chapter 108: Dragon meat

Cold… everything was cold. There was something else, too, wetness. But not a consistent wetness. It was like small splashes of wetness would hit me. What is that? Suddenly, the same wetness hit my leg. Then my arm, then my body. Getting faster and faster and spreading over my body. I know this… Rain? My eyes slowly opened. I was met with a grey, miserable sky.

<Rain. It's been a while. Does that mean…..> I tried to sit up; however, as soon as I did, pain shot through my entire body as punishment.

<He really did a number on me, didn’t he….>

I closed my eyes and focused on casting a healing spell. A small cloud of black and green mana poofed into existence before immediately fading away. What the hell is going on?

<Status>

Status ailment: Mana Exhaustion

Due to extreme mana usage in a short amount of time. Your body is struggling to recover.

Any spells attempted to be cast with this ailment active will be drastically weaker and have a 99.9999% of failing.

So no magic! Great! I let out a pained groan; this explains why I feel like shit. How much mana did I use against the dragon? I swiped away at the notification to reveal my status.

NAME:

DIVA: *LVL 16

HEALTH: 3500/3500 (+75/min)

STAMINA: 150/3000 (+220/min)

MP: -12000/2800 (+80/min)

POINTS: 26

BIOMASS: 50,000

RACE :

Alvearix

TITLE:

(outworlder) (herald of the end) (Fanatic Xenophobe) (sadist) (Silent assassin)(mother)(midwife) (Scholar)(Glutton)

ATTRIBUTES:

MIND: 50

BODY: 10

SOUL:30

RECOVERY: 30

ABILITIES:

Hive Leader (LVL 3)

Living nest (LVL 3)

Insect agility (Lvl 1)

Aerial Expertise (Lvl 1)

Mana control (LVL 3)

Venomous carapace (Lvl 1)

Insect Vision (Passive) (LVL 2)

Hive optimisation (lvl 1)

More eggs (Lvl 6)

Enhanced Growth accelerant (Lvl 1)

Meditative restoration (LVL 1)

Tail Whip strike (Lvl 1)

Pheromone production (LVL 1)

Rapid Gestation (Lvl 1)

Tail Positer (lvl 1)

Mastered:

Tears of the Hive queen (LVL MAX)

Conversion Process (Lvl MAX)

Level based XP earning (lvl MAX)

MAGIC:

Null release

Null shroud

Null driver

Null spiral

Purge

Umbral piercer

Ebony Grasps

Obsidian Spike

Watchful eye.

Calamity Prison.

Healing spells

Adaptive heal.

Resistances

Pain resistance (Moderate)

Cold Resistance (Minor)

Subordinates

Cindi (Servant)

Sally

MISC

HIVE MANAGEMENT

ABILITY

SHOP

HIVE CORE

My eyes dropped at the number -12000. Just how did…. Was it because of that dragon? How did he?AAAAAARGHHHH! so annoying! That explains everything! I was always wondering why it felt like I had almost unlimited mana.  Was he pushing my body through its original

“Still….alive…insect…”

My heart sank. That voice. The dragon… I forced myself through the pain. Enough to sit up and see the dragon. However, this time it was different; his scales were faded, and his eyes looked tired.

“What happened to you?”

“Is your memory weak….insect. you killed me.”

The dragon tried to move, but its body was worse than mine. It’s a miracle he's still alive.

“How are you still alive?”

“Alive is a strong word.” A sickly cough escaped the dragon. To believe this was the same creature I fought. How hard the mighty do fall.

“To answer your question.  That space where we trained and fought was my soul.”

“That's not…. I don’t believe that.” It didn’t make sense, I was in his soul…. But then again. Cindy communicates and meets me in my soul…

In our final fight, you fought a full manifestation of my soul. And you won, erasing it out of existence. That’s why you are back in this world.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question. How are you still alive?”

“I'm not. I'm just the remnants of the dragon you knew. His will, his desires. I am what's left, and now that you are awake. I can finally leave.”

“But what was your desire….your will. What did you want to see so much that you held out like this! None of this makes sense, dragon.”

“Mother's salvation…”

“What?”

“I had to ensure…..Mother's salvation.”

“Salvation?! What does-  Dragon! Don’t close your eyes! dammit, I have a question. How did I use more mana than I have? Why are you here? How do you know Cindy?! Dragon! DRAGON!” I yelled at the beast, but no reaction. Its body was still; not a single muscle on its body tensed or moved. Strangely, for the 1st time I've been with him. He looked at peace.

Velden, king of nothing, ruler of nothing

Slain!

70,000 xp awarded

Bonus XP 35,000

Congratulations, you have levelled up!

level 16 -> 33

68 points awarded!

Challenge: Tread carefully completed.

30 points awarded

I stared at the dragon's body.  There was so much I wanted to know from him. But in the end, he still kept quiet about what he knew, never telling me anything more than I needed to know. A small chuckle escaped my lips. Even though I've won, I feel like I didn’t.

I stared up at the grey clouds, letting the rain land on my armour.

<How frustrating>

I looked away from the dragon. I can think about this later. Right now, I need to focus on myself, and to start, I need to move.

My legs sent sharp shooting pains all over my body as I hoisted myself up off the ground.

<God, it feels like I've just gone 40 rounds with a professional boxer|> I cried to myself as I  finally pulled myself onto my legs.

<This is ridiculous… How could this get any worse!>

*grumble*

My stomach roared. Of course I'm hungry. Why wouldn’t I be! I sighed, and my eyes landed on the dragon's corpse. My mouth instantly watered.

<Looks like dragon meat is on the menu> I slowly shifted around to face the dragon and attempted my 1st step <AgGHHHHHA SUNOVABITCH THIS HURTS> more curse words than a tired old sailor escaped me. Mana exhaustion isn't a joke. My body is in the worst state it's ever been in. seriously, fuck that dragon!

I held my breath and started slowly staggering towards the dragon. Each step was agony topped with agony. I gritted my teeth and started moving, inching forward and forward toward my meal. It took a while, but eventually I stood over the dragon.

Large plumes of foggy breath escaped me as I panted like a dog.

<Finally>

My legs ached like never before, and before I knew it, they'd given up. I slumped over the dragon's body, too tired to even attempt eating. I tapped into my living nest only to be met with silence. Then it hit me.

<they are all dead, aren't they….> In my fight with the dragon, they got sucked into its void. Even though it wasn’t real, the things we did there were enough to kill this dragon. The royal flies stood no chance.

A sharp pain echoed out from the emptiness of my living hive. However, I had to push it down. They did their job. Right now, I need to focus on myself. I lifted myself slightly before chomping into the dragon. Its scales were tough as old boots and as stubborn as the late dragon himself. Suddenly, a metal taste exploded into my mouth, followed by something sweet, something powerful, something addictive. I took another bite, followed by another and another.

The flavour was indescribable, so tender, so juicy, so GOOD. I need MORE! MORE! MORE! I dove in again, sending blood splattering onto me and everything around me.

<Who knew dragon meat was so good!> I yelled as I ripped another mouthful from the carcass.

…….

Sally Pov

<Have we heard anything?>

The worker shook its head. Dammit mother. Where have you disappeared off to? It's been 4 days. Her leaving the hive is normal. But going no contact for 4 days is very not like Mother. Has she been captured? Unlikely. Mother wouldn’t go quietly if someone tried to capture her. Has she been killed? I shook my head. Don’t say that, Sally. And besides, if she did, I think I and the rest of the hive would just shut down. Why mother? Why do this so soon after the attack!?

<Take me to the west again, I want to check again. We must've missed something.>

The worker glared at me briefly before nodding. He took a few brief steps before swiftly taking off, climbing a few feet in moments. I quickly jumped after it, easily catching and holding its legs as we ascended into the air. It's not ideal, but this is the closest thing I've got to flight. The worker took me up and West to the mother's last known location. I tapped into the weave one more time. I've been trying for the previous few days, we all have, but some presence is stopping us. How this is possible is beyond me. It shouldn’t be, and the fact that it has happened is disturbing.

My mind went numb, closing off all distractions in the world. My mind focused entirely on my mother's presence. Still obfuscated by a thick black miasma. What is going on?

Suddenly, like a beam of light, a mother aura started to peak through like a stream of light piercing dense clouds. It wasn’t much, but I can work with this. I snapped onto the light and rushed forward into it. In my mind, I melded and mixed, creating a familiar warmth. It was mother! She was still alive!

I've found her!" I yelled as my eyes snapped open to find myself hovering in the air. I pointed in the general direction of mother's location. Without missing a beat, the worker took off. The rain increased its tempo, but the worker pushed through, going as fast as his wings could carry him. In no time, we were hovering over the area.

<Here will do. Drop me>

Instantly, his grip loosened, and I started falling, picking up incredible speed. I “flew” fast before I knew it, the worker was a shrunken spec in my vision, and the tree line was a rapidly growing wall of leaves.  Instinctively, I oriented myself feet-first just before I broke through the tree line.  The sounds of dense tree branches snapping hit my ears as I slowed down. In no time, I was through the dense trees. Instantly, I shoved my blade into a nearby tree trunk, killing off any remaining speed I had and bringing me softly onto the wet ground of the forest. I briefly scanned the area. No animals, no insects. Nothing. Instantly, my guard went up. Whatever is here has scared away any and all animals. That’s not a good sign.

I felt for my mother again. The weave pointed me in a north-easterly direction. I started walking, listening for anything as I did. i kept moving forward. The sound of rustling tree branches and heavy rain assaulted my ears. Any minor details or sounds would be lost with all the sound, even still that wasn’t going to stop me. I continued walking, following the weave as best I could.

<Dammit, mother…Where are you!> I yelled to myself. Time had been a blur; had it been minutes or hours, I couldn’t remember, but even still, the weave told me she was close. I took a few more steps. Suddenly, a wet slapping sound hit my ears. I stopped and listened. it was just ahead of me. My blade silently dropped out as I sneaked towards that direction. The sound never stopped once as I got closer and closer to whatever was here. Ahead of me was a dense pack of bushes blocking my view. I got close, and with one swipe of my blade, I cut the bushes in half, revealing an incredible sight.  A large black scaled leg, 3 times bigger than me, met me.

<Just what the hell is->

*MMMppph*

My heart stopped. That voice…. Is it mother?

Another muffled moan hit my ears. Confirming my suspicions. My body trembled with excitement. But I had to stay calm. Let's confirm it first.

I leapt up onto the creature's foot and started running. Towards her, as I moved, her voice got louder and louder. It was definitely her. I ran down the side of the creature's body as I moved closer and closer. Her voice got louder and louder. However, conversely, the carcass of the creature got sparser and sparser. Slowly, the thick black scales turned into bones stripped of any sort of meat. Was this mother? Possibly, she does have quite the appetite. I kept moving until  I saw a gap in the creature's ribcage. The sound was coming from inside. I skidded to a halt and slipped in through the gap

<Mother, I'm here>, I yelled as I twisted in her direction. I walked a few steps into the carcass before suddenly my body ground to a halt

<Mother? Is that….You?>

I stared at this several foot tall creature covered head to tail in blood. Was this mother? It feel like her but….Why does she look so different?

Mom's armour had darkened to a dark, almost black colour; her second set of arms had disappeared somewhere, leaving her with only one set, which too had changed from its regular yellow appearance to a blackened, 3-clawed hand.  Her tail had grown as well, being almost 4 times longer than prior. Gone was the mother's proud posture; she was now hunched over like an animal, a feral, hungry animal.  I looked closer at her head, which had grown bigger and more bulbous in size; her eyes were more angular and aggressive, and her teeth were now bigger and more feral-looking.

I scrutinised her top to bottom, looking for an answer as to what happened. Did mother evolve again ?.... No, this feels… different.

<Mother? Can you hear me…. It's me, Sally> I walked closer towards her, my instincts screamed to keep my guard up, and honestly, I was inclined to follow it. As I walked closer, she hadn’t reacted to me once. Does she even realise I'm here?

I looked towards the meat she was eating. It smelled amazing, temptingly so, but at the same time, it felt ominous. What even is this creature anyway?  I reached over towards the black-and-red flesh. Just what is-

My body moved. Before I even realised, I was several feet away staring at my mother.

<Mother, why?! > I looked at where I was standing, and a large, almost black pincer had impaled itself into the flesh.  The pincer slowly pulled back into her body as Mother walked towards me, eyes feral and glaring, and her tail poised to attack

<Mother, are you angry with me? Why are you->

I ducked to the side just in time for her tail to shoot past me.

<MOTHER STOP! I DON’T WANNA->

The tail wizzed past me again. I quickly side-stepped it, instantly the tail twisted on itself and shot back towards me. Instinctively, my own pincer shot out, swatting the rogue tail away.

<MOTHER!> I yelled as I bolted out of the creature's ribcage towards the trees. I looked behind, my mother sprinted on all 4, leaping and jumping like a wild cat. Just what happened to her! I kept an eye on her as I ran. She was fast. Incredibly fast, in no time, she will be right on top of me if I don-

Instantly, I dropped to the ground just in time to see a tail swing above me. The tail collided with several trees around us, a terrible, violent crash of trees snapping and falling to the ground, which hit my ears. So much power… What the- SNAP OUT OF IT, SALLY! I scrambled to my feet and started running again. Dammit! Why is she doing this? Why is she not talking? Why does she look like that?! I don’t know- none of this makes sense-

“Euagggha”, I screamed as the tail side swiped me in the chest.  The power was immense. My body instantly caved as I flew straight into a tree, then another, and then another.

Caution! 300 health lost!

Multiple Fractures detected!

My body screamed in agony as every part of my body cried out in mind-numbing pain

<w…why? W…hat…did…i…do?> I said in between pained gasps. I tried to get onto my knees to keep moving when a deep growl hit my ears. I looked back just in time to see Mother launch at me and pin me to the ground. A deep, animalistic growl came from Mom as she moved her head closer to me.

<Mo->

*GRAGHAAKKKKKK HISSSSSS*

Saliva dripped out of her mouth as she lashed out. I need to get away from her. If I can get to the hive, get Apollinaris, maybe they can-

<AAARGH!> I screamed as my mother smashed her clawed arm into my shoulder.  Pain wreaked havoc on my arm, making it impossible to move.

<Mother! Stop! I'm sorry! *hic* I'm sorry! I don’t know, I did!  *hic* I'll be a better daughter! Please don’t hurt me…. I..i…..i….I'm s..s..s..scared..>

Tears welled up in my eyes. She's doing this because she's angry. It has to be! I let her fight that monster all by herself without even helping her. That’s why she's mad! It has to be! god, why am I such a useless daughter! My mother should just kill me for being such a waste of space. All I ever am is a burden to her!

I felt my tears grow and grow into a tidal stream that ran down my face.

<Do it, mother! It’s the best thing to do. I'm sorry for being a disappointment -> I cried more and more. I deserve this for being so useless to her. I looked back towards her and noticed that her body froze, staring at me.

<Mother….Is everything okay?>

Mother's mouth suddenly opened as if trying to say something

<sa….ll…Y> she slowly said with a guttural voice.

<Yes, it's me.> I said through a set of teary lenses. I wiped my tears as best as I could and looked towards mom. She had frozen completely, not even her tail drifted side to side like usual. It's like she was a statue. Maybe if I?- I reached up and gently cupped the side of her face.

<Mother… It's me. sally>

Her eyes suddenly twitched. Is she in there?

<Mother, can you hear me?>

Suddenly, she winced in pain as if something just stung her. Could it be…!

<Mother! I know you're in there! come back to me!>

A pained groan escaped from her, causing her to collapse.

<THAT’S IT, MOTHER! FIGHT IT!>

The groans got louder and louder. Suddenly mother shot away from me. Stumbling back in the opposite direction.

<Is she going for- NO YOU DON’T!> I got up as quickly as I could, fighting through the pain of my shattered arm and fractures.  I bolted as fast as I could towards my mother as she stumbled towards the corpse. Gone was her speed. She slowly made her way back, all the while screaming in pain.

<MOTHER NO!> I lunged forward and grabbed her by her tail. She let out an animalistic scream as her eyes glared towards me.

<MOTHER! STOP!  THAT STUFF ISN'T GOOD FOR YOU! WE NEED YOU BACK! I NEED YOU BACK, MOTHER>

She growled and thrashed around, but unlike before, her strength had diminished. Suddenly, her body started to twitch uncontrollably. Her screams became more frenzied and more panicked. Come on, mother. Please come back to me! Suddenly, her body began to change. The once near black armour slowly changed to its vibrant yellow. Her head started to lose its anamalistic feature and shrink, and her arms. The second set started to grow out of her body slowly.

< That’s good, mother! Fight it!> I quickly dropped her tail. And ran to her side and held her as still as I could so she wouldn’t hurt herself. The entire time she screamed like she was being murdered, but thankfully, her screams were more like her own instead of something else entirely.

< It's okay, mother. I'm here.> I said to her calmly, slowly, her screams started to die down as her body returned to what it was. I held her body off the ground as she panted heavily in my arms. She turned her head to face me and tried to open her eyes.

<Mother, stop. You're hurt!>

Slowly, she raised her hand and cupped my cheek.

<You are a very good daughter. And…..Im….sorry>

Suddenly, her hand went limp. I caught her hand and gently rested it on her chest, and watched as she gently slept in my arms.