I was watching Youtube videos from a game called Journeyman Project 3, which features a section where you explore Shangri-La. One of the things you learn about is some of the tenets of Buddhism, including the six realms of existence.
I thought it would be cool to write a story with six characters, each based on one of the realms, but I realized that I already had. Unknowingly I already had six characters that had attributes that matched each realm.
Clockwise from top:
Shin is an evil demon who is reborn in a new human body but retains some of his new host's conscience. He represents the realm of the gods, who live in splendor and complacency.
Spike is a humanoid that was made from a pet monster. She is friendly but airheaded. She represents the beast realm, who live in savage ignorance.
Geli is a cybernetically enhanced human who wears goggles to correct her blindness. She is linked to the mainframe of Shin's starship, Bloodlink. She represents the realm of hungry ghosts, who desire material things but are thwarted by their immaterial forms.
Stephanos is a brilliant but deranged scientist who used to work for Shin, until he was betrayed. Now he plots vengence. He built the computer mainframe on Bloodlink and 'modified' Geli. He represents the hells, where souls suffer in torment.
Esperanza is a fox spirit. She is fanatically loyal to Shin and verges on bloodlust when in battle. She can shapeshift into different human forms. She represents the realm of titans, who fight eternally with each other and the gods, jealous of what they do not possess.
Nami is a half-mermaid and Stephanos' daughter. She was abandoned at birth and raised by humans in a desert. She was eventually rescued by Shin's host, Dmitri, before he was possessed. She represents the human realm, which although flawed contains the greatest promise of attaining elightenment.
The Six Realms
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