Nymphsaga/Paradise

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Excerpt from the Bioengineer's Logbook; "a Study on the History, Biology and Behavior of Nymphs", entry number three, "Introduction of the Demon and Miasma."

While there are predators and carnivores who feast on lesser creatures for survival, the closest thing that Phantasm to an apex predator is Nymph, and let's be honest; to call them apex predators is a grave insult to all the great beasts that roam various parts of the Milky Way. Nymphs are an herbivorous race that only eat plants, fruits and berries, and their bodies can't even process meat. Besides, they are cripplingly weak physically. Sure, they are cunningly smart, they have a wicked sense of combat and they're not really fit for consumption - technically making them "the top of the food chain" - but those traits alone should not make species an apex predator. They required some serious competition to knock them off the pedestal and remind them of their place in the hierarchy. That's why we introduced more animals to the world, mostly in form of animals from the blue planet we found Nymph's "originals" from. But, we didn't end there, because we also introduced a truly terrifying being to balance out Nymph's dominance on the Phantasm.

For yin, there is yang. For alpha, there is omega. For Nymph, that is Venus, there is the demon, that is Mars.

Demons are beings who are theorized to be related to ancient aliens known as Deliria, who several billion years ago in the early days of the universe dominated the galaxy as its sole superpower until their mysterious disappearance from the Milky Way. Demons are native to the planet Tartarus, a super-Earth located deep near the center of the galaxy. In terms of reproduction, they're kind of like the anti-Nymph. While Nymphs can help other species reproduce and cultivate offspring of almost any sentient being in Phantasm, demons can do the same thing to females of any other species both in Tartarus and beyond. Their seed always grows up to be a Demon regardless of the recipient. In addition to this, Demon's offspring loan heavily from the genetic codes of their mothers, making them a race of mutants of all sorts.

There are other similarities as well. Demons, like Nymphs, are invasive species, capable of transforming worlds around them with their powers that many call supernatural. Nymphs produce source, while Demons produce miasma. As powers, they are directly comparable to each other, and while they have some major differences, they are both equally dangerous. If I had to compare them to common drugs, I'd say that source is like nicotine, while miasma is like alcohol. It's easy to get addicted to source after being merely exposed to it, getting a fix of source feels satisfying and relaxing, and living for long periods without it will result in withdrawal symptoms. Miasma, on the other hand, is something that gets its user intoxicated quickly and easily, but only momentarily. Once it wears off, the user will feel fine, most of the time at least. It isn't an addictive substance by itself, but the high that results from its consumption is incredible, and it's very easy for users of miasma to crave for that high over and over and over again. The more you use it, the harder is it to escape its oppressive clutches. As far as Nymphs go, the taste of miasma will never truly leave them. Once tasted, a small fraction of miasma will forever linger in their brains, corrupting their minds and bodies until the day they die.

While demons are a very old species that has dominated Tartarus for much longer time than us Altarians have even existed, they have never left their home. That's not to say that they are dumb, because it's quite the opposite. Demons are extremely intelligent beings. In some ways, they even challenge our own understanding of what it means to be intelligent as a species, as they should for all intents and purposes be capable of creating interplanetary civilizations. Yet, they can barely hold their civilization together in their home world. It is because of this extreme intelligence that we found the idea of them sharing the world with Nymphs so very, very captivating.

Despite their overwhelming physical capabilities, us Altarians could subdue them easily using our technology, and resettled some of them to Phantasm. Before we planted our demon subjects down to this world, we would make them dependent on source. Then we let the hell break loose. We had a feeling that this miasma would dramatically change Phantasm once again, and we were not wrong.

It didn't take long for them to realize that the only efficient way to extract source was through Nymphs, and because they're naturally so much more powerful than these little creatures, and just as smart, many fell a victim. Demons, unlike most other species on this planet - both endemic and planted - can actually track down source from great distances, following the trail of their prey. They are not perfect at doing this, but they sure are better at this than any other creature on Phantasm. During the very first weeks of observing demons victimize Nymphs, we also got the first glimpse into what kind of effect miasma has on Nymphs, and we were not surprised to find out that the effects were devastating. Nymphs have always been hypersexual, sex-crazed beings that can only be described as somewhat "slutty", and miasma intensifies this even more. Many Nymphs who fell victim to demons did not meet freedom ever again, and those who did only did so because of outside help. As far as recovering goes, no Nymph could recover completely. It doesn't matter if the change is big or small, miasma truly changes Nymphs forever.

Now Nymphs knew of the demons and what kind of things they could do to them, but it is not in Nymph's nature to go down without a fight. Not even Demons could change it. Nymphs would actually continue to defend themselves against Demons - even coming up with even more innovative ways and tactics to defend against them - and to much of our surprise, they did so to great success. In the end, based on our short-term observations, not even Demons could disrupt the balance of this world, that turned out to be dangerous even for them. Is source having a negative effect on Demons and weakening them? We still to this very day do not know for certain, but it is unquestionable that Demons have become yet another cogwheel that rotates in harmony in the perfect clockwork that is the ecosystem of Phantasm.

Chapter V