The Hollowkin scanned the tunnels once more, searching for the ants.
A group soon came into view, returning to the nest. There was something different this time. They weren't carrying scraps of putrefied meat—instead, they dragged along an entire animal.
From the look of it, it had been killed only moments ago.
Calling the creature strange would have been an understatement. Its body was mostly hairless, with fur clinging only to its legs, which ended in sharp, clawed nails. Its eyes were lifeless and half-closed, the pupils cloudy, tinged with a bluish-white hue.
"Why were its eyes like that?"
"Was it something natural? Did it affect its vision?"
Questions he couldn't answer.
The eyes weren't the most unsettling part. The creature had long, pointed ears, and its mouth was elongated, ending in a circular shape with two large holes—presumably for breathing. A long tongue hung from it, easily long enough to coil around the body of an ant.
He wondered what kind of creature it had been.
For now, he had to wait. The ants were occupied.
In the meantime, he resumed cutting the body parts, preparing to reuse the same strategy as before.
Once again, he reviewed the plan that had already proven successful:
Meat for the ants.
Me push rock.
Ants crushed.
Many ants gone.
Ants survive
Pointy thing.
Crude, but effective.
Even if a direct fight became unavoidable, he believed he stood a chance. It would be difficult—brutal—but possible.
Only if he reduced their numbers first.
Only if they didn't attack him all at once.
When the last ant disappeared into the nest, he tiptoed toward a position opposite the one he had used previously to place the bait. Every step was careful, his movements measured, making sure none of the guards spotted him.
The ants' eyesight was poor.
But the little Hollowkin wasn t aware of that.
He placed the bait at the chosen spot, then darted away like an arrow toward a boulder that was barely holding in place.
"Now I wait"
His patience was rewarded—but not in the way he had expected. Not with a complete victory, but with insight.
One of the more perceptive ants turned its head in the next moment it left the nest—but instead of following the bait and leaving a trail, it tapped its antennae against the others, communicating, warning them.
It seemed they were avoiding dead bodies . Instead of scavenging, they preferred to hunt now.
Why, he couldn't tell.
Their second hunt took time. When they finally returned, victorious, he couldn't determine the cost at first. Then he noticed it—missing limbs, broken antennae, and small holes scattered across their bodies, shaped like droplets.
"Was it some kind of liquid responsible?"
Then came the most shocking detail.
On their backs were ants—but different ones.
These were black, their bodies sleek and shiny, their mandibles larger, their legs thick and muscular. Their backs were arched, their presence unmistakably foreign.
They hadn't hesitated to hunt creatures similar to themselves.
Disgust twisted inside him.
He despised cannibalism with all his heart.
Still… he saw opportunity.
They were injured. Weakened.
Which meant easier to kill.
Earlier, he had considered purging the colony outright, but it was impossible to face them all at once. If they ganged up on him, he would die. That left only one option.
Infiltration and killing them one by one. Divide et impera.
The question was "when?"
The answer came naturally.
"When they sleep"
"And they did"
After the second hunt, time passed. Eventually, he saw one defender retreat into the nest, leaving only two guards behind.
I could ambush them… infiltrate now.
Doubt crept in.
"Should I risk it? What if—"
For every scenario where he succeeded, several more ended in failure. Fear bloomed uninvited, slowing his resolve. By the time he steadied himself, the sleep cycle had ended.
The third guard emerged.
All three were awake again.
With a long sigh, he waited once more.
The opportunity—risky as it was—had slipped away.
Time passed. Foragers returned with smaller prey. Then, once again, the nest grew quiet.
They slept.
This time, two guards retreated inside, leaving only one behind,
A pleasant surprise.
A wide grin spread across his face as he began to move.
The guard never had a chance.
Ducking behind rocks, he closed the distance step by step. When he was only a few feet away, he leapt with all his strength and struck like the Tokai Gecko but instead of sinking it s teeth into it s stomach s enemy he slashed.
Two clean cuts.
One severed the antennaes
The second one took the head.
The body collapsed without a sound.
He grabbed the corpse and disposed of it like a mob enforcer from the underworld.
After congratulating himself on a job well done, he crept closer to the mouth of the nest and—jumped.
Inside was a structure difficult to describe: a sprawling labyrinth of tunnels and chambers branching in every direction. He had once thought the cave he lived in was hard to memorize, but compared to this… it was simple. Staring at the living maze, he wondered how these creatures didn't get lost endlessly within it.
"I certainly would."
The corridor he landed in was empty—for now.
It didn't stay that way for long.
Ants with white grains on their backs scurried past, vanishing into side tunnels. Others followed, hauling food. Soon after, smaller groups moved through, cleaning the stone and the remains left behind. Everything had a rhythm. A purpose.
Several potential encounters were avoided only because he ducked away at the last possible moment. He didn't know it, but the blood of the guard he had killed clung to him, masking his scent. That alone spared him from discovery.
Watching them work so efficiently, so precisely, he felt a brief flicker of admiration.
It didn't last.
A loud *crunch* echoed through the tunnels.
His body froze.
Cautiously, he edged toward the sound, curiosity warring with dread. Each step brought the noise closer—wet, heavy, grotesque.
Then he saw it.
The sight made him recoil. His stomach twisted violently, and he gagged. Only his unusual body kept him from vomiting—if he were a normal organism, he would have already retched
Even from a distance, the horror was unmistakable.
One of the ants was…