2 To The One Who Holds The Future

"Transportation success! Skills obtained: Eye of Truth Lvl 0, Acid Breath Lvl 0, Dig Lvl 0, Team Work Makes the Dream Work (Passive) Lvl MAX, Nimble Body Lvl 0, and Basic Protection Lvl 0."

"Belgh!" I vomited all over the pitch-black floor from the pain and vertigo following my wake. Subsequently, rough and raspy screams continued to assault my throat.

It hurts... IT HURTS! MY BODY FUCKING HURTS! My hoarse cries of anguish ruptured my vocal cords as tears rolled down my tense face. I continued to squeal as the pain became a never-ending cycle.

I started hyperventilating as my body felt like it was getting degloved piece by piece while my ex-wife, full of malice, was slowly stabbing and teasing my open wounds full of tender nerves and muscle with a blazing knife, making my blood boil—and in the process, scalding all my internal organs. The pain was too much, and my screams became that of a boar squealing with agony as it was getting poached, and all I could do was stay there, stay in the void, restrained and helpless. As I violently grasped my head with all my might, digging my fingers through my skin and directly into my skull, trying to make the pain disappear, I passed out and drifted back into the "void." The "void," the comfort I wanted to salvage. The haven I wanted to keep...

* * *

"Kieek!" I awoke with a huge gasp and sweat dripping down my face as I hastily propped myself up, still in shock. It took a few minutes, but I calmed myself down with a session of slow, deep breaths and quick mind meditation. As my mind cleared, I tried to remember what had happened before the "void." All I could remember was the derealization I felt as my consciousness faded out of existence. I shivered as I tried to remember more and shook my head to eliminate the unnecessary thoughts. As I cleared my head, I observed the surrounding room.

It was a large, severely damaged dome-shaped room bound by thorny, serpentine vines, with dozen of roses and rigid spikes of rock protruding through the floor in a crisscross pattern almost resembling a fence. Adjacent glowing berries emitted golden, angelic hues, illuminating dust particles, making the room feel like an ancient sanctuary.

"Okay, Okay," I whispered to myself while rubbing my eyes to eliminate the irritation from the particles that continuously invaded my eyes. After I wiped the dust off my eyes, I felt a skinny, almost stick-like object graze my cheeks and then screamed at the egregious sight.

"N-n-no! This can't be!" I ran to a small puddle of water to see my reflection, and my limbs went numb and gave out under me. The disbelief and disappointment I felt after seeing my body were indescribable.

Ever since I could remember, I've always been a fan of novels and how you could lose yourself in the pages and vividly delve into different worlds. And the genre I found most enjoyable was fantasy. I had always fantasized about reincarnating into a magical world and having overwhelming powers on a venture to slay the demon king with my companions. But to my excitement, I WAS reincarnated into that magical world, but I disappointedly realized that none of those dreams would come true. I wasn't reincarnated as some teen boy with black hair or an overpowered blue slime, but an ant. A FREAKING ANT!

I guess getting hit by that truck and all the pain I endured wasn't so serendipitous after all. After pondering the situation, I shriveled up into a ball full of depression, and as the minutes passed, my already low self-esteem got even lower.

"This has to be a dream, right? I got hit by a truck, so in a few minutes, I'll wake up in a nice, air-conditioned hospital room with the doctors surrounding my bed, checking my vitals! I'll wait..."

After a few minutes passed, I shriveled back into my melancholic ball and whined dramatically, voraciously praying for my downfall.

*BEEP!*

"AHHH!" The sudden loud noise made me jump out of my daze.

A vibrant wormhole tore space asunder and generated a vacuum that sucked the surrounding air along with whatever was occupying the room. The powerful vortex it created fortified a cylindrical barrier around what was about to emerge from within space-time. As multi-colored flashing lights bombarded my eyes, a small, neon blue ball materialized out of the wormhole. Its white emoticon face met mine, and my hind legs got weak, and I stumbled backward a few steps, utterly dumbfounded.

[Hello! I am the system!]

[The system welcomes the User!]

"What... who are you?!" I said with cold sweat dripping down my shocked face.

[I am the ▮▮▮▮ system. Here to aid the user in any situation!]

As it started introducing itself, its voice warped and glitched whenever it omitted words.

"Why did I get the system?"

[Sent by ▮▮▮▮ And ▮▮▮▮▮▮ chose you to be ▮▮▮▮, so you could ▮▮▮▮... User has insufficient authority. Any further information cannot be obtained until further notice.]

As the system reads off information, it starts to omit more and more details, rendering its answers useless. I started interrogating the system to satiate my curiosity and quell my vexation as it hid all the necessary information.

"How do I get more authority?"

[The user can gain more authority by leveling up and completing chosen quests! As you level up, I also grow. Every time the user reaches a particular milestone, I gain access to new and exciting features!]

[In this autonomous state, I can freely help the user with minimal restraints!]

"Okay, cool. Do you have to stay in this form? It's kind of annoying seeing a bright blue ball spinning around my head aimlessly."

[Are you sure you don't want to keep this form?]

"Yes. And... Can you be quiet until I need your help?"

[Shutting down... Please wait one moment...]

*WOOSH*

The air shifted as the system changed into a crimson-red color before fading into the ether. Finally, I could freely explore without being interrupted every minute. But before I could, a loud screech echoed throughout the cave, sending shivers down my body. The screech must have evoked some kind of muscle memory because my body started to move on its own and marched deeper into the more dangerous-looking part of the cave.

"Stop moving! This... haa..." I tensely stammered while gritting my teeth as my body ached while I was trying to free myself from the invisible force. After not so long, I sighed and gave up trying. I let my legs guide me, expecting the worst, but I still flinched from the bombardment of sudden light that pierced my retinas. After my eyes relaxed, the cave came into my view. It was inconceivably large and beautiful; the stunning sight of glowing ores, moss, and exotic-looking plants was breathtaking.

Deeper in the cave, firefly-type monsters were indulging in glowing moss. As the fireflies took a bite of the moss, they glowed in different colors; some blue, red, green, and yellow. A select few, however, had a white, almost angelic hue emitting from their abdomens.

"Weird..." I said while squinting my eyes to get a closer look. "I wonder why this is? Could it be a type of symbol representing a certain stage it has reached...?" I brainstormed for a while, but couldn't come up with an answer I was confident in, so I let my curiosity rest. I shook my head as the influx of questions, and unique environment put my mind in a muddle, causing me to stammer lethargically to a nearby, flat rock; that sat a little higher than me, which gave me a scuffle on my venture to the top. I grunted and grunted 'till I got to the top, and when I did, I fell and closed my eyes; the pure bliss that enveloped me abruptly stopped when another blood-curdling screech shook the cave. The body snapped up, and I started writhing with suppressed fury as my body marched off the rock—and like a moth to a flame—it followed the noise, disregarding the rapidly changing surroundings.

A dim-warm light came into my view, getting closer and closer; the light slowly faded brighter before my body stopped at a pleasantly sophisticated dirt door slightly ajar, guarded by two brute-looking ants clad in clay-like armor, accented with green silk-like paddings and capes. How flashy, I thought. The two guards turned their heads and suspiciously squinted at me. The guards looked at each other, looked at me, looked at each other, and then looked at me before unsheathing their under-bearing stick swords, muttering sounds while pointing their sorry excuse for weapons at my head.

"Kieek kieek kieeek?" One of the guards screeched.

Kieek, kieek, Kieek!" The other cried.

I moved my eyes side-to-side while nodding my head, pretending to agree with them. The two puzzled guards looked at each other, then at the door behind them, and then at me before shrugging, lifting my body, and violently ushering me through the door. They threw me to the floor, and the light became more distinct, disorienting my eyes for a little bit. After my eyes adjusted to the quick change in light, my jaw dropped at the incredible sight before me. Hundreds of thousands of ants lined the sizeable domed room. Most congregated in front of the large elevated platform at the center of the room, which had a giant, gaudy throne displayed in the middle for all eyes to see.

All the ants jumped, and their attention turned toward me as the guards slammed the door, making an onslaught of loud noises and gusts of wind that assaulted the whole room; they all went silent. Their aloof expressions stabbed me as I made my way across the room; I guess my precipitous actions disturbed their "chitchat" time. My body instinctively found a spot among the crowd and silently stayed idle. The ants around me murmured to each other (I couldn't understand it, of course).

"Kieek, KIEEK!" An ant screeched while secretly looking at me.

"Kikiki, kieek." The uncaring gossip ran down all directions setting the ants into a chaotic buzz of screeches. I suppressed my irritation by thinking of my past life, which rendered me blue. I continued with my head down until I heard a beep.

[User, would you like to activate 'Auto translate'? Y/N]

I guess you can come in handy! I chuckled before picking my answer. Without hesitation, I pressed "yes." The moment I pressed that button, the world changed. I could finally understand what the ants were discussing. Distant ants were questioning my identity. Another group was talking about what this gathering was for. I shunned their remarks and imagined what else this system could do. My daydreams abruptly stopped; all the ants shushed one another as a group of slow and heavy footsteps approached the room. Along with everyone else in the room, my instincts told me to bow or else. As they hoisted an enormous palanquin above their heads, dozens of guards set foot into the room with visible struggle.

The guards promptly dropped the palanquin as they got on the platform and fell full of relief. From the guards' reactions, I could only imagine what kind of behemoth was hiding behind the palanquin's curtains. A domineering aura leaked out, creeping up the backs of every ant in the room. The atmosphere got thicker as a stick-looking thing grasped the curtains before revealing itself. It was a giant, ebony ant with golden spike protrusions shaped like swords lining its thorax. I subconsciously bowed along with the other ants in the room, as this was a foe far too strong for me. Scarily strong. The ant's heavy footsteps thickened its aura, suffocating the group of ants around me and me. Its crimson eyes. More beautiful than a rose, deeper than blood, and more fierce than a battlefield. The ant, arrogantly...No...The ant confidently walked to the center platform, sat on a dark, rose-gold throne, and took a deep breath.

The silence was deafening...

"Cough! Cough!" The ant violently coughed.

"Raise your heads! The Queen's speech will now commence!" The guards shouted in unison.

Also in unison were the ants fixing their already straightened posture. If you didn't know better, you would think they were those unorthodox modern sculptures people call "art." The guards fiercely glared at me, so I quickly imitated the statue-like posture and shut my mouth, and the speech subsequently started.

"Good evening, pea— I mean Greed colony. Thank you for joining me on such short notice." The Queen bowed to the colony, and I scoffed at the sight. Even a baby could see through your façade. As she kept giving words of courtesy, her rose-like façade started to wither even more. After her little act, the Queen shook her head and went all serious.

"As all of you know, one of our rival colonies, the Tempest colony, has been tormenting us for quite some time, and it has reached the point where we can no longer live peacefully. From arduous inconveniences to killing our comrades and children and taking our land! Can we let them be any longer!?" Her poignant but inspiring tone made even my heart ache.

"NOOOO!!!" The whole colony replied with a cacophony of war cries and mandibles smacking. It gave me goosebumps.

"I have devised a plan, and with MY plan, I'm sure we can bite those elusive bastards by their buttocks! MY plan is quite simple," The Queen kept emphasizing the "My" in her speech. It made me think otherwise about "her plan."

"First, you will all be assigned a task to complete, such as gathering, building, reconnaissance, and hunting. Second..."

As the never-ending speech continued, I learned much about the Greed colony. Like - Unlike its rose-tinted atmosphere and people, it has quite the jarring past, not just with other colonies, but with other species too! Humans being one of them. Also, the Greed colony is very, very capitalistic, or as we call it on earth, they are capitalistic pigs who destroy people's livelihoods and would do anything just to get an extra cent into their pockets. As one capitalist society is, the Greed colony is one of the leading trading capitals out of every colony. Greed even has a black market where they sell various "stuff" to other races (I wasn't given much information on this). Greed has an abundance of rare and useful materials. Hell, they might as well have their money growing on trees! Thanks to their "money trees," there are a lot of inner conflicts about money, selling, and other bureaucratic reasons. All right, enough about capitalism!

I also learned about our enemy, the Tempest colony, albeit a little. So, Tempest is an annoying colony, and every ant population unanimously decided this. The leading cause for this speech was that Tempest was deliberately destroying Greed's materials; This act made Greed's economy flip. Now, Tempest is selling our materials for a profit; and this threw the colony into a state of pandemonium. They also had agility-related skills that aided them in their crimes. They also had very kleptomaniac and sadistic behaviors, making them a force to be reckoned with.

As the speech concluded, the Queen quickly and intensely leered at me and whispered to her guards—I was shitting bricks when her eyes met mine. She turned her head and ordered all the ants to enter an orderly line for their assignment. A sense of relief filled my body as every ant peacefully formed a line, but as I got closer, I started to shake. Eventually, it was my turn, and I looked up at the queen masking her bloodlust with a smile.

"Hi there," she said.

"H-h-hello," I replied.

"Guards!" The Queen screeched.

Before I knew it, I was flipped 15 meters in the air, spinning restlessly like a helicopter. All I could see was every ant looking at me. Some scoffed, some showed empathy, and some had big smiles. It wasn't any different from my workplace. Just an endless black sea made up of lies, pity, and the never-ending torture of being alone. The "black sea" began to obstruct my vision before it engulfed me and my consciousness.

***

"Wa...W...Wake," As I slowly gained consciousness, a muffled, indecipherable voice screamed at me, "Wak... WAKE UP!" I sprung up with a gasp and headbutted the unknown figure. "Ack!" We both held our heads and rolled, trying to shake off the pain. But I soon realized I was hanging from a mossy-stone wall by six rusted chains—one for each leg.

"W-where am I? GET ME DOWN FROM HERE! GET. ME. DOWN!" I yelled, demanding the figure to unchain me with gritted teeth.

"Shut up; you damn spy!" The figure replied while whacking me with a large stick.

"I'm not a spy! I—" I stopped as the same domineering aura as the queen, along with another, less prominent aura, filled the room. I began shaking uncontrollably as my ant senses told me to get the hell out of there.

The two giant figures eerily approached the room, and when they got there, they realized they couldn't fit through the door and sighed. "ᛟᚺ, ᚷᛟᛞ ᛟᚠ ᛏᚱᚨᚾᛊᚠᛟᚱᛗᚨᛏᛟᚾ, ᚷᚱᚨᚾᛏ ᛗᛖ ᛁᛟᚢᚱ ᛟᚺ ᛊᛟ ᚺᛟᛚᛁ ᛈᛟᚹᛖᚱ!" the hooded figure beside the Queen pulled out a dark crystalline staff from their cloak and started an indecipherable incantation. "ᚨᛗᛖᚾ!" Shortly after the incantation ended, a blinding light emerged from both of their abdomens. The shockwaves from the lights violently threw me and the unknown figure across the room into a pile of torture devices.

"Cough, cough!" A dust cloud engulfed the room, and I dissipated it by moving all six of my legs in fast rotary motions. As my vision became clearer, I could finally see the true appearance of the hooded ant. She was a gentle mixture of alluring midnight purple and deep crimson black that put the darkest shadows to shame, and her eyes... her eyes were white and glistened like a star; only the vast universe could match her divine beauty. I stared at her, forgetting to breathe and even losing my balance; although I'm not romantically attracted to her, you can't help but admire that kind of beauty.

"Ahem," The beautiful ant snapped me out of my trance.

"So, who are—"

"Which colony are you from? Tempest? Wrath?" the Queen interjected.

"Maria, enough!" The ant said sternly while fracturing the ground with her staff.

"Sorry, Sage Valarie."

Sudden shifting and noises came from behind me, along with the same unknown guard. The Queen and I flinched from the sudden noises. "Oh, that's right!" Valarie said in remembrance, "Return," along with smacking her staff on the ground, the shadowy figure evaporated into the bright red crystal on the tip of Valarie's staff.

"Now, back to you," both the Queen and Valarie intensely stared at me. "What is your name?" The Queen assertively demanded. "Now wait there, Maria. I hast just the tool for this." Valarie started another incantation, "ᛟᚺ, ᛚᚨᚹᛊ ᛟᚠ ᛃᚢᛊᛏᛁᚲᛖ, ᛒᛖᛊᛏᛟᚹ ᚢᛈᛟᚾ ᛗᛖ ᛁᛟᚢᚱ ᛈᛟᚹᛖᚱᛊ!" After finishing, a golden hue emitted from the crystal, and it slowly became less viscous before escaping entirely. "ᛈᛚᛖᛊᛖ ᚷᚱᚨᚾᛏ ᛗᛖ ᚦᛖ ᛊᚲᚨᛚᛖ ᛟᚠ ᛏᚱᚢᚦ, ᚨᛗᛖᚾ!" The golden blob transfigured into an intimidating golden justice scale. After showing off, it gracefully descended toward Valarie's hands with a translucent forcefield encapsulating it.

"The hell is that?" I questioned.

"This is a divine judgment scale. Here's how it works: the holder bids the other party a question, and the opposing party answers it; the scale shall face thy right if it's the truth or to the left if it is a lie. Now, maria and I shall be asking thou questions, and if thou grant unsatisfactory answers, it shall vaunt with thy head."

I can not understand her.

"For the first question, what is thy name?" Valarie asked.

"My name is Gray, Gray Ashborne," I answered.

Silence filled the room as we waited for the judgment to finish. The atmosphere was tense, almost suffocating. The scale wobbled before it gave its decision... "Truth!" Valarie shouted. For some reason, I felt relieved, as if I had just told the biggest lie in my life. "Sage Valarie, let me try!" The Queen started to prance around with anticipation. "Fine," Valarie replied.

"Are you a spy" The Queen quickly asked.

"No. I am not a spy," I replied briskly.

"Truth!" Valarie shouted.

"Are you from the Greed colony?

"Y-yes. Yes, I am," I hesitantly answered.

"Lie!" Valarie and Queen Maria glared at me.

"You—" Valarie cut off Maria before she could curse my whole bloodline.

"Fine... Whither are thou from?" Valarie intently questioned.

"I'm from another world," I didn't want to reveal my secret, but if I told another lie, I probably wouldn't be reincarnated again.

"T-truth?" Valarie said while tilting her head confused.

"Methinks the scale is broken, and I shall hast to get it checked with the committee of wizardry later on."

"All right, enough with the polite talk. Let's just kill him," the Queen remarked.

Valarie fell silent and turned to check the Divine Scale as a form of agreement. Before I knew it, Queen Maria lunged forth, pulled off her sword-like spikes, and aimed for my head. I recoiled with my eyes closed and waited for my abrupt ending.

[Basic Protection, Lvl 0 activated]

As her sword met my head, an invisible force stopped it and fought back. The clash of the two forces echoed through the air as they collided in a shower of sparks. I had my eyes half open, scared of what was happening. All I could see was the Queen's bewildered face, although I couldn't imagine my face looking any different. The clashing came to a stop leaving both Maria and me unscathed.

"You're an ability holder!?" The Queen shouted as she staggered next to Valarie, "this can't be!" She shouted again. I guess being an "ability holder" must be something special, as both of their faces were frozen with shock.

"Change of plans. We shall keep him alive, closely monitored, of course. Grant Gray an assignment and be on thy way. I've got to bring this up with the royal court!" Valarie exclaimed. "Adieu," Valarie marched out of the room and returned to her normal size.

"you're one lucky sonuvabitch!" The Queen seemed mad at Valarie's decision and wouldn't stop telling me how lucky I was to be alive and how now she would have to deal with her father. There was one thing I thought at this moment: This bitch does not stop complaining!

My cursing stopped as a silver scroll appeared out of thin air before Maria. "Yes, Valarie? What's the matter?" The Queen was confused about why Valarie would message her right after leaving. "I be almost at the royal court. Ere I hie, grant Gray this assignment..." The two started whispering about what I would be assigned. I just stood there like a child lost in a candy store; he doesn't know where he is, the visual and auditory stimulation overpowering primary cognitive functions, just standing there alone, wholly muddle-headed.

"Okay, Gray, I've got a task for you," the Queen shouted excitedly, "You will be in charge of gathering two VERY vital materials. Emphasis on the 'very.' You must acquire twenty Magical Snake apples in the Magical snake forest and twenty-five Limestone Spider spikes found in the Limestone Spider dungeon just east of the crimson river. You got that?" The Queen rambled on about how important these items were, and If I can't get them, it's not just my head that's off; it's her's also.

"If you don't come back within a week, I'll have the special-grade army track you down and kill you. You understand!"

"Yes, ma'am!" The Queen left with her concluding death threat and one last glare.

"Well, I'm fucked," I walked back and forth around the room, debating whether I should run away and risk it all. But I ultimately decided to suck it up and do the damn task.

Well... Let the journey begin!