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Description
The Phantom Worm is not related to or descendant from any other species. It is it's own self-contained race, created to thrive in the chaotic and violent realm known as "Phantom Hell": an eldritch afterlife that every creature in Phantom's domain enters upon death. Phantom Hell is unstable and almost infinitely complex. It may change its entire layout in days, hours, or minutes. Conventional laws of physics and logic do not apply to such a place, and some think the area is actually part of Phantom's mind. However, interspersed throughout this ever-changing rulebook of chaos are a few key concepts that do not change. One of these concepts are the existence of creatures known as Phantom Worms. They exist in Phantom Hell, will continue to do so, and occasionally find ways out of it...

Phantom Worms are a mix of predator and parasite. Adult worms hunt for and lay their eggs inside either carcasses or living bioforms. The larva are not much more than a few molecules large: chunks of small Phantom essence with primitive receptor organelles and an instinct for survival. Unable to produce their own food, they must break down and absorb molecular matter around them to survive. As they do so, they not only grow their own forms, but assimilate their hosts nervous system and cellular structure into their own. The host deteriorates and may deform or mutate as its body is hijacked and shifted, after all, the worm may designate an arm as a leg, or create a new one because it lacks the coordination to walk. Whether or not the host lives, dies, or becomes something in between is unknown, but it is likely a game of chance: The worm shifts some structures around and re-purposes others, should the host live it will find itself wishing it did not, should it die, the worm can still control its body just fine; the body belongs to the worm now.

The result looks like a slightly Phantoid zombie, but with a twist. The worm never looses its powers of assimilation, and the monster can integrate other forms into itself. (Example: The worm creates a gaping ribcage to serve as a mouth, but packs the inside full of nerves. When attacking it envelops the top half of its victim, where the nerves attach to it and the worm controls it just as it controls the other body. Now it has a torso and set of legs hanging out of it that it can use), though the integration is far from "aesthetically pleasing". Oftentimes it is easy to see how many creatures the Phantom Worm has assimilated because there will still be distinct corpses. In this later stage the monsters appearance changes from slightly Phantoid to truly Phantoid. In fact, the increasingly ghastly adherence to the "Phantoid" concept is one of the traits that gives the worm its name. But this is not the last stage of the Phantom Worm.

All throughout the hunting and assimilation and expansion, the worm grows its own body from the nutrients of its prey. The primitive receptors enlarge, then form cells and become eyes. The simple digestive organelles in the front develop muscle and calcium growths to become sharp mandibles that house a ring of teeth. The final result of this creature is the entity seen above (also there is a moon with teeth, because Phantom Hell). In this final adult stage, the worm chews holes in its "corpse shell", which it uses to surface out of and strike at prey. Unlike its "fake body", the worm itself is a fast and deadly creature. Although it never fully leaves its central host system (the exact length of and tail end of a Phantom Worm has never been seen), it can pop out of almost any area and deliver vicious bites that fill the hosts bloodstream with Phantom Worm eggs... starting the cycle yet again. The "final" stage of a Phantom Worm looks something like this darksack100.deviantart.com/art…

Because it is connected but at the same time separate from its outer shell, hacking off limbs from a Phantom Worm monster will not injure it, but should you manage to decapitate the worm, the entire monster will die. Caution is still advised around Phantom Worm corpses, since the eggs are still viable for a while after their parent dies.

Since this species originates from and thrives in Phantom Hell, some think of them as "Phantoms Demons". Whether this is the case is open for interpretation.

Description
The Phantom Worm is not related to or descendant from any other species. It is it's own self-contained race, created to thrive in the chaotic and violent realm known as "Phantom Hell": an eldritch afterlife that every creature in Phantom's domain enters upon death. Phantom Hell is unstable and almost infinitely complex. It may change its entire layout in days, hours, or minutes. Conventional laws of physics and logic do not apply to such a place, and some think the area is actually part of Phantom's mind. However, interspersed throughout this ever-changing rulebook of chaos are a few key concepts that do not change. One of these concepts are the existence of creatures known as Phantom Worms. They exist in Phantom Hell, will continue to do so, and occasionally find ways out of it...

Phantom Worms are a mix of predator and parasite. Adult worms hunt for and lay their eggs inside either carcasses or living bioforms. The larva are not much more than a few molecules large: chunks of small Phantom essence with primitive receptor organelles and an instinct for survival. Unable to produce their own food, they must break down and absorb molecular matter around them to survive. As they do so, they not only grow their own forms, but assimilate their hosts nervous system and cellular structure into their own. The host deteriorates and may deform or mutate as its body is hijacked and shifted, after all, the worm may designate an arm as a leg, or create a new one because it lacks the coordination to walk. Whether or not the host lives, dies, or becomes something in between is unknown, but it is likely a game of chance: The worm shifts some structures around and re-purposes others, should the host live it will find itself wishing it did not, should it die, the worm can still control its body just fine; the body belongs to the worm now.

The result looks like a slightly Phantoid zombie, but with a twist. The worm never looses its powers of assimilation, and the monster can integrate other forms into itself. (Example: The worm creates a gaping ribcage to serve as a mouth, but packs the inside full of nerves. When attacking it envelops the top half of its victim, where the nerves attach to it and the worm controls it just as it controls the other body. Now it has a torso and set of legs hanging out of it that it can use), though the integration is far from "aesthetically pleasing". Oftentimes it is easy to see how many creatures the Phantom Worm has assimilated because there will still be distinct corpses. In this later stage the monsters appearance changes from slightly Phantoid to truly Phantoid. In fact, the increasingly ghastly adherence to the "Phantoid" concept is one of the traits that gives the worm its name. But this is not the last stage of the Phantom Worm.

All throughout the hunting and assimilation and expansion, the worm grows its own body from the nutrients of its prey. The primitive receptors enlarge, then form cells and become eyes. The simple digestive organelles in the front develop muscle and calcium growths to become sharp mandibles that house a ring of teeth. The final result of this creature is the entity seen above (also there is a moon with teeth, because Phantom Hell). In this final adult stage, the worm chews holes in its "corpse shell", which it uses to surface out of and strike at prey. Unlike its "fake body", the worm itself is a fast and deadly creature. Although it never fully leaves its central host system (the exact length of and tail end of a Phantom Worm has never been seen), it can pop out of almost any area and deliver vicious bites that fill the hosts bloodstream with Phantom Worm eggs... starting the cycle yet again. The "final" stage of a Phantom Worm looks something like this darksack100.deviantart.com/art…

Because it is connected but at the same time separate from its outer shell, hacking off limbs from a Phantom Worm monster will not injure it, but should you manage to decapitate the worm, the entire monster will die. Caution is still advised around Phantom Worm corpses, since the eggs are still viable for a while after their parent dies.

Since this species originates from and thrives in Phantom Hell, some think of them as "Phantoms Demons". Whether this is the case is open for interpretation.