By the time Jack reached the bottom, the group had fallen into a hushed stillness. Will stood tense, his hand raised to his ear, signaling Jack to listen.

  Jack froze, straining to hear. At first, there was nothing—only the faint drips of water echoing from far away. Then he caught it: a quiet scraping, like claws on stone, followed by soft skittering sounds.

  They weren't alone. Something moved in the darkness ahead.

  Jack avoided eye contact, staring down the tunnel. He could feel Kleo's gaze boring into him, but he resisted meeting it. He still hadn't processed what the Whispering Secret had revealed. For now, he pushed the thought away. The only excuse he'd managed to come up with for his delay was that he'd had to go. Not the most heroic excuse, but plausible enough. He was prepared for the inevitable 'Did you wipe?' question, hoping it wouldn’t come.

  They were near the periphery of the nest, and the tunnels had grown more expansive, with dark webbing clinging to every surface. Bug Bug moved cautiously, its spindly legs stepping with deliberate care. Their plan was simple: find a small cluster of spiders, disrupt their connection, and form a new cluster of allies. If it worked, things might go easier—but things never went easy, so they expected the worst. With more spiders like Bug Bug out there, a direct assault wasn't an option. They needed this plan to work.

  The passage ahead opened into a chamber, about seven meters across, with the ceiling rising into darkness. Bug Bug halted, its leg twitching a brief signal: Caution.

  Jack's orb brightened, casting a pale glow that revealed the twisted remains of dried webbing. Shadows shifted. Then movement. Spiders. Smaller than Bug Bug but no less unsettling, they clung to the walls and ceiling. Jack counted a dozen, their legs twitching, their eyes reflecting the light like polished gems.

  Kleo signaled to Maya, a subtle motion of her hands forming an outward arc—the sign to create a barrier. Maya nodded and began weaving her magic, a shimmering dome of protection forming around Bug Bug.

  Jack stepped forward, holding the orb aloft. Its glow intensified and then shifted—the light pulsed with an unsettling ripple, like a heartbeat.

  The reaction was immediate. The spiders jerked, legs curling inward. Several lost their grip and fell, hitting the chamber floor with wet thuds. Others clung by a thread, their bodies twitching and shuddering as the disruptive energy passed through them.

  Jack shifted the orb to a steady white glow, and the pulsing ceased. On the floor, the spiders stirred, their legs jerking in wild spasms. They were confused and disoriented.

  Bug Bug moved forward, mandibles clicking with excitement. Kleo followed, her presence commanding.

  Cluster.

  The signal struck the chamber with silent force. The spiders froze, then responded, the reply resounding through the webbed walls:

  Cluster.

  Kleo sent the next signal, her intent unwavering.

  Serve.

  Queen. Serve. Came the reply.

  Jack exhaled, a rush of relief flooding through him. Maya lowered the shield, the barrier dissolving like mist. Bug Bug’s eyes gleamed, visibly pleased. Will clapped Jack on the back, a grin spreading across his face.

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  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Will said. “It actually worked.”

  Kleo stepped closer to the dazed, submissive spiders, her expression unreadable. Jack knew what she was thinking—this was only the beginning. The queen’s army could be turned, one spider at a time.

  And with their new allies, the real battle could begin.

  The Arraku soldier watched as the Arrakfa moved through the chamber, their smaller female forms darting between shadows like living whispers. They spun webs across the vast cavern that housed the queen's Arrakfala—her broodmares. These bloated monstrosities lay anchored in deep pits, their grotesquely swollen abdomens emitting a sickly green glow that bathed the chamber in an eerie light. The air hung thick with a pheromone-laden fog of reproduction, clinging to every surface and filling the soldier's senses with purpose.

  He had earned this reward for leading the capture of the demana female—the privilege of mating with an Arrakfala of his choosing. Though the process was more functional than intimate, the honor held great significance: his seed would strengthen the queen's army and ensure the cluster's dominance.

  The soldier moved to the pit's edge where his chosen Arrakfala lay. Her massive, immobile form remained confined to the chamber—a space that had served as both birthing ground and eternal prison since her first birth. Her limp legs hung uselessly over the sides of her bloated body, her existence now devoted to a single purpose: producing eggs.

  Rising onto his four hind legs, he began the ritual, conducting the Arrakfa in their Song of Seeding. Vibrations rippled through the chamber as his forelegs wove intricate patterns in the air, orchestrating the rhythm. Pulsing waves resonated through his body, coaxing his seed sac to form. He savored the gradual build, each vibration heightening the approaching release.

  The sac extended, milky white and glistening in the green light. It swelled, heavy with genetic material, its shell thickening as the song reached its crescendo. Soon, the Arrakfala would absorb the capsule through her specialized receptors, and his offspring would grow—strong, cunning, and loyal to the cluster.

  But then the song faltered.

  The vibrations ceased, and the harmony shattered. He froze, his forelegs dropping as his unfinished sac fell to the stone floor with a wet splish. The sound struck him with sickening finality. His body trembled as he spun toward the disruption's source, rage and confusion churning in his mind.

  The chamber grew brighter. A pale white orb hovered at the edge of the room, its light slicing through the fog like a blade. His senses screamed Threat, echoed by the network's warning. Then the orb shifted hue, its disruptive pulse surging through the cavern like a tidal wave.

  The connection shattered.

  Agony seized his mind as the hive-mind's comforting presence was stripped away, leaving him blind, isolated, and vulnerable. His legs buckled beneath him, and he staggered toward the center of the room, twitching uncontrollably while his instincts fought against the chaos.

  The orb shifted again, its glow softening to an intense white. Relief flooded through him as the command resonated: Cluster. He reached for it with desperate need, joining the connection, feeling the emptiness in his mind fill once more. Then she stepped forward.

  Serve.

  The word thundered through the network—not a request but a command. His body trembled beneath its weight, every fiber of his being yearning to submit. But no—this was not his queen. He would not serve.

  Though his voice was weak, he cried "Resist" into the void, but the Arrakfa around him responded affirmatively: "Serve.”

  His resolve crumbled as the compulsion intensified, an overwhelming urge to submit threatening to consume him. He stumbled backward, legs quivering beneath the weight of his resistance.

  His next step proved fatal.

  His hind legs slipped over the pit's edge, his heavy abdomen dragging him into darkness. His claws scraped frantically against stone, but he couldn't gain purchase.

  Agony ripped through his body as the Arrakfala's fangs pierced his carapace—the crack of splitting shell echoing in the pit. She pulled him deeper, her jaws working with mechanical precision, her instincts now registering him not as a mate but only as food.

  As his vision dimmed, his compound eyes captured one final, haunting sight: standing at the pit's edge was the Arraku he had abandoned in the woods—the brother he had deemed too weak to survive. His former kin watched in silence, glowing green eyes filled with judgment.

  Waste came the verdict.

  And then there was nothing.