Chapter 11—The Start Of The First Hive

—Hive Management

I focused my attention inward. As the system had hinted, I was no longer just a parasite. I could build something here. A place that was mine, that would shelter my Thralls and nurture my ever-hungry form. I needed to make the most of this brief reprieve.

The first decision was easy: resources.

I surveyed the cavern, my gaze falling on the remnants of the skeletal horde that had once sought to end us.

The bone would provide a foundation, a framework for my construction. It would serve as the spine of my Hive.

I sent my will outwards. “Gather the bone.”

The cavern responded.

It wasn't magic or technology. It was willful, raw, and unfiltered. It was the essence of me, the core of my being. I willed, and it was done.

In the distance, the bone began to move, skittering across the ground, pulled towards me by invisible strings.

—How does that work? It should be impossible.

As I watched the bone fragments slowly gather, drawn by an unseen force towards the center of the cavern, I marveled at the absurdity of it all.

—A hive...my hive. Do I still have biomass to heal Luna through Flesh Assimilation?

My biomass has improved, yes? I checked my status. I hadn't even checked the new amount of biomass after evolving, too focused on the new form and the hunger that burned through me, constant and unyielding.

I checked.

The number that stared back was staggering: 50/100.

Fifty. There are fifty points of biomass to work with, shape, and devour. Fifty points that could become anything—flesh, bone, muscle, sinew. Fifty points that could heal Luna.

With a thought, I used Puppet Strings and Flesh Assimilation on Luna.

The system was stupid; I didn't need new flesh. I simply had to use Luna's existing flesh and reknit it.

Her body jerked as I pulled at it.

“Master?” Her whisper was faint, almost lost in the background of the grinding bone.

Was it truly her voice or my imagination? Did it matter anymore? Luna was an extension of myself, and her thoughts were my own.

I ignored the question, focusing on the reconstruction.

I wove the strings through Luna's form, pulling and tugging at her flesh. Bones reset, muscles reknitted. Her form shifted under my manipulation, becoming something both familiar and alien at once.

Her body had been shattered and torn, but under my will it was becoming whole again. It was a violent, wrenching process, but it was effective. As I worked, I could feel a strange synergy between her and myself, as if our two beings were merging into something new. It was a disconcerting feeling, but I pushed it aside.

[Biomass: 50 → 30]

The reconstruction of Luna was a brutal act of violence. Her body twisted and contorted under my control, a puppet dancing to my strings. Bones cracked, flesh tore, and muscles ripped. But through it all, Luna did not cry out in pain. Her hollow gaze remained fixed on me, her master, her god.

Well, of course she wouldn't cry. The dead do not scream. I don't have the power to restore her soul.

When I was finished, Luna was...whole.

Her form had been rebuilt, restored to a semblance of her former self. But she was not as she was before. Her fur, once matted with dried blood and torn in places, now lay sleek and glossy, blacker than night.

[Skill Progression—Flesh Assimilation Lv. 1 → 2]

Flesh Assimilation Lv. 2—You have a significantly increased understanding of flesh and organic matter. You can more efficiently utilize assimilated resources and convert foreign tissue into functional biomass. 

So... I tore off one of my legs—tentacle, really; I didn’t know how to name that—and regrew it from the stump.

It grew back, just as it was before. I could do the same for any limb, any organ.

Why did I do that? To use that limb and the fresh biomass as part of the hive.

Hive Management was activated.

—Use that.

With a thought, the bone fragments that had been gathering began to meld and twist. They fused, forming the skeleton of a structure, the frame upon which I would build my sanctuary.

Luna’s flesh and mine were the mortar between bones, a glue of blood and tissue.

I began weaving it together, bone and flesh, into a wall.

A cage? No. A womb.

[Hive Structure Created!]

Hive Core (Lv. 1)—A primitive nexus of fused bone and biomass. Thralls within its radius regenerate slowly.

Hive Core (Lv. 1) is passively activated.

You may assign one Thrall to guard this Core.

Would you like to assign the Thrall “Direwolf—Luna”?

Yes/No

I thought: No.

Luna was the only Thrall I had right now. And I needed her to fight and scout.

—What now?

[Congratulations, Loser! You’ve built your first Hive Core. Don’t get too attached. Cores attract predators. Also Wave 2 in about 24 Hours.]

The words echoed in my head, a mockery of my efforts. I hissed, my many teeth grinding against each other, my anger a tangible heat in my pulsating flesh. It wasn't fair. None of this was fair.

—All right, System. Good job. Do you find this amusing?

The words kept echoing in my mind.

Don’t get too attached. Don’t get too attached. Don’t get too attached.

Don’t get too attached. Don’t get too attached.

Fine.

Then, let me show you something funnier.

—Do not underestimate humans, System... Maybe I'm not one anymore, but you're messing with a race that makes the most dangerous weapons out of its shit. You're not realizing the depth of my ancient race's pettiness, malice, and vindictiveness. I am Nemesis.

Nemesis.

And you—you're nothing.

Let's see who will die, System.

I let out a silent, defiant scream that shook the cavern.

—LUNA!

The direwolf looked up at me, hollow eyes wide. “Yes, Master?” she whispered, her voice barely audible in the echoing silence of the bone-strewn chamber.

—Find them. Bring me more. I want the flesh. I want their lives. I want everything. Everything!

Luna's muzzle twisted in a parody of a smile, her blackened veins pulsing in anticipation. She rose to her full height, her ruined body moving with unnatural grace.

She lunged out of the Hive, her jaws snapping, her fur bristling. She was a predator on the hunt, her master's will driving her forward into the unknown dangers that lay beyond.

She was ready to face anything. For me. Her god. Her purpose.

As she vanished into the darkness, I felt a pang of loneliness.

—I'm alone again.

I had never been truly alone, not like this. The weight of solitude was a heavy cloak upon my formless shoulders, a suffocating presence that threatened to engulf me.

“You're mistaken,” Luna whispered in my mind. “I’ll always be with you, Master…”

And yet, she was not here.

Or perhaps I was simply going insane, my mind fracturing under the strain of my new existence and the isolation of the dungeon.

I was torn between madness and this cold, pointless loneliness.

—The state of insanity is acceptable…

It wasn't enough.

Luna was the first. But she wouldn't be the last. There would be more. So many more. An army of Thralls, a legion of the dead, all marching to the beat of my heart.

I could see them in my mind’s eye, an endless sea of rotting flesh and hollow eyes, all united under my banner. And at their head, me. 

Biomass: 30/100

HP: 25/25

While Luna was going to hunt, I should try to level up some of these skills…