Nephilim
Introduction
Nephilim or nephalem (singular "nephil") are the offspring of angels and demons, making them practically unheard of. With such a combustible heritage, it takes immensely powerful individuals of both species to first sire a child and then survive its birth. What's more, neither parent can overpower the other without risking loss of the fetus. A deadly sin would require an archangel to balance their genes; an archdemon would require a Seraph; an overlord would require a Cherub. Lower ranks cannot create nephilim without some sort of outside assistance, like temporary power-ups. Like other half-breeds, a nephil can't quite reach their parents' power level but rather the equilevant of a lesser rank.
As with other half-breeds, nephilim may not initially realize their true nature before their powers erupt unintentionally. This usually happens when the nephil is conceived without consent from both parties but can also result from a combination of deadly childbirth and absent sire. In case of nephilim, their hidden features will be a mix of both worlds: mismatched eyes, veins illuminated by light as their insides burn under their skin, heterogenous wings, etc.
When creating a nephil, consider:
Their mental wellbeing, age, parents, and unique powers.
Related
Powers
Emotion empowerment
Unstable by default, nephilim are powered up by their emotions—more raw the emotion, the greater the power-up. Negative emotions are an exceptionally powerful source, often leading into explosive destruction, intended or not. Desperation, anguish, rage, and hate cause the most potent effects, multiplying the nephil's capability twofold. However, control over their abilities diminishes in the same ratio, leading into truly unpredictable results.
Psionics
What makes nephilim so dangerous is their capability for some truly horrifying acts through mind control. Unethical even as a concept, a nephil's abilities can include anything from telekinesis, telepathy, illusion, and clairvoyance to hallucination inducement, phobia creation, perceptive amnesia, siren song, or even psychic torture. Although no nephil can do everything, mastery over any type of psychological manipulation is reason enough to fear them.
Soul absorption
Another one of nephil's most terrifying powers is the ability to absorb spirits and souls, preventing them from ever moving on to their afterlife. Consuming a soul heals the nephil, delaying their eventual death caused by the opposite forces slowly ripping the them apart. The soul's memories and moral are lost in the process, providing an increase in received energy. While unable to consume the spirits of more powerful beings, absorption is not limited to mortals.
Precognition
Most powerful nephilim are able to see glimpses of the future, either related to objects or individual persons, but never in a directly understandable way. These visions and other sensations are random and might be of no use at all, or they might offer the nephil an edge against their opponent in a stroke of luck. While the nephil may have some control over their future-telling ability, they can never pick and choose what the power shows them, rather than what or who it's related to.
Element manipulation
A nephil can control one of four elements: fire, water, earth, or air. While they can't create the element out of nothing, they can grow a tiny spark into a fullblown inferno or a droplet into a tsunami. Utilizing the ability to this extent requires remarkable empowerment but even in a smaller scale, a nephil can entomb their opponent into a premature grave or take the air out of someone's lungs. The skill uses matter around it—i.e., oxygen for fire or air humidity for water—and as such has a time limit in addition to any toll it takes out of the nephil.
Innate abilities
Enhanced condition
Nephilim surpass other mortals in all imaginable ways: they are stronger, faster, invulnerable to a degree, and have heightened senses compared to regular humans. Being the one aspect a nephil can match or even surpass their parents, it takes more than brawn to defeat one. While some may use their increased strength to murder with bare hands, others utilize their speed and extended breath-holding capability to save people from burning buildings. Depending on the nephil's moral, they can be both the hero or the villain of their own story.
Receptive omnilinguanism
Nephilim intuitively understand all spoken and written languages, sign, and body language. While this doesn't include the ability to automatically reciprocate what's being heard or seen, nephilim have a natural talent for learning all kinds of languages, including musical and mathematical ones. They can even understand both Enochian and Profanish, nullifying any effect they might have on the hearer.
Regeneration
It takes more than a severe injury or a single shot to down a nephil, especially in any kind of empowered state. Able to heal grievous wounds and other brutal injuries if given the time, nephilim can undo most damage caused to them. This doesn't make them invincible, however—severed limbs cannot be grown back, nor any brain damage healed. Still, regeneration allows them to drink alcohol to usually fatal amounts without being severely hindered by it.
Flight
Blessed with wings, all nephilim can take flight. Learning the ability itself is another story, unless it is taught by either parent. While nephilim cannot turn invisible, they may still fly unnoticed in a shadow-like form, or wipe the memories of any witnesses. Unable to cross extended distances, flight is merely a way to get out of trouble or vanish from a crime scene.
Weaknesses
Mortality
Despite a nephil's immense powers, they are still classified as mortals. Continuously battling a delicate balance between their parents' heritage takes a toll on all nephilim, shortening their natural lifespan to a few centuries. Absorbing souls allows a nephil to extend their biological clock by a few years at a time, forcing them to choose between countless murders or their own death. Received healing can help to a degree but will not completely nullify the need for absorption, carrying the additional risk of harming the nephil's demonic side in the process.
Heaven's enmity
Nephilim are considered unholy to the degree of them being directly affected by Heaven's wrath. While the effect has greatly diminished in God's absence, it still limits a nephil's potential. Some nephilim feel the weakening effect as unexplainable fatigue; others feel the divine ire as physical symptoms like migraines in their daily life. Holy items and places may add to the discomfort or have no effect at all—as unique as nephilim are, so are their reactions to the surrounding world.
Curses
Potent curses can incapacitate any nephil, imprison them, or momentarily strip away their powers. Due to their mixed heritage, they may eventually break out of the curse's hold or become one with it, forever carrying the curse with them, unable to break it, yet too powerful to succumb to it. Legends tell of a nephil once cursed with eternal life, free from a life of a serial killer but torn apart from the inside, their mind broken yet somehow functioning despite the centuries of pain and suffering. But such stories are just a myth… Right?
Gold
As with both of a nephil's parents, their offspring can be contained with metal. All but pacified with bonds made of pure gold, nephilim can be stripped of their supernatural qualities. Golden weapons can be used to severely injure them and slow down their regeneration; golden jewelry can prevent them from using most of their powers. While nephilim do not react negatively to touching gold, they will notice its nullifying effects upon contact.
Archangels, deadly sins, and primordials
While some nephilim can reach frightening potential with their powers, they will never match those of archangels and deadly sins. Damage caused by either side could bring a nephil's volatility to catastrophic levels, taking down both parties and then some. It is advised for any nephilim to steer clear of the universe's big guns, especially those who wouldn't even notice the nephil's destruction.
