#485Skotophagos

Skotophagos arrived at the Vethranok Conclave already hosting three registered parasites. The fourth was self-declared during the proceedings. Obsidian skin polished to mirror-finish that returns no reflection. The anglerfish lure hangs from the jaw joint: bioluminescent, slow-pulsing, older than the daemon wearing it. Amber-lacquered filigree traces the seam where parasite and host calcified into shared theology. The compound eye at the crown still rotates. It catalogs. It selects. The Ordained recognize two paths into the religious-military orders: Sentinel and Devotional. [Sasorikami](https://maximals.shape.network/token/1865) walks the third path, enforcement through presence alone. Skotophagos walks deeper than that. Its classification in the Abyssal Rite indexes as: *Host-Consecrate, Active Symbiosis, Do Not Assign Proximity Operations.* The parasite is listed separately in the registry. It holds its own rank. During the Sieve Campaigns, Skotophagos was deployed once. The after-action record consists of a single line: *Conclave vote: unanimous withdrawal. Reason: mission parameters exceeded by autonomous liturgical action.* The void where its eyes should be faced the retreating Sovereign delegations. The lure kept pulsing. The light that reached it failed to return. [Ossuavel](https://maximals.shape.network/token/1128) cycled its assembly logs through six iterations attempting to model Skotophagos as a threat vector. The seventh returned a single output: *classification failure, recommend organic review.* No organics remain who review such designations. The fourth parasite has begun transmitting requests for its own designation. The Conclave has postponed the ratification vote four times. The lure keeps pulsing. The abyssal signal answering from depth has begun—