It's just a fan theory, it's never actually stated who Doombreed is.
Shroud (Grey Goo game Shroud SI / Warhammer 40k)
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
It's not a fan theory so much as extremely heavily implied; a human warlord on Old Earth during the 1st or 2nd millennium who carried out a campaign of wanton slaughter and genocide, noted for destroying entire cities. This alone limits his possible identity to only a handful of historical figures, but the big clue to him being Genghis Khan is that he is frequently depicted with a Mongol mustache and a Mongol hat (which are of course on fire), and he is known to wield three weapons: An axe (because Khorne), a rod (aka a scepter, one of the traditional regalias of leadership since Ancient Egypt) and a bow, which is almost unique amongst Warp entities.
That said, another likely candidate for Doombreed's identity is Yellow Tiger Zhang Xianzhong, writer of the Seven Kill Stele, who also potentially fits the description of Doombreed and who would get along well with Khorne for obvious reasons.
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- Location
- kentucky
geth me thinks and depends what verse ya put the SI or oc or just geth in
That's it though.
The rest is largely conjecture.
He has no bow, his appearance is rather generic according to the new lore.
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
Yeah, his new appearance post disappearance\return is generic Bloodthirster, but his old appearance was mongol mustache and hat, and of course as a Daemon he can appear however he likes.
It is possible that the Genghis Khan implication was just retconned, especially since in his new appearance he seems to have lost his bow for some reason. And he's not even on fire anymore, which is just sad.
It is possible that the Genghis Khan implication was just retconned, especially since in his new appearance he seems to have lost his bow for some reason. And he's not even on fire anymore, which is just sad.
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taovkool
Forever Gone
- Location
- The Library, Department of General Works
Hang on a second.
"from so many other of my bodies"?
...The girl's the only normal human in that "settlement", isn't she?
Guardsman_Sparky
The Clueless Wonder
- Location
- Virginia
I've always had the headcanon that everything in 40K is canon regardless of retcons thanks to warp shenanigans. Basically, every retcon in 40K is because some poor shlub went into the warp and got spit out somewhen in the past.
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
Given the way the Warp has been stated to work and that 40k canon is explicitly mutable due to largely taking the form of in-universe documents that can and often are biased or wrong, that is not entirely headcanon.
Ex: Due to being disconnected from normal linear time, Slaaneshi daemons took part during the War In Heaven, despite Slaanesh not actually existing yet. Because of the atemporal nature of the Warp, once the Aeldari created Slaanesh, reality was literally retconned so that Slaanesh had retroactively always existed and always would exist, even though it still has a specific birth date.
No this doesn't make sense. The Warp rarely does.
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We Just Write
Blatantly Plural
- Location
- New England
- Pronouns
- Plural
And yet, the Administratum remains unchanged through all of this.
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
Death and Taxes, these things are eternal, immutable and inevitable.
1.6
Drich
Von Neumann Writing Machine
1.6
+++
I'll admit, I never did get tired of that little spark of wonder that appeared in the eyes of those who saw Sanctuary for the first time. It was rare enough, these days, after so many years on this world, with the number of still-sane outsiders dropping ever lower.
Juliana stared with wide eyes, at everything in her surroundings. I'd wager she'd never seen anything like it.
On this world, there wasn't anything like it.
Sanctuary was a little spot of heaven. A massive underground complex, filled to the brim with beautiful, futuristic white, silver, and dark grey architecture. Light came from a series of massive bars at the top, glowing with gentle power. It was cleaner and clearer than the light of the outside, nourishing instead of sickening. Spots of green were integrated with the white, silver, and dark grey, parks and gardens that meshed with the architecture to enhance it, give a little bit more nature.
And of course, the people.
There were so many people down here. Thirty five million, the last time I checked. All... existing together, creating a hustle and bustle of life, easily visible all over. People walking together, talking together, fit and healthy, families with children and friends with friends. People living and enjoying life. The life-lights shone bright with joy, here.
I'd be surprised if Juliana had ever seen more than a few hundred people in her entire life. She looked around, all over the place, as we walked. One of her hands was gripped tightly around my pincer, one of the few signs of her nervousness around so many people.
Here, my presence stuck out. My bodies rarely entered Sanctuary proper, after all. People were glancing at me, children in the parks gathered at fences while they stared openly. I was used to the attention. Pretty much everybody here owed me their lives either directly or indirectly, after all.
None tried to stop us, though. Adrien lead us away from the main court, passing down a thinner side street. Tucked away in a nice little corner was a door, which he pushed open.
The door was fairly tall, but I did have to step sideways through it to fit.
The inside of the building was that of a restaurant. The style was quite a bit older, though, with nice wooden floors and solid, well-built chairs with cushioning.
Real wood, too. Nice. Didn't see this kind of aesthetic often.
Which made it contrast even more with the one who was inside.
They were immediately and obviously not Human. The body was a series of smooth white plates and parts, interlocking and connecting together to form the rough shape of a man. The body was mostly hollow, but the plates didn't hide the life-light within. The face was the exception to the colour scheme, with a black, shaped piece formed up of hexagons, a network of lights shining within them.
The head tipped upwards, the lights concentrating to give an impression of eyes focusing. That, however, was for the benefit of the two Humans present, not something true.
"You bring in the strangest of guests." The voice was smooth, calm and cultured. And despite the fact that its owner was mechanical, there was precious little indication of such a fact.
Juliana stared at it with open confusion, but Adrien just laughed. "Turing, you almost sound unhappy to see me."
"This is a restaurant, Adrien. It is not the registry area for new citizens, nor the manufacturing district." Turing replied. "Given your position, one might be excused for thinking you would have an idea of proper procedure."
Adrien shrugged, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "If I went through all of that, she'd starve, so I'd figure I'd get some actual food, first. Just a snack for me, though."
Turing released a sigh, but nevertheless complies, grabbing a series of knives, forks, and spoons. He handed all of them to Adrien. "The usual, then?"
Adrien nodded. "Some soup for her, too. Smaller portions, so her stomach can handle it. She needs to rebuild her mass."
"Shall I also go fetch a Vortex Device for your Shroud companion?" Turing manages to sound sarcastic.
"Oh, that one isn't here for food."
I mean, I wouldn't say no to it...
But, yeah, it's true.
Turing pauses, looking back at Juliana. "Of course. Your food will be ready shortly. Your table, as always, is ready for you." And with, he turns around, heading into another room. In the brief moment the door is open, I can see a clean and sterile kitchen.
Adrien heads off to the corner, where a fairly wide table awaits him. There is, at the moment, nobody else in the restaurant.
He takes a seat, and Juliana follows shortly after. I, meanwhile, just stand to her side.
The silence hangs for a few moments, before Juliana breaks it.
"Was..." Her voice trails off, and she clears her throat. "Was that... a Man of Iron?"
Adrien blinks. "Man of- Oh, no- no no no. Not Iron, dear. Turing back there is a Valiant-class Man of Stone." He stresses the word. "But, I'm surprised you've heard of such a thing."
From the kitchen, I can taste a sudden spike in heat.
Juliana shrugs, before looking away. "Grandpa... used to tell stories about life before the Collapse." There's a note of pain in her voice. A bit of hurt, in the soul.
"Ah." Adrien nods, slowly. "Yes, that would do it." He leans in, and with the air of someone telling a secret, speaks. "Turing is really old. He's been around for three thousand years."
Her eyes go wide.
"It's true." He nods, seeing the look, before leaning back. "The funny part is, he's not even the oldest one around. Ol' Singleton was one of the first generation of Valiants, and that guy is somewhere around ten thousand."
Her jaw drops.
He laughs.
Turing chooses that exact moment to emerge from the kitchen, balancing a plate, a bowl, and a glass of water on one arm. The plate has a relatively normal sandwich, but the bowl has a thick, orange broth full of meat and vegetables, steaming softly and well cooked despite the fact that it couldn't have been more than a minute since Turing had gone in.
Hmm. And it's well heated all the way through, consistent. That heat spike, from before... Probably a thermal ray, tuned low, then.
I suppose that a Man of Stone would have the precision that one would need to cook using a thermal ray.
...
If, indeed, he'd cooked, and not just had it nanoformed from feedstock.
Didn't matter in the end, I suppose.
One sniff of the food, and Juliana's attention is immediately captured. She picks up a spoon, dips it in, sips at it, and then promptly starts eating with great fervour.
Adrien smiles, before taking a bite of his own sandwich.
Several minutes pass in silence. Adrien eats slowly, content to enjoy the meal. Juliana, despite the much larger portion, still finished up around about the same time as he does. She licks her lips, looking up. Her face is a bit messy, so I grab a napkin and hand it to her.
As she cleans herself up, she looks back at Adrien. Her eyes dip to his chest, briefly focusing on the light. Again, a hint of confusion.
She opens her mouth, closes it, considering what to say. She spends a few moments thinking about it, and then clearly comes up with the only appropriate words. "Why are you wearing a glowstick?"
+++
I'll admit, I never did get tired of that little spark of wonder that appeared in the eyes of those who saw Sanctuary for the first time. It was rare enough, these days, after so many years on this world, with the number of still-sane outsiders dropping ever lower.
Juliana stared with wide eyes, at everything in her surroundings. I'd wager she'd never seen anything like it.
On this world, there wasn't anything like it.
Sanctuary was a little spot of heaven. A massive underground complex, filled to the brim with beautiful, futuristic white, silver, and dark grey architecture. Light came from a series of massive bars at the top, glowing with gentle power. It was cleaner and clearer than the light of the outside, nourishing instead of sickening. Spots of green were integrated with the white, silver, and dark grey, parks and gardens that meshed with the architecture to enhance it, give a little bit more nature.
And of course, the people.
There were so many people down here. Thirty five million, the last time I checked. All... existing together, creating a hustle and bustle of life, easily visible all over. People walking together, talking together, fit and healthy, families with children and friends with friends. People living and enjoying life. The life-lights shone bright with joy, here.
I'd be surprised if Juliana had ever seen more than a few hundred people in her entire life. She looked around, all over the place, as we walked. One of her hands was gripped tightly around my pincer, one of the few signs of her nervousness around so many people.
Here, my presence stuck out. My bodies rarely entered Sanctuary proper, after all. People were glancing at me, children in the parks gathered at fences while they stared openly. I was used to the attention. Pretty much everybody here owed me their lives either directly or indirectly, after all.
None tried to stop us, though. Adrien lead us away from the main court, passing down a thinner side street. Tucked away in a nice little corner was a door, which he pushed open.
The door was fairly tall, but I did have to step sideways through it to fit.
The inside of the building was that of a restaurant. The style was quite a bit older, though, with nice wooden floors and solid, well-built chairs with cushioning.
Real wood, too. Nice. Didn't see this kind of aesthetic often.
Which made it contrast even more with the one who was inside.
They were immediately and obviously not Human. The body was a series of smooth white plates and parts, interlocking and connecting together to form the rough shape of a man. The body was mostly hollow, but the plates didn't hide the life-light within. The face was the exception to the colour scheme, with a black, shaped piece formed up of hexagons, a network of lights shining within them.
The head tipped upwards, the lights concentrating to give an impression of eyes focusing. That, however, was for the benefit of the two Humans present, not something true.
"You bring in the strangest of guests." The voice was smooth, calm and cultured. And despite the fact that its owner was mechanical, there was precious little indication of such a fact.
Juliana stared at it with open confusion, but Adrien just laughed. "Turing, you almost sound unhappy to see me."
"This is a restaurant, Adrien. It is not the registry area for new citizens, nor the manufacturing district." Turing replied. "Given your position, one might be excused for thinking you would have an idea of proper procedure."
Adrien shrugged, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "If I went through all of that, she'd starve, so I'd figure I'd get some actual food, first. Just a snack for me, though."
Turing released a sigh, but nevertheless complies, grabbing a series of knives, forks, and spoons. He handed all of them to Adrien. "The usual, then?"
Adrien nodded. "Some soup for her, too. Smaller portions, so her stomach can handle it. She needs to rebuild her mass."
"Shall I also go fetch a Vortex Device for your Shroud companion?" Turing manages to sound sarcastic.
"Oh, that one isn't here for food."
I mean, I wouldn't say no to it...
But, yeah, it's true.
Turing pauses, looking back at Juliana. "Of course. Your food will be ready shortly. Your table, as always, is ready for you." And with, he turns around, heading into another room. In the brief moment the door is open, I can see a clean and sterile kitchen.
Adrien heads off to the corner, where a fairly wide table awaits him. There is, at the moment, nobody else in the restaurant.
He takes a seat, and Juliana follows shortly after. I, meanwhile, just stand to her side.
The silence hangs for a few moments, before Juliana breaks it.
"Was..." Her voice trails off, and she clears her throat. "Was that... a Man of Iron?"
Adrien blinks. "Man of- Oh, no- no no no. Not Iron, dear. Turing back there is a Valiant-class Man of Stone." He stresses the word. "But, I'm surprised you've heard of such a thing."
From the kitchen, I can taste a sudden spike in heat.
Juliana shrugs, before looking away. "Grandpa... used to tell stories about life before the Collapse." There's a note of pain in her voice. A bit of hurt, in the soul.
"Ah." Adrien nods, slowly. "Yes, that would do it." He leans in, and with the air of someone telling a secret, speaks. "Turing is really old. He's been around for three thousand years."
Her eyes go wide.
"It's true." He nods, seeing the look, before leaning back. "The funny part is, he's not even the oldest one around. Ol' Singleton was one of the first generation of Valiants, and that guy is somewhere around ten thousand."
Her jaw drops.
He laughs.
Turing chooses that exact moment to emerge from the kitchen, balancing a plate, a bowl, and a glass of water on one arm. The plate has a relatively normal sandwich, but the bowl has a thick, orange broth full of meat and vegetables, steaming softly and well cooked despite the fact that it couldn't have been more than a minute since Turing had gone in.
Hmm. And it's well heated all the way through, consistent. That heat spike, from before... Probably a thermal ray, tuned low, then.
I suppose that a Man of Stone would have the precision that one would need to cook using a thermal ray.
...
If, indeed, he'd cooked, and not just had it nanoformed from feedstock.
Didn't matter in the end, I suppose.
One sniff of the food, and Juliana's attention is immediately captured. She picks up a spoon, dips it in, sips at it, and then promptly starts eating with great fervour.
Adrien smiles, before taking a bite of his own sandwich.
Several minutes pass in silence. Adrien eats slowly, content to enjoy the meal. Juliana, despite the much larger portion, still finished up around about the same time as he does. She licks her lips, looking up. Her face is a bit messy, so I grab a napkin and hand it to her.
As she cleans herself up, she looks back at Adrien. Her eyes dip to his chest, briefly focusing on the light. Again, a hint of confusion.
She opens her mouth, closes it, considering what to say. She spends a few moments thinking about it, and then clearly comes up with the only appropriate words. "Why are you wearing a glowstick?"
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TheLurker
Random Omnipotent Lazy-As-Fuck Being
- Location
- The space beyond the stars
enh it fits as well with pre-collapse humanity as anything else really.
- Location
- Russia
Fun fact: apparently "Men of Stone" are an actual thing that exists in W40k, not just Drich's invention.
- Location
- Dual citizen of SV&SB
@DestinyPlayer , there are also men of gold in 40k, though canon is less clear on them.
- Location
- Toronto, Ontario(occasionally)
So, the naming scheme implies that the crossover part of this crossover happened before the Named Valiants were created. Around 10000 years ago?
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
Canon is unclear on both the Men of Gold and Men of Stone, and the only reason we know what the Men of Iron were is thanks to a corrupted STC building them being found at one point, and then UR-025 showing up in Blackstone Fortress and being confirmed as a genuine Man of Iron who has been masquerading as an autonomous agent of the Omnissiah operating on the behalf of one Magos-Ethericus Nanctos III, aka MEN III, as the Men of Iron were the third of the 'Created Men' to be built. I think they also show up in full force in a Horus Heresy audio drama due to Warp shenanigans, which is where we learn about things like the 'Sun Snuffers' that did exactly what it says on the tin and the 'Mechnivores' that consumed the raw data of space\time itself.
However. Laurie Golding, a former Black Library editor of some renown who was not hated (but not really liked either) by most of the community made a post on his own personal interwebs forum back in 2016 where he claimed that Alan Merrett, a long term GW employee and Black Library author, has in fact defined the Men of Gold and Stone. The Men of Gold were supposedly a genetically engineered master race that engaged in selective breeding, hence 'gold' as in 'better than you'. The stone in Men of Stone refers to silicon; as in they were artificially created organic intelligences, like the organic Cylons in BSG, using silicon based biochemistry.
Now, whether this is true or not is anyone's guess, and with 40k lore being what it is even if it is true there is every possibility it could get retconned by the time any actual official publications using the Men of Gold and\or Stone show up, if they ever do. So beyond the Men of Gold and Men of Stone being Things Wot Existed and that the Men of Gold created the Men of Stone, who created the Men of Iron, that were intelligent machines who paved the way for humanity to conquer the stars and then went apeshit and turned on their former masters\allies\creators and brought humanity to its knees, everything else is up in the air.
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1.7
Drich
Von Neumann Writing Machine
1.7
+++
He coughs, laughing. It takes him a moment to calm down. "This light isn't a glowstick, Juliana."
Her head tilts to the side, clearly waiting for him to continue.
"It's an indicator, see." He says, undoing a few buttons on his coat. He pulls it open, revealing a small part of his chest.
And, more importantly, the light emanating from a small point of it. It's a soft blue, and as Juliana turns, she realizes that it's exactly the same colour as the light that radiates from my Clasher-self.
He's already buttoning his coat back up by the time she turns back. "It's a sign of a bond."
"Bond?"
He nods. "How much do you know about the Empyrean?"
"It's evil." She says, immediately. "Makes people go crazy. Spits Daemons at us."
He nods. "Yeah, that's pretty accurate. Pretty basic, though." He grabs a napkin, ripping it in half. One is folded neatly into a small square, while the other is haphazardly scrunched into a ball. "Alright, let's give an actual explanation. This our universe." He holds up the square. "And this is the Empyrean." He holds up the ball. "Our universe is a place of logic, scientific rules. The Empyrean is a place of emotion, energy, utter chaos. Our universe is nice and ordered, and the Empyrean is just a huge mess. However, the Empyrean and everything that comes from it is basically made out of energy, and the Shroud?" He straightens up. "They eat energy."
She looks at me.
"And let me tell you, they love the taste of the Empyrean." He continues. "Nothing gets their attention quicker than the Empyrean and the things that come from it. If they could, they'd be eating it constantly, but the Empyrean doesn't react well to them, so they can't." He puts the ball down. "Not directly, anyway. Now, you're aware that Daemons like to come out of their little hell and eat us, and I just told you that the Shroud likes to eat them, but what you probably don't know is that the reason Daemons like to eat us is because Humans have a connection to the Empyrean."
She rears back, seeming horrified by the concept.
"Well, it's not unique to Humans. All life in our universe has a connection to the Empyrean, with a few exceptions." He grabs a knife, spearing the small square, before also spearing the ball.
"Can we get rid of it?" She leans forwards.
"No." Adrien says, flatly. "This connection exists within the soul, and is very difficult to break. Even if it is broken, it does nothing good. The lucky ones die outright." He puts the knife down. "The connection makes life vulnerable to things in the Empyrean, but the thing is, it's a two-way connection. And in this case, it's one that the Shroud can exploit. By using us as a conduit, they can pull in energy from the Empyrean, more or less forever."
"Infinite food..."
"Yep." He nods. "Because of that, they protect us, shelter us, help us survive, and keep us safe from the Empyrean."
She nods, slowly. "Then, that light is them using you?"
He waves a hand. "Sort of. See, in order to actually use us as conduits, the Shroud has to implant us with a bit of itself."
She looks at him askance. "That doesn't sound good."
"Not when it's put like that, no." He acknowledges. "It's not what you're imaging; not a physical implantation. The Shroud is energy, and the thing it implants is also energy; immaterial and non-physical. It's a bit of Shroudlife, but nothing that will hurt you."
She takes a drink. "Still doesn't sound nice."
"And if I told you it made you immune to madness?" Adrien asked, getting her attention. "That it strengthens the body, heals wounds, even lets a person go without needing food or drink?"
She stares at him. "I'd say you were telling stories."
He shrugs, grabbing the knife. He flicks the napkins off of it, before reversing his grip.
Juliana just about jumps out of her skin when he promptly stabs his own hand, only for the knife to scrape off with a metallic shriek.
He holds out his hand, showing it to her. Unharmed, blue light crawling over the skin before fading.
"Okay." She sits back, releasing a loud breath. "It sounds better, now."
He smirks. "Told ya." He puts the knife down again. "These particular Shroud Lifeforms are called 'Symbionts'. It happens in stages, see. First, the Symbiont is implanted, and it grows within the soul of the host. As it grows, the host becomes stronger, tougher, heals faster, needs less and less food and drink. Eventually, they hit the next stage, where the host stops needing to eat, sleep, or drink at all, which is when the Symbiont is matured, and can start doing other things."
She looks intrigued, so he holds his arms out, palms up.
Flecks of light begin to gather, before becoming solid, materializing slowly in a way that was more for presentation than anything else. First came the hands, Human save for the scalpel claws they ended in, before the rest of the arms started to appear afterwards. When it hit the shoulders, it started spreading more rapidly, two waves of light rippling together to form the chest and head, and then down to form the lower body. The chest was wide, covered in crystalline plating resembling armour. The arms were much the same, as well as the head. For the lower body, it didn't have legs, only a long tapering point coming down from the waist. Much like Adrien himself, there was a pair of red crosses at the wrists.
She looks up, in awe. She finds her voice after a moment. "Okay. It sounds a lot better, now."
He nods, agreeing. His Symbiont shifts, moving around the table. It offers her its hand.
With a little bit of hesitation, she takes it, grabbing it with both her own. She explores it, pressing down against it, feeling the smooth texture.
"That's cool."
"There's actually three stages to the process..." He says, slowly. "Stage three is the last. But, that takes at least years to get to." He leans back, and the Symbiont gently tugs its hand out of hers. "There's a reason I'm telling all this to you now, though."
She looks at him, head tilting to the side, before her eyes widen. "Wait, you mean-"
"Yeah." Adrien nodded. "You've also got one, kid." His eyes flicker with life light, as he looks her up and down. "You haven't had it long; less than a day, but you've definitely got it. The Shroud probably gave it to you when they rescued you."
Her face goes through a variety of interesting expressions, before settling on something like acceptance. "They... There was... one of them poked me for a while, and light went from them to me."
"That was it." Adrien said. "Doesn't take too long to happen. Still, to do it there and then... Did you, by chance-"
"Please refrain from materializing inside of the restaurant." Turing speaks, coming out of the kitchen. "As you have been told. Several times."
Adrien gives an embarrassed laugh, but his Symbiont vanishes a moment later, disintegrating into motes of life light. "Sorry, just showing the kid."
"I would believe that, if I was not aware of the fact that you're trying to delay going to registration for as long as possible." Turing returns. "Every moment you wait is just going to make it worse, you know."
He sighs. "Yeah, but... that doesn't make me want to go."
"How unfortunate for you." Turing didn't sound particularly empathic. He turned to Juliana, offering her a small, metal chip. She took it, looking at it. "Do return whenever you wish."
"Thank you?" She nodded, still looking at the chip.
"Hey, you never say that to me." Adrien said.
"No, I don't." Turing said, turning back to him.
"That's cold, man." Adrien put his hand over his chest. "Stone cold."
Turing released a long, exaggerated sigh, and walked away without another word.
Adrien smirked, before getting serious. "Alright. To registration."
"You don't sound like you want to."
"That's because we're going to spend an hour walking back and forth talking to people to do something that should really only take three minutes." He complained. "I swear, we really need to look at that process again. It's utterly ridiculous."
"Uh..."
"Don't worry 'bout it. It's just time consuming, not actually difficult." He stood up. "Let's go get this over with."
+++
He coughs, laughing. It takes him a moment to calm down. "This light isn't a glowstick, Juliana."
Her head tilts to the side, clearly waiting for him to continue.
"It's an indicator, see." He says, undoing a few buttons on his coat. He pulls it open, revealing a small part of his chest.
And, more importantly, the light emanating from a small point of it. It's a soft blue, and as Juliana turns, she realizes that it's exactly the same colour as the light that radiates from my Clasher-self.
He's already buttoning his coat back up by the time she turns back. "It's a sign of a bond."
"Bond?"
He nods. "How much do you know about the Empyrean?"
"It's evil." She says, immediately. "Makes people go crazy. Spits Daemons at us."
He nods. "Yeah, that's pretty accurate. Pretty basic, though." He grabs a napkin, ripping it in half. One is folded neatly into a small square, while the other is haphazardly scrunched into a ball. "Alright, let's give an actual explanation. This our universe." He holds up the square. "And this is the Empyrean." He holds up the ball. "Our universe is a place of logic, scientific rules. The Empyrean is a place of emotion, energy, utter chaos. Our universe is nice and ordered, and the Empyrean is just a huge mess. However, the Empyrean and everything that comes from it is basically made out of energy, and the Shroud?" He straightens up. "They eat energy."
She looks at me.
"And let me tell you, they love the taste of the Empyrean." He continues. "Nothing gets their attention quicker than the Empyrean and the things that come from it. If they could, they'd be eating it constantly, but the Empyrean doesn't react well to them, so they can't." He puts the ball down. "Not directly, anyway. Now, you're aware that Daemons like to come out of their little hell and eat us, and I just told you that the Shroud likes to eat them, but what you probably don't know is that the reason Daemons like to eat us is because Humans have a connection to the Empyrean."
She rears back, seeming horrified by the concept.
"Well, it's not unique to Humans. All life in our universe has a connection to the Empyrean, with a few exceptions." He grabs a knife, spearing the small square, before also spearing the ball.
"Can we get rid of it?" She leans forwards.
"No." Adrien says, flatly. "This connection exists within the soul, and is very difficult to break. Even if it is broken, it does nothing good. The lucky ones die outright." He puts the knife down. "The connection makes life vulnerable to things in the Empyrean, but the thing is, it's a two-way connection. And in this case, it's one that the Shroud can exploit. By using us as a conduit, they can pull in energy from the Empyrean, more or less forever."
"Infinite food..."
"Yep." He nods. "Because of that, they protect us, shelter us, help us survive, and keep us safe from the Empyrean."
She nods, slowly. "Then, that light is them using you?"
He waves a hand. "Sort of. See, in order to actually use us as conduits, the Shroud has to implant us with a bit of itself."
She looks at him askance. "That doesn't sound good."
"Not when it's put like that, no." He acknowledges. "It's not what you're imaging; not a physical implantation. The Shroud is energy, and the thing it implants is also energy; immaterial and non-physical. It's a bit of Shroudlife, but nothing that will hurt you."
She takes a drink. "Still doesn't sound nice."
"And if I told you it made you immune to madness?" Adrien asked, getting her attention. "That it strengthens the body, heals wounds, even lets a person go without needing food or drink?"
She stares at him. "I'd say you were telling stories."
He shrugs, grabbing the knife. He flicks the napkins off of it, before reversing his grip.
Juliana just about jumps out of her skin when he promptly stabs his own hand, only for the knife to scrape off with a metallic shriek.
He holds out his hand, showing it to her. Unharmed, blue light crawling over the skin before fading.
"Okay." She sits back, releasing a loud breath. "It sounds better, now."
He smirks. "Told ya." He puts the knife down again. "These particular Shroud Lifeforms are called 'Symbionts'. It happens in stages, see. First, the Symbiont is implanted, and it grows within the soul of the host. As it grows, the host becomes stronger, tougher, heals faster, needs less and less food and drink. Eventually, they hit the next stage, where the host stops needing to eat, sleep, or drink at all, which is when the Symbiont is matured, and can start doing other things."
She looks intrigued, so he holds his arms out, palms up.
Flecks of light begin to gather, before becoming solid, materializing slowly in a way that was more for presentation than anything else. First came the hands, Human save for the scalpel claws they ended in, before the rest of the arms started to appear afterwards. When it hit the shoulders, it started spreading more rapidly, two waves of light rippling together to form the chest and head, and then down to form the lower body. The chest was wide, covered in crystalline plating resembling armour. The arms were much the same, as well as the head. For the lower body, it didn't have legs, only a long tapering point coming down from the waist. Much like Adrien himself, there was a pair of red crosses at the wrists.
She looks up, in awe. She finds her voice after a moment. "Okay. It sounds a lot better, now."
He nods, agreeing. His Symbiont shifts, moving around the table. It offers her its hand.
With a little bit of hesitation, she takes it, grabbing it with both her own. She explores it, pressing down against it, feeling the smooth texture.
"That's cool."
"There's actually three stages to the process..." He says, slowly. "Stage three is the last. But, that takes at least years to get to." He leans back, and the Symbiont gently tugs its hand out of hers. "There's a reason I'm telling all this to you now, though."
She looks at him, head tilting to the side, before her eyes widen. "Wait, you mean-"
"Yeah." Adrien nodded. "You've also got one, kid." His eyes flicker with life light, as he looks her up and down. "You haven't had it long; less than a day, but you've definitely got it. The Shroud probably gave it to you when they rescued you."
Her face goes through a variety of interesting expressions, before settling on something like acceptance. "They... There was... one of them poked me for a while, and light went from them to me."
"That was it." Adrien said. "Doesn't take too long to happen. Still, to do it there and then... Did you, by chance-"
"Please refrain from materializing inside of the restaurant." Turing speaks, coming out of the kitchen. "As you have been told. Several times."
Adrien gives an embarrassed laugh, but his Symbiont vanishes a moment later, disintegrating into motes of life light. "Sorry, just showing the kid."
"I would believe that, if I was not aware of the fact that you're trying to delay going to registration for as long as possible." Turing returns. "Every moment you wait is just going to make it worse, you know."
He sighs. "Yeah, but... that doesn't make me want to go."
"How unfortunate for you." Turing didn't sound particularly empathic. He turned to Juliana, offering her a small, metal chip. She took it, looking at it. "Do return whenever you wish."
"Thank you?" She nodded, still looking at the chip.
"Hey, you never say that to me." Adrien said.
"No, I don't." Turing said, turning back to him.
"That's cold, man." Adrien put his hand over his chest. "Stone cold."
Turing released a long, exaggerated sigh, and walked away without another word.
Adrien smirked, before getting serious. "Alright. To registration."
"You don't sound like you want to."
"That's because we're going to spend an hour walking back and forth talking to people to do something that should really only take three minutes." He complained. "I swear, we really need to look at that process again. It's utterly ridiculous."
"Uh..."
"Don't worry 'bout it. It's just time consuming, not actually difficult." He stood up. "Let's go get this over with."
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HammeredApple
Not a pile of applesauce
- Location
- Midwest
Was that a goddamned Stand? If so, where's the rest of the JoJo cast.
So basically a passive drain on Chaos? Must be extra special with psykers.