04-10-2017, 10:33 AM
"What the hell is this?"
"You think one of those Primes got liquified?"
"Nah... They are supposed to be immortal, and always reappear right here, no matter how they died."
"Is this... is this a prime"
"Maybe..."
The two scouts were kneeling at the fountain, peering at the odd mass before them. What they saw was little more than a blob. It looked like a glossy black mass of fresh ink. "Touch it," one of the scouts suggests. She was a young woman, clad in basic leather armor and armed with a shortbow. Her companion was older, his short beard streaked with a bit of gray and his eyes as sharp as an eagle's.
"I don't think that would be wise..." He pondered. He removed his steel helmet, ideas forming. "Maybe we could scoop some of it up... It looks mostly liquid..." Inching closer, he holds his helmet the furthest from the rim as possible while attempting to dip it into the ooze. The sound was a faint, wet slurp as the ridge sank through the thick slime. "It feels like digging in wet sand..."
Just when he thought he had a good enough portion of the slime, the rest suddenly moves. It pulls the rest of its form up and into the helmet, fitting perfectly within the container. The older scout was confused; just a moment ago it had been utterly inert. Now it seemed to accept its place in the helmet. "I think it likes you, Jhoff. You should name it," the young scout teased. Not paying attention to her, the elder was staring at the creature; thoughtful of what exactly it was. He tilted the helmet, slightly sloshing the thick slime, watching the light of the Nexus sheen off its glossy mass. Finally, curiosity got the better of him. He touched it.
The instant his bare fingertips touched the gelatinous creature, small tendrils leap out, clinging to his hand. Pulling itself up, more spit forth, grabbing higher on his arm. The elder dropped the helmet in an instant wave of fear and regret. His hand suddenly felt so cold as it was consumed. More and more of his arm vanished inside the creature before he attempts to claw it away with his free hand. That too becomes stuck, and the spread begins from another angle. The young scout just stared, backing away as she watched her partner seemingly eaten alive by this Prime.
"I'll go get help!" Code for "I'm out." The young scout runs away at top speed, leaving the elder to his fate. Terror struck them both, but the elder could not run. In moments, his entire body had been swallowed by the slime. The world bled to black and felt cold. In his mind, something formed. It was like his own thoughts, but they felt foreign, as if someone were invading his private little world.
He saw the form of a faceless figure sitting amidst the black. There was a murmuring sound, but he could not make it out above the sound of his own heartbeat hammering in his ears, and the garbled scream he was emitting with every breath he took. I'm going to die! I'm dead, I'm already dead, this thing is going to digest me, I'm dead! This is not how I wanted to go, please Omni, don't let it end like this!
Numbness overtook his senses. He could scream no more. The elder fainted, his slime-coated form tumbled to the white floor. The slime slid from the man, leaving him as if nothing had happened. Not compatible.
"You think one of those Primes got liquified?"
"Nah... They are supposed to be immortal, and always reappear right here, no matter how they died."
"Is this... is this a prime"
"Maybe..."
The two scouts were kneeling at the fountain, peering at the odd mass before them. What they saw was little more than a blob. It looked like a glossy black mass of fresh ink. "Touch it," one of the scouts suggests. She was a young woman, clad in basic leather armor and armed with a shortbow. Her companion was older, his short beard streaked with a bit of gray and his eyes as sharp as an eagle's.
"I don't think that would be wise..." He pondered. He removed his steel helmet, ideas forming. "Maybe we could scoop some of it up... It looks mostly liquid..." Inching closer, he holds his helmet the furthest from the rim as possible while attempting to dip it into the ooze. The sound was a faint, wet slurp as the ridge sank through the thick slime. "It feels like digging in wet sand..."
Just when he thought he had a good enough portion of the slime, the rest suddenly moves. It pulls the rest of its form up and into the helmet, fitting perfectly within the container. The older scout was confused; just a moment ago it had been utterly inert. Now it seemed to accept its place in the helmet. "I think it likes you, Jhoff. You should name it," the young scout teased. Not paying attention to her, the elder was staring at the creature; thoughtful of what exactly it was. He tilted the helmet, slightly sloshing the thick slime, watching the light of the Nexus sheen off its glossy mass. Finally, curiosity got the better of him. He touched it.
The instant his bare fingertips touched the gelatinous creature, small tendrils leap out, clinging to his hand. Pulling itself up, more spit forth, grabbing higher on his arm. The elder dropped the helmet in an instant wave of fear and regret. His hand suddenly felt so cold as it was consumed. More and more of his arm vanished inside the creature before he attempts to claw it away with his free hand. That too becomes stuck, and the spread begins from another angle. The young scout just stared, backing away as she watched her partner seemingly eaten alive by this Prime.
"I'll go get help!" Code for "I'm out." The young scout runs away at top speed, leaving the elder to his fate. Terror struck them both, but the elder could not run. In moments, his entire body had been swallowed by the slime. The world bled to black and felt cold. In his mind, something formed. It was like his own thoughts, but they felt foreign, as if someone were invading his private little world.
He saw the form of a faceless figure sitting amidst the black. There was a murmuring sound, but he could not make it out above the sound of his own heartbeat hammering in his ears, and the garbled scream he was emitting with every breath he took. I'm going to die! I'm dead, I'm already dead, this thing is going to digest me, I'm dead! This is not how I wanted to go, please Omni, don't let it end like this!
Numbness overtook his senses. He could scream no more. The elder fainted, his slime-coated form tumbled to the white floor. The slime slid from the man, leaving him as if nothing had happened. Not compatible.