Open MusicClose Music- Entity 22: "Anethikas"
- Entity 22-A: "Goliath Anethikas"
Description
Anethikas are highly malevolent and (unfortunately) abundant entities found throughout the Backrooms. They are to be avoided at all costs due to their notable agility and mindless hunger for the lives of wanderers. Whilst they may be found in almost all of the Backrooms, they deeply prefer levels in great proximity to Level 0, and especially prefer Level 3, but have been found all the way down to Level 1. They barely make any noise when moving, and it is best that you don't let them notice you by being very attentive in the levels where they are most prominent.
They have hunched backs and are typically nine feet(274.32cm) tall. Along with their hunched backs, they appear to have contorted necks in unnatural poses, like a contortionist. Anethikas are made of a shadowy mist with enough density to make one unable to see the other side. This aura of mist they are made of can extend outwards, darkening the surrounding environment in which it resides. Sometimes they show their pair of luminescent eyes, but most of the time it is hidden, but they can still very much see you.
Behavior
A corrupted image of an Anethika spotting the photographer in the halls of what seems to be either Level 3 or Level 2.
Anethikas will wander the level they are in aimlessly until they spot or hear the presence of a wanderer. It will briefly stalk its wanderer and sometimes show its bright white eyes, getting closer and closer every time the wanderer looks back at it. This pursuing state is very brief, and the Anethika will usually enter the attack state immediately.
When the Anethika is attempting to attack a wanderer actively, it will usually use blunt force trauma (fists) and telepathy to try and manipulate wanderers, to send them into a descent of insanity where their pain and insanity will feed them the "energy" they desire so much. It mainly prefers the life/pain energy from those who are descending into insanity on their own, regardless of circumstances. If one is exceptionally resilient against these methods that the entity uses, it may provide a decent chance where the Anethika will rarely give up and flee the scene.
It isn't known if they share any rivalry with any other entities, but it appears that they are found whenever an area has no entities but only wanderers. They prefer to hunt only one wanderer at a time. If multiple Anethikas stumble upon multiple wanderers, they may also group up to hunt in duos and if they encounter various wanderers, they will try to split the group and perform their hunting on the individuals.
Anethika Evasion
You should always run as fast as you can when encountering an Anethika. Ignore its telepathic messages, completely disregard them. Imagine that they don't have a voice. A discovery some wanderers have made is that the Buddhist chant " Heart Sūtra" can serve as a repellent against Anethikas, scaring them off when chanting it repeatedly.
Origins & Former Documentation
Anethikas are not biological in nature and are somewhat like spectral entities deeply associated with the Void, as wanderers say they see Anethikas manifest into reality in levels and locations physically close to the aforementioned Void, most likely manifesting from death, insanity, and turmoil in the Backrooms.
Anethikas were once well documented, but their documentation had spontaneously gone significantly corrupted from all databases, and so had the frequency of sightings of Anethikas, even their name almost became lost to time. The modern-day documentation of the Anethika has begun since their sightings rose back to their original and consistent amount. The explanation to the disapperance of the Anethika may forever remain as an unexplainable occurrence.
Description
A Goliath Anethika pursuing the photographer in Level 9.
Goliath Anethikas are much more ravenous and dangerous variants of the Anethika, being its evolved variant. Its gaze alone can induce fatigue in some wanderers. Their telepathic voices are far more powerful and intrusive than those of their unevolved counterparts. They are capable of far more efficient life-energy siphoning and are physically distorted, new limbs being formed and extended, their necks lengthening; everything about their previous appearance has been lost besides the fundamental appearance of two eyes and a body made of a black mist.
Sub-Variants
Default
When an Anethika evolves in a location that meets the proper conditions such as Level 9, it will generally appear as a creature with a big central body and a large head with a pair of glowing eyes. It has four incredibly long legs for navigation and for grabbing prey. The photo seen in the document is what a Default Goliath Anethika resembles.
Aerial
In unknown circumstances, a version of the Goliath Anethika can exist as a bird-like creature with wings, seen soaring in the skies and diving to the ground to grab prey in bodies of water or land. This is a dangerous, albeit fortunately rare, sub-variant of the Goliath Anethika. They often resemble a bird of prey, like an eagle.
Aquatic
A hypothesized variant, the Goliath Anethika can exist as a creature resembling a distorted catfish or lamprey. This is an almost impossible situation that occurs when an Anethika somehow finds itself in an aquatic level whilst in the state of evolving into a Goliath Anethika.
Behavior
They will patrol the open fields they evolved in with a muffled howling sound. They will rush towards any wanderer they see, destroying the environment as it does this (if the environment is destructible). It will do everything in its power to reach the prey, but will patrol the area it last saw the wanderer if it loses track or cannot reach the wanderer anymore.
The chant that can be used to deter and repel Anethikas does not work on Goliath Anethikas whatsoever. They are completely unfazed, and one should not try using the chant at all.
Origins, Evolution Process, and Devolution process
When an Anethika gathers enough life/pain energy from the Wanderers or sentient life that it harvests from, it will rush to find an area or level that has an open space. Should it fail to do so, it will 'dissociate' into an unbreathable toxic void mist (killing it in the process) that darkens the area surrounding it. This mist will remain in the area but slowly deplete over time. Otherwise, it will successfully evolve by rapidly growing and adapting to its environment, becoming either the default or the sub-variants listed above.
If the Goliath Anethika starves for too long, it will shrink and allow its excess mass to diffuse into the air, slowly regaining the shape and form of its unevolved counterpart, the Anethika. After enough time, it has turned into a normal Anethika.
Author: Moscovium-289
Original Author: Unknown (References to the Anethika existed before its earliest page creation on Fandom, unless I'm not looking deep enough.)
Audio: Crossing Bridges - Anethikas has been used with permission by the original musician.
Musician's Bandcamp: https://forestkids.bandcamp.com/album/the-backrooms-ost