Awakener
The enemy of all existence, the infectious thoughts from the Dark Beyond. Leaking through, evading the angels who hunt them in the dark near the Crystal Sphere, they take the form of heptagonal purple-red crystals. When an unfortunate mortal being touches these crystals, the Awakener segment within jumps into their mind and hijacks their body. In almost every case, this results in the total madness of the victim and the degeneration of the land around it until the host is killed. In extreme cases, the segment gains enough strength to replicate itself and possess new bodies. If left unchecked, this would result in it summoning its full self from the Dark Beyond, bypassing the defenses of the world. A purple-red tide of death and madness would sweep over Quartus, absorbing and converting everything into more of it. The Dream would crumble and return to the void. To prevent this, the angelic host has a standing no-mercy policy. Any substantial infestation of Awakener on Quartus results in the total destruction of that area down to the lower bedrock. Collateral damage is not considered unless that would jeopardize the planet itself.
