The method devised by the Arachnoax to expand their reach is deceptively simple, even seemingly trivial. They place hiveseers—Arachnoax resembling moths—on meteors traveling through other galaxies.
Hiveseers possess extraordinary abilities to read star patterns and predict enemy movements. During battles, they amplify the Broodmother’s psychic powers, even if separated by millions of light-years from the fleet. With the hiveseers, the Broodmother gains a detailed understanding of the battlefield, enabling her to craft more effective war strategies.
This ability also sharpens the Hivemind’s detection of new nodes. If there is a source of life at the node, the hiveseer ensures nothing is overlooked, even in the absence of psychic signals. Thanks to this straightforward yet ingenious method, the Arachnoax have successfully discovered new species amid the vast expanse of the cosmos.
The new species discovered by the Arachnoax was the Xynomera, a group of insect-like creatures also led by a queen, much like the Arachnoax. However, the significant difference between the two lay in how their queens related to their colonies.
While the Arachnoax Broodmother maintained total control over every individual in her colony, leaving no room for free will, the Xynomera queen granted autonomy to her offspring. To the Xynomera queen, every individual was a being with a unique personality and desires. She provided only general guidance and overarching goals, leaving the execution of tasks to the initiative of each individual. This was akin to a creator who cherished her creations, offering them a “guidebook” for a better life without forcing them to follow her path.
This approach was deemed inefficient and a waste of potential by the Broodmothers. Furthermore, the Xynomera were a predominantly peaceful species. They refrained from attacking or invading unless provoked. While they too required biomass for their growth, the Xynomera valued sustainable resource use and avoided excessive exploitation.
To the Arachnoax, the Xynomera were revolting—a species squandering their potential with philosophies of gentleness and freedom. Thus, the Arachnoax invasions were not only driven by the need for biomass but also by a desire to eradicate what they perceived as weakness and imperfection from the species just as special as them.
The disparity in strength between the two species was vast. Compared to the Arachnoax, the Xynomera were a relatively young species, far behind in evolutionary development. Their experience in interstellar warfare was no match for the Arachnoax, who had been waging war for millennia.
As a result, the Xynomera were unable to mount any meaningful resistance. One by one, their queens were defeated and consumed by the Broodmothers. The Arachnoax's dominance over the Xynomera became a stark symbol of evolution's cruelty, where only the strongest survive in the vast cosmos.
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It didn’t take long for the Arachnoax war fleets to annihilate the last Xynomera queen, turning her into biomass for their Broodmother. With this defeat, the fate of the Xynomera was effectively sealed: total annihilation. However, just as the Swarm Fleets prepared to sweep through and erase all life in the Xynomera galaxy, a new signal echoed through the Mind Realm.
The signal originated from one of the hiveseers sent aboard a meteor traversing a new galaxy—a galaxy inhabited by humans. Although human psychic abilities paled in comparison to the overwhelming power of the Broodmother’s Hivemind, their sheer numbers radiated a faint but significant light in the Mind Realm. Like fireflies flickering in the night, dim though they were, they marked their presence unmistakably.
This prompted the Broodmothers to delay a direct invasion. Instead, they recalled all forces that had just concluded the war against the Xynomera to prepare for this new prey. The vast number of human psychics demanded caution from the Broodmothers. After all, without queens, the Xynomera species was guaranteed to collapse into extinction on its own, requiring no further intervention.
After regrouping their entire forces, the Arachnoax launched an all-out assault on humanity. Their massive war fleets and countless insect soldiers attacked with brutal ferocity. Human psychics, once confident in their dominion over the Mind Realm, no longer dared to enter it. The moment they tried, their presence was immediately detected by the Broodmother, who could seize control of their bodies within seconds.
However, what the Broodmother could never have anticipated was the final effort of the Xynomera. The last Xynomera queen, aware that defeat was inevitable, had already laid the groundwork for her species' survival. Before her demise, she sent her final eggs to an uninhabited planet called Aculeata.
Aculeata was an extreme planet with surface temperatures so high they could incinerate even the strongest Arachnoax warriors. While the Arachnoax exoskeleton was incredibly durable, capable of withstanding meteor impacts, their soft, slimy internal tissues were highly vulnerable to extreme heat. For this reason, planets with such temperatures were never used as nests by the Arachnoax.
But for the Xynomera offspring, this planet represented their last hope. The queen had been preparing for this eventuality for a long time. With meticulous care, she forced her eggs to adapt to high temperatures in her native environment, even though their home planet was not as scorching as Aculeata. This strategy was designed to increase the eggs’ chances of surviving the extreme conditions of Aculeata.
When the time came, the eggs were launched to Aculeata just as the Swarm Fleet was preoccupied battling the queen and her forces. Using specially crafted capsules, the eggs pierced Aculeata’s atmosphere and landed safely. However, the true challenge began upon their arrival. Once on the planet's surface, thousands of eggs perished immediately, unable to adapt to the harsh environment.
The difficulties didn’t end there. Aculeata was home to bloodthirsty predators that feasted on the soft innards of the eggs. Within a short time, 90% of the remaining eggs were devoured by these predators. The few that survived continued to die off, unable to withstand the brutal conditions.
Amid this total devastation, only a single egg managed to survive. After sixteen long years, the egg began showing signs of hatching.
This egg symbolized the last hope of the Xynomera—a chance to rise again from the brink of extinction. Yet, on a planet as perilous as Aculeata, only time would tell if the last Xynomera offspring could defy the odds and reshape the destiny that seemed so heavily stacked against them.