Jim was frozen in place as he watched in horror, how dozens, no hundreds of ants busted through the ground, toppling over each other like the wave of an enormous storm. The sight was unimaginable and took everyone off guard. Most were still trying to make sense of the situation while their vision was blinded.

Only those in the fourth rank could still see, but they still had to fight against this splitting headache, and with the speed at which the ants were swarming towards them there were mere seconds to decide on an action.

Before any of them could make a decision a deep and powerful voice shouted, “Everyone to me!”

In this moment of crisis, only Solaire was able to keep his composure and tried to organize their group before everything was too late. Jim, Clay, and Chris were first to react, and thanks to them being able to see they could actually do something.

The first thing Jim did was to look for Jake and after surveying the chaotic group, he quickly spotted him, ignoring everything else and rushing towards him. Thanks to his sixth sense it was easy to avoid the people who were frantically trying to get to Solaire’s voice, who was continuously shouting, like a beacon of hope that the people tried to swarm towards.

Just as Jim reached Jake and was able to get a hold of him to drag him to Solaire, the wave finally hit the people. Horrendous screams of fear and pain filled Jim’s ears, as everyone who was not able to move was grabbed by the swarm of ants.

They were practically submerged in legs and mandibles that got a hold of every limb. Not long after a stinging sensation would go through your body as half a dozen ants inject their venom into you. A burning pain shoots through your whole body, that was so powerful that the pain of the transformation paled in comparison.

Your breath becomes ragged as you swell like a balloon from the inside out. Your muscles squirm and cramp as they swell. You feel how your breath gets harder, as you desperately struggle between the mandibles of ants, who have a strong grasp on you.

Your eyes begin to hurt and thanks to your blinded vision you can not see what was happening you could only feel it and hear it – how they gnaw at your body. You don’t even know where the pain comes from, as it feels like your whole body is in flames. Suddenly you have a stinging pain rushing through your eyes, as your eyeballs pop out of your head, pushed outwards by the swelling of your muscles.

By now one could only wish for death, to finally end your suffering and as you take your last moments in life there is nothing more than this burning pain, there is no time to have a proper thought or regret – only the wish to finally end it all.

After another few seconds of suffering your organs finally give in and you die from suffocation. Your organs and bloodstream were crushed by your own muscles and flesh, making it impossible to bump blood to where it is supposed to go.

Jim saw a lot of people who would soon end like this as he dragged Jake through the labyrinth of ants and humans to reach Solaire. While avoiding a mandible from an ant and kicking it away Jim saw how Oliver was desperately struggling to fight a dozen ants that were climbing his body, but were not able to topple him over.

Those in the third rank would not die easily and until the venom killed them minutes would pass. This was the worst torture Jim could imagine and Oliver was a capable fighter and part of the Vanguard. It would be a huge loss if he would die here, but there was no time Jim had to make a decision.

With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and moved on. It was painful but he could not dare to stand still, stopping now would mean his guaranteed death, and with Mia still waiting for him Jim could not die, not yet!

Ignoring everything and everyone Jim was soon able to successfully reach Solaire who was fighting the ants off with his flames forming with the others a protective circle where the few survivors who could reach Solaire cowered together.

Helping Solaire in his protection were Clay, Chris, Dennis, and Max who thankfully all survived. Jim quickly joined them to help, while Jake got the other survivors close to Solaire, but was still unable to see.

Fortunately, that changed soon, as their vision cleared and their headache subdued. Looking to the spot where Troy stood Jim realized that he was finally not able to hold up his ability. Troy was one of the first to be submerged by the ants but was still able to control his ability for so long, while he was injected with venom and eaten alive.

Still not being able to understand why Troy did this, Jim felt at ease knowing that he would surely die. Now Troy was finally out of the way but that didn’t change the fact that they were surrounded by hundreds of ants, while more were crawling out of the holes.

They had to do something if they wanted to survive, as the sacrifices of the people who didn’t make it and those who are still desperately struggling wouldn’t stop the ants for long. Sadly Jim couldn't have a proper thought while fighting for his life.

He knew that it was impossible to charge out of this encirclement, but they could also not defend themself until all ants were killed. There were too many and while Jim was strong with his strengthening he would never last long enough.

They were gradually being pushed back and Jim was beginning to panic. They had to come up with a solution and just in time Clay, who was currently fighting beside him had an idea as he shouted, “We go underground!”

Confused, Jim wanted to ask what he meant but before he could ask anything Clay fell behind the line and jumped into one of the holes close to Solaire, while Chris followed him. The ants seemed to be scared of the flames so they didn’t go too close to Solaire, which is why the holes around Solaire were empty of ants.

The hole wasn’t big, just slightly large enough for two people to squeeze through. It was also very steep and looked like a portal to the abyss. It was impossible to see the ground with the setting sun.

With two out of their three rank fourths, leaving just like that, there was nothing they could do, besides following them. They were desperate anyway and this was as good as any plan. Knowing this could be their last chance, Solaire shouted, “Go into the hole!”

First, the survivors close to Solaire tried to jump into the hole but were intercepted by a group of ants that were able to break through the line thanks to Clay and Chris suddenly leaving. Not having the time to care about them, Jim fought for his survival, killing as many ants as possible.

Everyone who could reach the hole jumped in, while the rest were dead or almost dead. Soon only Solaire and Jim remained on the battlefield. They were fighting close together and with the heat in his back and the red, brown ants surrounding them Jim fought with his all.

He activated his strengthening long ago and was ripping through ant after ant with his machete. They were thankfully not very robust, and with his strength, Jim was able to behead or split the ants into two with just one swing.

“Solaire, jump, I will follow you!” Jim was fighting desperately and couldn’t hold on for long, he just had to wait for Solaire to jump in and then he could follow.

Hearing this Solaire smiled, before bursting out with a specially strong flame that he shot in a curve around them, which scared the ants away. This gave them a short time to breathe, which Jim used to the fullest. Looking at Solaire from his hunched-over position Jim was shocked as his eyes widened.

Solaires eyes were bloodshot, he was covered from top to bottom in sweat and looked more fragile than ever, looking like a century-old man. He had a tired expression and a peaceful smile. From the corner of his lips, blood trailed down. “I’m sorry, Jim, you are on your own, please live a long life.”

Jim was startled and without being able to react a firm hand gave him a slight push as he fell down into a deep hole as his surroundings turned dark. It felt like time was slowing down.

Jim felt his back hitting the side of the hole, but he didn’t care about any of this as he watched in horror at the sky that was getting futher and further away, while his saroundings were consumed by the darkness. His only hope was the ray of light in the distance that was gradually getting smaller and smaller.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

On top of the hole stood Solaire weakly. By now the ants recovered and resumed their mad dash. At this moment the last ray of sunlight vanished beyond the horizon and the land was covered in darkness.

The ants were swarming Solaire like they were in a frenzy and in this moment Solaire began to laugh and if one was there to inspect his aura one would realize that it was gradually increasing. At first small but gradually faster and faster, while the air itself was sucked towards Solaire.

He was undergoing his transformation to the fourth rank, but instead of using the energy to advance Solaire channeled it into his core, activating his ability in the process. All over his core were faint cracks, which quickly got larger, and simultaneously his laugh got louder.

The ants stopped in their dash, as their instincts were suddenly screaming at them that there was danger, but it was far too late. From one moment to the next a blidning light consumed the saroundings as the absorbed air was released in one huge explosion that covered hundreds of meters. The light expanded outwards getting brighter and brighter, covering the land into a brilliant light far and wide. After fighting with all that he got Solaire Pelagius sacrificed himself, like so many before him.

Underground Jim saw this brilliant light and instantly knew what happened, as tears trailed down his eyes. The light gradually subdued and with it, Jim landed hard on the ground, as the impact rushed through his back the last rays of light vanished before he was covered in dirt and debris from above, as the tunnel collapsed from the explosion.

***

About a kilometer away, Alfred had a bad premonition, as his neck hairs stood on end. Quickly connecting to his bird in the vicinity of the swarm of ants, Alfred couldn't see much, besides the endless horde of ants swarming the group. No, not group only a singular person?

Taking a closer look, Alfred shuddered at the last standing person and with the last rays of light vanishing behind the horizon his connection to the bird was ripped off, as its instincts ran wild. Stunned by the sudden loss of the bond, Alfred instinctively looked at the direction where he last sensed his bond.

*BOOOOM*

A blinding light washed over Alfred, as he instantly lost his vision, before a deafening roar of an explosion caused his ears to ring. Combined with the sudden loss of his bond, Alfred's senses were all over the place, and he wasn't able to make sense of the situation.

Before being able to do anything else a piercing pain rushed all over his body, as anything that could burn be it his hair or clothes were incarnated in a moment, and he was left with burns varying from the second to the third degree. In complete panic, he could do nothing else but scream in pain.

This suffering thankfully didn't last for longs as the shockwave threw him back like a doll. Hitting a tree behind him, he lost consciousness and everything went dark.

***

Coughing Jim slowly stood up, pushing the dirt from his clothes as he looked ahead. In his eyes he saw nothing, they were in complete darkness but Jim knew that the others were there. Jim wasn’t proficient in sensing aura, but he could still feel glimpses of it and with nothing around but a small tunnel it was easy to feel the others.

Jim could hear Jake’s voice, “Jim is that you?”

“Yes, it's me, how many survived?”

Startled Jake replied, “That is not important what the hell was that explosion? What happened up there?”

Jim kept silent not wanting to say that Solaire sacrificed himself. He didn’t want to believe it and saying it now would rob him of this last hope that Solaire could still be alive. Jim knew best that this was impossible but he couldn’t accept the truth.

This silence was broken by Clay who explained, “He sacrificed himself. Detonating his own core to create an explosion and kill as many ants as possible.”

Shocked, Jim looked in the direction of where Clay’s voice came from and asked, “What? How do you know that?”

“How do I know? Because I was the one who explained to Solaire how to detonate his own core, or more precisely I gave him my assumption, but it seems like it worked,” responded Clay with a calm voice.

Furious Jim stumbled to where Clay was sitting, his eyes spewing fire as he grabbed him by his collar, “You did what?!”

“I just said-”

A fist landed in Clay’s face, as he was thrown back, blood splattering on the wall. “How could you do something like this? Why didn’t you tell anyone about this!?”

Lying tired on the ground Clay replied, “Because Solaire asked me to keep it secret. He didn’t have much time left and didn’t want to be a burden. You know that he was the pillar of hope that the people relied on, how could he show weakness?”

Shocked, Jim fell to his knees. “Oh, this stubborn old man, why did he have to do this? Since when? I didn’t even notice… ”

With a sight Clay heaved himself from the ground, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, as he sat on the ground. “Do you remember when I first saw Solaire after my return and was shocked by something?”

Thinking for a moment, Jim eventually remembered and said, "Yeah, I found it suspicious, you almost looked surprised after seeing Solaire."

“That is because I was. How could I not after seeing the state of Soalire’s aura? Someone who isn’t as sensitive as me might not have noticed it, but his aura was… unstable, you could even say violent. After visiting him to question him, he explained that his core turned unstable after the fight with the wolves, he overused his ability and caused irreparable damage to his core.” Saying this Clay shook his head.

“I explained to him that he couldn’t advance to the next rank with such a core, as it would only cause his own death. But you know that isn't easy when you can’t control if you want to absorb this energy and if the transformation starts you can’t stop it either. Did you never find it strange how little Solaire fought after your wolf accident?”

Hearing this Jim’s eyes widened as he realized that Solaire didn’t leave the church a lot after his injury. He said that his ability was better for protection than hunting, where he could hurt others.

Nodding to himself Clay continued, “This was the reason why he tried to absorb as little energy as possible, but he couldn’t completely prevent it. If he never used his ability that gave the people hope they would sooner or later question him. This is why this madman still used his ability, against my advice, but It's not like that man ever listened to me.”

Hearing this Jim said, “Clay I didn't know. I didn't mean to punch you I was just-”

Interrupting him Clay said, “No worries, we have no time. The point is that as the damage to his core got worse and his health noticeably declined he asked me if he could use his transformation in another way, instead of advancing to the next rank. This was something I asked myself long ago and I explained to him that if he used his ability to overload his own core it would in theory eventually break and release all of its energy in one go…”

“And this energy would form a huge explosion,” finished Jim. “Exactly,” replied Clay with a sigh.

For a moment silence prevailed between the few survivors. There just happened too much. They were ambushed by the ants, then Troy suddenly arrived, countless people died and finally, Solaire sacrificed himself. Jim nor anyone else could make sense of the situation. Jim couldn't even sort his own feelings. He just lost someone that was like a grandfather to him and was a person that helped him more than he could ever return and now he was dead... just like that.

Eventually, a man asked, “What are we supposed to do now?”

It was a simple question but no one could answer him. They just barely escaped death by jumping into a hole to slide a considerable distance underground, supposedly into the ant nest, and even if there weren’t any ants right now, this wouldn’t be the case for long. Not to mention that they had no idea where to go, could not see the palm in front of them, and were basically trapped in a labyrinth.

The tunnel they were currently in was wide enough for three people to walk beside each other but not high enough to stand upright, they had to hunch over if they wanted to stand. This tunnel alone restricted their movement by a lot, not to mention that it was impossible to see – the sense they relied the most on when fighting.

Jake was the first to ask, “Before talking of our actions let's look at what we have left to use. First of all, we count how many survived. I will start and everyone else will follow with one number higher – One.”

“Two, Three… Eight” Waiting for the next one to speak there remained an eerie silence. From the close to forty people that ventured into the forest, only eight remained… This was a lot worse than they expected. Considering that they lost on their way through the forest only two people it was shocking to lose so many people suddenly.

The ants caught them totally off guard and together with Troy's interference it was impossible to properly react to the ambush which resulted in so much death. Asking about their identity next Jake realized that most survivors were from the Vanguard. Of these eight people, six were from the Vanguard which included Jim, Chris, Clay, Max, Jake, and Dennis. Then there was one guard from Dave’s troop and another rank two from the group that was supposed to build the camp.

“Wait, do you still have your backpack?” Hearing about the rank two Jake realized that they should still have the backpack with all the equipment to build their camp.

Hearing the question the woman who seemed, from her voice, to be in her thirties grabbed the backpack beside her. “I do.”

“That’s great, can you give it to me?” Jake asked with newfound enthusiasm. The woman shrugged her shoulders and pushed the backpack in the direction of Jake's voice.

Fumbling through the backpack for a moment Jake finally found the thing he was looking for. Suddenly everyone was blinded by a bright light as a flashlight expelled the darkness they were sitting in.

Smiling Jake turned to look around himself only to see a reflective glint from above. Confused, he looked up to see two huge compound eyes looking at them curiously, while the large antennas of the ant twitched in confusion.

Seeing the ant only one thought ran through Jake's mind, ‘You got to be fucking kidding me-’