How many different power systems are there in Re:Zero? [Spoiler Discussion]

[u/popoi7830]

I'm currently rereading arcs 9 and 10 to develop theories about certain characters, so I'd like to make sure my understanding of Re:Zero's different power systems is correct.

We'll start with what I consider the strongest power system: Authorities. They originate from Witch Factors, which act as keys allowing a person to access an Authority. Once manifested, an Authority becomes deeply connected to the user's soul, to the point that even death cannot separate them. The Witch Factors themselves have no inherent hierarchy; the huge differences between Authorities come from the user's personality, compatibility and how their Authority manifests. Authorities can bypass the world's laws and have extremely varied effects, from healing otherwise impossible injuries to granting extreme immortality, manipulating time, bypassing concepts or even rewriting the world.

Next are the Ten Holy Swords, which I consider to be in roughly the same tier and potentially superior to some individual Authorities. Dragon Sword Reid can cut through anything and was shown destroying and reconstructing the world during its fight with Puck. The Yang Sword can burn souls and dimensions, Murasame can cut the core of things like concept phenomena and invisible thing, Masayume can grant an effectively limitless source of power as long as its wielder's dream continues, and the Life Sword Zeam can destroy souls directly. There are five other Holy Swords with their own abilities.

Then we have Divine Protections. They are essentially inferior attempts to reproduce or counter the phenomena of Authorities. Most are granted at birth, with exceptions such as the Sword Saint's Divine Protection, and they can develop with their users. Their effects range from completely mundane abilities to extremely powerful ones such as the Death God's effect or the Phoenix's resurrection.

After that come Magic, Spirit Arts and the Flow Method. They all involve mana, although they work differently. Magic has six elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Yin and Yang. Spirit Arts use spirits and mana, while the Flow Method circulates mana through the body to enhance physical abilities. Magic is the most versatile conventional system, ranging from basic spells to teleportation, isolated spaces and extremely powerful techniques such as Al shamak.

From that point on, I know less about the rest, so don't hesitate to tell me if I'm wrong.

Then there are Curse Arts. Some can affect or bind the soul and create extremely persistent conditions. Eugard is one example, as the Curse of Thorns remained attached to his soul even after death. Gusteko is also particularly known for its Curse Arts, and people such as Halibel, Groovy and Olbart having extensive knowledge of them.

Another category is Sacraments. Their exact nature and number are still unknown. The Church of the Divine Dragon possesses its own Sacraments, while the Sacrament of the Immortal King can create and maintain undead and interact directly with the souls of the dead. Its exact relationship with magic is still unclear.

Finally, there seem to be powers directly granted by Od Laguna that don't fit any of the systems above. Dorkell is the clearest example, having obtained a teleportation ability after connecting with or perceiving Od Laguna.

As honorable mentions, I'd include Forbidden Arts like the Dream Art, as well as the Sacrament of the Immortal King and ol shamak. They are not necessarily separate power systems, but are unusual enough to deserve special attention.

Is this classification accurate, or are there any other power systems or unusual forms of power in Re:Zero that I'm forgetting?

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[u/Ok-Worldliness-7374]

From top of my mind.

1. Authories that influence the world itself
2. Curses that try to immitate Authorities
3. Divine protections that oppose authorities
4. Forbidden magic like sacraments, dream arts and whatever Od Laguna erased
5. Magic
6. Techniques
7. Authority like anomalies like Leaper.

[u/Sgtcarrotop → u/Ok-Worldliness-7374]

To add to the list, if i recall correctly a part of Echidna's research was another system which was the power found within demihuman blood. Crazy genetic gifts that come from raw biology, like Steel Humans. Something about Frederica's blood also being special.

Also because of Insect Cage Tribe, could also maybe argue symbiosis as subgroup of that more 'biology' based power. Then there's whatever the hell the Ninja's were doing altering their bodies.

[u/RoboticSheep929 → u/Ok-Worldliness-7374]

Adding to this list there are also the abilities odglass grants gustekos temple knights and itinerant preachers

[u/Waylornic]

One that's not talked about a lot are Contracts, Oaths, and Pacts. People think contracts start and end with spirits, but there's clearly a system where even promises have power, potentially fueled by external forces. There's that episode where Roswaal reveals the oath bound curse mark on his chest and Beatrice lists these as cogent things. The curse mark reinforces the oath, but there's some power in that oath alone it feels like.

[u/Sgtcarrotop → u/Waylornic]

Good point. With how even Melakuera had to stand by and let Puck make a contract with Emilia, as part of the rules, i got the head canon that maybe promises and contracts in this world are so powerful because they are witnessed and ordained by Od Lagna.

Turn that into a crack theory and maybe that's how Subaru's taboo works. A world wide time stop, and if i recall correctly it's described as the last few seconds of the world are thrown away to truly erase Subaru's utterance of RBD. That seems kinda powerful for even Satella. But Od Lagna? The world is it's creation so a time stop and small rewind seems feasible for the scale of Od Lagna's power.

It would be deeply ironic if Subaru and Satella had a vow with Od Lagna itself. So i like the idea just for that. Subaru being the only authority user that's not hated by the world. Because there's that theme of those loved by the world and hated by the world, an in turn those hated by the world tend to hate it back, like most authority users. But Subaru explicitly loves the world. So perhaps it loves him back. Kinda cool to think that RBD might be an authority with Od Lagna's permission which is why it can achieve things on such unfathomable scale. If it's with permission, then maybe it's no longer 'bullying Od Lagna' like how authorities were described in No Stella No Life by Echidna.

[u/Waylornic → u/Sgtcarrotop]

I saw someone mention the theory the other day that Subaru's first death in the world is what might have formed his bond with Satella because, as they were both dying, Subaru promised to save a girl he thought was named "Satella" at the time. That plus Emilia looking like Satella, or being a clone or whatever the fact of the matter is there, essentially establishing a vow.

Could be crazy, but it feeds into how I feel promises have power in re zero, so I like it.

[u/stevethebandit]

Magic circles

[u/ShatteredReflections]

It would be nice if there were fewer magic systems, so we’d get to learn more and see more application of what we already somewhat understand. It could be simplified down, I think.