Sylph

Esper (エスパー, esupā) are a sub race of Humans, who were artificially created by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. These individuals were imbued with a crystal of pure Reishi, known as a Focus (中心, "chūshin") which forced the awakening of their latent spiritual powers. They were believed to be extinct after the Esper Genocide however, this was proven false upon the awakening of the Esper powers within Francis Romanoff.

Overview
Espers are living beings, akin to Bounts or Quincy and are seen as the true antithesis of. They are beings that tred on the line between life and death, having no soul chain or soul sleep as it was replaced by their Focus, which saves them from Soul Suicide and Hollowfication. Espers have the unique psychic ability to manipulate souls but also reishi in order to create extra sensory abilities such as movement of oneself as well as other objects. As the accidental creations of a Shinigami scientist, who was studying the effects of the hollow reiatsu within a small sect of Fullbringers. At one point in their history they were affiliated with Soul Society. Currently, they exist only in legend as the few that escaped the Genocide went into hiding, not using their powers and living off of land, trying to limit the usage of their powers as to not suffer from the effects of the experimentation.

Focus (中心, "chūshin"): The name of the Crystal imbedded in the chest of all Espers is known as the Focus and because of it forcibly awakening their powers the Espers no longer possess their Soul Chain or Soul Sleep, and are immune to both Hollowfication and Soul Burials. This crystal when under stress causes the body to undergo the thorn as the implantation was not done as a full fusion, so not to allow the Espers to revolt against their creators.
 * Longevity:
 * Psionic Abilities:

Physiology
Espers are nearly identical to humans in almost every way with the exception that they do not age normally, and do not need to eat, as they are nourished by passively absorbing Reishi particles from the air. Unlike other material beings, Espers are able to walk within both worlds, as they are normally able to interact with humans but at the same time, they are able to render themselves invisible to non spiritually aware beings. When they choose to become incorporeal, they shimmer away as if they were a mirage.

Aside from being nearly identical to humans, they do have one defining factor, the crystal located in their chest, which isn't seen until they use their powers. This is the catalyst for their powers and also their damnation. The affliction which plagues their race is known as the Thorn and it starts as a series of cracks which then spreads to sprouting crystals that slowly consume them. This process is rather slow and is only exacerbated by prolonged and continuous use of their powers. It can be combated temporarily by the GHQ001 drug created by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, however this is far from an antidote. Once it reaches the final critical stage, the body is turned completely into crystal and then erodes rather quickly as the crystal composition is rather brittle.

Powers and Abilities

 * Spiritual Power: Because of the Focus, most Espers are in possession of a considerable amount of spiritual powers, ranging from that of a 4th seated officer to that of a Captain level combatant, but the latter is rather rare due to their numbers being so low.
 * Spiritual Realm Bridge: Due to their connection with both worlds, Espers are able to open pathways between them and act as the bridge between the living worlds and the spiritual worlds. Often becoming a Senkaimon for Souls to pass through.
 * Demonic Visage: As an application of their unique powers, an Esper is able to project their influence over others to instill fear into them once following the exertion of their power. This visage is commonly seen when one doesn't approve of something and appears as an illusionary figure, normally based on the imagination of the user which causes those who have transgressed their will to cringe.
 * Spiritual Awareness: As with all spiritual races, Espers are able to interact with Shinigami, Hollows, Souls and other spiritual beings.


 * Soul Partition:

Angels and Second Being
The absolute shield of the Espers, the Angel (み使い, "mitsukai") is the realization of the Espers focus as well as their inner soul. Often times the Angel appears once the Esper has attained mastery of the Soul Separation technique which creates a the medium for them to use their powers. The duration of the materialization of ones Angel differs from Esper to Esper ass prolonged usage speeds up the deadly crystallization effect within them as it causes undue stress on their Focus.

The shape and form of the Angel differs from Esper to Esper in the same manner that Shinigami's Zanpakutō are unique. The Angels are materialized in two manners, one is the second being, but the other is when the user fuses with their second being, and draws out its true form, which consist in two parts, the shrine and the weapon. The Shrine acts as a sheath for the true form, which is comparable to that of the Shikai of a Shinigami.

The Angels are able to take a humanoid form, which is achieved by the Esper using an ability to split off their soul into a partition. This being is often seen as the "spirit" of the angel itself and when they merge with their Esper partner, they release the espers full power, but they also return the full consequences of the Focus.

While the Angels do not possess proper released states such as Shikai or Bankai, they do evolve and change shape depending on how deep the connection and soul fusion is between the Esper and their second self, with there being three known levels of soul fusion. Simply called "Kītsu I" (帰一一番, united into one first), "Kītsu II" (帰一二番, united into one second), and "Kītsu III" (帰一三番, united into one third).

Known Espers
(† = confirmed death)

Trivia

 * The basis of this article was found in a mixture of subjects and areas. The Focus was inspired by the L'cie from Final Fantasy 13, whereas the concept of the Angel was inspired by the weapons used by Spirits in Date A Live. The illness was inspired by the Apocalypse Virus from Guilty Crown, in how the crystals spreads and how once it reaches a critical point, one shatters. The final similarity comes from Sekirei, in particular the character Homura and how he was unstable.