Adam froze, his antennae quivering. The air in the tunnel felt heavier than it had a moment ago, thick and damp, carrying an odd cocktail of scents. Roten, wet soil, and something faintly metallic, as if rust had been polluting the walls and air for ages. Beneath it, a bitter tang clung to his mouth, making him want to spit.
He hurried forward. Each step echoed faintly against the packed earth walls, but the noise ahead was stranger—murmurs, laughter, the scrape of limbs against stone.
Rounding the bend, he stopped.
The central chamber had become a madhouse. From above, it looked like a ritual was set in motion; ants pacing in crooked loops, their shadows swaying under the dim bioluminescent glow. But here, at Adam's level, it was stripped of all beauty. Antennae blared, a tangible sense of danger hung in the atmosphere.
[SYSTEM WARNING]
— Trace compounds: Hallucinogen detected
— Trace compounds: Poison detected
"Oh no...."
Mira staggered past him first, her steps uneven, legs trembling. He caught her before she fell. Her gaze drifted past him, unfocused, and her voice was a soft, slurred whisper.
"No… I don't… want to go to bed…"
Her body was warm against his, her temperature, was skyrocketing. Enough to almost cause a deep burning sensations on Adams exoskeleton.
A sharp splat made him turn.
Brill was crouched in the corner, smearing himself in wet clay. He tossed clumps into the air, giggling when they fell on his head. "Go Jake and Jill! You can beat the demons! Here let me help you." lunging lumps of dirt into the air, attacking an invisible force only he could see. His mandibles clicked in erratic patterns, saliva glistening at the corners.
Norkk stood tall on a pile of discarded shell fragments, the light catching his polished carapace. His stance was proud, regal even. "The Colony is all ours! I hereby declare it on behalf of the Giant! Bow you peasants!" His words dripped with the proud tone of a victor, though the stature he imagined existed only within his head.
Zell's forelegs swept dramatically as he recited to an audience only he could see. "And then I, Zell the Bold, journeyed all alone into the Shadowed Depths! No one could stop me!" His eyes shone with feverish conviction, and every movement seemed too large for the small, cramped space.
But Skitt… seemed the most energetic. His body coiled, muscles taut, jumping like a maniac, dodging side to side in a state of frenzy. "I'll cut down every beetle! I'll be the hero who protected the colony till his last breath!" His forelegs sliced at the air, striking invisible foes with terrifying precision.
Adam's gut clenched. Skitt's next leap would take him straight into zell.
"Skitt!" he barked, his voice cracking with urgency.
The warrior didn't even flinch. His jump carried him forward.
Silk hissed from Adam's abdomen, catching Skitt mid-flight. The thread yanked him hard into the wall, where he thrashed violently, claws scraping grooves into the earth. "Noooooo! They have gotten me.... Mira.... carry on my final words to the Giant.. Tell him that i died bravely at the han-"
Adam's pulse thundered in his ears. He didn't have time to soothe them or listen to their fantasies. One by one, he ensnared Mira, Brill, Norkk, Zell, and the ants performing the ritual, webbing them together until they formed a struggling, muttering mass. The silk trembled under their movements, but it held, immobilizing them enough to give him time to find the root of the problem.
From a distance, it looked like a yawn ball, a cat's favorite toy, filled with ants protruding from its edges. But the sound from the back of his mind said that this was for their own sake.
His gaze ran across the room. What could've possibly made this wretched smell He swept the chamber, every sense straining. That was when he caught it, an acrid, salty stench laced with a faint ammonia bite. The pungent smell came from the mesh of, what appeared to be, a gooey pinkish slime.
Adam's mandibles tightened. He didn't need the system to tell him—this was the source. He pondered for a moment. How could this possible be here? What is happening? But it just dragged him into a deeper rabbit hole, spraying his minds with questions when he demanded answers.
Regardless, he needed to get rid of it. But as the sharp fumes coiled into his senses, his vision.... began to waver.