Echoes of the larval war

The ruins beneath Sector Q—long sealed and forbidden—rumbled open as Kael activated the code hidden in his blood. A sequence of pheromone-triggered locks hissed away, revealing an ancient chamber wreathed in amber light and fossilized wings.
The air smelled of iron and decay.
Yia crouched beside him. “These aren’t ruins,” she said. “They’re... records.”

---
The Larval Codex
Inside lay larval cocoons, thousands of them, suspended mid-emergence—frozen by stasis. In the center was a pulsating neuro-organic vault, a relic from before the current queens ruled. When Kael touched it, the vault projected a vision:
> Images of a time when larvae were bred not for caste—but for war.Hive factions that genetically engineered soldiers directly from the Queen's core DNA.A failed uprising that left the HiveNet fractured for generations.


The Larval War was erased from Myrminian history. But not forgotten.

---
A Secret Buried in Wings
Kael realized why the larvae were sealed away: their genetics held a form of evolution too fast, too unpredictable. If revived, they could destabilize the current Hive system—perhaps even replace it.
Yia looked into one of the cocoons. A face blinked back.
“She’s still alive,” she whispered.
That larva, unlike the others, wasn’t frozen. She was dreaming.
> Her mind pulsed a single word into Kael’s brain: “Home.”



---
Meanwhile, on the Mantid Borderlands...
General Six-Click, leading the mantis-armored warriors, activated the old mantid glyph-code. Vast underground tunnels awakened, revealing that mantids had preserved not only their own ancestors, but a working fragment of the Last Human Beacon—something Kael’s people thought had been lost.
The beacon emitted strange radiation, distorting space. Even the Overspore’s roots recoiled from it.
> “It’s not a weapon,” Six-Click muttered.“It’s a memory engine.”



---
The Overspore Reacts
Beneath the world's crust, the Overspore grew restless. It sent spore-vines racing through tunnels to contain the awakening vault. It feared the larvae—not for their violence, but for their disobedience.
For the first time in centuries, the fungal intelligence whispered something the queens didn’t expect:
> “Initiate extinction scenario.”



---
Kael’s Choice
Standing between Yia and the breathing larva, Kael saw visions of what the future could become:
HiveNet shattered
Queens dethroned
Larvae leading insectkind into a new, chaotic evolutionary age

He placed his hand over the vault’s seal.
> “This is what they buried the truth for,” he said.“Let’s wake it up.”


The larva's eyes opened.