Blight

Blight, also known as Impurities (ヤスミ, Yasumi) is a term used to describe wounds caused by a phantom and corrupt gods, shinki, and loose spirits.

The term "Impure" (ヤスム, Yasumu) is used when a victim is wounded. Blight is identified by a visible purplish-red mark on the affected area of the body, although the appearance differs between gods and souls.

Causes and Effects
A god, a shinki or a soul can get impure through three ways as follows:


 * When the god, shinki, or loose spirit is attacked by phantoms
 * When another individual (including half-phantoms ) touches the blight mark and get infected
 * When a shinki commits a sin

Blight in general will cause the victim to go through a phase called "defilement" or "corruption" (, fujou). However, the appearance of the blight mark and its effects differ between a god and a shinki or spirit:


 * The blight mark for a god is shown as a visible purplish-red mark. If left untreated, the blight will spread all over his/her body, causing the god to degrade and eventually die.
 * For a soul, in addition to the purpling mark, the wound can also appear phantom-like. Phantom’s eyes will appear on the wound and spread all over the soul’s body. If left untreated, the phantom will feed on the soul, possessing and changing the soul into a phantom.
 * If a spirit or shinki touches a blight mark on a wounded god, the blight will infect them. The blight mark has no phantom eyes but if left untreated the eyes will appear, and the effect is similar to one directly attacked by phantoms.
 * If a shinki commits a sin, the blight appears on both the owner god’s nape and the shinki’s back. While the shinki feels nothing, a red phantom eye will appear on the back each time a sin is committed. The god however will feel stabbing pain as the shinki’s name is linked with the god’s life. If left untreated or no action is taken, the god will die and the shinki will turn into a phantom.

Treatment
Blight can be treated using the following methods:


 * Blight mark without phantom eyes can be cleansed by washing it away using purifying water obtained from shrines or natural springs. This method has only been shown to work for a god that is injured by a phantom’s attack or an individual that is infected by a wounded god.
 * If the blight is caused by a shinki committing sins, the blight must be purified by conducting a Ablution ritual for the offending shinki. This method, while painful, is the only way to cleanse both the shinki and the god owning it.
 * In the former scenario, releasing the offending shinki’s name or killing it will cure the owner god, but doesn’t save the shinki. When the name is released the shinki will turn into a phantom.
 * For a loose spirit that has been attacked by a phantom and received blight with phantom eyes, the only way to cleanse the impurities is by cutting off the phantom part of the soul. If the soul is totally consumed by the phantom, it must be killed. A loose spirit cannot be purified through an Ablution, and should a god want to take the soul as a shinki it must be cleansed from impurities first.

Trivia

 * In the manga, blight is written in katakana as opposed to its actual word, み. This is probably because the word is used for a different context than the original meaning, which is "suspension" or "rest".