Soul Hunter Badge
A Soul Hunter Badge is an Underworld credential that records its bearer's rank, Soul Points, contamination, and assigned missions. Neo Hargraves's badge is unusual in practice because it follows him into the living world and remains valid when his Shadow Trial sends him into the Underworld's past.
History
Issued in Tartale
Skalix creates Neo's badge when Neo enters the Soul Hunter system. The display identifies him by name, marks his contamination as unknown, assigns the entry rank of Soul Initiate, and begins him with no Soul Points. Skalix explains the path from Soul Initiate through Soul Keeper, Soul Ward, and Soul Reaper, with the possibility of becoming a Grim Reaper afterward. (Chapter 145)
The badge also serves as a mission ledger. When Neo agrees to accompany Sele, she and Neo temporarily hand their separate badges to Skalix. He writes the mission details into both devices and returns them, allowing each bearer to consult the assignment. (Chapter 145)
Neo later wakes in the living world with the hard badge still in his hand. Its ability to cross that boundary surprises him and proves it is more than an ordinary identification card. He keeps it rather than returning it to the Underworld office. (Chapter 145)
The fifth trial
When the Shadow Trial sends Neo into the past Underworld, Barbatos tells him that the Soul Hunter Badge supplied for the fifth trial will still work there. Neo presents it at a Soul Hunter building, where an official confirms it as genuine. The credential allows him to ask about advancement and learn the requirements for becoming a Grim Reaper under his assumed identity. (Chapters 272–273)
The source later shows Neo with a distinct Grim Reaper Badge, but does not state that his Soul Hunter Badge physically transforms into it. The two pages therefore treat them as separate issued credentials rather than assuming an undocumented upgrade of the same object.
Properties and use
- Identity display: The badge can show the bearer's name and personal Soul Hunter record. (Chapter 145)
- Rank tracking: It records Soul Hunter rank and Soul Points, the currency and advancement measure used by the organization. (Chapter 145)
- Contamination reading: Neo's display includes a contamination field, though his value cannot be resolved and appears as question marks. (Chapter 145)
- Mission storage: An authorized official can add an assignment to the badge for the bearer to read later. (Chapter 145)
- Cross-world persistence: Neo's issued badge passes from the Underworld into the living world with him. (Chapter 145)
- Temporal validity: The badge remains recognized in the Underworld's past during the fifth Shadow Trial. (Chapters 272–273)
- Credential class: Sele owns a separate badge with the same functions; references to plural badges do not imply shared ownership of Neo's object. (Chapter 145)
Ownership and custody
| Holder or custodian | Relationship to the item |
|---|---|
| Skalix and the Soul Hunter administration | Issuing and mission-record authority; Skalix briefly takes badges to register assignments. |
| Neo Hargraves | Issued bearer of the badge followed by this article. |
| Sele | Bearer of a separate badge of the same class; not a co-owner of Neo's badge. |
Connections
- Neo Hargraves: Uses the badge to enter the Soul Hunter hierarchy and establish a valid identity during his fifth trial.
- Barbatos: Confirms that the trial-provided credential will function in the past Underworld.
- Grim Reaper Badge: The later office credential used after Neo advances beyond Soul Hunter ranks; no physical transformation between the two is established.