gore

death

general worm/parasite warning

VERDANT

and then the universe screamed

Verdant's host was dead.

It was an exponential decline from the start. It died shortly after the Other Star left, left alone in the grassy canyon. Alone, save for the parasite wrapped around its brain.

Verdant didn't mourn its death. They were annoyed, mostly, and a little frightened at the prospect of leaving their safety to find a new host. But it was their only option-- with the remnants of brain matter around them slowly cooling down, they too would eventually freeze. That wouldn't bare well.

So, after informing Calamity of their current situation, Verdant exited the body the easiest way they knew: through the nasal canal. The little two-inch worm poked its head through the nostrils of the already-decomposing rat and slowly slithered its way out, leaving a wet trail of blood behind it as it blindly moved forward. Gusts of cold wind assaulted their body. Course sand dug into their tissue. They would've winced if they could, but they had to keep on moving if they were to have any success in finding a new host.

Their magic reached out, alerting Verdant to the presence of a Star nearby. The low, constant thrumming of its heart coursed through their body. It was a fleasnake, curled up in search of new prey-- small, but would have to do.

Now it was only a matter of getting there before they dry out.

VERDANT

and then the universe screamed

The two feet between them and their target felt like an odyssey's worth of distance. Too far to be crossed alone, perhaps. But they had to try.

A plan was already forming in Verdant's mind as they fully exited the oily corpse and crawled pitifully across the sandy ground. We won't spill the juicy details, but it involved quite a bit of magic. For now, though, they had to focus on getting their body across the ground. Curl up, inch forward. Get knocked back by the wing. Wriggle. It was a slow and agonizing process, especially without the gifts of sight or hearing to guide them, but their little chemoreceptors worked hard to pull the scent of flesh and guide them in the right direction.

A little boop as their "face" met the snake's scaly hide. It was turned away, and didn't seem to notice their intrusion, too busy dozing off in the wind. Perfect.

VERDANT

and then the universe screamed

This was where the fun began. Verdant crawled around to the other side of the body, staying low to the ground as they always were, using the outline of the snake's form to guide their movements. Still left unnoticed. They guessed that was one of the perks of being a tiny worm two inches long. It was only when they were nearly directly in front of the fellow parasite did its eyeless face lean down to sniff at the strange vibrations moving around them. And that was when they struck.

... Or not. Well, it didn't exactly happen the way they planned. You see, they wanted to control the snake and lower its head to where they could easily infiltrate the body, but instead their magic went haywire. The snake hissed in alarm as all the blood in it's body went in every direction, causing it to spasm out erratically. Verdant, of course, had little idea what was going on, and was only able to perceive chaotic vibrations and the occasional brush of scales sweeping by. They wheeled back in alarm. This was not the way it was supposed to go.

VERDANT

and then the universe screamed

The worm wriggled away from the fleasnake's frantic lashing, a bit perturbed. Perhaps they could compel the snake to let them enter? Yet another risky shot, but it was the only chance they had at successfully infiltrating the Star.

Well, it was worth a shot. As the effects of their previous spell faded, their magic wormed its way out and into the mind of their victim.

"OBEY ME." The image of the snake bowed down to the worm was screamed into its mind. It hissed and whipped around erratically. The effect was not as strong as they would've wished, but was still more than they ever thought they could achieve. Verdant felt drunk with power.

"DOWN." And it listened, compelled with a fair share of struggle by the screaming in its head. The translucent head of the lesser lowered shakily to the ground, right before the waiting parasite.

"GOOD." And then the process of infection began.

We will spare you the details.

Safe to say, by the end of the day Verdant was curled up inside another host, triumphant. The snake returned to its normal behavior as if the bizarre encounter never happened. As if there weren't a new presence in its mind.

For Verdant, a new age was on the horizon.

Exit Verdant.