Dusk Leech

(This creature is part of the Separatio research. Most of the information is limited and needs research as much as possible.)
Living under the black sands of Separatio, the Dusk Leech stalks the harsh cold of the barren lands, attacking any creature who dares to step out of the field of ruins or during the season of snowstorms. As one of the few creatures unable to gain sentience through the Rotating Flashes phenomenon, many feared it to be the strongest and most dangerous monster of all. Despite this, many try to fight against the Leeches whether they can still have their sentience or in their feral states, seeing them as a step towards their path to power.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Most leeches are large black arthropods, namely a centipede, as they have 14 legs with hair-like claws and large antennas located on their heads. They mostly have mandibles that contain a venom that paralyzes their prey and hair-like tentacles that seems to disguise as an additional pair of antennas on their head that also injects paralyzing venom. Inside their mouths, several tentacle-like teeth grab their paralyzed prey and chew them down before they can swallow them. One thing to note is that they don't possess any eyes to see through their surroundings as they mostly rely on vibrations to do so.

Growth Rate & Stages

As they are born from eggs, the Dusk Leeches start out as worms a size of a dog. After a few days when they become a child, they will grow about 5-7 meters as they start to molt their skin and grow about 2-4 legs at the time. Then after a few more days in their juvenile days, they grow a few more meters at about 6-8 meters, to the point they are about the size of a building, and gained antennas and mandibles. And as they are about a few days until adulthood, they gain a few more legs and tentacles. Their estimated growth rate is about 14-28 days depending on the season.

Ecology and Habitats

Dusk Leeches mostly live under the sands of Separatio away. Highly territorial and aggressive, they mostly stalk their prey and intruders by swimming under the sand and capturing them through their tentacles. When they become adults, they bury themselves deeper into the ground and use several decayed cactus and their molten skin to create their nests. While they mostly swim almost all over the world, they mostly avoid the field of ruins due to the Obsidian Golems repelling them through their routine earthquakes. Due to their cold-blooded nature, the leeches hibernate during the snowstorms by burying themselves back in their nest. If they are in labor, they mostly rely on their tentacle antennas to hunt their prey with their mates using their normal hunting methods.

Dietary Needs and Habits

As carnivores, Dusk Leeches mostly feed on the darkness of other living beings. They often find their prey by stalking them under the sands or any detection of intruders trespassing their territory. They mostly do this by ambushing and injecting them with paralyzing venom from their mandibles. They sometimes use their tentacles on their heads by acting as a small worm-like creatures to lower the prey's guard before they can inject them with its venom. Once they are immobilized, the Dusk Leech uses their teeth to grab their prey and chew them down by stabbing them and mincing them down before it can swallow them.

Biological Cycle

Their mating season usually starts in the sandstorms as they start swimming around the barren sands for a potential mate. If they find the opposite sex, they usually swim around each other and if they accept, they connect their teeth tentacles. But if one of them rejected another, they would roar and smack their tail and antenna tentacles at them before they leave them. Due to their aggressive nature, it is too dangerous to traverse the area during the mating season, or else, there is a chance the leeches attack the intruders.
During labor, the female leech stays in her nest, relying mostly on her tentacles and antennas to detect intruders for food. As for their mate, they mostly go out from their nest to hunt for food, which is much more aggressive than before and becomes relentless against their prey.
At the end of the snowstorm, the adult Dusk Leech molts out of its old skin as they continue to grow its limbs and body. They would use their discarded skins to create their nests underground and organic traps for those who dare invade their homes.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Due to their lack of sight, most leeches rely mostly on their hair-like claws attached to their legs to traverse through their surroundings. Despite this, they rely mostly on vibrations in the sands, which lets them track down their prey through movement such as walking or running.

Geographic Distribution

• Separatio