Jôm is floating in a viscous liquid
It feels gross, but also comforts him
It was warm, body temperature.
This soft heat, the slow beat of his heart made him feel back in his mom's womb, like being dipped in a hot bath; like drifting in the sea and feeling the slow pulse of the tides.
Soothing,
Relaxing...
Calming him down.
He thought back to the house when he was told to enter this place with his team, and the teams that followed during the expedition.
Awful luck...
When the dungeon was found
It was clear from the beginning that it would be dangerous, and that it would not be simple.
A trial
A chance to become chosen!
With rewards precious beyond the life of any mortals!
A feverish greed took control of us
We poured in like vermin
That's how we entered this place
Acceptance
I am calm
But I know, this is but a mere respite
I feel aware
Something was happening to me.
Splurt
The cocoon burst open
The illusion is broken,
Again, the disease spread.
***
Jôm fell to the ground, his body felt lethargic, and Gooey.
Suddenly he hears a voice
" Ah, you're finally awake."
It was a shrilled voice, it appeared almost far away from Jôm's tired mind. As if he had been trying to wake up from a deep sleep.
A few instant passed and the voice talked again.
"Upsy maggot, there is no time to waste..."
Ego cast: telekinetic blast
Jôm feels his body getting hurled into the air before impacting a hard surface.
"...And I hate those that waste my time, the most."
Cackled the voice.
Jöm's body slowly fell back from the ceiling, his inert body made a resounding thud upon hitting the ground.
Jöm has taken non-lethal damage
"Feeling awake ?"
Jôm felt a good deal of pain and looked up at the voice.
Nothing...
"Down here ~~"
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Jôm looks down, he sees a sort of insect-like creature, it stands up on a dozen stick-like feet.
Far smaller than him
A robe covered its body, made from a silky material. It was covered in carved bones arranged into trinkets that dangled on its body.
It was covered in dark chitinous skin, and with its many hands, which were busy holding small amber-colored bugs.
A mask of bone material covered its face, multiple compound eyes shined with a dull yellow light. Only his mouth was exposed, behind a pair of mandibles laid white human-like teeth.
"Ya-ho!"
The insectoid sorcerer spoke, swaying one of his busy hands in a friendly way. Its eyes were like dirty gold.
Jôm looks upon the thing, he attempts to speak but all that comes out of his mouth is a spew of hot organic slop on the floor.
Ego cast: spacial distortion
The insect suddenly shifted location a few meters.
It then threw all the remaining bugs in its mouth, chewing through everything in a few bites.
This gave the time Jôm needed to stop coughing and try articulating words
" What is your origin, what is this place ?"
But his voice still didn't articulate his thoughts.
What came out was a long gurgling, rasping sound that broke past his mouth hole.
The minuscule sorcerer having finished, opened and clicked his mandibles once.
"Questions ?"
Click
"You already know half of the important stuff, you are in my home, searching for you know what."
The sorcerer seemed to be reading his thoughts.
Ego shuffled around his robe and got a small black rod thing from his pockets.
The rod seemed to wriggle around, in fact, it was not a rod at all!
Ego use Mould
The humanoid creature in Ego's hand let a minuscule scream before being reshaped.
KYeeeek...
it became a much, much larger, hairless block-like entity, its mouth became a thin line on its side and its eyes were misplaced on the front, its nose and ears seemed to have almost disappeared.
Its breathing is rough, but almost muted
Huuur....Huuuur...
The eyes are shifting around.
The skin on its front face kept on changing colors and texture, it formed some map in front of him
The sorcerer places himself in front of the map-block-creature and points theatrically to himself.
"You can call me Ego, master of this domain. A so-called God for you mortals"
He takes a step and points to Jôm
"You are a delver that 'I' decided to spare.
You have graduated from seedbed/foodstuff to 'slave'
You have been CHOSEN, congratulations !"
Ego clapped enthusiastically...
While it was busy with theatrics Jôm looked around, they had changed location to a shining metallic room, the walls were veiny and seemed to pulsate with each moment.
" You now stand above all other interlopers within this realm..."
Ego put one six-digit hand in front of him
" All but six others... See all seven of you have a little something in common right now."
As Jôm body had awakened from its lethargy, he realized his body had been entirely modified
He inspects his new body.
Jôm Race: abominable Insectoid larva Status: { newborn, regeneration.}
He felt alien in his altered body, his legs had merged with his torso and became a bulbous white body that extended longer than three meters. He felt small digits on his underbelly, which pushed forward his large frame.
He moved around a little, handling some limbs he was completely unfamiliar with.
Ego cast blood mirror
A red drop emerges from Ego and ripples into a red flat surface. Jôm for the first time sees clearly what has he become.
His body was the terrific mashup between a man and a larva.
His original face was half melded into the upper part of the larva head, his two eyes could move saw the world and he now possessed a set of antennae as well. Below his face was a set of mandibles and a wide jaw filled with numerous human teeth. He gained new arms on each of his sides, Each having only three digits, his nails had become a hard chitinous-like substance that covered much of his new limbs.
His whole body was now arranged in rings of sickly pale flesh.
From head to toes
Jôm was now no longer a man, he had become a beast, his flesh that a monstrous worm. The worst thing is that he already hurled whatever was inside his stomach.
Still, his body seemed to work as much as he felt it had become an abomination beyond nature, all the parts fonctionned faultlessly together as if a divine hand sculpted the abomination. He felt no discomfort other than spiritual.
Jôm expressed again, his body shaking.
" You wish of me to become your pawn ?"
Ego cackled
" You are my pawn already, what I would like is an opportune meaning or at least an intriguing result."
Ego reached for the cubic map entity and prickled it in the eye. the thing moaned and started to deflate on itself until it was as big as a Rubik's cube.
"This map-man shows you, your location, and the direction of the others.
You will hunt the others, they're in a similar position."
" What is your objective ?"
Ego throws its head upward and puts all his hands on his thorax.
"I am, a grand innovator of LIFE."
My goal is to make the things that can advance LIFE.
In other words, once you prove your value a bit more, YOU will be considered an innovation.
THEN, and only then, we will speak more profoundly of your situation.
Now out."
Ego cast: telekinetic blast
Jôm gets launched in the blood mirror at full speed.