NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18: Chapter 18: The Curse of Choice
Darian returned to his hive, emotions running wild as he tried to restore balance to his mind. His Vescarid nature took over and began to calm what his human side bombarded him with. On one claw, instinct was screaming at him to release the humans, to let them return to their world, but on the other claw, his insectoid mind shoved it away and filled him with the desire to expand his hive, the benefits of the absurd amount of biomass that would be brought to him was more than enough to catapult him into becoming the dominant force in the area. It would be enough to restore what he lost many times over.
His human half stabbed into his conscious for a split second, spilling guilt into his core, telling him that a one-for-one trade, or even a ten-to-one trade would have been more than enough, to show mercy to the humans, but that voice was muffled. Thousands of units of biomass would provide him with what he needed to spawn multiple Brood-mothers, to assist his chosen spawn, and provide her and her yet-to-be-born subordinates more than enough energy to bring about twice, if not three times the total number of children he once had. Beyond that, the Vescora would spur into overdrive and spread deep into the woods, providing the hive with a complete vision of even the most subtle shift in movement within a mile of his hive.
"You have done well master, with the aid of these ignorant beasts, we will spread our control over the entirety of this world in short order." The Brood-mother clacked her mandibles together between bites of the remaining human flesh that lay spread along the Vescora from their previous engagement. The energy that swelled within her had risen so many times beyond what was needed for her first clutch of eggs, but with the future to worry about, she knew it was necessary to stockpile this mass so that she may spawn Darian's children again and again. Drones were needed to bring her more food, especially with these new developments. If the humans could supply them with what they needed, she would need a small army of workers to haul her food day and night so that she could focus on developing the best Vescarid for her master.
Darian strode up to Lilithar, struggling to view the butchered bodies as mere sustenance, but the energy that radiated from their forms called to him and demanded that he come to consume and take their experience for himself. So, despite his resistance, he knelt down and feasted. "I've ordered the drones to supply Caretaker with food," he says absentmindedly. "He needs to recover as much as we need to proliferate." Darian wasn't sure why he was justifying his actions, but he couldn't help himself.
"I understand Master. Who you call Caretaker, saved our hive and will provide us with access to the infinite cache of wisdom our High-Queen has amassed for all Vescarid. I submit to your decision" Lilithar declares, filling her stomach to near bursting. She began swaying to and fro; her words were hazy as she appeared drunk from feasting. "I will digest and begin the next clutch of workers. I expect forty new workers to hatch before the day is through. From there I will produce soldiers to bolster our ranks… unless you have other orders, my master?" Lilithar continued her slow trek toward the recently formed brood chamber.
"Do as you will Lilithar, I trust your judgment. I will begin working on your sisters and when the mass is finally delivered, we should be united with the future matriarchs of the hive. Look after them, and nothing will ever threaten our hive again. Thank you for everything Lilithar." Darian struggled to stay conscious as he too felt intoxicated from feasting. There were still several human corpses that the Vescora was actively working on transmuting into nutrient-rich fungi.
Darian made it to his chambers before contemplating what he would need to do to communicate more effectively with the Vescora. It was different than the other life forms and yet provided so much. The thoughts wisped out of his head as he became overwhelmed by exhaustion, but he would be able to sleep shortly. For now, he needed to develop his second Brood-mother.
Hours had passed and Lilithar grew concerned. She wasn't accustomed to much, as she had only been alive for a short time, but it felt strange to her that her master was inactive for such a length. She herself had never rested, again, that meant little, but she never felt the urge to sleep. Deep in her core, Lilithar found the concept of rest a dreadful waste. She herself was entirely Vescarid, not sharing in the multi-racial form her King had taken. She believed there were obvious differences, but she couldn't comprehend what made them so different; after all, Her Majesty was cunning, ruthless, and ravenous. He was perfect in the eyes of the swarm, as he should be, and yet the hesitance she felt emanating from him left her feeling uneasy.
She ran her claws delicately along The Vescora, allowing the touch to relax her body and calm her mind. Her concerns were unwarranted, and until it reflected poorly on the hive, there was absolutely nothing to worry about. She had confidence in his actions and it was likely she could simply not see the complex inner workings of his long-term strategy. Whispers of the hive chittered in her mind as she felt all of her siblings, all of her children as one. Within the cacophony of activity, her master's form reigned supreme, though with every passing second it faded into the background. She reached out and felt as he drifted off into sleep, another strange aspect of his nature. Brushing it aside, she returned to the endless task of producing more children, for they would be needed soon.
Darian stood on a cracked and barren battlefield, his hive standing at attention behind him, their chittering and screeches filling the air. Opposite him stretched a seemingly endless army of humanoids, their ranks bristling with spears, swords, and arrows. Yet his focus was not on their mass of warriors, it was on Fayne.
She stood alone between the two armies, her back to him, arms outstretched as though trying to hold both forces apart. Though her voice was distant, her words indistinct, he could understand the tone of her desperate plea. She was trying to prevent something devastating, something inevitable.
Darian's claw twitched, and he felt the presence of his forces behind him, an ocean of hunger and fury pulsing through the Vescora that extended as far as his eyes could see. They yearned for battle, to consume, but would never move without his command; though his control was waning, their drive surpassing his ability to contain them. Fayne's silhouette seemed so delicate against the sea of soldiers behind her, and though she appeared brave and resolute, he could see her trembling.
Time slowed to a crawl as the events unfolded before him.
The arrow struck Fayne in the shoulder, spinning her halfway around, her cry of pain piercing the unnatural silence. A heartbeat later, the hunter's spine buried itself in her chest, driving her to her knees. Her face turned toward Darian, her eyes wide, not with anger but with sorrow. She collapsed, crumpling like a marionette with its strings severed, her blood pooling in the dirt between the warring forces.
Her fall shattered the fragile barrier she had tried to create.
The two armies surged forward, crashing into each other in a maelstrom of chaos and gore. The air filled with the screams of the dying and the clash of steel against chitin. Darian watched the carnage, watched as humanoids were torn apart, their formations crumbling under the relentless assault of his swarm. Arrows and spears flew, piercing the Vescarid forces, but for every drone that fell, two more took its place.
The ground became slick with blood, flooding the Vescora faster than it could lap it up. The cries of the wounded rang out, and even still, it was muffled amongst the rage of battle. The humanoid army was becoming rapidly overwhelmed, their bodies piling high as the hive's forces pressed forward. Darian felt the Vescora spreading ever further, expanding unchecked, consuming the battlefield and the bodies upon it.
It felt like days, it felt like seconds, and then the battle was over, and silence reigned. The humanoids eradicated, their armies reduced to shattered remnants scattered across the broken land. The hive was quiet but a moment longer before each Vescarid roared in victory, an unstoppable tide poised to consume the planet itself.
In the stillness, a voice echoed in Darian's mind.
"There can be no compromise, master." Caretaker intoned, its voice rumbled deep, encompassing everything. "All threats must be eliminated. All barriers removed. This is the way of the Vescarid."
The brutal scene faded into black before blossoming with light, distorting, shifting into a new scene.
Darian now stood in a field bathed in sunlight, the air warm and gentle. Fayne was there, unharmed, her face soft with an expression he hadn't seen before—hope. She reached out to him, her hand open and inviting.
"Come with me," she said, her voice quiet but steady.
He hesitated, glancing back to where the shadows of his hive loomed in the distance. The pull he felt was overwhelming, whispering of dominance and survival, but Fayne's hand remained outstretched, her eyes never leaving his.
With a tentative step, he took her hand.
The warmth of her touch spread through him, and the world around them shifted again. He found himself among the humanoids, walking through a bustling village filled with laughter and life. The people moved about without fear, their faces bright with contentment.
Fayne led him through the crowd, speaking of a different future.
"You don't have to let instinct control you," she said. "There's more to this world than survival. You can build something greater—not alone, but with everyone."
Darian saw children playing, Rangers returning from the woods, and merchants selling wares. The world was vibrant, alive, and untouched by the hunger that had consumed his mind for so long.
For a moment, he felt peace, a fleeting sense of belonging entirely separate from the feeling the hive offered him. Even as he stood there, the edges of the vision darkened. The warmth faded, replaced by a familiar cold. Fayne's hand slipped from his grasp, and he turned to see her walking away, her figure dissolving into the shadows.
He awoke with a start, his mind swirling with the conflicting visions. The words of the Caretaker lingered alongside Fayne's. He wracked his mind over the two voices, one path leading to domination, the other to something he could barely begin to comprehend.
He couldn't shake the image of Fayne, he didn't even understand why she was appearing in his dreams, standing between two worlds. His emotions were still foreign to him, but even his infantile knowledge knew she cared nothing for him. "Monster" he muttered aloud, that was what she called him. How could he be the monster, when it was the humans that returned time and again to destroy his family?
Vescarid thoughts flared to the front of his mind, his fist clenching in irritation. He needed to distract himself with something, but everything down here was too monotonous to maintain his interest. Darian wanted to explore the surface, but what he saw through the eyes of his Prowlers made him uneasy as he remembered his previous interactions with the humanoids. Though they hunted for his hive, they showed a deadly singular focus, that if turned back on him, may result in another devastating incident.
Darian moved through the darkened tunnels, his mind still swimming with actions and consequences, opportunity and disaster. As he neared the tunnel full of burrowing drones, he reached out instinctively through their shared consciousness. Every detail of their progress echoed in his mind. They are nearly there, which meant that soon their population would be exploding.
He entered the tunnel leading to the first stockpile, where the faint, earthy scent of displaced soil lingered in the air. The worker drones had breached the surface, collapsing a shallow cavity beneath the pile of meat Fayne had gathered. Darian observed silently as they swarmed over the spoils, collecting and securing the bundles of flesh.
The drones worked in coordinated shifts, some hauling the meat into the hive's storage chambers while others immediately began restoring the disturbed earth above. With careful attention to detail, they flattened and packed the dirt, replanting the scattered leaves and twigs to disguise their actions. Within minutes, the area looked untouched, as though no one had ever disturbed the forest floor.
Darian's mandibles stirred within their sockets, eager to begin feasting. No trace left behind, he thought, watching the drones withdraw into the tunnel they had carved while more still pressed onward toward the second cache.
Their continued efforts played out vividly in Darian's mind. He envisioned the drones' steady progress as they moved toward the main source of meat. The passageway they dug stretched deeper and longer, curving around roots, taking every effort to avoid detection and disturb the world above.
The main pile of carcasses was vast, far larger than the first stockpile by many times, but the drones attacked the with vigor. Some disassembled the pile into manageable portions, while others widened the newly carved tunnels to make room for the significant load. If this was to be the drop point, they would need to reinforce the tunnel, as drone foot traffic would only increase from this moment on.
When his children were tirelessly working for the betterment of the hive, it acted like a sedative to him. It was as though his worries were all washed away upon wave after wave of drones that moved between the surface and the hive, their numbers growing as newly hatched workers joined the fray. The vast pile of flesh dwindled, rapidly stolen away underground by the endless trail of worker drones.
Above ground, a patch of earth that had once been disturbed was restored just as before. With the task now complete, it was time for them all to begin the feast. There was much meat to devour, many upgrades to consider, and another Brood-mother to birth.