Chapter 3: First Battle

As I stir, so do the others. One by one, my siblings begin to twitch and wriggle, shaking off their rest.

Goldy is the first to fully wake, its glowing eyes flickering to life. Then, without hesitation, it lets out this piercing screech—a sound that makes my insides coil up.

Oh, great. That can’t mean anything good.

The others react immediately. Thirteen of them, including Goldy, all snapping to attention.

Then Goldy shifts its position—oh no. No way.

It’s crouching.

Like it’s about to jump.

"Wait, hold on—are we seriously doing this?"

I glance down at the abyss below. Yeah. Still looks like a one-way trip to being a splat on the floor.

"I know I’m new here, but shouldn’t we—I don’t know—think this through? Maybe stretch first?"

No one listens. Figures.

Oh. Oh. That is big.

As I look down, something massive emerges from the darkness—a manta ray-like creature, its enormous wings gliding effortlessly through the air.

"You have got to be kidding me."

Goldy doesn’t hesitate. The moment the thing passes beneath us, it jumps.

And just like that, the others follow, one after another, leaping off the ceiling like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

"What. The. Hell. Are they insane?!"

I stare at the abyss, then at my siblings, now falling.

Okay. Think. I could stay here, be alone, probably starve—or I could throw myself into the unknown like a complete idiot.

Yeah. No choice.

"Oh, screw it—!"

I leap.

For a split second, there’s nothing but air rushing past me. Then—impact.

Not on stone. Not on death.

But on something firm, yet soft.

I land safely. Right on the manta thing’s back.

"Well… that just happened."

For a second, I brace myself, expecting my siblings to start tearing into this thing like they did with the centipede.

But… nothing.

No biting. No stabbing. No murder grubs antics.

"Wait, we're not attacking it?"

I glance around. My siblings are just sitting here, latched onto the manta-ray thing’s back like it’s a totally normal ride.

"Okay, what?"

Then, as the creature glides forward, I finally get a good look at the floor below.

And oh.

Monsters. A lot of them.

Big ones, small ones, some that look like they could crush me just by existing too close.

Powerful, terrifying creatures roam the ground—tough exoskeletons, massive claws, glowing eyes, and enough muscle to turn anything smaller than them into paste.

No wonder my siblings stuck to the ceiling before.

"Yeah, okay. That explains a lot."

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

As we glide through the cavern, Goldy suddenly starts moving—heading straight for the edge of the manta-ray thing’s back.

"Oh no. Oh no no no—"

Of course, the others follow without hesitation.

"Seriously? Again?"

I watch as they crawl toward the very edge, their little legs gripping the creature’s leathery skin.

"Are we jumping again? Is that what’s happening?"

I hesitate. I just got used to this whole "not falling to my death" thing, and now we’re already moving to the next reckless stunt?

Goldy reaches the edge first, its glowing red bristles standing out even more against the dark void ahead.

I gulp.

"Whatever’s about to happen, I am not ready for it."

The manta thing glides forward, carrying us through the massive cavern until the space ahead starts narrowing.

Goldy doesn't hesitate—once we reach the tighter passage, it moves first, peeling itself off the creature’s back and latching onto the nearby wall.

The others follow without a second thought, clinging to the rough stone like they’ve done this a thousand times before.

"Oh, I hate how natural they make this look."

I glance down—far, far below, the horde of monsters still roam, completely unaware of us.

"Right. Definitely not staying here."

I crawl forward, legs gripping tight as I reach the edge—then, with a deep breath, I push off and latch onto the wall.

I cling there for a second, waiting to see if I actually stick.

…Okay. I'm good.

"Whew. Still alive."

We move along the wall, inching forward in a single file. Goldy leads, of course—because why wouldn’t the shiny, glowing one be the first into danger?

The rough stone under my legs feels uneven, but I focus on keeping up. Falling now? Not an option.

Then, without hesitation, Goldy disappears into a hole in the wall.

"Oh, here we go again."

One by one, my siblings follow, slipping inside without hesitation. No stopping, no questioning, just go.

"What if there’s something in there? What if it’s a dead end? What if—"

I reach the entrance. The darkness inside swallows my siblings whole.

"Ugh. Fine."

I grit my mandibles and crawl in after them.

As I crawl through the hole, the space around me tightens. The rough stone walls press closer, forcing me to move carefully.

"Well, at least I’m not dangling over a monster pit anymore. Progress."

It’s darker here, but not pitch black—tiny cracks in the walls let in a faint glow from somewhere beyond. Goldy is up ahead, leading the way as usual, its glowing bristles making it easy to follow.

Compared to the giant open cavern from before, this place actually feels safe. No massive monsters lurking below, no terrifying leaps onto flying creatures. Just a cramped, narrow passage that probably won’t kill me.

"Okay. I can work with this."

Goldy climbs up again. Of course.

And, of course, everyone else follows like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

At this point, I don’t even question it—I just follow along, sticking to the ceiling without hesitation.

Then I feel it.

A faint tremor, rippling through the stone. It’s subtle, but definitely there.

"…Okay, that’s new."

The vibrations continue, steady but growing stronger. Something’s moving. Something big.

"Great. Just when I was starting to feel safe."

"Oh. Just ants. Giant ants. But still, not some horrifying dungeon boss. I’ll take it."

Goldy signals three of my siblings, and they turn, flexing their bristles. I recognize that stance.

Then—shhk!—spiky bristles shoot out, striking two of the ants. One flinches, the other staggers.

"Oh, nice. Ranged support. That’s handy."

Goldy doesn’t waste any time. It jumps. The others follow.

13 of us versus 8 of them. Two already injured.

"Yeah, I like those odds."

I brace myself. "Guess it’s fighting time."

I jump in. No point in sitting this one out.

The two siblings with me—only slightly bigger than I am—don’t look like the heavy hitters. Not like Goldy or the others.

"Great. Looks like we’re the junior varsity team."

The ant lunges at one of them—fast.

But the other sibling moves first, blocking the strike.

"Nice teamwork."

The ant hesitates for just a moment. That’s all I need.

I lunge, mandibles open, and crunch.

One of its legs comes clean off.

Pain flares through my body as I crash against the rough cavern wall.

"Okay. Ow."

I shake off the impact. Nothing feels broken—just some scratches and bruises. Could’ve been worse.

The ant, now down a leg, turns its attention back to my siblings. It’s still moving, still dangerous.

"Alright, you overgrown picnic ruiner, round two."

I push myself up, ready to jump back in.

Smart. One holds the line while the other goes in for the kill. It’s a coordinated effort, something I wouldn’t expect from a bunch of caterpillars.

But the ant’s still putting up a fight. Even with a missing leg, it’s quick, snapping its mandibles at any opening.

"Guess I should even the odds a bit more."

I lunge forward, aiming for another leg. If I can cripple it further, this fight’s as good as won.

The ant thrashes, but with one leg gone and another barely holding, it can’t shake me off.

I bite down at the joint between its head and thorax, my mandibles sinking in. It’s tough—way tougher than I expected—but I keep grinding, sawing through the tough exoskeleton.

The ant screeches, its movements turning frantic. It tries to snap at me, but my siblings keep it occupied.

"Almost there... just a little more."

With one final bite, I break through. A gush of thick, bitter-tasting fluid spills out, and the ant’s movements slow… then stop completely.

I glance around. The fight’s over. My siblings have already finished off their ants, and not a single one of us got taken out.

"Huh. That went better than expected."

Then my eyes land on Goldy—standing victorious over a single ant it apparently took down by itself. Of course.

"Oh wow, what a surprise. Goldy, the golden, glowing, freakishly strong caterpillar, wins its fight solo. Truly shocking, much small, such stonk."

I sigh, shaking my head. "Seriously, what are you? Some kind of final boss larva?"

I narrow my eyes at Goldy, curiosity creeping in. "Wait… how did it even take that thing down?"

I was too busy dealing with my own ant to notice. The others had to work in pairs, and even I needed backup, but Goldy? Not a scratch.

"Did it just maul it to death with brute force? Or maybe… poison?"

I recall those glowing red spines. "Are they even venomous? Or was it just for show? Or is it just a lightshow?

I glance at the corpse of the ant it took down, trying to spot any clues. "Damn it, now I kinda wish I saw it in action. Would’ve been a good learning opportunity."

As I tear into the ant’s flesh, its weirdly rich taste spreading through my mandibles, Goldy suddenly approaches.

Its eyes flicker again—deep purple, almost glowing. And just like before, a voice echoes in my mind.

"You-… Stronger-… Ca-... Spe-..."

I freeze mid-bite, staring at Goldy.

"Okay, that’s creepy," I mutter, swallowing my food. "You really gotta do the whole spooky telepathy thing?"

Goldy just keeps staring at me, unmoving.

"Tch. Fine, fine. I’ll take the compliment, I guess." I huff, going back to eating. "But seriously, you gonna tell me what’s up with you one of these days?"

With the feast over, my siblings waste no time moving forward again. No rest, no hesitation—just relentless crawling ahead like a well-oiled machine.

I sigh, wiping off the last bits of ant from my mandibles. "Man, you guys really don’t take breaks, huh?"

Goldy, as expected, leads at the front, moving with that same quiet confidence. The others follow without question, their bristles twitching as they navigate through the tight dungeon tunnel.

I shake off the lingering soreness from the fight and push forward. "Guess I’m sticking with you guys for now. Let’s see where this crazy bug train takes me."

After all that fighting, I was starting to wonder if these guys ever stopped—but finally, what I perceived to be an eternity later, Goldy finally makes the call. The group slows down, and just like before, my siblings begin climbing up toward the ceiling, finding a safe place to rest.

I’m not gonna lie, I’m feeling it. My body aches, my bristles are worn, and moving is starting to feel sluggish. That deer-thing we fought gave me a real nasty hit, and those water-shooting salamander larvaes? Annoying as hell. I glance at the others—seven of us, including me, are in pretty bad shape.

"About damn time," I mutter, dragging myself up the wall after them. "Thought you guys were just gonna keep going till we dropped."

Goldy doesn’t react, just does its thing—spinning that fancy golden silk again, making a secure spot on the ceiling. The rest of the group follows suit, setting up their makeshift sleeping spots.

I try to spin silk again. Nothing. Of course.

"Figures," I sigh. But before I can even think about it, one of my siblings—one of the smaller ones—crawls over and starts weaving a bed for me. Just like last time.

I stare for a second, then sigh again. "Yeah, yeah. Thanks." I mutter, settling in.

As exhaustion takes over, my mind starts to drift. I can’t help but wonder—how long can we keep this up? And more importantly… where the hell are we even going?

Sleep pulls me under fast, the exhaustion from all the fighting catching up to me. The silk bed is surprisingly comfortable—soft but firm enough to keep me secure on the ceiling. As my body relaxes, my mind starts to drift again, slipping into another dream.

End of Chapter 3