Traveling Through the Multiverse as a Chimera Ant

[READ AUTHORS NOTE!!!!]

Hunger

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It consumed me I didn't know where I was or who I was but I knew hunger, the need to consume energy to grow and change. As more time passed my hunger started to stab me with a knife every few seconds, I didn't know where I was but able to recall more memories I remember I used to be a human but I died. I couldn't remember more than that besides something called Anime I was known as an Otaku, that was the first time I experienced an emotion. As more time passed my dark world was filled with light I didn't know how I had a vocabulary or knew the word vocabulary but I knew deep inside what it meant.

As my hunger pangs became more and more frequent I started to panic I had to get out, I started to thrash around hoping that I could find something to sate my hunger. With a final shake, I heard something ripped as a beam of light enveloped my entire body, the pain overwhelmed as I couldn't see anything.

Feeling around with my antenna I picked up on the smell of something, opening my mouth I started to eat something thin and papery.

It was the best thing I had ever tasted, strength filled my body as I closed and opened my mouth consuming more of the nutrients. After a while, I felt something I thought I'd never feel again, I felt full. Bring up my first set of claws I started to clean my antenna the action felt second nature and an almost pleasant sensation run through my body. Just after cleaning my antenna, I felt another hunger pang kit my stomach, my antennas writhed in frustration I was always hungry. Waving my antenna in the air a new smell filtered into the air, the air was humid and carryed the sent of the sea.

Since I was still blind I carefully navigated my unknown environment, then suddenly I felt the ground disappear from beneath me. Falling was the word that came to my mind, my new experience was replaced as I felt a cold liquid envelop my body. It burned instinctually I knew that my body's capability to maintain homeostasis was being overridden, my body was slowly sinking deeper into the cold liquid.

Was this the end, I didn't want to die as that thought ran through my mind an itching sensation wracked my body, I felt a change overtake my body the dark world I had known for so long was replaced by a picture-perfect scene.

I floated to the sand floor as I assessed my new surrounding forest of coral lined the seafloor as different species of sea life thrived amongst them. While others would think how beautiful the fishes scales looked as they reflected the sunlight filtering from the surface I only thought of them as another food source. On edge as I was surrounded by an unfamiliar environment, I struggled along the loose sand floor before I collapsed inside a cave with coral walls.

Looking around my new shelter I almost attack my reflection I saw in a pearl, I was a large ant with a black carapace nearly half a foot in length. Based on memories from my past life ants weren't supposed to be this big or live underwater, the also thing that separated me from normal ants was my legs split at the end into three toes and between each toe was a thin flap of skin. I was a chimera ant the strongest species ever created, all are below us.

I Instictually knew my species could take the traits from those we consumed until we reached the peak of evolution, but I wasn't anywhere close to my goal and I needed to survive. Still unsure of my surroundings started to clear away a small patch of sand before burying my body so only my eyes showed.

I don't know how long I stayed under the sand as my body entered a dormant state where I wasn't completely aware of my surroundings but I wasn't asleep. I was brought out of my pseudo nap as I felt the water currents change as something entered my cave, a large fish swam around a few times before stopping right above me. Tensing my body I jumped out of the sand and sunk my mandibles into the fished neck, dragging the fish back into the sand I bite down harder before the fish finally stopped it's thrashing.

In just a few minutes the fish corpse was gone bones and all, I felt the energy flow through my body as my body became a little stronger.

I still wasn't confident in my ability to hunt though, burying myself again I entered my dormant state again. Every once now and then a fish would swim into my cave, but it wasn't enough after I had eaten about four fish I left some scraps out to hopefully attract more fish. As more time passed I felt more energy fill me and by the tenth fish, I suddenly felt extremely tired, as I felt my awareness slip away I had just enough time to hide in the sand before I collapsed. I didn't know how much time had passed when I woke up but it was pitch black outside, shaking the sand off my body I realized that my body had undergone another change.

My body had grown so I was now a full foot in length, I also grew two fins along the side of my body but I could only move them forward and backward. Testing put my new mobility I found I moved through the water with ease so I wasn't stuck to be a bottom feeder. Looking outside my cave I saw that the waters were flush with much more food, watching from my cave I waited for another fish to swim by. Hours had passed but no fish had come into striking distance, I could feel my body weakening as more time passed. It seemed evolving consumed most of my energy.

I had a choice to make, either stay in my cave hoping a fish would come by before I couldn't move from starvation or risk going outside to hunt for my food.