Chrysalis

Sarah watched as the others threw themselves into battle with wild abandon. Anthony and his pets showed no hesitation in attacking the oncoming wave of termites any way they could. It was a dizzying scene. Explosions rocked the tunnel, tentacles lashed left and right, Tiny’s fists flashed so quickly she couldn’t see his hands, and Anthony stood in front absorbing all the pressure he could.

The defensive mastery on display from her fellow Earth-born was incredible. Whenever a termite moved to attack, he was simply no longer there, or his body shifted just a few degrees and the enemy’s jaws would slide off him.

She didn’t know how he did it. How did he fight without fear? She’d made great strides in learning to control herself in battle, but even now she felt hesitant to engage in combat. The rage that lived inside her lurked beneath the surface at all times, waiting for her to slip.

She’d fought against that realisation for a long time. For too long, she’d believed that the violence was the problem, that as long as she didn’t have to fight, she would be free.

But that wasn’t the case.

She’d buried herself amongst the shapers; layered behind their protection, she’d thought herself completely safe. She’d run from the Dungeon, run from the fighting, but in reality, she’d run from herself, and failed.

Because even there, with nothing to fight, the rage had boiled inside her, deep down where she refused to look.

Sarah rolled her powerful shoulders before she rumbled forward. The hovering form of Invidia made way for her and she continued, gathering momentum as she bowled past Tiny. The giant ape leaned to the side, the tunnel was barely wide enough for the two of them to fit side by side as she accelerated further, her lips pulling back from her dagger-like teeth.

Her paws pounded the dirt as she launched her weight forward, her mouth open now as the fear built inside her heart. She ignored it as she tunnelled her vision on the termite in front of her.

Sensing her coming, Anthony stepped to the side and back, smartly avoiding a termite lunge as if he’d known it was coming.

Then, Sarah was there.

to rend everything in front of her. The insects arrayed against her were scattered by the sheer force of her charge. Her mass and strength were enough to overwhelm a hundred termites, forcing them to

she didn’t stop. She

– afraid of being hurt, of hurting others, of losing herself to the rage, of what she might find she’d done when she came back to herself.

with a crunch. With a toss of her head, she threw

danger, the

The greater the rage.

eyes. The slash skill was her bread and butter, and she’d recently raised it to

light carved through the air with every swipe of her claws. Every termite unfortunate enough to receive these blows suffered egregious wounds as its carapace crumpled and the claws bit into the tender

gone too deep, carried forward by the rising tide of her rage, and had quickly become surrounded. She’d expected to be buried under the weight of a hundred bites immediately, but between the barrage Anthony put out and the shields that sprang into being around her, she’d gone unharmed for

as a relief. In an instant, her fear rocketed higher, but alongside it, her anger exploded and she bellowed with

her emotion, and that engine

eyes ignited with red light, her vision swimming with the colour of blood as

ROOOOOAAAAAR!

to the rising tide of rage as the fight devolved further around her. Wild slashes of her claws filled the tunnel as

energy, her eyes grew darker and darker as the hunger, the need to find some outlet

for Tiny to punch, otherwise he’s going

She froze for a moment, bewildered by the

her friend yelped in her mind. [Keep fighting! Just remember, we’re in this for the long haul, alright? This isn’t going to be done

body to move and began laying