain of sand. However, exceptionally large specimens up to the size of a fingernail have been recorded.

During its early years, Alcyon Corporation did extensive research on abyssal tears in order to study how they persist in reality and how to apply the method to other products. They have developed machines which can read vague emotional details from the dreams that formed them. Their demon cells incorporate their unique structure, as well.