The hive thrummed with energy, the rhythmic clattering of claws against stone echoing through the tunnels as Darian moved among his drones. He had reached the various drop points for flesh but felt that there was more to be found under the earth of this strange land. The workers dug relentlessly, carving new paths in the earth while every movement they made rang in Darian's mind. He stood proud, eager to see his hive expand, excited at the prospect of new flesh to consume, surveying the progress, his dual instincts, the human curiosity, and Vescarid hunger, constantly warring within him as they often did."Deeper," Darian commanded, his voice resonating in the minds of the drones. "The surface is swarming with chaos, therefore, we must remain below."The Vescarid drones responded instantly, their movements efficient and tireless as they pressed on for hours and hours without rest. The efforts of their digging were interrupted by the occasional collapse of loose earth, as even the drones could not maintain this progress with complete perfection. Darian followed close behind, his claws tracing the walls as he assessed the strength of the structure.As they tunneled deeper, a faint, acrid scent wafted through the air. It was the unmistakable stench of goblins, cowardly creatures that only served to feed the hive, and yet these were different. Was it possible for a race of goblins to exist that were even more pathetic than the surface-dwelling varieties?Darian's eyes narrowed, his instincts flaring. "Goblins," he murmured, his mandibles aching to be let loose, to tear into living meat. "They will not be missed… Go forth and feed my children" he commanded with indifference.The workers burst into the dwelling of the inferior race without warning, their claws tearing through the final barrier of stone. The goblins screamed in panic, their pale, sickly forms scattering in every direction. Some clutched crude weapons, while others fled outright, their shrill cries filling the air."Consume them," Darian commanded, his voice devoid of emotion, seeing them not as humans, not as any other sentient race, merely a form of sustenance for the hive. The drones surged forward, overwhelming the goblins in seconds.With any other race, he would have his Hunters, and his Mireguards take the lead, but this scum barely required his weakest of children to combat them.Their various homesteads became a scene of carnage as the drones tore through the goblins, their hammer-like claws smashing through walls and crude barricades. His children dragged away their children, their women, and even their warriors who were useless when against dozens of his worker-class drones. Darian watched from the shadows, his glowing eyes narrowing as he assessed the area.The goblin settlement was a wretched sprawl of makeshift shanties and crude tunnels, carved haphazardly into the cavern walls. The creatures were pathetic bundles of life force that failed time and again to resist. Darian's drones swarmed like a living tide. The feeble barricades of rotted wood and jagged stone fell apart with every hammering claw strike, and the goblins' attempts to mount a defense were laughable at best.Some of the goblins wielded rusted blades, others slings with pitiful stones, but nothing could stem the unrelenting tide of Vescarid drones. Darian's workers moved with ruthless efficiency, their claws sweeping aside warrior after warrior. They fought back, for certain, but each strike was like a child fending off a ravenous wolf. Soon his drones closed in to drag away their writhing, shrieking forms. The few goblins brave enough to fight were reduced to unrecognizable pulp beneath the relentless onslaught.Darian stepped into the cavern, his towering form illuminated by the dull glow of the settlement's crude torches. The stench of fear and death permeated the air, invigorating his Vescarid instincts. His mandibles sprung out from their sockets, clicking in satisfaction as his drones continued their work, dismantling the goblins' homes and crushing their pathetic resistance.The Vescarid workers were indiscriminate in their carnage. They clawed through walls to drag out cowering goblins, ripped apart their meager stockpiles of food, and toppled their ridiculous markets. Darian's gaze swept over the scene with clinical detachment. The goblins weren't just being exterminated; this was a genocide by the very definition of the word. Such a pitiful race did not deserve to share the planet with him when they had so many other uses.In the center of the chaos, a group of goblin elders huddled together, chanting frantically in a foreign language as they smeared crude symbols onto the floor with what appeared to be blood. Darian tilted his head, curious despite himself. Perhaps these goblins believed their primitive magic could save them. He motioned with a claw and summoned a massive fireball, that swirled and grew in size, the color shifting hues from red to blue as he held it in the palm of his claws.Their chanting turned to screams as the bolt of energy sprang forward. One of the goblins raised a gnarled staff, releasing a flicker of magic that produced a primitive shield of arcane energy as they desperately made their last stand to fight against this tyrant. Darian looked on, not even amusement curving his rigid lips as the ball of flaming death enveloped the shield they had created and incinerated all within.Darian stepped over the wreckage of the goblins' pathetic altar, his claws scraping against the stone. Darian placed his hand over the altar and absorbed the remnants of their magic, as his hive took their supplies, their very existence.A shrill cry rang out from deeper within the cavern as a group of goblins attempted to flee down one of the narrow tunnels. Darian's focused on the last remaining forces of the insignificant beasts and he raised a clawed hand. "Collapse it," he ordered.The drones responded instantly, their claws carving through the tunnel support with precision. The earth groaned and shifted before the passage collapsed in a thunderous roar, sealing the goblins' last escape route. Their screams of despair were cut short as the Vescarid surged forward, finishing what little resistance remained.When the slaughter was complete, Darian stood amidst the carnage, surveying the ruined settlement. The drones began to drag the bodies into neat piles, their efficiency ever apparent. Already, the Vescora began to spread, its fleshy tendrils creeping across the cavern floor to consume the biomass. The goblins would fuel the hive's expansion, their lives reduced to nothing more than a means to an end.Darian chuckled to himself, though it was not laughter as the humans would understand it, but rather an eerie chittering that filled the cavern with his joyous emotions as he turned his gaze to the far end of the cavern, where another collapsed tunnel led deeper into the earth. His instincts urged him onward, to search for more biomass, more territory to claim. But something gave him pause… There were forces further within the tunnel, ones that radiated a familiar psychic energy, ones that beckoned for his arrival. He felt driven to head toward this force as he pressed onward.For now, the goblins were in tatters, their settlement a feeding ground for his hive. But the hunger remained, gnawing at the edges of his mind. With a flick of his claw, Darian commanded his drones to drag the spoils to his hive, while he brought forth stronger warriors to come aid him in his further adventures.This was shaping out to be an exhilarating evening.The pitiful cave-ins that the goblins had constructed as a preliminary defense did little against his drone's natural tunneling claws. They tore through the rock like butter, for it would take little more than reinforced steel to slow their advance. Darian's pride knew no bounds, as even his weakest minions seemed more than enough to take on the enemy. When his Mireguards arrived, he felt as though he could dominate the entire world. What his drones struggled to displace, his Mireguards flung away like it was dust in the wind. Entire cave systems were exposed to his swarm, and even the fiercest enemy was put down like dogs, or rather, children, before his might.He obliterated their residential section, he consumed those foolish enough to remain in the barracks, he ate their weak and wounded, and he even took those still in the womb. Nothing was off-limits for the Vescarid king as the entire kingdom of the cave goblins fell before his claws. With the Hunters and Mireguards at his side, they all fell like wheat to a scythe.It wasn't till the goblin champion arrived, that Darian felt even the slightest resistance. A creature many times the size of its kin strode forward, a greatsword in hand, one that was not merely a rusted pile of scrap, but an actual human-crafted greatsword of immense durability and strength was wielded by this beast. The Mireguards stepped forward to dispatch this creature, and they would likely find little resistance in their combined force, but Darian was annoyed and needed a distraction. He called his guards off and strode forward to meet this champion.The goblin champion towered above its kin, a grotesque parody of strength and valor. Its pale, scarred flesh rippled with muscles forged in the endless darkness of the caves. Clad in crude armor reinforced with scavenged steel plates, it stood firm, its glowing yellow eyes locked onto Darian's towering form. In its oversized hands was the human-crafted greatsword, the edge gleaming faintly even in the dim cavern light. This wasn't some improvised weapon; it was clearly a weapon of enhanced ability, now wielded by the champion that fought to protect the very existence of its people.Darian advanced slowly, his claws dragging against the stone walls with a deliberate screech that echoed through the hollowed cavern. His Mireguards chittered in a grand cheer as they watched their King enter battle, their heavy limbs twitching as they awaited orders to strike, but he held them back. This was his fight. He wanted to see if this champion could offer even a sliver of a challenge, a distraction from the foreign memories that invaded his psyche, that threatened to challenge his Vescarid heritage.The goblin champion roared, the sound deep and raw, before charging forward. The ground trembled beneath its massive frame as it closed the distance in a few thunderous strides. The greatsword arced through the air in a wide, brutal swing aimed at cleaving Darian in two.Darian sidestepped with grace, his form a blur of condensed muscle and chitin. He had not evolved himself the way he had wished, rather diverting his biomass into producing a third Brood-mother. Even so, he did not doubt that he would be able to contend with this savage monster.The blade slammed into the ground where he had been moments before, sending shards of stone flying in all directions. He retaliated with a sweeping strike of his own, his claws slicing through the air, aiming to remove the heart of the goblin in one swift blow. The champion twisted its massive torso, bringing the flat of its blade up just in time to block the attack. Sparks flew as claw met steel, the force of the collision reverberating through the cavern."You may be worth harvesting," Darian chittered, his voice laced with genuine amusement. "You are no mere fodder. But that will not save you." Darian knew not if his language was comprehended, nor did he care. If the beast was to join his ranks, it would learn Vescarid, it would learn Human, it did not matter, for soon it would be his.The champion bellowed in response, lunging forward with a flurry of wild, sweeping strikes. Despite its size, it moved with surprising agility, forcing Darian to weave and dodge, his claws deflecting blows that came perilously close. The Vescarid King circled his opponent, testing its defenses, his every move calculated. He could feel his mind buzzing with the collective anticipation of his drones, but he shut out their chatter. This was his moment and they would not interrupt him.The champion lashed out again, this time with a downward swing meant to crush Darian outright. He darted to the side, one claw snapping upward to rake against the champion's exposed chest. The creature howled in pain, dark blood splattering across the stone floor, but it didn't falter. Instead, it spun with alarming speed, the flat of its blade catching Darian in the torso and sending him sprawling backward.Darian staggered but quickly regained his footing, his mandibles now on full display as they clicked in frustration. The blow had left a dent in his carapace, but it wasn't enough to stop him. He surged forward, closing the gap between them in an instant. The champion raised its sword to block, but this time Darian was faster. His claws slashed, the dual blades on his fingertips crossing one another, tearing through the crude armor and biting deep into the flesh of the goblin champion.It roared, stumbling back as its great weapon fell from its grasp. Seizing the opportunity, Darian lunged, his claws sinking into the creature's shoulders. With a feral snarl, he slammed it to the ground, the force of the impact sending a shockwave through the cavern.Pinned beneath him, the champion struggled, its massive hands clawing at Darian's limbs, but its strength was waning. Darian leaned in close, his glowing purple eyes boring into the champion's defiant gaze. "Your strength is admirable," he hissed. "But you will be consumed, like all the others."With a final, savage motion, Darian drove his aching mandibles into the Champion's throat, silencing its struggle. He rose slowly, his frame slick with dark goblin blood, and turned to his watching drones. "Bring it to my chambers. I must repurpose this beast in my image."As the drones swarmed the fallen champion, Darian turned his gaze deeper into the cavern. Something was calling him, something familiar but he knew not what. It pulled him further and he allowed it.