Controls: O, P, T, I, C Info: AE-050 Class: Truculent (T) Description: The entity known as the Optic Hazard is a grotesque skeletal being with a horse skull-like head with seemingly empty eye sockets. It has a very durable exoskeleton, capable of withstanding the average gun round and most blades. When it is damaged, it bleeds a black viscous fluid that causes mild irritation to the skin. It has a wide range of vocal capabilities. It mimics deer calls when in a state of nonaggression. During hunting or aggression, its vocalization shifts to harsher sounds like growls and roars. Its distorted hands and feet are tipped with razor-sharp claws used primarily during attacks. Despite also having a sharp claw on its tail, it rarely uses it. This Sensory Hazard is distinguished from the others based on its yellow coloration and blunt spine-like protrusions on its head and along its back. The Optic Hazard is closely linked to another organism referred to as the Optic Hazard Growth. These fungi-like organisms are incredibly rare but are most common in temperate forests and are a cosmopolitan species. They appear to be detritivores, feeding off of decaying material. The visible part is the main body of the organism, unlike a mushroom. It uses root-like structures to absorb nutrients and slowly move around. They are rarely seen due to both low population and the fact that they commonly fully submerge themselves in the soil. These organisms are both male and female and reproduce via spores. Seeing these spores do to trigger a response from the Optic Hazard. Behavior: During the day, it is normally hidden, though the exact location is unknown. It only emerges at night in areas with high Optic Hazard Growth population density or when someone looks at an Optic Hazard Growth at night. When not aggravated, it wanders about, occasionally emitting deer-like calls. It will trigger a hunting response upon seeing it or the growths during the night. It can only see you if you are currently looking at it, but it can still smell and hear you if you look at it and look away. After seeing the entity, it will emit aggressive sounding calls and charge at its victim. It will use its claws to slash and dismember its victims. It tends to toy with its prey for a bit before going for the kill. It rarely ever consumes the entire victim. While it is possible to physically escape the entity, it will hunt its victim every single night until it kills the individual. Symptoms: Aside from the entity being agitated, the observer will exhibit a wide range of symptoms. The experiences vary between individuals, and some may even experience none at all. It starts of with hallucinations, the most common being clouds of orange, purple, and green, or visual distortions. This is normally followed by other symptoms such as dizziness, blurred vision, nausea, light sensitivity, or pain in the eyes. The latter-mentioned list typically goes away after looking away from the Optic Hazard and its growths. All symptoms will completely disappear if the victim survives to the morning but will return after seeing the entities again. Notable Events: During operation Daybreak, the AEC was able to capture the Optic Hazard and contain it until daytime. There was a total of 37 casualties involved in capturing and restraining the entity, but by the time day broke, its demeanor abruptly changed. It became incredibly docile, to the point where it was able to be petted by the researchers. They even went as far as removing restraints, and even then, it was completely docile and gentle. Later, they put the entity back into its restraints as night approached with little resistance from the creature. The entire time, it only made gentle-sounding vocalizations, akin to a happy chicken. As the sun began to fall, it became increasingly more aggressive in both sounds and behavior as it started thrashing in its restraints. When it was fully night, it appeared to be twice as violent and strong as it was the night before. Eventually, it broke free, leading to the deaths of every personnel involved in this operation, with 43 additional casualties. It eventually broke free of the facility it was contained in and was since then put on the Termination List. Despite this, it still remained a big interest in the AEC community, with some speculating that this individual was being possessed at night, possibly by the growths as a defensive mechanism on the growth’s behalf. Unfortunately, the AEC Foundation collapsed before further research was conducted, and the entity still was not neutralized and remains to be a large threat, especially for hikers and rural explorers.
There are also other Sensory Hazards... Credits; Cooltext.com
