The golden bee joined the silver bee in flight, gradually moving towards Anaya. The rest of the army was moving en masse, flying slowly towards openings on the ceiling she had just noticed.
She watched the army move in mesmerizing fluidity, each line moving before the next, one half of the heavy infantry taking the lead to secure the tunnels. The rest of the army followed, one line moving before the next. The second half, moving steadily while facing her, holding the back-line as they retreated into the tunnels.
Back-line moving slowly as if ready to defend against her.
The bees were slowly reducing in number as they made their way out of the cavern.
By the time the last line of bees made it out of the tunnel, a minute had passed. She had barely moved, the scene hypnotic to her. She had never seen anything like that.
A small wave from the golden bee broke her out of her reverie. The bee was flying upwards towards the tunnels, a ball of green grass in hand. She stared in incredulity as the bee slowly gave her a friendly goodbye wave.
She looked at her now empty hand, wondering how and when they had taken it. She turned her hand and waved towards the bee, still dumbfounded.
Then she heard a gentle chitter of what she could only assume was a laugh, echoing from the tunnel as the bee disappeared into it. She turned towards the lone bee, now flying next to her. Its body was radiating what she could only assume was contempt towards her. It waved a hand, signaling for her to follow as it flew into the tunnel.
She turned her body away from the cavern and, with a steady step, followed the bee into the dark tunnel.
A couple of minutes passed in total silence as only the sound of the steps of her shoes echoed in the dark cave. She had put away the sword, having realized after the second minute how much mana it used. She was down to half her mana pool.
She switched to her night vision, hoping that they would reach the destination soon enough.
The tunnel was damp, the floor slick and slippery. The wall was moist—a bit too moist. She was probably near a large body of water or a water source. The dull, consistent roar she heard in the distance confirming her hypothesis.
When she noticed bat droppings on the ground that were still fresh, hope blossomed because there had to be a surface entrance close by.
The silver bee still hovered ahead of her. A bee the size of her torso. It had a silver head, a silver thorax, and a silver abdomen. Its six legs, all silver with golden tipped ends. The compound eyes, a darker shade of silver, silver antennae with gold tips that occasionally light blue at their tips.
From time to time, the bee would stop as if to get its orientation, and then continue moving in a straight line, down the tunnel.
She felt the pressure of a missed notification in her head and opened them.
Ding!
Sephar language detected
Activate auto translation?
Yes/No
Thud!
One moment she was walking, status up, and the next moment she was face down on the ground.
Her focus lost when she was reading the notification. The slippery ground punishing her for it.
She stood up, muck on her clothes and came face to face with a surprised bee. It looked at her and the ground she just stood up from, then back to her. Contempt growing with each look it took.
In that very moment, a growl escaped her stomach. The hunger she had ignored coming back at the worst timing. The bee looked at her stomach too, the disdain she thought couldn’t get worse was growing.
She shivered, hoping, begging the ground to open up and swallow her, to save her from the embarrassment.
With a derisive tone.
“What could Mother possibly want with you?”
“Huh, what did you say?” Anaya asked.
She watched the shock grow in the bee’s face as it realized she could understand it. She was too concerned with what came out of the mouth to revel in the arrogant bee’s surprise. She noticed what came out of her mouth were not actual words, but instead her teeth clattering, mimicking a sound similar to that of the bee.
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The feeling was both uncomfortable and exhausting. The way her mouth moved, new to her and exhausting as she continued to clatter.
“You understand me?”.
“Yes”.
The bee’s intensity suddenly increased, its pressure abruptly growing as a ball of silver suddenly manifested above the bee. The tension was growing as she felt her heart skip a beat. She watched as the bee got closer, its intensity growing with each second. The bee expanding in size in her vision, growing larger and larger.
It grew enormous, the tunnel disappearing from behind it. She watched as an army of smaller bees broke away from one of the enlarged claws.
The stream of bees moving towards her, green tipped stingers aimed at her. She tried running, but her body could not move. She could not move a muscle, the mana she was trying to pull for her sword was barely responding.
She watched the bees get closer and closer, the green tips slowly dripping poison.
She could not bring up the inventory no matter what she tried, her hope of using her flaming sword to fight the swarm dying. The first bee that came near her bit her on her right side, a burning feeling spreading on her side, feeling like she was being doused in liquid flame. She could feel the burning spreading through her veins.
A scream left her mouth, the pain was too much. The swarm of bees still closing in.
CRRRACK!
A shatter spread around her, the world now fragmented. The extreme pain she was feeling suddenly went away. She looked to her hand, the flame raging as it burnt her. She turned towards the bee, now immobile, stunned.
The once silver eyes now radiating a sky blue light as they look at her. She saw one of the bee’s antennae dim from blue to complete darkness, the antennae growing limp.
The bee was in complete distress, shaking with anger, its eyes radiating intent to kill, all aimed towards her. She stepped back, her body back in her control, ready to defend herself with all she had.
She pulled out her staff, both hands now holding weapons.
She waited and waited, the attack never coming as the bees, antennae lit up, as it shook in place, ready to launch itself at her.
She took another step backwards, and the bee stopped shaking. It slowly flew backwards, eyes dimming from the blue back to their silver. It still looked at her like it had intent to kill, but it was no longer raring to have a go at her. The tension slowly leaving its body.
It chittered.
“Follow me.”
She watched as it turned and moved down the tunnel. She waited a second, the bee going further and she turned backwards, slowly moving back down the tunnel.
She barely took a step when the bee flew back in front of her.
It looked at her with open reluctance.
“I promise i won’t harm you, if i wanted to, I would not be talking to you right now.”
“Who are you?” Anaya asked.
The bee looked like it was about to snap but painfully held itself.
“Who I am does not matter, just follow me.”
“I am not about to follow you after what just happened, Who are you, and what do you want with me?”
“I said it does not matter.”
Just as it was speaking, its one functioning antennae shone blue, and a moment later it answered.
“I am Saraya, Commander of the 3rd.”
“I have answered your question, can we go now, Mother is waiting, mother should not be waiting, especially for the likes of you.”
“What do you want with me?” Anaya asked, now curious as to who mother is.
“Mother is to meet you.”
“Who is mother and what does she want with me?”
“I do not presume to know mother’s plans, her plans are hers and hers alone. I am not worthy of being privy to mothers plans.”
“Yes mother!” with what she assumed was a scream Anaya listened as the bee spoke.
“Mother is curious to meet you, you who have not walked these caves since time old.”
The surprise that prevailed over the indignation made Anaya understand that this bee sis not have much information for her.
“Who is mother?” she tried again.
“Mother is mother.”
“Mother is mother?, What do you mean?”
“I mean mother is mother.”
“I know what a mother is, who is this mother you speak off?”
The question seemed to piss the bee even more.
If started flying towards the way they were originally going.
“Mother is mother, and you are to meet mother.”
“Understood?”
Anaya watched the bee fly off, realizing her questions weren’t about to be answered, either because the bee knew nothing or it was too obstinate to tell her.