Chapter 4 - The First Throne

📖 CHAPTER 4

The First Throne

The colony was inefficient.

I had ignored it before.

Now I saw it clearly.

Workers followed instinct. Soldiers responded only to chemical triggers. The queen reproduced without strategy. Expansion was random. Resource allocation was primitive.

Wasteful.

And weakness invited extinction.

I moved through the tunnels slowly, releasing controlled pheromone signals.

Not standard ones.

Modified.

Subtle alterations layered with the energy current flowing inside me.

At first, nothing happened.

Then a worker paused as I passed.

Its antennae twitched.

It adjusted course… toward me.

Interesting.

I continued.

Another worker hesitated.

Then followed.

The energy circulating through my body seemed to influence my pheromones. Not enough to control—but enough to distort hierarchy perception.

They sensed superiority.

Biology obeyed power.

Good.

---

The Queen

Deep within the colony chamber, the queen lay massive and swollen, surrounded by attendants.

She was a living engine.

Soft.

Protected.

Vulnerable.

Her energy signature was faint but stable.

She was necessary—for now.

I approached.

Guards moved to intercept.

I released a concentrated pheromone pulse infused with energy.

They froze.

Confusion overrode aggression.

I stepped past them.

The queen shifted slightly, reacting to my presence.

Her instincts could not comprehend me.

But she sensed something.

Dominance.

I climbed onto her back.

Risky.

If she signaled alarm properly, the colony could swarm me.

But I needed to test something.

I bit her.

Not deeply.

Just enough to draw a trace amount of her biological material.

Her body convulsed in distress.

But I retreated before triggering full defensive response.

Back in a side tunnel, I consumed the sample.

Immediate feedback.

Reproductive coding.

Hormonal production pathways.

Colony communication amplification systems.

And—

Egg development manipulation potential.

I froze.

That was critical.

If I could influence larval development…

I could create variants.

Specialized strains.

The colony would no longer be random.

It would be engineered.

A slow, deliberate pulse of satisfaction filled me.

This was the beginning of infrastructure.

---

First Modification

Over the next several days, I began subtle interference.

Whenever eggs were transported, I marked select ones with altered pheromone-energy signals.

Microscopic influence.

Gentle manipulation of developmental pathways.

Not drastic.

Not yet.

Just enough to increase muscle density.

Exoskeleton thickness.

Neural capacity.

The first modified larvae hatched smaller than I expected.

But stronger.

Their energy sensitivity slightly elevated.

They reacted to my presence immediately.

Loyal.

Not through emotion.

Through biological alignment.

Perfect.

I continued.

Ten.

Twenty.

Fifty.

An elite micro-caste began forming.

Still ants.

But better.

---

External Threat

Progress rarely goes uncontested.

A rival colony expanded from the east.

Their soldiers were larger than standard workers.

Aggressive.

Territorial.

Scouts clashed near the outer tunnels.

Normally, such conflicts were costly stalemates.

This time—

I intervened.

When their first wave entered, I met them alone.

Four enemy soldiers.

Large.

Brutal.

I activated reinforcement.

Energy flowed smoothly now.

My body blurred forward.

First strike—mandible crush.

Second—leg severed.

Third lunged—

I leapt over it and split its thorax.

The fourth attempted retreat.

I chased.

And ended it.

The skirmish ended before the main colony reacted.

My elite strain observed.

Learning.

This was important.

Strength must be demonstrated.

Dominance must be visible.

The next invasion wave came larger.

Twenty this time.

Good.

I released a pheromone command.

My modified ants moved.

Not chaotic.

Not panicked.

They formed coordinated angles of attack.

Flanked.

Distracted.

Sacrificed strategically.

Within minutes, the tunnel floor was layered in enemy bodies.

Losses on my side were minimal.

Efficiency improved by 73%.

I consumed the fallen.

Not waste.

Never waste.

Rival colony genetics integrated.

Aggression markers refined.

Structural density enhanced.

Territory secured.

Expansion inevitable.

---

Structural Evolution

Weeks passed.

The colony doubled in effective combat capability.

My elite strain now numbered over two hundred.

Each slightly larger than normal.

Faster.

Stronger.

More responsive to my pheromone-energy signals.

I no longer needed to physically intervene in minor conflicts.

Command sufficed.

Something else changed as well.

My body was reaching a threshold.

Internal structures grew increasingly complex.

Energy pathways thickened.

Neural density skyrocketed.

Thought became faster.

Clearer.

More abstract.

And then—

One night—

It happened.

I was reinforcing my body during training when the energy circulation suddenly stabilized completely.

Not flickering.

Not unstable.

A continuous loop.

Then a second loop formed.

Intersecting.

My body trembled.

Segments shifted.

The exoskeleton along my thorax cracked open—

Not from damage.

From restructuring.

Internal tissues expanded.

Rearranged.

When it finished, I stood taller.

Longer.

My proportions subtly different.

Closer to vertical balance.

My forelimbs had gained additional articulation.

Grip capability improved dramatically.

I flexed.

This was no longer simple insect evolution.

This was directional.

Toward something.

Toward a form capable of more complex interaction with the world above.

I turned toward the surface.

The distant pulses of enormous energy had become more frequent lately.

Battles were increasing.

The world above was escalating.

And escalation meant opportunity.

---

Realization

As I stood near the tunnel entrance, sensing distant shockwaves once again, a thought crystallized:

If beings that powerful existed…

Then there must be a structured society around them.

Civilization.

Technology.

Knowledge.

Information.

And if I intended to eventually stand among them—

Raw strength would not be enough.

I would need identity.

Language.

Integration.

Which meant one unavoidable conclusion.

Eventually—

I would have to leave the soil.

Not as prey.

Not as an insect.

But as something that could walk upright.

The blueprint forming within my genetic library pulsed faintly.

Incomplete.

But growing.

Humanoid symmetry.

Advanced vocal structures.

Higher neural compression.

It would take time.

Resources.

High-tier genetic samples.

But it was possible.

For now—

The colony would grow.

My body would evolve.

And I would continue feeding on the chaos of giants.

The forest trembled again from a distant clash.

This time, instead of fear—

I felt anticipation.

War above.

Evolution below.

And soon—

The gap between them would begin to close.