Verzerrt

Artwork of potential Verzerrt forms before Host consumption (temporary asset)

## Physical description

### Species

Parasitic Shapeshifting Biological HumanoidsEvolved form of Homo Sapien (speculated)

### Height

7-8ft Tend to adopt the host's height after consumption, though they can change this later if they so wish

### Eye color

None visibleVaried after consuming host

**Verzerrt** are a race of shapeshifting skeletal humanoids that are appear to be immortal. They have seemly unlimited biological shapeshifting/manipulation capabilities along with other abilities that appear more supernatural in nature.

## Origin

Verzerrt have no discernable origin at the moment, with theories of them being extraterrestrial or demonic in nature being disproven due to conflicting evidence. Sightings along with associated murders believed or proven to have been committed by them appearing out of nowhere, originally believed to have started in the U.S. first, but later disproven when Germany shared that they first starting seeing this report in an unspecified state of their country along with fewer sightings in or surrounding Berlin. This is what would also lead to their designation, considering the country they first "appeared" in.

Verzerrt are believed to be more of a natural force of nature rather than regular organisms, meant to wipe out humanity for it's sins or replace them as the dominant species. This is still just speculation though.

Interestedly, some Verzerrt have been discovered in deposits of a strange crystalized material resembling amber, providing more evidence to suggest that they are indeed an earth-born species. Dating on the material suggests it is millions or years old, possibly older, which suggests that the Verzerrt have been around as long or even longer than humans. Some have even gone so far as to say that the Verzerrt are the progenitors or ancestors of humans. This is unsupported at the moment.

## Etymology

The name "Verzerrt" is of German origin that can mean distorted or warped. More specifically, it can also be translated to drawn or to present a distorted picture of something. The word can also be used to describe a scenario in which something is presented in a way that is inaccurate or untrue. The name refers to the shapeshifting abilities that often deform or distort the image of either their own form or their host form. It can also be interpreted as a description of the behavior of these creatures, as they tend to deceive most creatures using those same abilities.

(More info to be revealed later)

## Biology

Both before and after consuming a viable "host", the Verzerrt are capable of manipulating, reshaping, transfiguring, and modifying both their own body and structure, and those of other biological organisms however they wish. This process seems to be mostly biological, but can appear to have supernatural aspects as well. This gives them incredible durability and regeneration, along with being able to form any part of themselves into a weapon or whatever else they need, form chitinous armor, turn others into infected or mutate them beyond recognition. There seems to be no limit to this ability, both for the Verzerrt themselves and for their victims. Normally, the host bodies structure, organs, and cells are indistinguishable from that of a normal human. However, any disfigurements, aliments, genetic conditions etc that the Verzerrt sees as "crippling" their host will be fixed.

Their regenerative abilities were originally theorized to be at a cellular level, however, recent events have proven this to be untrue. Cellular regeneration suggests that complete destruction of the physical body down to the cells (for example, vaporization) would kill the Verzerrt, but this method has proven completely ineffective at accomplishing this. Recent "theories" along with interviews with the very few Verzerrt captured have suggested that they are "cursed" for lack of a better work to never be able to die, at least until they accomplish some unspecified goal.

It's worth knowing that the Verzerrt and their host start out as separate entities, and that afterwards they are technically classified as walking corpses. The reason for this being how their assimilation process works. Once a Verzerrt has started this process on a host it deems "viable", even if the victim is still alive when the assimilation begins, the absorption will kill person before quickly reviving them upon completion. Witness statements along with a test show that the Verzerrt will use it's tendrils to grab and sink into the body, quickly liquifying the victim down to their skeleton. After which a bizarre event occurs, where the skeleton will turn onyx before being completely absorbed. After which the process takes some time to take the new form as it's own, where skin, hair, and even the sex will slowly grow until the creature fully resembles a perfect copy of the person they consumed. It's also worth noting that Verzerrt in their original form can still consume humans without fusing with them if they don't feel their host is compatible. What makes a Verzerrt determine a human to be "compatible" is unclear, and seems to be different from creature to creature as many of the recorded victims seem to share little to no similarities with each other, suggesting that each Verzerrt has their own idea of what their "perfect host" would be, and will not merge with any human that does not fit that description and will opt to eat them instead (either naturally or via their specified consumption processes).

After this merge has completed the Verzerrt's abilities are unhindered and possibly strengthen even further, along with now having a perfect human disguise. Despite now having a primary host body, they can still change their form to resemble another, either by simply observing them or consuming them. However, they can't imitate what they can't see, so if they observe a target and shift their form to resemble them, they'll only imitate the parts they can see, as they have no idea what the rest of them looks like. Even changing their forms and sex, and therefore changing certain aspects (like bust/hip size, basic proportions, etc) will be based on an educated guess based on what they see. This also applies to a target's personality, as they can only mimic what they see or hear, therefore if they don't hear a target speak or observe their daily interactions enough, this can be a dead giveaway. This is why many Verzerrt prefer to consume their victim in order to obtain their form and mannerisms, as it allows them to mimic the person perfectly in every way.

Even if a Verzerrt is found out, it won't end well for those that discover it. Due to their limitless transformative potential, they can shift any part of themselves into an infinite variety of potential weapons.

While Verzerrt can technically eat anything, including all the same foods that humans eat, they still prefer to consume homo sapiens. It's believed that they do this in order to get the right amount of calories considering their daily energy expenditure. However, Verzerrt can't starve to death. As it turns out, Verzerrt need to consume flesh in order to keep themselves sane. Going for a while without food (which seems to vary, but has been recorded to lasting around a couple weeks to a month) results in the Verzerrt and their host to try and eat anything nearby to quell their hunger. If the lack of food persists, the Verzerrt will go "rampant", and enter and frenzy where they will ravenously hunt and tear apart any prey that has the misfortune of being nearby. Interestingly, drinking blood seems to be a good substitute if a full body is somehow unavailable, though once again, Verzerrt will prefer consuming human blood rather than animal.

Verzerrt, along with many Revenant creatures that they create, have been observed taking periods of rest much like humans. Typically they do this by standing or crouching in place, or lying down like regular humans. In this state they are mostly unresponsive to any outside forces, though if a loud noise occurs nearby or if they feel that something is trying to attach, they can awake instantly to combat the threat. It's been determined that Verzerrt can rest up to 14 hours per day, mostly during the day as they prefer to hunt and operate at night. Alternatively, they can rest in small bursts of 2-3 hours a time.

Due to their host's status as walking corpses, Verzerrt are unable to naturally regulate their body temperatures, either imitating room temperature or the the temperature of the environment they current find themselves in. This can be modified with input from the host. During any form of transformation, mutation, or regeneration, the afflicted limb and their body at large will produce an extreme amount of heat (especially during bioluminescence, which seems to be a natural indicator of extreme heat along with steam). This is also why setting a Verzerrt on fire causes more difficulty with regeneration than other wounds.

## Behavior/Hunting Pattern

While their behavior can vary between each individual, they generally all share a consistent daily manner of hunting for potential food. They will eat both living and dead organisms, but greatly prefer living as their behavior is predatory, and therefore they become bored if they can't properly hunt for their food.

Verzerrt can also display several variations of cruelty and a love for torture and breaking their prey mentally and/or physically. This is considerably rarer as most prefer to just kill their food, but a fair number like to "play" with their food, purposely extending a hunt simply because they enjoy the reactions they get from them.

Many Verzerrt see themselves as superior to humans, and as such, will generally be abusive towards their host (verbal being most common, but thanks to their host's newfound immortality as a result of the symbiosis, extreme forms of physical abuse can also take place). Though at the same time, several Verzerrt simply consider talking to their host's as not worth their time, and may opt to ignore them. They are only focused on their own interests, not caring for how much suffering their host goes through as a result.

## Effects on Host After Symbiosis Event

The effects are minor to nonexistent at first from a physical standpoint. But some observations such as their skin become paler and the slow buildup of more muscle in all areas over the course of months to years have been recorded. The latter may be the body trying to compensate for it's newfound strength.

## Description (before Host Consumption)

Verzerrt have an unnaturally humanoid form before they consume a host, ranging from lanky to more muscular (which may be linked to how much they consume). On average, depending on the type of Verzerrt, their height can vary from 7-8 feet tall. They seem to have a exposed skeletal system (which includes a visible ribcage and spine) along with dark flesh over that resembles muscle tissue. They seem to lack eyes along with no nose, instead having four empty eye sockets arranged horizontally with two eyes on either side of the face. They possess a mouth of exposed, razor-sharp teeth resembling Revenant teeth. Some can have spikes on their back. Their limbs are usually laced with cracks resembling veins.

During specific moods or states, their bodies seem to glow with a red bioluminescence in the cracks on their limbs, their torso, and their mouths. All of their transformed states have primarily dark, fleshy textures, onyx steel like material (forming the blade or spikes on the transformed limb), and glowing red accents and veins.

As they have no concept of language before consumption, they cannot speak, only letting out growls, roars, and clicks. Verzerrt who consume enough or eavesdrop to pick up on words and try to imitate them speak in a demonic, distorted tone with no set gender.

## Scarlatum vs Armis Carnis

Scarlatum Carnis and Armis Carnis (from Latin, known in German as Scharlachrotes Fleischer and Rüstungsfleisch, and translated to English as Scarlet Flesh and Armor Flesh) refers to the two most well known ways that Verzerrt transform their host's body into tools and weapons, depending on what is being altered. Scarlet Flesh is when the Verzerrt or their host seeks to only modify their skin and bone into weapons, As a result, the transformed limb takes on a crimson to bright red coloration with sharp pieces formed from bone (either based on what is already there or with new parts being grown entirely) or parts even being formed into an imitation of steel.

## Virus/Parasite Creation

Verzerrt seem to be, for lack of a better word, biological hazard factories. As more lifeforms are consumed, along with any possible diseases, parasites, and other afflictions they may have been exposed to being absorbed along with them, their bodies seem to constantly reform these diseases and organisms into different forms. This occurs naturally, but some Verzerrt can experiment with it further if they so wish. An example would be the R-Virus, an intentional creation by the Verzerrt known as REVENANT. This ability to creation biological hazards and/or bioweapons brings a unique level of danger on top of their previously known capabilities.

## Known Verzerrt

**America:**

Revenant (Sigma)

Assault (Alpha)

Lasher (Alpha)

**Europe:**

Unknown Vampiric Verzerrt (nicknamed Dracula, presumed Sigma)

"Jack the Ripper" (Unknown Variant)

## Record of Creatures Created/Influenced by Verzerrt

Revenants

Sângeros

Walriders