When the blazing sun reached the horizon line, the land was cast in a mellow orange light, while the clouds were dyed in a fluffy pink.
Underneath this fairytale is a world of macabre. The Swarm buzzed, proudly flapping their wings like a war drum. Then, they gazed into the skies and flew like a swan, their bodies glimmering as the last rays of sun hit them.
However, Helzar couldn't even open his wings—CAW!!!
The cry pierced his mind, stunning his flesh and rendering him petrified. Turning his head, Helzar let out a trembling hiss when he saw an obsidian bird the size of a cloud.
‘Did we enter the world of giants?!’
Over yonder, an impossible body of more than fifty-feet-long swam inside the clouds, soaring in the heavens with ease and a smile on its face.
They didn't possess souls so they couldn't feel auras like Helzar. They couldn't see as far as Helzar either, but if they could, they'd feel not fear but rage upon seeing the bird.
Thus, a day passed by under Helzar’s nose.
After his call, three Spawns crawled toward Helzar and knelt in obedience. They weren't Seeds, but rather the strongest and oldest Spawns within the Swarm.
‘This is likely to kill them,’ Helzar shook his head but didn't feel regret. He had many Spawns, three sacrifices were nothing.
=|=|=
With a shrill scream, a Spawn nearly ten inches in size marched with an army of a million Spawns. He had intelligence like most of the elite Spawns, but unlike the others, he couldn't communicate well.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
That didn't mean he was dumber, ‘twas the opposite and his abilities were stronger too. When Helzar saw through his uniqueness, he bestowed him the name “Kiru.”
Kiru spat a handful of blue mist before flying toward the gathering of mutated creatures. His targets were the giant yellow hares with purple eyes within the gathering. The hares reached up to two feet, while the other creatures were unknown to Kiru.
A familiar prey is easier to hunt than a prey that is not.
Kiru captured a dozen hares, which he quickly sent back to their temporary nest.
Kiru yelled, sending his army to put a curtain of death atop his next prey.
The snake looked a little bloated, and Kiru estimated its length to be around forty-feet. The scales of the snake was a beautiful topaz glimmering under the afternoon sun. Its flickering tongue was a charred black, while its gem-like eyes were an amethyst purple.
Seeing the Spawns rushing over, the snake curled up in a blink of an eye. Kiru couldn't react, the snake pounced at his army with its mouth open, devouring thousands of Spawns at once before bolting away.
This time, the Spawns were spread out, not wanting to give the snake an easy snack. The Spawns glowed a blue light and a faint mist emerged from their bodies, their wings buzzing loudly like the crisp fanning of a paper fan.
“Hisss…” The giant snake coiled and scanned the army of insects around it, its amethyst eyes glowing like burning charcoal. To his surprise, Kiru found himself at the center of the snake's glare, and a moment later—SNAP!
BUZZ…
Seeing their leader nearly get killed by the vicious snake, the Spawns swarmed the would-be killer with blood painting their vision. They curled their legs tightly against their bodies, before their limbs melted into a slimy paste of blue that spilled onto their wings.
Their wings glowed brightly in response, before absorbing all the nutritious paste to grow bigger and sturdier.
When all was done, the wind finished its hum and the sand on the hourglass resumed its fall.
The snake opened its mouth and bolted in a straight line, depositing all the Spawns on its way inside its stomach. On the other hand, Kiru also snatched a few dozen Spawns before eating them. He never took his gaze from the snake, even as he devoured his own soldiers.
The snake was like a bolt of lightning. If not for their enhanced wings, the Spawns would be sitting ducks in front of the snake.
“HISS!!!” Sensing their plan, the snake trashed about like it bit hot lava. With one swift motion, it pierced through the Spawn's encirclement.
However, Kiru didn't worry about it for long—HISS!
Time seemed to flash white, and Kiru found himself inside of the snake's open mouth. Without much thought, Kiru’s body convulsed and erupted in a blinding light—SNAP!
SPLASH!
Kiru’s guts spilled out like a fallen plate of sausages dippen in viscous sauce. Kiru's abdomen was cut in half but through the mire of agony, his wings kept moving, propelling him farther and farther from the jaws of death.
With an open mandible, he welcomed the Spawn that flew toward him and bit down, gulping the Spawn's blood and chowing on its flesh. As he bathed in his kin's azure fluids, his wounds calmed down and the bleeding stopped.
It was a formation that he brewed after watching the snake nearly escape. With what was done to him, he would peel that snake's skin and eat it before its very eyes.