Arachnis: The Most Dangerous Game

[09:33:13] Venturing from Alteros took time, hours of hunting prior to actually coming across a good find. Several weak blimps, all of a sapphire hue and far too dim to prove of magus capability- Perfect for easy absorption. The sensory perception of such a sight brought a smile to his face, giving a aroused sense of confidence. The time to feed was near!
The blimps developed into sapphire skeletons to interpret the mana circuit within his perception; Four men, a small group surrounding a downed figure, it’s circuit fading into a dim-shade of blue. A fresh dispatch, on the verge of death...

Preying upon several blimps on the horizon, Arachnis, hunkered down, diminished to mere feral animalistic antics. Lyperion Utovex forced such an urge, a burdening hunger upon him. It was a contract for power of sorts, now it was his turn to pay it in full. He lowered his head, still forced into a hunchback formation, to disappear into the slimy shrubbery that was of the marshes, avoiding obstructive thrones that littered the convoluted series of vines.

Conversation caught his ear, the sound of flames crackling, the pacing of a single man chattering babble he cared not for, it all painted the scene. So far from Alteros, he didn’t have to worry about toning his power to adjust in fear of Azeil’s wrath. As of now, he was free to unleash every ounce of mana he had access to. The thought of such, made him shudder with delight, enough to agitate the bush.

The conversation stopped, heads turned, and the peace came to a crashing halt.
“Who’s there..” Called out a voice, the song of his unsheathing blade stung at his ears, a wince harbored upon the feral occultist who gladly arose from his hiding place upon detection.

“...Liiiiife… Foooooorce…”

Reactions abroad, his skinned and charred face brought disgust to the faces of some, and the lack of eyes brought horror to only a single, younger man of the group.

Bandit: The hell is that?!

Bandit #2: Freeeak!

Youngest Bandit: It’s one of those things, from the plague!

Eldest Bandit: K- Kill it! Kill it with fire!

The eldest bandit made his run first, almost frantic as he reached for the campfire, for a makeshift weapon. Without hesitation, he acquired a flaming log, equipped with steel gauntlets to allow such to be wielded, even for a short period of time. “I… Said!”
His hand pried back as he charged, Arachnis made a slow approach, without care for the bandit’s attack attempt, oblivious to the potential damage.

“With damned fire!”
The flaming log came across his form for Arachnis’ mutilated face, bursting it’s end into a plosion of golden embers. The flames failed to catch his face, but indeed scarred him further. The impact, forced his head over in recoil, granting time for the eldest bandit to strike once more, turning Arachnis’ face in the other direction. This time, a yelp escaped his form, the flurry yellow wisps polluted the air, black smoke clung to his face, and a backpedal was in motion. The man’s hand rose to smash the burning stick over Arachnis’ head. As it descended, the others watched in a mixture of surprise and horror as their comrade combated this beast, beating it back with a mere sti-

The weak smiles, and surprised faces froze, as did the eldest bandit in the midst of the beatdown he was giving, even the dying man once at the mercy of this group’s fatal mugging, had pivoted his head in wake for the unraveling truth behind the scuffle. Gasps of breath were broken, giving way for a long final wheeze from the eldest bandit, likely just growing out of his prime.

Eldest Bandit: Wh-.... What… Ar- *CRACK*

His neck twisted without warning, bent by the forces of gravity with cognitive casting alone. His head hung down by his shoulder, limp from the rest of his body carried by a single tendril. A single tendril that impaled it down the center and through the heart; A crimson glow illuminated the point of entry, drying and withering the flesh in an outgoing circular motion. The vitality of this man was drained from his very body, leaving his very soul to be harvested by the possessive hold of Lyperion Utovex. His caucasian hue gave way for a lifeless gray, his legs that flinched upon impalement refused to move, rather falling limp as the seconds passed. The bandit’s eyes rolled up, concealed by his closing eyelids. A vacuum from within left his cheeks indented, the white of bone shown through his shallow flesh, and soon enough, a mere corpse hung at the tendril’s mercy.

A long sigh of relief escaped the monster’s lips, turning it’s eyeless gaze unto the last 3 standing, ignoring the fallen for now. The pang of the burning wood echoed through everyone’s ears. It was the sound that gave twitch to those whom forgotten movement, to those frozen with fear, it heightened their urge… To run.
(Arachnis)
[09:33:13] The hush of the wind, the tattered hiss of brush, and the squishy plop of feet against the muddy marshes were all that came to the likes of a single bandit man, splitting up from his comrades to attempt escape from what felt like the inevitable.
To the right!

A shade dashed across his sights, disappearing behind a tree- He hadn’t time to stop, because a predator was knowingly near. He grew lightheaded, breathing heavied, and feet stepping irregular; Fatigue was setting in, adrenaline wasn’t doing as much good as it did when taking on the traveler earlier. Suddenly, the result of having two left feet brought him to the misfortune of falling flat on his face into the mucky grasses. The fast moving scene, had died into a halt- The chase… Was over. He knew it caught up, and there was no use running…

He picked his head up, quivering where he knelt, taking himself to his feet. “I-I….I…. I KNOW YOUR THERE!” He brought his right hand to his sheath, tickling it’s end to search for his machete’s hilt, only to slide at it and finally throw it to the muck below. He dived back down to grasp at it, finally getting a hold of the thing to aid to his defense.

The bushes behind him rustled, turning his attention to glare at it.
“...Y- You’re as good dead… I’ll cut you to pi-”
The squeal of a Yokai, once hunting through these lands, pierced at his ears. That wasn’t a lesser… It wasn’t a lesser at all. An Aquarius? Could the thing that was hunting him take down an Aquarius with ease. Suddenly, what remote confidence he thought he had slipped away. Faith was all he had now, Faith… In Kraus.

“I don’t want to die..” He whimpered, trembling in place- Paranoia had taken over, eyes flickered from side to side, bush to bush, every single movement was a monster teasing him. The moment dragged on for what felt like an eternity, paving way for the slithering feeling that descended down his stiffening back. The air felt heavy, and his body couldn’t move away from what had finally came upon him. He could feel the breathing at his neck, the gurgles that crackled by his ear, the presence of something- Right behind him.

He winced his watering eyes, cowardice as he was, unable to come across the will to fight. “I don’t wanna die.” He chanted in a desolated plea, comforted only by the taunting tendril that wiped over his chest in a downward motion. “...You’re…. Miiiiiiiine.” Before Arachnis was allowed to finished, the bandit turned around to stab his blade into his torso, hitting a lung. His breath was caught, and the bandit proceeded to run once more.

Youngest Bandit: Get away from me you freak!

He stumbled in a backwards motion to gather the distance to little avail. A single tendril whipped for his ankle, slipping him off of his feet and unto the ground before it’s caster. Arachnis’ right hand came to the machete that stuck into his chest, straining to rip it out with obvious pain showing upon his crunched face. The spray of blood was only the prelude to the pool that began to gather up within his right lung, leaving his time amongst the living limited from what speculations could gather.

He swayed, dropping the bandit’s weapon down by his foot, head lowered and legs unstable. Although his body was on the verge, the tendrils acted as though a vessel of their own. Sharpened at their ends, they arched above his shoulders, leaving only three to remain whilst the fourth grasped upon their prey. The first of the ebony serpents made their move, striking down in a tortuous fashion that danced across their air prior to finally skewer his right hand to the mud below. The bandit cried out for the heavens above, to which gave no blessing against the harpoons that arched over for his body.

Another one launched to catch his flailing arm, once reaching for the fallen machete, his only hope -just out of arm’s reach, had become but a distant memory now. His left hand was forced open, a pole of the void expanded through it’s center, encumbering his fingers and shooting his body up with mind numbing pain. Without mercy, Arachnis prepared the fourth and final tendril to land the final blow. Tears ran from the bandit’s eyes, unwilling to see to it, his death, and as the final harpoon plummeted for his chest, only whimpers escaped his embrace with the turn of his head.

A spray of sanguine juice scattered across the mutilated face of the predator, and the finally, the subtle illumination that radiated upon his face was underway- The Draining had commenced.
Two victims in such a short period of time had it’s rewards, as he soon came to notice. Crimson static jolted up his form from the tendrils, dancing around his body and clinging tightly to the stab wound upon his chest. The old armor he wore, was of no use to him- It had faced far too much damage, and was to be replaced. As the body before him withered away into dust, siphoned to a far more extreme degree than the last, his wounds zipped sealed.

His face in particular began to tingle, the scabbing peeling off at an incrementing rate, paving way for new skin beneath it. The flesh upon his neck was carried by the dancing static, climbing up to his face to develop a new, replicant layer of flesh. A process that resulted in the generation of new skin, of a new… Face. His new facial appearance, matched not of his monstrous stature, but of a more humanistic sort- Finally, he was coming close to looking human again, to being ‘Senju Haruke’ again.

Within his right eye socket, the the crimson static manifested a sphere that linked to the innerds within. As it enlarged itself, it imbued itself with an opaque white color, pressing outward at the remains of his eyelids. In time, a large white blob took up his right eye, surrounded by new, baby-smooth caucasion flesh. The occasional twitch of static still danced upon it, and oddly enough, the face’s skin tone matched not of his old self, but of the bandit’s own prior to his demise. Images poured into his skull, but not of a painful fashion, nor that of an alien sort.. It was of his own. Before, they failed to make sense to him, but now, suddenly the world had a new degree of understanding. As though an equation had finally been solved, it was at awe with it all…

The white blob turned over to reveal a brown iris, flickering in random directions prior to balancing out for the area directly ahead. A new eye.. Although vision was still blurry, he could still rely on his sensing capabilities. The challenge however, was maintaining his sensing abilities with the new weakness of sight, in the attempt to turn it into his advantage. The tendrils receded for his back, leaving the boy he ensnared to rot at the wind’s touch.
(Arachnis)
[09:34:04] The last two bandits had kept up their sprinting together, leaving the camp for the dying man they captured prior. He didn’t matter anymore, for the ‘beast’ was still out there.

Bandit #1: It got him, didn’t they… It got Cleon!

Bandit #2: Don’t think like that, Cleon can take him. He lead it away for the greater good…

The first bandit seemed to be losing it, shaking in fear of what the cries could’ve meant. He wasn’t thinking rationally, and having been shaken by his comrade whom attempted to talk some sense into him, his voice only trembled for the moment.
The bushes shuddered southbound, turning their attention. It had been hardly a few minutes, perhaps a half hour since they split before hearing anything relative to the situation.

(Unison) Bandit #1: Th- The-...There is is!
(Unison) Bandit#2: Prepare yourself!

The two quickly drew their scimitars, glaring intensively for movement. A tendril, a humanoid, -ANYTHING- that could be pointed to th-
A pig charged from the bushes, summoning screams and cries about for moments that grew comedically brief. It ran right on by their feet, charging for a bush behind them, refusing to turn back, and then a long silence as it continued its path into a bush far behind them.

Laughter bellowed from the two, a mere pig had them caught up in fear. The two seemed to calm down a bit, adopting the mutual thought that perhaps their friend was still out there, coming back to meet them.

Bandit #2: Ye’see… Just a porker.
He began to turn around for it’s origin…
Bandit #2: Nothing to worry ab-

His body launched backwards from a force that knew no face, only the grasses blitzed in it’s wake like a torrent of wind solidified from the forestry before him. His back slide into the grasses, and his scimitar bounced off to the ground beside him, disarming him effectively.
The first bandit looked in shock, pivoting for the direction the force came from to see… Nothing. He didn’t hesitate a moment further, and made a run for his comrade.

Bandit #1: What happened to y-
His words were cut off by gagging, the crackle of a whip, and finally the constriction that held him hostage. It got him… It was here…
Bandit #1: S-...Sor-... -Ry…
His last words were ended with the merciless thrust that carried his body over, dragging it into the bushes, where he vanished from view. Not a peep came from his mouth, aside from the inaudible gurgles of fluid, and inhumane series of wheezing that churned at his partner’s stomach. He could hear his own comrade dying, right before him, unable to see what it was that condoned to it, and unprepared to take it on himself.

Bandit #2: *Trembling* R-... Re-...Renold?

He was frozen where he lay, eyes watering and on the verge of breaking into tears. What could he possibly do? It was a question that attacked his mind relentlessly, leaving him only to remain in place for the final crack. The struggle.. Was over… And the silence came unto him. He endured, he had to.. He had to prepare himself for what was coming from beyond the wall of trees just yards away.

Bandit #2: *Trembling*...Y-... You done goofed now… You-.. Y- *Choke*
The man couldn’t find the words, choking on his own tears. He was denying himself fear, attempting to prove great in a field he could not. A single man against something he could hardly fathom…
The scene’s symphony had commenced with the pounding of his heart upon fate’s drum, the measures of time were taking off, and the climax of the moment was just beyond those trees. He reached out for his scimitar, grasping hold of his hilt, and picked himself up.

The bush began to give off a crimson glow, enough to set the man off in an battlecry. He charged, having come to the will to fight, to finally see this monster in frontal combat and slay it himself.
Bandit #2: I’m going to kill you!”

The bushes moved, and the figuring took shape from it’s depths- It was here, and wasn’t going to be given the chance to strike before the scimitar came down for its nitch between the shoulder and neck!
A clang, and a spark sounded the area. Almost as though steel of it’s own right, the tendril caught the blade in a parry, hardening to protect the caster. It came without warning, and with a short moment of realization, another three surfaced from the entity’s back. Anxious to put an end to it’s life, the bandit pulled back, whipping the blade for the top of it’s head. Another spark of light, forcing him into recoil…

Arachnis made his approach, not raising a finger for the moment. He didn’t budge nor twitch in a direction aside from where the bandit’s location was. The tendrils did all of the parrying, with intention to play with his food from the looks of it.
“You haven’t a chance…”
The scimitar slid from the grasp of one of the tendrils to stab at Arachnis’ chest. However, this wasn’t going to be allowed once more, he needed this life force to complete his regeneration, not play with his power. He swayed his hand across the path of trajectory, flipping the blade out of the bandit’s grasp with telekinetic capability. “Humans, are still mere men…”

The scimitar plopped in the mud, hardly yards away, however, considering the promixity, it felt more like miles. “I, on the other hand, have ascended… I. Am. A. God… Consider yourself sacrificed.”
A good look at him now shown an entirely different entity. The skinned menace was no longer an abomination that could be disgusted on sight, but a man with a single missing eye. His face had been recovered, and burns omitted. The Vagabond armor he wore, too damaged to come of use was discarded to reveal Yokai-Maile hanging half-way from his chest. Half of it, was still sewn to his flesh, meaning not much more was required to fix his form.

Bandit #2: Y-.. Your not a magi… Wh-... What are you?!
The bandit began to backpedal, unarmed, beholding the beast that encroached his form.
“...As mentioned prior… I am your god…”
The tendrils arched, two over his shoulders, and another two by his waist in a spider-formation.
“I am…” His voice began to hiss, in an occultistic growl.
“Arachnis…” The tendrils lunged for their prey, entangling rather than impaling to constrict at the mid-torso and suspend the man into the air.

“That armor you’re wearing…” He stated, changing the subject and delaying the execution. “...I’ve never seen something like it before.” The violet hues intrigued the Harukean, and hardened material made it hard to crush down upon the bandit. In Fact, such seemed to be a rare find, a decent replacement for his lost Vagabond armor.

“It shall bode well to my service.” Carefully, the tendrils forced their entry through the open sockets of the armor alone, ignoring flesh and piercing where necessary to prevent damage to the armor. As a result, the body was spiked from the shoulders, waist and lower abdomen and neck- Leaving blood to seep upon it, ruining it’s adorn glare against the sunlight. The tendrils feasted upon his flesh, draining at his soul, harvesting it for the soul reaper.

The shouts of agony scattered crows from trees near, carpeting the skies to escape the sound of danger. Such cries, failed to last long, devolving into wheezes, before finally rotting within his suit of armor into dust…
A minute had passed, as all that remained, were the tendrils twisted within the emptied armor. Armor, now loot for the new Arachnis.

The Harukean turned for the campsite in the distance, feeling out one last lifeform, the dying one that remained. If he was alive and bared witness to this, even if on the verge of death, Arachnis felt compelled to return to finish the job.
(Arachnis)
[09:34:04] Back at the campsite, the traveler’s final moments felt much more peaceful. No longer was he burdened with the degrading placed upon him by the bandits, taunting him with a demise worse than what they’ve granted him. He lain on his back, grateful for the force that took them away. The evening cloudy skies had never felt more relaxing, and the crackling fire nearby sent him in a descending trance. The urge to sleep was growing near, tranquility was setting in.

“You don’t have my permission to die yet.” His eyes widened, fear awakened him from death’s grasp. He couldn’t succumb to it for the moment, for someone had arrived to continue his torment. Wait, this wasn’t the voice of the bandit’s he knew- The light of the horizon sun was blocked out, casting a shadow upon him. A silhouette stood above him, watching down with a face that just couldn’t be identified thanks to the blur of his eyes and the distance between them.

“I need you to stay awake… For just a while longer.” As he said this, several serpents curled up from behind him to take form. Far more than four as it was prior, and rather than strike with malicious intent, they simply waded in the air with their buoyant properties at play. The silhouette moved his right arm, twisting his fingers about in an odd formation. In reverence to his hand motions, the dying traveler’s body bent at it’s will, gravity taking hold and full power over his limbs forcing him to levitate by his chest in an upright position. Now, a bleeding stab wound could easily be seen upon his chest, and his reason of pending death was understandable now…

The man whom came to death’s door beheld this magus before him, coming to meet his eyes with his own. This wasn’t the monster he met earlier, was it? It had to be… For the tendrils remained consistent, true to the nature of the beast prior. Now, it appeared to be human, no longer hunchback as it came, but standing upright, with human skin and a human face. It spoke without the properties of a Yokai-beast murmuring beneath his breath, and with the movement of his lips and tongue.

It’s chest was exposed, revealing no stitches, nor markings from previous attacks- A built human abdomen… What was to expose this thing for anything but human?
“...So it appears you were not of these men. You lack the will.. I can see it in your eyes..” The levitating man within his gravitonic grasp remained silent, under the analyzing gaze of Arachnis.
“A merchant perhaps? Judging from the luxuriant apparel… Of Danarium. “ The addition of new vocabulary in his speech marked heightened intellect, even if to a minor degree. The absorption of the men prior regenerated not only his physical form, but built up on his mental capacity and even repaired damaged sectors of the mind from previous psycho-illusionary attacks.

“Quite far off course… Perhaps with something more sinister in mind?”
He had recovered himself entirely, having regenerated his form back to it’s former state. Thus, there wasn’t further need to continue consumption of lifeforce, so he thought. The vision he worked with, blurred to such a heavy degree began to allign with the sensory perception he had, leveling out with it. Almost as though a sort of ‘X-Ray’ vision, he found flickering from one to the other to be of relative ease. The blurred sight of the man before him began to sharpen, the definition straightened out, and as the man’s eyes came to a close on Arachnis’ new face, Arachnis’ eyes opened to come to the blessing of a sense lost for so long…

Sight, was his again…

“...I….. Can see…. After so many years… I…. Can finally see… Everything.”
(Arachnis)