The parasitized Githyanki's lips tore open and peeled back. Several tentacles burrowed out of its mouth, writhing as they forced its jaws wider.
Its original face crumbled away, its skin peeling off in flakes to expose the new grayish-purple tissue beneath. An enormous octopus head took shape in its place.
A new mind flayer had been born. Its tentacles hung limply, and its chest heaved violently with every breath.
Zephros stared at the newborn. Mind flayers were at their most vulnerable just after their transformation. They could not use psionics, their thoughts were confused and hazy, and they could not even keep themselves afloat.
The newborn body curled up on the ground, as helpless as an exposed brain.
He drifted slowly over and settled beside the newborn. Zephros knelt on one knee, extended his slender fingers, and brushed them over its severed arm.
Psionic light poured from his fingertips, enveloping the hideous wound. Bones grew within the light, muscle fibers wove themselves anew, and skin covered the wound. Within moments, the arm was whole again, without even a scar.
A blue-black psionic portal formed nearby. Arcs of electricity danced within its frame, and a Psionic Warrior clad in a Chitinous Carapace stepped out.
It bowed its head, its tentacles hanging respectfully over its chest, and greeted the towering mind flayer:
"Welcome back to the Colony, honored Voice of the Elder Brain-"
"Stop hiding, Noesis," Zephros interrupted as he rose, his voice cold. "At this point, do you still intend to remain behind the scenes? Such behavior will only lower my assessment of your intelligence."
The Voice of the Elder Brain raised his head, fixing his gaze on a seemingly empty stretch of ruins nearby.
"I have never hidden, Zephros."
A Soul Devourer with six tentacles around its mouth, an enormous