Adam sat quietly within the Main Chamber; his legs tucked beneath him like a crouching sentinel. Ever since the chamber's last evolution, it had gained something… incredible. Now, by placing a single limb on the Mana Core, he could project his awareness across the entire colony. Wherever his thoughts drifted, so too did his sight.
Today, his mind wandered.
He placed his forelimb gently against the core's shimmering surface, the glow humming softly beneath his touch. His eyes closed.
There.
Suddenly he stood in the Incubation Chamber. Thirty glistening eggs lay nestled in soft soil, their pearlescent shells warm and gently pulsing. Workers moved carefully among them, brushing soil, adjusting leafy coverings, and twitching antennae toward embedded humidity nodes. Each flick sent signals—tiny vibrations of data—directly to him.
A warmth stirred in his chest.
So delicate.
His focus shifted.
In the Farming Chamber, the mushrooms were blooming, thick-capped and strong. Their spongy tops glowed faintly under the chamber light, spores rising in gentle puffs as worker ants harvested them. Each mushroom was placed in silk-woven satchels—bags he had crafted—and carted off toward storage.
Mira stood tall in the center, graceful and calm, guiding the others. She nodded gently, correcting grip angles, adjusting weights. Her manner was both sharp and kind.
Adam smiled.
Next, he moved to the Combat Tunnel.
Zell and Norkk fought side by side against a mana projection of the spider he once battled. It towered above them, even in simulated form—its limbs long and sharp, its stance familiar. Legs raised, swaying. Bobbing. Lunging. The two ants tried again and again to land hits but were repeatedly knocked back.
"They'll get it eventually", Adam thought. Then the two ants collided head on, immediately blaming the other for their failures.
"Well, I hope they do...."
He shifted again, moving to the top bunkers of the colony, skimming past the rest chambers, where some of them were curled into grooves in the wall, ground softened by silk beds, softly snoring. A slight amusement tugged at his thoughts.
"They really do look like little pebbles."
He returned to his own body, pulling his mind back from the colony-wide connection.
The core's glow faded slightly beneath his touch, returning to its resting hum. Adam leaned back with a sigh—until a small pattering sound approached from behind.
Brill stood in the archway.
His little eyes were drooping, tired, and clouded with something that made Adam pause. Fear. A subtle quiver in his limbs, a tightness in his voice as he spoke:
"Mister giant…"
"I—I been havin' trouble sleepin'..." Brill mumbled, his voice like a trembling breath wrapped in pride. "Can… can I stay here…?"
Adam looked down at him.
Brill wasn't just scared—he was trying not to be. His legs shuffled anxiously. His eyes glimmered faintly in the low light.
"Sure," Adam said gently. "Why don't you sit here?"
Brill scurried forward and wrapped himself around one of Adam's legs, hugging it like it was a tree trunk in a storm.
"What were you dreaming about?"
Brill sniffled.
His voice cracked.
"It… it was an e-evil spiderrr… and—sob—and it made all the little ones w-work in this h-huge mine…"
"And—and it didn't let us eat any—sniff—any mushrooms, and it yelled reaaal loud, and—sob sob—it made Skitt cry!"
His words were slurred, trembling, almost tumbling over each other like a child holding back tears. He tried to stay strong, but he was breaking.
Adam reached down and gently patted his head, stroking back the trembling feelers.
"You're safe now. And I'll make sure it stays that way."
Brill looked up, blinking.
"P-promise…?"
"Promise. Here, I'll make you a protection charm," Adam said. "As long as you have it—nothing bad can ever happen to you."
Brill's eyes lit up through the haze of his sobbing.
"R-reawlly?!"
Adam nodded.
He leaned toward the wall and took a careful bite of soft, clay-rich dirt. He worked quickly, chewing and mixing with his hardened saliva, shaping it with care. Slowly, a teddy bear began to take form.
A little creature with a round belly, short ears, and two button-like eyes. Adam finished it with threaded silk, half white, half brown—a polar-brown hybrid bear, like from the show we bare bears he used to watch as a kid, but this, his own invented kind. The silk wrapped around the arms, legs and head, but the face, paws and belly was left bare.
When Adam handed it over, Brill's entire body lit up.
"WAAAHH!!! LOOK AT HIM!!"
Brill hugged it tight with one leg and ran out of the main chamber, staggering joyfully, yelling the entire way:
"I GOT A BEAR!!! LOOK LOOK LOOK!!"
Not long after, the colony erupted in footsteps.
Nine ants, including Mira, Zell, Norkk, and Skitt, all stormed into the chamber, speaking over one another.
"Is it true?!"
"You made Brill a bear?!"
"Can we see it?! No—can we have one?!"
" I want a protection charm too!"
"Mister giant!! I want a fluffy one!"
Adam stared.
What have I done.
But he didn't complain.
He crafted one. Then another. Then another. Each unique—some taller, some rounder, some stitched in extra silk stripes. One had big button eyes, another had a heart on its belly. One looked like a bugbear with antennae.
Each ant clutched their bear with reverent awe.
Even Skitt, who tried to act like he didn't care—he stood at the back and waited silently until the others were done, eyes darting with quiet hope. Adam gave him the last one with a smile. Skitt didn't say anything. He just hugged it and nodded once.Finally, Adam collapsed into the soft soil, utterly drained.
No more. I am done. Finally.... peace and quiet.
Then—
CRASH.
Two burrowers tumbled into the main chamber, eyes gleaming.
"MISTER GIANT!!"
"We want teddy too!!"
Adam didn't move.
He let out the slowest, most exhausted sigh of his life.
Then—grumbling slightly—he sat up and went back to work.