Backstory
In ancient times, a strange meteor shower allowed a being of great power known as Zenos and his Netherin army to enter the human world through a portal called the Gate of Ruin. After this incursion, many Ethereals of all shapes and sizes also came to the human world to stop Zenos.
On Earth, the Gate of Ruin can be found in the eastern maritime hub of Neo Chonghua.
To defeat the evil that ravaged the world, the Ethereals chose to merge with special humans with powerful genes, creating the first Metashifters.
The Metashifters banded together to seal Zenos within the Gate of Ruin using a relic known as the Chonghua Sundial. On the Sundial are astral text that can only be seen by Metashifters. Once every three hundred years, the seal will begin to weaken, requiring the Metashifters to band together once more to perform another sealing ritual.
Earth
The human world where the use of powered exo-suits, energy weapons, and other futuristic technology is widespread. This world follows the laws of physics.
The Otherside
An extra-dimensional world that's inhabited by lifeforms of pure energy — the Netherins and Ethereals, who are locked in an eternal conflict.
The Netherins and Ethereals have telepathic abilities and can materialize in the human world through spatial transference. They can reside in the human body or magnetic fields, and use electromagnetic waves to initiate transformations and activate special abilities.
Ethereals tend to be good and neutral, while Netherins tend to be evil and chaotic. The two sides have been fighting an endless war for generations.
Similarities and Differences
The Ethereals and Netherins that endow the Metashifters with their powers are similar beings, both born from energy.
When Ethereals merge with humans, their energy transforms into an Ethereal Battlesuit, a physical manifestation of the power of the Otherside. The human hosts maintain their free will after metashifting, and it is the strength of this will that gives the Ethereal Battlesuit its power.
Netherins merge with humans in a similar fashion and transform into a Netherin Battlesuit. The difference is that Netherins can alter, or even overpower the will of their human hosts. What determines the strength of the Netherin Battlesuit is the power of the Netherin itself.
Selecting a Host
Beings of the Otherside can choose their human hosts in different ways. Some are drawn to certain bloodlines, while others seek out unique spiritual qualities. But once they have made their choice, these beings will not change hosts unless the original has died.
Metashifting
The beings of the Otherside are stored in the form of energy in Transmods made of Sundial Fragments, and are summoned forth by their human hosts to complete the metashifting process.
New Transmods
In the new age, beings of the Otherside live on in digital forms.
Many Metashifters now use their phones or other communication devices as convenient Transmods.
Conflict
After Zenos was sealed, the Ethereals eventually assimilated into human society.
As such, human conflict also becomes part of the Ethereals. For the interests of their individual hosts, Ethereals clashed with one another.
