The Venomous Woodlands is one of many forests that cover the Plains Regions. From the very start, this forest had toxic soil. The plans, getting their nutrients from the soil became toxic and deadly to those that eat or touch it. Monsters that ate these toxic plants die from their poison.
Only a few were able to survive and pass down their genes, but as this monster dies. The bodies of these monsters, toxic because of their diet, made the soil more toxic when they die. The toxicity is more potent than before, as plants absorbed them, die, and adapted to new soil.
An endless cycle, of adaption to a new toxic, making it more potent and creating a more toxic soil. As such monsters with natural venom on in their bodies had a head start compared to more complex monsters like mammals. Creating an ecosystem dominated by large insects full of deadly venom, huge bull-like frogs, venom-spreading mosquitos, flies, and much more monstrosities.
In this forest, one of the species of ants called the "Fire Backs", is called like this because their venom creates unimaginable pain in the spine of its victims. Their strong venom is always in high demand for those that wish to torture their victims before giving them sweat pain.
In this forest, countless colonies of these ants exist. But a large portion of their once underground empire has been destroyed by the corruption, but so it's their food source, as the corruption takes everything in its path. Its slow underground tentacles sap away the biomass of the soil, and soon its armies follow, as they devour and consume all that move.
One of these surviving colonies had a long history. Serving at the center of this once great empire, tunes are built from a large underground cave, with easy access to the surface. In this colony, one soldier ant has lived through quite a lot of wars and battles.
When it was first born, under the watch full eyes of the caretaker ants, it knew its purpose in life, to die, and fight. He knew no fear, no retreat, and no ambition. Its first war was brutal. A group of large termites tries to invade their territories. His queen, from the safety of the central chamber, ordered her armies to attack.
What soon followed was a rain of blood and the fall of limps. His large strong mandibles tear apart the large strong termites, and many of his brothers, die for him to deliver the killer blow. But he did cry or feel anything, as he soon found his new target to kill and devour.
He felt no pain when the termites bite his exoskeleton or tore off his limbs. He continues to fight if his head was attached to his body. If he survives, he was to be remade and reforge in the chambers of the colony. Stronger, more experienced, and still willing to die and fight. Follow by a wave of brothers, ready to give their lives for the colony. The number never decreases, as anyone that dies was easily replaced, they are not special and are not unique.
The war lasted for years, the sky turns dark and bright. A cycle of endless repeat, a cycle of aging and death. But he knew neither, as soon as the war ended in their victory. As the largest and strongest of the ants holds the head of the termite queen. But they don't celebrate, they don't have the capacity for such things. As they soon return to the colony, with food from the ransacked termite colony.
No celebration was put out for them, as they did what was expected of them, from their very birth, this has been their role, die and fight. But only death does duty end, as he continues to fight to expand the territory of the colony. Fight against the great two-legged creators, beings of a higher dimension. Their very presence will send the queen into a panic. As whenever they get close to the hive waves upon waves of soldiers will send themselves against the creators.
Many will die, burn by what makes the sky bright, drown by what makes the water blue, be cut in half by the metal of the earth, and sent flying like the birds of the sky. Anyone who survives or kills one of the creators was a heavy achievement, so heavy that reforge chamber will reward them with a new and stronger form. He has only killed one of these creators.
A small creator arm with a strange weapon, but even if it was small, it still put up a good fight. His legs and body were shattered and broken. His blood painted the ground, but he delivers the killing blow and protected the queen and the colony. But he did not die but got reformed to a stronger form. Now part of a larger body, his upper body stands up, with four large mandibles, dripping with red venom.
His legs are stronger, with sharp ends, that could easily cut countless of his weaker and nonreform brothers. In this new body, he continues to serve, with no fear or emotion. That is, into the corruption attack. He fought like any soldier, ready to die. But these creatures, don't fight like others. Almost like him, they have no emotions or ambitions. But it felt alien.
Their eyes are hallowed and husk, green but without life. He can see himself in their empty crystal eyes, they don't have a "mind". They fight because they were told to, like him. They bring them back to their hive as he does. They die without fear, he- used to have no fear.
But this thing, those abominations, those are truly horrific. To his very core, his very genes scream in fear. Molded by the hive to be a fearless warrior, that is his role. His sole purpose in life and soul reason for death. But these creatures, without minds, without ambition but to kill and devour. Truly shook his corruptible mind. His still intact mind, as such for the first time, he broke free of the queen's orders.
He tries to save as many of the attack hive and his brothers. Fear has consumed them all from the very core. Very little survive, but those that did, those that follow him, brought the news to the queen. For the first time they talk, they complain, and they felt emotion. But their screams of fear, their prayers to the queen, fell on deaf ears.
The queen is absolute and demands nothing more than pure worship. In her anger, she kills all those that were weak. The brothers he fought to save, the worker's ants, and the larva that was brought with them. Only he and a few reform ants, chosen by the reforge chamber survive.
Their new role is to die, and it's the queen's final order. To be lower than dirt and lighter than air. As such is how he got his new goal, to die, not for the hive, but because of his own failure. His death serves no purpose and no ambition. But thinking things could not get worse, the creators appear. Two, large and towering over him and countless other ants.
This was the second time he felt fear. Their eyes, brown in color, cold with blood, and thirsty for death landed on him. It demanded nothing more than absolute fear and blood to be spread. Unlike corruption without ambition or mind. These creators have both and more. Their strength is absolute and holy.
Those that breathe in die with their heads exploded. Those that walk sink to the earth never to be seen. Those that swarm together were cooked by the bright sky. Those defenseless but in great numbers got cut down to pieces. But he knew what to do, he has experience fear before, against mindless creatures.
It did the only thing it knew to do against force with ambition, pledge loyalty, to a new queen and king. To be given new purpose and ambition. He follows them, for he knew, they were no better than the current queen. Not out of respect did he worship, but fear, these things, are scarier than the queen and that the corruptions. These creators only demand blood and fear from him and from him they will receive.
So, he sold out his hive and the queen so that their blood and fear satisfy the hunger of the creators. Their weapons were already bloody from the corpses behind them. His one glorious queen, his one previous goddess, was killed with no problem. To her very end, her fear and blood did not satisfy the creators. As they cut off her head and hold her up against their survivors. Till true fear settle in and they all swear loyalty, to give fear and blood to the new gods.
For the creators spoke words of a higher power, just the sound of their voices shocks their core and made them feel fear. He knew that he would die, under these new gods, he will die, with fear and blood. He just hopes that it will satisfy them.
"Those eyes of yours really work wonders, thankfully these ants are all mortal stage and weak"
"For the strongest monsters we might need to use more force, but let's get all the weak monsters first before going for the elite units. "
"Sound good to me, I heard that there are some black stone termites in this forest."
"Looks like we got our new targets"