The Harvester [modded mission/ orion]

Orion was correct in his assumption of the enemy. It was something that had its reach extended far throughout the jungle, its fingers digging into the soil of this entire area. Its eyes watched from above in the stars, and its children swam through the air like water. It was an unknown being, something that may be familiar to some but not to others. Was Orion afraid? Was he scared of not knowing what it is?

...

He should be.

A terrible buzzing sound would pierce through the heavy silence, yet it did not come from an outside source. It was inside of Orion's mind. A sound like chainsaws colliding against one another, vibrations so violent it was like it could split his skull apart. But it was not a direct attack on the man, no, it was a voice. It was the chitinous scream of the creatures he was supposedly hunting. It pried into his mind like cracking an egg, and once it was inside, it could speak.

"Th̸e̴ ̸f̴les̶h̸ w̶and̵er̴s̴.I̴s̶ it̷ ̴c̷o̶n̸fus̸e̷d̷?̵ ̷I̷s̵ ̵i̶t̴ ̴l̶o̵st?̶"

Its voice was loud, powerful. With each word, it would drill further into his mind like a parasite. His vision would go blurry, the trees around him seemingly multiplying and closing in on him. Glowing eyes would appear from every angle, from every crack of darkness. 

"W̸h̵y̵ ̶m̴ust̸ ̵y̵o̶u̴ ̶i̸n̷ter̷f̷e̴re?̴ ̸It ̶i̴s̷ ̶b̴u̵s̵y̶,̸ ̵c̵a̷n'̵t̴ ̷y̶o̷u̵ ̵s̶e̴e̷ ̴i̸t̷ ̶i̶s̴ ̴w̵o̴r̷k̴i̶n̴g̸?̵ ̶P̴ray̷i̶n̶g̵?̶ ̸Ha̶r̸ve̸sti̴n̵g̵?̷"

An overwhelming amount of light would then pierce through the canopy above. Like an entire star had suddenly dropped down to earthland, exploding in its death while the hum of powerful magic swelled up around him. It grew brighter with each second, a gravity pressing down on him with such force that he'd have to collapse to his knees or risk further injury. 

And then, the light would turn to darkness. Orion's consciousness would slip away, but his life would not. Not now.

Orion Prima

---

As he'd begin to awaken, the first thing he'd notice is that he would not be able to properly move. Something was wrapped around him, something wet and warm. It was the same sticky goo he had seen other people cocooned in, the only difference was, he was alive. Orion's whole body was covered in the sticky substance, but his nose and eyes were still free so that he could see and breath.

Light would filter in from in front of him, revealing the area he was in. It was not a jungle, but instead some kind of cave, with a large opening at the other end which revealed the trees far down below them. They must have been in the side of some kind of cliff face, far from where he originally was. Orion was positioned at the back of the large cave, stuck against the stone and overlooking it from above. Orion was at the very top of this cavern wall, even if he did break free from the slime there would be a long way to fall. Lined up next to him were others, people ensnared in cocoons with the life drained out of them. There was a whole collection of them, rows upon rows, but for what reason? 

Further down near the edge of the cliff cave, was a set of stone stairs chiselled up to a higher peak. One wrong step and you'd plummet down to your doom. It was like a shrine, a huge open space allowing the light of the stars and the moon to shine down. At the right angle, it was almost as if the stairs led up to the black sky above. 

"th̸e̷ ̷f̷les̵h̸ ̵a̶w̸a̴ken̴s̷."

The buzzing voice intruded into his mind once more. 

"G̶o̷o̷d̶.̸ ̶T̸h̷e̸ ̸ha̶rves̶t̵ ̴w̶i̴l̸l̵ ̷b̷e̶gin̶ ̸s̴o̸o̷n̸.̴ ̸Mot̴h̴e̶r ̸w̷i̷ll̵ ̶b̶e̶ ̵p̵l̵ea̴se̴d.̶"

In the shadows of the cave, a large mass would begin to slither out from the corner. The light of the moon shining behind it as it slowly crawled up from outside, into the open cave bit by bit. It was like a giant centipede, millions of insect legs the size of Orion would scuttle across the stone, knife-like in shape and likely just as sharp. The creature was huge, 200 feet long and as wide as a small hut. The light reflected off its hard exterior, showing a myriad of opalescent colours across the segmented, natural armour it possessed. 

What was most unsettling was at the end of this creature, was a human shaped body. It had long arms with bladed claws, and its face was completely made of an off-white chitin, leaving no features resembling that of a persons. It crawled closer, the length of its centipede body finally all in the cave as it pulled itself to the back wall where all the cocoons were neatly laid out. 

Orion Prima

---

It then began to rise, much like a cobra under the charm of a song. It made inhuman clicking sounds, its legs still scraping against the stone as it rose higher, and higher, and higher. After a few seconds, the creature was now face to face with Orion. It's featureless and blank face right in front of him, though it possessed no eyes, it still stared at into his soul.

"Ť̵͉̗ḧ̵̭́ȇ̷̖̜̃ ̵̯̎f̵̛̻̼l̷̠̊ȇ̶̙͒s̶̘̯͌h̶̙͖͌ ̵̪̈́s̷̮̒̏h̶̭̦̓́o̵̜͂̅u̸͉͌͆l̴̤̊d̵̹̃n̶̜͐̈́'̶̭̅̾t̴̨̯̒́ ̵̢̚ḧ̸͚́͛a̶̙͈̔͠ṿ̷̃e̷̙̹͌͝ ̶̞̪̈́c̵̞̆̓o̵͔̤͒m̵͙͆̓e̵̮̰̔."

The voice was louder, more painful in Orion's mind. Its arm extended outwards, reaching forwards to caress the side of his head. It then hissed slightly, its arms reeling back as it moved to face another cocoon. There was another person, alive in fact. It must have said something to them telepathically, for they started moaning and trying to break free.

If Orion could crane his neck down slightly, just a little, he'd be able to just about make out what was going on. The creature had a firm grip of them, strange antennae sprouted from the neck of the monster and snaked forwards, wrapping around the throat of them. An odd light then appeared, shining out of the mouth and eyes of said individual. The goo melted away and their screams could be heard, the sensation of flame filling every ounce of their body causing them to wail and writhe. 

It only last a few seconds, but it felt like forever. 

Their body was left stiff and dishevelled, the light that left them now swirling in the palm of the creature in a small spherical mass. That would be Orion's fate, to be harvested for his essence. Slowly, the creature would then move back on down to the edge of the cavern. Despite its slow movement, it was so large that it only took a few seconds to reach the shrine at the end. It held up a hand in prayer, lowering its head as it did so. 

The cavern shook, and more insect-like cries would echo from every dark corner of the cave they were in. If Orion was paying attention, he would see that something was coming down from the skies. It was wrapped in silver chains, as if keeping it restricted somehow. When it got closer, he'd be able to make it out to be a giant cup of some description, maybe an altar? It was large enough for groups of people to sit inside, and the design of it was rather grotesque and gothic. 

But it seemed to be translucent, as if it hadn't been given proper physical form yet. It just made it harder to make out what it actually could be. 

"M̶o̷th̴e̴r̷ ̵i̶s̶ ̴w̴a̶t̷chin̸g̴.̵ ̵S̵h̸e̸ ̶w̶an̶ts̸ ̴y̷o̸ur̷ ̴p̶ra̶ye̵r̷ ̶n̵e̷xt̵.̷"

Orion Prima

---

The chained cup eventually landed at the top of the steps. It hovered in the air slightly, something was off about it. It didn't look right, it looked corrupt.

“̸L̶o̶ok̶ ̷wh̸at̵ ̵w̷e̷ ̴ga̵t̸he̵re̶d̵. ̸M̴ot̷h̸er̵ ̴i̷s̵ ̴s̷tro̴n̷g̸,̷ ̴p̸o̴we̴r̵ful.̸ ̷S̷h̵e̴ ̶bin̶ds t̸he̶ ̷c̵u̶p̸ ̴to̵ ̶u̷s̷,̴ ̶l̴e̵ts̸ ̵t̶h̴e̷ ̷m̸e̶ta̶l̷ ̵m̸e̸r̴ge̴ ̷t̴he̸ ̵f̴l̵es̷h̶.̴”̶


With the small orb of light in its hand, the creature would let it roll gently from its palms, dropping it into the strange chalice. There was silence for a moment, and then the chalice became more physical and materialised fully, and the sounds of crying came from it. The base of it was a large beating heart, throbbing each second. The neck of the chalice was in fact various statues of people holding it up, supporting the weight of the main bowl. Black liquid instantly started gushing out, bubbling and oozing from the cup as it spilt all over the floor.

Something then rose out from it, something human. It was hard to say for certain, since it was also covered in the strange black sludge, it seemed like it was in pain. It let out cries of agony but choked on the liquid that seemed to never end. It writhed around, but there were silver chains wrapped around them too. It was bound to the chalice, unable to leave.

“HELP ME! HELP ME, PLEASE!”

A deep voice, desperate for help. It could hardly see, breathe, or move. But it knew someone was there, someone who could save them.

“̴M̷o̴th̸e̵r̵ ̷w̶il̷l̴ ̵b̷e̸ ̷g̵i̶v̸en̷ ̷f̴or̷m̷,̶ ̷f̴l̵e̸s̷h̴,̵ ̶b̴l̵o̵od̷.̸ ̷T̴h̶e̵ ̸c̷h̶al̵i̶ce̴ ̸i̴s̷ ̶th̷e̵ ̴k̴e̵y̵.̸ ̶T̵h̷e̸ ̴c̵h̸al̶i̴ce̶ ̷m̷ix̶e̷s̴ ̴i̷t̵ ̸al̸l̵,̴ ̴t̷h̶en̶ ̵m̸a̷ke̷s̴ ̷h̴e̵r̸ ̷be̶t̶te̵r̸.̶ ̷S̴t̷r̷o̴ng̶e̶r̷.̷ ̶M̶u̸s̴ca̷ ̴w̶i̵l̴l̷ ̵b̸e̷ ̶pr̵o̶u̷d.”

While the figure screamed and twisted inside the chalice, the insect creature would begin to turn around once more. It slithered towards Orion, preparing to harvest his life next, to offer it to the chalice. 

Orion Prima

---

As it came scuttling towards Orion, he had managed to break free from the binds of the cocoon and had propelled himself off the cavern wall. Soaring through the air, black lightning would come slashing forwards in an electrical arc. It tore forwards, slamming into the giant centipedal beast as it hissed and groaned, but more from annoyance than pain. 

It's incredibly tough armour rippled with starlight, the incredibly powerful attack that Orion had unleashed seemed to just vanish upon contact. The lightning dispersed into the air, leaving nothing but a minor scratch on the giant beast.

Furious and enraged, it would writhe up higher before lifting both hands up into the air. A swarm of glowing insects would appear, buzzing around to form a large mass of magic before they went flying straight for Orion, returning the same damage he inflicted.

Orion Prima

---

HP: 276/280 | MP: 71/120

SPOILER: Click to show

ATK: 5
DEF: 20
AC: 20
HEAL: 00
STAM: 14
Level: 01

MAGIC.
Agent of Musca

Defense
Attack 1. Hit.
Attack 2. Hit or miss.
Damage received: 4
Conditions: none

Offense
Standard Action. (Star Swarm) Revenge.
— Attack Roll: -
— Condition Roll: -
Bonus Action. (Spirit Armour) Absorb -50MP.
— Effect: +100 shield.
Potential damage: 104

MP used: 65
MP regenerated: 6

Inventory
Natural Weaponry (T3).

It gazed down at the mortal, looking how insignificant and weak it was down there. It was so much stronger than the flesh, and that was already very apparent. A whip of black lightning came flying through the air, the creature simply just extended an arm and grabbed it within its palm. It felt no pain, and no health would be 'leeched' from it. Orion would have felt no power being returned to him from this contact.

It would tighten its grip around the lightning, and lift it up to drag Orion with it and hurl him across the cavern floor. He needed punishing, and have his life extracted from him soon before Mother Musca became furious.

Orion Prima

---

HP: 276/280 | MP: 83/120

SPOILER: Click to show

ATK: 5
DEF: 20
AC: 20
HEAL: 00
STAM: 14
Level: 01

MAGIC.
Agent of Musca

Defense
Attack 1. Block.
Attack 2. Hit or miss.
Damage received: 0
Conditions: none

Offense
Standard Action. Basic Attack.
— Attack Roll: sQ4wPlhE + 3
— Condition Roll: -
Bonus Action. -.
— Effect: -.
Potential damage: 17

MP used: 0
MP regenerated: 12

Inventory
Natural Weaponry (T3).

An avatar of lightning encased itself around Orion, something unholy yet supposedly divine. The agent of Musca sneered, its millions of legs and appendages clicking together in annoyance like a rattle-snake being threatened. Empowered by the boost of magic, the lashing of lightning struck against the beast, just enough to damage it as the lightning surged across all 200 feet of its body.

It reeled back, its colosal body swaying side to side as its centipede body bashed into the walls of the cave, making large rocks drop down that Orion would have to avoid. At the same time, its awful buzzing voice would screech inside of Orion's head. If successful, his mind would be overwhelmed with visions of stars and space, an unfathomable force rooting itself deep into his mind and damaging him.

Orion Prima

---

HP: 198/280 | MP: 74/120

SPOILER: Click to show

ATK: 5
DEF: 20
AC: 20
HEAL: 00
STAM: 14
Level: 01

MAGIC.
Agent of Musca

Defense
Attack 1. Hit.
Attack 2. Hit or miss.
Damage received: 78
Conditions: none

Offense
Standard Action. Magic Attack + condition [frightened].
— Attack Roll: Ubn|L39| + 3
— Condition Roll:
Bonus Action. -.
— Effect: -.
Potential damage: 17

MP used: 15
MP regenerated: 7

Inventory
Natural Weaponry (T3).