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Dark Embrace/ Xié è De Yōngbào(邪恶的拥抱)

During the 'Hunters of the Dark Saga' (around the late 1900s), events lead to Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling coming across an unusual disturbance in China: a portal. After discussing with one another, they decide to investigate as they have had no solid lead to saving their mother. Unknowingly, they end up traveling into a brand-new reality. In this reality, the Cryas Chronicles reality, they end up on the word of Umbralus. In an initial battle with a strange creature, Hsien-Ko becomes afflicted with a strange substance of this world. Through intel, they learn this substance that bled onto Hsien-Ko is a dangerous substance known as Corriyami. Corriyami is dangerous to lifeforms as it causes them suffer Corruption, leaving them as nothing more but an erratic, dangerous victim of the mutagenetic substance. In time, it eventually kills the victim, using their bodies to eventually fuel its simple needs to multiply and survive. However, Hsien-Ko is different since she is an undead being of which do not exist on Umbralus nor Illumalus.

Over their journey to make it to the world capitol, Lunalos, in order to see if the portal there can lead them home, Hsien-Ko deals with the very real fear that this substance might do something to her, possibly something that even Mei-Ling can't save her from. Afflicted with nightmares and even being taunted by her inner darkness, it all comes to a critical point during a battle with a large group of Corrupted, beings who fall victim to Corruption. In a near death situation, the Corriyami in Hsien-Ko, which had been festering and mutating in her during their travels, awoke and caused a new power to awaken in both her and Mei-Ling. This new power... nay new form gave them the advantage they needed to win. Upon having a chance to rest and take stock, they found that on Mei-Ling's talisman form, the phrase '邪恶的拥抱' was written on her rather than the typical phrase. They would refer to these forms as Xié è De Yōngbào, though would also use the phrase 'Dark Embrace' as well. From then on, the sisters would practice their use of these new forms to give themselves an edge in battle as they saw the potential they had with these otherworldly powers bestowed by the Corriyami. However, upon their initial return to Earth, they decided to keep these powers a secret to their friends and allies till they felt the time was right to explain how they got it.

Dark Embrace Powers and Abilities

In this entry, I'd like to go over the powers, abilities, and aspects of the Dark Embrace for Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling as they are quite a big part of Cryas Darkstalkers lore. To start out with, official ref sheets of their designs to help visualize some things that will be discussed:

To start things off, 'Dark Embrace' (Xié è De Yōngbào) is a technique known as a 'Burst'. Burst is the term used by beings in the Cryas Chronicles reality in regard to the ability of using stored potential energy in the individual to invoke a power-up in the individual. This power-up can simply be a boost to aspects of the individual's capabilities or manifest in a transformation in the user. For Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling, the Dark Embrace manifests as a transformation invoked by their Qi, mutated Corriyami, and the 'shadow selves' that were created in them thanks to the mutated Corriyami within. The appearances they take on invoke the looks of beings that would later come to be known as Corrians.

Once both sisters have enough potential energy to initiate the Burst, one sister can trigger the transformation and cause both to transform. Later on, through training they find a way to where only one sister can transform and the other can hold on to their stored energy to tag in later better utilize their stored energy in a strategic manner.

When Hsien-Ko uses the Dark Embrace, her physical strength is bolstered to further heights, allowing her to overpower quite a number of physically powerful individuals in close quarters combat. Not only that, her stamina and endurance are increased to allow her to tank her way through hits with greater ease, allowing her to get into the thick of battle and power on through with great fervor. Another benefit is her healing factor is hastened, allowing her to recover from horrible wounds quicker to allow her to get back into the battle. While it is unknown if Hsien-Ko can regrow body parts while in the Dark Embrace should they be severed, it is theorized that should the limb still be in one piece, she could attach it back and her body could re-attach to the limb. However, neither sister is in a position nor desires to test this theory.

(credit: @o-corvo-art)

An interesting quirk of the Burst is how Hsien-Ko's sleeves can move and function. While Hsien-Ko has always been able to move her sleeves with manipulating her Qi, in the Dark Embrace they move in ways as if they have a mind of their own. The sisters theorize it is Hsien-Ko's 'shadow self' that takes control of the sleeves during the Burst, allowing Hsien-Ko to more focus on what her body is doing. Because the shadow self is a part of her psyche, it synchronizes better with her movements and makes her quite a dangerous foe to face. Speaking of shadows, if Mei-Ling attaches to Hsien-Ko while in the Dark Embrace, she can call forth the Qi and Corriyami in Hsien-Ko's body in the form of an energy mass that is referred to as a 'shadow'. This mass of energy is able to be manipulated to take on the form of fully functioning limbs, weapons of varying kinds only limited by the imagination, or they can attach to the inner lining of Hsien-Ko's sleeves and drape out to give her 'wings' of sorts. These wings allow for Hsien-Ko to fully be able to fly.

(Credit: @itsununnusart) Initially, this shadow mass was only able to be called forth by Mei-Ling, but overtime as Hsien-Ko improved her capabilities with the Dark Embrace she eventually found a way to do it herself. This effectively gives her six functioning limbs to work with, making her incredibly dangerous if she is fresh and ready for battle. Another noteworthy aspect of the Dark Embrace, and the mutated Corriyami in general, for Hsien-Ko is how the influence and voice of her inner jiangshi, Xienian, are effectively nullified. However, cautions are still taken to assure she doesn't taste blood in case that still triggers this inner darkness to come forth.

(credit: @masterartlocked)

Mei-Ling, like Hsien-Ko gets a notable increase to her physical capabilities and stamina, able to match up more to her younger sister's base form. However, that pales in comparison to the other profound changes to her. The immediately noticeable feature of Mei-Ling's Dark Embrace is the shadow mass on her. When she initiates the Burst, her arms melt away as the Qi and Corriyami in her body sprout from where her arms used to be. During this Burst, her shadow becomes her arms. These shadow limbs make Mei-Ling an incredible dangerous foe to face down. These limbs are quite powerful as they are able to pulverize bodies, shatter rocks, and even pierce metal. Not only is it strong, but it is very resilient. While it can be cut off, the shadow will grow back fairly quickly from the stub left on Mei-Ling’s body, without causing pain to the jiangshi spirit. Due to their amorphous nature, they can change shape per Mei-Ling's will. Beyond simply taking on the shape of normal arms and hands, they can change size and length per her will. Should she need to, she can change the shadow to take on the form of varying weapons, of which are many thanks to her knowledge as an enthusiastic weapon master. However, one of the most prominently used forms of her shadow is that of a dragon. This 'shadow dragon' is basically a corrupted mirror image of the memory of seeing her mother's dragon form the day she sacrificed herself. It is a cathartic way for not only her mother to still be aiding her in a way, but for this corrupted image to pulverize her foes with great ferocity.

(credit: @o-corvo-art)

Beyond the shadow, another notable trait of Mei-Ling in the Dark Embrace is the astronomical increase in her magical powers. Not only are her Xianshu arts increased in their potency but so are the many magi artes she learned from her friends and allies in the other reality. So great are her magical capabilities in the Dark Embrace, she is capable of even using the powerful Jrukoshn Aarts with relative ease.

(Credit: Bunny_Bones BunnyBones ✨COMMISSIONS CLOSED✨ (@Bunny_Bones_) / Twitter)

A shared aspects with Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling in the Dark Embrace is the fact that due to the nature of how they obtained this Burst, both sisters are immune to the Corruption inflicted by Corriyami.

Powerful as the Dark Embrace is, it is not without limitations. Like all Bursts, it requires a certain amount of stored potential energy in the user in order to even make use of the Burst, of which the amount varies between each individual, each Burst, and their skill with the Burst. Once the Burst is active, the user only can only keep the Burst active for as long as there is enough stored energy to fuel the Burst. With practice, the energy consumption can be made more efficient to keep the Burst going longer, but eventually the reserves will run dry. Normally once the pool of energy is gone, the Burst will force the user to deactivate the Burst. However, individuals can force the Burst to break past this limitation and keep it going once the potential energy is gone. However, this is incredibly dangerous as the Burst is then relying on the user's own life forces as a means to fuel the Burst. Should the user recklessly keep this up, it can kill the individual. Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling nearly had this happen to them in the Void Labyrinth, the Burst only shutting off once they fell unconscious after a great ordeal. Should this happen, individuals can be left in a comatose like state as their bodies try to recover and stabilize their energy.

Corriyami

Since I am in a mood, I do want to explain about a very important thing to the Cryas Chronicles mythos:

Corriyami.

''For as long as the people of Umbralus and Illumalus have called those two realms their home, there has always been the constant fear of a substance that exists in both realms. Some saw it as a sick creation of a deity, others saw it as just a natural plague of the world. Whatever they believed of its origin, one thing was clear throughout history: its horrific effects on animals and their fellow kin.''

Corriyami as it is more understood in the modern times is an extremely dangerous mutagenetic organic substance. It has been recorded in coming in two states of matter: an extremely dense fog and as a semi-fluid liquid state. The fog form of Corriyami is significantly denser than air, so tends to be found relatively close to the ground. The fog state tends to be most commonly observed in caverns, low level areas on the surface, or leaking out of victims. If enough of the fog state is present, it will condense down to the liquid state. The liquid state can range in size from puddles to massive lakes, generally the most common form of the substance. Typically, researchers and inhabitants have noted its tendency to exist in areas where rainfall cause the substance to move down, eventually collecting into many areas such as valleys, caverns, or below sea-level lake beds. Corriyami in of itself is denser than water, so will fall to the lower level of bodies of water as the water pushes it down. The color of the substance tends to be that of a primarily violet-blue hue. Many have noted a very pungent, musky, rotten like scent in areas where Corriyami has been noted to be present.

What makes Corriyami so dangerous and feared by all is what it does to its victims. As mentioned, Corriyami specifically targets lifeforms that have blood in their systems, so the likes of plant life and insects are immune to the substance. Thus, all manner of animal and intelligent life-forms that require blood, like Umbrians, Illumins, and Aunakins are susceptible to Corriyami. For it to infect a victim, the fog or liquid state must be absorbed into the body via contact with the skin. When it enters the victim's body, the substance will travel through the victim's body, seeking a pathway to the individual's brain via the victim's nervous system and bloodstream. As soon as Corriyami makes contact with the skin, the body does two things. The first is to alert the victim via pain receptors firing off to alert the individual. Once the alerts are sent, the body then creates adrenaline in order to give the individual a fighting chance to escape from the source of the Corriyami and fuel the immune system in order to seek and destroy the substance. Due to the co-existence of Corriyami and life-forms on Umbralus and Illumalus for hundreds of millions of years, the immune system of the lifeforms there are quite capable of combating and destroying the substance. But in return, the Corriyami has grown resilient and persistent, more or less brute forcing its way through the body.

When enough can make it to the brain, the Corriyami will infect the victim's brain, sending signals to the body to cease the immune system's attempts to further combat the invasive substance. This begins what many know as 'Corruption'. The first step of Corruption is the shutdown of the pain receptors, carefully manipulating the victim's nervous system in order to do so. The individual for the time being will still have control of their body as the Corriyami allows the body time to heal from the initial assault. As the body heals, the Corriyami will slowly set the foundation for the next big step by eating at non-vital fluids and organs of the body. This allows more Corriyami to form and spread throughout the body as it is being carried through the blood stream. As it does this, it begins to supplant the immune system, consuming and converting white blood cells. Should any diseases begin to enter the body, the Corriyami will merely consume them. A cruel form of protection for the victim. Once the immune system is fully taken and enough of the substance has moved throughout the body, inserting into areas where the muscles of the body are, the terminal stages of Corruption can commence.

Full Corruption, as it is diagnosed as, begins with Corriyami hijacking the motor controls of the victim via their muscles. As it does this, it will then begin the process of supplanting the blood cells in the individual. Despite the destruction of blood cells, the Corriyami will take on the role of the blood cells via carrying vital air molecules and nourishment thought-out the body where it is needed. The substance still needs the victim alive for as long as possible. Once all the blood in the victim has been converted, the victim is no longer in control of their actions. Unable to talk, unable to move of their own accord, they merely exist now as a living incubator for Corriyami. At this point, the Corriyami will start to move the victim around. While it does need to infect other organisms in order to continue the cycle, it is careful at how it interacts with other lifeforms. While pain receptors have been completely destroyed at this point, the Corriyami is careful with how it engages.

As the victim, dubbed 'The Corrupted', are moved around, their body will begin to secrete out bits of excess Corriyami that is made in the body. Should the Corriyami determine that a lifeform poses a threat to the victim, it will do what it can to keep the victim from being killed via mutating parts of the body to defend itself. Aggressive tactics are implemented to either scare off would be attackers or to attempt to harm and spread the substance. However, should this not work, the body will begin to create liquid blisters of Corriyami laced fluids upon the skin, where they will eventually burst and spread some of the substance onto attackers. If all else fails, the Corrupted will retreat. In circumstances where the Corriyami can happen upon a harmless lifeform, it will secrete Corriyami from the body to then spread to another victim. This process of multiplying in the victim's body and spreading the substance to others while also keeping the Corrupted alive goes on for days. During this time, the Corriyami begins to eat at more and more fluids and organs in the body. Once it is nearing the end of running out of parts of the body to consume, the Corriyami will seek to find an area close to populated areas or an area with high concentrations of Corriyami. Once there, the victim remains motionless as the Corriyami finally kills the victim. From there, the rest of the organic matter is consumed from within at a rapid pace. With this rapid consumption of the body, gaseous Corriyami is expelled from the with much force, spreading as much around. Once it is done, all that remains is the skeleton of the victim. The cycle has been complete and the Corriyami can begin anew.

The highly volatile and high energy nature of Corriyami makes it relatively difficult to destroy. While the immune systems of life forms on Umbralus and Illumalus have evolved overtime to create special antibodies that exist solely to destroy Corriyami, they are not full proof and can be completely overwhelmed if too much of the substance enters into the body. Even if an individual can escape and not suffer Corruption, the individual is left in a sickened state for quite some time as the body gets weak from expending so much energy to have the immune system fight in overdrive to destroy any trace of the substance. Corriyami has been found to be immune from any sanctioned, conventional means to fight bacterial and viral infections. However, it does not mean it is fully immune from being destroyed. From what few tests have been allowed under the strictest guidelines, some chemicals have been found to be able to destroy Corriyami. However, those tended to be chemicals of extreme danger in themselves to lifeforms and even then, required a high amount as the substance will still prove resilient from chemical attacks as the Corriyami would merely try to convert whatever chemical particles tried to breach its structures. Effectively, the substance has to be overwhelmed. Radiation is the most effective means of destroying the substance, but once again, still requires a high amount as the substance's structure is resilient enough to stand strong.

Cryas Chronicles: Explorers of the Darkest Days

Been on my mind again, so I wanted to finally write something down in regard to this story idea I have been on and off about. As the title suggests, this story is in regard to my OC mythos. However, Crays Chronicles: Explorers of the Darkest Days is meant to be an AU focusing on my OC Norocier as she ends up in a world of Pokémon.

What is the premise you may ask? As stated, this is set in a world of Pokémon. However, this world is like a pseudo mystery dungeon like world in the sense that there are no humans: only Pokémon inhabit this world. While Pokémon do have some semblance of societies, none talk in the way we would assume. Primarily, they communicate as many animals would with varying means to communicate. Of course, with Pokémon there more magical/fantastical means of how they can, but still in the realm of not really 'talking'. With no humans around, there is the interesting aspect that Pokémon don't refer to themselves by the names that we as readers would know them by. And that is a key thing to keep in mind. In the following paragraphs, I'll give a synopsis in regard to the setup of the story and setting.

The colossal known as Eternatus awakens from a deep slumber as an unknown, but powerful source of energy beckons them from their millennia long stretch of rest. Drawn to what had awaken them, Eternatus happens upon a pond of a violet, thick liquid substance that lay before them. While the titan had never seen such a substance before, they can feel the incredible almost intoxicating energy emitting from the alien liquid. In no time, Eternatus feasts on the liquid, voraciously absorbing it into their energy core. Upon the completion of their meal, the creature could feel a great high of energy as the liquid empowered their core. However, as quickly as they enjoyed this rush of energy, something unpleasant was noticed by the giant. The energy levels in them were rising without any sign of stopping. As the continual rise in energy flooded their senses, Eternatus began to feel pain. Seeking to relieve this excess energy, the colossal would unleash beams of energy from their core to help with the extra energy. They have had incidents like this before, so no worry. But this was futile as the chain reaction of this substance with their energy core still continued unabated. In fact, it was getting worse as the energy levels continued to rise to painful levels that the dragon had never felt before. Again, they would unleash powerful beams of energy one after another with greater ferocity. But again, the reaction kept going. Not only was the titan panicking now from the pain, but the energy levels began to force the dragon to assume their true form. Not only was this in response to the unfathomable amounts of energy in their system, but it was also a means to relive themselves of this excess energy that they so desperately were trying to stabilize. However, the form was not only different than what they recalled eons ago, their energy core continued to grow wildly out of control. Dwarfing the hills and mountains in the immediate area, the legendary colossal unleashed a barrage of beams of unstable energy from their core and many orifices. With the ever-escalating energy in their very essence and the many beams tearing through the sky and land, the fabric of space-time was beginning to bend to the cosmic level amounts of energy being unleashed in the given vicinity. And this wouldn't go unnoticed. 

From their domain in a realm between the threads of reality, the violent hermit known as Giratina would come to attention as they felt powerful shockwaves come out of nowhere. While these waves would not come to harm the beast, they did cause aspects of their Distortion Realm to be forever damaged and warped beyond recognition. This unprovoked attack upon their domain absolutely enraged the demon. So enraged were they that they immediately sprang into action to not only find the source of the shockwaves, but to make the source pay dearly with their life as retribution. It took mere seconds to find the source: somewhere in the main realm of reality, coming from an incredibly powerful source unlike anything Giratina had ever witnessed or felt in their primordial existence. Despite this potentially dangerous foe, it did not falter the renegade's absolution into making this malefactor pay dearly for what they had done. As they flew through the boundaries of the nexus, they entered main realm of reality to bear witness to their colossal foe. But not only that, but the renegade also caught sight of two other beings they had not seen for aeons and not ones Giratina was particularly pleased to see. The embodiment of the fabric of space and the flow of time respectively, Palkia and Dialga had also come from their homes in the realms beyond. Due to the near cosmic levels of distortion and bending of the aspects of reality going on in this single area, these primordial dragons had also come to not only investigate but put a stop to it before it reached apocalyptic levels. Despite their hatred for their siblings, Giratina set aside their feelings toward Palkia and Dialga in order to take down the current target of their ire. The trio of creation would unite for the first time in countless eons to take down this threat to reality. 

Each dragon made use of their primal force of energy at full throttle in order to take down this energy dangerous titan. Palkia with a motion of their arms rend the fabric of space. Dialga roared with such a ferocious battle cry as it disrupted the flow of time. Giratina coated in the shadows of the nexus would attack with deadly force against the titan. However, while their attacks would damage the titan, it did little to stop Eternatus as it continued to unleash beam after beam, crying out in pain as they had at this all but lost control of their body. Despite this, the trio would continue their assault with steadfast resolution. For what felt like an eternity, the trio would continue to fight, here and there dodging and tanking hits from the pained titan. Despite the damage they would sustain, they would fight through the pain and continue to attack the titan. When they all but seemed like they were each at their near breaking point, the foe they all rallied against suddenly stopped. No longer did they hear the cries of pain, no long was there the storm of beams that laid waste to the land. It all just stopped. The trio witnessed the mountain sized titan change form into a relatively smaller form than what they fought against. While Giratina still in their mind sought to kill the creature in front of them, something else beckoned them to leave. It wasn't just the sheer exhaustion and pain that made them leave, but something else they nor their siblings noticed during the fight. As Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina all left for their respective domains to rest and recover, something would fester in all three of them. Unknown to them since the moment they came to fight Eternatus, they had been exposed to a form of energy radiating from the titan's core that begun to mutate, nay... corrupt their bodies. Not only would they be influenced by this intoxicating alien energy, but others would as well as the ripples of space-time during the colossal's desperate attempt to save their life would echo far beyond the immediate area. The giant would once again slumber, their form forever changed. 

 In another realm far beyond the reaches of the current crisis, Norocier had been going out for a stroll among the trees in a forest in the realm of Umbralus. She was taking this nature walk as a chance to relax from her daily life with her family. Ever grateful to have those she could not only call kin but communicate with in their own way, she did sometimes enjoy a bit of time to now see the wilderness in a new light. No longer was she just another beast out in the wilderness only seeking to survive, but now she was truly living and had been doing so for the better part of the last decade. Finding a nice spot to sit against a tree and allow her mind to contemplate many thoughts, she would eventually find herself dozing off to the sounds of the gentle breeze that snaked through the trees. With her eyes closed and her mind further drifting from consciousness, the Corrian would fall asleep; A nap to relax amongst the foliage before heading back home to her family. But unknown to her now sleeping mind, fate had different plans for her. Having awoken from her sleep, Norocier would realize very quickly something was wrong. The scents of the area were different to anything she ever smelled in Umbralus. As she looked at the sky, the alignment of the stars was not to what she was used to. Not only that, no crystal in sight for as far she can see. Norocier would come to a grave conclusion: she had somehow ended up into another realm while she slept. Perhaps a portal or distortion in space-time caused this to happen. But the matter at hand was not to figure out how she got to this unknown land, but to figure out a way home. Wondering for some time, Norocier would eventually catch the scent of something that caught her attention. While it was a familiar scent, it was one that filled her mind with dread. Upon finding the source, she was beyond all reasonable doubt at what she was looking at: Corriyami.

A general set up for the story. Effectively, Norocier via space-time distortions ends up in a world of strange creatures she has never seen before. Beyond that, she also happens to arrive as this world has been ravaged by the effects of Corriyami that somehow ended up in this world. Likely a result of those space time distortions. While that is an issue, her main problem is getting back home as she has somehow ended up in this alien realm. Eventually, she will come across and fight many of these strange creatures. Some of the ones she faces are those who have fallen victim to Corruption while others have been mutated by it. As she eventually befriends some of these mutated Corrian creatures, Norocier and her pack embark on a journey with several goals: aid those they come across, help her pack as they come to grips with their mutations, and find her a way home. I have more stuff in mind but hopes this gives a good idea of what to expect with blogs regarding this Cryas Chronicles AU story. :)

Art made by @masterartlocked! Give them a big thumbs up for helping make art for this project and just being there for me to throw ideas and get feedback. Thank you Nicole! 🥹

The power of the spirit compels you!

One thing that has always been a constant for me is how those who can use the aura elemental are immune to the corrupting effects of Coriyami. With the fact that I now am going forward with the idea of aura being spiritual energy manipulated from the caster's own soul, how does this provide protection from one of the most feared substances in the Cryas Chronicles mythos?

Corriyami evolved alongside lifeforms on Umbralus and Illumalus. As time passed over aeons, Corriyami evolved to specifically hijack the cells of specific lifeforms, fauna-based lifeforms to be exact. It never evolved to consume spiritual energy. In the simplest way, when one has the ability to use the aura elemental, their body effectively can use their spiritual energy to basically trick the Corriyami. While this doesn't destroy the Corriyami, it does allow the individual's own body and immune system to fight back against the Corriyami. The Corriyami is basically unaware of what is going on and is destroyed by the immune system or eventually passed through the body.