I stood in a forest that wasn't quite right. The trees stood impossibly high, their trunks carved with strange pulsating blue runes, much like the one on my chest. I could feel my heartbeat thrumming throughout my body and realized the pulsating of the runes matched the beat of my heart. The air reeked with the scent of blood and death, but I didn't see anything, and I was me, so this was probably a dream. Shadows danced at the edges of my vision, just out of reach, teasing me with their presence.
"Where am I?" asked no one in particular, though no sound left my lips. The realization hit me deep in my core, I wasn't speaking because I couldn't. My form was reduced to its base state: a slick, chitinous worm, coiling and twisting in the dirt.
Panic flared, but I forced it down. This was just a dream, a creation of my own mind. I had control here, or at least my subconscious had control.
The shadows grew bolder, creeping closer. One of them broke away from the rest, taking shape as it stalked toward me. A lynx. No, the lynx, the one I had just dominated. Its glowing eyes locked onto me, and I felt a pang of unease. Something about it seemed... wrong. Its movements were jerky, almost mechanical as if it were a puppet on invisible strings.
"You think you control me?" the lynx rasped its voice a low growl that echoed through the forest. "You're an abomination, you shouldn't even be here, and knowing something like you is controlling my body is a disgrace."
"I do control you, I literally control you. Besides, it's not like there were a lot of options, you jumped my boar, so I did what I had to," Am I trying to guilt trip myself? Maybe if I didn't know this was a dream it would work better.
The lynx snarled, baring its teeth. "Is this the life you choose, is this really what you want to be? All you do is take and take. This path you follow is full of sorrow and pain. There is still time to put an end to this cycle before things get out of hand."
The ground beneath me trembled, and the shadows surged forward, taking on new forms. A boar, its tusks gleaming with blood. A bird, its hollow eyes staring accusingly. Each one of my former hosts stood before me, their bodies twisted and warped, as though my presence had left them irreparably damaged.
"You use us," the crow chimed in, its voice high and shrill. "You consume, you dominate, and then you discard us when we're no longer useful. Is that all you are, Lucian? A parasite?"
This was ridiculous, of course, I didn't choose this path, I worked with the hand I was dealt, but I was inherently still me, still a human. "Of course not!" I snapped, coiling tightly before relaxing a bit as I pondered the crow's question further. "I mean, yes, technically I am a parasite, and I'm sorry our paths had to cross, but if it wasn't you, it would be someone else."
The lynx hissed at my response. "You willingly perpetuate this wicked cycle. But what happens when there's nothing left to dominate? When you're the only one left to consume?"
"Then I guess, I win?" the answer seemed simple, and it's true I didn't think that far ahead. Really I wasn't foolish enough to think I'd make it that far, but I figured if I played nice and fulfilled my role, I would get some grand reward at the end. Some kind of eternal paradise in Morgana's realm, ideally with enough respect from her to be able to make some demands.
The boar rushed forward before back peddling, stamping its hooves against the earth, "You pathetic parasite!"
The crow took off into the air, divebombing me and flapping in my face, "You disgusting monster!"
The lynx dashed in and out of shadows, swiping at me but never making contact as it bared its fangs and snarled, "You are nothing, no one will remember you when you die."
"Parasite."
"Monster."
"Nothing."
They repeated this over and over, at first it was all so overwhelming, but as it continued I felt myself more and more annoyed than anything.
"Parasite."
"Monster."
"Nothing."
"Okay, okay, I get it, I'm a parasite, like I said before, of course I am. Am I a monster too? Yeah, I could see that as well. I mean aren't all of you monsters too? We live in a game world, levels, and all that shit, so yes, we're all monsters. As for the beyond forgotten–" That part did kind of bug me. I didn't want to vanish into nothingness, never being remembered, my soul just a toy for Morgana to use till she grew bored of me.
"I'm not going to be forgotten. Even if I am all that remains, I will be the last thing anyone remembers."
They stopped harassing me and returned to their position, balking at my response and how casual it was.
"Err–" the boar broke character and turned to the lynx, "I don't think he cares," it said with a gruff nearly human voice.
"We tried, all we can do now is try to put an end to this" A soft feminine voice flowed from the crow's beak, she too seeming to have deflated a bit, but still kept her charm.
"Wait, what are the three of you?" I asked, the forest starting to fade into that familiar open void of empty space, a dull light spreading across the realm and nothing more.
The lynx placed a paw on its face and sighed. "It wasn't supposed to turn out like this, for our sake, we rehearsed and everything!"
"I'm gonna go ahead and leave now if that's alright?" I interrupted, taking a few steps back and starting to walk away.
"You're really just going to keep doing this? It doesn't seem like a lot now, but the repercussions of your task could be cataclysmic. Please reconsider, you aren't the first person to take on this role." The crow took flight overhead and pleaded to my morality.
"Sorry… I just want to move on with my life. It's not easy, but this is the most incredible thing that has ever happened to me and I want to see where it takes me. I mean, unless you can make me human again, give me a place to live, and cool powers to use, that would be sweet." My eyes lit up at the thought and I stopped walking away to turn back to them. I didn't care for the whole eating raw flesh thing and wriggling through grey matter. This could actually be a great deal. Sorry Morgana, but you might need to find a new pawn.
The crow dropped to the ground, gracefully but without what I would assume was a sorrowful gaze for a bird. The lynx and the boar too turned their gaze to the ground.
"We–" The boar attempted, but couldn't continue.
"We don't have that kind of power, and there are few that do. We can make an appeal on your behalf, but if you are rejected, there is nothing we can do but try and stop you." The lynx struggled to meet my gaze. It was clear he wanted to help, for this would be an easy solution to their dilemma, but I knew as much as they did, it was a pointless offer.
"Just keep me informed. If it means anything, I don't plan on doing anything crazy, I'm cool with my form right now," I wasn't lying, I really was having a blast with the lynx and felt they were overreacting.
"Yeah, okay human, just stay put, have your fun, we'll see what we can do," The boar's graveley voice rumbled with a melancholic tone. "It's time to go anyway, we'll talk again soon."
And just like that, they were gone and I felt myself returning to the waking world. I kind of hoped I would arrive in Morgana's realm tomorrow, if anything, just to get some answers.
The light consumed me, and the world dissolved.
Awake at last! But... I fell asleep pretty early, so it's surprisingly light out. I guess I need to schedule when I gorge myself so I don't pass out at inopportune times. I can still go out and practice with my host, but without the shadows, it might be a little risky. I guess I could level-up, eat what I have and go back to sleep? Seems pretty lazy, but I'm a cat, don't they sleep like 18 hours a day or something? Eh, time to get down to crunching numbers and all of that. You know the drill system, kick us off!
Name: Lucian
Level: 8
Race: Parasite
Health: 19/19
Mana: 32/32
[Current Attributes]
Strength: 14
Dexterity: 17
Constitution: 19
Intelligence: 22
Perception: 14
Willpower: 26
Host Health: 150/150
Host Mana 50/50
[Skill Points Available: 2]
[Bonus Attribute Points: 2]
[Attribute Points Available: 4]
[Current Abilties]
[Host Bond: Level 2], [Neural Suppression Toxin: Level 4], [Numbing Bite: Level 1], [Regenerative Feast: Level 1], [Flesh Tunneling: Level 3], [Nerve Surge: Level 1], [Chitinous Armor: Level 1], [Shadow Pounce/Dance: Level 3].
[Available Abilties]
[Hive Memory], [Mimetic Adaptation], [Memory Echoes]
[New Abilities]
[Adaptive Physiology]: Your body adjusts to environmental conditions, reducing environmental damage by 10%. Gain additional resistance against extreme heat, cold, or toxins.
[Pulse of Will]: Exert a psychic shockwave that momentarily stuns all creatures within a 10-foot radius. Stun duration scales with Willpower. Costs 20 Mana.
[Wounded Prey]: Detect a wounded creature in a 500-foot radius, highlighting it for targeted hunting. Costs 8 Host Mana.
So, 4 attribute points would take me straight to 30 willpower, let's go for that, and then I can see about evening some other stats out as needed.
[Willpower has leveled to 30 from 26.]
Your mental resilience and focus have significantly improved.
Total mana has increased to 36/36 from 32/32
Mana efficiency and recovery have been enhanced.
Abilities relying on mental strength, such as Neural Suppression Toxin, are now more potent and difficult to resist.
Nice, nice. Adaptive Physiology looks pretty handy if I get caught out of my host in poor conditions and without something else to jump to, but it does seem a bit situational. One of those skills that you don't want to use points on, but as soon as you need it you will wish you had it.
Pulse of Will and Wounded Prey seem perfect for right now, so sorry about this skill #1, I might pick you next time, but for now, these two seem the way to go, even beyond leveling what I already have. Do it System, take Pulse of Will and Wounded Prey.
[Pulse of Will Acquired]
[Wounded Prey Acquired]
I immediately activated wounded prey and my vision turned thermal. Maybe not exactly thermal, I couldn't see myself, and though my recent kills registered in my vision as faint yellow glows, they had no heat left in them, they had been dead for some time. Still, it was neat that I could see dead prey as well.
[Wounded Prey Activated: Cost 8 mana. 42/50 mana remaining]
I gazed around and noticed a timer in the corner of my HUD going down from 10, already down to 7. I focused harder and saw something pretty damn far off in the distance, but it was flashing red which might be worth an investigation. Of course, I might run into another predator which could be a problem, but I had to at least take a peek. The timer ran out a short time later and my vision had returned. Now that I knew where to go, I could head in that direction and let my sniffer hone in on the specific location.
Glancing back to my growing pile of meat, I winced as I noticed the boar that already had a few maggots squirming around on it. I would have to do some housekeeping before it spread. I grabbed the boar by its leg and dragged it out of the cave to the nearest shadow. With how bright it was, I noticed my shadow step wasn't able to take me as far, so after a dozen or so activations, I dumped the creature a fair distance away and made my way back.
Now, to look for whatever that red flash represented!