Nigendō

Nigendō (二元道, "Way of Duality") was a branch of Kidō usage developed jointly by Kenji Hiroshi and Van Satonaka, with various insights from Ino Hiroshi and Kei Yume. The style was developed during the First Spiritual War solely to combat Averian who, by all indications, appeared to be nigh-invulnerable to even -level attacks.

The techniques that served as the foundation of the Nigendō style where developed through extensive study of the seven Kyūtai, which Kenji and Van had earlier hid away to prevent misuse of their power. Due to this Nigendō had the unforeseen side-effect of being effective against beings blessed by the Tenjin; it remained one of the only surefire methods of eliminating the numerous and durable Soulless. And whilst the techniques themselves were incapable of killing pure Tenjin outright, they did cause lasting harm and allowed the practitioner to force even divinity to flee.

Following The Collapse the only practitioners left, aside from those who created the style, are those who either received direct tutelage from Kenji and Van, or those who had a hand in the style's creation or refinement. Kentaro Hiroshi, Ayumi Satonaka and Shinrei Kurosaki are notable masters. Kentaro and Ayumi refined the spell-list considerably before and after the events of The Collapse.

Terminology & techniques

 * Motionless casting -- one of the key traits of the Nigendō style is the fact one does not require time-consuming incantations or wasteful motions to invoke the spells in question, even though both can be used to invoke an even greater degree of spell-power.


 * Blending -- a trait that is seemingly unique to the Nigendō style. As no motions or incantations are required, it is a simple matter for the practitioner to cast their spells on the backs of other techniques. Kenji, for example, often drove Sōtōzashū into an opponent's body through the penetrative, with Van doing something similar through his crystal constructs.

Trivia

 * Whilst Nigendō is effective against the Tenjin it is by no means a sure-fire way of killing them. The style simply harms them more than others would.