Monsters

Monsters are beings brought into the world by pure magic, not unlike a magical golem. These creatures are a product of The Replication, but instead of injecting magic into the realm of the digital, they are magic structured like code. Life-ciphers, as they are called, can create an fully artificial minds in nearby sources of concentrated magic, sometimes without the mind hosting the cipher even knowing that they are spreading it. The most successful monsters are those who replicate uncontrollably without input, seeking more and more food on their own, increasing both their numbers, and the Life-cipher that created them. They possess no soul, mind or self awareness when born, and are unable to go outside of the limits of its original programming.

However, if the monsters grow powerful enough, this state of mindlessness will not last. One of the most fundamental rules of magic is that if you concentrate it thoughtfully enough, it shall release its pressure by spontaneously creating life. If there already is something resembling life nearby, magic will take its shortest path, and the monster will undergo an event called a Formation, in which it gain a soul, mind, and self awareness.