A Journey That Changed The World

Archer and Athena was led through the colony on the back of a Transport Termite, it was A final descent brought them to the lava nurseries: a crater deep inside the earth, it was open to the sky in between some mountains in the center of their terroritory, rivers ran all over the place supplying water to the colony.

Here they grew fungi that thrived on liquid gold, harvesting spores that hardened into edible jewels. Workers ferried baskets of the food to a table already set for three as if the creatures were already doing it before they arrived in the chamber. The jewels sparkled like stained glass.

Jasmine clapped once. Drones swarmed, pouring nectar into crystal goblets that steamed gently. ”A tasting,” she announced. ”The ruby melts on the tongue into smoked cherry and lightning. The emerald is cooler mint and deep-ocean salt.”

Athena lifted a ruby spore between thumb and forefinger, eyes full of cuirosity. ”You feed your guests lava?”

”Only the finest,” Jasmine replied, smiling. ”And those who are close to my beloved.”

Following her word, they started eating the feast the silver-haired woman ordered for them. The flavors detonated across Archer’s tongue, then a bright electric aftershock. Athena laughed outright when the emerald spore numbed her tongue like frostbite, then warmed it again with a slow roll of salt, which felt strange to the Swarm Queen.

Between bites, the queens talked shop. Athena described life in the sea, amazing the Dark Termite Queen. Jasmine countered with the multiple wars she’s fought against the other rulers who call the Domain home. Their voices overlapped, eager, each finishing the other’s sentences.

Archer leaned back, content to watch the two queen getting on well, as he assumed they would be hostile to each other. At last, Jasmine suddenly raised her goblet. ”To unlikely alliances,” she said. ”Mountain and sea. Carapace and teeth.”

Athena clinked hers againt the Termite Queens. ”To us Swarm Queens, uniting under a certain man.”

Everyone laughed and continued eating, as far above, the sun surrendered to the mountains, bleeding pink across the lava rivers that cut through the crater. Night pooled in the terraces below, turning the air into stained glass. His gaze drifted to the platter between them: a scatter of jewel-bright spores no larger than thumbnails.

Each one still faintly warm. They looked like candies, but the weight of them in his palm was wrong, dense, like a heartbeat trapped in sugar. He rolled a ruby spore between thumb and forefinger. It yielded, then pushed back. When he bit down, the shell cracked with a sound like thin ice.

Smoked cherry flooded his tongue, chased by a crackle of raw lightning, making the hairs on his arms stand. The flavor lingered on his tongue, then sank, deep, satisfying, the way a full belly feels after a week of rations. Archer closed his fist around three more. Mana flared, a cool silver thread spiraling from his knuckles to lace through the food.

The scan took less than a heartbeat. He exhaled, half-laugh, half-whistle. ”Jas. These aren”t snacks. They’re field rations for an army that never sleeps.”

”We feed them to the warriors before long patrols. One spore sustains a heavy drone for twelve hours of flight,” she revealed.

Athena plucked an emerald spore, turning it to catch the last light. ”My Stalkers dive for days on krill and spite. Imagine what they could do with these.”

She popped it into her mouth, eyes fluttering shut as mint and brine and cold starlight unfolded across her senses. ”Gods. I’ll trade you a shipload of Deepsea-pearls for the recipe.”

”Recipe?” Jasmine’s mandibles curved in amusement. ”The lava does the cooking. We only harvest.”

Archer was already calculating. A single nursery terrace could yield ten thousand spores a day. Pocket-sized, weightless, impervious to rot. Feed an invasion force. Sustain a siege. Turn a long march into a sprint. He slipped a dozen into a pouch at his belt, the fabric glowing faintly where they touched.

”Next impossible thing,” he said, voice low with mischief. ”We bottle the volcanoes.”

”What do you mean, handsome?” Jasmine questioned.

”If I expand your land once again, can you build me several places to produce these Fire Fruits?” he asked.

The Termite Queen nodded. ”It can be done but will take months. My Swarm are growing in number and focused on gathering food.”

When Archer heard this, his smile grew wide as he offered. ”How about I get tons of food for you? I know a place full of Trolls and other mountain creatures, they’ll supply with as much meat as you need?”

”Could you bring them here?” Jasmine inquired.

”Give me ten minutes and I need a Food Chamber to store the bodies inside?” he responded.

She nodded in agreement, stood up and started leading him toward the closest one as Athena followed behind. After half an hour of walking, they arrived at a empty underground cavern guards that was the size of his palace. Once there, Archer waved his hand and sent out a horde of Venomwings.

”Kill everything on the Lost Continent, bring it here to feed the colony,” he ordered.

The flying monsters agreed and soared toward the land he couldn’t be bothered to conquer anytime soon, so he decided to clear it out. While the horde of flying creatures rushed toward their target he created some chairs for them to relax in as he asked. ”So, Jas, how’s thing’s going with the horde?”

”Goodm to be hoenst,” she reveaed, smiling. ”Thanks to the wars stopping, we’ve had a chance to explode in numbers, hense why I asked for our place to be expanded.”

”Still in the trillions?”

Jasmine nodded. ”Closing in on Quadrillion but we may need another Swarm War to strengthen our forces for the upcoming horrors. We’ve all seen you die in many ways and are determined to put a stop to that future as we can’t have you leaving us,” she sternly declared.

Archer laughed at this but Athena looked horrified as her head snapped in his direction. ”Your women have seen your death?”

”Unfortunely,” he answeredm sighing. ”It’s my first born, Freya. She harnasses powerful Time Magic and has been passing her mothers visions of me dying, prompting them to try stop it but if it happens, it happens. Life is full of surprises.”

At those words, the two women were shocked. Jasmine jumped up, causing all the right places to jiggle as she shouted. ”Impossible! You cannot die! Look at what you’ve created! Thrylos would fall into chaos!”

”Yes the Northern Realms with conquer this place,” the Deepsea Queen added.

Archer’s gaze turned to her, shocked. ”You know of them?”

”It’s where I come from!” she revealed, beaming. ”But the empire’s are hunting my kind, turning us into slaves.”

”If you find any invite them here,” he offered, a idea forming in his mind. ”They’ll grow stronger bathing in my mana just like Jasmine has.”

”Can I bring my swarm in here?” Athena questioned.

Archer nodded in response. ”When we move onto the next colony you can go get them, the Domains sea’s are vast and I’m sure you can create something with the space.”

When the green-haired beauty heard this her fce lit up, she exploded across the table, wrapping her arms around his shoulder. Athena gave him a passionate kiss, taking Jasmine by surprise but she remained seated, a hopeful expression crossing her pretty face as the two continued.

After spiltting apart, Archer teleported behind the silver-haired queen, and started rubbing her shoulders, making her sink into the chair. He leaned forward, whispering in her pointy ear. ”Do you want a kiss, Jas?”

She nodded but that wasn’t enough for him. ”Tell me what you want?”

”I want what Vivi, Vala and Ael have with you, it makes me jealous that I’m left out even though I’ve been beside you for years,” she honestly answered.

Archer felt bad hearing this and moved her chin toward him before giving her a passionate kiss that took the beautiful woman’s breath away but she quickly returned it with one of her own. A shiver ran down his spine as her soft hands touched his chest until they broke apart and she was smiling ear to ear.

Athena giggled. ”How are you charming everyone you meet?” she curiously questioned.

”Because I surround myself with women who like me,” Archer responded, chuckling at her reaction. ”I hate talking, so the people who know me are relatives of my harem or I’ve known for years.”

”What about me?” the Deepsea Stalker Queen countered.

”Because my women trusted you and I sense how your intentions are pure,” he instantly answered, shocking her. ”And that makes you fine in my book, so I hope you stick around.”

Athena beamed at his words and the three of them continued talking as the Venomwings began appearing through portals, dropping all kinds of monsters into the Food Chamber. filling it up. Archer turned to this, noticing the piles were growing taller as more creatures reappeared.