Chrysalis

“Hold, dammit!” Brilliant roared.

“I’m not sure it can take it,” Assistant cried out. “It’s going to overflow!”

“It needs more power! Give it everything you’ve got!”

“We can’t do any more, the matrix will collapse!”

“A little further,” Brilliant urged as the mana surged and frothed. Dimensional boundaries were cascading around them and she could peer into them all, flashing images of twisting reality that bent and warped themselves around her.

They were so close!

“It’s gone! Run!” Assistant shrieked, and Brilliant was vaguely aware of her followers ducking for cover or diving into the blast cages. She herself didn’t move, of course, transfixed as she was by the beauty she beheld in front of her.

“So beautiful,” she whispered.

A moment later, she was spear tackled and knocked from her observation platform.

“Experimant! What are you doing?!” she yelled.

the ant replied, flicking her antennae with irritation. “It’s a little difficult to make use of your insights if you die in the process of

been at pains to make, numerous times, but Brilliant

find me,” she boasted, “I see it coming a full stratum

the explosion finally happened, the haywire mana discharging

Brilliant muttered. “Forgot about

made up her merry band began to emerge from the reinforced concrete bunkers someone had decided to install in their research chamber. She strongly suspected

everyone,” Brilliant rushed around the team, giving everyone an enthusiastic tap with an antenna. “Fantastic experiment,

as she finally emerged, still hugging the floor as the last few sparks danced across

Brilliant chided, snapping her mandibles to emphasise her pheromones and mimic the human sound. “How many times do I have to teach you? Only a truly successful test will end with a multiple manifold-collapse. We were able to peer deeper into the weave than

into the floor beneath the great stone edifice she had dubbed the rift-arch. Reinforced behind thick layers of hardened ice and embedded within a holding structure of living stone, the array was a

spatial pathway managed

Experimant drawled, “which means any ant who travelled through it would be liquified. Not

We are making great strides. Great strides. You don’t discover the secrets of teleportation magic without exploding a few gateways. If you could

brain could handle it….”

this is so difficult…” Experimant huffed, clearly frustrated, her antennae swinging low. “If we only want to travel through regular space, why is it necessary to map such a difficult course? Why

contempt evident in every line of her

It is a dimension. Everything i-is a dimension. If you punch a h-hole

rather find our way back to it. Right now, all we are doing is