Shinki (Noragami)

Shinki are weapons that feature in Noragami.

History
Shinki (神器, meaning “sacred treasures”) were living weapons that were used by the various gods and composed of spirits that served the deity. Not any denizen of the Farshore could become a Shinki as they consisted of deceased humans that died for reasons against their will and not those that committed suicide. As such, only a select number of spirits could become a Shinki and Phantoms could not be used in this role. It was said that Yato at one point killed a Regalia that belonged to the war god Bishamonten. This act led to Bishamon swearing revenge against Yato whereupon she hunted him and sought to kill him.

Overview
In appearance, the form of a Shinki greatly varied depending on its state. They were uncorrupted spirits of the dead and as such were invisible to the mortal world. Only those that could see the supernatural could see the spirit and the early form of a Shinki could be a simple speck of spiritual light. This changed once a contract was form whereupon a Shinki could adopt the form of any tool desired by their master. Such forms ranged from daggers to sword and even to a smoking pipe or animal mounts. After which, they could take a human spirit form that resembled their own appearance prior to their demise.

At a command, the human form of the Shinki disappeared and took the shape of a weapon for use by the god. According to Yato, a god without a Regalia was powerless and unable to effectively combat Phantoms. They were described as being tools that allowed a god to accomplish anything. In reality, they were simply uncorrupted spirits of the dead that could be called upon to take on tool or weapon form. It was important to find a particular type of spirit with this being noted as a difficult task. Once found, a god forged a contract between themselves and the spirit with the latter tasked with serving their master. By calling out their name, the spirit took on their weapon form and when their name was called again they returned into a spirit body. Similar to a god, a Shinki in its spirit form was not noticeable by ordinary humans and ignored as a result. Whilst their weapon form operated in battle, a Shinki was not helpless in their human spirit form as they could use certain abilities. By making a halberd gesture with their hands, they could create a barrier known as a borderline which repelled Phantoms who could not cross it. A further ability was Restrain that allowed them to create mystical ties that incapacitated a target.

In weapon form, Shinki had a wide range of powers that could be used by their master. Among them was the ability to sever ties between people allowing the person to forget someone that they were deeply attached to in their lives. Such an example was when Yukine severed the ties of a banker who was deeply in love with Kofuku despite the fact that his attachment and need to spend money on her caused him to become poor as well as suicidal. Once severed, the act appeared as invisible strings over the person was cut allowing them to continue their lives without that person in their lives. If infected with blight, a Shinki's blade form could become dulled making them less effective unless purified.

A god was not restricted to a single Shinku and could possess multiple such tools in their service. Once bonded, a god and their Shinku shared a link with one another. This was to the point that the master could sense the thoughts of their Shinku. Such a connection only worked one way from the Shinki to their master with the god experiencing all the sinful thoughts and them experiencing mild pain as a result. Through a simple incantation, a god was able to sever the tie between themselves and a Shinki freeing the latter from any further service. It was considered bad practice for a bonded Shinku to bow to another deity as it meant disrespect to their master. Whilst generally bonded to a master, some Shinki had more than one name on their body with this indicating that they held multiple masters. These stray Regalia were known as Nora with them becoming one when another god brands their name on an existing Shinki with a master. They were seen with disgust by god's and Shinki due to their practice of going to ant god and offering their service. Despite being unsavory, Nora were used at times when a god wanted to conduct a task that they did not want for their own Shinki.

In some cases, a Shinki's indulgence in impure sinful behavior can lead to their corruption in which case the god that served as their master could kill them. Whilst the bond was useful, spirits affected by strong negative feelings deeply impacted the god wielded them with this eventually manifesting as a blight that slowly consumed the gods body. Unless the tie was severed or the Shinki controlled their emotions than the blight could not be treated and in fact grew as it affected the god by making them weaker and slower. This was because the Shinki was actually slowly becoming a Phantom as their dark emotions consumed them. Eventually, if the matter remains untreated, the goes will die where they had only two options; kill the Shinki or conduct an Abluation. The latter was done so by three Shinki that caught the offending inside a borderline prison. Once inside, they experienced great pain as the dark infection permeating their being was being burnt away. Only by confessing to their sins did the Shinki purge themselves of the growing Phantom in them. Otherwise, the Shinki became consumed by the darkness and transformed into a fully fledged Phantom requiring their elimination. Only Regalia were able to conduct this ritual as it was held that only they could judge their own kind. However, an Ablution was considered a very dangerous act that could kill the participants involved in the ritual.

Known Shinki
-Yukine -Nora/Hiro -Daikoku -Tomone -Moyu -Ayu -Nayu -Miyu -Kazuma -Kuraha -Aiha -Kugaha -Suzuha -Kinuha -Tsuguha -Akiha -Kazuha -Kuruha -Yugiha -Fumiha

Appearances

 * Noragami: