Loose Spirit

Loose Spirit
Name
Kanji	死霊
Romaji	Shiryō
Also Known As	Ghosts
Debut
Manga	Chapter 1
Anime	Episode 1

Loose Spirits (死 (し) 霊 (りょう) , Shiryō^?), also referred to as ghosts, are the wandering souls of dead humans.

Appearance

Loose spirits can take different forms, but often resemble humans. For example, Mineha appears the same as a regular human. When Daikoku was a loose spirit, he was shown to be mostly human-like– but he lacked legs and feet, floating in the air much like a yūrei. Yukine appeared as a sudama. Others such as shinigami may appear very different from a human.

However, once they become shinki, all loose spirits take on a fully human-like appearance. Should their name be revoked, they maintain their human form instead of reverting to their original spirit form, as demonstrated by Mayu, Sakura, and Momo.

A Human's Postmortem Fate

Loose spirits have the capability of becoming shinki if they are named by a god, at which point they gain various abilities, including transformation into a vessel and usage of borderlines. Because of this, if a spirit remains unnamed, they are vulnerable to being attacked by ayakashi. In the event that they become corrupted by an ayakashi, their vessel form will be damaged in some way if they ever become a shinki.

Otherwise, loose spirits are subject to many possible fates. According to the Stray, the existence of multiple different religions and belief systems surrounding life after death means that one's postmortem fate is ultimately determined by what they believed while they were alive. They can become sudama; they can be reincarnated; they can "meet their maker"; or after some time, they can eventually just cease to exist.

Sudama

A Sudama (素 (す) 魂 (だま) , Sudama^?, "Pristine Spirit") is a more primitive form of a spirit. Appearance-wise, they are pale, dandelion-like orbs with beady eyes and triangular lips. They seem to be about palm-sized, but grow smaller over time.

Sudama were once a common fate, as the old view of the afterlife described the souls of the dead descending from the mountains during the winter and returning at the change of seasons. In present day, it seems that sudama are less common due to the presence of multiple new belief systems. Still, loose spirits can become sudama after a long time wandering, particularly if the spirit had not yet formed a solid concept of death before they passed away. Although the exact duration remains unspecified, becoming a sudama takes less than thirty years, as evidenced by Yukine.

Grim Reapers

Yato describes the existence of spirits that become "something like a Grim Reaper (死 (しに) 神 (がみ) , Shinigami^?)" after death. These spirits take on a shadowy, vaguely humanoid figure and serve to guide the spirits of their loved ones to the afterlife when it is their time. For example, Grandfather Iki spends many days waiting to guide his wife. It is also possible for a group of grim reaper-like spirits to guide one individual.

These spirits appear to have supernatural agility, able to fly quickly through the air and shatter through glass.

Daikoku as a loose spirit.

Sudama descend from the mountains.

Grandfather Iki arrives at his wife's bedside.

Grandfather Iki flies to a window after protecting Hiyori.

Memories

"You wanna dig out my tush crystal, Yukine?!" This article contains manga spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Loose spirits at first retain some or all of their memories, which then fade over time. The Stray claims that Yukine's spirit had probably been wandering in the mountains with all of his memories intact, until eventually his spirit dissolved into sudama form. Additionally, a loose spirit that Yukine met did not realize she was dead and remembered that her mother was supposed to come pick her up at six o'clock.

It has been stated that when a loose spirit is named by a god, their posthumous name seals away the memories of their first life. This may partially explain why the God's Greatest Secret becomes so traumatic for shinki, as they are suddenly bombarded with painful memories and emotions that had previously been locked away. Despite this, even with their memories locked, loose spirits and shinki may still retain fear-based emotions that stemmed from their deaths: Yukine is afraid of confined spaces and the dark after being locked inside a refrigerator, and Mayu is uncomfortable around large fires after being burned alive.

Characters

Characters who were introduced as loose spirits:

• Arahabaki's children
• Grandfather Iki
• Mineha
• Momo
• Masaomi's friend
• Nana
• Sakura
• Yukine

Characters who have become loose spirits:

• Mayu (temporarily)
• Miyu

Characters who have been retroactively shown as loose spirits:

• Daikoku
• Kiun