Spiral Inside the Stuckshed

[Acts after Act 1 will be summarized due to the actual length of the story/ I don't wanna bug the page]

Act 1, egg: Egg, larva, pupa, adult… rise and repeat. This world is governed by the laws of the holy entity. A creature of the divine that holds influence over the culture, media, world’s luxuries and so on. Why? Because the divine one gifts the mortals with insect-like creatures similar to what we’re used to. Only these special insects act as a tool that provides the user with what they wish for in exchange for something from the user. In the past, man would use these insects to get food, resources, cure illnesses, and so on. The downside to these insects affected the users in incomprehensible ways, so they were stored away for now. The only available ones remained in churches on shrines that provide contribution towards the god whomst humans are unaware of its form. So they made illustrations and simple luxuries representing this god that look similar to the gifts bestowed upon them.

However, as time went on, man faced innovation and moved towards science and technology. Some people doubted the existence of this “god” as there was no scientific proof that it existed. Some insects were moved out of churches and into labs where they can be inspected further. The culture behind worshiping these bugs still followed into the twenty first century as they still have some impact on society. Labs were the main contributors to society and heavily impact the economy as they harvest the power of the bugs to fuel the current system. Lawmakers and the government were formed to run regulations on the labs to keep them from becoming corrupt from using the insects' power. However, any powerful nation’s government can’t remain incorrupt forever. Meaning some nations still used the insects for their benefit no matter the impact that has on other places.

Due to the insects being used it created a global disruption that caused a stir amongst the masses. This leads to countries fighting over these ‘gifts’ to humanity which causes wars and political disagreements. Some of these wars lead to catastrophic events that sent the whole world in ruins at some point in time. The full extent of the insects were unleashed, and they found out why their ancestors tried to pack them away to be sealed in churches. Governments got together and decided to make agreements that the use of these gifts will be limited until the world can recover. Thus the power was limited, and eventually used to restore the lands when things were more peaceful. It wasn’t until recent times when the insects were kept in labs and their use was heavily regulated again. The world continues to develop at rapid speeds due to technology and innovation.

In the modern world, ‘war’ was disguised as petty indirect attacks to avoid actual war from breaking out. People are hungry for power and the destruction of others to gain what they desire. Second and third world countries felt the effects of what first world countries can do when they’ve been collecting most of the divine power.

Kaito Ito, a native of his homeland, grew up in poor conditions. It was thanks to the US their livelihoods have been targeted around the time he was a baby. Droves of locusts and crop eating pests not only ate up crops, and made livestock sick, but it made people ill or disturbed their cities. Different attacks were sent to send a rippling effect across all income levels to degrade people’s way of living. This immense stress left people restless and unsettled which made families turn against their own or others. People had to do what they could to survive which led to Kaito growing up with a rough upbringing. His parents were good people, but even they couldn’t tolerate the mental toll that this modern day was having on them. They had to ‘toughen their son up’, and through traditionalist/ heavily religious views they were abusive towards him and he ended up having to be independent from a young age. He was a young man who worked many jobs to get by and eventually leave his country with his sister who he ended up being a parent towards. It’s a miracle they made it out alive around their teenage years, but what happened to them will follow them for the rest of their lives.

Kimora Harte, an african american woman living in the south with her sister and single mother. One would think that living in the US would be better considering everything else going on in the world. Though things aren’t much better considering her family comes from a lower income level. She spends everyday taking care of the house, her family, and striving to make something of herself. Due to societal standards and the system at the time, she had slim chances of being successful where she lived. Like Arshag, she also faced issues with her family that affected the trajectory of her life. With the odds stacked against her she managed to make it to college where she’ll meet the love of her life.

Two unlikely souls came together, and through everything they went through during their journey through adulthood. They finally got what they needed and had a kid of their own that Arshag named “Rhene”. As the child grew she acted peculiarly compared to the rest of the kids. She would either want to be outside or she would find places to hide when she was inside. Nonetheless the parents loved their daughter and tried their best to raise her. Kaito raised her to be tough like his parents did with him. Only he treated her like a boy, and their ‘roughhousing’ would sometimes lead to actual fights that drew blood. Kaito’s upbringing made him a little rougher around others and he has a short fuse. Though when he’s not fighting with his daughter he tries to play with her or offer her sound advice. Kimora raised her daughter to be studious and creative. She wanted the best for her daughter and needed her to succeed so she wouldn’t be in a place her mother was long ago. Although, as time went on Kim would become a tad controlling. She would yell during disagreements, acted as if she was right no matter what, and had a different way of ‘disciplining’ Rhene. Like two sides of the same coin these two parents are good people, but continued the cycle of a rough upbringing for their kin.

Rhene was lost and confused about life. She didn’t go to her parents for things and became mature at a young age. She would still face problems at home that affected her childhood development while going through school. A frog-faced kid, always frowning and always ‘has a chip on her shoulder’ since she couldn’t process the complex emotions thrown at her. It would lead to her having quite a fuss at school, so she wouldn’t have many friends. The few friends she did have didn’t stay for long. Her parents saw the restlessness of their daughter and tried to take her to church when she didn’t have school. They prayed for the healing of their daughter and the protection of their family. Though this just unsettled her more after being taken from what freetime she has to go to a place she disliked. This would continue during her K-12 years where she remained a ‘problem child’.

Through everything Rhene faced growing up, at least some things remained consistent with her. That was going outside and dealing with her problems herself. The outside was a safeplace from everything where she opened up her mind, and adopted an interest in mental health among other things. She either spent her time performing her hobbies or she would dissect scenarios she’s been in to better understand everyone’s mentality. As she thought deeply about topics or scenarios that she felt passionate about, she led her mind down rabbit holes that strengthen her passions. All of this spare time to herself led to her finding ways to cope and nurturing a healthier mindset. Unfortunately for her that peace wouldn’t remain. Her confused parents tried to connect with their troubled daughter and would invade her space again which drove her away.

Around 13 years old she would finally run away, and she ended up at an old lady’s house. Lady Alouette was 67 years old and lived by herself. She was a tough nut with a kind soul that nurtures all that comes across her. It was on one rainy day she got a knock at her door and was greeted with a disheveled kid at her door. At first she was confused and thought about asking the runaway if she was okay. Then again, the kid looked exhausted and was likely going through a lot of emotions. She invited the girl into her home where they quietly had some hot coco. She didn’t bother the kid, knowing she most likely had a lot on her plate. That day forward Rhene grew to trust the old lady and even called her “Grammy” as she visited her every now and then. This provided more stability to her life while she's developing herself and moving through life.

Towards the end of her k-12 schooling Sialis made some big decisions for herself about her identity and the way she carries herself. She would then go on to call herself “Evrin” and didn’t adopt the ways her family brought her up with. He strove to make it through the rest of life on his own without the influence of his family. Thus causing a separation amongst them, and he decided to live with Alouette until he can get on his own two feet.

Act 1, finish. Act 2, emerge.

Act 2, larva [summarized]: Even in adulthood does the trauma imposed by Evrin’s parents follow him while he’s making decisions for his life, alone. What's ‘expected’ for someone his age leaves him dazed and confused on what to do. He starts college at 20, and ends college around 26 after receiving his master’s degree. Along the way he tried different degrees to see what was right for him. His life felt like a rush to this point, but all signs lead to misleading directions. He tried occupation therapy. The route his mother pushed for him so he can be successful and independent/ not needing the help of a partner to get them through life. That wasn’t what he wanted or what he was made for. So towards the end the program fell through with the decline in his grades and his mental health due to the strain it put on him. His father pushed him to be a policeman, to try trade jobs like he did and go towards something more lucrative. Though Evrin never received help or guidance to complete this task, his father mocked him for not being able to do things on his own. It wasn’t until his life finally slowed down by him cutting communications with his parents did everything feel much clearer. There weren’t voices buzzing in his mind over what he should be doing or what he could do to remedy his situation. After exhausting himself through dealing with the generational wall that is his parents, stuck in their ways and giving him unhelpful advice or yelling at him. Did he finally land on what he wanted to do with his life? Even though science and mental health were his special interests during his childhood, he realized those weren’t fundamentally what he wanted for himself. It was through pursuing an entomology degree did he realize he liked the idea of experimenting on living things and putting them through scenarios to test their minds. Entomology allowed Evrin to study living things and marvel at the beauty of life through more manageable means. Thus with all the classes he took and the knowledge he gained thus far, he graduated with his masters after deciding what his purpose was instead of letting his parents dictate his life. Along the way he did make some friends. A few IRL friends, and one friend that goes by “Casey” online. It should be said some global events happened during this time which temporarily sent everyone to live their lives online. So Evrin met Casey in a few of his classes and they became friends for a short time. When Evrin graduated he wasn’t able to stay in touch because he needed to move into the big city to find a job.

Act 2, sleep. Act 3, pupating.

Act 3, pupa [summarized]: As Evrin packed up all of his things he headed to the city to find a new job. There is a system for laboratories here. Newer labs are at the bottom, then established brand labs next, and high tech labs are towards the top after cultivating most of the luxuries the city offers [i.e. commercial companies]. Senior labs [organizations] that have been around for a long time have their own place in this system. You need to have connections and experience to show you have the spunk to be considered by them. Competition is pretty tight with everyone trying to find work, and build their resumes towards getting a chance at handling God’s gifts. In the city this is where the influence of the gifts is most prevalent. However, it was hard to keep tabs on which labs actually handle the gifts while others handle what's leftover. There are secret plans to make manmade God’s gifts to increase the influence the US has on the world. All of that aside, Evrin managed to make connections during his college years that will benefit him in his current situation. Thus cutting his time towards finding a lab that will accept him, short since he got scouted by ‘Illumina labs LLC’ that wanted him to work for them. At 28 he started working for them and going through the special process of this older lab. First new workers work as ‘grunts’ to manage the facility and do the base maintenance not anywhere near the insects. Then as a ‘worker’ you get to be assistants to the researchers without handling the gifts directly. Then as ‘researchers’ you get to handle and gather knowledge while experimenting with gifts, but you’re under direct guidance and supervision of a scientist. Scientists are above everyone after going through the grueling process of becoming one. Since Illumina’s emergence during the time God’s gifts were first introduced into the world they know the effects of the gifts and put a limit to only 7 scientists at a time. Some candidates can be considered in case it’s a scientist’s time to ‘retire’. So, to prevent the liability of what happens to the scientists from hurting the company when the time comes to replace them. They have the scientist swear an oath, eat a special larva created by God's gifts, and then other precautions are set in place while the scientists work. Evrin is put through the dehumanizing process [the system is meant to strip your humanity away and make you a hollow vessel fit to be controlled by the company] and put under direct scrutiny by the scientists because the higher-ups saw that Evrin could become a candidate to replace one of them [It’s going to be the scientist’s time soon, so that’s why they’re antsy about Evrin coming in because they want to maintain their position for as long as possible. So, as Evrin is working, behind the scenes the scientists are progressively experiencing the effects from God’s gifts. They metamorphosis into divine bug-like creatures that have lost their humanity. The larva was used to grow into a mind parasite set by the company so they can lock away and control the scientists. Evrin, nosy as can be, finds this out and is slowly losing his sanity from working there. So he creates a plan that ends up with the God’s gifts being set free, the lab is thrown into chaos, and Evrin managed to steal one of the gifts before being fired/ he runs away. He swore to take the insect he stole to his grave, and through his insanity he got the idea to operate on himself and become a living display case for the bug. He moves back home in secrecy, finds a house away from his original home to avoid the company tracking him. Then he starts his plans towards making his own lab where he can continue his life as an entomologist.

Act 3, shed. Act 4, metamorphosize.

Act 4, adult [summarized]: (I’ll write this out in the future on the word doc, but I’ll just explain the premise of it for the summary). Evrin meets up with an old friend and starts making his own lab ‘free of corruption’ with Oaken's help. This act is to be read in sections from Evrin’s diary; he keeps tabs on the progress he makes towards building his lab. There are serial numbers at the top where the first letter is always capitalized to reflect the first letter of each entry followed by the number of the entry towards the end. I didn’t feel like actually going through and making specialized dialogue that includes the special letters in the beginning, so I included actual records of Evrin’s finds regarding a bug or a bug order starting with that letter. If you decrypt it and put the letters together it says ‘HELP ME, I DON’T KNOW WHO I AM ANYMORE” no spaces or punctuation obv. As the story progresses through the notes Evrin leaves in detail how he gains help through the people he hires and the android he makes. Things are going well until he unknowingly uses the Morpho butterfly’s power to help him transform his lab into something past human capabilities. The effects of the God’s gift are pretty powerful, so it leaks out into the lab and affects everyone along with Evrin. Starting a process similar to what happened in Illumina labs. This further’s Evrin’s evolution from already being part bug after his bio-human engineering from getting the idea to use bug material and human flesh to modify his body to be the display case for the morpho. The morpho is absorbed, his associates are transformed with him without realizing, things are slowly going awry as the expanse of the God’s gift abilities is able to warp the world after falling into unknowing hands. Thus turning the world on its head to make some hellish nightmare where everyone is transformed into bug-like creatures. Evrin is made into the bad guy, and the cycle of the world’s ruin continues.

Act 4, evolve. Act 5, ascend.

Act 5, judgment [summarized]: (I know the last 2 acts seem pretty short. I can only indirectly explain them, because they are mostly written. They aren’t as in depth as I’d like them to be since I want to play with the ideas more. So Act 4 & 5 are actual summaries lmao). Through this final arc it explains how Max was brought up in this world before the ‘Metamorphos’ happened. Max’s upbringing was similar to Evrin’s, but he ends up as Evrin’s foil and the actual MC to the story. He gains a God’s gift of his own and transforms it into a weapon that helps him traverse the world without too much worry. He gets a couple of run-ins with some nasty threats, and I was going to write about the forms these creatures take on. By now it should be understood that these gifts are tools to manipulate and amplify human nature. They transform humans to reflect their innate nature while teetering between being hollow vessels used by “God” when their actual influence is their human instinct. Thus creating these beautifully creepy creatures that look human, but they’d be more akin to bugs + biblically accurate angels/ otherworldly beings. Max goes on a journey through this ruined city and ends up at the source of it all. Even Evrin’s house has been warped by the Morpho making it hard to penetrate the pupa that holds the end of mankind. Max enters, he kills off Evrin’s associates one by one, finally faces mid-ascension Evrin and tackles him like a boss fight. Through the fight to the death dialogue occasionally appears as Evrin has an introspective and in depth conversation with Max to question why he’s opposing him. The fight progresses as Evrin slowly devolves back through the stages he has undergone until he’s back to a semi-human form. He is weakened enough to where he is finally killed off. His corpse splits open after a moment of silence and out comes the specter of Silais with the Morpho. Max destroys the last God’s gift [while the world was going to shit the Morpho was draining power from all the other gifts as its influence reached out of the lab to warp the world], and Silais smiles at him before vanishing. Thus the cycle is finally broken and everything has a ‘reset’. The epilogue after talks about how everyone lives normal lives without any trace of God's gifts or any of that divine stuff happening in the world anymore. It talks about Evrin’s friends doing their own thing while still keeping in touch with Evrin. Btw Evrin dates Oaken and I forgot to mention that in the summary of Act 4, and Max goes back to his own life. He is the last one with any memories of the time before the reset.

end

Author's notes

there were actual separate endings to the story. There are a plethora of reasons why I haven't been able tp finish the story. One of them being I was setting it up like a game, then I tried actually making it a game, got burnt out so I just wrote the drafts as a rpg game. I'll summarize those too

ending a: after defeating Evrin's transformed friends, setting their souls free, defeating Evrin, and then set his soul free. You get the good end where the world resets

ending b: defeat Evrin's friends, don't free them, defeat Evrin, don't free him. You get the bad end where you become the next host for the morpho and repeat the cycle

ending c: you die during the boss fight. The cycle continues where you become a part of the madness with the ending of the world

ending ???: you somehow enter the debug/ dev room and you took an item from it before entering the fight. You can do any of the other endings, but it'll result in your loss anyways with a special cut scene where Evrin mocks you for cheating. The game crashes or you respawn at the last checkpoint

~Now that I'm done with the story here, I'll probably write the story indepth and link the word doc if I ever finish it. Likelihood of that: less than 1%~