Corrupted Object

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**Corrupted Objects** are mutated organisms that have been heavily exposed to Corruption rays. They inhabit the Counterside and are exceedingly hostile towards non-Corrupted beings.

## Description

Any organism—whether it be a human, animal, or even plant—can transform into a Corrupted Object when exposed to enough Corruption rays. The stronger or more concentrated the Corruption ray is, the more mutated the resulting C.O. will be. While they take on many different forms, standard C.O.s have dark grey carapaces with red eternium crystals protruding. Higher-category C.O.s are more ferocious in appearance and sport purple or green eternium crystals on their bodies, while C.O.s that emerge from large bodies of water are blue or white. Machines can also be corrupted, though this is a rare phenomenon. Corrupted Object behavior can be manipulated using Resonance Pulse Generators.

Corrupted Objects can breach Normalside through points of reality collapse called Counterside Effects. Their presence within a local area are usually part of a Corruption Disaster. The danger posed by a Corrupted Object is expressed by its Category, to which the Administration issues alerts depending on the severity of C.O. incursion, with the level of alert being derived from Counterside Effect (CSE) levels.

    Despite their nature, Corrupted Objects are edible by themselves. Additionally, some harbor Solocao, a type of fertilized C.O. egg that secretes a special hormone to enhance its host C.O. Described as having "the bitterness of cacao and the sweetness of honey," Solocao contains no Corruption-related substances but needs to be mixed with Solonila, an extract found on Solocao Queens, in order to make it safe for human consumption. However, if left alone, the Solocao will instead hatch and produce a unique kind of Category 3 C.O. Nevertheless, the chocolate that the C.O. produces upon death is still perfectly harmless and edible, though it contains chemicals that inhibit cortisol production and promote positive feelings. C.O.s that carry Solocao or Solonila are brown in color.

## Categories

Categories are measured by corruption ray output of the Corrupted Object.

### Category 1

These C.O.s pose little threat to most TASKFORCE companies. They can be defeated using conventional weapons such as machine guns

Corrupted wedgeCorrupted tumorCorrupted treeBombWraithBiterShooterNeedler
### Category 2

The Administration recommends Grade B Counters or fire support from an armor squad when facing Category 2 C.O.s.

WizardHunterkillerBansheeFloaterStunnerEaterQuakerWarlockDisasterHeadhunterHighlanderOgreBringerMoebius
### Category 3

These C.O.s are considered to be dangerous, requiring significant firepower to defeat. Grade C counters do not possess enough CRF to penetrate a Shadow's corruption barrier. Category 3 are strong enough to destroy a entire city by themselves.  At minimum, A Class Counters are needed to stand a chance against a Category 3.

BeastGreater Beast: DesireAbominationTyrant SwordTyrant Armor
### Category 4

Very few C.O.s of this type are seen, and many TASKFORCE companies are unwilling to engage C.O.s of this level.

NephilModerator Type ADemolition WormBritra the Thunderpeal (awakened)Britra the Thunderpeal (nightmare)
### Category 5

Very few C.O.s of this type have been encountered, mainly appearing during the Grand Purification War and the leadup to the Second Qliphoth Game.

Nameless OneMaestra Nequitia
### Category 6

The appearance of C.O.s of this category often signify the end of a world. They only appear at the climax of Qliphoth Games.

Guardian of SephiraHollow God
## Shadow

*If you see a man-shaped shadow when theres no one around, run away at once.*
*It's a shadow that didn't perish with its owner's death.*
*The shadow hovers around where it was left behind, looking for someone to go on a long journey with it*.
 - blurb from Episode 1 Act 3

**Shadows**, or **Demon-type C.O.s** as named by the Administration, are former Counters that have been turned into Corrupted Objects due to too much exposure to Corruption Rays or severe injury from a Corrupted Object. The more powerful the Counter was before succumbing, the more powerful the Shadow will become. Certain Shadows (such as Ministra) possess "corruption cores" which emit and distort spacetime in the Normalside even while living in the Counterside, causing Counterside effects.

Shadows are more likely to appear in front of fresh Counters visiting the Counterside for the first time, and single handedly raise the death rate for new squads. Fresh Counters "reek" of the Normalside, which is irresistable to Shadows. The Administration keeps guidance squads in place to make sure new rookies do not die to Shadow attacks for this reason. Once attached to someone, a shadow never goes away voluntarily. If it does, it will come back as a bigger threat.

Many Counters become Shadows and their personalities are twisted based on their last thoughts before becoming a Shadow. For example, Rita Arsenico's last thoughts before becoming a Shadow was her love for Dash and desire to protect her while Dash's last thoughts before becoming Spira was to return home to the Normalside. Because of this, many of the Counters who become Shadows end up losing their moral compass and become destructive or evil. Lyudmila is one of the most noticeable rare exceptions, as she was able to maintain her moral compass, mainly because her last thoughts before becoming a Shadow was more noble (to protect her comrades from incoming C.O. and her dedication and loyalty to her comrades and Administrator) when compared to other Shadows. Because of this, Lyudmilia ended up being very unique among many Shadows to the point that she earned some admiration to the Administrator.

The Administration's database provides various information to authorized corporations and organizations, and lists known shadows that must be avoided at all costs. However, it hasn't clarified its stand on whether or not Shadows should be treated as equal to their original Counters.

## Doppelganger

A **Doppelganger**, as named by the Administration, is unique type of Shadow that originates from a Shadow Palace[*citation needed*] and has the same appearance and abilities of their original non-Corrupted counterparts. Doppelgangers are incomplete Shadows that vehemently seek to absorb their original counterparts to become whole. They also require a constant source of eternium to stay alive unlike most other C.O.s and can cannibalize on each other if necessary.

## References

1. ↑ *End of the Maze* Act 1–7 — Traces
2. ↑ *Old Fear* Act 1–3 — Interlude #2
3. ↑ *Abandon Ship* Act 3–6 — Never Alone
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 *Sweet Promotion* Act 3–2 — Valetine's Day of Destruction
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 *Sweet Promotion* Act 1–1 — A Suspicious Mission
6. ↑ *Sweet Promotion* Act 2–1 — Operation: Bunny
7. ↑ *Sweet Promotion* Act 3–1 — A Great March of Chocolate
8. ↑ *The machine gun mounted on top enables them engage a relatively safe battle against Category 1 C.O. For this reason, they were once used by the United Forces to maintain security around their camps. -MA1 HMMWV Collection Profile*
9. ↑ Naielle: The Administration recommends Grade B Counters or fire support from an armor squad when dealing with Category 2 C.O.s

Episode 6, Act 2-3
10. ↑ Joo Shiyoon: It may be weakened, but it's still at least a Category 3!

Joo Shiyoon: Your CRF output's nowhere enough to penetrate the Shadow's corruption barrier!

-Episode 1/Act 3/Transcript#3-4. Wolvesbane
11. ↑ Scout: Category 3? Isn't that super dangerous?

Sweeper: It sure is. These things are brutal enough to destroy an entire city by themselves.

Act 6, 1-2
12. ↑ Terminator: We'll need at least a Grade A Counter to stand a chance against a Category 3.

Ep 6, 1-2
13. ↑ Joo Shiyoon: That's one powerful Corruption ray.

Joo Shiyoon: She must have been quite the beast when she was alive, huh?

Hilde: ...Probably.

Hilde: Or she wouldn't have become a Shadow in the first place.

-Episode 1/Act 3/Transcript#3-1. Obsession
14. ↑ Hilde: Shadows are more likely to appear in front of Counters diving for the first time.

Hilde: It's because FNGs like you and those ALT kids reek of the Normalside.

Joo Shiyoon: That's also why the death rate is so high for Counters during their first dive mission.

Joo Shiyoon: The Administration has guidance squads for this reason.

- Episode 1/Act 3/Transcript#3-2. It's Not Over Yet
15. ↑ blurb from Episode 1/Act 3/Transcript#3-2. It's Not Over Yet
16. ↑ **Administrator**: Because the original absorbed the Doppelganger, you ended up becoming a much higher tier C.O. than I imagined. And you got a bunch of new intriguing abilities thanks to the procedure. The Shadow World is a sort of alternate dimension within you. The folks who had their Corruption transferred to you can reside in your Shadow World and come back out whenever you wish. They said they'd stay in there for the time being. The Normalside's atmosphere can feel pretty aggravating for those who have been corrupted. -End of the Maze/#2-14 Epilogue
17. ↑ - blurb from Episode 1/Act 4/Transcript#4-3. Hunting Again
18. ↑ *Bottom of the Shade* Act 2–2 — Half Shadow #2 solicitation
19. ↑ *End of the Maze* Act 1–4 — Comrades
20. ↑ *End of the Maze* Act 2–9 — Interlude #8