School: Hayaletler Tarikatı
The Void (First Stance)
Absolute spatial deception.The user manipulates the perceived flow of space and light around them, causing their presence to blur into the background. It is not true invisibility—no cloaking or vanishing—but rather the bending of attention and visual cues until the assassin becomes effectively unseen.
Though to the naked eye they appear invisible, this stance does not make them untouchable. Attacks can still strike the user even while hidden. It is a technique as much psychological as it is physical, relying on tricking the mind as much as the eye.
Against humans, it is devastating. Against the Vexari, however, it is useless. Malik learned this firsthand—the Vexari can sense thermal fluctuations. Unless the user can suppress their heat signature, stepping into the Void against them is nothing more than suicide.
Shadow Movement (Second Stance)
The art of rhythmic misdirection.The assassin moves in a precise cadence, producing after-images that confuse the observer. To the eye, the air itself seems to smear—limbs flicker in overlapping echoes, each slightly out of sync, until it appears the assassin occupies several positions at once.
This deception exploits micro-timing and peripheral noise, tricking the brain into temporal aliasing. The movement is like a metronome, perfectly paced. Once the rhythm is established, it becomes nearly impossible to distinguish the true strike from its countless illusions.
Rhythm Echo (Third Stance)
The silence death.Triggered by a single, precise sound—a clap, stomp, or chime—the victim's senses are overwhelmed in an instant. The world seems to "pop." For a moment, everything flashes white, then collapses into blackness.
In that suspended heartbeat, the victim's inner monologue falls silent. Time itself dilates, leaving them adrift and defenseless. This is described as the sky going silent.
The sound is carefully tuned to disrupt the brain's sensory gating, forcing it to prioritize the echo. This creates a neural blind spot, a moment of vulnerability. Within that sliver of silence, the assassin decides the victim's fate.
Hollow Core (Fourth Stance)
Shifting the body's vital organs.Through surreal mastery, the practitioner temporarily alters the spatial relationship of their internal organs to avoid fatal strikes. Blades pass where the heart should be. Crushing blows land where lungs ought to shatter. Yet the assassin stands unharmed.
To witnesses, it is impossible—every strike should kill, but none do. The body seems impossibly supple, resilient beyond reason.
This stance requires internal proprioceptive discipline and a bio-kinetic awareness that allows the assassin to micro-adjust organ positioning. It is the art of aligning inner spaces with the vector of incoming violence.
Weapon Synapse (Fifth Stance)
The memory of weapons.When this stance is engaged, the assassin gains instant mastery over any weapon they hold. A foreign blade sings in their hands like an old companion. A staff, chain, or spear moves as though it had been practiced for decades.
Every motion is fluid and precise, as if the body remembers lives it has never lived.
This art works by harmonizing the motor cortex with external tools through subtle rituals: hand placements, sensory anchors, and subconscious maps that apply across weapon families. Whatever the assassin touches becomes an extension of their own body.
Zero Hand (Sixth Stance)
The calm of death.By surrendering completely to the possibility of death, the assassin discards every instinct of self-preservation. In this state, fear is gone, hesitation erased. What remains is raw, unrestrained combat potential.
Eyes turn glassy, calm as winter. Movements become abrupt, sharp, and relentlessly efficient. The user no longer appears human, but a force of will made flesh.
The stance flips the mind from risk-averse to risk-indifferent. All unnecessary noise in the brain is stripped away. The body unleashes reserves that fear once held back. Zero Hand is combat in its purest, most merciless form.
Ki Sense (Seventh Stance)
The whisper beneath the world.The assassin awakens a subtle awareness of Ki—the life force flowing through all beings. With it, they can sense intent, tension, and vitality, using these currents to anticipate movement, redirect force, or deliver precise strikes.
Silhouettes glow where intent is strongest. Lies flicker within a voice, and a faltering heartbeat reveals weakness before it appears.
This stance is not mere instinct, but a fusion of heightened proprioception, rhythm-reading, and trained focus. What the world calls "Ki" is, in truth, the art of reading life itself.