I sat in my mini-hill, clacking my mandibles aimlessly.

I'd already eaten every small creature within a wide radius of my entrance, and most of the creatures seem to know better than to go near it now.

It has now been a month since Noah modified me into a Void Ant.

[Joule?]

[Yes?]

[How's the Void coming along?]

[It's going slowly. After the first time the Void improved, I thought that'd we be doing really well, but...]

[What is it?]

[After those first two upgrades - to you and to me - our power went up like crazy. I thought we'd be getting stronger at that rate the whole way, but apparently not. You grew really fast in a short amount of time, but the curve is leveling off pretty quickly.]

[What do you think the problem is?]

[It's one of two things. One, we're just going to have to deal with the fact that we're going to get stronger reeeaaallly slowly, or two; the animals that you're used to eating no longer generate enough void to improve at that initial rate.]

[Which is more likely?]

[Probably the latter. You have an active Void inside you, for crying out loud. It doesn't matter what you are, that's going to set off some pretty crazy stuff.]

I tilt my head, a question forming which I probably should have asked some time ago.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

[What exactly is my Void?]

I can practically hear Joule processing.

[It's... It's a... a subspace? No, that's not right. It's a microverse, except... wait, that doesn't work.]

[Joule?]

[I don't know, okay? I'm directly linked to it, I should know what it is! It just - it defies every law of science I know, even the ones the Cosmics edited. It's a paradox inside a contradiction!]

She seems to be getting very heated about this.

[It's okay, just forget I said anyth-]

[I mean, it's nonexistence, but it's a defined space at the same time. It's literally nothing, but it's something enough to be solid when you use your Void Bite. It's - a vacuum? Wait, then how does it work? Shouldn't it suck in stuff, not cut it? WHY IS THIS SO HARD.]

[...Joule?]

[WHAT?!]

[...maybe you should forget about this before you get a headache.]

[Too late. That was like thirty seconds ago.]

I climb out of the hill, shaking the dirt off my carapace as I did so.

Joule huffs in annoyance. [Considering I'm made to quantify, it's just so irritating that I can't figure it out.]

[Don't worry about it. It's probably just one of those things Noah does that doesn't make any sense.]

[Oh, I know it's one of those things. But everything should make sense if you apply enough science to it, and that stinking Void is rejecting all the science I throw at it.]

[You can think it over as long as you want. I'm going hunting.]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I hide in the bushes behind the target, sunlight filtering through the leaves above and granting a green hue to everything underneath it. A ray of sunlight rests on the creature as if it were highlighting it.

[What is that?]

It was a short, gray-furred creature with a long tail, which it was using to crack nuts. The fluffy tail would curl around a nut and then summarily crush it, with what appeared to be immense strength.

[That's a squirrel. Although I've never seen a squirrel with a tail that strong.]

[...is it edible?]

[It should be. I wonder if - I'll be right back.]

And her voice leaves my head. It's more disorienting than I expect.

[Joule?]

There was no response.

[JOULE?]

I began getting increasingly frantic over the disappearance of the only constant that I knew. The squirrel noticed me easily with the racket I was making and promptly left.

And so I sit here, waiting for the voice in my head to return.