Ari sat atop a broken pillar, knees drawn up slightly, resting his arms on them. His breathing had settled after the skirmish, but his eyes still burned with intensity. Around him, the air was unnaturally quiet. The ants who hid in the shadows barely moved. Even the wind had stopped whispering.
Below, Gor and several imprisoned ants dragged the limp bodies of the grasshoppers Ari had just defeated into a pile behind the rubble. They worked quickly, quietly, glancing over their shoulders in fear that reinforcements might arrive. Ari watched them for a moment, then lowered his gaze, speaking aloud though no one stood close.
"They're from twelve different colonies… twelve," he muttered, his voice bitter. "Every one of them destroyed by Hopper and his damn generals."
His fists clenched tightly against his thighs, nails scraping over his own chitin.
"They've lost everything—their queens, their warriors, their homes. And all for what? So that bastard can sit on a throne built from their hard work and suffering and gorge himself without lifting a finger?"
He stared out at the dark corridors of the fortress beyond. The sunlight peeped along the walls, casting the shadows of cracked statues and warped banners—trophies of conquest. Each crack in the floor seemed to scream of pain long endured. Ari swallowed, the weight in his chest deepening.
"It's not so different from when I was human," he whispered. "Back then, we studied colonization. Slavery. How people were stolen from their homes, forced to work until they dropped dead… all while the powerful lived like gods, treating them like trash. Like their lives didn't mean a damn thing."
He looked down at his hands—once human, now clawed and coated in a tough exoskeleton. How strange it felt to still carry human fury in this ant's body.
"They're not my responsibility," he murmured. "I could leave them. Just focus on Tanya… protect her, defeat Hopper, and walk away."
But the thought of turning his back now made his gut twist.
"No," he muttered, almost choking on the word. "It's more than that now. This isn't just about Tanya or the promises I made with her. It's about justice. It's about stopping this madness."
He reached into a pouch at his side and pulled out the small, iridescent gem Tanya had given him before he left. The surface shimmered with shifting colors—blue and green like a glistening dew drop. He stared at it, feeling warmth rise in his chest. A memory of her laughter echoed in his mind.
"I'll see you again," he whispered.
Just then, a sharp clang echoed from the corridor. Heavy footsteps approached—more grasshoppers.
A group of five entered the ruined chamber, the torchlight revealing their greenish carapaces and thick legs covered in dried blood and dust. Their black or green eyes scanned the area until they froze—seeing the pile of fallen grasshoppers lying crumpled near the rubble.
"What the hell…?" one of them gasped.
"Are those… our men?" said another, stepping back slightly. "But they were patrolling this sector!"
One of the slaves, a thin ant with a cracked back shell, let out a tiny whimper and darted behind the broken pillar where Ari sat.
Another slave followed, trembling. Then another. Soon, a dozen were huddled near Ari, looking to him not just for protection—but hope.
A voice from the new grasshopper group stepped forward, smooth and commanding.
"So I presume you're the cause of this mess?" the lead grasshopper asked, his mandibles gleaming. He had dark purple eyes and a long scar running from the top of his head to his chin. His voice dripped with control.
"Lanco, sir…" one of the others hesitated, "I don't think it was him. He doesn't look like much. There's no way he took them down on his own."
Lanco turned slowly, staring at the soldier with cold amusement.
"Are you too dumb to feel it? Look closer," he said, folding his arms. "He's emitting an aura. It's heavy—like standing under a collapsing roof, not as terrifying as Hopper's aura but strong enough to send shivers down my spine. If any of you try to fight him… you're only digging your own graves."
The others shuddered, now truly looking at Ari. The tension in the air was thick, pressing against their shells like a rising tide.
"I'll fight him," Lanco declared. He drew four long, curved mandibles from his belt, clicking them together with a high metallic ring. "You can watch. Learn what true strength looks like."
Ari stood slowly and jumped down from the pillar. His landing cracked the stone beneath him. He didn't draw his own mandibles. He didn't need them.
This grasshopper didn't feel that different from the others—not enough to warrant full power.
Let's see what I'm capable of now, he thought.
Lanco charged first, leaping in with blinding speed. His four mandibles slashed in a flurry, carving the air with razor precision. But Ari didn't flinch. He shifted to the side, ducked low, and weaved through the strikes effortlessly.
He's fast. But he's not unpredictable, Ari noted.
Lanco growled in frustration and spun, attempting to land a blow on Ari's back. But Ari caught his wrist mid-swing, twisted, and drove a solid punch into Lanco's abdomen.
CRACK!
Lanco's body lifted off the ground and smashed into a wall, leaving an impression in the stone. His mandibles clattered to the floor before his limp form collapsed in a heap, unconscious.
Silence.
The other grasshoppers took a step back.
"What… what is he?" one whispered.
"He didn't even use his mandibles —just his fist…"
"We're dead if we stay here!" shouted another. And with that, they turned and bolted into the darkness of the corridor, vanishing into the shadows they came from.
The silence returned, this time broken by a low cheer.
"He did it…" a young ant gasped.
"He beat them without breaking a sweat…"
"He's like a monster! No, a warrior!"
Dozens of enslaved ants erupted into stunned joy, stepping out from behind the rubble. Some laughed, some cried. A few stared at Ari with glimmering eyes.
Princess Regina stepped forward from the crowd. Her thin frame trembled, her chitin dulled from the hard labor she had endured, but in that moment, her expression glowed with wonder. She stared at Ari with wide, amber-colored eyes, a subtle blush warming her cheeks. "He's so strong… He took out that grasshopper like he was nothing. We
might have a chance to get out of this alive…" she whispered, more to herself than anyone else. "Who is this ant…?"
Her heart fluttered—hope, long since buried under fear and pain, stirred faintly for the first time in what felt like forever.
"Who is this ant?" she whispered.
Gor approached from behind, his large frame steady but his eyes uncertain.
"This young ant is strong, no doubt," he said, arms crossed. "But against Hopper…"
His voice dropped to a low rumble.
"I wonder if even he has a chance."
Ari stood silent amidst the crowd, his gaze set on the corridor ahead. Beyond it lay deeper chambers, perhaps where Tanya was kept. Perhaps where Hopper waited.
But for the first time, he felt something else stirring behind him—not just fear or curiosity.
Hope.
And hope… was a dangerous thing to give to the desperate.