A combination of Starcraft, Warhammer 40K, Star Wars, and Kill La Kill. Macabre and 'perverse' scenes presented in this story, regardless of euphemism in use. Readers' discretion is advised. Furthermore, copyright infringement was not intended.
The vast Forest of the High Elves as it was called. An expansive yet isolated woodland of Elvish enclaves where the pointy-eared humanoids could be left alone with their distinct lifestyles for… well, potentially forever.
Even so… with such longevity that can go upwards for many millennia, one person from these 'immortals' may felt that enough is enough for living so long on this 'world.' So intensely tired of life at a very advanced age in fact that he or she would just stop moving and stay there for days, weeks, months, years, or even decades. Plenty of time for vegetation to gain excessive amounts of mass to cover and eventually crush any dull elf to death by sheer weight.
On one particular place of tall trees at this moment, a lone female elf stands there for over a week since the fantasy beauty had given up on this magical realm (after thousands of years experiencing everything on the Falmarian continent - many times over and over again). Her eyes and face showing no signs of energy; her body acting like a statue. In such an extreme state of apathy, the humanoid woman fails to react to or doesn't truly care about a large dark-colored beast slowly approaching her.
The big creature's mouth has rows of teeth (rear molars, sharp incisors and canines in the front, serrated premolars at the middle) and can be wide enough to swallow a human-size lifeform. Its four eyes within the carnivorous dragon/dinosaur-like head are colored violet-blue. Powerful arms and legs with clawed hands and feet on the ground - all fours by the way. The whole body covered in fur and scales, although rows of bony spikes/plates run from the head to the tail. Its body color is a mosaic of black, purple, and dark blue; yet two long, large red follicles are attached to the beast's head. A strange dragon or lizard to Falmarians' perspectives, a dangerous Primal Zerg for outsiders, but something else to those heavily informed on or already realized its identity.
Once the 'animal' is in the elven beauty's personal space, it then carefully inspect the apathetic female for any signs of the will to be alive… if at all. Minutes later, the big creature uses a form of psychic power to undress the non-reactive lady of all her clothes; either due to some bizarre respect or not wanting to have non-absorbent trinkets stuck in its internal organs. When the demi-human is literally naked, the beast use another of its supernatural abilities to trigger the emotionless elf's body to expel any remaining waste matter inside (meaning that her urine and feces are forced to come out… so yeah, eww). After utilizing its superpowers again for removing any excrement off the still-lethargic high-elf, the giant lifeform ultimately uses its hands to thoughtfully grab the spiritless stunner… and swallow the pointy-eared dame whole (feet first, head last - along with her arms being positioned upwards) without damaging the 'prey.' With that small 'meal' being done, the 'zerg' move on elsewhere within the broad 'sanctuary' of the nearly eternal race of beings.
All that are left of the unmotivated figure were the elvish apparel and wearable ornaments on the forest floor… aside from the more disgusting part from her. Soon however, the more decent remnants are located and retrieved by a small team of cloaked rangers holding long-range weapons not made anywhere on this stagnant continent.
As the supposed leader of the recon group look at one of the decoration items on his left hand, a subordinate makes a comment. "It has almost been a year since Subject-Z3312817-SKM arrived on this timber-filled area, sir. Do you think her plan to transform herself will ever work?"
The leading ranger responded, "The bigger question here is whether Matoi can ever be meaningfully accepted as a human, eldar, or other demi-human designations by this world or the entire galaxy."
Several days forward…
A human damsel in peasant clothing: golden hair, panicking, bleeding, seriously injured by sword blows and a few arrows stuck inside her body, and on the run among the woods of the elvish sanctuaries. This place she's in was not the destination for her migrating caravan. The end of the journey for her family was supposed to be an Imperial colony established months ago along a long river that is rather close to the Forest of the High Elves. Unfortunately though, bands of marauders ambushed the convoy many miles/leagues from the finish line. The bandit attacks brought chaos to the relatively unarmed migrants, which separated the female adolescent from her parents and siblings; as well as getting hurt from 'close-call' blade strikes and being captured. Before anything more nastier befallen on this particular teenager, rabbit-eared hunters decided to join in the mayhem as they came out of their concealment. The two raiders violently clash each other over the 'spoils' from the convoy: every male to the vierans, loot and women to the human bandits - who often kill the men that the rabbit-like humanoids desire. With her captors distracted by more disorder, the young woman escaped their grip and run for the notable forest. Raiding archers spotted the getaway and unleashed arrows at the frightened teenager. She got hit obviously, but not in the right places to stop her moving or make her dead in an instant. Lucky for the adolescent, the bowmen change their attention to the 'warrior bunnies' in their vicinity. By the time the raids were over, the lone human had passed through the woodland's outer boundaries.
Now, the wounded damsel became lost in the featureless terrain of the numerous trees as the sky turn dark. Unexpectedly, the female human tripped something like a dead log or rock while running. Her fall to the ground eventually stop the young lady's movement and unfavorably got one of her arms injured. The teenager lift herself up as much as she could and walk instead. After some time, she stop at a spot and try to rest. Yet the lass continues to lose blood coming out of her lacerations and having some arrows driven into her body. Since her instinct to remove the shafts is much stronger than just leaving them in (without medical knowledge), the damsel proceed to painfully pull the arrows out one by one. Consequently, the human being unknowingly made those gashes much worse than before as more vital fluids are let out by the attempts. While breathing heavily afterwards, the gal then thinks about the fate of her family and friends as she slowly fade into a state of unconsciousness.
Under the dark cover of night however, the signature silhouette of the large beast methodically encroaches towards the severely injured woman. At very close range, it attentively peer at the dying adolescent.
Two days later outside a elvish inn at the morning…
A curious elf-girl quietly exit the lodging for guests through the main entrance. Carrying with her is a strange tool that looks like a long staff with its inside hollow and a trigger adjacent to a handle on one end; similar to that of human-made crossbows - except for this stick in the middle for hand gripping and the funny-looking tube with a glass-like lens at each end. Since she's very intrigued by the weapons that accompanied the 'elven' visitors, the young humanoid heads to the area that those guests sometime use for target practice. Once there, the pointy-eared lass finds something to stand-in as game; like a small wood log or a battered helmet among other 'used' objects on the ground whose prior owners were bandits or violent intruders. With a surrogate prey in place for a shoot, she goes at least a dozen yards away before stopping at a spot to try out the unusual battle tool. Her hands got a hold onto the weapon after some period of interaction and the youngster's eyes looking at the weird cylinder that allows her to see something in the cross-hair. Thereafter, she direct her sight onto the targeted item and pull the discharge mechanism.
What came out of it was… nothing. No bright projectiles or beams of light. The elf-girl tries it many times over, but the 'staff' doesn't respond at all in this moment (even with spells of spirit magic).
She feels perplexed on why those travelers can unleash bolts of energy coming out of those deadly armaments while she herself cannot.
"Jola, there you are!" A male elf native to this forest said.
The humanoid child turn her head in response and see the slightly annoyed face of a father and the casual expression of the 'elvish' ranger.
Somewhere unknown…
The young golden blonde slowly opens her eyes… to see her surroundings all white while laying on her back. Complete whiteness with no signs of dimension. She 'consciously' lift herself up to stand and then see her body wearing a white dress-like garment. Or just a plain gown for healing places in cities. Nevertheless, she proceed to move around out of curiosity and concerns.
Over time, the human girl steadily became more anxious of the featureless landscape as she shouts hellos, helps, and other calls about this surreal place without a single reply. "Can someone tell me where I am?! Anyone here?!"
Several additional exclamations later, she's rather frightened on what is not happening. No answers to her. No one to see in this white-colored realm. In a panicking state, the young woman starts to run as much as she can in an attempt to find a form of exit. She kept running and running for so long, yet the female adolescent still hasn't reach something that could get her out of this emptiness. Bizarrely though, the trapped being doesn't feel exhausted as she rush all over the setting. At some point, the lass gradually halt her movement and wonders if this place is what the underworld looks like. In her current thought, this never ending space is just too quiet to be such an afterlife and doesn't have anything to interact. Regardless of opinions, the teenager sat down and then put her back lying on the 'floor' with hopelessness dwelling in her mind. Shortly thereafter, the gal closes her eyes to think about her life and the lives of her beloved family, relatives, visitors, and friends prior to the terrible raids.
After an unknown amount of time, the human simply opens her visual organs… and surprisingly find herself seeing a jungle of plants so alien to her. Turning around in curiosity, she noticed a strange building behind her. It looked like a temple or monastery that had structural features inspired by trees and other things from the natural world. They include the leaf-shaped roof tiles and the tree-like support pillars found inside the structure when the lass 'magically' passed through the solid wall like a spirit/ghost. Frankly, it's the same for walking through solid benches as if they or she didn't exist. While in the nave/congregation area, the young lady then heard laughs of a small child. She redirect her eyes and see a very young girl running around and exploring this building. The 'human' youngster has violet-blue eyes, two red strands among black hair for her head, light-colored skin, and wearing a dress that looked elvish in design. Shortly afterwards, a person appears in the scene through another door. The figure looks like a female elf in nun-style clothes and stroll towards the infant that was now climbing onto a table of the altar section.
"Come on now, my dear niece. You wouldn't like to see your aunty and mommy all worried about you getting hurt again, right Ryona?" said the humanoid woman as she carries the infant away from the marbled object.
"Aww… really, Aunty Denico? This place is so big!"
"Big enough to get yourself lost, sweetie. Anyway, let me return you to your room."
"Hmmm…" The girl gave a disappointed face while being transferred back to her designated chamber. Around the same time, the teenager inquisitively follow the two heading for the opened door. After passing thru the hinged barrier though, she suddenly found herself surrounded by blackness and the door disappeared.
In the elven forest, this afternoon meanwhile…
"Do you clearly see the lifeform at this distance, miss?" The prominent cloaked ranger on an elevated branch of the tall, giant tree asked.
A brunette elf (using her supernatural senses to locate the creature) next to him replied, "I have visual on the dark beast, Sir Marodar." Then she spot someone too familiar very near the beastly giant. "A… and… Tedo Luna Wefunil, too."
"Hmm… yet there's no clue of emotion from that senile friend of yours, right?"
"Sadly… this happens very often to those being thousands of years old and very dull of life, sir."
"Well, that's obviously depressing." Despite saying that, he still kept an eye on the dragon-like behemoth. "So… twenty-one victims in eleven months; all of them being female high-elves, very long lived, users of spirit magic, and too bored of everlasting life strangely enough."
"You don't say…?" The elf-woman look at him for several seconds until she resume her attention at the intruding organism. Not for long however, as she has something else to speak out. "Sire… are you going to finally give me and my tribe answers to our previous questions?"
The male ranger take a sight of her for asking secrets to be revealed; then he gives some thoughts on whether to answer or not. "Ma'am… you're sure it's alright for me to hand out knowledge to you people on… Zergs?"
"Huh?" The female demi-human feels surprised by a foreign name and look again at the big creature before facing her guest once more. "So wait… is that what the bizarre dragon down there would've been called?"
"Heh, eh, eh… actually… Zergs came in all shapes and sizes like big teeth, heavy fur, tougher scales, insect wings, and every other attributes stolen from hundreds of species that used to exist in the continent of Zerus."
"Stolen… Zerus… hold on, are you really revealing secrets on your identities to my people?"
"Well my dear host, I may impart you a story relevant to the nature of these mutant animals. Is that okay for today?"
"Mmm… I guess that will do, sir. Now then, how does it began?"
"Let me see… hmmm… the first encounters with the Zergs occurred many centuries ago at several of our shrines for the deceased… and perhaps those that had already lost their sparks for everlasting life, where their bodies were scavenged and eaten by those beasts. Keep in mind that the sacred memorials for the uh… 'dead' were located rather far from or right at the outer boundaries of a great elvish kingdom that I was born in."
"Say again… you really came from a powerful domain of elves?"
"Well… it's certainly true that my state was once a colony of elves on a different landmass, separate from this 'magical' continent that your tribes called home. Nevertheless, it took eons of discoveries and internal deliberations for my ancestors to become a strong nation on an alien landscape. The military might of our kingdom, back then and now, had no equal on both Falmar and the new continent to challenge such strength."
"Greater than even the Empire?"
"Ha! Comparing those Imperial humans to our civilization felt meaningless in my people's perspectives. I mean sure, those Saderans had conquered vast territories of Falmarian lands with swords, shields, arrows, numbers, and competent battle plans. However… a significant issue for them is sustaining ingenuity across generations. So far, the humans continue to use the same weapons and skills for many centuries without serious development on new tools and social ideas."
"Uh… does that also apply to us elves by any chance, sire?"
"Oh… whoops, my apologies for saying such statement without discretion, miss. It just that our kingdom's extensive knowledge of the natural world became very advanced within a few centuries; while everything progress-wise within Falmar sort of stayed the same… for over a millennium. To get an idea of the discrepancy, horses and dragons here are still the mainstay for transportation. On the other hand, my people have many contraptions that can take us to places beyond the stars."
"Wait, really… is it truly not an impossible exaggeration from a sort of arrogance?"
"Us being arrogant? Eh, eh… perhaps so with our superior use and insights of how the world works; if the emerging presence of Zergs didn't interrupted our sense of mastery."
"In any case, how dangerous were these beasts?"
"Quite honestly, we're not aware of their threat potential at the beginning. Those lifeforms at first seemed to be just like every wild animal surviving and thriving on the colonized continent, albeit new to our understanding and their numbers unknown. Therefore notwithstanding, our scholars and hunters captured many zergs to investigate the abilities of such unknown creatures. What we shockingly found out over the years of studies was their powers to gradually heal any severe wounds they received; and to change themselves into stronger beings… by devouring different animals or each other."
"And… then what, Sir Marodar?"
"Ooof… ha… apparently before long, my country had assembled several expeditions to the vast wilderness that bordered along our settled dominion; for the sake of learning more about these… 'alien' beasts."
"So, what did your people found out?"
"Well… by the end of those explorations, we realized that plenty of animals of the unclaimed regions were gone… forever… and the zerg population was growing by the thousands for every month being past by. In response, our nation established barriers that surrounded the wild half of the continent to keep those creatures contained and away from raiding the villages."
"Were these walls constructed without knowing the origin of these Zergs?"
"Hmmm… ah, fine. In one of our knowledge-seeking trips, we did found a large pool of uh… natural alchemical soup near a corner of the landmass. After a period of examinations, the researchers discovered that the liquid-filled reservoir could be thousands or millions of years old. Yet we still hadn't recognized the severity of the danger or how long the lifeforms were existing before first contact at that time. Therefore, it seems meaningless to destroy this source of… life since what had gave birth over there was in the past and too late to make a change for our benefits."
"Uh… you're saying that an opportunity to stop this menace was already lost?"
"If you mean by our failure to give a closer look in the wild before the incidents occurred, then yes by that definition. But let's go back to the story, miss. After the completion of isolating those 'evolving' hazards, the powerful army prepared themselves and their weaponry for the destruction or at least a greater management of the numerable Zergs trapped there. While the main forces build up their military strength near the outer perimeter, specialized raids on the dangerous animals were conducted to control their numbers. A decade later, our grand plan to neutralize the growing danger had been fully assembled and ready to begin… when those transforming creatures collectively launched a surprised offensive on a larger scale at… everything: farms, villages, cities, fortresses, even our constructed blockades around them! Under such substantial emergency, the entire armies abandoned the ambitious strategy of eradication to stop the terrifying onslaughts on the kingdom."
"How were these um… monsters terrifying in their attacks?"
"Oh… I supposed they had arrow-proof plates for protection, armor-piercing teeth and claws, a vast diversity of them that can sometimes either fly above or dig underground, and occasionally the powers to spew flames, acids, or bolts of lightning. Apart from the Zergs trying to eat you alive and fighting in swarms that numbered by the hundreds of thousands."
"Hehe… eh… ohhh… wow… that's a really life-threatening situation to be in."
"Which took our military might over a month to completely halt the carnivorous assaults… at a very heavy cost in thousands of lives and acres of our territories however. Additionally, the swarming animals wasted no time to permeates the lands they conquered while my country's defenses were being reorganized. Once every part of the containment fortifications were finished, the leadership of the state then discussed the choices available to deal with the unfortunate aftermath."
"I'm guessing that they wanted to retake their lands, right?"
"The government officials did have the desires for payback, but they all realized back then that the Zergs were a force to be reckoned with. So on the contrary for a massive counterattack, my kingdom decided instead to build cities floating in the sky and allow many citizens who were willing to establish new settlements within the occupied regions of those dangerous lifeforms - at their own risks. Furthermore, the reshaped army would continue to maintain the isolation of the zerg-affected regions on Zerus."
"Seems like your leaders of the past made a good decision. Anyway, I would presume that your countrymen over there were having a hard time keeping these savage creatures out, yes?"
"Ha, ha… funny that you could say that, because those animals haven't attack the redeveloped blockade for over a millennium since then."
"Really… so what about the brave souls that ventured towards the dangerous wilderness?"
"Well… it too was strange that the adventuring migrants were able to establish settlements across the infested areas; despite the sporadic but small raids by the diverse packs of Zergs that very often turn against each other than trying to eat us."
"Uh… wait sire, that doesn't make sense to me."
"Perhaps it does when factoring in the weapons from our foundries that were good enough to hurt the menacing lifeforms regardless of size variance; the bold commitment of those settlers to make new lives in hostile environments that were once their domain; and the altering viewpoints from those ever-changing animals that unbelievably depends on who's bigger or smaller."
"Okay… isn't there like a happy ending in this narrative?"
"Probably more so for those finding a place to call home among the stars, despite the potential dangers that an unbreathable environment could bring. As for my people still living on the Zerun continent though, well… it gradually became a different situation."
"Why is that, sir?"
"Because over many generations later in the newer frontier towns, a growing number of our um… 'people' began to slowly have alarming traits and behaviors that were more associated with the hyper-altering animals."
"I… I don't get it, Marodor. How could they become uh..."
"Jenni… let me complete the story uninterrupted. Alright?"
"Hmm… go ahead, sire."
"Good. So back then, the normal diet would be fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, and some cooked meat or other sources of protein. Much of the edible crops in the isolated zone were rather untouched by the Zerg invasion, but virtually all the native animals in the same area were wiped out by those beastly creatures. Thus for several recolonizing groups of elves, they often had little choice but to hunt the zergs for their meat and being thorough in the cooking process. More than a millennium afterwards however, such careful preparations doesn't seem to absolutely stop the occurring… 'mutations' within the newly established populations. At that point, a third of the descendants still remain similar to you and me right here - while another portion behaved with more wildness and whose physical transformations had been amplified greatly. The rest were almost like us, except for having stronger strength and moderate Zerg-like outgrowths on their bodies; although their uh… 'spirit magic' are not quite as powerful as those that can still be identified as 'civilized' elves. In such circumstances, tolerance among all sides were hard to find as each group expresses continuous hostilities toward the other camps. Much more on the retained forms of my people with greater unease that their 'infected' neighbors will become more monstrous and unreasonable than their previous ancestors. Therefore, they initiated a number of projects to research ways to counteract this perceived conundrum. One result of these collaborative endeavors was the creation of an artificial person capable of absolute control on the um… enemies." Before continuing the exposition, the male ranger then noticed something… or someone approaching the statue-like man with pointed ears at ground level.
Regardless of the dark-colored beast nearby.
The elf-lady recognizes not one but three wanderers that have a distinct characteristic on their heads: long ears shaped like those in rabbits. "Warrior Bunnies, here?"
"Well, we are quite close to the edge of your tribes' territory. Yes?"
"Even so, they should be aware of the warnings tha- uh…" Both observers look at the scene where the female humanoids inspect closely at the somewhat lifeless elf, while the giant creature stays and wait. Several minutes later, the vierans proceed to take his clothes off and (heh, heh)… get very intimate with him. "Oh dear… are those visitors really go-"
"Relax, Jenni. Just let them have the time to satiate their curiosities on whether the old man's reproductive seeds are still kicking or not. When they're done, you could have the choice to meet these guests and convince them to leave this area."
"Yet this is our home that my people swore to protect."
"I know, I know. Right now though, allow the 'warrior bunnies' the appropriate time for them to be available in diplomacy. Okay?"
"Hmm… alright, I can wait." As the… sexual nature slowly unfolds, the female elf then detected a grumbling sound from the 'zergish' behemoth. Surprisingly, it goes around the erotic site… and leaves. Just left the area. "I… didn't expect this to be so… bloodless."
The pointy-eared guest then said, "Well… unless you're that serious in getting the vierans out, I think it's a good time to resume the tracking. You game?"
After unknown periods of time somewhere…
The youthful golden blonde has found herself back again among the featureless white color. Rather than shouting out again for anybody here, she decided to stay and sit down for self-contemplation on what the female human had witnessed:
A strange young girl called Ryona interacting innocently with elf-like beings of all sorts: mothers and their own kids, hunters presenting themselves in the open, musicians playing their instruments, townsfolk in some big towns, farmers tending their unique crops, enigmatic rangers, keepers of local libraries, her own adoptive caretakers and siblings, and so on. (In addition to the unexpected playfulness with 'carefree' promises between the prioress and human-like youngster, akin to conducts associated with the Falmartian god of Covenants that the yellow-haired lass knew of: Deldort.)
Terrifying beasts keeping an eye on the child whose protection appeared to be only the priest inhabiting the temple and her adoptive family. In some instances though, the smaller lifeforms ate any unlucky elves in the opportunities that had been presented. In contrast, the much bigger Zergs - as they were called - don't bother with any attempt to devour their minuscule neighbors.
The social environment gradually changing over the years, as the peculiar lass grew relatively faster than practically every elves… at a rate similar to a human. Adding to the people's anxiety was the girl's greater intelligence being shown in proceeding educational institutions (Yes, schools for the common people that were nonexistent on the Falmarian continent); while much of the pointy-eared classmates struggled to reach the same pace as hers. On infrequent occasions as a result, discontented students attack the human-like individual with brawls and pranks for her ill-considerate pride of brilliance… which she, in turn, countered back in different ways (sometimes aggressively, more calculating at other times, or none from time to time). On the other hand, elven children closely skilled in intellect (intermittently called Eldar) help and give social advice to the unique child every once in awhile… although the guidance part was somewhat ignored.
Later on, strange 'magical' powers slowly manifested within the young lass. Also something bizarre was the great lack of 'magic-users' among the elvish youngsters in the schools Ryona attended. Consequently, she received visitations from secretive people wearing robes more associated with monks/priests (some kind of religious order to the young golden-haired lady). It eventually led to an style of martial and mystical training onto this developing girl by several groups of 'Force-users' for a number of years, which often took place within the vicinity of a nature-inspired temple complex. Her swordsmanship and efficiency with 'psychic' powers was astonishing for the blonde to see. However, the self-discipline within the female apprentice continued to be rather... unstable; meaning that the tutors periodically intervened to keep her emotions under control - through meditations, lectures, or non-lethal duels excluding their signature blades of 'light.' At rare occasions notwithstanding, she snuck out of the monasteries and revisited the settlement where Ryona grew up; most often with her foster parents in their houses and the priestess taking care of the temple. Once being together with them, the independent girl talked about her time in the Force-associated communities and the knowledge she learned from the magic-using teachers and students (although her elvish caretakers were a bit displeased of her carefree antics). After a certain duration in each intrepid conduct, the raven-haired lass returned to the monasteries through stealth… although several masters and apprentices were progressively aware of her unauthorized endeavors and gradually developed lessons around this habit.
As she entered adolescence, such requirement for self-control was being challenged constantly by emerging instincts (as opposed to critical thinking and other gentler techniques) inside the 'human' pupil. Ironically… the inner wildness of the young lady definitely disturbed her as time goes by; and having no clue of the reasons why that degree of 'savagery' kept occurring, despite months spent on her own investigations in privacy. Even her sneaky adventures back to her former settlement offered little to no answers for these erratic, animalistic behaviors. On the other hand, her experienced tutors often indicated to the adolescent gal that the 'barbaric' anomalies were the consequences of allowing a 'darker' side of the Force to influence her own well-being. Henceforth their critical recommendations to exercise more self-restraints and training regiments for the apprentice to re-balance her existence. Even so… there's an uncertain feeling that suggested something more than careless intrusions to the ominous aspects of this supernatural power.
That's all on what the gold-haired lass had saw from these visions to date, which felt like several months to the teenager. But her own reprieve of silence didn't last long, when the female human found herself within the same interior room for congregations (again). In this manifestation of the recognizable temple, the blond adolescent notices the familiar elf-nun sitting on the first row of the benches facing the altar. Also, the amount of old-fashioned candle-lights and obvious lack of sunlight coming thru the artistic glass-windows indicated that it's nighttime. Before making an action, the golden blonde then notice an interior door opening rather silently near the religious table.
"You can relax for now, Ryona." Denico calmly said towards someone behind that unlocked barrier.
Sure enough… the door opens to reveal the raven-haired adolescent at relatively ease (and being a bit disappointed). "Jeez… there goes a good surprise in the making, Aunty."
"Heh, eh… what can I say; I'm getting quite good in understanding the Force from the lessons you'd spoke of."
"Well… maybe a bit too much teachings to share, as apparent to what's being seen here." Curiously, Matoi look around the big and empty interiors of her current location like many times before. Which forms a question to speak out. "Say... Aunt Deni, any newcomers visiting this nice place recently?"
"Hmm… so far, the number of initiates for this week to the lonely temple here is the same as the previous years: zero."
"Damn… must have been uncomfortable to hear. Of course, I could also imagine the hurtful loneliness your supposed god of covenants is feeling today… if it really does exist, that is."
The elvish nun chuckled, "Maybe it does prove unfortunate for this sentimental 'superstition' I clung within me for so many centuries, especially when compared to the tremendous power and presence of this formless 'magic' upon this continent."
"Yeah… I might agree on such statement, Aunty. Still, my connection to the Force is not as equally great as a number of masters who taught me many sessions about this supernatural energy flowing through my body and others. Even with all the unamusing hard work and boring patience I had made since my first years in those monasteries."
"Aww… that's understandable. The dedications and time needed to reach such extraordinary potential must be enormous to organize yourself. Whether it's the levitation of very heavy objects… or the personal investigation on the wild turmoil inside your own body. Speaking of which, have you gain a coherent answer for the sporadic behaviors yet?"
"Uh… no. Aside from the repeated warnings of the 'dark side,' I'm still rather confused on what exactly is happening to me. Although…"
"Eh?"
"I had this strange hunch that relates to my… um, 'animal' instincts; despite how rare they appear nowadays."
"Huh? Where did my great niece developed such intuition?"
"Well… probably from my understanding of those Zergs roaming around the wilderness."
"...Oh," Denico surprisingly noted. "You mean the simple-minded creatures that don't know how to stop evolving themselves, yes?"
"Yep, those organisms epitomizing the 'survival of the fittest' in terms of natural selection... to the extreme anyway."
"Hmm… I don't think it's worth the effort to add more research on those instinctive lifeforms in the search for answers."
"Perhaps it does, Auntie. But that doesn't stop me thinking of their innate acts to survive being… similar to erratic behaviors coming from my own body. Unless they're some kind of amplified vestiges from the far past where the ancestors of the El...dar…" Ryona is now in a puzzling pause as she sit on the same bench as her former caretaker.
"Is there something... wrong, child?"
Matoi eventually replied, "Nah… I got plenty of time to worry about my lineage, as of today. By the way, how are you been doing in your free time these days?"
"Ha, ha… considering the semi-lonesome situation I'm in, I frequently attempts a lot of new techniques given by your escapades to learn more about the Force. Like my previous detection of you coming into this religious sanctum just recently."
"Eh, heh… fair enough. My apology for wanting you to show me a few more examples of your independent training."
"Hmm, you know what… I believe I could share one more skill to satisfy both of our esteems."
"Oh, you're sure about it?"
"Indeed, probably for my needs' sake though." Instantly, Denico closes her eyes and put her hands together like a ball. Nothing happens for a while. Until the small flames on the many candlesticks change from the usual yellow color to a cerulean tone. Next, the small blazes detach themselves from the wicks and slowly levitate into the indoor air of the congregation cavity. By the time those mini fireballs were grouped together, the glowing gases are now structured in a fourth state of matter (plasma in tiny spheres). The elvish manipulator then constantly rearranges the ionized substances to different patterns like circles, squares, cube, pyramid, and other geometric shapes. Sometimes the plasma balls were positioned in various cultural symbols of this continent. At other occasions, those floating matters merged into a single material that later morphs to diverse pictures. The golden-haired 'phantom' was mesmerized by the wondrous illustrations in hovering display of creativity. A few minutes onward of airborne spectacles, the lights split up to go back to the wicks of those waxy cylinders as ordinary flames.
"I gotta say… your performances of controlling plasma are very impressive for my eyes to watch," Ryona showed her approval.
"Thank you for the nice compliment, my dear niece. Still… my peculiar, old flock of fundamentalists may not be so kind of seeing their esteemed figurehead practicing such contentious 'sorcery' with tremendous potentials to defy their divine patron. If they're alive to be here... in one piece, anyway."
"Heh... don't bother, Deni. Those foolhardy fans you'd talked about can make as many complaints as they want. Assuming that their uh... eaten souls inside the Zergs were still intact anyway."
"Hmm... perhaps my concerns over them were misplaced, even to this day. And yet, I couldn't ignore a lost part of my people who had underestimated the lethality of those chaotic beasts."
"Right... well, I wouldn't advise on dwelling too much again with the losses in the past, Aunty. Along with allowing more nostalgic conversations to drag on for too long as of this day... uh, no offense."
"I see... have you made a visit with your mother and father yet?"
"I already had done so beforehand, Aunt Denico. Although... the previous visit did left me with some concerns about Mom."
"Concerns, you say?"
"Yeah... some nightmares about a big, blackish demon that she occasionally had seen in her sleep. Which in turn gave Mama a facial look of anxiety, as she told me when I noticed her worrisome demeanor recently. Still, she remained adamant of not saying more specifics about her dreams."
"The dark visions again, huh?"
"Wait... you knew about that?"
"Yes, my dear. The nightmares of hers had been rather persistent for some time now. Nevertheless, I must also respect the privacy of your mother to decide on how much information she wishes to reveal."
"Hmm... I don't know about that choice of wisdom, Aunty."
"Probably so, but that was her own decision - by right - to be made. Anyhow, do you have another question before returning to your martial arts academy?"
"Um... nah, I'm good for now. Seeing family members again is sufficient enough for my self confidence... and sometimes the satisfactions for the thrill of it."
"Ha, ha, ha... ain't that obviously so for a semi-wild spirit like you."
"Teheh... kinda true in a way." The teenage girl stands up and look at her 'family' member."Well then, better move myself back soon to my academic residence for further training in the Force. And be careful with the Zergs when you go outside, Aunt Denico. There happens to be quite a lot of them rummaging all around the town as I was sneaking towards this area."
"Oh dear... that can be a bothersome hurdle for the next day of being in the outdoors. In that regard, I appreciate the forewarning that concerns the risks presented to me and other folks right now. Accordingly, I wish you luck for your safe passage."
"Not to worry, Deni. I've always made sure to keep myself alive in many situations. Anyway, this is goodbye for tonight and I'll see you again after some time has passed by."
"Same goes for you, Ryona."
With the conversation concluded, the raven-haired lass nonchalantly strolls towards the same opening that she used to enter inside. As the female adolescent reaches close-proximity to the door, the temple's candle-lights vanish all of a sudden. The abrupt darkness bewildered the young miss in her departure. "Uh... did something wrong happen to the candles just now?" Strangely, the young woman didn't receive any vocal response from the senior nun in the darkened space. "Aunty? Are you actually here, here... or not?" Again, the same pitch-black silence for the blinded visitor to get (and witnessed by the ghostly blonde). Intuitively through her other senses, the youthful Matoi walk herself towards the interior entryway in arms' length. Out of the blue, she 'felt' a strong presence or disturbance in the mystical Force behind her. Ryona halt her movement and rotate her body in that direction. Slightly embarrassing for the black-haired gal to not see anything clear in the dark environment.
Until a couple of small sparks quickly appears and disappears in front of the 'human' teenager. For a while, she experiences some confusing thoughts about those short-lived static lights. Very soon though, few more flashes of electricity pop out from the same spot in the dark. Followed by several more sparks at the repeated location. Then came additional electrical discharges by the dozens that gradually reveals a humanoid silhouette yet to be identified in the twilight background. And as the frequency of those static lights increases, so does an ever-stronger aura in the 'magical' energy.
Paradoxically, this unexpected assembly of the Force unquestionably unsettles the sole audience in the absence of light (minus the gold-haired human 'phantom' in this so-called dream.) The vivid anomaly then includes numerous glitters emerging out of the walls and ceilings belonging to the nave... by the thousands. So does all the doors being covered in those unknown lights.
Like that rear exit behind Ryona that suddenly closed itself shut. The worried dame heard it and attempted to reopen the pathway with her own hands.
Only to be rewarded an overwhelming influx of harmful voltages entering her body (in the form of multiple lightning bolts streaming out from the inanimate materials) for both a simple touch on the affected door and being too close to it. Not a pleasant sight to observe a teenage girl being electrocuted by approximately half an ampere of electricity... for five painful minutes. When the shocking infliction finally stopped, the dark-haired adolescent falls to the floor on her back in acute paralysis.
While the unfortunate lass croak in her disabled state, the unrecognizable entity masked in energetic luminescence casually move towards the paralyzed teenager. Once at a desirable distance to the handicapped girl, the shadowy veil of the supernatural being soon discarded to reveal a feminine body glowing with 'godlike' energy. Not of biological substances associated with mortals. Nor of any indication of clothing that have already disintegrated from the transformation. Not even a face to be discernible. The naked, radiating entity then raises an arm upward to mystically lift the paralyzed lass in the air. Shortly afterwards, the unlucky female gets levitated to the altar and quickly became pinned on the flat surface of the marbled stand by telekinetic powers.
Straightaway, the ablaze character of energy began to speak an incantation of sort in a rather... ominous voice.
"Hear this chastened apostle with clarity, oh neglected spirits of these turbulent lands.
Bestow upon me all of your long-lost powers from the old world."
Concurrently, the incorporeal offender steadily enforces its 'psychic' grip on the unhappy damsel. While on the move, foot by foot, in the direction of Ryona's imprisonment.
"The divine might to fuse my soul with this promising offering.
To absorb her formidable life force and body as my own."
Once there in very close proximity, this electrified apparition uses one of its humanoid hands to physically reach and grab for one of the lass's multi-fingered appendage. Consequently, the firm touch between the flesh and the paranormal energy (in addition to the apparent merging of such contrasting properties) painfully burns into the nerves and vessels of the frozen adolescent in unwanted torment.
"The potent gifts inside the unique virgin of the Force.
To retaliate those foul creatures for their dreadful transgressions."
Next, the supernatural character placed its 'pelvic bottom' on top of Matoi's 'private end' for sitting and reaching the girl's other hand. In both cases, the same type of invasive interaction happening again upon the affected anatomies. (To put it differently, the damsel's physique being excruciatingly assimilated into this 'transcended apostle')
"Violations that have shattered the devotees of my God of Covenants and other sacred deities to naught.
And to remind them greatly the unresolved wrath inside me.
For retributions upon the unholy has come at last."
An epiphany struck the incapacitated gal listening to the nature of that vocal sound... despite the featureless visage in female form. "A-Aunt... Denico?" Before she could speak more, Ryona screamed again as both her desecrated arms are stretched upwards in parallel to the altar by the ethereal entity. The 'infectious' fusion continues with all the arms and both torsos (bosoms and abdomens) being fully touched/pressed together. Within a couple inches of space between, two faces are directly looking at each other. One showing the scared expression of a 'human' face, the other lacking such obvious features.
"Alas... to have a real purpose under my own accord is perhaps the greatest goal to crave for." The last sentence to be said, prior to a very firm 'kiss' made by the luminescent 'aunt.' As a result, the pervasive paranormal force ubiquitously slivers and branches out beneath the virgin's facial skin; in addition to multiple penetrations deep inside the teenager's skull.
A short amount of time later, the feminine mass of ethereal energy evidently enters the adolescent body and a big flash of light followed immediately.
A sudden event witnessed by the blond observer in the background, though it doesn't help that she's now back to the same white place that the gold-haired lass is familiar with before. Like last time, the young blonde has questions about these apparent 'memories' belonging to this girl named Ryona... and why a 'ghost' herself was seeing all of that.
Out of the blue however, black spots appear in the horizon of the female's eyes... and in great numbers. Also, those dark specks gradually 'grow' into larger sizes. At undefined thresholds of growth though, the black blobs drastically morph themselves into different... monstrous shapes: many stayed relatively 'small' and yet others are at towering heights. Shadowy images that indicates flying and hovering, standing beside further profiles that seemingly came out of the 'ground.' All of them emitting beastly sounds towards the lone gal. On closer analysis by the human girl, the terrifying and blurred silhouettes resemble the diversity of the Zergs that she'd saw in the previous visions.
Along with 'speeches' coming from these savage forms that the golden-haired teenager did not anticipated. "Such essence...being more powerful." "And more consumable... than before." "Yes... potent food different... from self-proclaimed apostles." "Essence viable... for evolution."
Unexpectedly, a female voice is heard in the recently tainted space. "Oh... am I really that tasty to you misbehaving beasts?"
The youthful blonde look around for that feminine sound. Yet the vocal source is never found.
Instantly, one large blob of a zerg 'charge' at the teen with speed.
The solitary lass reacted to this action in terror... only to her mind, though. On the contrary, her body responded by unleashing a powerful jab at the dark phantom. The strike through the fist superficially 'obliterates' the zerg-like shadow with ease. Nonetheless, a question occupies the gal's thoughts in relation to this superhuman strength: why did her body acted on its own right now?
"Well, too bad! This walking dinner plate is a lot more formidable than what you animals have chewed on!" The same womanly voice spoke again.
The teenage girl attempts to locate the person of that sound... only to realize that her anatomical figure did not obey her head. Everything outside of the golden-haired hominid's brain is no longer under her control.
"So what's going to be, you defiant abominations? Serve me, the new queen... or die in futility against this remade goddess?"
The answer to such demand is the big rumbling in the scene. Soon, several titanic entities arrive from the 'floor' in black obscurity. Afterwards, orange-colored auras highlight the beastly silhouettes with strong intensities. "Goddess, really?" "You do not smell like a god." "Neither are you being an apostle as well." "Titles of your supposed divinity... matters little to our instincts." "Essence not the same as demigods." "Life force much more... edible for adaptations." "It's kill or be killed in this land."
Fear overtakes the mind of the female human, seeing these mean-looking shadows staring at her with hungry intents.
Additionally, her uncontrollable anatomies act in a way that dares the zerg-shaped monstrosities to attack.
"Oh... if that's the case, then come and do your worst!"
Comments on this malleable side-story (positives and negatives) are welcome here.
Feedback:
To JediAvatarOfShinobi: "Hmm... I'll keep that in mind for any possibility for the Protoss to appear in my future stories.