Standing before me in the clearing fog was a grand monument of a naked, lanky human figure. Posed sleeping vertically with its arms crossed to form an X over its chest. Sculpted with a lean body, whose muscles are barely noticeable, and a face whose looks are ruined by a long, slanted scar.
"You should have chosen a more appealing vessel…"
"I have to agree, an elf ranger would have been more favorable…"
"Or a hostess, she had a more appealing figure…"
"But it's alright, son," Father said, patting the base of my body. "You'll get a better one sooner or later…"
My 'parents' unnecessary comments were getting irritating. "It's suitable," I said, batting them away. A single human vessel is all that I need; getting a different one is just a hassle for more trouble.
"Let's see what's wrong with me," I said, enjoying how my voice filled the air. "What's mine, I open."
The statue opened its arms, stretching them far apart, until their body formed a T. Then, like a waterfall of stone, its skin fell off, exposing a thin layer of fat and veins. There's nothing wrong, apart from minor frostbite on the fingers and toes, and so another layer of stone fell. Exposing muscles, again, nothing major, apart from a few tears. Then the muscle layer fell, revealing organs and bones.
"Oh, that's not good."
"That drink certainly did a lot."
They stated the obvious. The damage was severe. The intestines ruptured, lungs ruptured and were covered with unknown growths, and the heart cracked and was crumbling before my eyes.
"You know, son, the more you hold yourself back, the more that vessel decays; you can't keep puppeting a corpse forever."
For a moment, I considered my 'father's' words. I knew it as well, I'm a mimic after all, a being of no form. I have taken form from others and bear no shame. It may be a small critter or a wyvern. But it never felt perfect, and that feeling of imperfection, and that there was something better, led me to deviate from my kin.
The majority of my life, I've spent controlling corpses rather than assimilating with them. It had no benefit other than gaining knowledge of the inner workings of most creatures; it allowed me to extend the lifetime of my vessels from months to years. A problem circumvented by assimilation.
And it had its limits; Without assimilating, I could not properly replicate the cells of the vessel, and over time. like fixing a doll using a rotten spool, the seams eventually fail and break, and stuffing and parts fall, faster than I can stitch.
"Your father is right," there was concern in her tone. "This body wouldn't last any longer than a week or maybe even just a few days, and with how things are currently going, you'd die without a vessel."
"There is always that-" I crushed him before he could suggest such disgrace.
"Oh m-" I did the same to 'mother.'
"Now, now that no way to treat your mother." 'Father' was too far to reach.
"We're merely trying to help you, dear." 'Mother' was closer but still out of reach. "There is no need to be angry, honey was just suggesting your options. There's also the dog if the other one isn't to your liking."
Even with my deal with the lord, I doubt he would be happy if I killed one of his aides.
I sighed.
There was only one option left, and assimilation is far from a pleasant experience. Assimilation had a flaw, while it allowed my kin to perfectly copy the creatures they chose. It also copied everything. Pain, suffering, joy, every memory, every feeling. A rush of experiences from birth to death, being absorbed in a near instant.
It turned most of my kin mad, and that madness hurled them to seek more.
Crack! A gash in the liver followed by a burst in the intestines. If I did not assimilate now, this form would be forever lost, and that thought of loss stuck deeper than my fear or desire could reach.
In a steadying moment, I braced myself for what I was about to do, preparing my flesh and bones. Gathering energy as if drawing a great bow. I breathed, then exhaled and released.
Like a volley of arrows, my flesh struck the monument with force, and like ravenous wyrms, they tore organs and bones before replacing them as if pouring into a mold. In a frenzy of dust and stone, I soon found myself being dragged into it.
"I'm sorry… I'll do it…" words echoed into my mind along with emotions. Pride, regret, greed.
"Wait! Please…" Sorrow
"Yes!" Love
"Traitors!" Rage
I was no longer where I was; the plane shifted with no transition, changing rapidly to unfamiliar places. A plaza, an inn, a white flowering garden, and a forest in gloom.
I found myself sitting on a bench overlooking a windswept sea. "Oh… hey there." Their voice was soft and familiar.
"Could you do me a favor?" I turned my head to my right. It was the man whose body I stole, and they held a small smile despite wearing nothing but white and purple rags.
"A favor?" I asked.
"Its only fair, since you're using my body." They answered, turning to look at the sea.
"I didn't kill you."
"I know," they said with a chuckle. "But you're still using my body."
"If I refuse?"
"Then there is nothing I could do," they said and shrugged, before standing up and walking to the edge of the cliff, their clothes holding on to their frame like stone. My curiosity caused me to follow
"Are you still going to listen?"
"Sure," I answered, stopping a few feet behind him. The clashing waves and strong winds made me wonder how he did not fall.
"Come closer if you want to listen." They said with an inviting hand, and strangely, I felt as if I couldn't refuse.
The moment our hands touched, I felt a rush of energy and sensation pass through my entire body. Overwhelming my vision with the unknown faces of people, and yet I felt hate for every single one of them.
"If you ever see them. Kill them all."
His voice resonated with my very being, and I felt his hand being sucked into my flesh. The world shifted again into swirls of pastel and darkness, and I now knew utter bliss.