Chrysalis

"There's something really strange about those things," Brilliant said.

"No kidding?" I reply sarcastically, "I would never have thought that on my own, watching this damn garden of terror explode over the plains."

"That's not what I mean," the much smaller ant waves my complaint aside, "I'm talking dimensionally. Also, the Dungeon sense I have is going wild. It's as if a giant monster was just appearing out of nowhere in front of me. It's crazy."

"How big of a monster?" I ask, curious.

"Huge. It's like the entire garden in front of us is one monster. What's more, it isn't even growing through the ground, not really."

I look at the vegetation bursting through the black rock of the third stratum with vigorous energy as if it were a timelapse instead of real time.

"If it's not coming from the ground, then where in the heck is it coming from?"

The little ant stares carefully ahead, using all of her prodigious sensing abilities.

"There's something odd about the way it moves through space, similar to how the worm tunnel felt. There's a compression? Or a dilation? I'm not really sure."

"Dilation? Since when do we even have pheromones for that word? So you're saying that it might not even be possible to trace the roots back to the tree? That they're detached somehow?"

"I can't be sure. All I can tell from here is that it's weird."

It's a bizarre sight, seeing an isolated little forest grow inside the demon layer, even more so than the second stratum. I mean, here we are, surrounded by fire and ash, and here is this blooming patch of greenery, replete with flowers and trees springing forth for no apparent reason. How does she even do this madness, that tree? What sort of tier do you have to get as a plant to be able to do something like this? How the heck did she even survive long enough to be able to do this?!

I'm looking forward to the day when I track down her main body and get to have a chat.

… if she doesn't squish me first.

It takes a day for the garden to finish forming and when it's all said and done, a massive root, the same as I had run into before, has formed in the centre of a lush kilometre square green space. Another interesting thing I notice is the way the demon larvae ignore the place. As their rolling melee goes on, they scrupulously avoid falling into or going near even a single leaf. Even more telling, they don't even spawn in there. Every inch of ground the garden covers is now a demon free zone. It's unnerving.

think?" I ask Brilliant. "Still feel

She nods.

A truly massive one. The

that maybe she was two in front of me, perhaps? Now it seems highly unlikely. I'm already tier six dammit! For how long am I going to feel weak in this damn

take a little more time before we find out why. I don't know how she spits out the grove keepers or

step forward into the garden and I swear the plants hiss at me, the flowers and vines rattling with menace before I can put down a

right! Chill! I'm backing

clue if she can understand pheromones, but she clearly responds to my retreat, the greenery relaxing back into a

this plant

to agree Crinis.

[Nuts?]

she's been in the Dungeon for a long old time, hundreds of years maybe. That's enough time to drive even the most

[What should we do?]

we do? I'm not exactly going to try and blow up the

think they are going to

[They?]

[Look.]

I focus my eyes to see something I'd really rather not see. A kaarmodo, along with its attendants is standing atop an outcropping looking down on

head over there and see what they want,] I

not turn into a fight. I've been so good! I have no doubt the council has been putting bets on who is going to break the peace first

go through it and arrive at the base of the rock on which the giant lizard is currently sunning itself. True to form, the arrogant beast ignores us as it continues to stare down on the mother

once a bridge is established. [Mind letting us know what you might be

play it cool. Don't blow the peace! Despite my

your mind too weak? Surely not. I mean, you’re a centuries old kaarmodo, no? Do you not speak my language? But the language is

a voice erupts in

How is it my fault if

trespass in our land, you are conspiring with our enemies. Such faithless monsters. We should have exterminated you when we had the

I suspect that you'll find we are most definitely in the lands of the Colony this time, friend. Just because your borders appear to be shifting, amorphous things,