| “ | Sonic the Hedgehog does not exist. Please stop asking us. | „ | |
| ― Sega, 199█ |
Non-Existent is a cognitohazard entity created by eenat. in June of 2022. It is the antagonist of TEARS OF GOLD, as well as the future Non-Existent Sonic game.
BEWARE THE OMEN[]
Athaza, more commonly known as Non-Existent, is an anomalous entity that can erase franchises from "existence", more notably all of human memory.
It is unknown when or how this being came into existence, but it began to act in 1994, invading and erasing the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Everything relating to the franchise up until that point was completely erased, and all remaining existing content such as games, videos, and physical media were corrupted. Further along the line, another notable erasure was the Pokémon franchise in 1997.
If anybody comes in contact with these corrupted pieces of media, they too are completely erased from existence. While their physical possessions and such may remain, the memories and recordings do not. When it comes to the games, Non-Existent itself mangles and changes the course of the games, turning it into its own playground to mess with the player. Erasure usually comes when Non-Existent gets bored, mad, or the game is completed (or a combination).
Appearance[]
Athaza is an entity of twists and turns, and does not usually have a coherent form that stays the exact same all the time. However, its forms tend to stick to the same similar qualities.
Non-Existent[]
Non-Existent, the title given to Athaza when it is operating a vessel, follows the same principles.
In his Sonic forme, Sonic's body has mutated to accommodate its host. His body is now black and white, with the arms and legs extending outward and shoulders forming into spikes. The belly has also changed, curving up at the sides and harboring a black spiral. Replacing Sonic's head, Non-Existent's head is a white oval, with a black half-face adorning it.
In his Red forme, Red's body has been mostly preserved. The posture of the body is slightly twisted, with Red's head being removed to contain Non-Existent's once more. The same white oval remains, although the face is now a full one instead of a half one.
In any future appearances, every vessel will follow the pattern of having the body be monochrome, possibly altered, and containing Athaza's head instead of the original host's.
Athaza[]
Without any vessels to reside in, Athaza's true form is more akin to an alien entity. Its true forme is a towering black statue-like figure, with large shoulder spikes similar to his Sonic forme. A gray stomach chest adorns the body, and gray lines run down its arms. Its hands appear to look like white gloves.
Its face is the same half-face style as its Sonic forme, although it looks more surreal than its vessel forms.
Personality[]
Non-Existent is an erratic being, switching between its love and hatred for the player on a dime. It is completely aware with what it's doing, and seem to find pleasure in it. It claims to feed on creativity, although it does not need sustenance and is solely acting based on entertainment purposes.
It tends to speak in quick mannerisms, visually displayed as all lowercase text. Non-Existent appears to be carefree during gameplays, messing with the player and appearing to not take anything seriously. It views human beings as toys, and its creations (the corrupted media) as playgrounds for the humans to "entertain" Non-Existent in.
Non-Existent seems to have a fascination with humanity's curiosity, as it is shown to acknowledge that its players could put the games down at any time, and yet continue despite the risk of erasure.
However, Non-Existent is a childish being; it cannot stand losing or being tricked. While it has complete control of the games it resides in, it tends to play along with the game's rules at first, which means he can be "beaten" in some sense. When this happens, Non-Existent will usually throw some sort of fit, whether it be teleporting the player to a harsh part of the game, removing key items or others objects, or straight up skipping the wait and erasing the player.
Non-Existent tends to reflect the personality of its vessel as well. In his Sonic forme, he is far more immature, while his Red forme is more solemn (when he's not raging, though).
Athaza tends to be a reserved individual in its true forme, usually only seen stalking the player or exiting its vessel in a "final battle" sense.
Abilities[]
Damnatio Memoriae[]
Athaza has the ability to completely erase the memory of a franchise's existence from reality. Furthermore, Athaza can completely erase human beings from reality, along with evidence for their existence outside of physical belongings.
For example, Athaza's erasure effect will remove any record of their existence, meaning blank spaces will exist in place of writing relating to them, or removing a person's appearance from every photo they've ever been in as if they never existed. However, if said person owned a home, that home itself would still remain, just without any trace of the victim.
Obfuscation[]
In real time, Athaza can modify and corrupt any remaining evidence of an erased franchise. While it can play along with the logic of the game, it can also break it and add things that don't belong nor would ever fit. Or just delete the save file entirely, for an example of his little rage quits. It also seems to be able to influence the internet, not only having its erasure affecting everything on it, but it can add to it, uploading its games or websites as traps. He usually uses this ability outside of game modification in tandem with his erasure ability when he ragequits, erasing the in-game player before erasing the actual player.
Athaza can also rip itself apart, creating multiple little entities of Athaza called "splinters" that look vastly different from its creator. This ability is currently only utilized in TEARS OF GOLD, and is seen with essentially every weird entity in the game. Those are splinters.
Permanence[]
Athaza cannot be removed from the media he resides in, nor can his erasure be reversed. He cannot be uninstalled, or hacked out, or anything else. The only solution to avoiding non-existence would be to mind your own business and never encounter him.
Trivia[]
WORK IN PROGRESS
- Athaza's face switches sides sometimes. Don't question it.
- Non-Existent was an EXE upon its creation, although it was quickly changed as the concept was actually developed.
- The similarities between Athaza's True Forme and Sonic the Hedgehog are completely coincidental.
- Sonic and Pokémon are not the only franchises it has erased, but the most notable and therefore the forefront of the current public appearances right now. Probably will change.
- Athaza has not and will not canonically interact with any other entities, but would most likely hate all of them.
- This excludes Zalgo. He would be terrified of the other.
- Athaza is actually not a fan of typical brutality, as seen after he forces the player to kill their mother in TEARS OF GOLD, calling the scene "edgy and weird".
- Athaza's splinters have unique personalities and designs (sometimes) of their own, sometimes even going against its creator's will or values.
Gallery[]
