Dai is a Greygod, an ageless and immortal pseudo-god. Greygods may be killed (poison, accidents, natural disasters/elements, etc.), but they will also be reborn, just like phoenixes.
Greygods may reside in one of two places: on "Earth" or in the "Clockwork." In one way, the Clockwork is the "true form" of the planet and the universe -- everything is, in truth, in some way, shape, or form mechanical and/or tied to the Clockwork. All beings' existences, births, and deaths are all dictated by the Heart of the Clockwork. The aspect of the Clockwork Heart is not known by ordinary mortals and not fully understood by the Greygods. Its structure and mechanics are known to only one being -- a single, supreme, god-like individual/entity known only as "Savior." Savior has never explicitly revealed him/her/itself to anyone, mortal or Greygod.
Earth and the Clockwork have a strange relationship -- they are separate worlds, but they also overlap and blend together in some locations. All mortals know Earth and only Earth, unless they possess Remnants (rogue, volatile, metallic fragments forged from the Essence of the Clockwork) or have gone through forced Genesis (more on this later; Genesis is an ambiguous term -- it refers to the birth of a Greygod, as well as many other peculiarities and phenomena of the Clockwork... however, mortals who go through "Genesis" typically end up in a suspended state of animation, not really dead but not really living, and become part of the Clockwork itself). The majority of the Clockwork is separate from the Earth, and may be accessed by means of a staircase that may only be seen by Greygods. Mortals cannot normally see the Clockwork (either the level overlapping with Earth or the upper tiers in the sky) or its staircase.
Greygods can see the Clockwork, and unlike mortals, can typically walk up the staircase. However, Greygods have varying degrees of "sight" depending on their class.
The Fallen Greygods are earthbound Greygods who have mostly retained a few of their godlike abilities: like mortals, they have a limited ability to weild Remnants; they may be reborn, but their number of "rebirths" are limited, unlike those of higher-classed Greygods; and they remain "ageless." However, Fallen Greygods may no longer see the Clockwork itself, nor access its staircase. Unfortunately, they are doomed to one day "re-enter" the Clockwork and become part of it. (NTS: expand on this idea.) In other words, Fallen are exactly like mortals, with two exceptions: they do not age, and they have more "lives." However, the Fallen also have wispy, smoky, black things on their back. They're not solid, instead just a collection of suspended particles and dust and moisture, but they originate from two holes on the backs of the Fallen. These smoky "wings" are the telltale signs of the Fallen; they fester and eventually cause the Fallen's demise.
The Wingless are the middle class of Greygods -- they're the "standard" Greygods, as described in the beginning. As their class name implies, they are wingless. The Wingless do not explicitly live "in" the Clockwork; rather, they wander Earth, where the Clockwork and the Earth overlap. They can see the mechanics of the world, and they can see the Clockwork, but they cannot see Timestrings. Wingless may see and access the staircase to the upper tiers of the Clockwork, but they do not do so often -- Wingless are still fairly "weak," and if Wingless spend too much time in the Clockwork, they will become part of it -- they'll just disintegrate into "time." Wingless can wield Remnants with a much smaller fear of a backlash than mortals or Fallen. The Wingless class is the only Greygod class with subclasses -- the Tranquil, the Belligerent, and the Lifeless. Most Wingless are originally Tranquil and then become Belligerent or Lifeless, but there is plenty of mobility between the subclasses. However, Wingless who become "Lifeless" typically end up trapped in that state. The "Lifeless" state is attained by any Wingless who spends too much time in the Clockwork -- before disintegrating, the Wingless become unresponsive and fall into a coma/catatonic state. It is nearly impossible to save a Wingless who has fallen into this condition.
The final and uppermost Greygods are known as the Seraphim (seraph = singular); these Greygods are winged (With very few exceptions). They live in the Clockwork, unlike the other classes, and have no fear of becoming "Lifeless" or becoming part of the Clockwork, unlike the Wingless or the Fallen. The Seraphim also see Timestrings. The Timestrings are glimmering strings/strands of "time" -- nothing but shining and intangible threads, beautiful, shining, and iridescent-white, that are invisible to lower Greygods and mortals. Timestrings lead from every single object and being in the world and to the Heart of the Clockwork, connecting the Clockwork Heart to everything in existence.
The older the Seraph, the more Timestrings they see (young = only see the Timestrings from live, large animals; older = that plus Timestrings from plant life and insects; even older = that plus Timestrings from inanimate objects). As a result, madness/insanity is an inevitable end for Seraphim (too much stimulation from the environment -- the two worlds at once, plus all the Timestrings combined... hallucinations will eventually occur). Seraphim who succumb to madness will eventually approach the Clockwork Heart, of their own accord, in a desperate attempt to eliminate their visions. Seraphim who do this will instead be engulfed by the Timestrings and be taken in by the Clockwork Heart, becoming one with the Clockwork. Some Seraphim have attempted to blind themselves, but this always ultimately results in failure, as the Seraphim become more like the Savior. If blinded, the Seraphim may no longer see every aspect of the world, but they will still see the Timestrings and the manifestations of Greygod/Clockwork energy (Greygod decorations, Fallen "wings," Remnants). As a result, the Seraphim might as well retain their true vision, and blinding is ineffective.
Greygods are born, not made. (See the Timestring Theory.) They are originally born among mortals, and live a mortal life until they develop the "Clockwork Vision" and stop aging ("Wingless" is the default Greygod class). All Greygods are grey in color due to their age and the wear of time on their bodies; newly-born Greygods may still have colored fur/skin/scales, though the color begins fading even before they develop the Clockwork Vision. All Greygods are blue- or silver-eyed (with some room for variation -- teals, blue-violets, coppery-gray, etc.), and Greygods have all been decorated by the Savior in some way. Some mortals CAN see the decoration on the Greygods (beads, markings), while others cannot, and some mortals have "flickering" vision.
Fallen Greygods are the outcasts, exiles, and deserters. The Wingless Greygods are meant to keep order on Earth by manipulating the flow of time on Earth with the use of the Remnants, and many Wingless Greygods ultimately become Seraphim. The Seraph Greygods, unlike the Wingless Greygods, may DIRECTLY manipulate the Timestrings (which cannot be seen by the Wingless) to alter or control the flow of time on Earth. The Seraphim also maintain order in the Clockwork.
The Savior reigns supreme over time, but in reality can see NOTHING but the decorations of (his) Greygods and the Timestrings -- the Savior can see/sense changes in time, but is otherwise entirely blind. He ultimately determines the Greygod classes, but NOT the subclasses of the Wingless; those are determined arbitrarily/"unofficially" by the Greygods themselves.
Sometimes a Greygod may be born, but the Clockwork may reject him/her. In this case, he or she automatically falls victim to one of two fates: 1) becoming a Fallen, or 2) being engulfed by the Clockwork Heart and/or Timestrings.
The Greygod decorations are what, ultimately, allow Greygods to mess around with time/the Clockwork/etc. They are impossible to break by normal means, but may be damaged/destroyed by Remnants. If this happens, however, the Greygod does NOT become mortal -- the Greygod is swallowed up into the Clockwork (if this occurs in the Clockwork, near the Clockwork Heart), or the Greygod becomes a Fallen (if this occurs on Earth or in the parts of the Clockwork that overlap with Earth; a Greygod may also become a Fallen when on the staircase, but may fall to his/her demise).
Dai is a Wingless Greygod. He is one of the Belligerent, which means he tracks down Remnants and takes them into his possession. He may become aggressive; the Belligerent are generally viewed as warriors (Fallen who do the same are, instead, viewed as rogues by other Greygods -- however, they do not receive any sort of subclass title).