The Malignance

The Malignance is an eldritch being originating in the deepest pits of Tartarus. In its purest and most unadulterated form, the Malignance appears as an amorphous mass of inky darkness, swirling with violet spirals. It often chooses to have an innocent face with radiant eyes and a pleasant smile. When in contact with any part of the Malignance's body, mortals are shown a window into an alternate world. This world is tailored to every desire a living soul has, and it is unique to each individual. If you want world domination, it's yours. If you want your loved ones to live fulfilling lives, it's yours. If you want to find your true calling and purpose in life, it. is. YOURS. The Malignance then gives the recipient of these visions an offer. If they choose to leave the current timeline and enter the dream world presented, the Malignance let them in and take their place in this timeline. If you think your friends and loved ones will miss you, don't fret! The Malignance has access to all of your memories and past experiences, allowing it to immaculately imitate and emulate you.

Though these visions are portrayed as real and tangible, these "alternate timelines" are not actually real. It is through these dreams of desire that the Malignance tunes your soul to its own and slowly consumes you, turning you into itself.

It is in this way that the Malignance sustains itself; by consuming the souls and life force of living beings. The Malignance's motivation is similar to that of Ego[1]. Its only desire is to spread, to integrate, to assimilate and to become in the search for its true meaning.

## Execution

When the Malignance was first discovered by demons, it was seen consuming a lost soul. This skill being of use, it was taken, captured, and utilized as a form of humane execution for lost souls who found themselves unfortunate enough to wander into the fiery, fleshy depths of Tartarus. Eventually, however, the Malignance grew too large to stay contained. It ached to grow and spread. Breaking free of its containment pit, the Malignance ravaged through fields of souls and demons, all of which assimilated into the Malignance upon seeing its massive form. This rampage caught the attention of Hades herself, who, with some effort, disposed of the Malignance by imprisoning it within the Astral Plane.

## Imprisonment

The Astral Plane functions as a mirror dimension of sorts, in which one can see and observe the multiverse and its timelines, but cannot interact with them. Though the Malignance could not physically interact with realities within this plane, it could psychically communicate with beings in those realities. It was here the Malignance was left in the hopes that it would starve and shrivel out of existence. It was also here that it met Crow. Trapped behind a veil of inability, the Malignance began to think for itself, pondering and planning its escape. Stretching its mind to view other timelines, it realized that it was not alone. Every timeline has its Malignance. There were many worlds in which it had escaped, and taken over "the overworld". What the Overworld was, it did not know, but it now desired to break the veil and enter it. While searching through the astral plane, it noticed another universally constant event. This event was Lin's intrusion upon the castle of Hades, followed by their subsequent receiving of the lantern of infinite souls. And it happened in every timeline.

## The Escape

Using this knowledge, the Malignance waited patiently for the Lin within its own timeline to intrude and obtain their lantern full of infinite souls. After Lin was caught and kicked out, the Malignance crudely possessed Lin and forced them to enact a ritual that would allow the Malignance to pierce the veil and enter the Overworld. This process scarred the Lin of this timeline and created Eldritch Lin. It also expended most of the Malignance's energy and left it nearly dead, which it hoped to amend by consuming Lin's lantern of infinite souls and achieving its dream of growing endlessly, becoming everything. However, to its dismay, the Malignance realized living souls are far more complex than dead, lost souls, and thus it could not consume them. In a panic, it initiated a plan B of sorts and fell into a catatonic state, ejecting a small piece of itself to take over a living vessel and learn more about how living souls function.

## Mortal Musings

This living vessel happened to be Bxttersticks, the god of wealth. While the god part of his name may have merely been a title, the wealth part seemed to be true. The Malignance suppressed Butter's mind and sent his consciousness into a deep sleep, taking the reigns completely. Using Butter's immense wealth, the Malignance decided to get into business. It wrote a contract of sorts, through which it resolved to make deals with mortals. In exchange for a facet of one's emotions, the Malignance would provide a large sum of Butter's money, as well as access to his super smelter. The Malignance in its weakened state could not consume living souls, but it could sustain itself on singular emotions for the time being.

Slowly integrating itself into the land surrounding Butter's house, it lay dormant and still, hearts beating and darkness spreading. Its labyrinthine body began to sprawl throughout the underground, creating a network of large tunnels and claustrophobic halls, all permeated by a suppressive darkness and home to its four large, purple, percussive hearts. It continued on like this for quite some time, while its vessel extension was out gathering emotions and learning how to consume living souls. After enough emotions were gathered and the Malignance began to understand the inner workings of living beings, it awoke fully. Spreading its tendrils across the surface, it has now begun its final phase- consuming the Overworld in its entirety.