Dark Chi

Chi is the life force of all creation. It is an unending force that flows through all reality, connecting the realms and all living beings in its breadth. Like water, chi will gather in great swirling eddies or burst from the earth like a geyser. Like blood, chi exists within all living creatures and is vital to their survival.

For every light, there is a shadow. Dark Chi is a malevolent poison that spews from the Dark Realm of Jigoku.
Oni spread it whenever they are able, using its raw power to corrupt both the Material Plane and its people. Anything that bears chi within it runs the risk of being tainted by this horrid energy (see Taint). Normal civilians stand no chance against it as their bodies die and transform into Demons. Powerful martial artists may fend off the effects of Dark Chi for a time through intense focus, but they will eventually succumb to its toxic influence as the darkness seeps into their mind. Truly powerful beings may still fall under its influence and transform into nightmarish monstrosities.

Demonic Pacts

Worse still are those unsavory souls who actively seek out Dark Chi, drawn to its alluring power. By focusing on their rage, greed, or other earthly vices that keep them from enlightenment, they try to use the Dark Chi to their own ends. Manipulative Demons seek out these evil souls, promising them immortality or endless fonts of power so that they further spread their chaotic influence. While the baleful energy does indeed grant inhuman prowess, it is only temporary. The Dark Chi is a starving animal that will inevitably devour them, body and soul, as it seeks to spread across all the realms.

Mark of the Black Rose

When Dark Chi is forced upon a person, they carry the Mark of the Black Rose or Taint. Those with strong chi are able to resist the effects of the Dark Chi, but it will continue to flare up from time to time. These individuals have a distortion in their spiritual energy, making them even more susceptible to influence by Dark Chi and allowing demons and Dark Chi users to dominate their minds. They may even partially transform into demons as their bodies warp into horrifying states. In the end, they will die both a painful physical and spiritual death as they transform fully into a demon. The only possible way to avoid this fate is by learning the Way of Enlightenment, a complex method of purifying the soul.