JULY 9, 2014.
Post by Dante Florencia on Feb 1, 2014 20:52:50 GMT -5
Link Joker
An effect of the Paradox Soul's 'Zero' Phenomenon whenever someone tries to activate any of their spiritual abilities within twenty meters (20m) from Dante where they would have a vivid sensory hallucination of themselves doing something they would have done with such powers when, in fact, their powers have been rendered null by the 'Zero' Phenomenon. The explanation to this is that, when such people attempt to use their energy in Dante's presence, the 'Zero' Phenomenon acts as a surge protector of sorts which neutralizes the spirit energy all the way back to the source.
The process of nullification happens instantaneously and causes no damage to both Dante and the source of spirit energy, but an after-effect would be the production of small discharges that travel to the person's brain as electrical synapses which interfere with the person's sensory input from an external stimuli, thus causing that person to believe he or she actually executed a specific act when in Dante's point of view that person was just making unnecessary body movements. This is also the case in machines that can produce spirit energy, with only the difference being that it would affect their processing units.
Since the Link Joker Effect is produced only in the presence of spirit energy, it is totally dependent upon the latter to exist and lasts only for the precise moment any ability of spiritual origin is used.
//No Spiritual Power// Paradox Soul
By reason of his unique Paradox Soul, Dante does not have any spiritual presence nor can he perceive things of a spiritual nature; and neither can he learn or create techniques which require the use of spirit energy. As far as spiritual power is concerned, Dante is normal a human as a human could be.
//High Ether Affinity// Paradox Soul
In exchange for Dante’s complete lack of spiritual power, Dante’s Paradox Soul makes up for it by being in total harmony with the forces of the ether as a result of the amazing string of good omens that coincided with his birth. A wild card in and of itself since there is no true way of confirming its existence, Dante’s special ‘gift’ works in mysterious ways and it may or may not even exist, but since no one can know for sure how it functions nor how it manifests itself, only one thing is for certain: Dante is one lucky son of a gun, even if he is not aware of it.
//Expert Weapon Handler//
Dante’s occupation as an arms dealer and the Florencia family’s religious tradition of always testing out their products personally has allowed Dante to, quite literally, train with every firearm, bomb, and melee weapon in the six years he has been engaged in the family business. Along with his keen senses and proper weapons training during his years of mandatory military service in his childhood, his ability to fire a gun and hit his targets accurately are undisputed facts that make him an expert in this field.
What makes him a master, however, does not come from extensive training or artificial augmentations; rather, it is a result of what one would call ‘luck’ which allow Dante’s attacks to always ‘hit’ targets, even if they ‘missed’, but would ultimately accrue to the young Italian’s benefit. Thus, bullets that pass a mark may hit a random propane tank behind the intended target and explode, or a thrown knife into the air may fall back to earth some time later and hit a target to incapacitate him, or even the target itself would actually, albeit unintentionally, assist a perfect hit by moving at just the right moment to allow Dante’s attack to close the gap. This is the main reason why people, including Dante himself, are often left confused as to whether his skill is by reason of real martial prowess or just simple luck, hence making Dante’s 'unconventional' attacks with weaponry totally unpredictable if not surprisingly unexpected.
//Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant//
By reason of Dante’s compulsory military service in his childhood, he was trained from a young age to always make sure that his body was in top condition to respond to any threat to him and to those he cares about. Even though it had been nine years since he last marched in line and did push-ups like there was not tomorrow, the Italian always found time to keep his athletic physique by religiously training in the mixed martial arts. While not an undefeated prodigy with mystic techniques or broken bodies of challengers piled up behind him, Dante’s expertise in the martial arts make him a formidable opponent to come across primarily because of his incredible perception and with a little bit of luck.
Like with his proficiency in handling weapons, the Italian’s unarmed expertise follows the ‘just lucky’ principle in which attacks and guards made by him come off as byproducts of coincidence than skill, but happen with such frequency that would lead one to doubt whether or not they were out of twists of fate or deceptively intentional. Hence, Dante may slip and fall on his back when dodging an enemy’s spinning side-kick, or he may sneeze and bow his head at just the right moment before a sword decapitates him, or even 'accidentally' knock out an opponent by hitting the latter's jaw with his head when he straightens himself up after he sneezed.
//Expert Agility//
Dante is no doubt a physically-fit individual, but more than that, he is a normal human being who lives healthily and exercises regularly, just as he was taught during his service in the military as a child. Reflecting this, his agility and flexibility is that of a veteran practitioner of the art of Parkour, which he trains almost daily as one of his favorite fat-burning routines to maintain and improve his physique – something which is really all that Dante wants.
//Mastered Perception//
While Dante presents himself as a lackadaisical person whose attitude borders on air-headedness, ever since he was young, he had already shown clear signs of great intelligence and unquestionable powers of deduction which made him a prime candidate for a position to lead the fraction of the Italian army during his days of compulsory military service. In fact, had he not chosen to decline in view of his intense dislike for ordering others to their harm in the safety of a command post – since he would rather play himself as his own piece on the chessboard that is the battlefield – Dante would be half-way to general by now. He also tends to second-guess everything and is a person who considered to be is extremely meticulous and analytic nearly to the point of obsession, but his specialty lies in being able of thoroughly deceive his opponents and lull them into a false sense of security before he takes the opportunity to bring them down in a perfectly-executed play.
This assessment, however, is just pure speculation since Dante had never shown quite clearly any effort in displaying his supposed skills outright nor any definite proof that it even exists in the first place. What is certain, however, is this: Dante’s uncanny ability to ascertain any situation, person, or place in an instant and make plans of action and judgment calls to change the tide in his favor, no matter how dire the straits, has earned him the title ‘Bloodhound of Florence’ – the man who can sniff out victory regardless of how hidden it is. Any other person's attempt at determination as to the young Italian's acumen and powers of observation – ranging from painting Dante as an unparalleled tactical genius with virtual omniscience to labeling him as just a person who is unbearably lucky and putting on airs to compensate for inexcusable incompetence – could never be confirmed with any degree of certainty. All they know is that he always gets what he wants, one way or another.
//No Spiritual Control// Paradox Soul
Dante does not have control over something he did not even have in the first place.
