6 months prior

‘I’m losing consciousness. This isn’t good, where is my body at? Can’t feel it. What about my mind? Still here, I can think. And my soul? It’s being split. I must do something about it. Maybe the Creator can help me…’.

A fraction of a fraction of a moment later

‘I’ve waited enough, no answer. Then I must proceed…to where though? There is still that light I left inside the monster, I can guide my mind and soul into it, my body is lost though, part of my soul as well. Then I should take as many lights as I can. Let’s see, a hundred and twenty five, half should do, the rest will go away, maybe to the Link? I wonder, I never did, but now I do.’.

A fraction of a fraction of a moment later

‘More than half of my soul, my whole mind, the memories carried inside my light and those of my siblings. It’s plenty, but I’m also stuck in this monster’s body, who’s also dying. My siblings managed to injure it beyond salvation, even so, I can conserve what’s vital and keep portions of it alive. I must do so, otherwise there will be nothing to contain my lights, mind and soul.’.

‘What’s this? Its soul is resisting me, it’s trying to get away. That I cannot allow, so let’s see…there, I wrapped its soul with my lights. Every struggle of its soul, will now cause more pain to whatever remains alive of its body. Survival is struggle, and pain teaches you is better not to struggle too much.’

‘Now I must wait until they’re gone up there. I can’t see or hear anything, so it’s best if I rest my mind for a while…’

15 suns later

‘They’re long gone, and I managed to learn much about this creature. The inner workings of its body, how it moves, what it eats and even how it procreates.

But, while I managed to keep enough of it alive to where I can comfortably reside for an even longer period of time, I have a sense of loss from the outside. Assuming it hasn’t moved ever since it was struck down, it’s probably being eaten by something out there. I still have no ways to see or hear, so I must construct those back from within the creature. Let’s see what I can use.

4 suns later

‘I have formed my eyes and ears. It feels odd, being constructed out of pure flesh, imitating the natural design of this beast into something to accommodate me. At the same time though…it feels right. It’s as if the flesh completes me, allows the lights to work in wondrous ways. I wonder if-ah! No, I cannot expel it, not yet. I can at best capture the light from outside through the eyes, the sounds muffled by the water. Although, if I apply some light into my mind to better distinguish the sounds…there! Now I can hear the sounds of the water…dead silence all around.’.

‘Another strange matter is my ability to move these eyes around the corpse of the creature, so I can the ears. Maybe that’s why the flesh suits me so well, I can design it to my own accord and then change it, unlike my old body. Although limitations are in place, like not being able to channel light outside of it, or empower my body like before. So I must find new ways to do so if I am to save my siblings without dying again.’.

‘The waters are dark as far as I can see, but I do notice something. The water above seems to no longer be touched by ice, the daylight protrudes the surface in a different way, so I can barely tell. I wonder, did the weather change up above for this to happen? I should connect my mind to the tissue of this creature, learn about the temperature and such.’.

2 suns later

‘I’m starting to learn more and be able to change this body faster. I can sense the cold water all around, and considering how it felt before when I had a body made of light, I’m confident the weather changed in a drastic way. Everything is warmer, not by a lot, but enough to where I can notice a difference.’.

‘Does that mean these lands were just undergoing a period of cold? And if so, could they have become softer? Less adorned with terrible things to kill us?’.

‘Too many questions that need answering through some way. I should start constructing a body. While I originally wanted one made of light like before, now I’m starting to see some of the benefits of this new one. While it’s true I cannot cast lights and enhance my body, one thing I can do is manipulate the lights through the manner which they permeate the physical boundaries. Meaning, if I find a body of one of my siblings, I can still steal or even manipulate the light inside of them.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

And since I know my siblings like to bury our dead, given the wild animals outside, I may be able to find my way to a lot of them. Perhaps for those which I saved a while back.’.

6 suns later

‘Only a small piece of bone, but that’s enough for now. It’s only a matter of time, then attaching muscle, skin and…let’s see, what should I call these, tendis? That sounds right. The soft matter is easier to visualise and make now that I have eyes and ears, it’s the bones that were causing me trouble. They’re made of a different matter than my old body, so those will have to be made of light. I believe our brother, Affrax, was doing something similar at the Link, making solid light.

If my siblings have decayed by the time I make it out of the creature’s body, I should visit the Link first. Any missing parts can be fixed that way, and there’s a few more siblings I can save before confronting Manna and Kilon. Whether or not Affrax was successful so far, it won’t matter, his knowledge will speed up the process, as even what I’m making now is superficial at best, and may break after the smallest impact.’.

‘Can’t help but laugh at my state. Broken yet hopeful, that I can still return to having a body of my own and save my siblings. I must be truly crazy and relentless to still push so hard for it despite everything…that’s just how much I love them I guess.’.

3 suns later

‘As I figured, once I managed that piece, everything started to fall into place quite easily. Since I don’t have a body that can be strained, and using this creature’s corpse as a conduit, there it is! A fully grown arm. It feels strange, the bones made of light below the flesh parts. Makes me feel weak yet so strong at the same time. I have to wonder if this is how these flesh beings feel when feeding off of our lights.’.

‘Now all I need are organs, which I’ll borrow from the creature. Our anatomy is inherently different, if we talk bodies made of light against those of flesh. But since I’m mostly flesh now, it’s all a matter of reassembling and repurposing them. I must be careful though, there’s the chance that its body will die in my greed, so I have to assemble my own with care, after which my body is formed, I can steal it all.’.

2 suns later

‘I can tell the water is boiling all around the body as I channel dozens of lights into making my body. It matters not though, plenty of water to spare, keeping the corpse from burning. And now-’.

Spreading the innards of the monster open, with one arm still attached to it, but with tendrils and tendons extending, Orvus was making his way out of the creature, swimming for the surface. Alien to the movements of the flesh parts, it took him a bit. But without a need for breathing, still hooked to the monster, Orvus managed to break for the surface, grasping at the cold ground before him in the dawn of night.

‘Ahaha! Creator!! Blessed be your creations, for such wonders it allowed me to perform!’. Orvus still didn’t have a mouth or vocal chords, prioritising what was essential above all else. ‘Ahh, look at it! Beautiful!’. Only able to channel some light through the eyes, producing the least amount of light from within, he could observe his body better. Muscular, vascular and neither Lightborn nor a flesh being, but both, a rebirth occurred, that of a monster like no other.

‘Now-’ “Where are my siblings,” Orvus completed his body on the surface in a few fleeting moments, no longer bound by the fear of the monster dying, crushing its soul after serving him so well and funnelling all that he needed through the arm still stretched, “I’m still one wopede or shadow lurker attack from dying.”.

Orvus took a breath in, the first time he actually needed one. The smells in the air and the cold harshness of it gave him a plethora of new sensations. ‘Maybe if some of my siblings don’t oppose me, I should show them the wonders of the flesh. Even though some parts do gross me out, maybe they’ll find them appealing…perhaps not though. Don’t want them to grow enamoured with life, I must show them what true salvation looks like.’.

Orvus didn’t have much time to stand around. Naked as he was, he had to control the lights with much accuracy in order to heat up his body so he wouldn’t freeze, but also not to overwhelm his organs, as it all started from inside out. He also could hear through his overdeveloped ears distant footsteps and the noises of movement. ‘Shadow lurkers,’ he could tell with great accuracy. In order to not grow deaf due to his hearing, Orvus developed pieces of muscular skin with which to cover his ears, moving with the winds when let be, and covering his entire ear when needed. It gave him an alien look from his siblings, more so than his fleshy appearance already did.

His arms and legs meanwhile, were made more muscular and shorter, even though he was still nine metres tall. His thicker, more muscular body ensured his bones wouldn’t break as easily, even though exercising too much force with them could result in him breaking his own bones.

“Time to hunt then,” pulling his stretched arm from deep below the water, a spear made of the monster’s spikes arose. Connected by flesh and pulsating veins, it became a part of Orvus much like his arms were. The largest spike served as the blade, while the smaller ones ensured replacements in case of anything.

Heading towards the gargantuan forest, Orvus thought ‘My awakening comes with the cries of flesh, and the rise of the dead.’.