Cardi Strain
Nurea Strain
Tiksem is a small and extremely deadly parasite, but it is not very infectious. Cases have been found global, but more commonly in hotter regions. It will rarely spread, only through direct contact with the corpse of the victim, as Tiksem lays its eggs in the corpse. The eggs can survive for literally 7 years before they die, and remain dormant until it makes skin contact with something living. Once it makes contact and remains on the skin for about a few minutes, it hatches and quickly burrows into the host. At this stage, both the eggs and the Tiksem are mostly invisible due to its tiny size. If more than one Tiksem manages to enter the host, they will out-compete each other until only one survives. The sole survivor will then From there, they either go to two locations depending on the strain: directly to the heart (Cardi), or on the brain (Nurea), specifically, on either the Super Brain or Psychothalamus.
Cardi Tiksem are more subtle than the Nurea strain, as they live their life quietly in the heart. It attaches itself directly to the heart and holds on the Love Scaffolding in order to not be dislodged. It intakes iron from blood to support its eggs, as it cannot lay eggs otherwise. Early symptoms are normally anemia and weight loss, which tends to go unnoticed. It will eventually lead to fatigue and organ damage due to hypoxia, and once the Cardi is finished, will lead to sudden organ failure and death. The sudden organ failure is a result of toxins being placed directly in the heart, and once the toxins are released, the host is pretty much dead. The heart and any other organs the toxin reaches will fail and stop functioning, effectively killing the host. The strain will then lay eggs across the entire body, internally and externally. The only place eggs are unable to incubate is the Acid Refinery, since the eggs will quickly dissolve there even after death.
Nurea Tiksem is noticed quicker, but still is hard to detect. Anemia is still present in this strain, as does all the other symptoms. However, it is much more complex than Cardi and therefore able to show it's symptoms, as Nurea is extremely if not impossible to remove. It causes OMED (Obsessive Metal Eating Disorder) and often results in internal blockage, bleeding, and abdominal pain. This can cause premature death in the host before the Nurea is completely ready, but Nurea can actually still produce eggs without having a proper amount of iron. Nurea is also more widespread than Cardi, and it's eggs can survive for 9 years rather than only 7. Once it is finished, Nurea also releases toxins just like Cardi, which kills the host almost immediately.
Tiksem can be removed through surgical means, but one must be cautious and careful. Nurea requires extreme care: if a single step is done wrong or if the procedure is done too forcefully, the Tiksem will release toxins and kill the host. Otherwise, Tiksem cannot be cured. Rather than burying the body for a funeral, cremation is literally the only way to ensure that Tiksem eggs will not stay in the now dead host.