I appeared over the battlefield that I saw in my connection to one of the Hiveminds and saw that the Ancient Ones were cleaning up the field. There were a few small skirmishes here and there as an Orc would refuse to die. But overall, it looked like the Ancient Ones were overwhelming victorious. I could see some facsimiles of Orcs prowling the area and killing off the wounded on the ground. The only way though I could tell they were not the real thing was the number of spores that were cascading down their flesh. Some looked almost like the same thing while others were rotting and falling apart as they walked.

I grimaced and watched as they started dragging away some of the broken and shredded corpses while the nearly whole ones would twitch before shuddering violently and stood up and joined the ranks of their zombified brethren. I stared at the carnage for a while and watched as the battlefield slowly started to return to its previous state baring large puddeless of green and red blood. Luckily nothing noticed me while I was floating above the battlefield. I was still in my human form since I didn't feel like shedding it just yet.

I brought up my menu and looked through my host options and made sure my Progenitor status was active on my host. It wouldn't do to be attacked by these things, mostly since I wasn't sure what would the result would be. I dismissed the screen and brought up the species template to give it a quick read to know what I was dealing with.

Racial Template: Ancient Ones 

Racial Description; From the depths of darkness rises a hunger that can't be contained. Fear for the end has arrived. 

Base Racial Stats: N/A *

Racial Substats: N/A*

*Due to the nature of the race, they do not have definite stats, their stats a variable based on whatever race an "Individual" that was consumed by a hive or spore would have.

Innate Racial Passives: 

 Extreme Adaptability: This species can adapt to almost any environment if given enough time and resources. 

 Scaling Intelligence: This species starts with a primal intelligence and can only gain knowledge through consuming other sapient life. 

 Commanding Presence: Unlike other species of the same kind, size does not denote a commanding unit. The higher the level of an individual, the more of their lower-tier brethren they can control.

 Fragmented Hivemind: Even though this species is classified as a gestalt consciousness, most individuals retain their personality and individuality if the hive consumed them; the only limiting factor is that they are brainwashed into serving the hive leader unyieldingly. This also makes them a fragmented species as Hive leaders are not subordinated to each other, often leading to power struggles amongst themselves. If an individual is separated from the hive, then they will lose all sense of intelligence and attempt to make a hive but will revert back to a primitive state.

 Mana starved: Due to the nature of the species, they will almost never have access to magic unless a being with magical affinity is consumed by the hive. Even then, there is a very high chance that the magical affinity could be lost. 

  One of Us: Due to a unique biological system, this species can infect any known species in the universe, making them much more of a threat than any of the related species. 

 Form Shifters: The Ancient Ones lack a definitive form overall, but with enough resources, they can make unique and terror-inducing forms, ranging from mindless monstrosities to almost a picture-perfect replica of any being they choose. 

I read through the list, and my mouth dropped. If they got off of the south pole, they could potentially consume my planet's species. That would set my plans back significantly. Though if I am reading this correctly, then I have an ultimate trump card up my sleeve.

I watched the Ancient One's drag away the corpses into a cave system. Abundant blood trails dotted the white snow as a morbid indication of what has occurred here. I thought over my options as to what I could do to limit the spread at the moment. I want to see this race grow and get stronger, however not at the cost of my capital world. I wanted this to be a bastion of strength and a symbol of who I was. "Helios," I called out. I figured it wouldn't hurt to have my advisor here to help me make this choice.

"Yes, my liege?" I heard his voice call out, but he was nowhere to be seen. That was okay; I just wanted his advice anyway, I didn't want to tear him away from what he was doing.

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"Have you read the species template of the Ancient Ones?" I asked him as I started to lower my self to the blood-covered battlefield. They truly left nothing behind but the blood. Friend and foe alike were dragged to the cave system.

"I have, they are indeed terrifying. What did you need me for, though?" He asked. I could hear the curiosity in his tone and a faint sense of agitation as well.

"I wanted advice on how to stop their spread without wiping them out. I want to contain them to the south pole for the time being." I replied to him as my feet touched the snow with a soft crunch. Thank god I had my resistances turn on. Otherwise, I would have probably died of frostbite by now.

"Well, we can put a barrier surrounding the continent; that way, they can't spread out, and nothing can go in. Since you also have the transdimensional domain, there is a chance that you can put them in another dimension for the time being, though I couldn't tell you what the consequences of that would be, considering their racial stats."

I pursed my lips and stood in the snow as I thought things over. That would make sense. I want to limit their spread for the time being. I don't want to attract any extradimensional beings at the moment either since I have no idea what that would even entail. "Alright. Lets just put up a barrier around this continent for now, and then we can revisit it later. Im going to explore and make contact with this particular hive now. I'll talk to you later, Helios."

I approached the cave entrance, and I could feel the plethora of whispers growing in my mind as I got closer, this time I could make out words, which was nice since it told me that they were increasing in intelligence. Most of the words were unintelligible, but it was a start.

I finally crossed the threshold of the cave, and it reeked. It smelt like hundreds of dead bodies that sat in the sun for days. I had to shut off my sense of smell so that I wouldn't vomit. I fought back growing nausea and pushed further into the cave, following the trails of blood, since they were my best bet of finding the hive.

The cave felt humid and warm, which was a stark contrast to the outside. Maybe its cause of the Ancient ones that lived in here. I took another step forward, and I felt a wet squish under my feet, and I grimaced. I can't see much in here other then what the outside light was giving me, but I don't even want to know. I mentally activated one of my administrator tools and hovered above the ground. I didn't want to keep stepping in god knows what to get where I am going.

The light in the cave slowly started to fade along with my vision, and I let out a small sigh. I was trying to stay hidden for the time being, and I didn't want to use magic since it would reveal my presence. I settled on walking in the darkness. Thankfully the cave was pretty straight forward so I touched the cold stone exterior and used it as a guide as I walked further into the abyss.

In the distance, I saw a flickering light of a torch dancing on the wall of the cavern, and I pressed my self tightly against it and inched my way forward slowly. The closer I got the torch, the more I saw that the walls from that point ahead were covered in a strange green mass that seemed to vibrate and pulse with life. I am lucky that I decided to float. Otherwise, they might notice I am here.

The further I pressed on, the more humid the air became. I turned the corner and saw that the rocky corridor ended at a ledge, and a warm glow was coming from the cave. I inched forward slowly as I tried to organize my thoughts and prepare my self for whatever I was about to see.

I felt my head thud in my chest, and in the distance, I could hear the crunch of bones breaking and wet slurps. They must be feeding in there. I took a deep breath and finally broke past the entryway, and I overlooked a large settlement.

Huts made of flesh and pulsating matter were clustered together. Zombiefied orcs walked from hut to hut, dropping small spores and shuddering. Some of them looked as if their flesh was melting off of their bodies. Others looked as if their bodies were undergoing some sort of change and had partially formed appendages hanging off their body. I glanced around some more and saw that some were snacking on the broken bodies of now dead Orcs, though a large handful was dragging bodies over to a large mound of tan flesh that sat in the middle of the makeshift settlement.

I took in sight for a moment longer and listened to the chatter of this hive mind. They were mostly talking about the battle with the Orcs and how much the hive leader would get. I let them go about their business for a short while before I cleared my throat.

The noise echoed around the large cavern, and I felt every single eye shoot up towards me. I projected an air of confidence as I walked over the ledge and onto the air above the cavern. The hive mind quieted for a moment as the eyes took me in, and for the first time, I felt a coherent sentence form that resonated in the entire hive mind connection and in the depths of my brain, "It’s the all father."

As one every being before me dropped to one knee. The zombified Orcs with their green sickly looking skin dropped in reverance. Large hulking beast that hard giant brown tentacles pushed their way out of the huts and fell in a crude imitation of a bow.

"Father." Hundreds of voices echoed in my head. Surprisingly I didn't get a headache. Maybe it was my passive traits that helped with that. I glanced around and started walking towards the mass of flesh in the center of the settlement. I was painfully aware of every eye on me with every step I took.

I lowered my self with every step and made sure to emanate an air of power and confidence. I couldn't appear weak in front of what technically are my children. I finally hovered above the cave floor, which consisted of a mass of flesh that covered the floor. I'm not even going to lie to my self; this is actually terrifying. I am lucky that they see me as their father; otherwise I don't even know what would happen to me. They may be ugly, but in a way I feel a sense of pride knowing I made them.

I walked through the throng of kneeling zombie Orcs and walked towards the giant bundle of flesh. It shuddered a few times, and a large milky white eye opened up, and a few giant slimy brown tentacles erupted from its flesh. "F..Father" I heard a deep voice boom in my head, and I reached out and gave it a soft pat.

"Hello," I replied to it. Its flesh felt dry, but also soaked at the same time, and felt like aged leather under my flesh. It was a strange experience, to say the least.

The giant milky white orb followed me, and I felt it shudder under my touch. This didn't seem so bad after all.