Chương 158: End of Book 2 Mutations and Names (Status)

N ̪ỷx̱̽ala-o̅s̫stho̲th-Lýotepͦ-eiỷpi̬ny-tsal̺air̡-Ts̟͂tll N ̪ỷx̱̽ala Curse O ̅s̫stho̲th Purity. A temple of bleached walls and grand spires stands against the ravages of time. Entropy. Disorder chews at the mortar between ivory bricks. Brittleness consumes stone foundations. Stained glass shards litter the long forgotten dais. Chaos. Nothing can last an eternity. That is law for the mundane. Chaos. Glass floors and an open skylight. Troubled seas churn beneath a glistening keel.

Drapes of tailored light plunge the tribune in a black glow. Entropy. Time's savagery is welcomed and discarded with each cracked pane or worn gear. Purity Change is purity in chaos. Ly ́otepͦ Perseverance. Survival. Slaughter. Knowingly matched with the impossible, each are equal without compromise. There lies no middle ground for those of unmitigated desire, lest the soil crumble and the sky, fall. Ei ỷpi̬ny When one spends their life obsessed with blood, blood will eventually return the obsession. EVEN. IF. YOU.

REFUSE. OUR. LOVE. Tsal ̺air̡ Always hiding, but never hidden. Always noticed, but never seen. Any obstruction is a tool. A haven. A lie. And a siren shrieking its existence to the world. Ts ̟͂tll Fell the great. Fell the immortal. Fell the gods on pillars above. Realms pose no barrier, yet death is an eternal chase. A predator without teeth hunts but never eats. No more. No more. One who has toppled the heavens has earned the right of bypass. For this being, battle is no longer an act; it is law.

Pierce the soul, and both shall be bound by oath: Accept death, or become death. Mutations: Wings Large wings growing from the lower back just above the hips. (at centre of mass.) Wingspan of just over 3. 5 metres. (At the end of the first book, it was 3 metres.) Mostly black feathers with some that have red tips that accentuate the lower/back part of the wings. The plumage spreads out from the base of each wing, and covers a good section of her lower back. (middle back down to hips. They spread to her sides, but not so much that they can be seen from the front.) Chitinous Claws Mutations with two states. The first is simple human hand, albeit chitinous. Close inspection might give the comparison to a doll's hands, with segmented joints that slide over each other for finger function. the second state is the claws. The best way to think of these is the combination of a crab's claw, and hedge shears, except with five blades rather than two.

Nyxil has some control over how separated she wants the claws, but that's it. She cannot bend the hardened claws like fingers. The transition between two states is also of interest. When in the doll/human state, the blades/claws are actually hidden within her forearm. When they come out, they slide through the wrist, and break apart the fingers along the seams (including a long one on the underside that has them widen and stretch).

Each finger part settles along the back of each blade as a backstop similar to the outer shell of a crab's claw. (even though there is a hell of a lot more blade than shell with Nyxil's claws. and the blades are sharp and straight rather than toothed.) Mould Hair A translucent white/glacial-blue mould like Ceratiomyxa that takes the place of Nyxil's hair. The strands are thicker than normal hair, but not so much that she has gone all medusa. (I may have considered giving her snake hair at one point.) Only about 2mm thick. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The mould grows both from her scalp, and branches out at random intervals. it flows over itself and Nyxil's fingers like any normal hair, but when torn off, it can be incredibly sticky, and will continue to grow. the mould can be used as a basic healing accelerant. or a band-aid. Mouth in Tongue It's a second mouth. In Nyxil's tongue. I claim ignorance to any comparisons to a certain alien.

Especially considering the next mutation in this list. Acidic Saliva Saliva that is acidic. Sharp teeth Two rows of what are essentially shark teeth. they can fall out and regrow with ease, even if they make chewing impossible. Tentacles Cuddly likes hugs. Pushy is annoying. Curious would absolutely press that big red button that says 'DO NOT PRESS' and Shy doesn't like to leave Nyxala's robe. Sternum Eye A hard violet-crimson gem in Nyxil's chest just below where the collarbones meet.

it is 3-4 cm long, and 2 wide, with a very clear cut diamond shape (the rhombus type, not the actual diamond). each side is perfectly straight, and the corners are sharp. When the consumption ability is overused, veins taking on a glow of the same colour spread out from this eye. Those veins stretch across the body, pushing it to remain active even when it shouldn't, but increases in brightness the more it covers. Spines long, sharp quills that grow from each vertebra along her spine.

Each is roughly thirty centimetres, though they are shorter up along her neck. the best way to visualise these is to think of a fish's spines, but without the webbing between them. When calm, the spikes settle along her spine, creating what amounts to a harder, thicker spine that leads along the outside of her skin. (and sticks out a bit too.) the lower spines do stick down a bit too, hanging about twenty centimetres below her hips at the back.

when alert, shocked, or scared, the spines stick straight out of her spine. it is involuntary, and uncontrollable. Alert spines can snap flat, dislocating each of Nxyala's vertebrae and allowing greater flexibility. Heart Doubled number of chambers to normal. Gives her manual control over her heart rate, both dropping to zero, and far exceeding what a human should be capable. both have downsides. High heart-rates accelerate thoughts and bodily reaction speed, but also amplify feelings of stress, concern and fear.

Low heart-rates bring along a state of calm hyperfocus in exchange for extremely slow reaction times. (there's also the risk of accidentally stopping her heart.) Nyxala may not be able to think quick in this state, but if nothing unexpected happens, it allows her to predict the future depending on her senses. Stomach She got a stomach with little toothy tentacles inside. Nothing'll be trying to eat Nyxil from inside out!

Sludge Feet From the shin to the ankle, Nyxala's feet gradually shift from flesh and bone to a slime compromised of no material known to Coral. It allows Nyxala much greater grip on difficult surfaces (she'd be able to climb a slop of gravel where another person's feet would slip. The downsides though, are that she can no longer keep her feet in the shape of feet, and any barefoot kick would lose all its power to the dampening sludge. Without her heavy boots that keep them wrapped up, the slime spreads out on the ground below her legs in a similar shape to a tree trunk with roots spread through the ground. Intestines/kidney Processes waste to the point where Nyxala no longer has the need to defecate. (This was supposed to be a set up for a joke, but it didn't really fit at the time. Regardless, it's canon, lol.) Mentioned mutations, but not yet included, are as follows: Throat (for more voices), Tail, galaxy-like eyes, ears, ink-drop tears, rubbery skin, and pink.