CHAPTER: "ECHO OF THE SWARM"
Maniac: CRAWLERS
Height: Tall - Short
Movement Speed: 4.6 - 4.4 m/s
Terror Radius: 40 meters - 30 meters
Backstory: This trio are mutants created by the great intelligence of the Swarm for war against sentient races and their extermination. However, why did the Entity notice them? Their minds became independent from the Swarm. They are mutants and they are sentient. They played with other races, they reveled in their fear; their bloodlust was as strong as their grotesqueness. They infiltrated nomad ships and turned them into coffins. And the Entity noticed them. It pretended to be the Swarm and gave them a mission: to enter a cosmic nebula where a nomad ship already was...
Ability: Sentient Swarm
On the map, near generators, there are burrows.
"Burrows" are a network of intertwining tunnels beneath the surface, accessible from any of the seven. When diving in, you can switch the Crawler to 1 of 3. Burrows are located near generators. When Crawlers enter a burrow, all burrows emit a hum. Teleportation between burrows is possible, but only to burrows far from the current one.
1) Crawler "Lash"
Height: Medium
Movement Speed: 4.4 m/s
Terror Radius: 40 meters
Appearance: Chitinous body resembling a human one, 4 sharp spider-like legs used for movement, a tail that drags behind it looking like a torn-out human spine with a spike at the end, two other limbs used for attacking, a chitinous head resembling a wolf's muzzle with 4 small red eyes, two on each side. Dominant colors: black, rusty, pale yellow, red.
Pick-up Animation: Bends forward and with its front claws pierces the survivor's shoulders and lifts them.
Ability: "Crawl"
Press and hold the Power button to charge; you slow down for a few seconds, after which you start moving rapidly and become lower, closer to the ground. Lasts 10 seconds; after use, the ability recovers depending on the amount used. Gains the following effects:
- Increases movement speed to 9.2 m/s.
- Survivors are invisible to it, and it looks like shimmering air but does not hide the terror radius.
- Can still see and track scratch marks and blood pools.
After "Crawl" ends, you slow down for a few seconds and can perform basic attacks.
2) Crawler "Depth"
Height: Short
Movement Speed: 4.6 m/s
Terror Radius: 30 meters
Appearance: Spider-like body mixed with crab-like chitin, top pale purple and bottom flesh-colored, 4 red compound eyes, a spider-like muzzle with mandibles, uses massive claws as hands, 6 massive legs.
Pick-up Animation: Wraps a web around the neck and climbs onto the back, controlling the body to lead it to a hook. Hooking animation: climbs onto the hook and uses webbing to hang the survivor on the hook.
Ability: "Weaving" Press and hold the basic attack button near a generator, chest, window, or totem. Effect: You weave a dense, almost invisible web, creating a Trap.
- Trap on generator/chest: When a survivor interacts with the object, the trap triggers, stunning them for 2 seconds and revealing their aura for 5 seconds; the survivor must remove the webbing from the object.
- Trap on window: When a survivor passes through the window, they stumble and receive a 5% "Hindered" effect for 2 seconds.
- Trap on totem: Cleansing the totem takes 10% longer, and upon successful cleansing, the survivor screams, revealing their aura for 4 seconds.
You can have up to 4 traps active at once. Installing one takes 3 seconds.
"Unfreedom": If Depth hits a survivor three times, it can hang them on the spot where they fall, the survivor acting as a hook.
Animation: Two of the Entity's claws emerge from the ground and "Depth"...
DEPTH'S SPECIAL MORI - "UNFREE"
Activation Condition: Survivor has been hooked 2 times already, put into the Dying State by Depth. Depth activates "Unfree".
Instead of a regular hook sacrifice or Mori, a unique cutscene triggers, visible only to that survivor.
Others hear only distant sounds.
CUTSCENE (SURVIVOR'S POV)
Scene 1 - Survivor's screen: darkness, heavy breathing is heard.
Camera sharply focuses: the survivor tears open a cocoon; webbing rips with a wet crack.
They fall to their knees.
Sound: Ripping flesh and threads, a raspy inhale.
Scene 2 - Camera slowly rises. Depth stands right in front of them. It: does not move, does not attack, looks straight into their eyes.
Sound: A quiet, almost affectionate purring.
Drops of webbing fall to the floor.
Scene 3 - Camera slowly shifts behind Depth's shoulder. In the fog behind its back: silhouettes appear.
From the darkness, hatchlings crawl out (small versions of Depth, Lash, Slag).
Their movements: not chaotic, purposeful like hunters who know the order.
Sound: Chittering, clicking, gurgling, murmuring.
Scene 4 - The hatchlings pounce: one latches onto a leg, another — onto the chest, a third — onto the face.
Camera: does not show dismemberment, focuses on the survivor's face, their scream — is cut off, drowned in the general noise of screeches, chewing, wet tearing of flesh.
3) Crawler "Slag"
Height: Tall
Movement Speed: 4.6 m/s
Terror Radius: 32 meters
Appearance:
General silhouette: Body low to the ground, elongated.
Head: Wedge-shaped head covered in dense dark-gray chitinous plates.
- Eyes small, red, deeply set.
- On the forehead are two tubes with something green encrusted on their edges.
- In the neck area are two arms with three fingers, used to pick up survivors.
Torso: Torso wide, segmented, resembling layered armor. Central part of the body is lighter gray-beige. Back is completely covered by thick, ribbed carapace plates that look like protective shields.
Limbs: - Front legs are longer and more powerful, ending in claws. - Remaining legs are shorter but massive, with broad "feet".
"Chemical Corrosive"
Hold the Power button to charge "Chemical Corrosive". Release to spray a stream of chemical bile.
Hitting a survivor fills a gauge; when filled, deals damage from "Healthy" to "Injured" state, from "Injured" to "Dying". Passes through survivors and can hit objects or another survivor. Fires in an arc.
If fired at a breakable wall or dropped pallet, they dissolve; the longer you fire, the faster they dissolve. Also works on generators; if a generator is fully damaged by "Chemical Corrosive", it additionally removes 5% of the generator's total progress.
Terror Radius Music:
40-32 meters
Instruments:
Low strings (double basses, cellos) - long, drawn-out notes
Deep bass (synth or breathy tuba)
Barely distinguishable french horn
How it sounds: Wide, slow sound
Almost a hymn, but without triumph
Lots of space, air "hums"
32-24 meters
Melody enters:
Brass: trumpets + french horns
Strings - support in the middle register
Bass: Double basses + tuba in unison
Clear, heavy foundation
Cymbals: Light crashes on strong beats
Don't cut, they emphasize
How it sounds:
Melody is direct, wide
Almost a march, almost a hymn
No fuss - only confidence
24-16 meters
Added:
Full orchestra. Strings transition into a rhythmic ostinato.
Brass plays short responses to the main theme.
Drums: Snare becomes louder
Rolls appear
Bass drum hits more often
How it sounds:
Music starts to press
It doesn't speed up - it becomes denser
16-8 meters
All instruments together:
Trumpets - at maximum
Strings - wide, heavy chords
Cymbals - powerful crashes
Drums - full march
How it sounds:
Very dense
Almost no emptiness
Music feels like a monolith
8-0 meters
What changes:
Drums begin to "break" the rhythm
Brass sounds less often, but sharper
Strings hold tense, unresolved notes
Cymbals: Only resonance and decay
Long, almost "cosmic" reverberation
CHASE Music:
Rhythm speeds up, but doesn't become chaotic
Drums beat the Swarm's steps
Strings slash with ostinato
Brass gives short, aggressive phrases
BLOODY PRESTIGE: "SWARM OF THE ENTITY"
CRAWLER 1 - LASH
Bloody Prestige: "Crimson Herald"
General image: Lash becomes the Entity's swift herald — elongated, sharp, almost weightless.
Appearance changes: Chitinous body is fissured with cracks, revealing living, pulsating red tissue.
Spider-like limbs: become thinner and longer; joints are exposed, as if armor was stripped.
Tail-spine: completely exposed; between vertebrae a bloody membrane is stretched; tip glows crimson, as if red-hot.
Head: Wolf-like muzzle is elongated further.
Eyes: not just red inside — rotating rings of light.
From its maw, thick, stringy blood constantly drips.
During "Crawl": body leaves a bloody trail on the ground; a muffled, wet rustle is heard, like running over meat.
CRAWLER 2 - DEPTH
Bloody Prestige: "Hive Matriarch"
General image: Depth becomes an incubator of pain, a being that doesn't hunt — it lays traps.
Appearance changes: Chitin is partially open, like petals. Beneath it: semi-transparent flesh; moving vessels are visible.
Legs: covered in sticky bloody mucus; leave trails resembling palm prints.
Abdomen: Bloated and cracked; from cracks, blood slowly oozes. Sometimes something can be seen moving inside.
Head: Compound eyes: some are shattered from within, emitting a red haze.
Mandibles constantly caked with blood.
Webbing in Bloody Prestige: dark red, semi-transparent, slowly pulsates. When a trap triggers, a muffled, wet pop is heard.
CRAWLER 3 - SLAG
Bloody Prestige: "Alchemy of Flesh"
General image: Slag transforms into a walking reactor of pain, its body unable to withstand its own chemistry.
Appearance changes: Carapace: cracked with large segments; edges look melted. Beneath the armor: red-black organic matter bubbles in places, like boiling flesh.
Tubes on the head: Filled with thick blood-green liquid. Sometimes pulsing waves pass through them.
Limbs, front legs: partially dissolved; bones are exposed, covered in a bloody film.
"Chemical Corrosive" Stream: red-green; leaves smoking, bloody burns.
Destroyed objects: covered in corrosion marks with red veins.
CRAWLERS' PERKS:
"Favorite Meal"
Hooking your Obsession slows all survivors' repair speed by 3%. But no more than 9% total slowdown.
"Hex: Taste of Blood on Mandibles"
A survivor hooked by you for the first time is afflicted with a "Hex", and a Dull Totem activates the effect "Hex: Taste of Blood on Mandibles". The Cursed survivor suffers from the "Mangled" and "Hemorrhage" status effects until the Hex totem is cleansed. The totem's aura is revealed to the Cursed survivor when they are within 16 meters of it. For the first 90 seconds, only the Cursed survivor can cleanse the totem.
"Hex: Cruelty for Cruelty's Sake"
When you damage survivors 8 times with basic attacks, a Dull Totem becomes Hexed and curses all survivors. When you damage a survivor with a basic attack, the recovery time after successful basic attacks is reduced by 20%. The effect lasts until the Hex totem is cleansed.
CRAWLERS' VOICE - How survivors hear it: Humming, chittering, clicks, distorted hissing sounds, sometimes resembling breathing through chitin.
How the Crawler player sees it: Translated phrases (subtitles).
LOBBY (quietly, multilayered, as if several beings are speaking at once)
"We are already here."
"They don't know yet."
"The Swarm is listening."
"Fear ripens slowly."
"Let them breathe. For now."
Sometimes, rarely:
"This Fog... is convenient."
MATCH START
"The hunt is permitted."
"The Swarm has awakened."
"We begin the harvest."
"Their paths are known."
"Do not rush."
FINDING A SURVIVOR IN A LOCKER (sharply, almost with pleasure)
"Found one."
"They are hiding."
"They think — they are unheard."
"Warm."
"A foolish choice."
Rare:
"The scent of fear."
GENERATOR REGRESSION (lowly, affirmatively)
"Their light fades."
"Useless."
"Let them repair again."
"We allow it."
"Hope — is a resource."
BEING STUNNED (irritatedly, but without pain)
"An obstruction."
"It matters not."
"We continue."
"The error is not critical."
Rare:
"We remember."
SURVIVOR IN THE DYING STATE (voice becomes quieter, almost tender)
"Almost ready."
"They are broken."
"Not resisting."
"Good."
"Now — the choice."
Rare:
"The taste is correct."
HOOKING A SURVIVOR (coldly, ritually)
"Marked."
"The Swarm is pleased."
"Let them hang."
"Others will see."
"We continue the harvest."
After the second hook:
"They are ours."
NEW SURVIVORS:
Name: Cain Mercer
History: Cain Mercer was not just a medic. He was a senior operative in the mobile surgical team of the "Icarus" Corporation, specializing in "bio-containment" and "sanitary disposal" of extraterrestrial threats. His mission to the abandoned colony "Genesis-7" seemed routine: contain an outbreak of an unknown pathogen. The distress signal was weak, full of interference.
His team landed in the icy fog enveloping the complex. Contact with the ship was lost a minute after entry. What they found defied medical protocols: not corpses, but empty, neatly opened spacesuits, as if an invisible surgeon had performed a perfect extraction without damaging the shell. The last thing Cain saw before the world dissolved into a crimson-red fog was a reflection in his comrade's blood-spattered helmet. Not his own face, but something multi-legged and smiling with sharp mandibles. His suit screamed about a breach. But there was no pain. Only a chilling cold spreading from within.
Appearance:
Helmet: Fully enclosed, high-tech medical-tactical helmet.
Main color: White with matte and metallic finishes.
Respirator: Deep turquoise-blue, resembling a medical mask but made of matte material.
Neck: Protected by a flexible, segmented collar connecting the helmet to the armor.
Torso - Exo-Armor Vest:
Main color: Black. Shape is bulky but ergonomic - designed for medic mobility.
Chest plate: White panel with a six-pointed cross. Beneath the panel - dark gray reinforced segments protecting vital organs.
Additional elements: Cables and connections to the suit are visible.
Arms: Shoulders - left shoulder: white armor plate with a red six-pointed cross.
Gloves: Heavy, tactical, white. Designed for both combat and medical procedures.
Legs: Knee pads: white. Boots are armored in places.
BLOODY PRESTIGE:
HELMET, White finish: Covered in dried, brownish streaks.
Lenses: From the inside, red streaks are visible, as if blood got inside.
Sometimes: A weak pulse passes over the glass, like a heartbeat.
RESPIRATOR: Turquoise color darkened to dirty green.
Filters: Clogged with dark blood. On inhalation: a muffled, wet rasp is heard.
EXO-ARMOR, Black segments: Covered in burn marks.
White chest plate with cross: The cross is smeared and cracked; from the cracks, congealed blood is visible.
Cables: Partially exposed, covered in red corrosion.
GLOVES AND HANDS: Soaked in blood; palms leave bloody smears.
Healing animations: Leave bloody trails.
LEGS AND BOOTS: Knee pads are cracked.
Soles: Leave faint bloody footprints on the ground.
VISUAL EFFECT When unhooking: Blood from the gloves slowly drips down.
In the lobby: Cain sometimes looks at his hands and pauses, as if remembering something.
CAIN MERCER'S PERKS:
"Field Stabilizer"
When you heal another survivor who is in the Injured state: For the first 9 seconds of healing: ignore penalties from "Mangled" and "Hemorrhage".
If the healing is interrupted: the survivor does not lose healing progress for 15 seconds.
"Cold Procedure"
When you unhook a survivor: neither you nor the rescued survivor: scream or leave pools of blood for 15 seconds.
If the Killer is within 24 meters: the rescued survivor gains a 5% Haste effect for 15 seconds.
"Extended Budget"
When you hide in a locker with a Med-Kit in hand, you can spend 10 seconds there to modify it.
Modification gives the Med-Kit: +8 charges. Healing speed for other survivors with it is increased by 25%.
Special Action: If this Med-Kit is fully depleted (to 0 charges), you can approach any item on the ground (another Med-Kit, Toolbox, Flashlight) and, by performing a special action (2 seconds), restore 20% charges to your modified Med-Kit, sacrificing the target item in the process (it disappears).
But if you drop (or discard) the item, it disappears after 40 seconds. This perk can be activated once per trial.
CAIN MERCER'S LINES (Professional, suppressed trauma, a medic to the core)
Lobby:
(Checking gloves) "Icarus protocols are inapplicable. I'll improvise."
(Dryly) "Suit intact. Team biosignatures... absent. Commencing mission."
(Quietly, to himself) "Surgical cold — the best friend in the fog. And the worst enemy of sleep."
Match Start:
"Tactical assessment: five generators, unknown threat. Standard containment procedure."
"Maintain composure. Panic is a sepsis of the mind."
"Commencing sanitary cleansing of the area."
Running from the Killer:
(Clearly) "Threat is aggressive and mobile! Seeking a containment point!"
"Evading! This defies biological analysis!"
(Strangled) "Integrity breach... NOT NOW!"
Stealth from the Killer:
(Freezing) "Bio-acoustics zero. Engines on minimal cooling."
"It seeks heat and movement. Become cold and still."
(Breathing into respirator) "Filters clean noise. Stay silent."
Repairing a Generator:
"Primitive mechanics. Efficiency — 40% of Icarus standard."
(Working) "Diagnosis: energy insufficiency. Treatment: current supply."
"Every spark is a microscopic mission failure."
Healing Another Survivor:
"Trauma is clean. Bleeding localized. Stabilizing."
"My field stabilizer compensates for the damage. Don't move."
"Pain is just data. I'm deleting it."
Being Hooked:
(Suppressing a scream) "The hook... protocol... contamination... didn't work..."
(Delirious) "Repeating scenario... Genesis-7... empty suits everywhere..."
"This isn't execution. It's... an incomplete extraction."
Unhooking Yourself:
"Self-evacuation... through pain..."
"Life support systems... rebooting. Continuing."
"The wound is deep, but not critical. Continuing mission."
Unhooking Another:
"Evacuating casualty. Silence is our ally."
"Hold on, soldier. This will hurt, but you'll be free."
"Icarus order: leave no one behind. Complying."
Name: Ailani
History: Ailani did not belong to any race known in Icarus archives. Her people, the blue-skinned "Etherites," were not warriors or scientists, but navigators of reality. They perceived the fabric of space as music, and cosmic nebulae and rifts - as familiar currents. Their civilization was quiet, contemplative, and ancient.
Everything changed when the Swarm invaded their star system. The Etherites did not resist - they tried to understand the invader, to attune to its collective mind. This was a fatal mistake. The Swarm, encountering not aggression but an attempt at psionic contact, did not destroy them, but... studied them. Entire cities were ensnared by living, thinking flesh, and their inhabitants turned into living sensors, into "access points" for the Swarm's endless hunger.
Ailani was one of the first touched by the Swarm's Mind. But instead of dissolving into the chorus of voices, her own gift distorted the signal. She did not become a slave - she became an antenna, a conduit, her mind torn between her dying race and the relentless Swarm. She was abducted not for consumption, but for experiments. She was kept in a chamber where tentacles grew from the walls, and her consciousness was flooded with chilling whispers of alien logic.
She was saved by a... glitch. A nomad spaceship, drawn into the same nebula, with its crude engine radiation momentarily disrupted the psi-link. In that instant, Ailani, using her innate navigator instinct, lunged towards the source of the interference - straight into a rift in reality that led her to the Entity's Fog.
Appearance:
Head and Face:
Skin: Rich, cool blue hue, matte, without visible blemishes.
Facial Features: Fine and delicate, narrow chin, neat nose, slightly pointed cheekbones.
Eyes: Almond-shaped, with bright golden-yellow irises; gaze is calm but penetrating, almost predatory.
Eyebrows: Thin, dark.
Lips: Narrow, natural dark blue tone; expression is restrained and detached.
Horns and Ears: Two curved horns of dark gray color emerge symmetrically from the upper part of the head, smooth with sharp tips. Ears are elongated and pointed, elven-like, with clearly defined cartilage.
Hair: Long, dark — almost black with a cool blue sheen. Part of the hair is gathered into a high bun at the back, the rest falls freely in strands over the shoulders.
Tail: Thin, with an arrowhead-like tip at the end.
Clothing:
The character's clothing looks like a fusion of combat armor and a tactical suit, combining protection, mobility, and style.
Top: Form-fitting armored suit of dark graphite color with a matte texture.
The chest area is reinforced with segmented armor with pronounced anatomy, accentuated by blue inserts. Over it — a short armored cloak/pauldron with asymmetrical lines and thin, light patterns resembling runes or techno-marks. The collar is trimmed with light fur.
Bottom: Armored pants with a tight fit, reinforced on the thighs and knees. Knee and shin plates are silver-gray with mechanical joints. Color accents repeat the top: dark base + blue inserts.
Footwear: Armored boots with reinforced toes and sturdy soles.
BLOODY PRESTIGE:
Horns: Deep cracks appear, glowing with the same scarlet energy. They seem on the verge of shattering.
Clothing: The tactical suit integrates with her flesh. The fabric on the shoulders and chest looks as if soldered or fused with congealed blood. The armored cloak is torn, and the fur on the collar is matted and covered in dark stains.
Tail: Practically completely covered in blood.
AILANI'S PERKS:
"Psi-Trace"
When the Killer, within 24 meters of you, damages a survivor with a basic attack or uses their Power, you see the Killer's aura for 3 seconds.
If a survivor enters the Dying State within 32 meters of you, that survivor's aura is revealed to you until they are hooked, and you gain a 5% bonus to unhooking speed and healing speed for that specific survivor for 60 seconds.
"Echo of an Alien Mind"
When you fully repair a generator, that generator becomes "Resonant" for 30/40/50 seconds.
While the Killer is within 12 meters of a "Resonant" generator, their aura is revealed to you, and the sounds of their breathing and footsteps become 50% louder.
"Warp of Space"
When you are within 16 meters of a broken pallet or a breached wall, you can activate this perk.
Activation creates a temporary visual phantom at the location of the destroyed object (for 40 seconds) and triggers a sound cue (sound of rapid running and a pallet falling).
The effect works only against the Killer who performed the destruction. The phantom is visible to survivors but its image shimmers.
The perk has a cooldown of 60/50/40 seconds.
AILANI'S LINES:
Lobby:
(Looking into the distance) "The Fog here... sings on a different frequency."
(Listening) "Space is distorted. Prepare for dissonance."
(Calmly) "I was a conduit for one darkness. I will survive this one too."
"The Swarm is silent. For now. That's... reassuring."
Match Start:
"Silence is deceptive. It is already listening."
"We need to find the melody of this place. And quickly."
"Do not create unnecessary vibrations."
Running from the Killer:
(Concentrated) "Its rhythm is erratic. Need to shift the phase."
(Tensely) "Too close! The pulse of terror is intensifying!"
"It's cutting the fabric of space!"
Stealth from the Killer:
(Whispering) "Fall silent. Become background noise."
(Holding breath) "It doesn't see, it... senses vibrations. Don't move."
"My signal must blend with the noise."
Repairing a Generator:
"Energy flow is stable. Continuing."
"Sparks... remind me of falling stars. Pity they are not meant to land."
(At an unexpected spark) "A short circuit in the harmony."
Healing Another Survivor:
(Sensing finely) "Your pain... it's a sharp, discordant sound. Let me muffle it."
"Biorhythm disrupted. Restoring."
"Don't be afraid. Fear is a loud scream in the silence."
Being Hooked:
(With suppressed pain) "The hook... resonates with my old wounds."
(With difficulty) "The connection to the Swarm... it intensifies here again..."
"This isn't just a hook. It's an antenna for agony."
Unhooking Yourself:
(With a rasp) "Break the resonance..."
(Gathering will) "My mind is my own!"
"Pain is just noise. Noise can be ignored."
Unhooking Another:
(Quickly) "I'll tear you from this frequency."
"Patience. The pain will peak now and... subside."
"Hold on. I know what this torture sounds like."
Comments