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Chapter 893 - Darkness Eternal
🕑 Added 2021-11-10 00:52:24 +0000 UTCLeeroy was tired. Not just in a physical sense, because she was definitely drained from long days without rest and filled with hard labour, but more than that she belt a weariness that echoed deep within her very soul. Not even the harsh words of the Eldest had been enough to shake this lethargy and sense of aimlessness from her and her fellow tier six sisters.
If only she'd been more careful and read the evolution description more carefully!
If only any of them had done that!
The fact she and her sisters were similarly bound to the same fate made it so much worse than if she were the only one, for she felt responsible, that she herself had led them down this path with inevitably led to this end. What's more, the Eldest had specifically banned her from informing her younger sisters, who even now were battling and struggling to evolve to reach this tier, of their disastrous fate.
All these issues combined to infect the aptly named 'Immortals' with a dreary malaise that many within the Colony despaired of being able to cure. Complying with the orders of the Eldest, the highly evolved shock troops managed to rouse themselves enough that they were able to throw themselves into work, hauling stone, tearing down existing structures and doing all the heavy lifting the build crews could throw at them for days on end, working without rest.
Leeroy finished dragging a huge chunk of stone to the base of the pillar on which Roklu stood and looked up at the mighty work the Colony was engaged in.
She wasn't sure when, but the carvers had discovered a new type of stone, one immensely resistant to heat that seemed to also have a sort of regenerative property. With further exposure to the conditions in the third stratum, the builders had learned much, including how the scorching, ash infused atmosphere degraded almost every material that it touched. The existing demon structures however, appeared to be immune to this weathering damage.
This lead to the discover of the new mineral, quickly followed by a frenzied mission to find and process the stone. In typical ant fashion, this was achieved quickly by applying thousands of highly motivated individuals to the task until not only was a significant deposit located, but mining and refining had taken place over just a few days. Now thousands of tons of material are in the process of being hauled across the plains to construct a massive ant hill, a construction the likes of which the third stratum may have never seen before.
Reaching from the ground all the way to the plate kilometre above, this hill would become the base of operations for the Colony in this layer of the Dungeon, a massive fortress that would occupy many thousands of cubic metres, rivalling the size of the main nest itself. At the moment the carvers where busy preparing the foundation and although progress was slow since the number of build teams on this level of the Dungeon had greatly diminished over the previous two weeks, already the scale of the project was coming into sight. The footprint of the hill to come was staggering, almost a kilometre square. It likely wouldn't be finished for months, perhaps longer, even if the Colony decided to commit tens of thousands of workers to the project.
Despite the ambition and effort on display, Leeroy struggled to find the joy and pride that she knew should be there inside her carapace. Instead, there was hollow sensation that had only grown since she had lost her direction, her purpose in life. All of the immortals around her felt the same.
"Leader," one of her faithful lieutenants approached her from the side, "do you plan to rest soon?"
"You shouldn't call me that anymore," Leeroy said bitterly, "after what I've lead you too. This eternal… life."
"We each chose our species on our own, we each made the same mistake. You can't be blamed for that, leader."
"We will still follow you anywhere," another said, moving alongside the first speaker. "Where else would we even go?"
The emptiness of that last statement found an echo in all of them.
"No, I will continue to work until I collapse," Leeroy told the others, "I have been told to make myself useful and so I shall. The Eldest demanded that I work, not that I rest, so I won't."
The others had gathered together now and they shifted uneasily as her scent reached them.
"The Eldest commanded us to rest…"
"It is the thing that we are meant to do…"
"Are you certain, leader?"
A flicker of anger was roused inside Leeroy and she turned to the immortals.
"Are you afraid of the enforcers?" she demanded. "Even now? I have nothing to live for but life, there is no fear left in me. Besides, we are all tier six! There are hardly any who can match our strength inside the Colony, let alone amongst the enforcers!"
"Is that so?"
"Is that so?"
"Is that so?"
"Is that so?"
A hundred threads of scent reached them at once, brushing against their antennae on all sides before dancing away as if they had never been. The reaction amongst the Immortals was immediate and they turned nervously to look around themselves. Only Leeroy remained undaunted.
"I have work to do," she said and began to trudge back toward the quarry.
She'd not taken three steps before the voices returned.
"You have run out fear…"
"No longer afraid…"
"It is respect that is lacking…"
"Who's command do you ignore…"
"This is not for the Colony…"
"For the Colony…"
Again a hundred different scents wafting from a hundred directions, a dizzying and disorienting effect that unnerved them all. Even Leeroy now felt a flicker of emotion that she shoved away violently.
"Where are you?" she demanded of the empty air. "Come out and make yourselves known!"
"Demands…"
"From us?"
"We are the loyal…"
"You are the one who has failed…"
"We demand of you…"
"The Eldest commands…"
"You do not obey…"
[Eight hours is owed…]
[Eight for every day…]
[You have missed many…]
The scent seemed to come from everywhere, even from within her own mind. The Immortals were disturbed now, turning this way and that as they tried to identify the source of the words but they could see nothing, they were alone on the plains, the city still resting on its plate high above them and the same workers toiled not far away on the foundations of the hill. There were alone.
"Show yourself!" Leeroy demanded.
[Tier six…]
[You think are above us?]
[Above the commands of the Eldest?]
[Foolish…]
[Foolish…]
[In the extreme…]
[We are here with you…]
[We are always here…]
[We have ALWAYS been here…]
[Look down.]
Each and every one of them looked down to see that their shadows had changed, no longer was there a flickering shade cast by the intermittent light on the ground, instead, there was an endless void of darkness without end.
And inside the black there was a face, an ant face, their own face. It stared back at them with maddened glee, their own eyes twisted into merciless, pitiless orbs filled with laughter.
"Get out of my head!" Leeroy grated. "You can't take me!"
[We already did…]
Then it was gone. The plains. The builders. The foundations. All of it gone. All that remained was the darkness.
[You do not fear…]
[This we can change…]
[But first. Sleep…]
[Rest…]
[We will wake you when your time is due…]
Leeroy felt her mind begin to slip, begin to sink. She fought against it. Struggled to remain awake.
"Who are you?" she said.
[Nameless…]
Comments
Dion Crump
I think the problem with that is leeroy can only win once then there is no more leeroy
Dion Crump
We saw it once, one of the council was talking to a human and was leaving when they seemed to just disappear
Ibuks5
😂😂😂 wow! The nameless are too creepy
Steve Rogers
Yeah I get that, but all three of those issues would be null and moot due to the consecutive waves and the people of Renewal’s desire to aid the colony and better protect themselves. Think about it, if one of the humans had reconstituted a core during the first wave it would have been fairly easy to get the required materials and level the necessary skills for them to be more than worthwhile. Especially by the time the second wave rolled around.
the_Famus_Temmie
it was mentioned humans can do it in the early chapters, but surface kingdoms dont because 1 cores are extremely valueable and 2 the skill investments 3 its hard to get returns for your time
Edgar maya
😂😂😂😂 creepy as mofos hiding in the shadows , how can they not be worth their salt in espionage
Lee Ortiz
Man leeroy needs a win here. I feel bad for her at this point, I feel she just needs to break from Athony at this point just go all death squad
Touch
Sh*t dude that's what I'm talking about!! Excuse me for my hype
Greyg
Plops that sounds hard continues to thrust spear while not getting an awesome ant themed class
Steve Rogers
Random question, but have any of the humans reconstituted a monster core to create a pet of their own? They would have been easy enough to feed during the two waves. And the stigma of owning a monster would be non existent considering The Great One has three pet’s of his own and the colony has an entire caste of core shapers. (If you haven’t noticed I really like the humans in this story and would love to see more of them 😅)
Nikita
This feels awesome. I feel refreshed. More enforcers!
Eadinize
Sleep enformrnt is honest an awesome thing to read about from the position of the sleepless
Dan K
I’d love to read an excerpt of someone seeing the enforces from an outside perspective. Would be great if they talked about commanders and leaders of enemy armies disappearing from their own command tents and buildings.
Runaway_Cactuar
Leeroy really should've known better. Considering the sheer amount of ants they've kidnapped and knocked out over the years, their skill proficiency must be off the charts. Tier 6 or not, the Immortals are vulnerable to the ninjas since they are not specialized to handle mental attacks.
TheRaptorOfHermes
No force is greater than the sleep enforcement. Not even the elder can defy their own decree
Rick Baker
One, Two: The Enforcers are coming for you. Three, Four: Going into torpor. Five, Six: Put down those sticks. Seven, Eight: No more staying up late. Nine, Ten: Time to sleep again...
ZaneofBane
You have turned nap time into a horror novel...
JaegerMaxim
This is so cool
Marter
This is awesome
KingGoomba
The enforcers are one of my favorites because they transcend cast. So each cast brings something a little unique to the church.
Peachtree1
When did this change into a horror novel?
Rahsheem Reid
That's legit scary. The ninja sleep police are a real force to be reckoned with.
due
Damn that’s scary 😨
Anthony Romanov
Sleep enforcement is now in minds of Ants. I feel pity for anyone that tries to sneak in into Colony only to be followed by Sleep enforcement in their shadows
Titaniumtac
thx for the chapter
Aeseof
I think of all the things I've encountered in this novel, the sleep enforcers are my favorite.
