Octahedron Annihilator

Overview

If the Tetrahedron Destroyer is a mysterious but strange entity that could be considered somewhat 'benevolent', the Octahedron Annihilator is definitely not that. The dictionary definition of destruction incarnate, the Annihilator exudes an oppressive, malevolent aura that atomically disintegrates any lifeform more complex than microorganisms. Those who can endure that much soon find themselves beneath the Annihilator's attention, and its arsenal of otherworldly weaponry.   Actual details are, unfortunately, rather imaginative and taken by hyperbole. Very few people, nearly all of them dragons or cultivators, have ever directly observed an Annihilator, much less survived doing so. Among those that have, there's disagreements about its actual power. Some equate it to a threat greater than even war goddesses, perhaps the greatest on Veltrona herself. Others, while respectful of its virtually unmatched capabilities, see it as a much more limited, specific type of entity. No one disputes how dangerous it is, only how that danger manifests.   Understanding the Annihilators, while frustrating, has been a long, slow process over thousands of years.   The first step in studying them involves sifting out other destructive (natural or not) phenomena from their distinctive trails. The more severe storms on Veltrona tend to coincide with Annihilator patterns, greatly obfuscating any traces they leave behind. Life, too, fills in voids quite quickly, making even that identifier rather unreliable. In most circumstances, only those (un)lucky enough to find an active Annihilator can begin actual study thereof.   The second step involves surviving it, somehow. Annihilators have a seemingly precognitive understanding of their environment and know exactly when something is 'perceiving' them. Hiding, as everyone has attempted, is functionally impossible, but it will not make active motions to chase most people. Rather, for whatever mysterious goals drive them, they will obliterate a person as easily as anyone swats a fly without hesitation.   The third step's observations thereof shed some light on an otherwise enigmatic existence. Annihilators meticulously transform the environment as they float along, almost indiscriminately using cataclysmic levels of energy as they do so. Plains, hills, rivers, cities, mountains; it doesn't matter, the Annihilator destroys and reshapes everything in its path. However, strange things happen after its passing.   The overabundance of mana and raw resources behind become fertile grounds for life regrowth and material reanimation. In every observed instance, the Annihilator's unbridled destruction also engenders a sense of natural healing to Veltrona. Though it may take some decades to fully restore by most estimations, it is clear the Annihilator's passing is not one of a permanent ending to everything. While similar to the Tetrahedron Destroyer, unlike its smaller 'sibling', the Annihilator deconstructs everything rather than simply rearranging it.   Fierce debate over the Annihilator's origins, purpose, and ultimate impact on the world surround it. Were it not for the overwhelming malevolence it exudes, it could almost be likened to a force of nature. It's particularly strange when put into the same categorization of the Tetrahedron Destroyer, and the far more mysterious Apeiron. Their superficial similarities suggest a relationship between the three, though to very different ends. As such, the Annihilator is generally considered a divine entity of some manner, and possibly tied with divinities foreign to Veltrona entirely.      

Biology

Anatomy and Physiology

As its name suggests, the Annihilator is principally an entity entirely in the shape of an octahedron. While this visual profile is striking in its simplicity and impressive size thereof, the 'shape' of it is the only thing truly simple about it. The flat faces of the Octahedron Annihilator are complex, three-dimensional layers of overlapping plates, metals, rocks, mana circuits, and other construct-related concepts. None of these differing sections and areas exceed more than a few inches 'outward', but do recede several inches inward.   This sophisticated topography clearly has some distinct manner of function, and conveys a heavily artificial or constructed manner. Given this, it's difficult to assess the Annihilator's 'anatomy' or what its internal nature may be like. Some reports indicate Annihilators possess a limited transformative power, insofar as actively rearranging themselves. If trustworthy, then the Annihilator never breaks its octahedron configuration, limiting any transformation to its internal volume only.    

Appearance

The material composition of an Annihilator is almost entirely distinct from anything Veltrona has ever seen. Like the Tetrahedron Destroyers, Annihilators appear composed of Celestial Blackstone, pure mana crysium, and varieties of metals from common copper to platinum and even exotic, yet unknown ones. Multiple records indicate that no two Annihilators have a similar 'visual profile', suggesting each one is unique in some manner. Some argue that it's more likely Annihilators have different 'configurations' they exist within, but the lack of consistency undermines that theory.   As such, their color profile is principally a glossy black, intermixed with different metallic hues, chunks, segments, and crysium growths interwoven like threads and channels. Some partially liken the Annihilator's appearance as 'volcanic', possessing the same strong figure and cracked crevices. Others consider it as some kind of sculpted or forged entity, showing obvious signs of creative intent and work in how it is surface is arranged. Annihilators emit a passive, plasma-blue glow through their crysium components, making their otherwise dark or alloyed colors stand out distinctively.    

Natural Abilities

Molecular Disintegration Aura – Annihilators passively emit a spherical field that rends everything apart at the atomic level. Only those with energy barriers of some kind can completely resist this effect.   Paradox Beam – An energy beam attack emitted in numerical iterations of 3 and can be of any aspected nature. Each beam is 'real' until one of them encounters the Annihilator's target, upon which all other beams cease to exist instantly, while the contacting one remains to deal its effects.   Spatiotemporal Reconstitution – Annihilators appear to 'heal' or 'self-repair' through some bizarre interaction with space-time itself, effectively 'rewinding' their own existence to a prior point before they were damaged. This renders them effectively invincible unless something presumably destroys it a singular overwhelming attack.   Basic Spell Copying – Annihilators can copy the fundamentals of magical spells used against them, achieving something similar if they wish. While this ability appears limited against more complex spells, the sheer destructive power behind its copies more than compensates for this weakness.    

Diet

Unlike Destroyers, which draw energy from their surrounding environment, Annihilators do not display any obvious forms of consumption. It's speculated that they may acquire what they want from particulate in the atomic matter they rend apart. In at least one instance an Annihilator was seen with streams of 'clouds' going into it through mana channels. It's hard to consider this consumption, as it may be a form of study or analysis if it possesses intelligence. Still, it's clear that an Annihilator interacts with the environment more than beyond simple destruction, but no one agrees on 'why' it does so.    

Life Cycle

While attempts have been made to discern if Annihilators have anything resembling a 'beginning' or 'ending', no one has discovered it. Thus far, even attempts at identifying 'individual' Annihilators for comparative purposes is functionally impossible. None display any recognizable signs of aging or deterioration, though no one is certain what those signs would be in such an exotic being. Given its form of self-repair, poorly understood as it is, most believe Annihilators to be immortal of some form or another, at the least.    

Related Variants

Popular speculation is that every Annihilator is functionally 'the same kind of entity', meaning they have no derivative variants of any kind. This does rub against the records that indicate many different 'compositions' of an Annihilator. It's unclear if these different visual appearances are simply happenstance or indicative of some overall greater purpose. The lack of discernible evidence, even among Annihilator records, suggests its probably a cosmetic distinction if anything. If so, then a byproduct from either its own reconfigurations or however an Annihilator is actually made.    

Behavior and Intelligence

One of the fiercest points of contention around Annihilators is if they have any form of actual intelligence. By observation alone, they migrate along paths with no discernible motive nor concern. Whatever is in their way is simply torn apart and left behind them as a rich, molecular slurry that other forces are quick to capitalize on. Any attempts of interaction with an Annihilator result in violence, and most often the death of anyone too weak to escape. They don't appear to possess any idea of vengeance or pursuit-hunting behavior, but it's hard to distinguish that from indifference.   Comparative analysis with its 'nearest' ecological sibling, the Tetrahedron Destroyer, doesn't help either. Both seem to operate on a set range of conditions, bizarre as they are, and do not deviate from them in any observed instance. Some of the more wild theories consider the pair of them some kind of doll or construct created by an alien and/or divine intelligence. For as unbelievable as that can be, for want of any better evidence or explanation, such views remain consistently prominent.   The surest sign of it possessing intelligence, however, is its rudimentary ability to 'copy' spells. By most conventions, spellcraft is something restricted to the domain of sapient life; ergo, it must have sapience of some variety in order to do so. However, this convention is born from life on Veltrona herself, not whatever or wherever the Annihilator originates from. Opponents to this view argue that its 'spellcraft' may simply be an advanced form of 'mana reflection', which does exist throughout nature in many ways.      

Ecology

Ecosystem Niche

Given its inexplicable nature, it's difficult to consider Annihilators as having any meaningful role in the traditional views of nature and ecology. While some liken it to a force of nature beyond understanding, others ponder if Annihilators function as some kind of 'bodily organism'. The fact that its destroyed leavings are so resource rich and ready for exploitation, rather than gone entirely, suggests it functions like some kind of reset or digestive entity. At the least, it's incomprehensible as to why it would put in such effort only to leave behind resources in the manner it does.   Whether by design or otherwise, Veltrona's ecology has long adapted to exploit Annihilator leavings. So, at the least, the world does not appear bothered by their existence or incredible manner of destruction.    

Magical Interactivity

One of the most distinctive signs of an Annihilator's presence is its complete lack of mana emissions. Like a void in the middle of a collage of colors, its presence stands out starkly to anyone with such senses. It's neither an attractor nor repeller, necessarily, merely an intruding, contained presence similar to oil within water. This non-interactive nature means every form of mana and natural energy simply bends around it without anything happening. Given that it still performs magic of some variety, it clearly has control or influential power over mana in a tangible way.   Magical spells conducted on the Annihilator largely do not seem to affect it, but that appears to be due to its durability. Concepts like curses, debilitating poxes, or other maladies that are 'less damage' and more 'erosion' similarly do not have much visible effect. Even attempts at hastening magic to 'make it move faster' do not really work. No matter the manner of spell, though, Annihilators respond violently.    

Habitat and Distribution

An Annihilator's complete indifference to the world around it suggests it doesn't care, nor is really affected by, any of the environments it moves through. Their strange and random nature means they can be found literally anywhere if someone is so unlucky as to actually do so. They are, thankfully, one of the rarest existences ever recorded, and so most never really think nor care about encountering them. Whether or not they're numerically rare is a separate argument. Some scholars believe there to be many Annihilators, but most pass through uninhabited areas of Veltrona (or killed everyone who did observe them, leaving no record behind).    

Intersection with Civilization

For most, Annihilators are beings of myth, legend, or the nightmares of immortals. Entire civilizations have arisen and fallen without ever actually directly encountering one. Others, much less fortunately, have encountered one or many multiple times. For them, Annihilators might as well be embodied goddesses or divine forces of destruction, for there are no means to stop them in the slightest. The best that can be done is to simply get out of their way and rebuild in the ruins left behind. To that end, immortals or divine beings who are familiar with Annihilators will frequently try to warn those that are in the path of one.   Whether or not those warnings are heeded is, unfortunately, a separate problem.   Indifferent or not, when starkly evaluated, an Annihilator's passing has become less and less 'threatening' to the survival of species in the modern day. One such city existed as a strong point of reference, that of former Kylinana on the eastern coast Fauverngarz, circa 400~TD. As records go, an Annihilator emerged suddenly from the Shinespark Ocean, straight through Kylinana's harbors. While the city responded defensively, nearly everyone who tried fighting the Annihilator was swiftly destroyed. Fearing the worst, the city began evacuations as the Annihilator continued through, passing in a line from one end to the other, effectively bisecting the land. It would eventually disappear into the western lands, though no one knows where to.   Kylinana itself had most of its population survive, though there was tremendous infrastructure damage. It was the loss of most of its defenders, however, that truly doomed the city. When Kylinana's enemies realized the city had been mortally wounded, they invaded immediately. While that is certainly an issue, as far as the Annihilator was concerned, its total material damage and loss of life was otherwise 'quite minimal'. It does show, however, that even minimal damage in certain contexts can be profoundly dangerous.      

Design Notes