Genji and Igani ventured deep into Zerg territory, traveling for multiple days while avoiding all possible conflicts. This circumnavigation was partly responsible for the extended journey, but they eventually reached their destination: an enormous nest spanning multiple kilometers.
The size of this nest dwarfed any nests Genji had seen before, both in size and defensive capabilities. Instead of a typical nest, this place resembled more of a fortress with its numerous towers and massive walls—a fortress constructed of flesh and blood, to be precise.
Multiple flying units patrolled the area as hydralisk towers watched for any possible targets to shoot down. The creep carpet gave off a heavy smell as it clung to the soles of his boots. This was a dangerous place that seemed capable of defending even the strongest offenses.
"Can you approach them? I'd rather not meet your mother in a hostile encounter," Genji asked Igani, thinking it would go more smoothly if someone from the same colony did the talking.
"I'm not sure. Mother doesn't hold other races in high regard," Igani replied, thinking back to the cruel deaths she caused to sustain her nest.
"Just ensure I can enter safely. After that, I'll handle the talking," Genji said, pulling out another piece of candy as a bribe.
"Alright," she replied, humming to herself as she approached the wall.
"Who goes there?" A voice echoed in her mind as she got closer.
"It's me, Sister Cammie," Igani replied.
Hearing her, an ant-like head popped out and peered down.
"Igani, you dare to return?" Unlike Igani's cheerful demeanor, her sister had a more typical disposition for a species that evolved through warfare, one of blood thirst and brutality.
"Cammie, may I speak with Mother? Something has happened, and-"
"And what? What could a useless queen like you need other than more bio-crystals? I bet your nest was destroyed, which is why you scurried back here!"
Cammie's dismissive words stung Igani. Why were all her sisters like this? Why did they focus solely on war and killing? Why couldn't they coexist happily? Why did everything have to be a competition among them? Didn't they share the same mother?
"And who's that with you? Did you reveal the nest's location? You dare betray us? Mother won't spare you after this!"
"I-I didn't..." Igani didn't know how to respond because it was true. Her nest was destroyed, she returned for help, and she brought an outsider to this secretive location.
"What do you mean, 'no'? Your mental powers are fluctuating wildly right now. Do you think you can deceive me?"
Igani looked down, attempting to conceal her tears, but her fluctuating mental powers betrayed her efforts.
"See how useless you are? A few words, and you lose control of your emotions. Why would Mother want to see such a worthless queen like you?"
"It seems I didn't fully consider your family dynamics when I asked you to negotiate," a familiar voice beside her said. Igani's emotions calmed slightly when she heard it. Looking up, she saw Genji standing next to her, looking at Cammie.
"You're gutsy, I'll give you that. Not many would dare approach an empress's nest. But that's good. I can eliminate both nuisances at once," Cammie sneered at Genji as the hydralisk towers poised to unleash acid upon them.
"Tell your mother that I have clues to that thing, and I can help her with the Red Empress," Genji said, confident that they wouldn't open fire. Igani might be an outcast in this colony, but Cammie would be overstepping her authority if she killed a fellow queen.
"Hphm. You? A puny realm member thinks you can help Mother deal with one of the strongest entities on this battlefield? Someone doesn't understand the immensity of this place."
"Relay the message. You're not in a position to make that decision."
"I will. And when I return, I will end you once she rejects. I hope you are prepared to die," Cammie scoffed at him and retracted her head, going downward to deliver the message.
As for the Hydralisk towers, they remained locked onto them, ready to turn them into puddles at the slightest sign of suspicion. Genji ignored all of this, opting to comfort Igani in her sour mood.
"Cheer up. Not everyone deserves your kindness. Since she's so hostile toward you, you shouldn't care about what she says," Genji said, patting her head.
Hearing this unexpected consolation from this cold-hearted figure, Igani began to reconsider her impression of Genji.
"But it's the truth, though," she had so much she wanted to say but eventually settled on what bothered her the most.
"Then tell me. How are you useless?"
"I'm weak, I can't fight, I-uhhh..."
"Is that it? That's all you're upset about?" Genji asked the childish spider who had run out of flaws to list immediately. Igani wasn't the type to think about these issues, so she didn't know how to answer him. At best, she was repeating what Cammie had told her moments before.
"Yeah?"
"Then don't be. Those are things you can change in the future. Use this moment as motivation for that."
"Change? How do I do that?"
"You can think about that later. For now, have a candy." Genji sensed a presence approaching, so he ended the conversation and threw an unwrapped mint, which Igani skillfully caught with her mouth.
"Feel better now?"
"Uhh huumm," Igani nodded as her worries were replaced by the sweetness in her mouth.
Moments later, Cammie's head loomed over them with an annoyed glint in her eyes.
"Come in. Mother will be seeing you."
Cammie didn't know what luck the two of them had for her mother to agree, but she could only reluctantly guide them. She couldn't afford to defy her Mother's wishes since that would be an instant death sentence. There are plenty of sisters eyeing her position. One wrong move, and she might just get replaced. The opportunity to get so many bio-crystals for evolution was only given to a select few.
Moments later, the wall next to them distorted to reveal a passage of gore. Bones arced around the interiors as they supported the weight of everything. As they walked through, Genji heard the creaking of these curved skeletal structures, making him question how stable this passage was.
When they stepped out on the other side, Genji heard a cracking sound behind him. Turning around, he saw the support had snapped, causing the tunnel to instantly close.
"That's a dangerous contraption," he remarked.
"It's only dangerous for the likes of you. Any stronger creature would have been able to easily bear that," Cammie mocked.
"Yeah, yeah. Just lead the way, will you?"
"Hphm."
With this, Cammie led them to the giant elliptical nest in the middle of the fortress. Then they walked down a series of curved tunnels that went downward seemingly forever. This was no exaggeration. It had been hours since they started, making him wonder how the ant queen could have gotten a response so quickly.
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As they descended, Genji could feel the increased temperature and pressure, which was further augmented by the body heat of the fleshy walls. It was very hard to cool down when they were in such an enclosed space.
Soon, they arrived in a blistering cave that evaporated the sweat off Genji's face. At the center of this clustered area lay a white centipede, coiled around itself. Cammie walked in front of this centipede and lowered her head.
"Mother, I've brought them."
The centipede raised its head, observing Genji, the unique specimen that dared to enter her nest to negotiate.
"You may leave," a cold voice filled with authority echoed through the chamber walls.
"Yes, Mother."
"You're the reason Igani provoked the Beasts?" The empress asked after Cammie left.
"Since you know about that, it should make our negotiations easier," Genji said as he sat down across from the giant centipede.
"Yes. It's hard to miss Red Empress's rage when three of her queens perished. So what's your proposition?"
"Straight to the point. I like that. I want to trade information in exchange for safety. I'm being hunted down by both the Celestials and the Parasite King, so I need another faction to guarantee my safety."
Hearing Genji's words, the empress perked up and slithered around him, fully displaying the sheer size of her body. After making a couple of laps around him, the empress returned to her original resting spot.
"Yes. You do have their scents on you. But it depends. How reliable is this piece of information?"
"I obtained the information through EverRealm. Do you think that's reliable?"
This was technically the truth since Genji didn't mention how vague the statement was. He doesn't know how important the information is, but he knows better than to give away his weakness.
"I understand. So what is this information?"
"I can't tell you right now. Not when there's no guarantee that you won't kill me. Keep me safe until I leave, and you can get it," Genji said, pulling out a contract. He drafted the terms and showed it to her. Since it's a contract verified by EverRealm, there's a lot of trust in it.
"Yes, this is credible, but what makes you think you can bargain with me? I'm not the one desperate for asylum. If I reject you, it's not like you have another choice."
Her voice grew much colder, diverging from a civil agreement. Genji, however, expected this when he walked into her den.
"That's why I made sure to prove myself before coming here. Tell me, how many queens have survived an attack from the Beasts? How many of them can give them a hard time and retreat unscathed? Even if I'm not the only one, I'm sure you won't find another person that can rival me."
Genji was confident in this point. While he does not doubt that there are many people way better at commanding than him, how many of them are within the Zergs? If this was any other faction, Genji wouldn't have dared to bring this condition up, but it's different for Zergs. That's because the Zergs have no strategy when it comes to battle.
Their main tactic was to throw bugs at something until they won or had to retreat, defeated. There was no other method. The queens were never in danger when they hid in their nest. That's why they never felt the need to maximize the traits of every unit. If they have time to think about that, they might as well plan the evolutions of their units.
To them, as long as they pumped out enough bugs, they could solve any problems. If they couldn't, then it only meant they didn't have enough or they needed stronger units.
Genji might be a mediocre commander, but how many people could stand out in this faction? Historically, members of OmegaRealm have never taken on a commanding position within the faction.
They are simply too docile compared to the vicious nature of Zergs. The queens see this as a weakness, so why would queens listen to them? In fact, if Genji hadn't forced Igani, an outcast among Zergs, he would never have been able to control a swarm. The queens are prideful creatures that prefer death over subjugation.
"You're right, but why would I agree based on that? You're still the side that needs help."
"I'm confident that I can make some trouble for the Red Empress. Even if that fails, you would have nothing to lose. Why don't you see what I can do first?"
"No need. You can stay here," the empress said, signing the contract. From her impression, this man should dare to do the unthinkable, a trait that can help her catch her rival off guard.
"Wait, you can't!" Igani suddenly spoke up. "If he stays here, what about my antidotes?"
"We'll talk about that later," Genji said before Igani could worsen her image in the empress's eyes. The empress gave Igani a strange look before turning her attention back to Genji.
"I'm Enigma. What can I call you?"
"Silver Empress."
Genji couldn't understand why the centipede was called 'Silver Empress' when she was white, but that's not his main concern right now.
"Very well, Silver Empress. The first thing I need you to do is ask the OmegaRealm members to look for this important item."
Hearing his request, Silver Empress's eyes became unfriendly. What's the meaning of this? Is he lying to her and planning on defaulting on his side of the contract? Or is he intending to sabotage her, making her the target of the other Empresses?
"Don't look at me like that. It's very creepy, especially coming from an 8-meter-long centipede."
"If you don't explain yourself, then I will kill you myself, despite the consequences."
"You see, whatever this item is, the Zergs are being very secretive about it. So much that I don't even know what it is. But that's beside the point. What I want is for everyone to know about this. If what I heard about OmegaRealm members is correct, this will soon become known to all the other factions. This will be the first step in my plans. Just trust me. I won't risk my life when I did so much to ensure it."
Genji was talking about OmegaRealm members being numerous and weak-willed. Since OmegaRealm doesn't punish them harshly, Genji suspects these members are unlikely to keep their secrets.
By pairing the two traits together, it's enviable that the news leaks. Plus, Genji doesn't know how deep LuminalRealm's spying goes, so there's a chance to make use of that as well. The point is to spread the news as much as possible.
"You better not, or you will pay."
Genji shrugged and went with Igani to get her crystals to rebuild her nest. Because of her achievements, Silver Empress gave her a higher allowance as a reward, all while Cammie glared at them.
Igani then chose a new location to build her nest and took some bugs to start the process. Genji walked her out, stopping when they were a good distance from the nest.
"This is as far as I can send you," Genji said, causing Igani to stop as well.
"What about the antidote for the poison?"
Genji shook his head before saying, "There is no antidote."
This caused Igani to panic. Tears formed in her eight eyes as she started sniffling again.
"Then does that mean I will die? You really don't have any more antidotes?"
"I can't tell if you're more upset about the poison or that you can't have any more antidotes."
"Uhhhh, both? Is there a difference?"
"I think you're just addicted to sweet things," Genji remarked.
"I'm not addicted," Igani said, confident that she can stop whenever she wants.
"I doubt that," Genji said, unwrapping a mint and tossing it over. Out of habit, Igani positioned her mouth to catch the arcing candy, further undermining her argument.
"Anyways, this is the 'poison' I fed you," Genji said, pulling out a white bottle. He twisted the lid off and poured a bunch of pills into his mouth, chewing slightly before washing it all down with some water.
Seeing this, Igani started panicking again.
"Hey! Why did you eat the poison? Quick. Spit it out. You should still be able to live if you get it out before it dissolves," Igani quickly crawled over to Genji, grabbed him by the legs, turned him upside down, and shook him up, doing her best to get the pills out to save his life.
"Calm down. That's not poison," Genji said, pointing to the label on the bottle. On it, in bold letters, was "Vitamin C pills, 10 mg."
Genji doesn't have any poisons that last so long. Why would he? If he wanted to poison someone, he would aim to kill. Why would he make a poison that takes so long to take effect? There's no point. Plus, the existence of an antidote was the biggest giveaway. Genji never makes antidotes to his poisons! That way, if someone kills him, they won't be able to cure themselves afterward.
It's a cumbersome method, but it ensures its effect. If someone wants to survive his poisons, they would need to analyze it and make an antidote from scratch, a process Genji can shorten since he's the creator. That's the only reason he dared to do this.
"Vitamin? What's that?" She asked as she put Genji down.
"Just think of it as a supplement for when I can't eat certain foods. In this case, it speeds up my body's healing when I get injured."
"Then what are the antidotes you've been giving me?"
"Oh, that? Candy, really," Genji replied, pulling out a nearly-empty bag of jawbreakers. "At first, it was to make my bluff more convincing, but it seems like you took quite a liking to them. Here, you can have the rest."
"So you lied to me?" Igani's beady eyes looked at him with grievance as if asking 'How could he?'
"Yeah. It was the most effective method. As long as you believed that you were poisoned, you wouldn't do anything detrimental to me. Since I don't need to manipulate you anymore, I can tell you the truth. Honestly, I don't know how much longer I could have kept it up considering how much is left," Genji motioned for Igani to check the bag.
She weaved a web and turned the bag upside down, revealing four jawbreakers.
"Only four?" Igani asked in disappointment.
"That's my entire stock. I didn't think I would ever finish them, but I met a sugar addict."
"And whose fault do you think that was?"
Genji let out a small laugh at her response. It was quite cute when she tried to shift the blame like that, but Genji didn't mind. It was fun to see how she would use the poison as an excuse to get more of those.
"Live well. If needed, use the escape tactic I taught you." Genji said as he walked back, waving his hand without turning around.
"Farewell," Igani said as the deep orange sunset elongated their shadows, concluding their abnormal meeting.
----------------------------------------
"Do you have a bug that is really fast?" Genji asked as he returned to Silver Empress's boiling habitat.
"I can customize one, why?"
"Make a few. This will be crucial to deal as much damage as possible."
"Just what are you planning?"
"I will also need a lot of acids, bio-crystals, polymer-13..." Genji continued to list a series of items without answering the question.
"That's a lot of items. How do you expect me to obtain all that?"
"Give me what you can and ask OmegaRealm members for the ones you can't get. Here's the list for reference. Get as many of them as you can. The effectiveness of this trap depends on how much you can acquire."
"Effectiveness for what?"
"You'll see," Genji said, leaving this uncomfortable environment to make his preparations.