i did not die.

nothing was quite the same for rema after that day, at just the mere age of 10 years old. she was still a child, (a child with no parents to cry out for) and yet now she found herself treated akin to an animal confined to the cold, cruel walls of a laboratory. she was to be watched at all hours of the day, monitored and examined; mentally, emotionally, physically. anything to keep an eye on the sudden, violent changes that seemed to be the norm for this sort of thing. it had been documented in many historical documents locked away for the seraphic accord's eyes of course, rema is certainly not the first to undergo the crucible curse's affliction, however her's was the most violent. no one had eaten another member of the church the way she did. the priests and cardinals grew too comfortable with their safety measures for the day of awaited awakening, so perhaps that is why in the days, months, years even ... they'd come to excude such levels of caution that some may call it fear. (how pathetic it is to walk on eggshells around a mere child.)

she was already a shy and reserved child before everything happened, but now rema had shifted into a something of a recluse. an animal frightened of her handler's after a terrible accident. she'd sit in the darkened corners of her room with her knees held tightly to her chest. staring at the wall for hours in silence, dissociating, because this silence appeared to be her new norm. she'd not speak outloud for nearly one year prior to the incident. almost entirely mute. with professionals she would communicate with nods or shakes of her head, with 'yes' or 'no' flashcards, though to herself ? you could tell the wheels weren't completely dormant in her brain. she was listening to something, communicating with this newfound creature sinking its unholy roots into muscle, blood, bone ... an invasive plant not belonging to this fraglie ecosystem, yet stays and remains anyways, albeit weakened by the large mapping of holy runes now branded into rema's back. they were learning each other. sizing each other up to gauge just how strong their individual controls are. "  I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU MY NAME,  " it tells her, continues to do so even in present day. "  YOU WON'T NEED IT. I'LL DEVOUR YOUR SOUL QUICKLY LIKE THE ONE'S BEFORE YOU.  "

an entity born arrogance and pride undoubtably, soon to be proven wrong entirely, for the day this thing shall destroy rema from the inside out has yet to truly arrive. this cycle will end with her.

as days progress, turning into months and months turning into multiple years, rema would begin to finally show signs of improvement and adjustment. some days worse than others, and her attitude becoming sharp like a blade fresh of the whetstone, (much to the dismay of her future tutors — they weren't used to such intense stubbornness and increasing abrasiveness. definitely not fond of the swearing) but the good seemed be outweighing the immense blanketing of darkness in a flickering light of hope. she'd be taught combat when deemed ready: hand-to-hand, ultimately upgraded to weaponry via holy bladed scythe she'd come to name OBSCURA, then quickly climbing the accord's ranks to general. to this day rema is still monitored for signs of change despite her infinite amount of defiance and dislike. she always will be for as long as she continues to live.

STAGE ONE, the incubation. the very start of infection, beginning in the first twenty-four hours of initially contracting the crucible demon's energy. within the first hours, the victim will experience physical symptoms that mimic a common illness, so something along the lines of the common cold or the flu. bodily aches, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, ect. now while it's not common, it is possible for some individuals to be asymptomatic and not show nor express any sort of sign of the infection, which further aids in the incubation period and makes a crucible lead more difficult for a seer to pin-point and identify. it should be noted that asymptomatic cases typically yield a weaker crucible as a result, but still nothing that should be taken lightly regardless. the first twenty-four hours are simply so the crucible may take firm root into the soul. incubation lasts roughly a week. if caught exceptionally early, they may be brought into the church and be exorcised by a seraphic priest and recover. if.

STAGE TWO, the larva. if an asymptomatic person hasn't shown clear signs of the crucible possession within those first twenty-four hours, or haven't taken the advice of a seer and seek out the church, they most certainly will with stage two. the possession starts to fully run its course and the host body's soul slowly, violently breaks down until there's nothing left to even call human. exhibits signs of pica, where they crave non-food objects and always results in some sort of major bodily injury, such as from ingesting shards of glass, dirt, rocks, anything. they will also seek out water despite being hydrophobic, and become increasingly more violent as the body shuts down and the crucible's force festers. this is the stage exorcists of the seraphic accord are called out upon, and preferably before deaths or further spread ( ie: being scratched, bitten, spat on, ect by an infected person ) of the demonic essence. once the accord has been alerted and is confirmed to visit, it is highly advised that the afflicted person be heavily restrained until an exorcist arrives. anyone inflicted must be quarantined and treated at the church immediately. no ifs, no buts.

STAGE THREE, the pupa. in the event that a stage two crucible manages to evade exorcism, whether by escaping and fleeing, or by having their remains mishandled, pupas are rare but certainly not unheard of. once a full soul embodiment as taken place and the crucible has entirely cemented its place in the host body, they go into hiding as the body starts to ' recover ' from the initial infection so it may better preform its tasks. think of when an insect or a crab molts its shell and what's new is incredibly soft and squishy and they hide out until the new shell strengthens. pupas are dangerous, and require caution when being dealt with, but they prefer preservation of their new body at all costs and will most likely run than fight. they're considered to be glass cannons. they can still infect humans, but while they're learning their new body's functions, they lay low and feed on anyone who strays too close.

members of the seraphic accord are brought onto instances where the afflicted individuals have been identified by the seers of the church and are deemed both dangers and threats to the general public by said seers ( seers: church informants more or less. their job is to blend in with civilians and gather/relay information back to the church. ) these specific types of possessions and the demons that surround them, are referred to as ' full soul embodiments ' carried out by the ' crucible ', or the ' marked ones '. while their origins have been lost to time due to the destruction of ancient records, modern gathering has come to the conclusion that their primary ability is to infect and possess any creature of the flesh, including the already deceased, though those specific cases are incredibly rare and their infection window has to be within 2 hours of death for the body to still be considered fresh. crucible are demons who are parasitic in nature, and the onset of symptoms happens quickly over the course of a week or less depending on the infected's health or age.

early stages manifest with symptoms commonly found in pica disorder. ( a compulsive craving for non-food objects. ) as the human body begins to slowly shut down, the victim will begin to crave things such as dirt and wood, leaves and grass, and even more extreme things like pebbles or glass. they become hydrophobic and incredibly nauseated for reasons most medical professionals cannot explain. this is to slowly break down the host and its soul, and the host will inevitably grow increasingly violent when transitioning into later stages of infection. all of the above mentioned leads to the final stage, known as soul death, in which the host's soul effectively dies and the crucible can replace the body's essence with their own. it should be noted that there is absolutely no coming back from soul death, and the only means of salvation come from exorcising the infected souls with holy weaponry. in rema's case, her scythe and decapitation. these weapons sever the the ties of the crucible spirit from the inflicted host's flesh.

now, crucible's exist the same way ghosts do. they're always there in some kind of way, but the severity depends on how much residual energy they have consumed and thus how powerful their overall parasitic abilities may be. they can cling to humans with darker auras ( criminals, delinquents, ect ect ) and lay dormant in the soul if they're weaker, which gives them time to grow and become more capable. in more extreme cases, so if someone is already thoroughly infected and hasn't had the appropriate measures taken to be restrained while waiting for a member of the accord, they can spread the infection through bites/scratches/saliva into open wounds/ ect ect. when the body is exorcised, the remains have to then be burned as a precautionary measure, and it's not always guaranteed that you'll get those ashes back afterwards. this ensures that any lingering cursed energy is completely purged and gives it no chance to rebuild itself from residual energy.

PERSONALITY. admittedly rema is a bit abrasive and not the most welcoming person alive, though her sense of justice is strong and absolute. not very fond of authority or being told what to do unless it is a direct order from her higher affiliates. can be brash, blunt, and has a temper to match.

WEAPONRY. among various throwing knives and daggers, rema's weapon of choice is an ornate, holy forged scythe called OBSCURA. it's extremely heavy and requires her to wear gloves when handling as to not burn her flesh.

ABILITY. while a normal human, rema is the current host for a demonic entity that has plagued her family for generations upon generations. it's mostly held at bay via the runes and scripture branded into her flesh, however that does not mean it's entirely dormant. this creature grants rema superhuman strength and reflexes, as well as the opportunity for temporary berserker takeovers when her mental veil is extremely low. the latter is an incredibly rare feat and is almost impossible to contain when unleashed. use and approach with extreme caution.

THE SERAPHIC ACCORD:   a religious organization and branch of the vatican church that handles especially extreme cases of demonic exorcism,  as well as operating as elite monster hunters whose orders come directly from the current standing pope.  at its foundation are the direct descendants of the infamous argamont’e clan,  who originally got their start in the business of monster hunting dating all the way back to the 14th century.  in times of old,  they were regarded as outcasts,  thought to have been birthed in the fires of hell and touched by the devil himself,  but in reality they were simply people plagued by loss wrought from monstrous,  unholy beasts,  determined to bring ruination to the very things that made them suffer so terribly.   more information can be found here and here.

in modern day,   rema only knew seclusion and isolation as a child,  for to be born into the ranks of the current day argamont’e clan and the seraphic accord was to be born in seclusion outside of the public eye.  her days were simple,  for awhile:  playing amongst the other children born here,  or trying to at least — they were never a kind bunch to her,  as they felt something off about her spirit and what laid dormant in her small,  frail body.  over the countless centuries of their craft,  the argamont’e’s and their affiliates would inevitably cause the demonic energies slain to linger in small amounts, building and growing itself into something so unbelievably fierce and wild to where it would come to curse the bloodline generation after generation,  and at different severities.  anything from simply having one’s essence slowly siphoned away at the smallest,  to full-blown demonic possession resulting in soul death,  to claiming a vessel for its own so it may now have physical form.  after the death of her mother in childbirth and now faced with a wee babe born silent,  with abnormally bright crimson eyes,  it soon became apparent that rema was bearer of this wretched curse.  infanticide was not out of the question at first,   perhaps to prevent this dormant laying evil from awakening and taking its course,  an ‘ act of mercy ‘ as the church called it,  however after much consideration and following advice delivered by the holy father himself,  it would later be decided for rema to be raised as any other child with potential within the order;   she would be trained harder than most,  crafted and moulded into an adept fighter with unrelenting mental strengths,   and for awhile her intense routine would prove very effective,  but from the moment those around her became too comfortable in her stillness,  it signed their ends in bloodied ink.

at the age of ten,  all hell broke loose.  quite literally,   and figuratively.  on the day of one particularly harmless homily,  something snapped within her soul;   blackened,  evil,  all devouring.  rema fell silent with her mouth agape and head tossed back so violently it was first assumed it was broken and herself dead,  and before anyone could act her small body would lunge across the holy pews,  slaughtering all who sat one by one while evil,  distorted laughter rang from her to mock the holy spirit and its confined teachings.  she was quickly subdued,  restrained,  and then underwent an extraordinary exorcism that would end in holy runes and scripture to be branded to her upper back.  

‘ IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER,  AND OF THE SON,  AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN. SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL, DEFEND US IN BATTLE AND BE THY RETRIBUTION AND PROTECTION IN THE WICKEDNESS AND SNARES OF THE BEAST. ‘   . . .  amen.