Dead Cruiser

Beyond Nirvana - The God Eater Calamity

After being bisected, the twin worms making up zero wheeled about, preparing to strike on Hachiman again. Perhaps by splitting down their strength, they could find how many individual assailants it took to get past Hachiman's technique. The other worm was pondering turning into a swarm of biting flies, when Hachiman unleashed his true power, and the two burrowed underground out of reflex.

Deep within the corrupted Earth, beneath the notice of the mighty combatants above, Zero returned to waiting and observing. By monitoring the tremors in the ground from their divine steps, the alien demigod was capable of analyzing their body densities and compositions. They were drawing a clearer picture of their allies and enemy alike. However, Hachiman's head was struck off before Zero could learn all they liked. They surged up out of the ground directly beneath where the god's corpse had been, hoping to ingest his corpse, but finding only scant particles in the air.

Zero resumed their humanoid form, like a sculpture melting and unmelting, and inspected the crystalline remains of the god they had slain. While Evolution Zero scanned it with every sense their biology and psionics could conjure, their fingertips microscopically scraped and sampled its surface.

Beyond Nirvana - The God Eater Calamity

Upon arriving in the corrupted universe, Evolution Zero had little interest in the array of weapons and other implements scattered about. While they could wield any weapon with flawless precision and unnatural strength, alien, metal implements such as these were not their forte. The potion, however, was curious, and Zero snagged a sample of it, stashing the bottle within their plastic biomass.

Zero marveled at the ruined world outside. It was strange, to be in any world, and this out of all of them. Zero's lungs picked up radioactive and carcinogenic particulates, and filtered them out, adapting against the atmospheric pollutants. However, as soon as their foe appeared, Zero's reflexes set off into overdrive. They assumed a chameleon-like dermis, blending in with the dingy, wrecked world around them. Zero then developed additional eyes and other sensory organs, not only to track Hachiman, but to measure the abilities of their comrades.

Only when a weakness had been revealed did Zero take their chance to strike. They dropped their camouflage, and their mass swelled unnaturally as they took on a new, more combat-ready skin. The chimeric form their rippling, metallic flesh eventually settled into was a huge, silver serpent the size of a double-bus. They had an eyeless, tapered, alien head which split into a mouth that opened like a flower of many muscular jaws lined with venom-tipped fangs. With speed like a train leaving station they surged toward Hachiman, roaring with the hunger of a billion worlds stripped to the bone.

The new recruits of S.W.O.R.D.

This could be cool. What sort of characters are you looking for, like secret agents, or superheroes?

Beyond Nirvana - The God Eater Calamity

Zero listened to Amaterasu and Mitsuko explain their mission, but knew much of this information already. Information shared between the gods when they convened earlier had already been known to Genesis, and therefore it was known to Zero. That said, they had little idea what the act of battling, overthrowing, or killing a god would demand of any of them. They only knew what Genesis ever knew, and Genesis had never killed a god, or even encountered a being comparable to one until they breached the multiverse. The task was daunting, and largely unknown, but Zero did not balk at it. This was the mission they had been born for; if they did their best and that was not enough, then so be it.

Even so, as the others made final preparations, Zero similarly took stock of the advantages currently posed to it. A dead world, bereft of life besides the mad gods, sounded like a rather dull place to Zero, and they knew that their ability to mimic and disguise themselves would be of no benefit. With their subtle option irrelevant, they considered their unsubtle options. These were far more numerous, a veritable cosmic library of genetic combinations, form and function flowing together in perfect sync. A million shapes from a million worlds, ripe for the choosing. Zero hoped that even one would suffice.

Then, for the sake of backup, they sent an inter-dimensional telepathic pulse back to Genesis. More than their typical "handshake" psychic communion that was performed at regular intervals, it carried a request. Red Heralds, Zero wanted access to as many as Genesis could spare. Genesis could spare very, very many.

"I'm ready. Let us commence."

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@Khandov Maybe? If you wanted to start your own RP with a similar concept, I couldn't say no to that.

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Actually think I will call this one closed, unfortunately I had a lot of additional responsibility dumped on me right after this starting getting up off the ground, and I clearly don't have the energy to do this justice. Thanks, all, for your time, and I'll be in touch.

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@Khandov Sorry for the silence, been working on the IC on and off for the last week and a half. Life keeps getting in the way of making a large, complex intro post. But I haven't forgotten.

Beyond Nirvana - The God Eater Calamity

The goddess Amaterasu introduced herself and her champion, giving a bit of insight into their experiences. The experience of trying to piece together their subjective realities from mere descriptions was somewhat novel for Zero, who basically had almost no experiences of their own. What they did have was a portion of the memory of Genesis, ripped from the stars in the days when Genesis was not yet alone. Someone else's experiences of islands... nations... cities... poverty... crime... All passed down to Zero third-hand. They were like memories of a memory; the knowledge was intact, but the essence of it, the soul of the memory, felt distant, indistinct. Regardless, Zero felt confident and prepared for the task at hand. They were made for this, literally, and Genesis did nothing by accident.

Having not that much to say about themself, Zero opted instead for another approach. "In the absence of Genesis, I will endeavor to express its being, its desires, and its will to you all." Zero stepped forward to better garner the attention of the others. Despite the the hyper-evolved, anatomically esoteric body that they currently wielded, they did their best to keep their body language neutral and without aggression. "Genesis is love; the love for life, the love for the beauty of the universe, and the love that living things have for one another. Genesis loves you all, and so do I. This is the reason for which Genesis created me: so that I might be able to share that love with the multiverse, and keep it safe for any and all. Genesis has made me the first iteration; its successor, or perhaps its offspring. I greatly hope to learn from all of you, to grow a powerful bond of empathy and understanding, and bring Genesis to a new era of peace and unity."

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@King Cosmos What if when Matteo was beginning his experiments with spaceflight/space folding, that was when he discovered the other Planes and was contacted by Chaos? Like we was on the cusp of one breakthrough, but made an entirely different, more urgent one as a result of it, leading to his armada-construction going on hold.

Beyond Nirvana - The God Eater Calamity

Zero watched with fascination as the variety of gods and their attendants arrived in a steady stream through various portals. One god even arrived with an entire entourage of attendants and followers, all of different species and intriguing morphologies. While the display was quite impressive, it seemed perhaps ostentatious. They all knew why they were here, and who they were each dealing with, so the possible reason for such a display was lost on Zero. Gods were usually free of the follies of mortals, such as their inability to comprehend perspectives outside of their own.

As more gods and champions arrived, Zero observed that they were the only party that had arrived alone, at least by all surface appearances. While it had all of the power and perspective of a god, Genesis unfortunately was truly bound to its physical form, and therefore its planet-sized flesh could not travel much of anywhere. Despite this, Zero was still in communion with Genesis through a powerful psionic link, though at the present moment that link was dormant. There was nothing here that required the direct attention of Genesis, and Zero had all knowledge pertinent to the situation secure in their bio-matrix. There was no possible way for them to store the godlike intelligence and universal knowledge of Genesis within their conveniently mobile flesh, but they were still able to retain a shocking large chunk of it.

That said, there was still plenty of room left in their skin to learn more. Entirely new universes needed to be explored, understood, and perhaps tasted. Genesis had already poured billions of Red Heralds-- independent bioforms far simpler than Zero-- into any universe it could breach for purpose of reconnaissance, but Zero was far from some simple scout. Evolution Zero was everything that Genesis could never be: an explorer, an ambassador, a missionary, and-- if needed-- a soldier.

Initially they were most interested in the hybrid bioforms exhibited in the large retinue surrounding the god Dominion, but after watching another champion literally fall into their throng, they decided against it.

"But of course, life-giving lady." Zero answered with perfect, crisp diction. There was not even the slightest unnatural resonance to their voice; their mimicry was perfect. "I could not serve Genesis were I not agreeable to life outside the communion." Addressing the others who might have been interested, they said, "I apologize that my creator could not join us. I have the full confidence and authority of Genesis, and may act in its stead. I might say, 'treat me as though I were Genesis,' but I would not presume to be so arrogant. Please treat me as a loyal ally and companion."