The False Swarm King—Skaracabaz—was born.
Having inherited the remnants of Propagation, it completed its final metamorphosis.
At the moment of its rebirth—or rather, THEIR rebirth—Tayzzyronth closed THEIR eyes for the last time. The obsession that had driven THEM to prevent the True Sting from going extinct again finally faded away.
"Hissssss—"
"Haaaaaaaah—"
The screech echoed throughout the universe, proclaiming the return of Propagation.
Perhaps Skaracabaz was celebrating THEIR own rebirth. Or perhaps THEY were bidding farewell to Tayzzyronth.
After all, why would Fuli, the Aeon of Remembrance, who had spent countless years quietly observing and recording the universe, personally issue a divine warning to suppress an insect infestation over a mere Emanator of Propagation?
But having delivered that one warning, Fuli showed no desire to interfere further. THEY preferred to remain a faithful recorder and observer, quietly watching events unfold.
In any case, the Garden of Recollection was in serious trouble now.
Born from Ruan Mei's experiment and brought into existence through successive interventions by Aha, Terminus, and the Stellaron Hunters, this second-generation Swarm King was bound to bring enormous changes to the universe.
The little accident Ruan Mei had caused had grown into something far beyond anyone's imagination.
For now, at least, there was a brief moment of peace. After releasing that universe-shaking screech, Skaracabaz fell silent once more.
It might only be the calm before the storm, but they might as well enjoy it while it lasted.
...
Deep within Kasbelinyat VIII lay the dead egg of an enormous True Sting.
The insect swarm that had acquired rudimentary intelligence after being artificially exposed to the power of Abundance during the Autran Incident had never been completely eradicated.
Beneath the black hole used to purge the swarm that day, a single severed insect leg had survived.
The power of Abundance caused that leg to regenerate into a complete insect. Over the years that followed, the True Stings multiplied until their population had grown enormous.
For some unknown reason, however, they had always remained gathered around the enormous True Sting egg, protecting it.
Even more strangely, once their population reached a certain size, they voluntarily stopped reproducing and maintained their numbers at a healthy level.
When the miracle of Harmony descended upon Kasbelinyat VIII, this swarm was still hiding deep within the planet's core.
Xipe, the Aeon of Harmony, hadn't cast THEIR gaze upon the planet solely because Dominicus had fulfilled the supplicants' collective wish.
That glance had also welcomed the insect swarm into the Family.
Harmony really might have been a little too inclusive.
Is there anything you won't accept?
When Robin summoned Dominicus, the incarnation of collective wishes among Harmony's thousand manifestations, something else had happened in a corner nobody noticed.
While Robin conducted the attunement ritual, the insects had also been praying to Xipe.
And really, what could be more suited to Harmony than an intelligent insect swarm?
How similar was a gestalt consciousness to the concept of individual scales within a harmonious composition?
Every insect was the swarm, and the swarm was every insect. They understood one another perfectly, trusted one another absolutely, and shared everything without the possibility of betrayal.
Every individual was willing to sacrifice itself for the collective, because every individual was an inseparable part of that collective.
When Xipe lowered THEIR gaze, the insects bypassed Dominicus entirely and directed their prayers straight to the Aeon of Harmony.
Nobody knew what they had wished for, nor did anyone know how Xipe had answered. After offering their prayers, the swarm fell silent once again.
Still, it was difficult to imagine Xipe refusing them. Even the collective wishes of humans contained selfish desires and conflicting intentions, whereas the swarm's wish was extraordinarily pure.
Ever since acquiring intelligence during the Autran Incident, this particular swarm had chosen to separate itself from the original True Stings. It no longer acknowledged itself as part of their species.
After all, once a creature developed intelligence, it was only natural for it to look down on barbarism and ignorance.
What do you mean, those uncivilized peasants are our relatives? (X)
When the Stellaron Hunters deposited the divine remains of Propagation on Kasbelinyat VIII, the intelligent swarm couldn't resist the temptation. They carried the remains into the planet's core so the entire colony could consume them and evolve.
Then, after being disturbed repeatedly, Tayzzyronth's consciousness awakened.
The insects had no idea that numerous forces were manipulating events behind the scenes. Having lived in isolation since the moment they developed intelligence, they were remarkably innocent.
Now they were terrified that Xipe might reject them because of what had happened.
In fact, ever since gaining consciousness, the first thing these intelligent insects had wanted to do was sever their ties with the True Stings.
What a joke! Having once belonged to the Swarm of Propagation themselves, they understood better than anyone just how terrible the True Stings' reputation was.
They were the universe's most universally hated calamity. Practically everyone wanted them dead.
To put things into perspective, imagine the Antimatter Legion and the Xianzhou Alliance were in the middle of a war when a group of Abominations of Abundance suddenly appeared.
The Legion and the Alliance might temporarily put aside their differences and join forces to beat up the Abominations.
But if the Swarm appeared instead...
The Xianzhou Alliance, the Antimatter Legion, and the Abominations of Abundance would all immediately forget their grudges and unite to exterminate the insects first.
That was the kind of reputation the True Stings had.
Faced with such a catastrophically bad starting position, the intelligent insects felt they had absolutely no chance of surviving unless they distanced themselves from their relatives.
If the Xianzhou natives, who were themselves long-life species blessed by Abundance, could distinguish themselves from the Abominations of Abundance, why couldn't the intelligent insects do something similar?
Not that they were willing to admit they were True Stings in the first place.
Their second objective was to rehabilitate their reputation and secure recognition from several major factions.
Simply declaring themselves separate from the Swarm of Propagation wouldn't accomplish anything without powerful organizations willing to acknowledge and protect them. Otherwise, the intelligent insects would remain a universally hated calamity.
Their third objective was to find a powerful, dependable backer.
The little insects wanted to live in the sunlight too!
I didn't know any better back then, but now I want to be a good person. Come on, give me a chance~ (✘_✘)
With the assistance of a mysterious individual, the intelligent swarm had remained hidden underground, using reason to restrain its reproductive instincts and carefully control its population.
Their mysterious benefactor had taught them valuable knowledge, devised a survival strategy for them, and occasionally provided additional assistance.
Thanks to that guidance, the intelligent insects had developed their own unique system of biotechnology and become a genuine civilization.
It was also the reason they had managed to remain completely undiscovered for seven hundred years.
And now, thanks to Xipe, they had achieved both their second and third objectives.
With all the knowledge their mysterious benefactor had provided, the intelligent insects understood perfectly well just how influential the Family was, even though they'd spent their entire existence hiding underground.
Only their first objective remained: severing their relationship with the True Stings.
Once they'd accomplished that, the intelligent insects could finally live beneath the sunlight instead of remaining trapped in the lightless depths of the planet.
When the Antimatter Legion arrived, the intelligent swarm had been watching everything unfold.
At first, they grew restless.
As members of the Family of Harmony, wasn't it only natural that they should defend the Divine Master's miracle and protect their fellow Family members?
Then the Theater of Myriad Sounds appeared. The Antimatter Legion unleashed one attack after another without achieving anything whatsoever, and the swarm finally relaxed.
Unfortunately, Propagation then decided to stage an utterly inexplicable resurrection.
And the Theater of Myriad Sounds, with its extraordinarily strong connection to the concept of the Collective, bore the brunt of the resulting disturbance.
When the theater spontaneously began performing its so-called Screech of Insects, the Final Chapter of Ages Past, and started proclaiming that innocent people would suffer calamity, the intelligent insects completely lost their composure.
Wait! Don't blame us for this!
They were absolutely terrified.
What if Xipe misunderstood and thought they were responsible? Their decision to join Harmony had been completely sincere!
There was no future in following that dead fellow Tayzzyronth!
Such touching filial devotion!
Author's Note
A little quiz, with no prizes for guessing correctly!
Who is the mysterious individual?
Aha-ha-haaaa~ A certain genius who wishes to remain anonymous. A big shot from Equilibrium.