Post by ParamountKeymaster on Jul 25, 2015 11:57:37 GMT -5
Time seems to go on forever when you find yourself completely displaced from it. There's nowhere to go. Nothing to do. Everything happens at once all around you, but nothing matters anymore. The past, present and future become muddled in the eternal twilight and overlapping webs of every possible timeline. All you can do is wait. Wait for the end of it all. Wait for time to either totally consume you or set you free.
Sometimes, though, if you look close enough into the labyrinth of space and time, you can find anything you need.
Such was the case with one lone vagabond trapped beyond the void...
Days, weeks, years, what does it matter?
Within this lost realm, my dreams, they all shatter
But as I behold all of eternity
Surely there must be salvation for me
My wandering has left me weary and weak
A fracture in space-time is what I seek
A surge of darkness to cut through this light
So I may be free to see a new night
And within the informational bombardment from every space and every time, he found an island. An island that, in one particular timeline, had become tainted with a dark magic that had altered the very fabric of its being. It was an extraordinarily powerful dark magic, one that beckoned to him, reached through the void and urged him to become one with it.
A powerful darkness, a beautiful gloom
Such vice and corruption can only mean doom
I long to join it, oh how I yearn
Assimilate me, for now it's my turn
----------
This night had been lasting forever, it seemed.
Ever since that fog touched down, Evan's brain had been completely scattered. Driven by these strange primal urges that led him to kill and feed, he still somehow felt empty. Lost. That was his routine that night: kill, eat, search, kill, eat, search, KILL, EAT, SEARCH, BUT HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HE WAS SEARCHING FOR.
Must go. Must find. Must kill. Need to kill. Need to hUnt. HunT to NEed. HUNT is LiFe. Hunt foR WHAT? Everything DIFFERENT! CAn't be dIffERenT! MuSt Fix! Must GO! Must find! Must kill...
Over... and over... and over.
With each new obstacle he faced, every strange creature who threatened him, Evan's anger and confusion only grew. He killed. He ate. But it was not enough. And quite often, he had faced enemies that he could not kill on his own. He was weak, an inexcusable fact. Something was missing in his pitiful existence, and he had been subconsciously aware of it from the beginning. He just couldn't figure out what it was. He couldn't think straight. He had no control over himself.
And that was exactly the problem. He had no direction. He had no guidance. He was an omega wolf with no alpha.
His aimless wandering brought the feral young man to the edge of the island. Down on all fours, snarling and growling, blood caked all over his hands, face and what little shreds of clothes remained, he approached the drop off and scowled down its steep face. Blood and saliva dripped from his open mouth and into the void below. All that work and nothing to show for it. Still, there had to be something out there, right?
Evan looked up, staring into the inky purple abyss. It was there. He could feel it. A familiar presence that beckoned to him from far, far away. He didn't know what or where it was. All he knew was that he desperately needed it. He responded to its call with a loud, resonating noise from deep within him that was hard to define; a strange mixture of a wolf's howl, a lion's bellow, an eagle's screech, and a throaty growling noise that sounded like a sickly hack when projected from his human windpipes. The sound echoed until there was nothing left to bounce it back, leaving it to linger in the infinite void.
And then... a light.
Evan blinked and quickly turned away, startled and disoriented by the sudden flash. Then he turned back around and snarled at the floating shred of light that seemed to be projecting out of nowhere. He didn't know what it was, but he was convinced that this was not the force that he had called out to. He leaned in for a closer look.
Light. What? Different. Not us. Can't be different. Kill? Yes. Must KiLL!
As if the light were nothing more than an annoying insect, Evan barked at it and raked his bloodied nails across it. This only served to make the light bigger and brighter, as though he had further torn open the veil that separated his world from the one projecting the silvery glow. Once again, he averted his eyes from the blinding glare, and once his eyes adjusted, he growled and took on a defensive stance.
Something was in there. He just knew it.
The silver light was momentarily eclipsed, then it flashed back into view when the small black mass that had obscured it squeezed out of the hole. As soon as it fully emerged, plopping to the ground with a definite squish, the tiny portal closed in on itself, sealing away the light inside.
With the light practically a distant memory, Evan hunched over the strange object that had suddenly appeared before his very eyes. It was a small, egg-sized globule of an unidentifiable black substance, fluid yet dense and balled up like a bead of mercury. He could hear a faint, rapid throbbing sound within it, like a tiny heartbeat. And it smelled absolutely repulsive, like a mixture of skunk spray, gasoline, tar and every possible rotten food imaginable.
It didn't take bestial instinct to decide that this abomination had to be disposed of, but it was certainly a contributing factor.
What is it? Different. RevOLTinG! Not one of US! DOeSN't bElONG! MusT DEstrOY! MUST KILL!!
Like before, Evan swung his hand at the blob, fingernails erect with the intention to shred. Just before making contact, the blob visibly twitched, as if bracing itself for impact. When Evan's hand slammed into it, rather than being scratched by his nails, the blob stuck to him, its shape contorting to intertwine perfectly between his fingers. Logically, its refusal to die only infuriated Evan further, and he savagely attempted to remove it via flailing his hand around and pummeling it into the ground, all to no avail.
When all of his efforts to scrape the blob off his hand proved fruitless, Evan instinctively tried severing it with his teeth.
As soon as it came in contact with his teeth, the blob detached from Evan's hand and pried his mouth wide open.
For the first time that night, Evan responded to this new development not with anger or feral instinct, but with very real, very intense panic. He tried to fight back as the foul-smelling, foul-tasting slime slithered into his mouth. He bit down on it, he pushed it back with his tongue, he frantically shook his head and reached his hands inside his mouth to grab it, but it evaded all attempts and slid down his throat as smoothly as water.
Once the deed was done, Evan spent a good ten seconds hacking like a sick cat. His mouth tasted like sewage, and he found himself unable to breathe until the slime had been completely swallowed. Soon enough, though, he truly became aware of his current situation, and even with his brain as jumbled as it was, Evan was completely certain that this was very, very bad.
He could feel it. This thing... this parasitic creature, was squirming about in his stomach like a thousand nervous butterflies. Slowly, everything from the waist up lost all feeling, consumed by an ever intensifying tingle, as if the butterflies were spreading throughout his body. It wasn't a particularly painful experience, but on top of the discomfort, the knowledge of a living creature navigating the inner workings of his body utterly terrified Evan. He had to do something about it. He thrashed about in a frenzy, clawed at his stomach and throat, slammed himself against the ground, rolled around, screamed, gagged, everything inside was WRITHING, HE FELT SICK, HIS STOMACH WAS CHURNING, HIS HEAD WAS POUNDING, HE THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO DIE.
WHaT IS iT?! SIcKnESs! DIFFERENT! BAd! BAD!! DYING! CAn'T DIE! DoN't WANT to DIE!! HELP! DIFFERENT! KILL! HELP!!
And somewhere in the middle of it all, the numbing feeling overpowered him. The constant tingling dulled into a soothing embrace. His muscles went limp and his anxious flailing slowed until he finally laid still on his side. He suddenly felt very relaxed and lethargic, quickly losing his will to care about the parasite that was digging its way through his internal systems.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Evan was calm, and the chaotic, overlapping thought processes in his mind all came to a halt.
. . .
All senses were lost to him, particularly that of time. He could've been laying in the grass for hours or just a few seconds and it would not have made a difference. Nothing was happening. Nothing mattered.
The first thing he became aware of was a sudden jolt in the back of his head. He twitched slightly in surprise, but otherwise found himself unable to move. Frozen, rigid, he could only lie still and silently observe as tiny pinprick sensations snaked down his spine. At the same time, he took note of the intense difference in his vision. Just moments before, the world was a dark blur, what little details he could decipher outlined with glowing shades of silver, green, blue and purple. Now he could see everything, plain as day, in perfect detail.
What? How? Different. Everything different! Can't move. Can't kill. Different but same? What...? What's wrong with...? I... "I...?" I'm... What's happening to me?
First person pronouns. In his head, they sounded wrong. Two voices screamed at each other in his mind. One told him to fight, to kill, to survive, to be part of something greater. The other was terrified for his own wellbeing, questioning what ill effects were befalling him.
But that wasn't even the worst of it.
Evan blinked, though he did not move his eyelids.
Evan smiled, though he did not move his mouth.
Evan sat up, though he did not move any part of his body.
Helpless to stop it, Evan watched as his body moved against his will, controlled by a foreign entity. His eyes turned downward to stare at his hands, bloodstained fingers clenching and unclenching, then went on to examine the rest of his bloodied form. And just like that, almost everything became clear.
Oh God... What have I done?! What's wrong with me?! I... I've kilLEd! Must KILL! Can't die! Can't be different, what?! No! What is this thing in my head?! W-What are BOTH these things?! I can't think straight, I can't control myself, I can't die like this, must LIVE! NO... No... I... What...? This... I've been fighting this all night. This monster inside me... and now THIS thing! EVERYTHING'S TRYING TO CONTROL ME!!
The current force that controlled Evan took a deep breath and shakily stood up, a task that proved slightly difficult after a night of quadrupedal prowling. He spoke in Evan's voice...
"I..." Or, at least, he tried to speak before going into a brief coughing fit.
"Goodness me, this voice sounds disused
I suppose it makes sense in a body this abused
So bloody, so beaten, and good lord does it reek
And it seems to be otherwise less than unique"
Despite the sheer terror that anyone would feel if their body was being manipulated beyond their control, Evan couldn't help but think up minor things to quip about. It wasn't HIS fault he looked the way he did. This creature was one to talk, given how it smelled. And tasted, for that matter. This rhyming gimmick definitely wouldn't get annoying anytime soon, no siree!
"Still, I suppose it will have to suffice
A quick fixer-upper and it should look quite nice
And at the risk of sounding incredibly droll
It feels so good to be back in control"
Right then and there was when the gravity of his situation truly, fully hit Evan. Inside, he was battling an alien mentality that drove him to insanity. Outside, he was doomed to be a spectator through his own eyes as this parasite manipulated his actions. He really was little more than a prisoner trapped in his own mind and body.
Sometimes, though, if you look close enough into the labyrinth of space and time, you can find anything you need.
Such was the case with one lone vagabond trapped beyond the void...
Days, weeks, years, what does it matter?
Within this lost realm, my dreams, they all shatter
But as I behold all of eternity
Surely there must be salvation for me
My wandering has left me weary and weak
A fracture in space-time is what I seek
A surge of darkness to cut through this light
So I may be free to see a new night
And within the informational bombardment from every space and every time, he found an island. An island that, in one particular timeline, had become tainted with a dark magic that had altered the very fabric of its being. It was an extraordinarily powerful dark magic, one that beckoned to him, reached through the void and urged him to become one with it.
A powerful darkness, a beautiful gloom
Such vice and corruption can only mean doom
I long to join it, oh how I yearn
Assimilate me, for now it's my turn
----------
This night had been lasting forever, it seemed.
Ever since that fog touched down, Evan's brain had been completely scattered. Driven by these strange primal urges that led him to kill and feed, he still somehow felt empty. Lost. That was his routine that night: kill, eat, search, kill, eat, search, KILL, EAT, SEARCH, BUT HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HE WAS SEARCHING FOR.
Must go. Must find. Must kill. Need to kill. Need to hUnt. HunT to NEed. HUNT is LiFe. Hunt foR WHAT? Everything DIFFERENT! CAn't be dIffERenT! MuSt Fix! Must GO! Must find! Must kill...
Over... and over... and over.
With each new obstacle he faced, every strange creature who threatened him, Evan's anger and confusion only grew. He killed. He ate. But it was not enough. And quite often, he had faced enemies that he could not kill on his own. He was weak, an inexcusable fact. Something was missing in his pitiful existence, and he had been subconsciously aware of it from the beginning. He just couldn't figure out what it was. He couldn't think straight. He had no control over himself.
And that was exactly the problem. He had no direction. He had no guidance. He was an omega wolf with no alpha.
His aimless wandering brought the feral young man to the edge of the island. Down on all fours, snarling and growling, blood caked all over his hands, face and what little shreds of clothes remained, he approached the drop off and scowled down its steep face. Blood and saliva dripped from his open mouth and into the void below. All that work and nothing to show for it. Still, there had to be something out there, right?
Evan looked up, staring into the inky purple abyss. It was there. He could feel it. A familiar presence that beckoned to him from far, far away. He didn't know what or where it was. All he knew was that he desperately needed it. He responded to its call with a loud, resonating noise from deep within him that was hard to define; a strange mixture of a wolf's howl, a lion's bellow, an eagle's screech, and a throaty growling noise that sounded like a sickly hack when projected from his human windpipes. The sound echoed until there was nothing left to bounce it back, leaving it to linger in the infinite void.
And then... a light.
Evan blinked and quickly turned away, startled and disoriented by the sudden flash. Then he turned back around and snarled at the floating shred of light that seemed to be projecting out of nowhere. He didn't know what it was, but he was convinced that this was not the force that he had called out to. He leaned in for a closer look.
Light. What? Different. Not us. Can't be different. Kill? Yes. Must KiLL!
As if the light were nothing more than an annoying insect, Evan barked at it and raked his bloodied nails across it. This only served to make the light bigger and brighter, as though he had further torn open the veil that separated his world from the one projecting the silvery glow. Once again, he averted his eyes from the blinding glare, and once his eyes adjusted, he growled and took on a defensive stance.
Something was in there. He just knew it.
The silver light was momentarily eclipsed, then it flashed back into view when the small black mass that had obscured it squeezed out of the hole. As soon as it fully emerged, plopping to the ground with a definite squish, the tiny portal closed in on itself, sealing away the light inside.
With the light practically a distant memory, Evan hunched over the strange object that had suddenly appeared before his very eyes. It was a small, egg-sized globule of an unidentifiable black substance, fluid yet dense and balled up like a bead of mercury. He could hear a faint, rapid throbbing sound within it, like a tiny heartbeat. And it smelled absolutely repulsive, like a mixture of skunk spray, gasoline, tar and every possible rotten food imaginable.
It didn't take bestial instinct to decide that this abomination had to be disposed of, but it was certainly a contributing factor.
What is it? Different. RevOLTinG! Not one of US! DOeSN't bElONG! MusT DEstrOY! MUST KILL!!
Like before, Evan swung his hand at the blob, fingernails erect with the intention to shred. Just before making contact, the blob visibly twitched, as if bracing itself for impact. When Evan's hand slammed into it, rather than being scratched by his nails, the blob stuck to him, its shape contorting to intertwine perfectly between his fingers. Logically, its refusal to die only infuriated Evan further, and he savagely attempted to remove it via flailing his hand around and pummeling it into the ground, all to no avail.
When all of his efforts to scrape the blob off his hand proved fruitless, Evan instinctively tried severing it with his teeth.
As soon as it came in contact with his teeth, the blob detached from Evan's hand and pried his mouth wide open.
For the first time that night, Evan responded to this new development not with anger or feral instinct, but with very real, very intense panic. He tried to fight back as the foul-smelling, foul-tasting slime slithered into his mouth. He bit down on it, he pushed it back with his tongue, he frantically shook his head and reached his hands inside his mouth to grab it, but it evaded all attempts and slid down his throat as smoothly as water.
Once the deed was done, Evan spent a good ten seconds hacking like a sick cat. His mouth tasted like sewage, and he found himself unable to breathe until the slime had been completely swallowed. Soon enough, though, he truly became aware of his current situation, and even with his brain as jumbled as it was, Evan was completely certain that this was very, very bad.
He could feel it. This thing... this parasitic creature, was squirming about in his stomach like a thousand nervous butterflies. Slowly, everything from the waist up lost all feeling, consumed by an ever intensifying tingle, as if the butterflies were spreading throughout his body. It wasn't a particularly painful experience, but on top of the discomfort, the knowledge of a living creature navigating the inner workings of his body utterly terrified Evan. He had to do something about it. He thrashed about in a frenzy, clawed at his stomach and throat, slammed himself against the ground, rolled around, screamed, gagged, everything inside was WRITHING, HE FELT SICK, HIS STOMACH WAS CHURNING, HIS HEAD WAS POUNDING, HE THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO DIE.
WHaT IS iT?! SIcKnESs! DIFFERENT! BAd! BAD!! DYING! CAn'T DIE! DoN't WANT to DIE!! HELP! DIFFERENT! KILL! HELP!!
And somewhere in the middle of it all, the numbing feeling overpowered him. The constant tingling dulled into a soothing embrace. His muscles went limp and his anxious flailing slowed until he finally laid still on his side. He suddenly felt very relaxed and lethargic, quickly losing his will to care about the parasite that was digging its way through his internal systems.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Evan was calm, and the chaotic, overlapping thought processes in his mind all came to a halt.
. . .
All senses were lost to him, particularly that of time. He could've been laying in the grass for hours or just a few seconds and it would not have made a difference. Nothing was happening. Nothing mattered.
The first thing he became aware of was a sudden jolt in the back of his head. He twitched slightly in surprise, but otherwise found himself unable to move. Frozen, rigid, he could only lie still and silently observe as tiny pinprick sensations snaked down his spine. At the same time, he took note of the intense difference in his vision. Just moments before, the world was a dark blur, what little details he could decipher outlined with glowing shades of silver, green, blue and purple. Now he could see everything, plain as day, in perfect detail.
What? How? Different. Everything different! Can't move. Can't kill. Different but same? What...? What's wrong with...? I... "I...?" I'm... What's happening to me?
First person pronouns. In his head, they sounded wrong. Two voices screamed at each other in his mind. One told him to fight, to kill, to survive, to be part of something greater. The other was terrified for his own wellbeing, questioning what ill effects were befalling him.
But that wasn't even the worst of it.
Evan blinked, though he did not move his eyelids.
Evan smiled, though he did not move his mouth.
Evan sat up, though he did not move any part of his body.
Helpless to stop it, Evan watched as his body moved against his will, controlled by a foreign entity. His eyes turned downward to stare at his hands, bloodstained fingers clenching and unclenching, then went on to examine the rest of his bloodied form. And just like that, almost everything became clear.
Oh God... What have I done?! What's wrong with me?! I... I've kilLEd! Must KILL! Can't die! Can't be different, what?! No! What is this thing in my head?! W-What are BOTH these things?! I can't think straight, I can't control myself, I can't die like this, must LIVE! NO... No... I... What...? This... I've been fighting this all night. This monster inside me... and now THIS thing! EVERYTHING'S TRYING TO CONTROL ME!!
The current force that controlled Evan took a deep breath and shakily stood up, a task that proved slightly difficult after a night of quadrupedal prowling. He spoke in Evan's voice...
"I..." Or, at least, he tried to speak before going into a brief coughing fit.
"Goodness me, this voice sounds disused
I suppose it makes sense in a body this abused
So bloody, so beaten, and good lord does it reek
And it seems to be otherwise less than unique"
Despite the sheer terror that anyone would feel if their body was being manipulated beyond their control, Evan couldn't help but think up minor things to quip about. It wasn't HIS fault he looked the way he did. This creature was one to talk, given how it smelled. And tasted, for that matter. This rhyming gimmick definitely wouldn't get annoying anytime soon, no siree!
"Still, I suppose it will have to suffice
A quick fixer-upper and it should look quite nice
And at the risk of sounding incredibly droll
It feels so good to be back in control"
Right then and there was when the gravity of his situation truly, fully hit Evan. Inside, he was battling an alien mentality that drove him to insanity. Outside, he was doomed to be a spectator through his own eyes as this parasite manipulated his actions. He really was little more than a prisoner trapped in his own mind and body.
