Moon II

"Why does the Weave answer your call, creature?"

At this point in my evolution, I'm unable to speak. Does she expect me to draw my answer in the rock or something? Can she just read my mind? 

As I continue thinking, my ghost appears with a puff of green light in front of me, its familiar deep voice rings out toward the feminine figure in front of me. 

"Eris Morn..."

A look of shock appears on Eris' face as she briefly slips into a combat stance. However, seeing our lack of movement she quickly eases herself. 

"A ghost? Fueled not on the light, but by the darkness. Even further, it powers the Hive. How strange. I must see this further."

Instantly, Eris extends her hand, a pale green light emanating from it as a strange symbol appears, three strokes surrounded by a circle, similar to the strange runes I saw back in Malvūc's domain. 

Instantly, a ring of spikes encircles my position, completely tethering me to my location. 

I instinctively let out a chittering noise in surprise, this instantly followed by a remark from Eris. 

"Do not resist, you are not at a level to resist the magic of your kind." 

Even with all of my strength, I'm unable to move much, completely forced to watch as Eris approaches my ghost and grabs it out of the air. The ghost whirs and glows slightly green, however, it is unmoving. 

"Let go... of me!"

"Not yet. The vanguard must be informed of your existence." 

At this point, the spikes have begun to touch my carapace. They don't touch or harm me, rather, I assume the magic is what is restricting my movements. It hurts, not me but my ego. I thought I had finally gained some strength in this world but it seems there are enemies way stronger than me, even when using abilities that aren't their own. 

A loud whirring sound rings out behind me, as three bulky, brown ships sporting purple and white colors. It shoots electrical projectiles in our direction, shattering the restricting ring of magic as they burst near our feet. 

The energy doesn't seem to harm my carapace, as it gets absorbed into it. I look toward Eris, praying for any signs of damage, but all I am met with are three Hive ships flying toward me. Tens of Fallen and Hive descend, the grounds becoming a hellish battle once more as my eyes dart around, searching for my ghost. I can't afford to lose the thing that has saved my life so many times. 

However, it seems that Eris has vanished, along with my ghost. Presumably to visit the so called 'vanguard'. Several bullets from the Fallen's side come streaming toward me. I dash forward, narrowly escaping the bullets and scan the area once more. A total of thirty-two Fallen, three floating purple machines, and twelve smaller drones. On the Hive side, twenty-one thrall, and two knights. 

I have no idea what the strength level of the purple machines are, but it shouldn't be too high. Ever since the guardians and Eris, the Fallen seem so insignificant in comparison.

Several thrall rush forward, immediately being pelted with tens of bullets from the Fallen, and falling to the ground, limp. The thrall seemed to have almost no self-preservation, rushing in and hoping for the best. I couldn't just allow my species to be so dumb. Should I let them die? Some seem to team better than others, maybe I should sit out of this one? The ones who are smart can be the ones to survive... maybe that will teach them something. 

I grab a strand and pull myself, soaring through the air toward a crater around thirty meters away and duck for cover, the Fallen and Hive ignoring my depart as they continue to fight. 

Thrall continue to rush in, the knights taking the lead this time and advancing toward the Fallen who hide behind protrusions of rock. The Fallen keep peeking around their cover, shooting a few bullets and hiding again. It's... cowardly. This world doesn't follow the same rules as Earth, you need real strength here. Cowardly techniques like that won't work here for long. 

I'm proven correct as an after several seconds of their charge, the Hive reach the Fallen and begin to dig into them, the knights with their swords and the thrall with their claws. 

Blood splatters all over the rock around them, as many fall limp. The drones don't seem to be of much assistance, but the purple machines send a barrage of glowing purple missiles toward the Hive, cutting their numbers down quickly. One of the knights step forward as a strange blue shield begins to surround it, somewhat dispersing the missiles. However, his shield seems to be inefficient, as the machine's assault breaks through the shield and plow into the knights; huge blast marks engraved into their carapace, melting and burning it away. 

Luckily for the Hive, the knight's sacrifice gave them a brief moment to recuperate, and charge toward the purple machines as their blasts cooldown.  The second knight's sword easily tearing through two of them as the remaining thrall pounce on the final machine, gradually tearing it to bits as they all begin to shake and explode. 

Most of the Hive don't jump out of the way in time, and take the blast head on. Those Hive didn't make it, reducing the numbers of the Hive down to three thrall. The Fallen only have a couple men left. It's pretty equal. The Fallen retreating slightly, firing off popshots as they duck for cover. The Hive rush forward carelessly, and somehow manage to reach the remaining Fallen, and claw them down before they completely die. 

It seems they didn't learn anything. They were just lucky. There's no strength in being lucky; no one is lucky all the time. Eventually it will run out, and your life is over, I wish I had learned that lesson in my last life. 

I sling myself back to the area of the battle and begin to eat the corpses. The thrall do the same, not even acknowledging my entrance. I guess I won't take everything, I'll let them live until their luck runs out. However, I do eat most of the bodies, including the large Fallen and the two knights. I wonder how much Biomass I will have. I hope I have enough for a bunch of upgrades.

After my small feast, I look around the area, searching for the next place to travel to. I can't necessarily return to Earth just standing around, twiddling my thumbs. I need to explore, there has to be something that gives me the power to travel through space. Probably.

Soon, I spot a strange location in the distance. It appears to be just a gaping hole, descending into an infinite darkness. It isn't too far away, just a few hundred meters. 

I compress the bones on my legs and blitz forward, leaving the scene of the battle almost instantly as I peer over my shoulder to see the three thrall pounce and devour one of the Fallen corpses. 

The distance closes rapidly, the gorge seeming to grow larger the closer I get, until soon I stand near the rim of the hole. The other side seems to be hundreds of feet away.

Looking down, I see... nothing. A green glow emanates from the bottom but fuck all else. 

However, no matter what little amount I see, something calls to me. A strange feeling that compels me to throw away all rationale and jump into the ditch. At the same time, a deep voice speaks in my head, similar to my ghost. The voice speaks, causing pain to throb through my head, nearly splitting my mind in two.

"Descend..."