Chrysalis

So... I mean.. It’s a little odd...

I was a human before after all. I may not have lived what people would call a ... normal life ... but hey, I went to school, a bit, I saw people, I ate human food.

Now I have a giant ant Queen staring down at me and insisting that she and my many siblings are my family now.

...

For some reason I’m surprisingly ok with that.

I had a pet ant colony as a human, I kept them contained and fed them, watched the colony grow and cleaned out their spaces for them. In some ways they were the most constant members of my household, I certainly saw them every day, which wasn’t really true of anyone else.

Perhaps that is why I don’t really mind being an ant.

If I’m going to be a member of this family then I have to do my best to save them!

I start thinking out loud.

"Ok then, Queen, I don’t think we are uh, strong enough to survive the wave. If our nest is invaded from the outside as well as the inside, we could be completely wiped out!"

The Queen looks concerned and taps me with her antennae, urging me to continue.

"I think we need to move the colony! We have to get somewhere ... else. Somewhere safer".

"Do you know where we should go child?"

Err.... No?

We live in the Dungeon, and from what I’m told the entire place is going to become a death zone for up to a week!

I don’t even know that the surface will be safe from the impending danger!

...

be safer

be suicide, but with my Tunnel Map I can clearly see where the entrance I first encountered the humans is. If we can find a way to the surface far

...

the surface there’s definitely a chance that we all get killed by those powerful human soldiers, burnt to death, cut to pieces and slaughtered

stay down here, will the outcome be any

think we have to

circles inside my head. My resolution firms as I see her commitment to waiting on my

new tunnel

slowly digests this bombshell, taking time to think

Then she responds.

the ’surface’?"

...

course, how could she

Dungeon passages and if we can dig

simple enough that she can understand

her monster intelligence mulling over this suggestion. I wait nervously for

my surprise she

do as you suggest child. Where should the family

sure how the pecking order works in a monstrous ant

and start moving the brood. If other ants find the trail, they will go and check it out and if they agree with the first ants opinion, they will

If anything, she is probably closer to what most humans think an ant Queen is like on earth, in charge, making decisions and actively helping to direct the

workforce, it’s clear that they can understand my pheromone

thoughts out of my head

that is done I’ll start digging the tunnel, if you can help get the rest of the ... family ... digging, then we can make faster progress. Hopefully we can dig our way clear of the threat in

spoke to Formo, I’ve already noticed the brightness of the forest has diminished. The mana is continuing to recede, just as the Sophos had predicted. The forest is going to

with our discussion the Queen gives a few more friendly taps on the head with her antennae before retreating back to the security of the nest, leaving the workers

by the number of ants showing visible signs of mutation is increasing, here and there a worker

is excellent news! If the workforce becomes stronger then we will have a

about, this is my family now and every one of these ants is my sibling. I didn’t have any brothers