-Karitzuian Underworld: Heartless-
Karitzuian Heartless are Ice Spirits with a cursed state created by the third Ice Spirit Clan Leader, Samatai, during his time as a Hell Lord. This curse changes them into more wrathful creatures, giving them an extra layer of power necessary for fighting off rival Hell Lords' demons, which he had provoked due to expanding the Karitzuian underworld and subsequently conquering weaker realms.
Only Ice Spirits have been turned into Heartless, and they must have the "right mind" for it. Having the right mind causes their soul to resonate with the Tooth, a cryptic enchanted item that bestows the curse upon the consumer. How Samatai came up with the Tooth or the Heartless curse is unknown, other than that the first Heartless was a True named Lance, and that all Heartless are borne from Wrath. |
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Appearance
Heartless can still be distinguished as Ice Spirits, but they definitely aren't normal. Their scales become more metallic and sturdy, and gain rough, sharp edges and texture. The Ice Spirit overall has a rough, stained coloration, like rusted scrap metal. The eyes also lose their uniform color, turning black with stark red pupils. The veins in the eyes retain a red glow, providing a sort of "cracked obsidian" effect. Heartless blood is a thick black sludge, seemingly serving a different purpose for the creature.
The silhouette of the body is broken in different ways depending on the Heartless. They all have metal features, used as weapons, that are added or are otherwise skewing the Ice Spirit's form; this can be in any form between barbed wire gracing the scales to entirely new limbs - never humanoid - sprouting in different places. Heartless are often asymmetric in these "enhancements", and function fine with them despite it looking uncomfortable. The metal enhancements are not at all like cyborg parts, as there is neither electricity, nor a uniform, manufactured look to the metal. It truly looks like something from a scrap yard merged with an Ice Spirit to somehow weaponize it further. A sharp, tart smell is typical of these creatures.
Heartless also sport a very beaten, heavily-warred aesthetic only few can love, with sharply-accented, skeletal faces, revealing the full lengths of each tooth and the unique bends in the Ice Spirit facial structure. Heartless do have muscles of some kind fleshing out their bodies, but lack organs. Their core is a web of the sticky tar that makes up their blood, holding the Tooth they consumed at its center. Supposedly, removing this Tooth will break down the Heartless' form and cause the Ice Spirit to die again, this time going to the Abyss since it counts as the Karitzuian "second death".
The silhouette of the body is broken in different ways depending on the Heartless. They all have metal features, used as weapons, that are added or are otherwise skewing the Ice Spirit's form; this can be in any form between barbed wire gracing the scales to entirely new limbs - never humanoid - sprouting in different places. Heartless are often asymmetric in these "enhancements", and function fine with them despite it looking uncomfortable. The metal enhancements are not at all like cyborg parts, as there is neither electricity, nor a uniform, manufactured look to the metal. It truly looks like something from a scrap yard merged with an Ice Spirit to somehow weaponize it further. A sharp, tart smell is typical of these creatures.
Heartless also sport a very beaten, heavily-warred aesthetic only few can love, with sharply-accented, skeletal faces, revealing the full lengths of each tooth and the unique bends in the Ice Spirit facial structure. Heartless do have muscles of some kind fleshing out their bodies, but lack organs. Their core is a web of the sticky tar that makes up their blood, holding the Tooth they consumed at its center. Supposedly, removing this Tooth will break down the Heartless' form and cause the Ice Spirit to die again, this time going to the Abyss since it counts as the Karitzuian "second death".
Behavior
"Heartless" isn't a misnomer. These Ice Spirits are greatly avoided for their demented ways and constant urge to cause harm. While the psyche of the original Ice Spirit remains intact, it doesn't necessarily help, as having the "right mind" to become a Heartless typically involves some kind of psychopathy that would make the transition less horrifying to the Ice Spirit. Many Ice Spirits who become Heartless already have broken souls that they've allowed to decay, whether because of a medical condition or due to an unfortunate life. Some zealots intentionally sacrifice the good inside them to become Heartless, believing that they were meant to serve the Fallen in this way best. Whatever the reason, Heartless are not in their right mind for anything, and seem to constantly be fighting against their cursed urge to battle and destroy.
This compulsive need was specifically tailored for the Heartless purpose - to be able to relentless destroy enemy demons and ignore any psychological attempts to deter this - but it makes interacting with a Heartless rather tense and strained. Those dear to the Heartless will be able to bring out more of the original Ice Spirit than others, however, and it is possible for them to become more normal around these people. Sadly, not many Heartless are given this opportunity, as they are confined to the underworld except during Material Plane invasions.
Heartless are unlike the other two "demon" Ice Spirits - Dragons and Nightwatchers - who are considered nice by demon standards. Instead they better fit the demonic narrative of being irrefutably dangerous. They still serve the Fallen lineage, and are still incapable of hurting anything sufficiently "good", but while Dragons and Nightwatchers are like wolves who hunt down sinners to take them out and drag them to the underworld, the Heartless are like shock troops with a berserk button that sticks now and then. If they can attack something, the urge to is certainly not far from their clawtips.
This compulsive need was specifically tailored for the Heartless purpose - to be able to relentless destroy enemy demons and ignore any psychological attempts to deter this - but it makes interacting with a Heartless rather tense and strained. Those dear to the Heartless will be able to bring out more of the original Ice Spirit than others, however, and it is possible for them to become more normal around these people. Sadly, not many Heartless are given this opportunity, as they are confined to the underworld except during Material Plane invasions.
Heartless are unlike the other two "demon" Ice Spirits - Dragons and Nightwatchers - who are considered nice by demon standards. Instead they better fit the demonic narrative of being irrefutably dangerous. They still serve the Fallen lineage, and are still incapable of hurting anything sufficiently "good", but while Dragons and Nightwatchers are like wolves who hunt down sinners to take them out and drag them to the underworld, the Heartless are like shock troops with a berserk button that sticks now and then. If they can attack something, the urge to is certainly not far from their clawtips.
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