At that very last moment, just before his eyes turned golden, Theo saw the strands surrounding him, including those that were attached to his own body.
They were different now. Their colour had shifted, and their intensity had grown much further compared to before.
In that split second, it felt as if Theo had finally glimpsed what the gate truly looked like, just before he was dragged into the hive mind.
His body began to writhe in agony, especially his heart, which seemed to hammer wildly in his chest, beating three times faster than normal.
Even after he reached for the hive link and the ant queen pulled him into an isolated space to keep his brain from overcooking, Theo could still feel everything happening to his physical body.
It was as if his innards were being scraped raw, only to be healed and torn apart again, all at the same time.
A kind of pain Theo had never known.
