Steps of death mechanics
KO -> Soul Walk -> Perma-death
(1) When your vitality reaches 0 or is extremely low you are knocked out (not dead) and will get back up shortly
(2) While knocked out you can be coup de graced (CDG'd) and if this happens your character is forced into a soul walk, where you will be sent to the spirit plane and have to walk back to your body and navigate this unknown realm by following a silver cord, which leads to your body for respawning
(3) Your "spark" (souls life span) can permanently die from old age, which can be accelerated by being knocked out frequently or getting CDG'd... this is when you must start anew and spark into a new character
What people refer to as "death" in other games is what you would call a "KO" in Chronicles of Elyria. It is what will be happening to you a majority of the time with soul walks being much rarer and only occurring from players or very evil NPCs/animals/monsters.
The permanent death of a spark happens in your characters final days and is unavoidable. You will be warned before your final days arrive. Previously one of the developers has said that your vitality bar might grow greyer/blacker as you get closer to permanent death.
In the end, your soul never dies, and even if your fated for permanent death you can reincarnate even stronger than before.
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10165D