Chapter 11: Survivor

Kay was silent when he proceeded to a hidden chamber that zerg eyes had easily overlooked, which happened to be hidden by a sliding floor hatch. He eventually came into a cold and secret place that supposedly contained this Kragnon character. Of course, they would have found it anyway if the zerg had deconstructed all of the structures for resource redistribution, but finding this hidden chamber put the discovery way ahead of schedule. But Kay, on the other hand, was very agitated and quietly fuming. After all that time carefully being explained on how to revive the lovechief, the conversation ended up being more pointless than telling a fat kid with ADHD to keep his hands to himself in a candy store.

'You are angry, Kay.' Virid stated, unseen but still telepathically heard.

Kay stood before a console with several buttons, and this console was overlooking a capsule that contained a safely preserved individual. "Fuck yes I'm angry."

'Why are you angry?'

Kay sighed, raising his clawed hand and getting ready to access the console. "I am angry, because..." He tapped a button. "... All that time spent listening to Maiden amounted to nothing noteworthy. In summary: Only a single button was needed to be pushed."

[Assumption detected. Confirmed.] Maiden politely answered. [It was necessary for each part of the document to be read thoroughly. Otherwise, the restrictions of access into this particular facility would still be in effect.]

Kay sighed again. The revival processes of the cold-pod was entirely automated, making the simple process of rejuvenating a hibernating gilanian a simple matter. As the machine whirred to life, the pod slowly warmed up and proceeded with the revival process of the creature within. After several minutes of time passed, the pod eventually opened to reveal an albino gilanian that was inclined and laying within the cold-pod. He wore a sanitary medical gown upon his person, and had several tubes and intravenous needles connecting to patches on his legs, arms, abdomen and neck. The patches loosened and fell from his person after an audible 'click' sound broke the silence.

The albino gilanian groaned and languidly rubbed his eyes, slowly emerging from the cold-pod and taking in fresh breaths of air for the first time in a long while. After shaking his head awake, he finally spoke. "Maiden. Are you there?"

[Query detected. Maiden, standing by.]

The gilanian stretched himself and got out of the pod, leaning down to rub his legs. "Guh. Tell me the current date, Maiden."

[Command detected. It is currently day 1 of the hot season, year 600 of the Age of Ascension, and the light cycle is 42.818% waxing.]

"Erh..." The albino gilanian squinted at nothing in particular, then looked up at the ceiling once his pause was over. "... 600? ... 600?! Maiden, are you telling me that I have been asleep for eighty years?!" The gilanian shouted.

[Query detected. Confirmed. Complications have been detected, which has prompted the hibernation period to be extended.]

"What was the cause?! I was only meant to sleep for thirty!"

[Query detected. Organisms designated 'shryik' intruded into facility surroundings and exterminated the resident population. Remaining gilanian residents: 1.]

The gilanian hissed and kicked at the pod he was once frozen in. "Gods-damn shryiks!" After that outburst of frustration and pain, the gilanian looked up again. "What about the other chieftains? Counselors? Farmers? Any information on any survivors?"

[Query detected. Full data unknown. Cause of data blank: Possible subterfuge. Summary of available data. Gollog Empire prompted the isolationist lifestyle from resident populations outside of the tower facility. A barricade was made, and a select number of warriors were chosen to fill the tunnels with sand. Shryik infestation occurred years later.]

The gilanian sighed and sat down with his palm to his face, sighing deeply and hissing madly. "... Oh gods no." The gilanian took a long pause before a confused expression soured his face. "... Maiden. The cold-pod is designed and programmed to only be opened by an outside party, right?"

[Query detected. Confirmed.]

"Who opened my cold pod?"

[Query detected. Outside party. Designation: Kay.]

"A woman saved me, huh?" The gilanian said, nodding in surprise and with a smirk on his face.

"A woman?!" Kay shouted.

The gilanian looked up at the sudden outburst and saw a giant bug-man that was before him. A second later, he screamed. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH~!"

After a few hours had passed, the albino gilanian had stopped running around in a panic and finally had decided to listen to Kay. ... That is until the gilanian was forced to the ground and had his mouth gagged with his own gown in order to be explained that Kay had no intentions of hurting him. After that, Kay then calmly talked to the albino gilanian, known as Kragnon the Lovechief, and explained his side of the story to him as they walked to the council room.

Currently, they were safely situated in the council room with the seven chairs, and Kay had already neared the end of his story. Kragnon had a glass of water with him, supplied by an ancient machine that Kay somehow overlooked, and was shakily settling the glass down after hearing Kay finish his tale. "S-s-s-s-so... Uh... You really are not from around here?"

Kay, now sitting on the other end of the septuple sided table, simply raised his arms and shoulders in a shrug. "Duh."

Kragnon nodded, leaning forward and sighing. "Huh... Well... I'm glad that you didn't eat my face when we first met."

Kay scoffed and petted one of the two zerglings that was next to him. "I don't eat faces. These guys do, however." The zergling started purring as it was petted, nuzzling into the hand that was running over its carapace.

Kragnon looked at one of the zerglings and shuddered. "... I want to say again that I'm sorry that I called you a woman."

"I kinda want to ask about that. Why did you assume that I was a girl?" Kay said, huffing a little.

Kragnon paused. "Well... Your name had one syllable. Typically, for our species, the males are given a two syllable name, and many females are given a one syllable name. It would be rare or uncommon for a gilanian to be given a name that does not follow this naming tradition. ... But I can tell that you are not one of our own, even if you can talk like us perfectly."

"M-hmm." Kay nodded with an unamused glare.

Kragnon looked down and sighed. "... It's amazing though. You coming here at such an unusual time, I mean. I was taught that there were no accidents or coincidences when it comes to fate guiding your life. But... I'm starting to think that luck is a type of tangible thing that actually exists. I never would have imagined something like you ever existing."

Kay nodded and leaned back on his chair, careful to not tip over and fall again. "Believe it or not, I'm now part of this world. All I'm doing is trying to survive."

Kragnon looked down again. "Right..."

Kay sat up from his chair, his expression changing to that of interest. "Well? I told you my story on how I got here, and how I lived in your neighborhood during your nap. Share your story next."

Kragnon looked up and stared at Kay, exchanging eye contact. The bug-man beast-master was polite, but Kragnon the Lovechief knew better to insult someone that had the power to break somebody in half. And he knew that it would be rude to disrespect his currently intruding guests, especially when they were responsible for bringing him back from an endless sleep that would have lasted eternally if he hadn't came to help! Kragnon nodded and decided to talk. "Well ah, there isn't much to talk about." Kragnon began. "I was born and raised in the once proud capitol of my world, Glitter Towers. However, about... Uhm... one hundred and twenty years ago, Gollog attacked my city and took all of its resources. I survived with several other gilanians, but we had to travel through the desert for our safety. A lot of us didn't survive, even though it was supposed to be the wet season at the time. Many of us died either by the heat, dehydration, or by the hungry jaws of a shryik serpent.

"But a handful of us found this mountain," Kragnon said, waving his hands around himself. "and there was a tribe of people that used to live here in this underground cavern. We introduced them to the technology that was discovered by our ancestors in the Age of Ascension, and we built them manifestation altars, air purifying machines, and various other tools and gifts for taking us in."

"Manifestation altars?" Kay replied, cocking his head.

Kragnon nodded and pointed to his glass cup. "The manifestation altar outside this room and in the hall made this. It converts the energy into matter by manipulating the protons, neutrons, and electrons into basic elements. Like this glass of water you see." Kragnon then inhaled and continued his story. "Anyway, the Hidden Water Spring Tribe treated us like family, and we treated them as family too. But when we heard that Gollog was becoming an emperor and conquering the whole world, the chieftains, our thoughtlord and I made plans to put me into a cold-pod. I was supposed to meet Gollog one day and force him to reflect on his madness. But now... it looks like I am way past the deadline of meeting him." He said, looking down and frowning.

Kay raised an eyebrow. "Huh! Sounds like a pretty interesting past! But I have a question about these altars. Does that glass of water really taste like ordinary water?"

Kragnon chuckled. "No, no, it kind of doesn't. The water I pulled from the altar would become too electrically charged, or whatever material really, if you don't remove it from the altar quickly enough. But it still acts like water, and functions like water, and is physically similar to water in every way. But using the altars too much will end up short circuiting them, and a technician would have to repair it."

'Once we have an evolution master on our side, we shall find out how to reverse-engineer these devices. To see if we can acquire additional resources in an organic way through such processes would be beneficial to us. Ask if these machines can recreate hydrocarbons that can be found in volcanic conditions.' Virid urged.

Kay nodded to no-one in particular and then leaned forward. "So these 'manifestation altars' manifest resources like water? How about more useful materials to the zerg, like say copper, iron, silver, gold, platinum, carbon and various other materials? More importantly, can it manifest something like volcanic hydrocarbons?"

Kragnon nodded his head. "Well uh... Things like those metals you mentioned are a little difficult for the machines to manifest, since they were mostly only ever designed to manifest water. But it can be done if there is enough energy to supply into the altar. Gods know that we have done it to make our weapons and armor!" Kragnon leaned back into his chair slightly and shifted his gaze upwards. "And as for the 'volcanic hydrocarbons'... I honestly have no idea. If what I understand is correct, you said that you lacked something called 'vespene gas'? Is it like evaporated petroleum fuel?"

Kay shook his head. "Not exactly. We have been siphoning volcanic fumes from the freshwater spring on the surface as an alternative to vespene. The process is very slow."

Kragnon shook his head. "It shouldn't be a problem, but I don't know if it'll be similar to your precious 'vespene'."

"Don't worry about us. We're the zerg! We can adapt to any situation better than any other species could." Kay chuckled and said, saying so in utmost confidence.

Kragnon sighed and smiled. "I don't doubt that." He picked up his glass of water and finished it with labored gulps, taking in the fluid slowly and enjoying the hydration it brought to his scaly lips. Once he was done, he set the glass back down and got up from his seat. "I think it's time I have a talk with your joint-commander."

Kay raised both of his hands and waved them side-to-side frantically. "No-no-no-no-no, bad idea." Kay could feel Virid's complete contempt of the possible meetup. She might even be tempted to injure Kragnon if she was even slightly offended.

"... Why?" Kragnon asked, his scaly brows raised in curiosity.

"Because if you pissed her off," Kay said, pointing at Kragnon. "she will feed your face to one of our zerglings." Kay then pointed at one of his zerglings. The zergling being pointed at hissed and licked its mouth.

Kragnon paled even more. "I'll uh... Keep that in mind."

Kay sighed as got up from his chair. "But for the moment, the entire chamber is now under zerg control. I recommend staying in your tower for your own safety."

Kragnon sighed, nodding his head. "Mm. I understand."

"Also, I want to ask permission to dismantle your manifestation altars for analysis."

"Ah, I'm afraid not."

"Why not?" Kay asked, crossing his arms.

Kragnon pawed at his empty glass. "Because with all the altars dismantled, I would not have the means to hydrate and feed myself."

Kay paused for a moment. "... You know, you could willingly join with us. Become one with the zerg, I mean. You would never have to worry about food and water ever."

Kragnon paused before looking at Kay. "Would that mean I would look like you?"

Kay paused before looking at himself. "... Well... Maybe not exactly like me, but... It would definitely be less lonesome than having the computer lady for company."

Kragnon smiled and chuckled. "Thank you, but I would prefer to remain pure and un-infested. The warden god wouldn't cotton to me becoming different by an alien infestation for my own benefit, or someone else's."

"Well, that's another new thing I don't know about. Lovechief, warden god, the different seasons. It's a lot of new information to take in!" Kay said extravagantly, taking the hint that Kragnon didn't feel comfortable with being infested with the hyper-evolutionary virus.

Kragnon chuckled. "I'll summarize what those are then, starting with my role. I happen to be a lovechief, if you hadn't already knew that. I make sure that the population of the gilanian doesn't inbreed, ensuring that the next generation of children are not hatched with health defects and grow into a stronger generation."

"Uh... Kay. Why would that have to do with the 'love' part in lovechief?" Kay asked.

"Well... I make sure that the lovemaking in the gilanian population doesn't become corrupted." Kragnon said bluntly.

"Oh..." Kay said, putting his palm to his face.

"Do you zerg have anything similar to the role of a lovechief?" Kragnon asked.

Kay un-hidden his face from his palm and spoke. "Not really. The closest example that I can think of would be an evolution master. Not only that, zerg do not breed in the traditional sense."

"How so?" Kragnon asked.

"Well... We have giant organic structures called 'hatcheries' that give birth asexually to larvae. And once the larvae acquire the nutrients they need, they go through a metamorphosis and turn into any of the several zerg strains that are needed for our zerg swarm. In fact, the zerglings you see here are the weakest infantry forces."

Kragnon's eyes widened. "... I... See. Well... To continue with your other queries, our world has several gods of several types of mythos. One of which that happens to be the oldest in recorded history was an individual called 'The First Warden'."

"Sounds like some kind of guardian." Kay said, leaning forward.

"He does sound like one, true. In fact, The First Warden used to be a man in the old tales. Legends say that this man had once died, but then ascended into a great and powerful deity that watched over the denizens of Kiln and their children. Before his godly death, that is."

"So he was some kind of guardian?"

"Once. He merely prevented the prisoners and their descendants from ever leaving this world, and he did so because he was convinced that the sins of the ancestors were passed down to the descendants. It is said that the lineage of sin prompted the start of his insanity, as the story goes."

"... I feel as though you might want to explain that. Sorry for being slow to understand."

"Oh no no, it's my pleasure!" Kragnon insisted. "You see, The First Warden was turned into a deity that was believed to be so large, that the entirety of Kiln could fit within his belly. And once he achieved godhood, and becoming insane later, he swallowed our world whole. But in doing so, he choked to death and became a dead god. Our world eventually passed through his throat and ended up in his stomach, forever bathed in his body heat and forever to remain in his insides. But the moon and sun you see during the nighttime and daytime periods is said to be the entrances to oblivion and to the paradise worlds. Many old beliefs would say that the sun was the entrance to the paradise worlds, but others would argue that it was the moon instead. But uh... That about sums up that religion."

"Does that have something to do with this 'Age of Ascension' I keep hearing about? " Kay asked.

"No no no. It merely marks the day when the descendants of the prisoners had found the means to recreate the technology that our precursors once wielded a long time ago. The manifestation altars, the energy caster weapons, the information network, the protection charms, magic wall projectors and the MEM devices were all rediscovered technology that was re-purposed. Such technologies was supposed to benefit everyone."

"Sorry, but uh... MEM device?"

"Acronym for 'Matter to Energy to Matter' device. It enables travel, and transportation of resources, from great distances away. Perfect for tourists to go completely around dangerous territory without the need to pay an exorbitant sum of water or vouchers for the travel expense!" Kragnon explained.

"Well fancy that! I think I would love to use such a device when I have the chance." Kay said, amazed by such a technology.

Kragnon nodded and smiled. "It's currently only used by the upper class of the cities on this world, but I'm sure it will be available to everyone soon. Now, I'll tell you about the seasons."

"Alright, shoot." Kay replied, sitting straight and attentively listening.

"There are five seasons on this world. The cycle starts on the dry season, then cycles to wet, cold, humid, hot, and then back to dry. Each season is divided into forty days, and there are two hundred days in the entire year. However, most cities utilize a different calendar for commercial shipping or holiday celebration, but most gilanians use the standard five season calendar to plan for droughts and survival."

"Any significance to these seasons?" Kay asked.

"Indeed, there is. In the dry season, much of the water on Kiln would evaporate, save for certain areas like in the north or south polar regions, and certain oasis' and tropical forests. The south pole is always engulfed in shadow, and is said that much of the moisture, especially at the end of the dry season, turns into a hardened water in the form of flakes that congregates there. It's only in the dry season that this solidified water starts melting again."

"... You mean ice and snow?" Kay questioned.

Kragnon scoffed. "On a desert world, ice is nothing more than a myth compared to the rarity that is water, the blood of all life." Kragnon settled himself into his chair and continued. "Anyway. After the dry season, the wet season comes next. It often brings temperate rain that showers most of the tropical areas in life giving water, but rainstorms happen once every year in nearly all deserts. Here in the Red Desert, however, there was never a record in history that said that a rainstorm soaked the surrounding sands.

"Once the wet season ends, the cold season comes next. With water falling from the skies comes cooling winds that would ease many sunburned gilanians. Being a cold blooded species, this season usually brings lethargy to our kind. But it also helps us store our energy for when it is needed. There have even been cases where some of my people died in the chill of the cold season. A great way to die, in my opinion. Can't really stand the warmth of a desert, or the sun stinging my pale skin, you see.

"After the cold season, it becomes the humid season. Muggy weather usually creates the perfect breeding conditions for insects of all sizes. It is also when the water supplies starts lingering due to the rising heat that is evaporating everything. Clouds may offer some shade, but those too are burned away by the heat of the sun. In fact, much of that moisture starts to collect at the south and north poles. Moisture farmers in the deserts would have to be hard pressed to collect precious water deep beneath the sands, even risking an encounter with the shryik serpents."

Kay shook his head. "Those huge snake monsters that swim in the sand like fish? Yeah, I can see why they can be dangerous when there is no solid ground to safely stand on."

Kragnon nodded. "Indeed. Shryik serpents have taken many of my brothers."

"So uh..." Kay said. "What is the final season about? The hot season, was it?"

Kragnon sighed. "Yes, I mentioned that season. The hot season, coming after the humid season, is when the temperature becomes hot enough to drain many various lakes and rivers of all moisture. Only with closed and strong containers can precious water be safely stored and used later. If the container is not strong enough, the moisture would turn into pressurized steam and force the container to burst! Typically, it is when the temperature stops rising that marks the day when the dry season starts."

Kay nodded his head and placed his hand on his chin. "Then this would explain the water hoarding behavior that became part of your people's culture."

"Very much so." Kragnon said, relaxing his posture and sounding unamused. "To the point of using it as our currency, in fact."

"You sounded like you don't approve of water being used as currency just now." Kay mentioned, analyzing Kragnon's tone.

Kragnon sighed. "Yes. We have finally developed the manifestation altars to provide water long ago in my past, but we also needed to curb the people's habits to hoard the water. They were simply too grounded in the dependent mindset that the manifestation altars were a permanent method to a long-term problem. They requested to have their own manifestation altars, but the chieftain council and the thoughtlord knew that the altars would be abused easily. It was by my vote, and five others, that limited the use of the altars to only a privileged few, as well as fulfilling any requests we reviewed that we deemed favorable or beneficial."

Kay perked up. "Could you explain what the other chieftains are? And could you tell me what a thoughtlord does?"

Kragnon smiled. "Certainly, but I think it's time I took my rest. My jaw feels like it has been flapping for well over a time. My throat is even beginning to feel sore."

Kay shrugged his shoulders and got up. "Must be from all that yelling. Anyway, I got a hive cluster to manage. If you feel like talkin-"

'A hostile force is approaching the southwest encampment!' Virid shouted.

"Gh- Virid? What's going on?" Kay said, turning away. Kragnon only gave a confused expression since he was unable to hear the telepathic link that the zerg had.

'Several vehicles have been spotted, and they look to have the colors and symbols of the Crescent Arms Division. They must be the reinforcements that will be aiding the colonel of the nearby encampment. I suggest we route them and prevent their advance!'

Kay sighed. "Fucking figures. I guess we can't get too leisurely with the Crescent Arms Division, since we already know that they're going to become a bigger problem if we don't stop them now."

"The what arms what?" Kragnon asked, his face emoting confusion.

"Hush you. I'm talking to Virid." Kay said, turning to Kragnon and then turning away again. "Virid, what's our current force compliment?"

'176 zerglings, 20 roaches, 1 infestor, 1 hydralisk, 1 overseer, 50 overlords, 25 drones, 16 spine crawlers and 16 spore crawlers are available at the freshwater spring hive cluster. Shall I list our mutations?'

Kay raised his eyebrow. "When did we get so many roaches?"

'I had sent a drone to find another volcanic spring in the tunnels. It found one and turned into an extractor there. Other drones were sent down to chisel the rock to make way for a hatchery for faster accelerant collection.'

Kay nodded. "Oh! Very good then. It might take a bit of time, but stall them for as long as possible until I get there."

'No need to waste time running. A nydus worm shall bridge the distance.'

Kay paused.

A rumble, starting low and quiet but soon becoming deep and cacophonous, had broke into the silence of the moment. Kragnon fell out of his chair and was on all fours as this happened. "WHAT IS HAPPENING?! ANOTHER SHRYIK ATTACK?!" Kragnon yelled out loud.

Kay turned away and proceeded out of the council room. "One of the zerg's specialized transport organisms. You may have a look outside and see for yourself. But remember my warning that I gave you. Do you remember what I have told you to do?"

Kragnon peered up from the table once the tremors stopped, watching Kay leaving the council chamber. "... That... I should stay in the tower?"

"Exactly." Kay said, finally taking his leave as he was followed out by the two zerglings that seemed to guard him.

Once Kay and his beasts left, Kragnon stood up and straightened his gown before speaking again. "Maiden. Show a camera feed outside of the tower."

[Command detected.] One of the walls emitted a multi-colored screen that showed... a type of horror that Kragnon would have never expected to see in his lifetime.

"... Oh gods. What even ARE the zerg?!"

Kay left the tower and strode quickly on the creep covered ground. The overlords and few overseers milled about with nothing to do in this underground environment, but they resigned to their fate to being a hidden reservoir of mental control, supplying management a distance away from under the ground. As Kay looked onward and walked forward, he spotted the entity that Virid called 'the nydus worm'.

A huge monster jutted out of the ground and disheveled much of the sand and creep around itself. It sported two sets of 'jaws', one set that closed around its mouth and prolapsed throat, while another extended upward and over its mouth in two broad fleshy 'lips' that contained hundreds of teeth on the underside. Giant protracted spikes jutted out from its body, which seemed to be stabilizing its head. The creature had no brain, but it responded to the zerg and the zerg's will all the same, but could also see around itself and be able to recognize pain being applied to itself. Kay walked up to the thing and inspected the beast, gulping. "... So... I just step in this thing's mouth?"

'In!' A zergling telepathically said, pushing Kay into the awaiting maw with its attack claws.

Kay lost his balance and flailed before colliding into the mouth, swallowed whole as he fell.

A/N: Don't mind me. Just a lot of world-building here.