Usurper Paragon: Bringer of the End

I was never a good person. I couldn't afford to be one. 

Living in a late-stage capitalist society didn't exactly give a man a whole lot of freedom in life. I was born into a generational amount of debt that I inherited from parents that I never saw, and from my conception, I was pretty much the property of some corporation or another. 

I didn't have a childhood either, time spent growing up was time spent losing my 'owners' money, so like most other children I was supped up on growth hormones and sent to work before my 5th birthday (not that I had ever had a birthday, or even knew when I was born). 

Luckily, I guess I was deemed useful enough to not get consigned to manual labor and got sent to a logistics department, meaning I was able to keep (most of) my sanity. That was the only reason that I was able to escape. 

Like that had any hope of going well. I still had that ID chip in my head, broadcasting my location at all times. I think the only reason I even lasted so long was because the company I 'worked' for didn't see it cost-effective to send enforcers after me. I thought I had planned it pretty well, waiting until the company was at a low point where they were struggling for money but not in need of logistics. 

 I didn't think far enough to realize that I would have to eat, so I ended up stealing some food. Turns out AgriCorp is a lot less lenient than where I had worked, and I got tracked down by PubSec in less than an hour. At least I got to taste an apple.

I coughed, desperately trying to clear the blood from my lungs and failing. The tracer round had gone right through my lower left lung, barely missing my heart. 

Lifting my hand, the dark, glossy red of my blood was illuminated by the multitudes of neon signs littering the buildings. My hand fell limply back down to my side before gripping only a sharp shard of plexiglass on the gravel next to me. I painstakingly pushed myself up so my back was resting against the side of the alley I had hidden myself in. 

I wish I hadn't dropped the rest of that apple. 

The constant sirens I had been hearing for the past few minutes began to grow closer, and I began to steel myself. I was fully aware of the consequences of my actions, and having my personality wiped and serving penal labor until I collapsed was not a fate that I was ready to consign myself to. 

Shaking, I lifted the shard of plexiglass to my throat. My hands shook, not from fear or anxiety but from strain. I had never been afraid of death, but I was so weak right now. I had already lost a lot of blood, and my severe malnutrition wasn't helping. 

As the shard touched my neck, there was a slam and stomping of boots, footsteps pounding down the alleyway toward me. I didn't wait for them to come closer, and I promptly dug the blade through my larynx and the world went black. 

-------

[-Paragon creation at 99%-]

[-Error: Failure to create ego, Paragon creation paused-]

[-Determination: A newly deceased soul can be assimilated to form the ego-]

[-Searching for suitable soul-]

[- . . . -]

[-Suitable soul found. The soul has an exceptionally high probability of following the Usurper Directive-]

[-Transplanting Soul as Ego-]

[-Error: Soul falls short of recommended Ego quantity: No other available souls are compatible or contain high enough Usurper variable-]

[-Ego transplant at 43.8% completion-]

[-Calculating solution-]

[- . . . -]

[-Determination: 39.4% can be compensated for with a combination of Instinct and high levels of adaptability-]

[-Remaining 16.8% cannot be repaired. Ego is usable with only minor damage to capabilities. Ego will heal as the Paragon grows-]

[-Merging Ego and Vessel-]

[-24%...78%...95%...98%...99%...-]

[-Merge complete-]

[-Beginning Awakening Process-]

-----

Glimmering rainbow light shone through the frosted windows of a grand church, falling upon a veiled woman kneeling before an altar. The woman was dressed interestingly, like a nun wearing ornate plate armor. A hood obscured her face, and her hands were clasped together. 

The church was completely silent, even though there were more than a dozen people behind her on one knee. The paladins behind her were dressed similarly in that they had hoods and armor, but their gear wasn't ornate or decorative and had signs of use. A closer look under their hoods revealed that each of the paladins had their lips sewn shut. 

Suddenly, the wind began to blow through the church even though all of the doors were closed. The woman tensed, before slowly relaxing. She lowered her head for a moment, then stood. 

As she stood up, each paladin behind her rose in unison and clasped a fist over their breast, saluting as the woman turned around.

"The Usurper has risen" A soft melodious voice cut through the silence like a lullaby. "She commands us to begin our search at once. Its form and location are unknown, but She is with us and will guide us in our holy duty. It must be eliminated before it can be allowed to grow and threaten Her and our great holy empire."

Silently, each paladin began moving in unison without making a single sound, Clasping their hands together in prayer before filtering out various exits. All done in complete silence despite the heavy armor they wore. Turning their backs to the priestess revealed the symbol etched in silver into the back of their black cloaks, an upside-down crescent moon. 

The priestess returned to the altar, returning to her knees and resuming her vigil. 

-----

The chaotic thrum of conversation and wares being sold echoed throughout the city marketplace. Colorful and eye-catching banners advertised enchanted weapons, wonderous potions, simple household items, food, traveling gear, and a multitude of other wared. Children belligerently hocked their wares to anyone who would listen, and vermin darted around in the shadows scavenging off of fallen morsels of food. 

One stall, in particular, held a middle-aged man whose stall proudly advertised "Divination & Fortunetelling". People seemed to be avoiding his stand like the plague, and even those set up next to him were throwing him dirty looks. 

The man held an ornate gilded deck of tarot cards, decorated with a half-lidded eye. He shuffled and reshuffled the cards, occasionally dealing a set that he would inspect briefly before returning them to the mix. 

One curious teenager walked toward his stand, eager to see his divination magic, but before the teen could even get close to the stand, he was pulled aside by an older woman.

"Hey! What was that for?!" 

The woman violently shushed him, draping her arm around his shoulder and guiding him away.

"Trust me, ye don't want teh get involved with that one. Everyone whose fortune he reads seems teh get cursed with bad luck. Their swords break on the battlefield, they lose their purse, stub their toe, the whole shebang. 'Sides, he only ever pulls the same set of cards, it's a scam I'm sure. Tell ye what, why doncha come an spend that heavy purse on some of mah perfumes, ya might..."

The two's voices fade into the rest of the hustle and bustle of the marketplace. A few minutes pass with the man repeatedly drawing the same cards and reshuffling before something changes. 

The man's eyes widen when he draws the first card and notices its difference. Shocked, he slowly turns the other two as well. After a few moments, He grins and scoops the cards back up in one smooth motion, cleanly depositing them back into their leather deck. 

And then he is gone. 

No smoke and mirrors, no sound, he is just gone. The market stall is additionally cleared of any evidence that he had been there, save a single mark burnt into the wood of the table, the same as what was on the back of his cards. A half-lidded eye. 

-----

Deep within the bowels of the earth, at the bottom of a massive canyon resembling an open wound that dug straight into the ground, so deep that no light could reach, a creature opened its eyes. 

Its eyes were slitted like a goat, and they emitted a purple light, illuminating a bit of itself. All that could be made out were massive, curled horns, huge bat wings, and an assortment of metal chains that wrapped around the figure in multiple places, digging into its skin and sometimes through its body and extending out into the walls around it. 

The creature shifted slightly, and the cavern groaned around it, rocks tumbling loose from high above as the already taunt chains were strained. The chains held strong, and the creature closed its eyes without further action.

-----

A withered temple, deep in a lush green forest had stood the test of time for millennia, though not for lack of the forest's attempts. The greenery of the surroundings had taken to the temple, leaving a covering of moss, vines, and other assorted organic detritus spread throughout the monument. 

This once beautiful landmark had held off decay for countless years, slowly losing more and more of itself. And yet, the center of it miraculously remained untouched. Pristine white marble laced the floors and walls, accented with gold trim, the centerpiece was a marvel of creation, untouched and unchanged by the passing of time for innumerable years. 

And then, it began to move. 

The marble floor collapsed inwards, Intricate pillars rose from the ground, and the walls folded and moved. Outside, the dilapidated temple rumbled and collapsed, kicking up a massive cloud of dust and debris as it fell. 

When the dust cleared, what remained of the temple was a clearing, and in the middle of that clearing, in place of the beautiful marble centerpiece, was a throne.

The throne was made of white marble, and covered with intricate gold accents, and it seemed to be made of interlocking parts that seemed to blend organic with mechanical, and it thrummed with power.

Suddenly, the throne shifted, panels opening up all over the throne to reveal the glowing gold liquid underneath, which began promptly flowing out and floating through the air. Multiple streams of viscous liquid swirled around the throne before beginning to coalesce into a figure seated on the throne. Starting from the feet, the golden liquid turned a pale white as it hardened into flesh, building up a golden skeleton before it quickly was covered in pale white flesh. Though the bones were quickly obscured, it was clear that they were off. It looked as if someone had tried to reconstruct a skeleton from memory, and some bones were missing, and new bones were added. 

The flesh that covered the body soon finished forming, and what was left of the golden liquid began to soak into the body, melding with it and leaving pulsing lines of gold underneath the pale skin. What was left was a humanoid body that would have been around 7 feet tall if it was standing up. The body was naked, completely white save the golden veins, and had no hair, genitals, or facial features of any kind. 

The face resembled a blank slate and the rest of the body was smooth in some places, while in others it looked as if there were uncovered muscles, though they remained the same color as the rest of the skin. 

Over time, the throne began to wind down, its thrumming slowing to a crawl before stopping entirely. Soon, peace and calm returned to the forest. This strange phenomenon of the temple disappearing was lost without any watchers, and the forest quickly resumed its normal activity. Birds chirped, fauna ran from predators, and all was quiet. 

It remained quiet for quite some time, three days passing without a single movement from the strange throne in the middle of this forest, until the third day when something changed. 

[-Awakening complete-]