Halo

Halo
	; Asura in his Six-Armed Vajra form with his Halo present
Abilities	Unleashes a demigod's full power

Article

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Halos are unique objects belonging to demigods and gods in Asura's Wrath. Halos are large rings or disks that appear floating behind the heads and backsides of beings such as the Eight Guardian Generals, and numerous other characters in the game. A halo appearing determines whenever a demigod is at full power.

Appearance

Halos often vary from demigod to demigod, and there are almost no two demigods who both have identical halos. While certain beings such as the Rasho and Taison possess more simplistic and nearly featureless ones, the Halos generated by more powerful characters (the Eight Guardian Generals, etc.) are often far more ornate and detailed in overall structure, which can more or less be either simply to represent the characters either on a more symbolic level, or just simply out of personal preference.

However, a Halo's appearance may also signify the level of power that an individual is at or the extent of Mantra they exert, as the Eight Guardian Generals possess ornate and intricate halos whereas the Emperor of Shinkoku has a more basic halo, likely establishing that he is not very powerful and does not use Mantra extensively due to his non-combative status. Other powerful characters that have ornate halos include Mithra and Chakravartin.

Alongside its primary design, a halo's overall size also seems to be an indication of power or Mantra usage, as some of the most powerful characters in the story have been shown to bear halos that rest behind almost their entire backsides while the weaker ones only cover the upper torso; Less powerful individuals have their halos resting just behind their heads.

The halo would dissolve if enough kinetic force is applied to the host to knock the object far enough to where their reactor could no longer sustain it. Very few demigods went out of their way to intentionally restore the ring once it was destroyed, implicating that the creation of one required a degree of concentration not afforded to someone in the thick of battle.

Story

History

Ever since demigods learned how to harness and manipulate Mantra themselves, they also possessed the ability to generate a halo that varied in size and detail depending on the amount of Mantra exerted.

Mithra and Asura were the first characters to display their halo and subsequently their full power in the story. During a major battle against the Gohma and Gohma Vlitra, Mithra used her Enhanced Mantra Manipulation and Amplification powers and Asura used his Six-Armed Vajra Asura form.

12,000 Years later

Millenia later, Wyzen displayed his halo after transforming into his final form, Gongen Wyzen, in his battle with Asura. However, even with his full powers activated, he was ultimately destroyed by Asura.

500 Years later

Augus, Asura's former mentor, activated his halo when he fought Asura centuries later. However, just like Wyzen, even with his full power activated Asura still defeated his master. As strong as both demigods were, both Wyzen and Augus had problems keeping up with Asura's ferocity.

Yasha has shown his own variation of a halo when attempting to redirect the beam of the Brahmastra, fight Asura in his Wrath form, and take on Deus in a one-on-one battle.

During Deus' clash with Asura, he activated his halo to put down Asura for good, though even the leader of the Seven Deities with his full power unleashed failed to overcome Asura's tremendous power and rage.

After being empowered by Mithra's Mantra and transforming into Mantra Asura in his and Yasha's decisive battle with Gohma Vlitra, Asura unleashes his halo once again, but this time, a new and more ornate halo appears. With this newfound power, Asura and his rival defeat Gohma Vlitra once and for all.

After the two demigods' clash with Gohma Vlitra, Chakravartin, the God of Mantra, reveals himself. Along with him, the supreme god's golden halo also appears, which is shown to be constantly floating behind his back.

After being equipped with the Mantra Reactor, Asura decides to fight the supreme god to rescue his daughter. Unleashing the Mantra Reactor's power, Asura transforms into The Destructor, a larger-than-Gaea six-armed version of himself. His god-like halo is unleashed to give him the divine power necessary to defeat the God of Mantra.

Abilities and Properties

If a demigod activates their halo, they gain an increase in power due to fighting at their full power. In addition, a demigod's halo can change in shape and size when the demigod achieves a new transformation. Higher-level demigods are capable of fighting an entity like the Gohma alone and without help from others.

List Of Characters' Halos

The Eight Guardian Generals/The Seven Deities

Asura - Asura's halo changes depending on his forms, becoming larger and more ornate with each transformation, being at its largest and most ornate during his Destructor form. In his Six-Armed Vajra form it consists of a large, intricately-designed ring with a second ring inside, two smaller rings on the top and bottom sides, and two additional small rings floating on the bottom sides, as well as blade-like spikes. In his Destructor form the Halo has the ability to transform into a "jet-pack" of sorts and is likely the only one capable of being used as a tool. His halo shares similarities to Yasha's and Mithra's in its arrangement of rings, possibly implying there is a hereditary aspect to the halo's appearance.
Augus - Augus' halo consists of a simple ring with markings in it, similar to the ones on his body. Since Augus is regarded as one of the most powerful demigods this is a contradiction to the theory that more complicated halos mean more powerful characters.
Deus - Deus' halo is white and has spikes and other such details around it that makes it resemble a sun.
Kalrow - Kalrow's halo is mostly silver with some cloud-like markings at the top and a pointy end.
Olga - Olga's halo's defining characteristic is a ribbon-like decoration surrounding it. There are also flower-like designs in various places.
Sergei - Sergei's halo consists of a cresent moon shape and a small ring orbiting the side. His halo is unique as it is the only one that is not a complete circle.
Wyzen - In his regular form, Wyzen's halo is in a very simple form and is barely visable due to his girth. In his Gongen form, his halo is far larger in actual size but is very small proportionately to the rest of his body, only floating behind his head. It is worth noting that his halo remains when he is in that form instead of disappearing.
Yasha - Yasha has a mid-sized halo that has a collection of spikes on the side that resemble wings, as well as two smaller rings on the side. This may be an over-observation, but the two smaller rings on the side are similar to Mithra's and Asura's, implying that there is a hereditary aspect to the halo's appearance or a side effect of the pacifistic aspects of their personalities.

Other Demigods

Mithra - Mithra's halo consists of five rings; a large one in the center with flowers on the bottom side and four floating rings on each corners. Its large size indicates that she is in fact quite powerful due to her ability to amplify Mantra. Interestingly, her halo shares similarities with Asura's halo in the arrangement and number of rings, implying there is a hereditary aspect to the halo's appearance.
Durga - Durga's halo if she has one has not been seen, but it can be assumed that she is too weak to produce one.
Emperor Strada - Emperor Strada's halo is a small golden ring. Its size and simplicity indicate that he is quite weak.

Stations

Karma Fortress - The Karma Fortress also possess its own halo, which consists of a colossal ring with a smaller ring inside and spikes, making it resemble a sun.

Demigod Foot Soldiers

Doji - Doji have not been seen with halo. They are likely too weak to produce them.
Rasho - Rasho have halos with no forseeable difference between them and others, this is likely due to their lack of individualism.
Taison - Taisons have halos with the same color as their body. Although larger than the Rasho's, they appear smaller due to their great size.

Primordial God(s)

Chakravartin - Chakravartin's halo appears as a large collection of thin golden arms with upwards facing palms while the arms are arranged in a lotus shape. The Halo also portrays rainbow-like energy rippling out from it and a luminescent energy core. It is quite possibly the largest of all Halos in his standard form as his halo is large enough to encompass his back and he is at least twice the size of the playable characters, in his galaxy sized form his halo is also as large as his back making his halo the size of a galaxy.

Trivia

In many religions, the halo is an icon used to indicate the holy and sacred status of someone, usually in art. It takes the shape of a ring or disk of light above or behind a figure's head.
The Halos themselves can effectively symbolise the Demigods' status as holy and powerful beings with near-divine power and superiority, especially to the Humans they rule.
Olga and Kalrow are the only Guardian Generals who did not reveal their halos within the storyline and only in official artwork.
The Halos on Asura and the Demigods have a similar appearance to the gods involved with Amaterasu (as her Halo is a symbol of the sun), impling a connection to Asura and Amaterasu.
It's possible a Halo's arrangement is based off a combination of the owner's amount and finesse with Mantra.
- For as much Mantra as Gongen Wyzen wields, he makes no special use of it outside a power, or likely just size boost.
- Even a relatively straightforward fighter like Asura not only possesses an overwhelming amount of Mantra, he uses Mantra to generate additional arms and makes liberal use of ranged attacks and other Mantra-based attacks, in addition to his generation of Mantra through his wrath.
- Augus prefers to make minimal use of Mantra, only using it for straight-forward boosts to strikes, and seems to rely on his own physical strength otherwise. He notably only uses higher quantities of Mantra once he draws his sword.