"Wow… I already feel like I can't go on much further," Isla panted, her chest rising and falling in ragged bursts. She slowed, wobbling on unsteady legs. "I've even lost track of the time. I'm so tired… I feel like taking a nap. This is really tough. How are we supposed to do this for seven days straight?"
Rory's footsteps hit the dirt with steady rhythm as he matched her pace. "Come on, Isla. You can't give up now. We're already three and a half days in. You've made it this far, so don't quit on me now." His voice was calm, but his brow creased with concern.
"Easy for you to say," she gasped, sweat dripping into her eyes. She wiped it away with the back of her hand, feeling her legs grow heavier with each step. "You were training to be a warden. I have zero combat training at all."
"If we stop now, we'll never make it back in time," Rory said, glancing at the sun as it sank lower behind the treeline. His feet kicked up small clouds of dust as he ran beside her. "Remember, we have a strict time limit."
Ari, on the other hand, didn't feel tired at all. The air rushed past his face, carrying the sharp scent of grass and earth. His limbs moved with ease, his feet barely scuffing the ground. My endurance as an ant far exceeds anything I could've achieved as a human, he thought, noticing the sweat that would have weighed him down before evaporating instantly in the breeze. Back then, I was always the slowest, always the weakest. Now… I feel like I could run forever.
"Hey, Ari, slow down!" Rory called, his voice cutting through the rustle of leaves. He jogged to keep pace, his armored feet crunching against the dirt trail. "Don't forget we're traveling as a squad. We can't afford to separate."
Isla blinked rapidly, sweat clinging to her forehead, and tried to match Ari's stride. "Wow… he's really fast for an ant with no military training." She stumbled slightly over a root, then caught herself. "He might even be faster than most corporals." A flicker of admiration softened her exhaustion.
Rory glanced at Ari for a brief moment, feeling the wind whip his hair against his face. He let a rare, genuine smile tug at his lips. "Yeah… he's something special. And once he's finished this training, he'll be a powerful ally we can depend on."
Far away, in her private chamber deep within the colony, Princess Tanya sat alone. The cool stone beneath her fingers grounded her as the weight of her thoughts pressed down, heavy and unrelenting. Her gaze lingered on a small wooden carving Vladimir had given her years ago, its smooth edges worn from repeated handling.
"I'm still at a loss for words," she whispered, her voice barely above the rustle of air through the chamber. Her fingers traced the carving, feeling the grooves of its design. "Vladimir was like a father to me. He made me smile, laugh… feel safe. I trusted him with all my heart. His soothing words, his constant protection—I believed in him. But he betrayed me. He kidnapped me for ransom. Everything he did, all the memories we made together… were they all lies?"
A lump formed in her throat, and tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She blinked rapidly, forcing them back, but the ache remained. "If I hadn't given Ari the chance to explain himself… if I hadn't smuggled him out of his cell and past the warden… we would all be dead now." Her hands tightened around the carving. "I said such horrible things to him, thinking he was the enemy… but he saved us all. He chose to stay and fight for our colony."
She leaned back against the stone wall, feeling its cold firmness press into her spine. The distant hum of the colony felt muted, almost irrelevant. I still can't shake the thought because I'm too weak. Her fingers trembled slightly as she clenched her hands together. I'm still hung up on the past while he has to face whatever lurks beyond the colony. Ari's out there now, facing threats I can't even imagine. Please… hurry up and get stronger. And be careful.
"I can't go on anymore," Isla panted, her legs trembling beneath her. Sweat dripped into her eyes, and her vision blurred from exhaustion. "We've been at this for days… How much time have we used up so far?"
Ari's footsteps barely disturbed the ground as he ran beside her. He didn't even seem winded. "We're about four days and nights in," he said calmly, his voice steady against the rustle of leaves.
"If you knew you couldn't handle being a military ant, you should've stayed in the mines—or kept reaping food for the colony," Rory teased, tossing a glance at her.
"Why you—shut up, Rory!" Isla snapped, her cheeks puffing out as she struggled to catch her breath. She stumbled over a small root, catching herself with a hand against a tree trunk. "I'm doing the best I can here! I wasn't born all buff and strong like you, you know?"
Rory chuckled, wiping sweat from his brow. "That's no excuse. Ari's not as lean as me, and he's doing better than everyone else." His voice carried a teasing edge, but there was no malice behind it.
Ari slowed slightly, letting them fall into step with him. He scanned the trail ahead, the air heavy with the scent of damp earth. "Alright, we've covered a great distance. Let's search for that plant and head back now," he said confidently, his voice carrying the firmness of someone used to giving orders.
"Who the hell made you leader?" one of the ants snapped, stepping forward until his shadow fell across Ari. His antennae twitched in irritation, and his hands clenched on the hilt of his mandibles in a slow, threatening rhythm. "Don't you dare boss us around. You're not one of us."
"Yeah," another added with a cold sneer, "you might have the Queen's approval, but we will never accept you as one of us." His eyes swept Ari from head to toe, as if trying to find flaws in every movement. He angled his mandibles forward slightly—just enough to make the threat clear without crossing the line into outright aggression.
A few other squad members murmured in agreement, exchanging low, bitter words. One muttered just loud enough for Ari to hear, "Waltzes in from our prison and gets special treatment… must be nice."
Ari didn't rise to the bait. His face was unreadable, but his hands tightened around the hilt of his mandibles.
"Hey, that was really harsh!" Isla snapped, stepping toward them, her voice sharp. "Did you forget he was the one who saved us?"
"Saved us?" the first ant scoffed. "He wouldn't have needed to if he hadn't been here in the first place. We've been preparing to fight for this colony long before he showed up. You think one lucky guess makes him better than the rest of us?"
"It was a large-scale coordinated attack, and our own commander, Vladimir, betrayed us, you fools!" Isla's voice rang sharp through the tense air. "If Ari didn't warn us and we hadn't prepared, all of us would have perished." Her eyes darted from face to face, searching for even a flicker of recognition, but all she found were hardened stares.
"Say what you want," he growled, voice low but seething, "but this bastard is nothing special."
A murmur of agreement rippled through the squad. Some shifted their weight, while others just stared at Ari with that same cold detachment—as if he were still an outsider, no matter what he'd done.
Isla's fists clenched, but Rory stepped between her and the others, cutting her off with a sharp glance.
"Enough," Rory said firmly, his voice carrying a warning edge. "We're tired, we're on a deadline, and we're possibly in enemy territory. You want to argue about who belongs? Do it when we're safe in the colony."
The hostile ants backed down a half-step but didn't break their stare. Their antennae twitched with tension, and the space between them felt thick, as if the forest itself were holding its breath.
A faint rustle pricked at Ari's ears—subtle, too deliberate to be a wandering leaf. He tilted his head, scanning past the trees, muscles tensing as he assessed what might be hiding in the stillness.
"Did you hear that, Ari?" Rory asked, his eyes scanning the treeline, not looking at him directly.
"Yes," Ari replied quietly, his gaze fixed on the shadows between the trees, muscles tensing.
Rory's voice hardened, carrying over the faint rustle of leaves. "Stay on guard, everyone. Form a circle and draw your mandibles."
The squad obeyed, though some did so slowly, their attention still half on Ari. Their antennae flicked restlessly, as they quickly snapped into formation, mandibles drawn tight, their bodies trembling with the electric tension of impending danger.
Suddenly, the forest fell eerily silent, as if holding its breath. Then, without warning, a splash of green liquid arced through the air, glittering in the muted light and capturing every eye in an instant.
The acid landed on five ants, instantly sizzling and melting through their exoskeletons. The horrifying sound of flesh dissolving filled the air as smoke curled from their bodies. Their screams pierced the silence, echoing through the trees until only their mandibles remained.
One of the remaining ants—the same who had snarled at Ari before—gaped in shock, his voice shaking with fear. "Impossible… how can we possibly defend ourselves against such an attack?"
He spun on his heel, desperate to escape. But before he could disappear into the shadows, a fresh stream of acid hissed through the air and struck him squarely. His body convulsed violently as his exoskeleton burned away in an instant, collapsing into a lifeless heap.
The acrid stench of burning exoskeletons made Isla gag. Her entire body shook uncontrollably, terror rooting her to the spot. She clutched her mandibles tight, eyes wide and glassy with fear.
More acid flew toward Ari's direction, aimed straight at the paralyzed Isla.
"Move out of the way!" Ari shouted and shoved Isla aside, the acid splattering on the ground where she'd just stood, burning holes through the leaves and soil.
"That's acid secreted by some insect! Don't let it touch you or you'll die!" Ari yelled.
The squad panicked, scattering in all directions. More acid rained down, claiming ten more ants. The remaining survivors fled, leaving only Ari, Isla, and Rory behind.
"Stay close! Don't separate!" Rory ordered, gripping his mandibles tightly; however, none of them listened. They ran away.
Laughter echoed through the trees. Three termites emerged from the shadows, their grotesque forms oozing acid from their hands.
From the shadows, a termite's cold voice slithered through the trees. "Such pitiful, weak insects. Dying without even seeing the face of their killer. Pathetic."
Another chuckled darkly, stepping into view with a cruel grin. "I love it when they scatter like that, so I can pick them off one by one and improve my aim."
What the hell… termites? But in our world, their acid could only irritate ants. Now it can kill instantly, Ari thought, unnerved.
And just like the ants of this world, the termites bore the uncanny blend of insect and human features. Their upright posture mimicked that of a human, their limbs jointed yet structured in a way that resembled arms and legs. Their hands—if they could be called that—were clawed but still faintly human. Their exoskeletons, however, were yellowish—softer in appearance, but dangerous.
"These ones seem to have some sense. I'll make quick work of them with my acid," another termite mocked.
"Be careful, guys. These are monsters," Rory warned, his muscles tense.
There are only three of them, yet they've wiped out so many of us. They're strong. I have to protect Isla and Rory, Ari resolved, steadying his breath, his grip on his mandibles tightening.
"Rory, Isla, take the one on the left. I'll handle the other two."
"Are you sure you'll be okay, Ari?" Isla asked, trembling, her mandibles quivering in her hands.
"Please don't worry about me. Just focus on surviving. Rory, I'm counting on you to protect her."
Ari sprinted toward the two termites as they squirted more acid. Ari's mandibles shifted, anticipating the arc of the green spray. One wrong move, and the acid would eat through him in seconds. Timing and positioning were everything. He weaved through the deadly streams, the sizzling liquid burning through anything it touched. With lightning speed, he closed the distance and slashed one termite cleanly in half with Valeria's father's mandibles.
They're soft and easy to cut. Their defense is weak, but their attack is deadly, Ari noted.
Isla clumsily swung her mandibles, serving as a decoy while Rory circled the termite. The termite spat acid at Rory, but he dodged and struck its neck with all his might, severing its head in a powerful blow.
"Damn you, ants! You killed my brother! You'll pay for this!" the last termite roared, unleashing a barrage of acid at Ari.
Ari darted through the assault, the air sizzling around him. The termite's frustration mounted. "What the hell is he? Why is he so fast? It's not possible!"
After narrowly dodging a particularly vicious stream, Ari lunged and stabbed the termite's stomach. The termite screamed as green acid gushed from the wound, burning through the earth.
"This isn't over! I'll find you! I'll kill every last one of you and your colony!" the termite snarled before fleeing, his movements desperate and erratic.
Ari remained poised, mandibles raised, watching until the termite disappeared.
The forest grew silent once more, save for Isla's ragged breathing.