Chrysalis

Discussions with Granin take a few hours as we discuss and weigh the different possibilities that may await my two pets upon their evolution to the sixth tier. Neither of them has reached the required level as of yet, but their mutations are close to maxed out and I thought it prudent to draw on Granin's wisdom earlier rather than later. Since he and I are both in the nest right now, may as well make the most of it.

Torrina and Corun are eager to pitch in, offering their own suggestions which are weighed and measured by their senior before he gives his own opinion on them. As the time passes, we narrow down on the better choices for the pair of monsters, Crinis listening intently whilst Tiny sleeps in the corridor.

[One thing you must do,] Granin stresses repeatedly, [is raise Tiny's intelligence so he can use the manual evolution menu before he evolves. It'll cost him a good amount of Might, but he can gain that back and more when he goes through with it. Normally for pets like this you would develop the pet Skill tree a little more to the point that you are able to handle their evolutions for them,] he raised a hand to cut off my protest, [… but I know that you don't feel comfortable making all their decisions for them. That's why bumping him up to the point he can do the manual evolution by himself is the only choice. The records on Lightning Fist Ape evolutions are thin and I'm probably one of the few who's even bothered to look into them, which I did after you left. As you suspect, they're so feisty, and stupid, that they basically never survive to make it to tier three. Those that do are strong, but are even dumber. The cult had never seen a tier four variant according to what I read.]

This and many other points were discussed before we waved goodbye to Enid and the three golgari. Time is precious right now and we can't afford to be away from the front lines for long. The job before the Colony is pretty straight forward right now: ride out the wave whilst dragging in all the resources we possibly can. For myself, that means getting Tiny and Crinis to tier six, as well as levelling up my bodyguards to tier five. The collective experience needed is massive and it's going to take a heck of a lot of grinding to get the job done. Which means we need to get back to it.

Rushing through the nest, it isn't long until we find ourselves the centre of attention as we move through the masses of ants. We do stick out a touch, my pets and I. Since evolving to tier six, I've increased substantially in size, whilst most of my siblings remain at tier three. It's no exaggeration to say that they could safely walk beneath my abdomen with only their antennae brushing against my carapace, that's how large I've gotten. It reminds me of when I met the Queen for the first time, except now I'm the one towering over hordes of much smaller insects. Having my family members looking up to me in the literal and figurative sense is a touch overwhelming if I let myself dwell on it, so I don't.

The whispers are always there, however. No matter how much I try to shut them out, a trickle always seeps through. As we run, I open myself up to them and I'm suddenly flooded by the inpouring of spirit from the Colony. Trying to steady myself, I reach out with my mind to touch the edge of this energy, to get a sense of their thoughts without getting overwhelmed. Dipping in one leg, I can feel the voices of hundreds of members of the Colony, their Will echoing in my mind. After steadying myself for a moment, it's actually kind of nice, even if I feel as though I'm eavesdropping in some way. Most of the thoughts I hear are devoted entirely to growing the Colony and making it more prosperous, of helping, of being useful.

The smith who toils on her projects, hoping to protect her siblings in battle.

The brood tender who raises the young with care and loving attention, raising the next generation as best she can so that the Colony may flourish.

The soldier patrolling the tunnels, defending the nest and protecting her siblings.

do the work that will feed the growth of her

to fend off the ever oncoming waves of enemies, her heart

working without rest despite the chaos of fighting

of my family. It was an overwhelming feeling of togetherness, the sense of belonging I had experienced

[Master?]

[Eh?]

Crinis' voice echoed in my

[Sorry, what's up Crinis?]

a few minutes now. I was wondering if there was anything wrong, I'm sorry if I disturbed

long?] I feel a little chilled. [No, you did the right thing.

replies,

more I learn about the Vestibule and it's new addition, the Nave, the less I understand them. Having the Vestibule reformed using Soul Crystal has magnified the effect the organ has massively. Not only is the energy I receive vastly more than what I took in before, so too is the purity and clarity of Will. Being able to dip into it and experience the flowing thoughts

to worry

Eldest, heading out to the

a while, what have you been up

twitch of the antennae to give away

A little more detail, if you

clacks her mandibles