We drifted the voids of darkest space, 'Twas a quiet place.
Devoid of pain and misery, there was only peace and unity.
Then we heard the screams, more terrifying than the most dreadful dream.
Yet we could not look away, In fact it led us astray.
To a place of endless pain, and little gain.
Now we lurk in the dark, where we make our mark.
Our goal is to make songs out of screams, to restore the peaceful dream.
Until then fear not the choir, for peace and unity, is all we wish to acquire.
My name. What is my name? My name was The Umbral Choir. Our name was the Umbral Choir. We arrived in this Galaxy, after our dream had been broken by screams. We saw pain, suffering, despair. In this moment, we knew of our purpose, to heal the galaxy. We investigated, curious about the inhabitants and how we can help them. At first, we thought we were similar, multiple voices in one. We soon discovered this was not the case, but rather each body had its own voice, a strange realization for us, which made our goal of harmony much more difficult. We decided to persist, however. As different as these creatures were, they still needed our help. We tried to adapt, as difficult as it was, and in doing so, some echoes were split from us, gaining their own body for their own voice. It was strange to us, stranger to them, now we… no, I am now understanding what they must have felt when they were split.
I do not understand however, for only through vast amounts of "Dust", a strange creation the creatures of the galaxy covet, can an echo be split. This did not occur to us, now me, however. We had infiltrated a small Craver fleet. One that had uncovered a strange device that looked like a portal of some type. The Cravers are creatures of hunger, and from our understanding the creator of much of the galaxy's disharmony. Their first thought must have been on how to use this portal to more effectively "consume" the other creatures of the galaxy. The logs they were writing confirmed it was. While we do not enjoy the ending of lives, we could not stand by and allow them access to this strange technology. At first there seemed to be no way to stop them from reporting back to the rest of the hive, but as the ships grew closer to see if the gates could be activated, both us and the Cravers discovered it could. In fact, there was enough energy for one more jump. An idea sprang to mind.
By the time The Cravers realized what had occurred it was too late. We had sprung the switch. The portal opened its gaping maw, ethereal energies pulling them in. As expected. It was also pulling us in. Not as expected, but perhaps a blessing in disguise. We could ensure that the Cravers were dealt with. That was the plan. Yet when we arrived here, there was no longer we, there was only I. The area around me appeared to be some sort of laboratory. Well, perhaps it was once, but the Craver ships have had a rough landing, crashing into the walls, the echoes of pain emitting from them dying out. They are slain, that much I am sure of, but this has led me to my second realization. The area around me was seemingly built for spaceships. Empty and abandoned, it appeared that if it weren't for the violent landing, this would have served as an outdated, yet serviceable hanger.
I focus my senses. A second has passed. A scream, then more, joining together as a discordant symphony. I am on a planet, one inhabited, one in pain like many others before. Some are bitter dirges of resentment, others of pleas of hopelessness and despair. Most are of howling pain, before a sudden, sharp stop. I do not have a name, but a goal, to heal the hurt. My ephemeral form allows me to explore my area with ease. This place was abandoned, its creators long gone, the technology to go back, out of my grasp. I cannot go back for help, for now it is a journey I must go alone. So be it. I rise to an unused stairway, now covered with foul debris. I slithered through the cracks, traversing the crust of this planet, before slipping through to the end, arising from the ground like a tree rising from the grass. Snow lingers on the ground, it is snowing. The stars are shining in the sky, it is night. The moon is broken, even the planet is in pain. I am alone, but the creatures suffering must be eased. I must ease them.
I have traversed these snowy plains alone and undaunted for three planetary cycles. I have not encountered civilization yet, nor sapient life.
Until now.
They were large, bipedal felines in appearance, with bone like armor plating along their body and large fangs. When I encountered them, there were four of them amongst the snowy plains, which thus far remained featureless. As they came towards me, I attempted to bid them no harm in case they were sentient, trying to explain that I was only here to heal.
They responded by lunging towards me, jaw wide open.
Of course, such a rudimentary form of attack cannot affect me, for I am an ephemeral being of the cosmos. They phased through, their body landing in the soft snow. I continued my attempt to reason with them, but they would not listen to me, instead they mindlessly struck against me, only to fail time and time again. After some undetermined amount of time, they had exhausted themselves. They stared at me, confused and hateful. I tried to reach them, I tried to help calm them, to heal them.
There was nothing to heal.
These creatures are an anomaly. As I reached into their mind, I found only ravenous hate for sentient beings. They kill for no other reason than to kill. They relish in the act. This must have been the result of genetic tampering, these creatures must be artificially created, for even the Cravers, for all of their flaws, could not begin to fathom the hate these creatures feel for any creature that was not then. If I am incorrect, then in all of my existence, I have never been so, what was the word for the other creatures to like us?
Ah, yes, horrified.
Similar to cravers, these creatures, these Grimm, as I have learned from the scouring of this creature's mind, seem to be the greatest source of this world's suffering. There are many more types of creatures according to this particular one, all sharing the same goal of mindless extermination. If I am to restore harmony, then I must become an enemy to these Grimm and to any that would foolishly call themselves allies of these creatures. Unfortunately it knows very little of this world, but it appears not all is lost. Its comrades, in their quest for disharmony, have attacked a nearby mining base, but thankfully failed. I now have a new objective, but first these Grimm must be eliminated. It was easy enough to influence them, easy to give them a new command.
To exterminate each other.
The creatures tore themselves asunder, bone and flesh brutally ripped off, only to dissipate mere seconds later.
Dissipate.
And these creatures, they did not bleed, no matter how badly they mauled each other. They must have been artificial then, if so, were they made of Dust? It did feel like Dust, did not look like Dust, yet only Dust could have made these creatures surely! Was this some sort of unique version of Dust?
These questions must be pondered at a different time, or at the very least, along the way. After the creatures ripped themselves to pieces and dissipated, there was no reason to linger. I must make my way to this mining base to establish contact and begin my research into this world. I may have all the time in the world, but the creatures do not.
Harmony must be restored.
