This ATOM Bonus Kaiju File was created by Ariccio50/Noah Riccio for the Revenge of the ATOM Create a Kaiju Contest!  The illustration and profile here is based on their work, and I highly recommend you check out their other work!

Aliases: “Serpent of the Jagged Mountains” (rough translation of their Martian name)

Date Discovered: 70 million B.C. (by Martians)

Place of Origin: Mars

Notable Stomping Grounds: Mars

Height: 30 feet

Length: 360 feet

Biology: Kukulkuzana is a sinuous beast uniquely adapted to highland/mountainous regions on the astral body of Mars. Along the edges of the mouth are extremely efficient sensory pits. The maw and claws on this creature are especially useful for digging out new alcoves in the soil. The atmosphere on Mars makes the slightest changes in air pressure very difficult for an organism on Earth to notice, but for Kukulkuzana, it might as well not even have any eye at all. A single footstep within a 2 kilometer radius is enough to alert them that something is on the menu. What appear to be fins are actually dorsal heating structures that aid in boosting the kaiju’s metabolism when exposed to sunlight. A warm, fully energized body results in striking patterns and more vivid colors across the body, but these fade quickly among the darkest times on Mars.

Kukulzana boasts the standard kaiju power set:

• Super strength
• An enhanced healing factor
• Immunity to radiation

Personality: Kukulkuzana’s spirit is burdened by greed and boredom. Like a dragon in an ancient edifice, they covet every mineral in their territory and are perceptive enough to notice when one has been tampered with. Whenever this happens, they are ecstatic to jump to confront the intruder and to not hold back. Interestingly, they never venture outside of their territory unless one of their beloved stones are out of bounds. They are not even interested in the prospect of searching for new resources, and it is unknown what would happen if they are forced to seek refuge outside of their current home.

These moments when the hunt is on are the only times when this enigmatic beast seems excited. Joyous, even. Most of their day is spent in idle, resting in the crooks of mountain ranges and within hollowed out cave systems. On the tops of their highest peaks, Kukulkuzana will eagerly look about, hoping to see something, anything that it could interact with, threaten, and pursue. Boredom may grow so excruciating that they will actively taunt and agitate another organism to convince it to cross over the border. If successful, they will strike without warning or hesitation. When prey or rivals are frequent, fights are often very quick, but when there is a noticeable drought in activity, they choose to savor the confrontation as much as possible.

When most desperate for stimulation, the serpentine beast will find new ways to sprint and leap across the peaks of its turf until exhausted. They will coil into a very tight spring and launch into the sky on particularly warm days. Even when tired, the mind is restless, and sleep-crawling frequently takes place with full control of their limbs, tendrils, and dorsal spines aiding in climbing vertical surfaces. They seem to bear subconscious awareness of the environment even when asleep, but their sensory pits can’t detect vibrations as efficiently in this state.

This individual seems to be the last of their kind, so their craving for direct interaction, no matter how brutal, grows with each passing day. It’s very likely that this tenacity resulted in self-cannibalization, and thus sealed their own fate into isolation.

As a fighter, Kukulkuzana is fortunate to have not just armor and strength on its side, but also speed and cunning. As an arboreal creature, it is difficult for many terrestrial kaiju to keep track of the “animal” as it waves between various structures, even on land, they can slither and dash with surprising bursts of energy.