Karma

Karma is a major universal force of the setting. It's the objective metaphysical weight of a person, their impact on the world, their potential to affect their surroundings.

It has been described as "strings" spanning across the multiverse.

Karma is dynamic. Although a high value of it can sometimes be inborn, such as when one would be born into royalty, it is usually accumulated throughout one's life. People in high positions of power can be expected to have lots of it.

Although they can only guess at the exact value, karma is a vital aspect of a potential employee for the Incubators. It has a significant impact on firstly the effect of a wish (though even a very weak wish can still more than fulfill any reasonable demand), and secondly the power, and energy return of the potential resulting Witch.

Since Grief is the source of energy, karma of Magical Girls and Witches is evaluated by the amount of grief they can be linked to, or "the amount of misfortune they are destined to carry". Due to their age, work record, and sheer power, every Rank Leader and above can be expected to become a Beta Witch as soon as she witches out. Witches of truly old and powerful magical girls will be equally terrifying. Witches seem to be able to accumulate karma as well, if they are very successful. This may be linked to how a Witch grows more formidable and aware with age.

There is a certain limit to their level of danger, though, as a result of which Betas can still reliably be dealt with through conventional means. Ascending into the Alpha Witch category and above apparently requires something more than just a lot of karma.

The Akashic Realm has notably unbalanced and much higher karmic values compared to the normal world, combining many cursed places and distinct world-ending monstrosities in itself.

Trivia

• Karma can be inherent in objects. An at first simple weapon, long used by someone powerful, will accumulate some. It can be located even in environment in general. The entire city of Prague has been artificially karmically elevated, with both wishes and Witches becoming somewhat stronger in it. Karma can thus be purposefully manipulated, though the available means are very crude.
• The oath-like wishes in the Second, and the grooming system preceding it, with whole heritages and families of Magical Girls, ensures high values of karma, as each of the knights already carries their responsibility towards the family at young age.
• An ability to perceive karma, or even work with it directly, is rare to the point of near nonexistence, and valued extremely highly.