Moon

The Earth seemed so small from here. Like a marble amongst an ocean of infinite darkness. The Traveler, that once seemed like an overbearing presence, was reduced to just a small speck.

I wonder: is it my new body that is allowing me to breathe, or is the moon different in this universe? Whatever the reason, I have more important questions as of now.

Why did Malvūc bring me to the moon? These three guardians couldn't have been doing anything to threaten him, and I'm certain he would have sent more Hive if stopping them were that important. He couldn't have expected me to win, since, hell, I nearly didn't. The only thing that allowed me to win was the sudden influx of darkness from my ghost.

Maybe he wanted to kill me. To get rid of me in order to keep his throne. Did he sense that I was going to kill him in the future? I hope not; that would make my plans to kill him even harder than they already are.

Speaking of, I wonder how strong I am compared to him now. Before, he was completely unbeatable, but I've had so many upgrades since then that maybe it's possible now.

For now, it doesn't matter. I can't reach him from where I am now. I don't even know if he was ever on Earth to begin with, so for now, my focus should be on getting more upgrades and finding a way to get back to Earth.

I begin to look around, searching the area for any sort of life other than the guardians I had just killed. All around me was gray rock with small, metal buildings littering the area; craters filled the space in between. In the distance, I spot something. It's hard to tell from how far I am, but it appears to be a group of Hive fighting Fallen. The Fallen look different from before; they're draped in different colors and symbols. Perhaps a different group of Fallen? If they even have those.

Alright, well, they can't have too much fun without me. Time to test out Strand in combat. 

I decide to try something new to see just how fast I can really move. Compressing the bones in my legs as much as they can, I grab two green strings that connect somewhere in the battle's direction. The green coil of thread forms around my wrist as I rapidly decompress the bone and allow Strand to slingshot me forward at the same time. 

Instantly, I feel as though I'm moving faster than a car on the highway, the moon's air pushing me back with all of its might, but the combined forces of the black bones and Strand completely overpower it.

The battle was once hundreds of feet away, but my speed allowed me to reach it in under a few seconds. The speed was hard to control, and I couldn't turn very well, but it's impressive nonetheless.

As I arrive at the scene of the fight, I can see more clearly that over twenty Fallen are in combat with only a few Hive. The Hive are being overwhelmed with sheer numbers, and there seems to be a stronger Fallen that is causing the Hive to lose. A tall, bulky, four-armed Fallen with blades in each hand, surrounded by piles of dead Hive. 

Most of them seem to completely ignorant to my position, however, the large Fallen spots me, instantly locking eyes with me and beginning to charge at me. The dead piles of Hive corpses tell me he may be around the strength of just one of the guardians I had previously fought. If it were old me, I'd be terrified, but now I'm filled with excitement. 

I grab a Strand attached to its chest and pull hard, closing the distance between the two of us instantly while I cover my claws in the corrosive darkness. Right as I get close, I swing toward his midsection, however, my strike gets deflected by one of their blades. My claws cut clean through its cutting edge, instantly corroding the blade in half and rendering it useless.

The Fallen throws away the handle and charges at me with its remaining three swords. It attacks in a cyclone, swinging one sword after another and all I can do is back up slowly while searching for an opportunity. 

This guy moves so erratically! Its attacks are completely random. He should just stop moving!

Wait a second...

I kick backwards, creating distance between me and the Fallen. Reaching out, I grab two strings attached to the Fallen with each arm and stretch them apart as hard as I can. The threads glow slightly as they coil, not around my wrists, but around the body of the Fallen, restraining its movements and lifting it into the air. It flails one of its arms that avoided being tied up, attempting to hit me in any way it can, to no avail. I pulse the corrosive darkness on my claws and spring in, jumping and slamming down onto the able hand and stare at the face of the Fallen. 

Its blue eyes peer into me as it chitters at me, trying to either scare me off or plead for his life. I don't understand their language but it doesn't matter to me either way as I rear my claws and slam it into its upper chest, blood rushing out and landing on my body. 

I jump from their blade and let go of its restraints, allowing its corpse to fall onto the ground as the remaining Fallen finally noticing the fight that had just occurred. They had been so preoccupied with eliminating the other Hive, they hadn't seen their boss getting slaughtered. It was funny in a way. Maybe this world is changing me.

It doesn't matter. I charge in to a different Fallen, quickly dispatching it with a quick stab to the stomach before I hear multiple shots heading in my direction. They move so slowly, by the time they finally reach me, I've already left and headed toward the group of Fallen that shot at me.

The Hive that were once on the defensive side have found their footing due to me and have begun to eliminate the Fallen one by one. 

The group of Fallen shoot another few shots at me, but I grab a Strand connected to one of the red and white Fallen and pull them, throwing them in front of me as the bullets all strike their body. As the Fallen body shields me from their sight, I leap, stepping on the body in midair to push myself forward to the rest of the Fallen.

I outstretch my hands, cleaving the neck off of two of the Fallen as I pass and grab a Strand connected to the final Fallen and pull it towards me, disorienting it as I stab my corrosive claws into its abdomen. It falls down, limp, before convulsing a few times. It coughs out heaps of blood, and slowly, the glowing-blue eyes fade. 

I turn around, and see three Hive collectively pummeling a single Fallen. The Fallen tries to run away but is met with three claws to the face as another Hive attacks it from behind. No amount of effort was able to save it, as it falls dead moments later. Almost immediately after the battle, the three remaining Hive crouched down and began to eat the corpses of the Fallen. One of them walks toward the large, four-armed Fallen that I had killed and began to eat it. 

What the hell? Who said you could steal my Biomass. 

I approach the Hive from behind, and with one slash, I completely behead it, as the other two Hive notice and spring toward me. This all could have been avoided, but if it has to be this way then so be it. 

The Hive looked like me when I first entered this world. Scrawny, frail creatures. I almost pity them, keyword: almost. I grab one Strand, this one connected directly into the chest of a Hive. The ethereal green thread wrapping around my hand as I pull. This time, however, I don't pull it toward me. Instead, the Hive glows slightly, before its flesh slowly transforms into a green weave of Strand that completely unravels itself. The body completely disappearing from existence. 

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[Darkness Control (Strand) 1 has upgraded into Darkness Control (Strand) 2]

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The second Hive tries to force its claw into me, however, my carapace causes the attack to barely scratch the surface. My claws pierce cleanly through the Hive in front of me, instantly deteriorating its chest and vital organs, the body falling lifeless onto the hard ground. I stand, surrounded by over twenty dead bodies of both Hive and Fallen. Looking over at the large Fallen body, hunger consumes me. An endless void as my stomach begging to be filled.

I approach the corpse of the six-armed corpse, and dig my teeth into its flesh. The tough muscles make it difficult to eat, but the taste is amazing. 

As I continue to eat, the blood and skin sliding down my throat, a deep feminine voice calls out behind me.

"What a strange creature..."

Turning around quickly, I see a person staring back at me. They don't look like Hive, but they give off a strange feeling, as though they have the abilities of my species. They're dressed in brown armor, with a blindfold covering three glowing eyes. They hold a strange green orb in their hand as they feel to be staring into my very being.

"How do you control the Weave, little one?"