While the changes to her soul came as an added surprise, Enbi Arin decided to later investigate it in detail because the grey coloured miniature Enbi Arin was her own soul. What else could she trust more than her own soul.
"Oh, yeah check this out" Myra suddenly exclaimed like a little kid who had just found a new toy.
Myra was suddenly enveloped by a grey coloured radiance and transformed into a humanoid-ant version. Most of her physique was similar to Enbi Arin. The only difference being the antennae still stuck on her head and the hard exoskeleton she had in place of human skin.
"Wow, that's seriously cool. And check this out" Retorted Enbi Arin with a face full of mischief.
Enbi Arin was also enveloped by a grey coloured radiance and ended up looking just Like Myra. The only difference between forms donned by the two of them was that Myra still had smaller sized mandibles over her mouth while Enbi Arin didn't have anything of the sort.
"This exoskeleton armour feels Light and easy to move while also providing a robust defense. Amazing!!" Exclaimed Enbi Arin in wonder.
"Yeah, amazing right. We ants are known for our Light but strong exoskeletons" Exclaimed Myra in a prideful tone but felt sad again when she was reminded about her fallen brethren.
Enbi Arin just hugged her and patted on her back to console her.
"We will definitely take revenge for your brethren, but you still have a few remaining in your colony right. There were also the eggs the late Queen laid. We can secure them first" Consoled Enbi Arin.
It was easier for Enbi Arin to hug Myra in her current form because, except the mandibles over her mouth, Myra looked almost just Like Enbi Arin with respect to size, height, body shape, and facial features.
"Thanks for that" Myra
"No problem, then shall we go out?" Enbi Arin
On seeing Myra nod her head, Enbi Arin snapped her fingers at which the grey coloured dome over them shattered into tiny fragments like dust allowing sunlight to fall on them signaling the beginning of their new shared fate.
Outside the grey coloured dome, Li Qiu and Prakash hurried to stand before it after hearing the dome crack. A few seconds later, the grey coloured dome shattered into tiny specs of dust followed by Enbi Arin in her human form and Myra in her ant form who walked side by side like a seasoned duo.
"What happened inside? Are you injured anywhere?" Prakash asked Enbi Arin in concern as he approached her with a barbell in his hand while warily staring at Myra refusing to let down his guard.
"Ooi, tell this human that I'm warning him to not piss me, otherwise I'll seriously clobber him to death" Said a pissed Myra to Enbi Arin through their mental Link.
"Well, first of all, he's not weak enough that you can clobber him and secondly you can tell him yourself if you assume your humanoid form" Retorted Enbi Arin while she signaled Prakash with her eyes implying that Myra was not their enemy. On noticing the signal, Prakash dropped his barbell but still maintained his vigilance.
Meanwhile, Li Qiu inquired Enbi Arin about her situation "Care to explain?"
"I'll keep it simple. I fought with her, shared my memories with her and eventually shared our innate abilities with each other" said Enbi Arin while Myra just tilted her head sideways in her ant form.
"Which innate ability of yours did you share, you currently possess three of them" Questioned Prakash.
"Just my 'karma incarnation' innate ability. That's my only innate ability. The other two innate abilities are something I took using my innate ability so I couldn't use them to establish a contract" explained Enbi Arin.
While knowing that the ant too now had access to such an overpowered ability, both Li Qiu and Prakash couldn't help but panic.
"What about the contract. Is it the one you mentioned which lets you use other species' innate ability? Isn't that risky since you would lose that innate ability if that contracted creature dies" Questioned Prakash?
The tone that Prakash currently used pissed off Myra a little so she created an adhesive barrier of a square foot in area and slammed it towards Prakash's face. Before anyone could even react to it, the adhesive barrier about a foot in area slammed onto Prakash's face producing a loud 'thud'.
"Little Bro! Are you alright" Li Qiu exclaimed in worry.
"Myra! What the hell are you doing?" Exclaimed Enbi Arin but this time she directly spoke aloud as she was worried about Prakash.
"Myra, that's your name huh. Too bad, you can't harm me, hehe" Said Prakash as the barrier Myra created was left hovering a couple of centimetres before Prakash's face being blocked by the sticky spider's web attached on his body. Meanwhile, the other free webs around his body joined together to form an 😝 emoji.
On seeing that Prakash was uninjured, Li Qiu sighed in relief and later glared at Myra while holding a barbell in his hands in a battle ready stance. On seeing the worsening situation, Enbi Arin immediately stepped in-between the two parties
"Stop this farce. We are on the same side"
"She attacked him. Are you implying that I keep quiet about her actions" Exclaimed an enraged Li
Qiu.
"Shut up for a second, will you" Enbi Arin replied back.
"See the attitude they have. That's why I..." Myra
"You! Shut up too!" Shouted Enbi Arin
"It's fine big bro. Please calm down" Prakash placed his hand upon Li Qiu's shoulder in an effort to calm him down.
"But, that ant…." Li Qiu
"It's not a big deal. Moreover, I'm not injured, so let's leave it at that" Prakash consoled Li Qiu.
Li Qiu glared at Myra one last time and just walked away from their spot. Prakash just stood there awkwardly for a few seconds and after sharing eye contact with Enbi Arin for a second decided to chase after Li Qiu to console him.
"Big bro, wait for me" Prakash
"What's up" Li Qiu
"That wasn't like you to walk away Like that" Prakash
"Do you seriously want me to acknowledge an ant as our comrade?" Li Qiu asked with disdain in his eyes.
"But big bro, Enbi Arin entered into a contract with that ant named Myra. At least tell me the reason why you are being so stubborn" pleaded Prakash.
"After that day when the Ari overflowed in the sky, I was left with zero contact with my family, my friend David mysteriously vanished, his Life and death unknown, our office a pile of rubble now and there are no signs of humans on the map around our vicinity of at least a kilometre in radius. After what we've been through, I've already come to recognize you as my younger brother. I never got angry with Enbi Arin before because she was a human and one of us but some random ant just walked over and tried to attack you. Just the fact that I still haven't crushed it like an insect is me giving face to Enbi Arin. That's it. No more, No less" said Li Qiu with rage still clouding his eyes.
"But bro, your emotions" Prakash inquired worriedly.
"Its fine, my emotions are almost stable. Don't worry about it" Consoled Li Qiu with a sigh.
"Anyway, big bro, just give that ant one last chance for me, please" Prakash pleaded once again.
"Why are you trying to stand up to her? She tried to attack you for whatever devil's sake" Li Qiu exploded into a rage once again.
Prakash immediately placed both his hands over Li Qiu 's shoulder and looked into his eyes with a serious look.
"She, Myra didn't have a tinge of hostility in her eyes when she attacked me. It felt just like the way Enbi Arin usually behaves with us. Let us talk this first before coming to a conclusion, shall we? We still don't know about the details of her contract. I am still worried about it" Prakash seriously retorted as he maintained eye contact with Li Qiu.
On seeing his serious eyes, Li Qiu sighed to himself "I just reacted a bit too much there. sorry for that, but if it's not like how you felt and that ant, Myra or whatever it is called, seriously had other intentions while attacking you, then I am going in for the kill irrespective of Enbi Arin's wishes and that's final"
"Fine, we'll do as you say big bro" Prakash replied with a helpless look as they returned to the place where Enbi Arin and Myra currently stood.
Meanwhile, Enbi Arin and Myra were also having their little talk.
"What were you even thinking" Exclaimed an exasperated Enbi Arin.
"I didn't even know what I did until the deed was done" Myra replied helplessly.
"Hah, how did this happen" Wondered Enbi Arin aloud.
"It was more like my actions were subconsciously influenced by your memories". Myra retorted with drooped antennae.
"That's a serious issue. Can you think of a way to overcome it" Questioned Enbi Arin with a hopeful tone of voice.
"I don't think so" Replied Myra instantly shattering Enbi Arin's little hopes.
"But" Enbi Arin began only to be interrupted by Myra.
"My entire life consisted of only a couple of weeks and at that time my intelligence was only that of a primitive level where I acted mostly based on my instincts. But your memories consisted of thirteen full years worth and there were plenty of deeply rooted memories in you that also influenced me on a rather subconscious level. That is the reason why I am maintaining my ant form. It is so that I don't start believing myself to be the real Enbi Arin" Myra just machine-gunned all of her worries to Enbi Arin in one go.
"Don't worry about it too much, once you start experiencing more things, you would eventually be able to distinguish yourself from my memories. The memories we'll experience in the future will make the memories of the past experienced during the era of peace, feel pale in comparison. Just remember that your name is Myra and make absolutely sure you would never forget it. Remember, you're my only contracted partner in this life of mine" Enbi Arin stated with firm conviction in her voice.
Myra just nodded in obedience but still couldn't help but worry.
"But what do I do if that guy with webs decided to form a grudge with me"
Enbi Arin consoled Myra by patting her head.
"If it's about Prakash, you don't need to worry about him. Once he gets to know about the details of our contract and side effects it caused for you, he would even feel inclined to help you. So, just feel free to share your worries with him. He has the necessary patience and smarts to find a solution"
Myra sighed in relief after hearing her reply but at the next moment, Enbi Arin put a boulder on her hopes.
"But you should be careful around Li Qiu. He has a personality similar to fire. He would be warm around his friends but burn anything else that touches him. He has too much pride and he doesn't like the fact that you as a creature tried to harm Prakash irrespective of your intent. In the short time we have been with each other, both of them seem to have hit off quite well. More Like, they view each other as brothers".
Myra began to panic again after hearing that Li Qiu may even view her as an enemy. But Enbi Arin just patted Myra's head again as a form of consolation.
"Just leave everything to me. But once I start explaining about our situation, assume your humanoid form and apologize once. I'll take off the rest" Enbi Arin reassured her.
"Remember, just apologize directly" Enbi Arin.
"APOLOGISE TO WHOM?" Li Qiu shouted.