>>5859608“NO NO NO!” Shun Shun shouts. “You need to get the leg movement pattern down! If you can’t handle WALKING in Earth gravity, how are you going to handle the gravity of Z’S?!”
“I’m sorry! It’s not like the ones I’ve used before!” Don Para responds.
…Okay you have a bit more time than you thought. You focus a bit harder and sense out the octo-dragon. ‘Hello again, Nazar. We’ve got… a thing that may require your expertise.’
‘{WE SHALL AID AS IS NECESSARY.}’ they answer.
Okay. Here goes. ‘On Earth we have uncovered a fragment of a fractured being, something that came from the stars to the planet and has been lurking for untold centuries, millennia even, ever since its shards crashed into the planet. The fragment was… altered, though. An ancient civilization tried to use it for apotheosis, crafting machines to harness its power, only for it to take in the machines and even the people that were trying to use it for their own end and subsume all into this… amalgam.’
‘{IS THIS BEING THREATENING YOUR WORLD?}’
‘In a sense. It called itself Aspinthion, and sought to reunite with the other shards of the fractured being, using thralls to aid in its task, no matter how long it took.’
‘{IS THAT THE ONLY THREAT IT PRESENTS?}’ they ask, sounding… sorta unimpressed.
‘The threat it presented was working to disrupt the balance of the world over eons to achieve its goal, serving only its interests, its desire to become a “new whole” no matter the chaos it brought about. It attempted to send me away while taking control of my allies. When it could not achieve that, it opened up a portal to the planet’s moon to try and dispose of us.’
‘{SO IT SEEKS ONLY SELF-EVOLUTION.}’ Nazar surmises, a more curious tone this time. ‘{THIS BEING SEEMS… FAMILIAR TO US. A FORM OF ANCIENT ASTRAL PARASITE, PERHAPS THE PINNACLE OF SUCH A CONCEPT. SUCH BEINGS SHOULD NOT BE CAPABLE OF SAPIENCE AS IT IS KNOWN TO MOST LIFE, HOWEVER. YOUR DESCRIPTION GIVES THE IMPRESSION THAT THIS ‘ASPINTHION’ WAS.}’
‘Capable of speech and reason. Used it for selfish ends.’ you confirm.
‘{WHERE IS THIS THREAT CURRENTLY?}’
‘We managed to seal it away, thankfully, but we don’t know how well such a seal will last. It… still seems capable of some kind of psychic influence even in this state. We were hoping to bring it over to Z’S, you seemed like the best candidate to deal with such a threat.’
There’s a brief pause as you guess Nazar thinks over what to do. ‘{AS IT EXISTS CURRENTLY, IT WOULD PASS ON AS THE AMALGAM. A BEING INCLUDING THE ASTRAL PARASITE. SUCH A PRESENCE MAY PERSIST EVEN THROUGH REINCARNATION. IT WILL NEED TO BE UNWOVEN, UNBOUND FROM THE COMPOSITE, IF YOU WISH TO REMOVE THIS RISK.}’
That sounds… difficult. ‘So, we’ll see you soon?’
‘{WE SHALL AWAIT YOUR ARRIVAL.}’
(cont.)
