After my brief look into my [Status] and the “conversation” with the System, I went back to presenting myself as the new Alpha to the swarm. My mind, however, wandered. I had declared that tomorrow we would kill every human we could get our claws on, and I knew two things: 1. No other mber of the swarm had any worries or doubts about killing every single human they saw, since they were nothing more than a threat to our existence, and 2. While I may feel bad about it, I had unhesitatingly ordered that we prepare to leave no survivors there tomorrow, and I was ready and willing to stand by that declaration.
My command would lead hundreds of humans to their deaths tomorrow, and, as far as I knew, none of them had done anything even remotely morally reprehensible. Especially since there were sure to be children there, and they certainly had done no wrong whatsoever. Nonetheless, to ensure my own survival, I needed to kill them all.
A part of wanted to leave them alive, but I couldn’t. They knew where we were, even if they didn’t have specifics, and they knew that a troop of 100 soldiers and Speakers had left to exterminate a keelish den, and if they didn’t co back, the surviving humans would know that we were least capable enough to kill 100. Thus, they’d send for help, and hundreds, or even thousands of humans, with High Speakers and highly trained warriors among them, would march on our ho and fill the den with our own blood and corpses. A solution was to flee to the East, where I was more and more sure that Nievtra was found, but that would require the abandonnt of all the currently laid eggs, and I was unwilling to leave Treel’s, Sybil’s and the rest’s eggs to die. I couldn’t ask Vefir to abandon what was left of Treel, and the pride in balked at the idea of fleeing from a foe easily bested. Thus, the only option left to was complete eradication of the threat. I couldn’t leave a single witness behind, so, while it was wanton slaughter and personally distasteful (even the haughty and proud Khatif side of ), I needed to protect my swarm before I protected anyone else. Thus, in the morning, a new, stronger, more ruthless would send hundreds of humans to a terrifying and grueso death. But, until then, I would spend my ti presenting myself to the keelish whose lives I would commit this horrendous act for.
...
My day was spent pleasantly, and I found a strange balance in the activation of my [True Dominance] Skill–I could activate it enough to cause an instinctive reverence in those around , but not so forcefully as to cause them to imdiately cower in my presence. The more I talked with the keelish, the more I realized sothing: the vast majority of the keelish I hadn’t t so far were similar to Greel–short-sighted, vicious, and not especially intelligent. I’d co to think that Greel was an exceptionally dull specin, but it turned out that my sample size had been skewed heavily to the intelligent side. Brutus intellectually and emotionally fit in with the rest of the swarm better than he did with my core pack, and I quickly decided to instate him as so sort of a pack head for those who didn’t have a good pack Alpha already.
After speaking with enough of the keelish, I pulled away and went to the nesting area. Here, I specifically visited Treel’s eggs first. With my thermal vision, if I focused, I could see the babies inside twitching and generally filling the egg. Initially, there had been 7, but over ti it had beco apparent that only two had the possibility of hatching. The other 5 had never moved or ward themselves at all, and had been discarded. Next, I searched out Sybil’s eggs, which had been laid so ti before. As far as I could tell, she never would have even told that they had been laid if I hadn’t asked just before my descent into training hell, “How soon will you lay if the eggs are fertile?”
She’d simply responded, “Oh, they’re due to hatch in about 20 days.” and walked off.
I pulled her back, “What do you an? You didn’t tell you’d laid them yet.”
She shrugged. “It didn’t have a whole lot to do with you after the first night, so I simply laid them and we continued on with our lives.”
I’d been amazed and she’d simply continued on with her day, almost nonplussed by my reaction.
There were only 3, a surprisingly small clutch for a keelish, but all three were constantly active. Whether that was their own predispositions or because of my ddling, I wasn’t sure, but I figured my actions weren’t harmful to them. I ca in at least once a day to exhaust my magic letting out my rousing sonic calls, and the eggs twitched in excitent whenever I did. I went through the sa paces as usual, letting out the sonic vibrations low and constantly, and the eggs–no, my children–twitched in what I affectionately dubbed excitent, but more correctly could just be called agitation. I’d honed this magical release in such a way that I could now let it out constantly instead of in an overwhelming wave, which, for the babies, seed to be better.
I looked at the eggs, and the others in the area, and realized that what I felt towards them wasn’t parental love, but was still a sort of guardianship. Maybe I’d grow to love the little things, but for now, the feelings I had were sufficient to lead my swarm into slaughtering my forr kin.
Finally, I’d gotten to the end of the day and retired to my room. I didn’t stay in what was once Redael’s space, but instead in what had always been my room, in the spawnlings’ den near the surface. While I didn’t feel like a father or parent, I did feel responsible to protect those weaker than myself.
With a deliberate thought, I closed my eyes and gave permission to the [System] to begin the restructuring of my body.
...
The ever-more-familiar gray space that was this shared consciousness was quick to greet . Before, I always had a mont or two to myself before the Administrator began speaking to , but this ti, I was imdiately greeted by their excited voice,
[Hello Ashlani, you’re quite the go-getter, aren’t you?]
I suppose I am...?
[I must say, I wasn’t expecting you to revolt against Redael quite so quickly. I did expect your next evolution to be the one you are currently experiencing, but I didn’t expect such...promptitude.]
Well, I wasn’t given a whole lot of a choice when my body rebelled against my better judgnt. On top of that, I do consider my next course of action to be the wisest one available to and the swarm as a whole, so I don’t regret what happened.
[You did act rather contrary to your usual modus operandi, that is true.]
Yes, I did. That’s where my question for this ti will lie: What’s the deal with my body now?
The now familiar patient yet teasing tone followed [Do you want to clarify your question?]
Why is my ntal state constantly being affected recently? Why am I suddenly more prideful, competent, and ruthless?
The Administrator sighed, paused for a mont, then answered, [Well, you are becoming more Keel, and more completely embracing the bloodline that flows through you. The Keel progenitor was a ruthless, calculating, intelligent, and competent leader. They prioritized their kin above all, and constantly held themself above others, not without reason. They were the primary reason that the Saharlian Empire could be established, and their descendants were able to solidify the Empire’s rule solely because they relied on the influence and power that ca from their untainted bloodline. Now, as you are purposefully evolving toward that original, you will feel their ntality and thought process affecting you. That said, it will only be so jarring and uncontrollable for the next short while, as after you have sufficient ti to adjust yourself the intrusive personality will fade into more of a background role. That will be after sowhat of an assimilative process, so your personality will be slightly tweaked to beco more naturally Keel, but no more than that.]
So... because of the original Keel, I’m gonna continue to feel this way for a while, until my personality permanently shifts to so degree?
[... Effectively...]
I didn’t have the ti to spout off all the frustrated and enraged curses that I had wanted to, but before the darkness took , I got a couple of the choicest and most aggravating ones out of my system.
The darkness ca quickly and forcefully... Then I awoke, and I could feel that it was near midnight.
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