The air in the Brood Chamber was thick and the sweet, metallic tang of concentrated mana could be felt in the air, the could eggs could only be laid her because of the mana concentration in the tower.
Antares stood at the edge of the central dais, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He felt strangely vulnerable. He had left his sword "Eos",resting against the desk in his office.
"I feel like I should be holding a cigar or something," Antares muttered, his voice echoing in the quiet chamber. "Instead, I'm just standing here in a very expensive tunic, waiting for thirty giant grubs to pop." The system had notified him of the eggs being readt to hatch, as soon as he saw the message he went directly to the brood chamber where he found Solara who was expecting him, but now he had been standing there for 3 hours.
Beside him, Solara was a different creature entirely. She was kneeling on the polished marble, her eyes wide and glowing with a soft, pulsing crimson light that matched the vibrations of the eggs.
"They're finally ready, Antares," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I can feel the shells thinning. the boys are coming."
"I believe you," Antares replied, though he looked less like a proud father and more like a man waiting for a localized explosion. "Finally but can they hurry it up? The squelching sounds are starting to give me the creeps." he thought.
As if on cue, the first of the thirty crimson eggs convulsed. A wet, tearing sound echoed through the chamber not the sharp crack of a bird's egg, but the sound of heavy, waterlogged leather being ripped apart.
Antares winced, instinctively wiping a stray drop of egg-fluid from his cheek. "Oh, gods. That's... that's a lot of liquid." He said hold himself back from vomiting, well he wasn't going to but anyone who saw the same things he did, they would all throw up or even faint.
From the rupture, the first Red Son slid out. It flopped onto the marble with a soft, wet thwack.
Antares leaned in, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline. "Solara... it's a giant grain of rice. A giant, wiggling, pale grain of rice." he said as he was analysing the small creature
"I thought we were making elite warriors, not a collection of oversized marshmallows." just as he had this thought Solara shot him a sharp look as if she could tell what he was thinking.
The larva was exactly the size of a human infant, curled in a soft 'C' shape. Its skin was translucent and milky-white, and it lacked legs or eyes. It was just a soft, segmented body with a head dominated by a pair of surprisingly sharp, clicking mandibles.
"Look at it jiggle!" Antares poked it. "Is it supposed to be that... squishy? It looks like a very unmotivated sausage."
Solara snapped her head around, her red eyes flashing with a sudden, dangerous intensity.
"Antares. Stop it."
The King froze, surprised by the venom in her voice.
"They are not 'sausages' or 'marshmallows,'" Solara said, her voice low and dangerously strict. "They are the future of our people. They are our family now, born of my effort and your will.They are a blessing from the Ant God himself so You will show them the respect they deserve, or you can leave this chamber right now." she said with the most innocent smile.
Antares blinked, clearing his throat and holding up his hands in surrender. "Right. Sorry. No more sausage jokes. I forgot who I was talking to for a second."
One by one, the other twenty-nine eggs continued to burst, filling the dais with pale, undulating forms. But Antares's gaze returned to the first-born. first the larva, it had stopped wriggling and had turned its sightless head toward him. Its mandibles clicked softly, a tiny sound of recognition came from the small creature recognizing Antares as it's sovereign.
He felt a sudden, sharp pang of memory, not of this world, but of the Earth he had left behind. He remembered the stories of creation, of the first man brought forth from the earth to rule over the world.
"He's the first," Antares whispered, his voice losing its mocking edge he used soft tone now. He reached down, and for the first time, he didn't see a grub. He saw a beginning. "In the stories of creation, the first man was called Adam. He was the blueprint for everything that came after."
He reached out and gently touched the larva's pale, pulsing side. "You are Adam. The first of the Red Sons."
Solara's expression softened instantly. She reached over and placed her hand over Antares's. "Adam," she repeated, the name tasting like a prayer on her tongue. "It's sounds right."
"WARDENS!" Solara's voice suddenly boomed, regaining its commanding edge. "Bring the food! Now!"
The Cradle-Wardens marched in, hauling massive crates from the newly established cold rooms.
Inside was the prime, mana-saturated meat of the surface beasts. As the first chunks were tossed into the feeding troughs, the larvae underwent a terrifying transformation in behavior.
They fell upon the meat with a voracity that made the stone floor shake. They weren't just eating; they were absorbing. As they consumed the mana-rich flesh, the larvae didn't just get "fat." The mana was being stripped from the meat and channeled directly into their internal structures.
Their pale skin began to glow with a faint, pinkish-red hue. Antares could see their muscle fibers becoming denser and their internal chitin hardening.
"They're using the mana to reinforce their bodies before the cocoon stage," Antares noted. "They're forging themselves from the inside out."
Antares eventually sat down on the edge of the dais, letting his legs dangle. "So," he said, glancing at Solara as she nuzzled a feeding larva. "Parenthood. How are we feeling? You've been in this wet basement for a week, and these kids are currently eating their body are strengthening. Is this the royal life you dreamed of?, taking care of blind, limbless giant marshmallows?"
Solara leaned her head against his shoulder, letting out a long, exhausted sigh. "It's draining, Antares. I can feel every bite they take. But when they're full... I feel this warmth. Like I'm finally doing what I was born for,It's exhausting indeed, but they are my family. I would die for them."
"I just feel the bill for the groceries," Antares joked, though he squeezed her hand. "Ian is going to have a heart attack when he sees the consumption rates these little guys will empty our storage. I'm going to have to change the date of the expedition to the surface soon, Solara. We need monsters to feed monsters."
Solara looked at him, her gaze softening. "Is it safe for you to go?"
"Always," Antares said casually. "But I've spent the last few nights swinging my sword until my arms felt like jelly. I'll be fine."
As they shared the moment of levity, a sharp, cold ping echoed in the back of Antares's mind. A bright blue window flashed in his vision.
[URGENT NOTIFICATION]
[Scouting Party Detected: Proximal Alert]
[Location: Northern edge of the territory,Foot of the Godwall Mountain.]
Antares's smile stayed on his face, but his eyes turned as cold as the ice.
"What is it?" Solara asked, her voice turning sharp. She had felt the sudden spike in his pressure.
"Nothing much," Antares lied. "Just my intuition. But Solara... that expedition? It's going to be a bit sooner than I thought."
Solara's hand went to her stomach. "Why, did something happen?"
"The scouting party searching for Kael's sons reached the base of the Godwall mountain," Antares said, standing up. "I originally planned to start the expedition later because I had hoped they would delay abit but turns out scouting party is more efficient than I thought."
Antares walked toward the door,Levi and Eli following him, his mind already shifting gears. "I have to go, Solara. I'm going to hold a meeting with the clan leaders to plan for what's coming."he said as he planted a quick kiss on her forehead.
"Good luck, Antares," she called out as he stepped out of the chamber."