Distortion
Distortion
The condition of Soul Fire that has been bent or twisted in a way that prevents the being it originates from from freely connecting with the Omnivum. Distortion obscures that connection and progressively limits a being's creative power and freedom: the generative capacity that, in its undistorted state, allows a being to freely change form, perceive other beings, and express itself as a source of Soul Fire rather than a consumer of it.
Distortion is fundamentally one phenomenon operating at two scales:
Internal Distortion occurs within a being. It is the personal experience of Corruption — the progressive narrowing of a being's awareness of its own connection to the Omnivum. At shallow levels it manifests as a self-reinforcing limitation: the being's own power turned inward, becoming a kind of prison rather than a generative force. At deeper levels it produces the condition of Soul Fire Consumption, where the being perceives it can no longer generate Soul Fire from within and must draw it from other beings to sustain itself.
Environmental Distortion occurs when enough distorted Soul Fire accumulates within a dimensional space. Dense realms, particularly those at the fourth dimensional threshold and below, have been progressively polluted by environmental Distortion over long periods of time. This pollution actively bends truth and suppresses the upward movement of Soul Fire, making it increasingly difficult for souls within those realms to rise toward Harmony. Environmental Distortion is not a neutral absence of Soul Fire but an active force working against coherence and Harmony.
This environmental Distortion possesses the same ability as a being does to manipulate reality, albeit in a reduced capacity, and since it is divorced from any kind of intelligence or connection to the Omnivum it produces "noise" that interferes with beings' ability to perceive and create in its vicinity. Additionally it carries the qualities of negative emotions such as fear and isolation that heighten the perception of separation from the Omnivum for beings that find themselves within a region of Distortion.
Sufficient dense collections of environmental Distortion can create spaces where perceiving the Omnivum is largely impossible without outside help, fueling the beings trapped inside to believe they are cut off or alone.
Both forms of Distortion are the same phenomenon at different scales. Internal Distortion concentrated in one being and environmental Distortion spread through dimensional space are both Soul Fire that has lost its free, generative quality and now works against the connection it once expressed.
Causes
- The Corruption process
- Trauma and accumulated disharmony
- Soul Fire Consumption — both in the being doing the consuming and, to a degree, in the source being
- Long residence in heavily Distorted dimensional environments