Necrozmatic Spore

... Seeing our sister walking even after she was buried a week ago, scared the shit out of me and my brother, really. Wasn't just us, though. Harold, who had helped raised her since she was a baby and had been a longtime friend of the family, yelled and shot her in the face; screaming that she shouldn't be alive, freaked out like the rest of us. There wasn't any blood. All we saw was fungus in her skull.
We burned the body later that night.

— Exerpt from Out Of The Blue, Into The Black: The First Year After The Withering by Ophelia Littauer.

Necrozmatic Spore is a type of fungus with unusual properties that can affect Humans, appearing after the events of The Withering. Spawning through unknown means in dark regions on Earth; such as caverns, the deepest and darkest parts of a forest, or in graves whenever the moon Charon appears, Necrozmatic Spores are seen as dangerous, with the only surefire way to get rid of the spores being to set them ablaze.

Basic Information

Anatomy

There are three stages to the Necrozmatic Spore: The Gestation Phase, The Spore Phase, And The Host Phase. In each phase, the spore has a dark blue color.

Gestation Phase

In the Gestation Phase, the spore begins as a mass of bulbs intersecting with each other, colored a dull gray with blue patches of fungus sticking onto it. It will stay in this phase for one day; the fungus growing rather quickly on the surface. Oftentimes when it appears in a grave, it will form within the body of the deceased, especially if it was recent.

Spore Phase

In the Spore Phase, the bulbs will burst open, spraying out a slurry of spores, fungus, seed and Mana that will attach itself to any surface it comes onto. If the seed gets onto the skin of a deceased human being-- Which happens often due to it's habit of appearing within a deceased body; it will begin to burrow into the flesh. Once it does, the seed; followed by the fungus that sprouts out of it, will begin to feed on the internal meat of the body, slowly growing in equal mass. This process can take from two to five days, of which the body will no longer go through natural decomposition.

Host Phase

The Host Phase comes once the spores and fungus has completely replaced the flesh, leaving the skin, skeleton, and the brain. The spores, taking control of the brain; cause the body to begin moving again. The hosts are able to perfectly mimic the bodies of the deceased; acting as though they never died in the first place. However, there are several differences that are not initially noticable:

Inability to form new memories

Enhanced strength

Hive-mind like tendacies, resulting in co-operation between many hosts

Ability to sustain heavy damange (i.e. loss of limbs, stab and bullet wounds) without expiring

Loss of pain sensation

Enhanced healing ability

No need to use the bathroom, eat, or drink; instead displaying photosynthetic processes at night-time

The Host will live for an unknown period of time, of which is unknown due to ongoing attempts to eliminate any breakout of Necrozmatic Spores and the hosts that are formed from them. After a period of time living, however, the Host will attempt to spread more Necrozmatic Spores via means of self-debowlment. They will tear out a organ that forms over a period of time within their body and embed it into the closest corpse they can find, where a new patch of Necrozmatic Spore will begin to gestate.

Alternate Names
Zombie Flower

Lifespan

1 days gestation | 30 days outside of host before death | Unknown inside host

Protection Method
The proper way to get rid of Necrozmatic Spore when it is in the Gestation, Spore or Host phases is to immolate it, setting it ablaze. Common methods of disposal include usage of flamethrowers; desposing the bodies on burn piles until only ashes remain; or in extreme cases, heavy usage of White Phosphorus.
It's often recommended to ignore any screaming they make while burning, as they cannot feel pain.