Crayak

"I play the game of genocide."

- Crayak

Crayak is a recurring villain in the Animorphs book series. He is a reality warping Eldritch Abomination who exists outside of the universe and strives to extinguish life. He is locked in a permanent conflict with the Ellimist, a benevolent creature of equal power, in which both indirectly influence the situation to further their goals.

Crayak used to be an extradimensional, cyclops-like alien who was expelled form his world by a never described, all-powerful being. He ended up in the galaxy where the story takes place and grew in power, until becoming the the closest thing to a Satanic Archetype for the Animorphs universe. He and the Ellimist are not really omnipotent, but they are so incredibly powerful that it does not make any difference to a human perspective. Crayak wants to pit all races in the universe into a war until only the mightiest one remains, and then have said race worship him. It is also stated that he wants to get back at the all-powerful being who exiled him.

He and the Ellimist fought an all out battle that destroyed a large part of the universe, without being able to kill one another, and were eventually forced into the game of power that leads the main conflict. (It is said that even Crayak was disturbed at the destruction caused by the battle.) Now they are both bound by the rules of the game and can only act trough others. Whenever one of them acts directly, it allows the other to retaliate, so they but they both try to gain permanent advantage over the other.

Crayak is never fully described, but he appeared as a gigantic and monstrous cybernetic red eye, far too horrible and alien for a human mind to comprehend. He communicates through thought-speak perceived as deafening screams. He has an enforcer called the Drode, to whom he granted immense cosmic powers. He is responsible of the Yeerks' invasion of the galaxy and is the one who created the fearsome alien race known as the Howlers: children-like being sharing a hive-mind, taught to extinguish the life on every planet they are sent as if it was a game.

His presence is felt for the first time when Jake, the leader of the Animorphs, gets infested by the Yeerk that controlled his older brother Tom and manages to starve it to death. He experiences a frighteningly evil, unconcievable presence who starts plaguing his nightmares: in which an ominous red eye keeps saying "soon". The worst part being that this presence would not be explained before several tomes. The Ellimist eventually reveals Crayak's true nature and purpose when he choses the Animorphs as his champions against his foe's team of Howlers. The Animorphs eventually manage to defeat the Howlers and to "reprogram" the entire race to remove them as a threat. Since Crayak mercilessly destroys all the Howlers who come to realize the horror of their game, it is heavily implied that he erased the entire specy from existence.

Crayak then appears several times to the protagonists; mainly to strike bargains with them and offer to grant their wishes or make them supremely powerful should they pledge obedience to him, but he twists his words and never fully respects his part of bargain. He eventually gains an interest for Rachel, the most violent of the Animorphs. He also stroke a bargain with David, offering to free him from the rat form in which he was trapped if he could play Rachel into his clutches, but ultimately used him as a pawn.

Crayak's fate at the end of the series is left unclear, but it is implied that the Howlers' destruction and the Yeerks final defeat allowed the Ellimist to gain a definite advantage over him.