What have these beings been consuming? So much plastic and metal.
I quickly finished my meals; it took a bit of time to remove the clothing and cut pieces before eating. If food were abundant, I would only consume the vital organs, but right now, every bit of nutrient counts for me. I need to evolve quickly.
I continued eating until a message popped up in my system.
[Notification: Aether Reserve Maxed, please assign usage]
Good, I won't evolve just yet. I need to find a safe place first, a location that is hard to track and far from here. Humans love playing with their toys; they've sent meat once, and next should be the metal. Besides having the element of surprise, I'm very weak… a machine that does not panic will be difficult to deal with. I need to move.
Looking around the area, I spot the ape lying on the ground, clutching his stomach in pain. He should be giving birth any minute now. I need to stay here for another hour to let the babies grow a bit, then I plan on moving.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!! My stomach! Damn my stomach! What's that!? What's tha-AAAAHHHHH! It's moving! It's movingeeeeegggggg-AAAHHHHHH!" the human seems to be suffering.
It seems the babies are ready.
"Come to Mama, little ones, tear through the belly button; it's thinner there." I'm trying to use the Swarm's Command ability; it's a mercy for this ape… otherwise, my babies would melt his organs and slowly consume him for biomass.
I focus on his belly button and wait…and wait…and wait—what's happening? Why aren't they listening to me!?
"Babies. Come to mama," I try again, hoping they'd follow.
And still nothing.
"What's happening? They should listen to me instinctively. This hasn't happened before." I'm skittering around in a circle, confusion leaking into my natural voice, while the poor ape is having its insides dissolved and consumed for biomass.
As I'm mulling over my unfortunate discovery, I realize a potential issue. System, show status!
[Name]: Veqty Quantzhui
[Race]: Swarm Mother
[Title]: The Last Primal
[Age]: 100000000(100 million Years)
[Spark]: Mother Of All
[Spark Slot 2]: ———
[Strength]: 17
[Aether]: 20
[Defense]: 39
[Agility]: 23
[Stamina]: 13
[Luck]: 15
Active Skills:
[Ferocious Bite] | [Claws] | [Overdrive] | [Dig] | [Spines]
Passive Skills:
[Regenerate] | [Burrow] | [Queen's Knowledge]
There's no [Queen Command] passive! I was born with that! I don't even know how you would acquire that skill. It was specific to the royal family, and after the Primal Swarm, ah, it hurts; let's…not dwell on that—but it was indeed specific to the royal family. I could only grant the Swarm that fled a weaker version, [Command Swarm].
But what could have happened? I share the same bloodline; otherwise, my race or last name would have changed. Evolution shouldn't affect hereditary skills…
Could it be linked to my second spark? It was the strongest of the two… could it have taken on some other traits on its way out? I did remove it forcefully. I pondered for a while before concluding that it's futile to continue. I can't recall anything related to my spark, but one thing is certain: I need it back.
Without [Queen Command] or any Command-type skill, the Swarm will only become a liability; they won't heed orders, will mess things up, and may even turn hostile if provoked.
I need to evolve quickly and hope to acquire a Command skill in the evolution pool.
Gradually, the screams subsided as the Swarm prepared to emerge, its insides already hollowed out and consumed as the skin began to shake violently. They tore through the abdomen as the first worker came into view.
It is a weak creature ill-suited for combat; its only purpose is to build and mine. With a chitinous exoskeleton, six agile legs supported its elongated body, each tipped with sharp claws for traction and mobility.
Two powerful mandibles jutted from its maw, capable of crushing hard rocks and mining deep into the earth. However, the drone's most striking feature was its arrangement of arms: a pair of massive, muscular limbs ending in thick grapplers for picking and hauling heavy loads, while two smaller, more dexterous pairs of arms sprouted from its thorax, ending in nimble fingers suited for precision.
They are born in pairs from a single egg, and sure enough, a second head emerges from the ape husk.
I slowly approach the twins, gently caressing their heads and removing the blood and gore stuck in their exoskeleton.
Since they consumed him to grow faster, there's no need to wait.
"Children, gather the remaining corpses; we are leaving this place," I commanded as I quickly bent down to pick up the changeling. This one will have to stay behind. I plan to somehow get him to the land with the soldiers; he could infect an animal to spy for me. I need to keep an eye on these humans; underestimating them has never proven wise.
They seem to listen and recognize me, but my orders don't seem to have much effect on them, courtesy of their lack of command skill. These children are not truly sentient but rather vessels for the will of the Swarm, the will of my people, who…gave up their bodies to assimilate into the collective. Without any command skill, controlling the collective is like arguing with billions.
I don't even think they will dig for me as they are; changelings are much more obedient.
Moving to the remaining pile of bodies, I picked up a limb and fixed it in the drone's hand. He seems to realize through muscle memory and quickly starts picking up the bodies and carrying them.
"Great, now I just have to make them follow me." I plan to dig a tunnel 20 meters deep and miles long to the west of here. Digging this deep is necessary so that when I collapse the entrance, it doesn't appear too shallow.
Just before starting to dig, I order the changeling to attach to any human and make its way to the surface at any cost; since changelings are not part of the collective by default, it's easy to control them.
Quickly returning to digging, I glance behind me to see if the drones are still following. It seems that without anything else to work towards, they are choosing to follow me.
Resting. Digging. Resting. Digging. And so on, I continue before once again hearing familiar vibrations in the rocks. They are sending backup. Who would have thought the ape wasn't hopeless after all? he was being rescued. Too bad for him, he fell for my changeling.
Too late.
Making my way faster and faster, I continue to dig; it's my only objective right now: to get as far away as possible and evolve.
Two days of constant digging, I have wasted two legs' worth of Aether in this time. My rough estimate suggests I'm at least a hundred miles away from them. Digging for me is like walking, but it takes a little time to collapse the tunnels behind me, so the humans somehow don't follow.
After feeling satisfied with the distance, I started digging at a 45 angle, making a slope for me to climb up more easily.
Seeing land is good, but also the most dangerous decision I could make, I have experience with their technology in the wars, and I know about satellites and scanners from my human life. Getting my head out will be like whack-a-mole.
So, just shallow of a few meters, I stop to evolve.
System! Open Evolve Menu!
[Checking Aether Reserves]
[Sequencing Aether Formations]
[Please Choose Evolution Branch]: [Memory][Core][Link][Hive]
"Select [Link], proceed".
[Link Selected]
[Choose Evolution]:
[Hive Pulse] – Send a burst of Aether-linked command to nearby units. Increases their speed, aggression, or coordination by 25%.
[Neural Web] – Form a psychic link with your created brood, allowing real-time control and sensory sharing.
[Queen's Command]{Unique}
[Command Swarm]: Allows Queens to control the collective.
The best one is undoubtedly [Queen's Command]; my authority isn't supreme without it. It's reassuring to know it's on the list and unique to me, but…have I already evolved it? If I don't have it…then who does?
Aside from that, there are only two abilities worth discussing for my immediate needs: [Command Swarm] and [Neural Web]. While my unique ability is a superior combination of both, regular queens must evolve them separately.
The Neural Web allows you to control the vessel as if it were your own body, while with Command Swarm, you issue orders to the collective to follow through on its own. Choosing [Command Swarm] is the right decision for now, so the children can be put to use.
"System, select [Command Swarm]"
[Command Swarm Selected, Please find a safe place for evolution]
Evolve here.
[Beginning evolution]
My vision began to fade to black as all sensory input was cut off. There are two types of evolution: internal and external. Internal is quick and only blocks sensory input for a short time.
After a few minutes, I could feel my surroundings again, but even better, I could feel the workers! And the Collective!
"Greetings, Collective. Is anyone there?" I say into the collective. But even after waiting for a while, I received no reply. What happened? Is there no one on the other side? Did none of my daughters survive? How could this be? How? Even after having MY spark. I don't understand it…
Just as I was losing hope and sinking into despair, a voice answered. "Shat shk sth yuk taki?" What is this language? Being born as cattle, I barely knew the ape language. When did my daughters learn another language?
"Yasmi, I have returned. Where are you? Did you escape safely?" I tried to communicate.
"Shay sha ty?" the voice replied.
"What are you saying? Speak in human language!" I attempted to make sense of their words.
"Okay, can you hear us now? Who are you? Unregistered Queens are not allowed to use the Collective," the voice responded, switching to human language.
"Yasmi, I have returned. Where are you? Did you get out safely?"I tried to communicate."Shay sha ty?" the voice replied.
"What are you saying? speak in human language?" I tried making something out of their words.
"Ok, now can you hear us? Who are you? Unregistered Queens are not allowed to use the Collective," the voice replied, switching to human language.
"Unregistered Queens? Why do you need permission to use the collective?."
"Never read a history lesson? After the Brood Wars, Queens must be registered with the council before using the Collective," it replied.
I see; without me being the supreme power, it's only natural for broods to clash for control using the same Collective to fight, it's like a serpent eating its tail, one vessel killing another.
"How should I register?" I asked.
"Tell me your name, age, and address," the voice replied.
"My name is Veqty, my address is… Zaraka, though I'm not sure of the exact location. My age is… wait… how many zeros is that… uhh 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. How old is that?" I replied, puzzled by the strange numbers; even as a cattle turned Queen, I wasn't good with math, barely grasping human language at most.
But more than that… wasn't it only two zeros in my first life? How many years has it been?
"Huh… that's a lot of zeros. Maybe you counted wrong; can you check again?" the voice responded.
"Yes, it shows a single one and eight zeros," I confirmed.
"I can't submit this form; that age is unrealistic. Age is just a formality anyway; if you want to hide your real one, you can simply give me a placeholder," the voice said cautiously.
"But it is true… Forget it, get Yasmi on the link; I can't find her through the network." Yasmi was my right hand and the first true intelligence I created. The day she called me 'Mother' inspired me to change the original name through the system. She was a Swarm Queen, and I made her the leader above all others when they escaped Zaraka; as my eldest, she should be able to recognize me.
"There's no one by that name here. No one dares to take the name of the first Swarm Queen!" the voice replied, a bit agitated.
"How could that be? Is she dead?" I asked.
"I don't know who you're referring to. I cannot help you," the voice replied suddenly, stoically.
"Then what about Veqty?" I asked, a bit amused.
"She is our Goddess. She has taught us the ultimate purpose of the Swarm. It is recorded in the Akashic Records in chapter 1, line 1: The Swarm must survive, the Swarm must evolve, it must grow stronger. These are the words of our creator: Survival, Evolution, and Strength. Veqty is a very popular name here. You follow her, too, right?
"Haha…no comments," I replied, amused yet cautious. This has spiraled out of control; the Swarm never adhered to a religion. How long has it been? How many things have changed?
"Tell me… How many years have passed since the First Swarm Queen?"
"It's been a long time, even before the Brood Wars. The Akashic Records were created by the first Swarm Queen a hundred million cycles ago," the voice responded nonchalantly.
It was typical for her to recount history lightly, but for me, it was a revelation. A hundred million cycles? What is the purpose of my existence? No one except the undead can live that long.
I'm a walking corpse, forgotten by family and history. My struggles, the revolution, and the blood of my kin… washed away in the sands of time. No, I must confirm.
"What do you know about the Zaraka Revolution?" I asked, a breath of hope escaping me.
"Again, my Queen. The Swarm has never been to Zaraka. After I report to the council, we will devise a plan to get you out. Please rest assured,"
"Then what about Veqty Quantzhui? What is she to you? Do you know her life?" I inquired, a weight settling in my stomach.
"She is our Goddess. She created the first Swarm Queens. After that… I don't know; she is doing what Gods do. Looking from above?" she replied innocently.
Unable to endure any more of this, I swiftly severed the connection.
What is my purpose in the Swarm? A corpse risen from the grave. What do I know besides fighting? The Swarm is fine without me… I'm happy, but my heart feels heavier.