Perspective : Conrad Garnier
With each passing moment the bug weakened, its once vibrant form was now reduced to a grotesque and mangled husk.
Elkdrack commented,
"I almost feel pity for the poor guy ...".
Kyle responded,
"Well don't be ... If we are not careful ... that will be us".
Amidst that horrifying display, we felt a primal fear stir within us. The enormity and savagery of that scene reminded us of our own vulnerability in the face of nature's power.
We all exchanged silent glances, a mixture of awe dread and an odd admiration for those ants savage efficiency, filled our hearts.
As the final remnant of that bug was claimed by that ant, we were left thinking that, 'the natural world can be both beautiful and hauntingly terrifying.
Emerging from the shadows, I noticed an ant's carcass, which seemed to have something stirring within its abdomen. it piqued my interest, I observed intently as whatever was inside struggled to break free. Unfortunately, the ant's skin proved too thick and elastic for the creature to escape. Out of pure curiosity , I delicately grazed the edge of my blade across the lifeless ant's abdomen, hoping to uncover the secret hidden within.
As I delicately ran the edge of my blade along that abdomen, starting from one end and ending at the other, its abdomen sliced open, causing a rush of peculiar liquid to gush out, carrying a sweet and musky stench. And within that liquid, a tiny insect, even smaller than the one we saw being torn apart, was barely floating above the liquid.
"Is that, it's offspring?"
[The lifeless ant lying there was no ordinary one of its kind; it belonged to a class of ants that stored food in it's abdomen , characterized by their bloated abdomens resembling barrels, which serve as storage for food, and that insect was concealed inside it.]
"I wonder how it got there?"
Regina called out to me,
"What happened.... are you feeling uneasy? ".
I replied, while, I pointed towards the dead carcass.
"No .... it's just?".
She responded,
"Yeah ... what about that, dead ant?".
I responded by saying,
"You will understand.... once you see this?".
Regina, along with everyone else, observed the ant and the tiny insect that lay there.
Patrick observed the scene before him, his brows furrowed, eyes squinted, head slightly tilted to the right, and his fingers lightly touching his chin. He stayed silent for a moment before sharing his thoughts.
He said,
"Interesting.... that suggests that this insect was actually inside, it's abdomen..... ".
"But how?".
Elkdrack asked,
" What do you mean, How?".
Patrick responded,
"Well, for starters, these creatures consume nectar to store it in their abdomen, which explains the liquid texture of their food."
"Now, what I don't understand is how they manage to store a living creature inside their abdomen."
"I mean .. just thinking about this, makes my head hurt?".
Regina, as she relates the subject with our previous encounter said,
"Does that mean, that the insect we saw there getting ripped apart... escaped from one of those thing's stomach?".
"But that's just insane".
Patrick responded,
"Insane is the way you put it".
"The only logical explanation I can think of is that these critters must have consumed the insect while they were still inside their egg."
"But honestly, that doesn't seem to make much sense."
"I mean, there must be a reason why they only store their food as nectar. Why would they do that if they were able to store food in solid form, let alone keeping it alive?"
"No, there is something else going on here".
Elkdrack said,
"I don't understand any of it, mate".
[Kyle called,
"Let's get moving guys?".]
Patrick replied to Elkdrack,
"We don't expect you to?".
I asked Patrick,
"So, what shall we do?".
Patrick replied,
"Well ... nothing".
"We will cross that bridge when it comes to it".
{ Change}
Perspective : Thor Gild
"I am tired of walking".
"My back hurts".
(But I must persevere, I won't let my pain waver my ascetic pride or dampen my resolve)
"I won't be a disgrace to our ancestors".
I managed to hold on, carrying Ron on my back, relentlessly walking for I don't know how long.
Sheela with a concerned look on her face, said,
"Thor, you are sweating a lot .... do you need to take rest?".
As, those words imparted from her lips, for an instance there I considered taking rest, but
"What would my grandfather say if I became a whimp ... I will bring shame upon my family?".
So, I declined her offer and said,
"The thought alone counts".
"Thanks ... however, my body can hold out for much longer then this".
"I am built of sturdier stuff .. this is nothing".
Sheela with an impressed look, said.
"Just don't push yourself".
As she leaned on my arms, pressing her breasts against my skin. She uttered this words.
"I don't know... what I would have done, If you hadn't offered me your help?".
I replied with absolute certainty,
"I am sure... someone would have offered to help you?".
She replied,
"I find it hard to believe that anyone would willingly carry my brother on their back, considering the potential restraints it would put on their movement, especially in a life-or-death situation like this."
"So, don't count yourself among those heartless people".
Now, that she put it that way, I wasn't able to argue. But still I believed that someone would have helped her, considering that I was not the only one carrying an unconscious person on their back.
Emilia carried Yuna on her back.
And she seemed fine with the restraints that came along.
Speaking of Emilia, she was magnificent, ever since we parted from Kyle, Regina and the others, she acted as a natural born leader. Not to mention how she slained every ant that we encountered till now, she didn't even let us lift a finger.
Honestly, If I had to fight in my state of exhaustion, I wouldn't have managed.
After a while,
We saw a huge room inside the cavern.
As I along with everyone else stepped cautiously inside that room, a chilling sensation enveloped me.
My mind signalling me to be on my guard.
[Why?]
Because what we saw there sent shivers down my spine. The air was thick with that sweet musky stench, but for some reason it was stronger.
Probably the source was that thick layer of yellow substance that was present everywhere inside this cavern.
Without any doubt, that room too had a lot of it covering the ground, dripping from, ants whose bellies were engorged to the point of grotesque, bloated ready to burst at any moment.
Every corner of that room was guarded by huge ants, that hadn't noticed us yet.
Their presence added an unsettling vibe, their mandibles clicked ominously as, if they were having an conversation.
But in the middle of all that, stood a grand spectacle, an colossal ant suspended in the centre of the chamber, it's bellie was a grotesque monument, swollen to unfathomable proportions, even though it didn't moved a bit, the sight of that behemoth was enough to sent chills in our spines.
It's sheer size was nothing short of astounding, I had seen nothing like that before.
The ant's form was magnified to an unimaginable scale.
The belly the focal point of that hideous display, had bloated to an extent that it streched the elastic confines of it's exoskeleton to the brink of rupture.
It bulged outward with an unsettling tension, as if within, it held something more than the others.
The substance of it's creeply descended abdomen was a patch work of twisted veins, possibly straining under the immense pressure of it's contents. Shades of stickey yellow and oozing ember crisscrossed it's bloated form. Like a macabre of Intricate patterns woven by the hands of nightmare its self.
Every pulsation of the ant's body was visible, radiating a otherworldly power.
Upon detailed examination I saw, tiny hairs coated with stickey residue protruding from it's swollen exoskeleton. The belly's surface seemed almost translucent, allowing a glimpse inside.
Which was filled with that disgusting liquid.
(Truly repulsive)
The room itself pulsated with an eerie energy. as if the whimpers of a thousand ants echoed through the very walls.
I know, I mentioned that, I wasn't in peak fighting condition, so Emilia handling all the fighting was preferable, But it seemed like things weren't going to go the way I wanted.