Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Belissar touched the core and frowned.

“Ok then...we’ll finish the, um, room or whatever. Now...how do I actually do that?”

As he thought, his vision went white.

A moment later, he found himself...floating above a field of flowers. He gasped, but he wasn’t falling. He was...flying? How was that possible?

He tried to look down at himself for any hints and gasped again. He...couldn’t see his body. At all. But as he focused on it, he realized he could still feel it. As far as he was aware...he was still standing in the white room, with his hand on the core.

But that was nothing new for this situation. This was a Tower of the Gods, after all! Who was he to say what was weird and what was normal? Maybe Tower Lords thought it weird that peasants had to walk around on their feet...and stay inside their bodies?

In any case, he was getting distracted again, and the room was still poking him. So, he set out to get to work. And again, once he had that thought, something changed.

Please place Monster Bee Queen Spawner(s). Upkeep: 20 Mana per active spawner.

As Belissar was trying to process the words, the monster bee queen shook herself, and then flew towards him. Belissar tensed for a moment, but she stopped in the air before him, watching his every move. He could...feel her intentions, somehow. She wanted...orders?

“Um...well...you’re the bee. Go and do bee things, I guess.”

The monster bee flew in a salute pattern and then flew off into the field. She began gathering pollen from the flowers, before flying off to one of the trees. There, she started building a small wax comb, and started laying eggs.

Belissar just watched in silence as the first bee flew off his shoulder and danced around in the air before him.

“Queen built hive, laid brood!”

Belissar rubbed his chin before nodding. Now was as good a time as ever.

“Um, you know I’m a guy, right?”

“A boy, a man, a male?”

The bee’s flight grew unsteady.

“Queen is...drone? But...Queen made hive, laid brood? Drone can't.”

Belissar opened his mouth to object, but then glanced around at the field of flowers he had apparently made...and the monster queen bee he had apparently chosen...and the monster bee queen spawner he had apparently placed.

“That’s...um...well I guess that’s true? But, like, I am still a guy, you know?”

The bee shook in flight.

“But...how can Queen be a drone? Drone is not queen.”

“Um...then how about a king?”

The bee flew unsteadily.

Belissar nodded to himself.

“It’s, um, like a queen, but male. Rules countries, raises armies? It’s, um, a human thing.”

“King like queen, but also drone? Do both job? Humans have drone queens?”

Belissar furrowed his brow.

The bee continued her slow flight.

“Queen want call king?”

Belissar slowly nodded.

“Yes please, if you don’t mind.”

The bee paused for a moment, then flew in a quick salute.

“Ok! Will call Queen King now!”

Belissar gave her a small grin.

Well...he had a feeling he hadn’t exactly resolved the fundamental misunderstanding, but close enough. As long as she didn’t expect him to lay eggs directly...

With that situation...resolved...somewhat...Belissar made his way to the other unique feature in his field. The large gate on the other side. Two large wooden doors, standing alone in the middle of the field. Belissar walked around it and found nothing behind or around it. It truly appeared as just a door, randomly standing in the middle of nowhere. He frowned, and then shrugged.

Begin initial purification attempt? Time remaining: 2 days, 23 hours, and 37 minutes...

Belissar immediately shut the door and braced his body against it as he saw a writhing, amorphous black mass outside.

Outside the door was a sea of the Hunger.

The doom that haunted the world. The punishment from the gods upon the wicked. It consumed everything that it touched, be it human, beast, plant, or even metal and stone, and turned them into twisted shadows of their former selves. Those shades would then assault the living and continue to spread the Hunger.

Belissar would die in seconds if exposed to it. Even now his heart pounded as he slowly backed away from the gate. He was completely surrounded...which meant soon, this place would be corrupted too. There would be no escape.