3rd Apostle

> "I form the basis of life."
> "My body is the origin."
> "Through my flesh, does evolution begin."
> "I am God's form. The final life-form. The perfect Body."
> "I am invincible."
>
> - The Body

The 3rd Apostle, the Body, is one of the 12 Apostles and ancestor to all monster kind. His twin is the 4th Apostle, the Memory. They both came into existence together and are some of the most powerful beings in existence. It is one of the MC's possible monster parents and is the parent of Ella Vulpe.

## Background

The 3rd Apostle is one of the 12 original progenitors of all monster species. Like all Apostles, it represents some of the fundamental components of reality and is worshiped as a god by most monster kind. The 3rd seems to represent the "Form" of all matter in the universe and is one of the monsters to give rise to the shape changer type monsters.

The 3rd was born alongside it's twin the 4th Apostle and - unusually for apostles - seem to work together towards their own unfathomable goals.

It currently exists only in the "Higher Plane" and to manifest into the player's dimension it needs an avatar body. These avatars display the full strength of the apostle but are burned out in short order due to the sheer power coursing through them. The apostle then returns to the "Higher Plane", discarding the avatar corpse.

### Origins

Approximately five years before the beginning of the game, the 3rd Apostle manifested an avatar to ascend Ella Vulpe as a spawn. She was 14 years old at the time and seems to be unusually compatible with the Apostle's trait, being able to communicate with it as early as her second evolution. Unfortunately she was unable to manifest the twin traits of the 3rd and 4th Apostles and was ordered to find a more compatible "Heir". Ella was able to locate the MC and targeted him for ascension by the Apostles.

### Early Arcs

Both the 3rd and 4th Apostles are summoned when the MC is fed the monster pill by Ella Vulpe. The two apostles seem to communicate with each other before approaching the MC. The MC - very sensibly - turns and sprints away from them. Depending on the player's choices, the MC will be confronted by either the 3rd or the 4th Apostle. If the MC is confronted by the 3rd Apostle, it will suddenly appear next to him as he is sprinting through Bill's Park and ensnare him with its tentacles. Ignoring the MC's struggles, it connects to his mind and begins to analyze him. The MC notes that the 3rd's mental presence feels noticeably hostile (contrasting the 4th's more intimate approach). Seemingly unable to get a precise enough scan of the MC, the 3rd inserts its tentacles into the MC's brain via his ear to directly interact with the information. Satisfied with whatever it finds, it stabs the MC - again through the ears - with strange fluid filled, needle-like tentacles before leaving him in the park. It confers again with the 4th Apostle before the two apostles leave the MC to die and ascend as a Superhuman.

### Mafia Arc

If the 3rd Apostle is the MC's monster parent, it appears in the MC's mind after the MC's second evolution and defeat of Klaus Aldain. It tries to communicate with the MC, telling him to devour. Presumably it wanted him to consume Klaus, but the connection was interrupted when Alice Alderman leaped in between Klaus and the MC and killed Klaus.

### Jake Arc

If the MC has sufficiently high internal corruption when facing the giant fused M22: Minyak, his connection to his apostle parents is high enough that the Minyak is able to see and sense their influence. If the MC is a son of the 3rd, the minyak senses the 3rd - who responds with "4&$\*(\*&^675))". This causes the fused minyak to submit out of fear and reverence to the MC's power and surrender; ending the very public fight without casualties.

Both the 3rd and 4th Apostles subconsciously communicate with the MC, via his dreams, throughout the arc. If the MC has sufficiently high internal corruption, he is able to understand some of the things they say. Mostly they want him to devour everything, to consume all his enemies so he can grow in strength and be ready (presumably for the Black Moon).

If the MC chooses to devour Jake Huxley after the fight at the PM's office his mind is momentarily transferred to the "Higher Plane". There he is confronted by the 1st Apostle who - speculatively - wanted to subdue his mind so the corruption could take it over. The 3rd and 4th Apostle both simultaneously interfere and attack the 1st. They ensnare it with their tentacles before dragging it into the earth - binding it (or Jake's portion of it's essence) into the subconscious space the MC keeps all his devoured personalities in.

### Battle of Diamonds

Both the 3rd and 4th Apostles are present during the MC's Level 3 evolution trance. They seem to watch silently as the "Eye" speaks to the MC. The "Eye" tells the MC to ignore the apostles before questioning him about his goals.

### Twins Arc

Some of the 3rd's essence is discovered in a small jar underneath a loose floorboard in the old occult club room of Christie's, Ella's, and Emily's high school. The bottle was likely hidden there by Ella when she was still in high school. The power of the tiny sample is evident in the deep apprehension it evokes in the MC when he looks at it. Nevertheless he pours a single tiny drop of the essence onto his skin to try and absorb memories and his mind is instantly overwhelmed by a direct connection to 3rd. The 3rd calls the MC "Heir", regardless of whether he is a spawn of the 3rd or 4th, and tells him to come to the 3rd and 4th because the Black Moon is approaching. The connection is then severed.

## Powers and Abilities

The 3rd Apostle is one of the most powerful beings in existence. Being called "The Body", the 3rd displays absolute atomic control of its own form. Most of its powers are speculation since the only instances of the 3rd's powers seen so far are: the capture and ascension of the MC and the powers displayed by the Level 5 direct spawn of the 3rd Ella Vulpe and monsters related to the 3rd. Like the other apostles the 3rd is practically invincible. Its avatar is incredibly fast and strong and it can presumably instantly replicate and assume the form of any inanimate or animate object. Unlike the 4th, it also seems to need to absorb or interact with an object before comprehending it enough to assume its properties. Like the MC, Ella, and the 4th, it favors attacking with tentacles. When subduing the 1st Apostle in the "Higher Plane", it manifests enormous tentacles that bound and dragged the 1st into the ground.

Ella does note that her (and the MC's) ability to transform other objects is unique to them and that the 3rd and 4th are restricted to transforming only themselves. Spawns and Monsters derived from the 3rd naturally work with physical materials. They can manipulate their own bodies and as they become more powerful they can start manipulating material that they interact with. Ella for example learnt how to use the metal and other substances in her blood to create things like metal claws and diamond infused bones relatively early into her growth. They also gain some type of mental "comprehension" ability, whereby they instinctively understand and comprehend the subtleties of things they interact with, allowing them to shift into it. However this comprehension is not as perfect as the 4th Apostle and her line.

Monsters spawned from the 3rd's line are relatively common and shown to be all over the power spectrum. These monsters - commonly called Shifters or Shapeshifters by H.E.R.O. - are notably tricky to asses and handle. Their powers naturally make them versatile and slippery and their natural regeneration (a component of their shapeshifting) makes them very resilient to damage. Conversely, their bodies need to stay soft and malleable to shift easily so they tend to be less tough than comparably powerful monsters and Superhumans. More powerful members of the Shapeshifter type (Ella Vulpe) have been shown to to be able to become completely invulnerable to damage by "rejecting" any change to their bodies. However this requires significant energy and leaves them unable to move.