Forum:Soul

Soul is the spiritual essence of a living being. Although not specified yet, it has been shown and described in different situations.

About
As the real life concept, the soul is what keeps living beings bodies alive and losing takes them to death. Dying makes the soul leave the body and go to the underworld. Although only few souls has been shown in the series, they seem to be an ethereal substance with the face of the being's current body (as seen in the case of Brook or Lao G; in the later's case a halo and hitodamas can be seen as well). As explained by Brook, souls emit a powerful energy that makes life possible.

While not completely explained, souls seems to be intangible and able to fly freely as long as they remain in the world of the living. Once they are ready to leave the world of the living, they escape from their bodies and ascend to an unknown location (possibly the land of the dead).

Brook's Yomi Yomi no Mi, allows him to manipulate his soul and the souls of others at some extent. First, he is able to remain his soul in his body and keep living, even without a proper body to do it. Brook can also separate his soul from his body and move freely in his soul form, even be seen by others and talk to people, something that is not known to be possible in normal circumstances. Brook's manipulation over his souls makes him remain alive even while fatally wounded, as long as his core is not damaged, by repairing his bones. In addition, Brook can sense the soul of others, and by using his music, control them. Finally, Brook can use transfer the energy of his soul into objects, like his weapon and thus summoning the chills of the underworld, freezing anything it touches (this implies that the land of the dead is a very cold place).

Souls seem to be controllable by sheer willpower. This was shown when Lao G in the middle of a fight, began to die of old age but when his soul was about to leave he managed to keep it in his body, coming back to life.

Speculation
KishinZoro177 (talk) 04:15, December 31, 2014 (UTC)
 * Soul can be have some sort of connection with Haki and Life Return, as they are applications of the users life force and willpower, and souls are basically that.
 * Perona's Horo Horo no Mi, can also be somehow manipulate the user's soul.