Before the Chronal Bleeds, before the fracturing of realities, there was only the Hum. A deep, subsonic vibration woven into the fabric of existence. This Hum, it is now understood, was the song of the Metatoluic Spores.
These aren’t spores in any conventional sense. They are echoes of collapsed timelines, solidified fragments of moments that never truly resolved. Each spore contains a sliver of potential, a ghost of a decision, a forgotten emotion. They drift through the interstitial spaces between realities, attracted to areas of concentrated temporal distortion – usually near the points where the Chronal Bleeds occur.
The primary characteristic of a Metatoluic Spore is its ability to induce "Echoing." When a sentient being comes into contact with a spore, they experience a cascade of fragmented memories, not their own, but those of the timeline the spore originated from. These aren't clear recollections; they are feelings, sensations, and distorted images, presented with an unnerving sense of familiarity.
It's theorized that the spores themselves are sentient, albeit in a fundamentally alien way. They aren't driven by a conscious desire, but by a need to perpetuate the echoes they carry. Like a virus, they spread the potential for alternate realities.
Scientists, or what passes for them in the fractured dimensions, have attempted to categorize the spores. However, the process is inherently flawed. The very act of observation alters the spore's structure, creating new variations.
Here’s a preliminary list, based on observed phenomena:
The size of a Metatoluic Spore varies dramatically, ranging from microscopic particles to structures large enough to induce localized temporal distortions. The larger the spore, the more potent its effects.
The Chronal Bleeds are the primary source of Metatoluic Spore proliferation. These are tears in the fabric of reality, points where timelines collide and bleed into one another. They aren’t merely destructive; they’re generative. The energy released during a Bleed is rich in temporal potential, creating an ideal environment for spore formation.
The process is cyclical. A Bleed occurs, spores are released, they drift, they accumulate, and eventually, they trigger another Bleed – a self-sustaining loop of temporal chaos.
Researchers believe that the ultimate fate of the Metatoluic Spores is to catalyze a complete and irreversible collapse of reality. Not through destruction, but through the overwhelming proliferation of potential timelines, until existence itself unravels.
Containment efforts are, predictably, largely unsuccessful. Standard temporal anchors are useless against the spores – they simply shift, adapting to the anchor's presence. Attempts to physically capture spores only accelerate their fragmentation, creating new, more unstable variations.
The most promising, albeit highly experimental, approach involves utilizing “Resonance Fields” – complex arrays of energy designed to dampen the spores' influence. However, these fields are unstable and prone to collapsing, often triggering localized Chronal Bleeds.
It’s a hopeless endeavor. The Metatoluic Spores are not something to be contained; they are a fundamental aspect of the universe’s decay. Acceptance, it seems, is the only logical response.