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Lore Book Ecdysis
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I – ORIGINS
Last Bastion, Tobusekai
A shambling horror detonates, its sinew and flesh splattered across the cool shores along the beachhead of Last Bastion. A guard is torn in two, one half sinking beneath the ocean’s red tide.
Millicent’s eyes go wide and she freezes. Her city was besieged on all fronts. An undead army marching not from land but from the depths of the Kaizoku Sea, there to claim them all. Another guard turned to flee, realizing that whatever this threat was many times worse than they had thought. He dropped his sword and ran.
But he falls.
Two skeletal hands reach up from the earth. They claw at his legs, tearing his flesh open. He screams.
Another two manifest behind him, appearing in a fog of black smoke. Though these are not flesh monsters or dead skeletons. They are spirits, with shrouds of black and long claws that appear ethereal. They grab at his body, pulling it through the earth as if phasing through a portal. He shouts and shouts until there is nothing but silence.
Millicent frantically searches for a way out. A way…
A millisecond of pain in her shoulder and she is pulled into the waters.
Last Bastion, Tobusekai
A shambling horror detonates, its sinew and flesh splattered across the cool shores along the beachhead of Last Bastion. A guard is torn in two, one half sinking beneath the ocean’s red tide.
Millicent’s eyes go wide and she freezes. Her city was besieged on all fronts. An undead army marching not from land but from the depths of the Kaizoku Sea, there to claim them all. Another guard turned to flee, realizing that whatever this threat was many times worse than they had thought. He dropped his sword and ran.
But he falls.
Two skeletal hands reach up from the earth. They claw at his legs, tearing his flesh open. He screams.
Another two manifest behind him, appearing in a fog of black smoke. Though these are not flesh monsters or dead skeletons. They are spirits, with shrouds of black and long claws that appear ethereal. They grab at his body, pulling it through the earth as if phasing through a portal. He shouts and shouts until there is nothing but silence.
Millicent frantically searches for a way out. A way…
A millisecond of pain in her shoulder and she is pulled into the waters.
II - IDIOSYNCRATIC
Last Bastion, Tobusekai
She tapped her finger tips at the window sill. One. Two. Three.
Why do we exist? Why does anything exist? I must escape teleological thinking…I must. The answer is so obvious, so elegant, so calming. A truth that is its own metric. The reason does not matter, for it only defines an existence by the reason for its being; not for its rise.
She taps the numb flesh on her decaying hand. Four. Five. Six.
We live in a samsara of suffering. Unending cycles of life and death and life and death. This is the second epoch. The first, a time of amortality, was introduced at humanity’s dawn in the wake of the Great War. The Bronze Empire marked the beginning of that second epoch; but it was only when the tyrannical Sage propagated that dreadful fundamental force did life itself change. Everything is becoming more ruthless because of that day eight centuries ago. But in these mists I learned of a new truth: the suffering will end. Death will soon arrive to the universe and claim all of it for itself. This will be the end of everything: all living things, nonliving things, and the theoretical. And I learned it from worship, worship, worship.
“Milli?”
The girl reaches for her shoulder the hand that can still feel. Cursed flesh had reached the socket, budding with new and unfamiliar life. The boundary between death and life is neither uniform nor tidy; blackened slack flesh gives way to taut skin, veins run down her arm that are overstressed, bruised, and bloodied. It was as if her body was undergoing a metamorphosis, shedding the dead flesh underneath in favor of something new. Her fingertips dance over a mushroom that had grown underneath her shirt sleeve. She spreads her palm out over her socket, running down her upper arm and then back over her breast, as if covering it will make the suffering stop.
She continues tapping at her numb arm, skin black and lifeless. She feels nothing.
If suffering can be equated to life, then death must be freedom. But perhaps a new truth can be created, a third epoch of life itself.
“Milli?” It was a familiar voice, the young girl’s nurse.
“Yes?” She responded, her voice distant as her mind drifted off. She turned toward the woman dressed in a long white gown. She had a syringe in hand, filled with a white fluid. Had it been time already?
“Are you ready to sleep, Milli?” She asked.
“The pain stopped,” the young girl responded, clutching at her dying arm as if to reaffirm the lie. She knew what the drug did.
The nurse took a few steps closer, gently and carefully, as if not to wake a sleeping beast. “You’re going to be okay. We’re going to cure you.”
Last Bastion, Tobusekai
She tapped her finger tips at the window sill. One. Two. Three.
Why do we exist? Why does anything exist? I must escape teleological thinking…I must. The answer is so obvious, so elegant, so calming. A truth that is its own metric. The reason does not matter, for it only defines an existence by the reason for its being; not for its rise.
She taps the numb flesh on her decaying hand. Four. Five. Six.
We live in a samsara of suffering. Unending cycles of life and death and life and death. This is the second epoch. The first, a time of amortality, was introduced at humanity’s dawn in the wake of the Great War. The Bronze Empire marked the beginning of that second epoch; but it was only when the tyrannical Sage propagated that dreadful fundamental force did life itself change. Everything is becoming more ruthless because of that day eight centuries ago. But in these mists I learned of a new truth: the suffering will end. Death will soon arrive to the universe and claim all of it for itself. This will be the end of everything: all living things, nonliving things, and the theoretical. And I learned it from worship, worship, worship.
“Milli?”
The girl reaches for her shoulder the hand that can still feel. Cursed flesh had reached the socket, budding with new and unfamiliar life. The boundary between death and life is neither uniform nor tidy; blackened slack flesh gives way to taut skin, veins run down her arm that are overstressed, bruised, and bloodied. It was as if her body was undergoing a metamorphosis, shedding the dead flesh underneath in favor of something new. Her fingertips dance over a mushroom that had grown underneath her shirt sleeve. She spreads her palm out over her socket, running down her upper arm and then back over her breast, as if covering it will make the suffering stop.
She continues tapping at her numb arm, skin black and lifeless. She feels nothing.
If suffering can be equated to life, then death must be freedom. But perhaps a new truth can be created, a third epoch of life itself.
“Milli?” It was a familiar voice, the young girl’s nurse.
“Yes?” She responded, her voice distant as her mind drifted off. She turned toward the woman dressed in a long white gown. She had a syringe in hand, filled with a white fluid. Had it been time already?
“Are you ready to sleep, Milli?” She asked.
“The pain stopped,” the young girl responded, clutching at her dying arm as if to reaffirm the lie. She knew what the drug did.
The nurse took a few steps closer, gently and carefully, as if not to wake a sleeping beast. “You’re going to be okay. We’re going to cure you.”
III - EXUVIAE
Last Bastion, Tobusekai
“What will you do when you’re healed, Milli?” Mia asked, tilting her head as they looked out over the city.
Seven months had gone by now since the Underworld’s invasion and since then their city had been busy rebuilding. Millicent stared out over the tower, down into a city in the process of being reborn. Construction workers rebuilt homes, worked along scaffolding along the towering walls of their ancient fortress. She admired that in them; their human spark, the desire and drive to persevere. It was such a mysterious factor that drove humanity to push ever onward and for their light to never be extinguished. She ran the tips of her fingers up her right arm, feeling the mossy and mushroom growths along its vegetative flesh. It now existed in a state between life and death, a limbo of sorts. She, too, would persevere.
“I want to be…reborn.” She paused, reflecting on her words for a moment before turning her attention back to the legions of builders.
“Reborn?” Mia probed.
Millicent nodded absent mindedly. Would she understand? Did it matter if she understood? Mia was her friend, yet ever since the attack Millicent felt far removed from anything that remotely resembled close relationships. She was in a metamorphosis; still human, yet different.
“Everything I wanted to do…see the Village of Sin, the lands of ever-snow, the Ruins of Chungsu, travel the seas…none of them matter now, Mia. All that matters now is the rebirth,” She spoke stoically, almost with no emotion in her voice. Entirely dedicated to this idea of rebirth, with no purpose beyond it.
Mia sighed. She had known for quite some time now, her best friend died seven months ago, on the day of Phetra’s invasion. Whatever it was that pulled her down into the Kaizoku Sea, the same thing that cursed her, took her friend away. She clenched her fist till her knuckles turned white, unbeknownst to Millicent. Though even if she had seen it, Mia believed that it wouldn’t have even mattered. The Millicent that returned from the sea two weeks later was sociopathic. Completely oblivious to social norms and typical mannerisms. For the first few months she would, at times, apologize for her antipathy, as if she was somewhat aware of her abnormal tendencies. But even that had stopped. Now she was cold and distant, through and through.
But Millicent knew all too well what her friend thought of her now. She knew that Mia yearned for the old her, the one coated in a flesh that she now rejected. It was the only reason she spent time with her; out of some self-imposed pity that Millicent neither asked for nor wanted. Yet her company was welcome, more so for its value in observation than anything else. Mia’s persistence was like the construction worker’s effort out in the city: to rekindle something that was nearly lost. It was the spark all humans shared.
And in spite of what her friend might say, Millicent had not lost that spark either. She longed to return to the depths of the sea to see what had blessed her. To be rid of this flesh all together.
When she was pulled to the depths of the Kaizoku, Millicent could see nothing. Light did not reach these depths. And yet that darkness was not indifferent, it could sense her. It watched and spoke to her. I know you, Millicent. I have seen you yearn for purpose beyond an existence of suffering. There is a reckoning coming, Millicent. One that will end all suffering. And only you can begin anew. I can give you purpose, child. Become my acolyte, young girl. Embrace my blessing and all will be reborn.
A tear rolled down Mia’s cheek.
Last Bastion, Tobusekai
“What will you do when you’re healed, Milli?” Mia asked, tilting her head as they looked out over the city.
Seven months had gone by now since the Underworld’s invasion and since then their city had been busy rebuilding. Millicent stared out over the tower, down into a city in the process of being reborn. Construction workers rebuilt homes, worked along scaffolding along the towering walls of their ancient fortress. She admired that in them; their human spark, the desire and drive to persevere. It was such a mysterious factor that drove humanity to push ever onward and for their light to never be extinguished. She ran the tips of her fingers up her right arm, feeling the mossy and mushroom growths along its vegetative flesh. It now existed in a state between life and death, a limbo of sorts. She, too, would persevere.
“I want to be…reborn.” She paused, reflecting on her words for a moment before turning her attention back to the legions of builders.
“Reborn?” Mia probed.
Millicent nodded absent mindedly. Would she understand? Did it matter if she understood? Mia was her friend, yet ever since the attack Millicent felt far removed from anything that remotely resembled close relationships. She was in a metamorphosis; still human, yet different.
“Everything I wanted to do…see the Village of Sin, the lands of ever-snow, the Ruins of Chungsu, travel the seas…none of them matter now, Mia. All that matters now is the rebirth,” She spoke stoically, almost with no emotion in her voice. Entirely dedicated to this idea of rebirth, with no purpose beyond it.
Mia sighed. She had known for quite some time now, her best friend died seven months ago, on the day of Phetra’s invasion. Whatever it was that pulled her down into the Kaizoku Sea, the same thing that cursed her, took her friend away. She clenched her fist till her knuckles turned white, unbeknownst to Millicent. Though even if she had seen it, Mia believed that it wouldn’t have even mattered. The Millicent that returned from the sea two weeks later was sociopathic. Completely oblivious to social norms and typical mannerisms. For the first few months she would, at times, apologize for her antipathy, as if she was somewhat aware of her abnormal tendencies. But even that had stopped. Now she was cold and distant, through and through.
But Millicent knew all too well what her friend thought of her now. She knew that Mia yearned for the old her, the one coated in a flesh that she now rejected. It was the only reason she spent time with her; out of some self-imposed pity that Millicent neither asked for nor wanted. Yet her company was welcome, more so for its value in observation than anything else. Mia’s persistence was like the construction worker’s effort out in the city: to rekindle something that was nearly lost. It was the spark all humans shared.
And in spite of what her friend might say, Millicent had not lost that spark either. She longed to return to the depths of the sea to see what had blessed her. To be rid of this flesh all together.
When she was pulled to the depths of the Kaizoku, Millicent could see nothing. Light did not reach these depths. And yet that darkness was not indifferent, it could sense her. It watched and spoke to her. I know you, Millicent. I have seen you yearn for purpose beyond an existence of suffering. There is a reckoning coming, Millicent. One that will end all suffering. And only you can begin anew. I can give you purpose, child. Become my acolyte, young girl. Embrace my blessing and all will be reborn.
A tear rolled down Mia’s cheek.
IV - ECDYSTEROID
Last Bastion, Tobusekai
"Help!"
"Guard!"
"Oh gods, have you forsaken us?"
"Enkidu!"
Shrieks of terror and desperate pleas for help drowned out Millicent dreams. She awoke, eyes opening slowly as they adjusted to the dim lit hospital room that night. She tugged at her restraints against the hospital bed, pulling up unconsciously as she tried to lean up in her bed to see the commotion. She sighed; no light shone through her window save for a dim glow, one that, as she tilted her head to the side to look outside, observed it was from a large but distant fire in the center of Last Bastion. Buildings were burning. The city was under siege.
Again she tried to lean up in her bed, chains digging into her delicate, but diseased, flesh.
Come to me, Millicent. The words rang clear in her head, even more so than the screams in the hospital. Die so that you may live.
She tugged at her bindings, as if by instinct. Blood dripped down from her wrists as the cuffs dug deeper into her bruised and Rotten flesh. "I..." Millicent tugged again, her face contorted in pain as they bent backwards, snapping like a decayed twig. The room was filled with the crack of bone, tearing sinew, and blood splattering onto her bed. She screamed but the hospital staff, still thrown into a frenzy, did not hear her. She breathed heavily, pressing the stumps of her wrists into the bed sheets to stem the bleeding. Yet there was little blood flow; for months now her arms had decayed to such a point where the blood vessels in them hardly functioned. After the initial snap there was little more than a trickle.
Freed from her restraints, Millicent stood up from the hospital bed, stumbling down as she did. Her body was weak now, far weaker than when she was first hospitalized. But determination blossomed within her as the voice echoed in her mind, urging her to go onward. To the Kaizoku Sea, young girl. It was a dark voice, connected to her mind through unknown means. But despite its darkness, it gave rise to renewed life within her that she had otherwise been without for so very long.
Hours went by. Chaos ensued. Around her buildings burned. Rotten and transformed animals rampaged in the street; some new life, exotic in nature. Creatures she had never laid eyes on before: insects that towered over man, skeletal remains reanimated with growing orange flora about their person. Yet when Millicent limped by these creatures, blood trailing behind her drip by drip, they did not confront her. In fact, some moved aside from her. They kept her path open, urging her down a broken road toward the Kaizoku Sea.
By the time she reached the sea her body was pale, having lost so much blood from a painful trickle. But she endured, knowing not whether she would live or die. Millicent wanted only one thing: to feel again. Since Phetra's invasion, since her infection, she had been far removed from the human experience. She had lost her friends, family, and now her home. The calm ocean waters churned at her feet as she collapsed. Her face fell to its side, waves brushing up against her cheek and filling her mouth with seawater.
You have arrived. At last.
She sighed, consciousness fading into nothingness. She felt at peace. Unbeknownst to her the tides began to sweep her body away, pulling it into the depths below the dark surface.
Fester with me and be reborn.
Last Bastion, Tobusekai
"Help!"
"Guard!"
"Oh gods, have you forsaken us?"
"Enkidu!"
Shrieks of terror and desperate pleas for help drowned out Millicent dreams. She awoke, eyes opening slowly as they adjusted to the dim lit hospital room that night. She tugged at her restraints against the hospital bed, pulling up unconsciously as she tried to lean up in her bed to see the commotion. She sighed; no light shone through her window save for a dim glow, one that, as she tilted her head to the side to look outside, observed it was from a large but distant fire in the center of Last Bastion. Buildings were burning. The city was under siege.
Again she tried to lean up in her bed, chains digging into her delicate, but diseased, flesh.
Come to me, Millicent. The words rang clear in her head, even more so than the screams in the hospital. Die so that you may live.
She tugged at her bindings, as if by instinct. Blood dripped down from her wrists as the cuffs dug deeper into her bruised and Rotten flesh. "I..." Millicent tugged again, her face contorted in pain as they bent backwards, snapping like a decayed twig. The room was filled with the crack of bone, tearing sinew, and blood splattering onto her bed. She screamed but the hospital staff, still thrown into a frenzy, did not hear her. She breathed heavily, pressing the stumps of her wrists into the bed sheets to stem the bleeding. Yet there was little blood flow; for months now her arms had decayed to such a point where the blood vessels in them hardly functioned. After the initial snap there was little more than a trickle.
Freed from her restraints, Millicent stood up from the hospital bed, stumbling down as she did. Her body was weak now, far weaker than when she was first hospitalized. But determination blossomed within her as the voice echoed in her mind, urging her to go onward. To the Kaizoku Sea, young girl. It was a dark voice, connected to her mind through unknown means. But despite its darkness, it gave rise to renewed life within her that she had otherwise been without for so very long.
Hours went by. Chaos ensued. Around her buildings burned. Rotten and transformed animals rampaged in the street; some new life, exotic in nature. Creatures she had never laid eyes on before: insects that towered over man, skeletal remains reanimated with growing orange flora about their person. Yet when Millicent limped by these creatures, blood trailing behind her drip by drip, they did not confront her. In fact, some moved aside from her. They kept her path open, urging her down a broken road toward the Kaizoku Sea.
By the time she reached the sea her body was pale, having lost so much blood from a painful trickle. But she endured, knowing not whether she would live or die. Millicent wanted only one thing: to feel again. Since Phetra's invasion, since her infection, she had been far removed from the human experience. She had lost her friends, family, and now her home. The calm ocean waters churned at her feet as she collapsed. Her face fell to its side, waves brushing up against her cheek and filling her mouth with seawater.
You have arrived. At last.
She sighed, consciousness fading into nothingness. She felt at peace. Unbeknownst to her the tides began to sweep her body away, pulling it into the depths below the dark surface.
Fester with me and be reborn.
IV - BLOSSOMS
Ruins of Last Bastion
Meanwhile, far away, deep in the darkness that rests in the ruins of Last Bastion, Millicent slumbered. She lay in the ruins of the hospital that once served as a prison; half her body was merged with a grotesque mass of organic orange and red matter that had fused itself with the stone walls of her hospital room. The side of her head lay against it, hair matted.
As the locks of Marzan’s armory came undone, mechanisms clicking and seals releasing, allowing the forge to be reconnected with the greater world, evil began to stir in that hospital room. As if reacting to the distant chorus of clicking and mystical seals coming undone, Millicent twitched. Golden eyes flickered open, reacting to the change from afar. Her eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the dim light of the hospital room after nearly two years of darkness. She began to dislodge herself from the rotted mass, causing spores of Scarlet Rot to scatter in the stale air. “I dreamt for so long. Corpse after corpse left in the wake of my rotted blood and cursed flesh.” A loud cracking filled the room as Millicent finally pulled herself free, bones creaking as they moved for the first time in nearly two years.
All across Tobusekai her adherents paused, sensing their master’s awakening. In eerie unity, they looked toward Last Bastion as if hearing her words. “The Scarlet Bloom flowers once more.” Millicent’s gaze turned westward in the confines of the hospital, free at last.
Ruins of Last Bastion
Meanwhile, far away, deep in the darkness that rests in the ruins of Last Bastion, Millicent slumbered. She lay in the ruins of the hospital that once served as a prison; half her body was merged with a grotesque mass of organic orange and red matter that had fused itself with the stone walls of her hospital room. The side of her head lay against it, hair matted.
As the locks of Marzan’s armory came undone, mechanisms clicking and seals releasing, allowing the forge to be reconnected with the greater world, evil began to stir in that hospital room. As if reacting to the distant chorus of clicking and mystical seals coming undone, Millicent twitched. Golden eyes flickered open, reacting to the change from afar. Her eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the dim light of the hospital room after nearly two years of darkness. She began to dislodge herself from the rotted mass, causing spores of Scarlet Rot to scatter in the stale air. “I dreamt for so long. Corpse after corpse left in the wake of my rotted blood and cursed flesh.” A loud cracking filled the room as Millicent finally pulled herself free, bones creaking as they moved for the first time in nearly two years.
All across Tobusekai her adherents paused, sensing their master’s awakening. In eerie unity, they looked toward Last Bastion as if hearing her words. “The Scarlet Bloom flowers once more.” Millicent’s gaze turned westward in the confines of the hospital, free at last.
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