List of Archenemies

[List of Archenemies — Abomination Scroll — Contents] ... ... borisin Wingweavers Houyhnhnms Viscorpi Heliobi Cobrakinds ... ... [Glossary] The heliobi Category Order: Shapeless — Family: Spirit Essence — Sub-Species: Heliobus Summary The heliobi are ancient enemies of the Alliance. They are a rare species among the Abominations of Abundance, belonging to the order of Shapeless and the race of Extraneous Demons. Their original planet remains unknown. As indicated by its biological classification, heliobi are pure energy entities without a set form. Records from many civilizations have named them "The Shapeless" or "Starfire Essence." The heliobi love to parasitize others and control bodies of blood and flesh (commonly a humanoid sentient race), experiencing through this the various alterations of the nervous system triggered by emotions. This behavior of "emotion consumption" satiates the shapeless heliobi. The host will uncontrollably conduct stimulating behaviors (such as binge-eating, impulsiveness, self-mutilation, or destruction...) to please the heliobi within them, in exchange for the heliobi's powerful abilities. The process of heliobi taming the host's psyche is a process of expending the host's physical body without replenishment. According to History of the Xianzhou, our contact with the heliobi can be traced back to the Lone Voyage Era before the Xianzhou natives turned into a long-life species. At that time, the nine Xianzhou ships sailing among the stars came into contact with various outrageous and miraculous lifeforms, including the heliobi. This race penetrated the ships' vaults to appear before our ancestors, declaring themselves a shapeless and rootless race, beseeching Xianzhou to give them a safe berth. The heliobi are adept at creating mirages and illusions to tempt humans. Thus, humans became addicted to these wondrous creatures of pure energy and indulged in frolicking with them. But they soon exposed their true colors. The heliobi tried to take humans' bodies, drain their emotions, and control their will. Such is the so-called "Possession Tragedy," from which the Xianzhou Zhuming suffered the greatest. Thankfully, the Xianzhou artisans ultimately bound the heliobi within shapeless prisons and sentenced them to provide energy for Xianzhou for all eternity. This lasted till the end of the Flaming Catastrophe War against the Denizens of Abundance, when a hero broke the seal binding the heliobi, made an alliance with them, and relied on their power to defeat the army of Muldrasil*. After that campaign, the heliobi was also severely diminished. Its leaders were once again imprisoned and sealed in the various Xianzhou ships' Shackling Prisons. It cannot be ascertained whether any remnants may have escaped from the Xianzhou, but no traces of them have been found among the stars since. *Note: A small number of academics believe in the legend that the Reignbow Arbiter is none other than this anonymous Xianzhou hero ascended, with the sign of their divinity being the Lux Arrow they fired to sever the Ambrosial Arbor. This myth must not be believed. Physiology When heliobi appear, electrical equipment will detect some sort of highly-intensive electromagnetic wave emission. As a creature of the Shapeless order, it can avoid the emission range of visible light and disappear from human sight. However, in order for the host to notice them, they would usually appear as a ball of heatless teal "fire." That is also why they are called "Starfire Essence." Like how humans push physical objects, individual heliobi can also alter the energy balance of an area, freely converting energy from one type to another. Through manipulating energy, they can create visual images, make fire or ice, and produce vibration. This made heliobi appear as gods or demons to primitive civilizations. Based on the size of an individual's "fire," one can judge the strength of that heliobus and how much energy it can master. As an individual heliobus possesses more and more hosts over time, it would also slowly develops a personality and become distinctly different from its kin. Records in the Ten-Lords Commission surmise that this race learns from the hosts' brains through their parasitism. Technology The heliobi have never developed any technology. They have a certain level of repulsion against advanced technical equipment due to the race's ability to manipulate energy. Politics Though heliobi are recognized as an Abomination of Abundance, they rarely appeared as a part of the Denizens of Abundance's legions. On the contrary, they had once allied with Xianzhou. (For a very short duration only. See above for the specific circumstances.) It has been at least six thousand years since the heliobi were subdued, making it virtually impossible to study its social organization. Some records indicate that individual heliobus can fuse with each other to create a bigger "fire." (A few lines of postscripts are recorded at the bottom of the dossier) "I heard the Xianzhou Zhuming has one of these demons sealed inside?" "That's right. Folks from the Zhuming call it Flint Emperor. Actually, doesn't our Artisanship Commission still have prisons like that?" — Qingzu "That's pretty dangerous..." "Well, Zhuming residents do love to play with fire..." — Qingzu