Chapter 27 — Into the Hive
The ridge narrowed behind them until it became nothing more than a slit of dying light. Ahead stretched the hive—alive, breathing, wrong.
The tunnel mouth pulsed like a throat inhaling them.
Red veins throbbed along the walls. Hardened black chitin rose in layered ridges, warm beneath the touch as if blood still moved beneath its surface. A low vibration rolled through their boots—steady, rhythmic.
A heartbeat.
Shin muttered under his breath, "Creepy. I like it."
Alicia ignored him, she raised her palm.
"Let's not kill beasts unnecessarily, not waste our time and energy."
Vaibhav finished, "let's only kill what we need to fill our bars. That's it."
The hive corridors tightened, forcing them single-file. They hadn't walked ten steps when the first beast burst from a side cavity—its body molten red, limbs uneven, eyes bright with mutation.
Alicia moved before it finished lunging.
Ethereal Divide.
A transparent barrier snapped up, and the beast slammed into its own reflected force. Its body twisted and cracked—ribs punching inward.
It died instantly.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+1 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav (life force absorbed)
Another shape tore down from the ceiling—an Exalted-class Fire Carver, blazing veins running over its plated arms. It slashed downward with a screech.
Alicia stepped in, blade cutting through the incoming heat. The reflected energy tore its throat wide open.
It collapsed.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+3 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
The heat in the tunnel rose sharply as more movement stirred deeper inside.
Vaibhav reacted next.
An ordinary-sized fire-beast charged him, drool sizzling as it hit the ground. He grit his teeth, grounded himself, and unleashed:
Heavenrend Impact.
His palm struck the beast's chest. Compressed shockwaves burst inward, bones folding like paper under pressure. The creature flew back into the wall and slid down in a molten heap.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+2 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Two Mutated Exalted beasts barreled into view—huge frames scraping both sides of the corridor. Their claws left glowing grooves in the walls.
Vaibhav struck the first with a sharp sideways blow—energy detonating under its plating.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+3 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
The second lunged before the first corpse even hit the ground.
Vaibhav ducked beneath, pivoted, and slammed his elbow into its throat—crushing the fiery cartilage.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+3 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
He thought this was the end.
But the hive was not done.
Not even close.
A distant rumble shook dust loose. The chitin beneath their feet vibrated—warning them a flood was coming.
The mixed swarm arrived all at once.
Mutated Ordinary
Mutated Exalted
Exalted
Two Mythic flame beasts
—all forcing themselves into the narrow passage, snarling, pushing, screeching in a frenzy to reach the intruders. Their bodies heaved against each other, claws scraping sparks in the tight space.
Alicia lowered her stance.
Vaibhav inhaled.
Shin… grinned.
"That's my cue."
Red light carved itself into existence along Shin's arm as he summoned the sword-type beast spirit. Metal and flame fused into a curved blade that hummed like a living storm.
Shin stepped forward.
And vanished.
Starvein Flash.
Light bent.
For a split second, the world froze.
Silver veins marked every path his blade would take—thin lines of compressed air energy suspended in absolute silence.
Then—
BOOM—
Fifteen beasts split open in perfect parallel cuts.
Delayed slashes erupted half a breath later, sending severed limbs and molten insides crashing against the chitin walls. The entire corridor shook under the explosive collapse.
Notifications blinked in rapid sequence in Shin's mind:
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: Fire Bull]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: Fire Bull]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: Fire Wolf]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
Vaibhav staggered slightly as life force crashed into him from the swarm Shin had obliterated.
The first surge filled him cleanly:
> [+4 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
The second wave poured into him like molten heat:
> [+4 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
A final small thread pulsed into him after one of the beasts died last:
> [+1 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
His bars locked.
Full.
Completely.
And then—
He froze.
Because the very next life force that should have entered him…
did NOT.
It drifted toward his chest—
then curved away.
The green light slipped past him, like a stolen thread, flowing deeper into the hive.
Into the center.
The hive's red veins pulsed, almost pleased.
Vaibhav's stomach tightened. Something was feeding on excess life force.
He didn't tell them.
Not yet.
Alicia sliced down a remaining Mutated Ordinary beast with a calm, efficient thrust.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
Shin bisected the last Mythic by simply letting his blade rest on its momentum.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
And finally, Alicia took down an Exalted that attempted a last feeble ambush. Its death echoed through the tunnel.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
The corridor quieted for the first time.
The hive hummed.
Warm.
Alive.
Hungry.
Shin's sword spirit dissolved into his mind. "That should fill most of your bars."
Alicia exhaled. "I think so."
Vaibhav didn't respond.
He stared down the tunnel leading inward.
The green life-force threads still shimmered faintly in his vision.
The hive was drinking power.
And it was awake.
For few minutes… Nobody said anything.
Alicia broke the silence first.
"Let's extract."
They worked in silence.
Alicia sliced open ribcages with practiced precision, the chitin cracking under her blade. Shin tore apart the heavier corpses with brute force. Vaibhav dragged bodies into position, clearing space in the cramped cavity of the hive.
One by one, glowing shards were pulled free—
mutated ordinary cores, vibrating with unstable red energy;
mutated exalted cores, dense and almost metallic;
and the final group:
mutated mythic shards, pulsing like tiny molten hearts.
They set the shards in three piles, arranged carefully on a flat slab of chitin.
Alicia wiped her hands once, sat straight, and began absorbing.
The first shard dissolved into her palm—red mist curling up her arm.
> [+4 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shard 1
The next pulsed faintly before melting into her skin.
> [+3 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shard 2
Shin and Vaibhav watched quietly from opposite sides of the cavity. The heat from the hive pressed down on all of them.
Shard after shard evaporated into Alicia's aura.
> [+5 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shard 3
[+4 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shard 4
[+2 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shard 5
[+3 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shard 6
[+6 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shard 7
[+5 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shard 8
[+3 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shard 9
[+1 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shard 10
[+6 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shard 11
[+4 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shard 12
[+2 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shard 13
[+6 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shard 14
[+4 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shard 15
[+4 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shard 16
The mutated exalted shards were next.
Shin handed them to her one by one.
Alicia inhaled, bracing as the first sent a heavier pulse through her arm.
> [+3 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shard 1
Then the next—
> [+5 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shard 2
And another—
> [+2 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shard 3
Her aura brightened with each absorption, faint cracks of light flashing at her fingertips.
> [+4 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shard 4
[+7 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shard 5
[+3 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shard 6
[+2 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shard 7
[+3 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shard 8
[+2 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shard 9
[+5 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shard 10
[+3 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shard 11
[+5 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shard 12
[+3 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shard 13
[+4 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shard 14
[+6 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shard 15
[+5 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Shard 16
Finally, the mutated mythic pile.
The shards were larger, hotter, their glow flickering like magma.
Alicia touched the first.
It burst into her arm like a surge of volcanic breath.
> [+6 Mutated Mythic Power Points Gained] — Shard 1
The next flared sharply.
> [+4 Mutated Mythic Power Points Gained] — Shard 2
And the next—
> [+3 Mutated Mythic Power Points Gained] — Shard 3
The air shook slightly as the last three dissolved.
> [+6 Mutated Mythic Power Points Gained] — Shard 4
[+4 Mutated Mythic Power Points Gained] — Shard 5
[+5 Mutated Mythic Power Points Gained] — Shard 6
Alicia exhaled.
Steam drifted from her fingertips.
Her aura settled into perfect, balanced stillness.
Her entire power-point progression—Ordinary, Mutated Ordinary, Exalted, Mutated Exalted, Mythic, Mutated Mythic—
was finally complete.
Vaibhav and Shin exchanged small nods. It had taken dozens of battles to reach this point.
Shin wiped his hands. "Alright. Everyone's topped off."
Vaibhav was quiet.
He stared at the ground.
"Guys…" He hesitated, voice low. "When my bars filled earlier… I saw something strange. The life force wasn't all coming to me."
Alicia's head snapped up. "What do you mean?"
"It was going somewhere else."
A cold silence settled.
Alicia's expression hardened. "Where?"
Vaibhav pointed deeper into the hive.
"Center. Something's pulling it."
Shin blinked once, then shrugged with an odd calm. "Oh? Looks like there's something interesting down there."
But behind his relaxed tone, something else flickered in his eyes.
Inner Shin:
Hmm… This is going to be interesting. There might be a very strong beast…
But how can I use my full power infront of these two? Man! I'm really confused.
Ugh… whatever. I think I should just forget it for now.
No one spoke for a while.
They set up a small camp in a side cavity—just a hollow in the wall where the hive's heat was slightly weaker. The air hummed around them, the red veins brightening and dimming in slow rhythm.
Alicia sat with her back to the wall, blade resting across her lap. Shin lay down with one arm behind his head. Vaibhav sat closest to the opening, watching the darkness shift with every pulse of the hive.
The tension was different now.
Heavier.
Thicker.
As if the hive knew they were coming.
All three of their PP categories—everything they aimed to finish—was now complete.
Vaibhav curled his fingers slightly.
He wasn't sure if he was scared…
or excited.
Maybe both.
The hive pulsed once more, deeper and louder, like a beast breathing in its sleep.