Death of a Star

The gravity bomb screams into life and I almost instantly die. The pulling force of the spell is so strong it almost rips me from my feet before I grip hard to the ground beneath me to prevent being ripped from the ground. The spell soon moves far enough away that the immediate danger is over and I can relax my hold, but a whole new fear is born in my heart.

If that's what it's like now… what will happen when it hits?

["EVERYBODY OVER HERE! NOW!"] I roar in every way I can.

[Master! What's happening?] Crinis asks.

[I just unleashed the mother of all gravity bombs and I'm worried we're all going to die when it pops off. Get everyone over here on the edge of the shield so we can dig in!]

And I start to do just that, ripping into the ground with my mandibles to create more distance and give myself a firmer foothold.

All the while that horrible scream shatters the air, the wind howling with despair as it is consumed by the bomb in flight. Even the light is eaten, the ball itself is almost impossible to see, it's so dark around it. The reaction of the kaarmodo is immediate, the lizards going pale (that might just be my imagination) and their servants reinforce the shield Invidia had already been battering with his eye beam.

["Move it, dammit!"] I scream as the ants turn and disengage from the termites. ["Aren't you supposed to be fast?!"]

Crinis is already retracting her limbs back into the shadows and emerging next to me as Tiny leaps out of the tunnel mouth, Invidia once more riding on his shoulder.

HOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWLLLL!!!

The wrenching sound of the gravity bomb has never sounded so terrifying to me. I do not want to be anywhere near this thing when it goes off. I continue to frantically shovel tons of soil and rock with my mandibles, hoping to see the shield end at some point but the damn lizards have extended the thing into the ground, because of course they would.

"Senior! What the heck-heck is that?" Vibrant rushes up next to me and demands.

"Forget that! Dig and hold on! When the shield goes, we run for it!"

I poke my head up over the mound of loose soil I've created and take a gander at the bomb's progress. I can feel the lizards desperately ripping into the spell, trying to reduce its strength before the detonation, but when I focus on the slowly revolving ball of gravity mana, I notice something strange. As they try to tear mana free, the ball is trying to pull it back in, refusing to let any energy escape from its orbit. They're managing to get hold of some of it and rip it free, but their efforts are only half as effective as they should have been.

How terrifying! This is a spell that won't even let itself be torn down!

I smack my mind into the shield in front of me and I confirm that it's significantly weakened. Already the kaarmodo have been forced to pull their attention from it in order to protect themselves. With effort, the combined efforts of my family and I could break through it now, but I get the feeling that in a moment this barrier is going to vanish entirely.

Just before the spell hits, the ants begin to arrive, diving over the earth mound I've been piling up and frantically digging holes for themselves to hide in, even if they don't understand why. A small number of termites have begun to charge out of the tunnel mouth after us and I almost feel pity. Those blind idiots are already dead.

The gravity bomb impacts against the kaarmodo sphere and flickers for a fraction of a second. I don't see what happens next, since I stick my head as low as I can get it and hold on for dear life.

["GRAB HOLD!"]

Everyone rushes to do just that and for a brief moment, there is perfect stillness, as if the world were holding its breath. Then it screamed.

No, not a scream, a ROAR!

It's like nothing I've experienced before. The wind doesn't howl or shriek, it cuts and tears, ripping up the dirt, pulling up fungus, plants, trees, rocks, everything. I don't dare poke my head out to take a look, I don't dare relax my grip for even a second, instead I force my legs deeper and press my body down to the ground.

["Compress the soil around your legs! Do it!"] I order everyone.

Further down the line, Tiny is hunched over, his hands and feet sunk deep into the ground with Invidia tucked against his chest. Similarly, Crinis has positioned herself underneath my abdomen, absorbed into the shadow there. His eye aglow, Invidia does as I ask, along with all the other ant mages in the group, reaching out with their minds to compress the soil beneath us, tightening its hold on our legs.

Like a creeping dread, the pull only grows stronger and every ant holds on for dear life, pulling themselves down until not a speck of space remains between their carapace and the ground beneath. The loose soil that had piled behind me as I dug is already gone, torn away in the first few seconds. If I angle my head even slightly, I'd be able to see behind me, see what it was that I unleashed.

But I don't dare. Even just the edges of it are scary. All I can see is darkness. A void. From this angle, I can't even see the sphere itself, but that doesn't seem to matter as the complete and utter lack of light has extended outwards. I don't even know if the kaarmodo are still holding on. I haven't received any notifications for kaarmodo, I suppose, but if they can survive that then they're a hell of a lot scarier than I thought they'd be.

I've gotten a lot for termites though. A hell of a lot.

On and on it goes, the hold of gravity on our bodies is relentless, pulling harder and harder as the magic of the gravity bomb burns itself out.

Gritting my mandibles tight, I extend my mind out to touch the barrier and realise with relief that it's gone, our way out has been secured. All we have to do is hold on until the spell fades.

["The bomb will burn itself out soon,"] I promise the others, ["and when it does, we run like hell back to the Colony. I want to see that legendary speed! Until then, hold on for your life, none of you are allowed to die before me!"]

The ants are too tired to reply, all of their energy focused on gripping the rock. Our communal spirit is strong, the weaker and more vulnerable members are shielded and gripped by the strongest. In this way, we all survive together.

The pull weakens slightly, then begins to gutter out.

["GO!"] I roar.

And we run.