Iris Rivera is the main protagonist of Post Mortem, a normal highschool girl that was in the prime of her life before dying in a sudden accident. Awakening to a new world rampant in chaos and multitudes of factions, she travels the afterlife, bringing order wherever she goes.
Backstory[]
Iris' backstory is somewhat of a tragedy, despite her presence now. Not much is known about her parents as she was an orphan, but it was said that her parents were killed, either by assassins or some supernatural means. But it would seem that Iris wouldn't exactly need them, as she was a rather intelligent girl at her age. Though nowhere near a prodigy, she was slightly smarter than the kids at the orphanage she was shipped to. While in the care of the kind man who ran the place, she found a love for being alone as no one wanted to be around her. In her lonesome, she found a love for black cats and enjoyed their presence, due to them being in a similar position. This would earn her the nickname of the 'crazy cat girl.'
Luckily, it wouldn't last for long as she was picked up by a married couple during an event. Taken to their house, she was properly cared for and doted on by her adoptive parents as they had just lost a girl the same age as her. This natural doting and care led to Iris being slightly annoyed by her parents' attitude, but eventually accepting and tolerating their ways. As she grew older, her inner independent nature began to call out to her and she began to stray away from their care further and further. This would eventually lead to living in an apartment and going to work to start supporting herself. While away, she found herself loving the time she spent with her parents whenever they did come over.
A lot of things began to look up for her life during this time, as she had earned herself a promotion, having good scores, and had just been accepted into the college she chose. But on the day before graduation, a school shooter came in the form of a bullied and forgotten student. In the chaos of the shooter holding the entire school under hostage and the students running around in a panic, Iris found herself attempting to help as many people as she could. Unfortunately, some thought her to be the shooter and ran from her instead. So in this chaotic environment, she found herself eventually facing up against the shooter and being shot in the chest. Bleeding out before the paramedics could reach her, her last thoughts were lamenting on how many regrets she had in life.
But that was before she woke up in an entirely new world, a quite hellish one at that. The landscape she found herself in was something like the Christian Hell, the works of fire and brimstone all around with volcanoes in the background. Obviously confused as to where she was, Iris found herself running from various creatures in order to survive. After a few days of surviving, she would find herself in the care of a lone colony of soldiers. It was from them that she learned that this place was the Afterlife, or, something akin to it at least. Turns out, a while back something happened to the Spiritual Realms, which made them all mish-mash together to form a weird amalgamation of a gigantic spirit realm that was entirely chaotic. Travelling with the group, she eventually found out they were part of a faction attempting to split the realms back into their original place.
Staying in the territory of one of the Eight Pillars, Iris trained under them and unlocked the inner potential of her soul. But after some time, she realized that the idea of splitting the realms would cause catastrophic death and possibly the collapse of the living world. So after some infighting, she would eventually desert the Pillar and move on in order to discover a better way of keeping peace in this new life after death. So far in her journeys, Iris has fought against a host of enemies ranging from vengeful spirits to the disgraced divine. Carving a way through the landscape, she has earned herself the title of 'Azure Reaper.'
Appearance[]
Despite being an incredible powerhouse, Iris' appearance deceives the many legends created about her. As she is still technically a spiritual entity in nature, she has the same form as she did when she died, always being stuck with her. That being said, she has a rather petite figure and doesn't seem to have anything indicating how powerful she truly is. Most of the time, she carries herself in a quiet and indifferent composure, being able to blend into the background easily. Her skin is somewhat fair but almost pale due to how she commonly came out in the night. The fact that she has a rather powerful and calming set of blue eyes pretty much confirms how much of a nocturnal creature she truly is. It is commonly said that staring into them are like staring into an ocean, a calm yet powerful force that reflects one's presence. But as her emotions began to flare up, her appearance begins to change. Instead of the calming ocean blue, her eyes instead carry the blue of lightning, crackling with energy. Even her hair begins to change into something more like a mixture of dark gray and violet, signaling the oncoming thunderstorm.
Even after her time in the aferlife, Iris still holds her parents' gift close. It's a black choker that has a gold buckle, with the center seemingly holding a brilliant red gem. After the years of fighting and skirmishes in the Afterlife, Iris refuses to let it get dirty. Speaking of which, thanks to all of the fights she has been in, she does have a multitude of scars all across her body. The most prominent place they seem to pop up are either on the back or her torso. Still, there have been some scars of cuts and stitches running across her arms, though usually small. The most notable, however, is a large gash running across her chest that reaches up to her right shoulder and all the way down to her left hip.
Luckily, it would seem that the spiritual body always cleans itself off and remembers the original look of the individual. Unluckily, the individual seems to have to be stuck with those clothes for the rest of their life. In any case, Iris wore a black skirt and tank-top along with a blach hoodie with a blue underside with black stockings and running shoes before her death. Now in the afterlife, it has followed her there.
Personality[]
Iris is a commonly quiet and indifferent individual, with nothing seemingly affecting her. She is a seemingly analytical individual, taking everything around her into account for a response. Whether it be an attack in combat or a simple response to a question, it is almost as if she is prepared for anything that comes her way. Almost. Most of the time she can be rather blunt and unable to tell a simple white lie in order to make someone feel good. She also seems to hate talk and conversation in combat, as she interrupted a Jiangshi explaining their abilities because "they were talking too much." She doesn't feel beholden to any faction, simply wandering the wastelands of the Afterlife. But the blood of the Riveras still shows itself in her actions, as she does often go out of her way to help others in perilous situations. Not only that, but she protects those closest to her with a furious intensity, making sure that anyone who dared to harm those she loved will pay the price. But, it is rather difficult to get to become a close friend to her, as she keeps mostly everyone she knows at a distance.
It is because of the many regrets she held in life, and one she buries deep within her during her wandering. Not only is it because of her immense power, but also the fact that she still laments the fact that she could no longer be with her foster parents. Those two factors combine to make her fear herself to the point of making sure that everyone is at arm's length is in order to keep themselves safe. As rational and independent as she might be, Iris has overworked herself multiple times to the point where it endangered her previous and current life. Additionally, as she has buried this part of herself deep within her, such emotions and feelings can suddenly explode and result in emotional episodes that can sometimes overpower her rational thoughts for days on end. Adding on more, she is terrible with emotions and has a hard time understanding not only the atmosphere but the ones closest to her. There is a nagging feeling in her mind asking her if she is doing the right thing or not. Despite it all, Iris doesn't hold any grudges and is willing to forgive and forget if the gesture is meaningful.
Combat Statistics[]
Tier: 7-B | 6-A | High 5-A
Keys: Base | Post-Shift | Post-Awakening
Powers and Abilities:
Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Enhanced Senses (Capable of seeing across great distances), Extrasensory Perception (Capable of sensing spiritual wavelengths and the power of certain individuals), Non-Physical Interaction (Capable of interacting with and damaging spiritual entities), Energy Projection (Can produce beams of spiritual energy), Pseudo-Flight and Platform Creation (Capable of creating platforms of energy and project spiritual energy in a way of pseudo-flight), Invisibility (Souls and spiritual entities are normally invisible to inhabitants of the living world), Master Martial Artist (Could fight on-par with, and defeat, entities who have lived for decades honing their martial arts), Weapon Mastery (Can wield a variety of weapons with ease, is an expert in fighting with the scythe), Instinctive Action (Has dodged multiple strikes and attacks thanks to instinct alone at the last minute), Accelerated Development (Battle; Physical Stats, Abilities), Supernatural Willpower (The strength of spiritual entities are capable of immense growth in the midst of combat as long as they wield a strong enough willpower to break through their limiters), Aura (Exudes an aura that is considered unique), Statistics Amplification (Can compress her aura to become stronger and faster)
Resistance to Fear Manipulation and Paralysis Inducement (Was still able to move while in the presence of pipagui, who can paralyze individuals off of fear alone), Soul Manipulation, Corrosion Inducement (Resisted and fought back against her soul being corroded), Illusion Manipulation (Broke out of a Shui Gui's illusions), Poison Manipulation (Fought off a poison through her willpower alone), Extreme Heat and Cold (Could traverse the entirety of the Afterlife without suffering any ill-effects, despite many landscapes being hotter and colder than what normal humans could endure), Pain Manipulation (Has a high pain tolerance)
All previous vastly enhanced plus Air Manipulation and Pressure Manipulation (Can create pressurized blasts of air), Forcefield Creation (Capable of creating forcefields made out of spiritual energy), Kinetic Energy Manipulation and Vibration Manipulation (Can reduce attacks or enhance the force of her own by tranfering kinetic energy through vibrations), Energy Manipulation (Can manipulate spiritual energy for a variety of needs), Weapon Creation (Capable of creating weapons made out of spiritual energy), limited Telekinesis (Can control her scythe with her mind), Danmaku (Was able to create a hail of swords), Enhanced Aura (Explosive), Explosion Manipulation (Can create explosions by concentrating her aura into one place and making it detonate), Afterimage Creation (Could create dozens of afterimages), Transmutation and Intangibility (Phasing) (Can transmute her body into spiritual particles, which can allow her to phase through attacks or objects), Sense Manipulation (Those weaker than her can have their senses scrambled)
All previous enhanced plus Sealing, Space-Time Manipulation (Type 1), and BFR (Was able to keep herself anchored onto the Afterlife despite a space-time singularity trying to drag and seal her within an event horizon), Deconstruction, Matter Manipulation (Atomic) (The singularity tore things apart at the atomic level), limited Fate Manipulation (Her fate was much harder to control by the Boazhu in comparison to others), Fire Manipulation (Could tank the full brunt of a nuclear fire detonating in her face, coming out with only minor injuries and no burns), limited Death Manipulation (Grasped and threw around the Yaogui, who instills instant death on those who touch its skin)
All previous enhanced plus Electricity Manipulation (Capable of producing beams of lightning and enhance her attacks with electricity), Weather Manipulation (Made it rain within the Afterlife), Summoning (Could summon Raikiri, creatures made entirely of the weather and lightning), limited Dimensional Travel (Could chase after Xian Du, even after he tried escaping into other possible futures)
All previous vastly enhanced plus Extrasensory Perception (Supernatural beings are nigh-impossible to sense by inferior opponents unless they allow it), Precognition, Causality Manipulation, Fate Manipulation (4D - Multiversal+ - A supernatural being's fate and actions are harder to predict than even those after the Shift. Was capable of damaging and chasing after Xian Du, who could see the entirety of the future laid out before him like a path and alter its various courses and create new causal inputs), Information Analysis (A supernatural being's status and weaknesses are nigh-impossible to be gathered by inferior opponents)
Attack Potency: City Level+ (Could contend with an immortal who was capable of splitting the clouds [79 Megatons]) | Continent Level+ (Capable of fighting and defeating one of the rogue Sanxing, who had enough power to completely wipe out North America [1.33 Petatons]) | Dwarf Star Level+ (Participated in a clash that was powerful enough to create ripples across the solar system and move Jupiter slightly out of orbit [4.73 Quettatons])
Speed: Massively Hypersonic+ (Kept up with an immortal in combat, who was capable of intercepting lightning) | Sub-Relativistic+ (Was capable of dodging an energy beam that reached the moon in seconds [0.0986c]) | Massively FTL (Comparable to the speed of her own shockwaves, which could ripple and reach to the edge of the solar system [415.85c])
Lifting Strength: Class K (Capable of lifting up the Dream Whales, who are entities comparable in weight to blue whales) | Class T (Broke out of the telekinesis of the rogue Sanxing, who is capable of telekinetically pulling around islands and possibly entire continents) | At least Class T (Could grapple with Xian Du, and was stated to be stronger than before)
Striking Strength: City Level+ | Continent Level+ | Dwarf Star Level
Durability: City Level+ | Continent Level+ | Dwarf Star Level
Stamina: Superhuman. Capable of surviving within the wastelands of the Afterlife, which would normally strain an individual to do so. Could fight against hordes of demons and vengeful spirits for multiple weeks. Could continue to fight even after multiple of her bones were broken and she was reaching her own limit. Can fight even while unconscious due to her pure willpower alone.
Range: Standard Melee Range, Extended Melee Range with Lightning's Edge, Tens of Kilometers with Energy Projection (Should be comparable to the Royal Guards, who can create energy explosions comparable in size to nuclear detonations) | Standard Melee Range, Extended Melee Range with Lightning's Edge, Thousands of Kilometers with Energy Manipulation (Spiritual energy manipulated by talented wielders can have effects lasting for thousands of kilometers) | Standard Melee Range, Extended Melee Range with Lightning's Edge, Planetary, possibly higher with abilities (Was capable of making it rain in the afterlife and cause lightning to appear. The portion of the Afterlife she was in was considered to be the size of planet Earth, but it was also possible that she made it rain across the entirety of the Afterlife, which is a mirror image of the waking universe, including having its own space-time continuum)
- Lightning's Edge: A scythe forged and crafted by Iris' own soul, running on her own willpower and spiritual energy to keep its consistent form in reality. The blade is considerably sharp, being able to cut through nearly any material and is almost unbreakable by normal standards. She is capable of focusing her spiritual energy and power through the blade in order to create slashes of energy or gusts of wind. At the height of its power, it was capable of summoning lightning and Raikiri all around it.
Intelligence: Gifted, Genius in combat (Was considered a smart student in her waking life and could be considered an almost prodigy. Mastered her control over spiritual energy in a month, thought it would take years for an advanced individual to learn so. Can scope out her opponents' weaknesses in the midst of combat and create strategies based around them. Capable of sensing and deducing the flow of power from powerful spiritual entities, even though it would take years on end for others to do so. Impressed the Royal Guards and was considered to be one, who are nigh-immortal entities who had honed their skills for thousands of years. Could hold her own and defeat a fallen divine who was a god of war and combat that continuously gained skill and intelligence from the constant battles it had. Fought against immortals who had been in various wars and visit the Afterlife for fun)
Weaknesses: Her instinctive action can be somewhat inconsistent and not activate when in combat. Compressing her aura requires focus and can be broken. | Vibration Manipulation requires focus in order to instill or distill attacks. | Dimensional Travel is combat inapplicable as Xian Du's powers weakened the barrier of space-time to the point where it could be broken.
- Consistently survived in the Afterlife, even though it has constant dangers to the waking world.
- Is exceptionally skilled and could defeat entities of the Afterlife mere days after her arrival.
- Her willpower is considered to be immense and overwhelming.
- Survived the Shift, which destroyed many spiritual entities that didn't have a strong enough presence.
- Fought against a variety and host of spiritual beings, each with their own powers and gimmicks.
- Deduced the real version of a Swordsman Ghost even when light was being bent and her senses were scrambled with constant afterimages.
- Could stave off the effects of a poison that would normally kill even strong spiritual entities.
- Fought against and defeated Fallen Divine, which were entities considered impossible to defeat by the inhabitants of the Afterlife.
- Carved a path through a gigantic army of demons in mere moments.
- Moved fast enough that her afterimages were considered 'life-like'.
- Could defeat Thanatos, the first grim reaper of the Afterlife that lived for countless millennia.
Notable Attacks/Techniques:
Basenjin: The common technique that Iris wields, condensing her spiritual energy to the tip of her blade and slashing vertically or horizontally to unleash a burst of energy. As its basis is a projection of energy, it can take any shape and even fired omnidirectionally. Commonly, it takes on either a beam or crescent of spiritual energy. Additionally, she can enhance it with her aura to be capable of damaging opponents even stronger than her, along with additional effects such as explosions or electricity.
Kazemichi: Over the course of her adventures and travels amongst the Afterlife, Iris would eventually create a new line of techniques and martial arts that focused on wielding the scythe. The crux and foundation is built around the idea of speed, momentum, and feints. One strikes as quick as lightning, making the very scythe they wield a practical extension of their body to produce insane feats in combat. Whether it be used to dodge attacks or unleash devastating blows, it is a martial arts to be reckoned with. Later, she would be capable of diverting the force of attacks or enhancing her own blows through focus of vibrations and shockwaves.
Raiken: After her awakening into that of a supernatural being, Iris would gain the ability to control and manipulate lightning itself. Through this aspect she was even capable of manipulating the weather, making it rain in the Afterlife. She is even capable of summoning lightning-based beings known as Raikiri to assist her in combat.