The Guards had spotted the flying threat a while ago, quickly retreating back into the hole. But since he could not recognize the pheromones they used, he was unaware of the danger. However, he noticed that the sunlight flickered in an odd way, which caused him to look up.

Wha! What is that?! A dragon?! Shit! Stupid Guards didn’t warn me! Did it see me? I’m an easy target just standing here, but there is nowhere to hide, and I won't make it back to the hole.

He grew more and more desperate, as the shadow circling above him slowly increased in size. He started to dig a small hole to hide in. However, it only took a few seconds before he realized it was utterly useless. His sharp, thin legs merely shuffled the smaller gravel around. He could not make any progress into the actual dirt.

Shit! Stupid legs can’t grab hold of anything. Maybe if I stand completely still, it won’t see me? Like those T-rexes in those dinosaur movies.

The big flying creature landed on the ground a short distance away, making the gravel shoot out in all directions. It stood still, and then turned its head in his direction. The two's gazes met in mid-air, and the half evolved larva felt an increased amount of fear.

Ugh… don’t think this is working… but I already went down this route, so can’t give up yet. Damn, this thing is huge. At least, ten times bigger than me. Just the beak is about my size. Wait, beak? Ah yes, it’s more like a bird. So no dragon… That doesn’t change anything really. I’m still screwed. Might be worse, birds like larvae...

This mysterious giant flying bird creature was completely black, only with different shades of black. Black feathers, shining in the direct sunlight. A sharp black beak, capable of stabbing and crushing the scared larva with no problems. Black piercing eyes that gave the impression that it could see everything around it. Two black feathered wings folded to the body, giving it an impressive look when unfolded and especially when flying high up in the air. For the small ground living creatures in the area, those two wings in the sky were the signs of the reaper coming to claim their lives. The typical bird feet, that scattered gravel all around when it landed, were also black. The bird began its slow walk towards the juicy prey in its sight.

Can it see me or not?

Ah… it’s right next to me now, looking straight at me. This is it… Guess I will just respawn back at base. Wonder if I must restart as the basic larva form, since I haven’t fully completed this stage yet.

He closed his eyes, awaiting his death. He waited and waited.

What's taking so long?

His curiosity got the better of him, and he slowly opened the eyes again, taking a peek. He saw something completely unexpected.

The bird creature was no longer right next him, but inside the mouth of an even more gigantic creature. It had four legs, ending in paws with big claws on. A long fairly thin tail moved around behind it. The four-legged creature's fur was a mix of patches of black and white, covering the whole body. Its eyes were even larger than the bird's, and it gave an even more profound expression of being all-seeing. Currently, the four-legged monstrosity was busy with trying to bite off the head of the bird creature.

This, this is… I can’t believe it. I’m saved! No wait, not safe until I’m back underground. Better run before that monster notices me.

Not even ten steps later, he felt vibrations through the ground. Small gravel and other tiny things on the ground moved around from the tremors. Every second the vibrations increased in power. He realized this was the sound of something heavy, very heavy, moving towards him at extreme speed.

Whaaa-... What is going on?! This is getting ridiculous. How many things are going to show up?

He quickly hid behind a boulder, three times his size. He waited in silence, barely daring to breathe. Though, since he could not talk, nor even scream, it was not hard to remain silent. The vibrations were now very violent, making his body shake for each wave.

Suddenly, coming out from behind those tall mountains, that seemed to stretch up into the sky, was the largest living thing he had ever seen.

It walked on two legs, ending in black shiny looking feet. Those feet just crushed the ground beneath them, not caring about any sharp rocks or trees. Something blue swirled around its legs when it walked. Very bizarre. Some kind of mane perhaps? Or extremely dense fur? The larva did not know.

The two-legged giant quickly walked up to the four-legged beast. It bent down to pick up the four-legged beast from the ground, causing humongously long black hair to fly over from the back, covering the face. After it stood up straight again, it grabbed the bird creature from the four-legged beast, with two pincer like objects, and threw the bird creature on the ground. Terrifyingly enough, it looked like it had several more of those pincer like objects. Then the two-legged giant just turned around, walking back the same way it came, not paying any attention to the little larva, trembling in fear on the ground.

Good god… What is up with this crazy food chain?! What was that? A Titan? Haha, probably not. Couldn’t see what was above the waist, but I’m sure it was something terrifying.

After taking a minute to process the shocking chain of events, he noticed the bird creature lying dead on the ground. He looked in all directions, making sure there was not another creature laying in wait, before slowly sneaking up towards it.

This can feed our colony for a while. No way I can move it by myself though, and can’t communicate with the others, for some reason, so can’t get any help.

The larva pondered his options for a while. Honestly, there was only one thing to do.

Well… let’s give it a taste first, hehe. Probably can’t get through the feather armor so...

He climbed up on the out stretched wing, moving up to the torso. He looked down on the ground, swallowing once in fear. Falling down from here would hurt. Or would it? His body was after all very soft. Unless he landed on his thin feet, he might be perfectly fine. He shook his head, not point in thinking like that now. He had a feast to attend.

The larva walked over to the open neck, where the head used to sit, before the four-legged monster removed it by force. He looked down at the bloody opening and swallowed once more, but this time, not in fear, but in excitement. It just looked so delicious. He lowered his head, pushing his face into the red meat. It was still warm. The munching began.

---

The Guard Captain's POV

Another day, another hunt. I’m getting too old for this. How much longer until the replacements are fully grown?

The Guard Captain gathered his troops, once more going out to gather supply. It was just as dangerous every time. But, the Queen's orders were absolute. She wanted food, and by the Swarm, she would get food. Suddenly, he saw something... odd moving towards their group.

Hmm… what is that thing? Is it a larva or not? And why is it coming with us? It looks half developed. Damn, are we so understaffed that we must rely on things like that? Will be good enough for a meat shield, I guess. Better that thing dying than one of my Guards.

They send a dozen Guards, a dozen Workers and some kind of newborn to gather supplies. Not a single proper Hunter nor Gatherer. How the mighty has fallen. But I heard that the Queen successfully created the new Emperor. Haven’t seen him yet, though. But I’m sure he is extremely large, powerful and have a terrifying look. Soon, it will be our time to shine. Once again.

The Guard Captain sent the pheromone command for 'Move out!'. Once they reached the surface, he and his Guard squad took positions to watch the skies and the foraging area for any threats. The Workers knew they had little time to gather supplies so they immediately got to work gathering biomass for the Feeders.

The Guard Captain looked just like the other Guards, only bigger and smarter. He could make more individual choices, something the other Guards could not. They only followed order, and had very little imagination. On the surface, his body was similar to an ant, but only on the surface. After all, he was a member of the Swarm. On his face were two huge mandibles, designed purely for combat. His exoskeleton was strong and thick, capable of resisting many attacks.

The Workers looked similar, but with smaller bodies and mandibles. Their strength was around the same level as the Guards, since their task often involved hauling things, but their exoskeleton was a lot weaker.

The Guard Captain surveyed the area but did not find any threats. He looked over at the larva at the entrance. He could only shake his head.

What is that newbie doing? Ah, it’s his first time out, I guess. Seems like he got the idea now, by watching the other Workers. Quick learner. Wha? He just left the biomass by the hole. Sheesh. Now what? Why is he just staring at that plant?

The Guard Captain, a veteran, long past the normal retirement age. Life was extra dangerous for this colony, so all the Guards were experts at their job. The ones with less aptitude died a long time ago. So, he stopped watching the interesting larva, and did a new sweep of the area.

Huh?! What is that?! En... Enemy in the sky!

The Guard Captain immediately sent the pheromone command for 'RETREAT!'. His command caused everyone to drop what they were doing, quickly running back inside the nest. The newbie did not move, he simply kept staring at the plant.

Idiot! Well, suit yourself then. Cover our retreat. Distract the enemy with your juicy body. The Guard Captain turned and ran home himself, and once inside, he checked if everyone was present.

Good! All made it back home. Well, except for one. But some losses are acceptable. Time to report to the Queen.

The Guard Captain walked over to the Queen and lowered his head as he spoke.

"My Queen! Enemy sighted in the skies caused us to abort the mission early. We managed to gather enough biomass to last us through the day, though."

"Better than nothing, I guess. Any casualty?"

"No casualties. No wait, one casualty, I guess. The newbie didn’t follow the retreat command and just stood there like an idiot."

"You! You idiot! That was your new Emperor! He has yet to evolve his pheromone sensors, so he cannot understand any of those orders. Get back there at once! Bring him back! No matter the cost!"

The sudden outburst surprised the Guard Captain. Even though he heard the words 'the Emperor', he did not really believe that the newbie was THE 'the Emperor'. Therefore, he tried to convince the Queen otherwise.

"But, but my Queen! We have fought that enemy many times already, and we have been utterly defeated every time. Nothing can survive out there alone with it."

"YOU DARE QUESTION MY ORDERS!?"

The roaring voice in his head made the Guard Captain immediately shrink back in fear.

"Nn, no… I just. I will leave at once."

The Guard Captain ran back to his squad. They were thankfully still resting by the entrance. Having to hunt them all down again would be a pain, and waste of the little amount of time they had. Every second counted. The Guard Captain gave the command for 'Emergency rescue operation!', which caused them all to quickly get into position. The Guard Captain led the charge out, rushing as fast as he could. His six legs tapped on the ground in record speed, causing his squad to fall behind a bit.

I can’t believe it. THAT was the Emperor. Guess it’s quite impressive to go out for a hunt while still not being fully developed. But I’m still kinda disappointed. We sacrificed so much to create him, and that was what he looked like. No, all that matters now is that he is still alive. If he grew that much in so little time, his potential must be unlimited. We must save him!

The Guard Captain and the squad quickly spread out to search for the newbie, no, the Emperor. However, it did not take long to find him. Standing on top of the flying monster, responsible for killing dozens and dozens of his men, was a plump larva, with two small horns on his head and six thin legs sticking out from his body; none other than the Emperor himself.

Not only was the Emperor completely safe, he was busy feeding on the headless monster. No, feeding was not the right word. He was gorging himself, eating without any restraints or paying any attention to his surroundings. Such a majestic behavior and aura could only come from the Emperor.

Im- Impossible! That was the only thing that went through the Guard Captain's mind.

The Guard Captain and his men surrounded the bird to get the Emperor's attention, since pheromones didn’t work.

How can this be? This half developed newbie, is not only the Emperor, he also killed one of the greatest threats to our colony. But the scariest part is how little time it took. After being born around two or three days ago, being outside for less than ten minutes, he is already defeating everything he comes across. Something the army has tried to do for weeks.

Ah yes… for the first time I feel hope. Hope that the Swarm CAN be restored to its former glory. It was not a mistake to place our bets on a new Emperor.

For about thirty minutes, the Guards simply watched the Emperor feast on his own kill, completely awestruck by his glory and might, before realizing that this place was not safe. They should probably get back inside. Even if they had no doubt that the Emperor would be fine, they were not so sure about their own little lives.

They did not dare to disturb the eating Emperor, so they used all the power they could muster to lift up the monster bird and carried it back home. A surprisingly large amount of power, only possible thanks to the moral boost from the Emperor's presence. Their strong exoskeleton allowed them to reach their nest without being crushed by the weight. If they had been mere Workers instead, their fates would have been the same as those Helpers from before.