RinoZ
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Chapter 525 - The Fear
🕑 Added 2020-05-03 11:48:25 +0000 UTCAuthor note: Hey all! Thanks to all existing patrons for sticking around and to all new patrons for jumping on board! You're the BEST! I really can't say that enough. We recently passed 200 patrons and I really want to do something to celebrate the milestone. Leave it with me! :D
Sarah was afraid. Although, just saying that didn't mean much. She may as well have said "Sarah was breathing", because, she was always afraid. Always. She had been afraid for so long that she no longer remembered what has first caused her to fear. She no longer remembered what it was that she feared the most. Her life, her first life, was mostly a haze of half-remembered pictures and blurred faces to her now, but somehow she could steal remember the fear. It had been cold, and hard. It stabbed deep into her heart when she was young and never left, carving out a space inside and made itself at home. She'd died afraid and been reborn afraid. The Dungeon was just another thing for her to fear. The terror was more visceral, hot and red, and she had nearly gone mad with it. She could remember days when she'd barely had a human thought, lost in the snarling, biting, tearing rampage that sparked when she was pushed to the edge by the things that haunted her new life.
It was strange that she'd been reborn as a bear. They were strong creatures, deadly, powerful, capable. All things that we so far from her own existence that she couldn't imagine applying those terms to herself. On the verge of breaking down, tilting the last crumbling precipice of her sanity, she had thrown herself on the mercy of the Shapers and they had taken her in and healed her. Fed her, talked to her and with tender care had pieced her near-shattered mind back together. It had taken years before she would talk to them in sentences. More years before she would stop waking up roaring and snarling as she bashed down walls. She didn't trust the Shapers on a whim, they earned that trust over decades.
Which meant it hurt even more when they'd changed. James had seen it long before she had. Was wary of the new faces, the rule changes and shifting atmosphere. He'd tried to warn her, but he had been too scared to listen. She been safe here. The ever-bubbling cauldron of fright within her had been reduced to a simmer. Sometimes she was even able to pretend that she wasn't afraid at all. That had all changed when Anthony had arrived. Just an ant, but he'd been everything that she wasn't. So sure, so confident. When she looked into those bizarre, fractured bug eyes of his she'd not sensed the slightest fear in him. The Dungeon held so little fear for him, it was odd. She'd begun to wonder what it was that made him so different to herself. She was stronger than he was, she thought. Probably by a lot. So why? Why did he thrive where she didn't? What did he have, that she lacked?
She didn't have an answer to that question, even now.
The gate rattled before her eyes as it raised and she stepped slowly into the combat arena, her held hanging low and listless. She didn't want to be here. The sand shifted and slid beneath her paws, the glaring eyes of the Shapers seemed to burn into her fur and charged energy in the air pressed down on her. A whine built in her throat and she couldn't control it until it whimpered out of her muzzle. She could smell the bloodlust from her opponent rise sharply at the sound. It sensed weakness. The creature was a blade beast, a rare creature found in the first strata, usually in areas with a strong concentration of mana. The recent rise in density had caused a spike in such monster spawnings and the Shapers had spring into action at the prospect of capturing such powerful creatures. With four huge blade arms attached to a powerfully muscled body covered in spikes and pointy protrusions, the blade beast was a horrific opponent for most creatures. Faster than it looked, durable as all get out and almost inexhaustible, they terrorised most monsters from the first strata.
She didn't want to fight it.
She didn't want to go back to what she was when she fought things like this. Didn't want to retreat into the madness and savagery that protected her from her cowardice. But even that would be better than going back out there. She'd never been to the third strata, but she'd approached its edge, only once. She shivered at the memory. She couldn't back there. She couldn't stand it.
In her heart she was still confused. Still hurt but what was happening and just unable to understand it. Why was she being made to fight? Why were the monsters fighting at all? Did Anthony and Jim escape? She hadn't been able to see them for days. All thoughts were pushed aside as the battle commenced. The blade beast stepped forward and she raised her head. Her sheer size and bulk gave the monster pause. It didn't want to approach directly, wary of her flaws and fangs. Instead it began to circle around, huge glittering blades slicing through the air in a display of dominance.
Sarah's heart pounded in her chest and her body trembled as the monster closed in. Her vision swam and she could barely focus as her confusion and desperation paralysed her. She didn't notice the unease ripple through the Shapers watching from the stands, wasn't cognizant of the impacts shuddering through the stone around her. Nor did she hear the scraping and grinding that seemed to echo through the walls.
She sure as hell did notice when a hole opened up in the centre of the arena and a familiar looking ant head popped out of the ground.
[Stupid… SAND! UGH! That'll be in my carapace for days… Hey! Found her!]
The ant was suddenly lifted into the air as a huge worm shoved its way through the hole.
[Sarah! Hey! We came back to get you! Are you alright?!]
The words echoed in her mind but she just couldn't process them.
[Jim? … Is that you?] she wondered.
[How many other giant worms do you know?! Don’t answer that, I might get jealous. What the heck is that thing!? He screeched.
The blade beast had stepped back, cautious at the appearance of these new monsters, but now that they turned toward it, the monster prepared to assault them all at once. Sadly, it never got the chance. The sand beneath its feet began to sink away as a new hole opened up beneath it. It's blade arms scrabbled at the air but to avail as a host of mandibles reached up to drag it down below sight.
[I wouldn't worry about it,] Anthony said.
The worm turned its blind head towards the unmoving bear once more.
[Come ON, Sarah! We need to get the heck out of here! You aren't still planning on staying are you?]
[No?] She wondered. [Jim, what's happening?]
Only now did she start to notice the chaos erupting around her.
[I just brought the family in for a quick smash n' grab.] Anthony said.
Sarah latched onto one word.
[Family?]
The ant's antennae seemed to wobble with joy.
[Oh, I think you're really going to like 'em!]
Comments
James Squibb
This brought such a warm feeling at the end!
Chopper
Ahhh, but ants are one of the few species of monsters that actually breed in the dungeon. Most of them just pop out of holes in the ground, like dwarves.
Melancholyforus
Lovely :)
shifter1987
Psht.....I'm mored scared of gravity manipulating ants....if you understand the logic behind it you can theoretically warp space-time
Mokka-San
Hey man, picture this: 1)Just Imagine Sand in ur underwear. So it might clinge to His Joints 2) guess they are oblivious about it cause it was Handled secretely 3) aren't they also surface dwellers? O.o
Khanalas
I think it's more like a Starcraft ultralisk, but two-legged
Tomer Yud
bahhh im going to birst out of exitment!! cait wait for next chapters!
Runaway_Cactuar
A few quick thoughts: 1) I dunno why Anthony is worked up about the sand. Crin should be able to get the sand out 2) It truly is the height of stupidity to continue with the tourney when there's an army of pissed-off ants right outside your outpost. 3) I'm surprised by the reach of the Shapers. If they're capable of reaching the 1st Strata, that means they can reach the colony. Interesting...
Cole Honeck
Rinoz you may need to change that number 250 soon!!!!
AntaeusTheGiant
okay, Anthony, now that you're back here, don't forget to find something out about Portals! and how to make them. Because the only thing scarier than a large tribe of giant intelligent ants is a large tribe of giant intelligent teleporting ants.
Jesse
If this is annoying please let me know and I won't do this again lol.
Jesse
"... she no longer remembered what has first caused her to fear." -- should be 'had first caused her to fear.' instead. "... but somehow she could steal remember the fear." --- should be 'still remember the fear' instead. "All things that we so far from her existence..." should be 'were so far from her existence...' instead. "She been safe here." Should be 'She'd been safe here.' instead. "... her held hanging low and listless. " Should be 'her head hanging low and listless.' instead. "... and the Shapers had spring into action at the prospect of capturing such powerful creatures." Should be 'had sprung into action' instead. "She couldn't back there." Should be 'She couldn't go back there.' instead. "Still hurt but what was happening and just unable to understand it." Should be 'Still hurt by what was happening' instead. "...wary of her flaws and fangs." Should be 'wary of her claws and fangs' instead. "It's blade arms scrabbled at the air but to avail..." Should be 'but to no avail' instead.
Jesse
Thanks for the chapter!
Ashrothe
Hmmm, I hadn't considered it before, but this got me thinking Anthony could teach them the core editing, and how he made the ants. They might be able to create new species of their own.
Random Information
It's a paw, not a flaw. Although ants might think that paws (not being claws) are flaws.
Orion Dye
How did they even tunnel that close without the shapers noticing? I thought they had quite the mastery over earth. Seeing as this was an outpost, wouldn’t the shapers have lookouts scanning the earth with magic or something?
Beeees!
Well at least the shapers are going to get quite the spectacle. Also following ant into thief own tunnels seems like it could end badly for them, who knows what sort of traps and trick are down there
shifter1987
Although this was relatively short it's good. By the way..... every time invidia speaks I here Michael Ironside's voice lol
0xFFF1
All those tough fights and the blade beast's death was completely anticlimactic. Also can't help but imagine them looking like Shaydas from the Subspace Emissary from Super Smash Bros Brawl.
Thanks for the chapter!
