Sagus

Nefas (犯罪, Latin for "Sinful Act''") is a name given to humans who have, through varying methods, inherited the blood of Velia Agostinha Vivax, gaining supernatural abilities of their own. Axenus Gate, a founder of Diluculum Sanctus, was the first to inherit this power, which later spread to the rest of the cult. As Agostinha has supposedly lost interest in the race, Nefas have become significantly scarce following the disappearance of Diluculum Sanctus; all remaining Nefas excluding Kaya Hike are believed to have obtained their power through a genetic relation to members of the fallen cult.''

​Overview
Nefas are strongly tied to Diluculum Sanctus, although it is unknown exactly when the race was created. Presumably, Agostinha originally lent Her powers to Axenus and created the Nefas with the initial intention of propagating awareness of Her existence. Agostinha would later grant the same powers to the rest of Her believers, although whether this happened before or after (as a result of) Diluculum Sanctus' formation is unclear.

Long deprived of their former purpose, modern Nefas are largely independent, but few who are still aware of Agostinha openly worship Her. Due to their disorganization and scarcity, harmonious interactions between Nefas are very rare; in fact, more often than not, Nefas are highly distrustful of other Nefas, particularly those who still worship Agostinha.

Because incomplete Nefas powers can easily mimic those of Fullbringers or Quincy if used in an appropriate manner, many Nefas are unaware of the true nature of their abilities and incorrectly identify themselves as either of the aforementioned races. Nefas who are completely incapable of utilizing Anima Obscuritas are referred to as Nefas Inferior (低い犯罪, Latin for "Lower Sinful Act"). It is frequently implied by Kaya to be possible for a Nefas to change an individual into another Nefas through some form of ritual, but she has yet to elaborate upon this claim.

Physical Traits
Nefas are very similar to regular humans in terms of appearance except for their eyes, which emit a faint unnatural glow. Some Nefas, such as Kaya, develop extraordinarily colored irises, but this is rather uncommon. When utilizing Anima Obscuritas, a Nefas' eyes become exceptionally darker and lose their radiance.

Core Abilities
What separates Nefas from other beings capable of manipulating any form of energy is that they did not use Reiryoku as a primary means of performing their sorcery: by transmuting and turning their very soul into a projectile weapon through one of two methods to create an undying link between them and their energy, Nefas are capable of performing feats that would otherwise be considered naturally impossible. Anima (魂, Latin for "Soul") refers to both energies. The first and most recognized form of energy is created by absorbing spiritrons into the soul, enlarging it and transmuting it into an projectable essence distributed throughout the physical body. This is known as Pactum Anima (魂の契約, Latin for "Soul Contract").

Pactum Anima is superior to Reiryoku in that it never truly leaves the user's body; Pactum Anima immediately returns to its origin when it is no longer in use, a trait which gives Nefas a natural advantage in drawn-out or attritional battles. The process of creating Pactum Anima is dangerous in that if a Nefas generates more Pactum Anima than they are capable of sustaining, it can potentially cause their entire soul to fragmentize and consequently destroy their physical body, leaving them with an empty existence until their soul naturally withers away. Pactum Anima does require a completely physical vessel, so any Shinigami-Nefas hybrid, for example, attempting to create Pactum Anima would meet with a similar fate—while it is technically possible for a spiritual being to obtain Nefas powers, such a being cannot safely generate Anima and therefore cannot use primary Nefas abilities. It is speculated that hybrid Shinigami can possibly utilize Pactum Anima via a Gigai, but this would effectively prevent the Shinigami from leaving their Gigai ever again.

Because Pactum Anima is never permanently expended from the body, a Nefas only needs to perform the conversion process once, after which it can never be reversed; however, they may do so again at a later time if they believe that they are capable of maintaining greater amounts of Pactum Anima. Pactum Anima is eternally part of a Nefas and cannot be absorbed, manipulated, or destroyed by an outside influence, so techniques generated by Pactum Anima cannot directly harm or be turned against the original user through any method; in addition, it renders them immune to possession and abilities that directly target the soul. As a side effect of Pactum Anima, all Nefas are capable of levitating and flying freely through the air. Although Nefas generally have very little Reiatsu if any at all, they seem to be unaffected when subjected to much higher volumes of Reiatsu emitted from other individuals.

The second energy, Anima Obscuritas (闇の魂, Latin for "Darkness Soul"), is more abstract in nature; a common basic description is that while Pactum Anima empowers the soul, Anima Obscuritas destroys the soul with the power of influence. Anima Obscuritas does not involve submitting the soul to darkness as one might believe—Anima Obscuritas can be utilized when a Nefas drastically compresses their Pactum Anima to the point that they lose much of their personality and their body virtually becomes an empty vessel while still retaining their consciousness; this paradox enables the user to manipulate outside influences via projection of this empty energy, most commonly an opponent's soul. The more Pactum Anima the user has, the more difficult it is to correctly perform this procedure. Because formerly Anima Obscuritas supposedly required absolute devotion to Agostinha to generate without dying in the process, only a few modern Nefas have access to it. Nefas are generally immune to Anima Obscuritas if it is used directly against them (i.e. Manus Tenax), provided they have greater Pactum Anima than the user of Anima Obscuritas. Similar to Pactum Anima, Anima Obscuritas is impossible to turn against the user. Anima Obscuritas demands concentration to maintain; it is therefore possible for a Nefas to get "knocked out" of an Anima Obscuritas state after sustaining a sufficient injury.

Pactum Anima Techniques
Donum (贈り物, Latin for "Gift"): Because Pactum Anima is literally a Nefas' soul, its generalized capabilities are largely different for each individual. Donum refers to special abilities based on a Nefas' soul. Most commonly, Donum grants a Nefas one or more elemental attributes, which seems to be based on the individual's personality; however, certain individuals, such as Axenus, developed a far more intricate Donum, Donum Verax (真の贈り物, Latin for "Truthful Gift") in addition to a basic elemental Donum. It is possible for both types of Donum to evolve as a Nefas' personality does. Donum is commonly compared to the powers granted to Shinigami by their Zanpakutō, except that the power of Donum is not materialized as a weapon. Donum cannot normally be used during an Anima Obscuritas state—it is replaced with Donum Obscurus.

Turris Anima (タワー魂, Latin for "Soul Tower"): An ability that exploits Pactum Anima's link with its user and temporarily strengthens them. To perform this techinique, a Nefas must first expel a massive amount of Pactum Anima, usually via a Donum techinique or sometimes using Pili Agostinha. Taking advantage of resulting space for additional Pactum Anima, a Nefas once again performs the conversion process before the energy returns to their body, manually restoring their Pactum Anima. Once this is complete, a Nefas manipulates the burst of sudden energy and converts their expended Pactum Anima into an additional layer of Pactum Anima that coats a Nefas' primary Pactum Anima reservoir. This consequently strengthens the Nefas by an equivalent amount to the energy that they released. While exceedingly powerful, Turris Anima's procedure is dangerous in that if a Nefas fails to correctly layer the released Pactum Anima, it will completely merge with them as usual and destroy their physical body due to the over-accumulation of Pactum Anima. Turris Anima is much easier to perform while utilizing Anima Obscuritas; as such, ancient Nefas commonly switched to Anima Obscuritas before starting the layering process. As a side effect, Turris Anima heals minor injuries every time it is executed.

Simulacri Pactum (画像の誓約, Latin for "Embodiment of the Contract"): A Pactum Anima user's primary means of enhancing their capabilities, Simulacri Pactum is somewhat similar to Turris Anima execpt that it is more direct and can be perfomed at any time, but requires extensive focus. To perform Simulacri Pactum, a Nefas evenly divides their Pactum Anima throughout their body, creating as many separate channels of energy as desired. The Nefas must recognize every individual reservoir of Pactum Anima as that of a separate, yet like-minded entity, before once again uniting their Pactum Anima. Because of the Nefas' disassociation with their Pactum Anima, the unity is treated as a fusion of identical souls; this consequently results in the Nefas, in a sense, merging with their entire being, doubling every aspect of their capabilities for each division of Pactum Anima the Nefas created. Simulacri Pactum surrounds the Nefas in a black aura when used to a major extent. Because of its properties, Sacrilacri Pactum does have one serious weakness in that any Nefas will rapidly age for as long as they maintain the state; the exact severity of this rapid aging appears to correspond to the Nefas' mutiplied power (e.g. enhancing one's capabilities to one-hundred times their normal level would result in a Nefas aging one-hundred times faster than normal). A Nefas can, however, drastically reduce the strain on their body by only enhancing a few capabilities in particular, such as reflexes or physical strength. Although Simulacri Pactum's potential is limited only by a Nefas' lifespan, Pactum Anima division is a trained skill—the more adept the Nefas, the more they can divide their Pactum Anima. Regular use of Messor Vita is a necessity for continued use of Simulacri Pactum, and, as a result, it was largely overlooked by Diluculum Sanctus. Simulacri Pactum is generally unsuited for use during battle because of its long preparation time in the hands of an inexperienced Nefas, which only increases the more a Nefas divides their Pactum Anima; only a true master is capable of instantly invoking Simulacri Pactum to an extent. While Simulacri Pactum cannot be initiated during the Anima Obscuritas state, switching to Anima Obscuritas will not interrupt the technique if it is activated beforehand.

Corpus Ubique Praesens (どこにでも存在する体, Latin for "Omnipresent Body"): The "high-speed movement" technique utilized by both modern and ancient Nefas, Corpus Ubique Praesens is, in truth, a highly versatile technique that far transcends any other form of movement. Corpus Ubique Praesens is literally instantaneous teleportation, intended to silently warp a Nefas to a location of their choosing with no effect on their surroundings; however, when used to its fullest, Corpus Ubique Praesens can warp a Nefas to any dimension or location—even if they have never seen said location before. This is possible because Corpus Ubique Praesens does not rely on the Nefas' knowledge alone as a vector; during Corpus Ubique Praesens, a Nefas becomes omniscient. Because Corpus Ubique Praesens occurs in a single instant, a Nefas relocates themselves according to their own will prior to executing it—there is no active selection process. Upon successfully executing Corpus Ubique Praesens, any Nefas immediately loses any knowledge that they had obtained from the technique. What further separates Corpus Ubique Praesens from other teleportation techniques in that it can be used offensively due to the fact it is also capable of accurately warping objects and even other individuals. Because Corpus Ubique Praesens is not normally an Anima Obscuritas technique, a Nefas can only warp other individuals according to the individual's will; however, if the individual is physically touching the Nefas, they can be relocated according to the Nefas' will, which presumably involves establishing a connection between two parallel souls. A user can more liberally warp other individuals during Anima Obscuritas using a similar method as Manus Tenax, although the limitations from the aforementioned technique also apply. Corpus Ubique Praesens is especially powerful when utilized offensively by a master, capable of warping opponents away from any object they might be touching, such as a weapon or even their own clothes. An especially proficient Corpus Ubique Praesens user can warp objects directly into an opponent's body with enough precision, or even cannibalize their body at an atomic level. While there is said to be no limit to how far a user may warp using Corpus Ubique Praesens, most Nefas cannot warp farther than several yards or traverse dimensions; Axenus Gate, however, was said to be capable of warping an equivalent distance to the sun from the earth (1 au, or roughly 92,620,000 miles). Corpus Ubique Praesens can potentially trigger amnesia if it is used exessively, which seems to pertain to its meddling with the user's knowledge. Corpus Ubique Praesens can apparently be improved by raising one's Pactum Anima.

Anima Obscuritas Techniques
Donum Obscurus (ギフト暗い, Latin for "Dark Gift"): As with Pactum Anima, Anima Obscuritas is unique for each Nefas. Donum Obscurus, unlike Pactum Anima's Donum, refers to a personification based on a Nefas' soul of this technique, as well as the actual technique. Unlike general Anima Obscuritas application, a Nefas influences an unknown realm, enabling them to summon black apparitions, the appearances of which are based the user's soul. Mythical creatures are among the most common forms these entities assume. Their level of power appears to be based on their summoner's will, among other uncertain variables; an average summon is roughly at the level of an average Shinigami captain, according to past estimates. It is unknown if there is a limit to how many dark entities the user may summon at a time; ancient Anima Obscuritas users generally did not summon more than several at once, but it is possible that it is based on a Nefas' proficiency with Anima Obscuritas. As with the regular Donum, Donum Obscuritas evolves in accordance to any behavioral changes in a Nefas.

Manus Tenax (粘り強い手, Latin for "Clinging Hand"): The most basic and versatile application of Anima Obscuritas, Manus Tenax is the ability to influence both inanimate objects and living beings without changing their properties—it is somewhat similar to archetypal telekinesis but differs in other ways besides execution. Manus Tenax's method of execution differs according to whatever the user is trying to influence—inanimate objects can be instantly manipulated according to a Nefas' will, but the time required to influence a living being is dependent on the target's height and movement, as well as the Nefas' expertise with Manus Tenax; Reiatsu is not taken into account. Although dependent on Manus Tenax's range and, by extension, a Nefas' experience, time variations due to height differences are usually insignificant as a very large difference would be required for any noticable changes in timing. Most Nefas cannot affect continuously moving targets with Manus Tenax if the target is not simply walking, but a significant skill level can drastically remedy this weakness. In theory, an absolutely perfect Manus Tenax is impossible to avoid, but no Nefas has advanced it to such a level. Because anything caught with Manus Tenax is paralyzed and powerless for the technique's duration, a victim cannot normally escape on their own. Once an opponent has been caught, a Nefas can devastate them with one of Manus Tenax's follow-ups, telekinetically manipulate them as they please, or simply rip them apart. As with most Anima techiques, Manus Tenax requires constant focus; as a result, even a mild distraction is usually enough to thwart an inexperienced Nefas. While Manus Tenax can be used to manipulate an infinite number of inanimate objects as long as they are within range, the number of living beings that can be manipulated at once depends on a Nefas' level of concentration.
 * Messor Vita (人生の収穫, Latin for "Life Reaper"): A follow-up of Manus Tenax that may only be used on living beings, Messor Vita dissolves the opponent's body by instantly draining them of their life force and transferring it to the user. Because Messor Vita, in a sense, involves merging with the opponent's soul, a Nefas may inherit a small fraction of their power as a side effect; the chances of this happening depends on the Nefas' "compatibility" with the target's soul, as claimed by Axenus. In most extreme cases, a Nefas can inherit the abilities of other races. If used regularly, Messor Vita can extend a Nefas' lifespan indefinitely and consequently render Simulacri Pactum's drawback moot; however, because any liberal Simulacri Pactum user would almost certainly need to rely on human beings to maintain their lifespan, Diluculum Sanctus is said to have banned usage of this technique to discourage excessive use of Simulacri Pactum. While Messor Vita does work against beings who are truly immortal, it is technically incapable of killing them; therefore, the user would inherit their immortality.
 * Proditio Dei (神の裏切り, Latin for "God's Betrayal"): One of the most genocidal abilities in a Nefas' arsenal, surpassed only by Pili Agostinha and, in extreme cases, Perplexus Esse. To initiate this technique, a Nefas first uses Messor Vita to draw out the opponent's "life force" as usual; however, rather than absorb the life force directly, a Nefas divides the energy to cradle it in each hand before merging it with their influential power, synthesizing an unfathomably chaotic energy. Proditio Dei manifests as a black miasma emitting from the user's arms but can be manipulated at will—fired over extreme distances. What renders the energy of Proditio Dei so dangerous is that even being near it can produce fatal results for any individual other the user, including another Nefas; Proditio Dei itself acts as a transcendent, gluttonous variation of Manus Tenax, absorbing the souls of every individual nearby to fuel its own strength. Should an individual be just out of Proditio Dei's most effective range, it will instead gradually absorb aspects of their individuality, ranging from power to personality. Should energy produced by Proditio Dei exist for too long, it will eventually consume inanimate objects and finally, similar to Pili Agostinha, space-time itself, at which point even the user's survival is not guranteed. Because a Nefas can only direct Proditio Dei's energy and not its influence, Proditio Dei is completely impractical for use during cooperate efforts. Because Proditio Dei's initial effective range is largely dependent on the number of souls a Nefas uses to activate the technique, it is most apt for a Nefas to only utilize the technique when a massive number of souls have been collected so as to maintain stability. Proditio Dei is only cancelled when the user directly absorbs the energy before it turns against them, which, depending on when this is performed, has a benefit of granting a massive boost to a Nefas' Pactum Anima, provided their body is capable of maintaining it; it may destroy them otherwise.
 * Manus Conterere (手を破壊する, Latin for "Crushing Hand"): A follow-up of Manus Tenax that simply crushes the opponent's body entirely. What separates Manus Conterere from simply mutilating the opponent with its progenitor is that a Nefas may inherit a significant amount of knowledge from any living target killed with this technique; similar to Messor Vita, this supposedly depends on compatibility between the Nefas and the target's souls.
 * Poenae Sententia (罰の宣告, Latin for "Penalty of Conviction"): A follow-up of Manus Tenax that imposes a Nefas' influence within the target and subjugates their soul. Once successfully executed, Poenae Sententia is impossible to naturally reverse by anyone other than the user; it can be said that the Nefas covets the target's sovereignty, paralleling the effects of Messor Vita and Manus Conterere. Poenae Sententia does not always work—true to its name, Poenae Sententia is ironically much easier to perform on strong-willed individuals. Diluculum Sanctus is known to have banned usage of this technique; as a result, relatively little is known about it. Manus Tenax's hold on the target is completely lost should Poenae Sententia fail.
 * Exhalatio (呼気, Latin for "Exhalation"): An instantaneous, albeit linear version of Manus Tenax. Exhalatio can only be performed upon physical contact with a desired target, which drastically reduces the time required to influence the target and consequently enables an exploit—by rapidly imposing their soul's influence upon a target and instantly nullifying it just before the target is completely subjugated, a Nefas can violently repel the target in question from the source of the influence. Exhalatio's potency is dependent on the user's timing—the more "influenced" the target is prior to cancelling Manus Tenax, the farther they will be pushed back, with incorrect timing simply resulting in a complete Manus Tenax. Exhalatio is pointless to use against opponents too slow to avoid Manus Tenax at close range, yet an excellent alternative otherwise. A master of Manus Tenax, should they be unable to dodge, is capable of using this technique to deflect physical assaults, usually resulting in minimal or no damage.

Perplexus Esse (ジレンマである, Latin for "Enigmatic Existence"): A simpler, though not necessarily inferior version of Donum Obscurus—while Donum Obscurus influences an entire realm, Perplexus Esse is primarily used to influence inanimate objects in such a way where a Nefas shares their sentience and soul with an object, giving it true life and subsequently changing its appearance. The exact form the entity will assume as well as its abilities differ according to the catalyst, the history of the catalyst, and the user's persona and level of Pactum Anima; one example of this is shown when Kaya uses a one-thousand year-old oak tree as a catalyst, transforming it into an enormous treant of sorts, capable of rotting individuals bound by its roots. As discovered by Kaya, if a Nefas applies Perplexus Esse to a weapon that they themselves crafted, it is possible to create a sentient weapon very similar to a Zanpakutō or Fullbring, with abilities dependent on the weapon's former usage, and how and why it was created. Perplexus Esse is quite similar to necromancy when used on corpses, capable of "reviving" a deceased individual while maintaining all of their power and abilities, discarding only their original personality—while entities created with this technique are capable of acting on their own and sometimes even speaking, their personality is largely taken from the user's. Similar to Corpus Ubique Praesens, a Nefas can easily use the opponent's own clothes against them should they remain stationary for too long. Although there is no limit to Perplexus Esse's duration (an entity only disappears when they are either "killed" or manually dismissed by the user) as well as how many "thralls" one may create using it, it is very difficult for most Nefas to maintain a large number of entities. When an entity is killed by anyone other than its master, an experienced user can immediately use the soul gifted to the entity to fuel Proditio Dei. The variables for the technique's preparation time are mostly the same as Manus Tenax—experience, height, movement and distance.

Pili Agostinha (尊敬のジャベリン, Latin for "Javelin of Agostinha"; "Javelin of the Venerated"):

Trivia

 * Nefas are the result of a number of ideas taken from the author's original, unfinished works.