Nest of Ashes
The village burned.
Flames licked the rooftops. Beams cracked and fell.
The predator bug stood at the center of it all—still, unmoved, blood soaking its claws.
The screaming had stopped.
Seo Hae-jin watched from the ridge in silence.
Wind pushed heat toward him, but he didn't blink.
---
> > [Human Resistance: Eliminated.]
[Casualties: 89 Confirmed.]
[Biomass Collected: +312 Units.]
He lowered his hand, feeling the system hum under his skin.
It was done.
No one left.
---
The surviving larvae scuttled across the ruins.
Searching for remains. Dragging corpses into shadows.
He watched them work.
One by one, the bodies disappeared.
Turned to meat. Turned to fuel.
Turned into progress.
---
The predator bug looked up at him, waiting.
Still covered in blood.
Still ready to serve.
He sent a single command:
Secure the area.
The bug turned and moved into the wreckage, leading lesser creatures behind it.
---
By morning, the village was nothing but ash and bone.
And the first nest began to rise.
---
At the edge of the ruined town, the bugs worked.
They dragged broken timber. Stones from the well. Crates and iron scraps.
Using acid, silk, and claw, they built the walls.
A new kind of structure. Part flesh. Part bone.
Hive architecture.
It grew in hours. Spreading like fungus across the valley floor.
Dark and unnatural.
---
At the center, Seo Hae-jin stood beside the first spawning chamber.
It pulsed with heat, slick with organic resin.
He touched the side of it with one finger.
It shivered at his touch.
Inside, thousands of eggs stirred.
Each one would hatch soon.
Each one would obey only him.
---
He turned to the open system window in his mind.
> > [Spawning Chamber Online.]
[Production Speed: +500 Units Per Hour.]
[Hatch Queue: 12,000 Larvae.]
[Upgrade Cost: 1,000 Biomass.]
He smiled for the first time.
Just a slight pull at the corner of his lips.
More.
Faster.
Deeper.
---
From the outer perimeter, an alert flashed.
> > [Scout Bug Detected Movement.]
[3 Kilometers East – Caravan Approaching.]
He focused.
A line of wagons. Five, maybe six.
Merchants. Guards. Civilians.
Heading straight for the ruin.
---
He didn't move.
Didn't need to.
The bugs were already moving into position.
---
He turned his eyes to the sky.
It was almost dawn again.
Two full days since his awakening.
And already, one village was gone.
One nest had risen.
One swarm had begun.
---
The next would fall just as easily.
---