Elder Cultivator

Air rushed past Crossed Antennae as she rushed through the air. Her wings fluttered, redirecting her towards her target as she bit and twisted, trying to grab a hold of something, anything.

Black mandibles came from nowhere to clutch around Crossed Antennae’s neck. They snapped closed… just enough to let her know there was nothing she could do.

Annoyance radiated from her. She should have been better about watching for dips in energy… but she also wasn’t trained to fight against other void ants.

“You won again,” she complained as Fearsome Mandibles let her go. Her sister had taken after the Great Queen, her aerial mobility coming without the aid of wings. There was a bit of a debate among the void ants whether wings were good or not. The Great Queen didn’t have any, so that was obviously the popular opinion… but most void ants would never experience flight without.

If not for the Son of the Queen, there really wouldn’t be any debate. As it was, nobody was actually going against her by saying his style was better for them, as she encouraged individual development now. Even Crossed Antennae probably wouldn’t have developed her wings if not for hearing about her brother. Not that the familial question would have meant much normally, as she probably had millions of siblings- or maybe low billions.

“I didn’t have to spend as much time managing,” Fearsome Mandibles said. “I am glad you were the one who went to the upper realms. I don’t think I would have handled it well. My colonies probably would have attacked early and ended up exterminated.”

“Many of us died still,” Crossed Antennae acknowledged. It was still unclear exactly where and how, but only a portion of the void ants from the upper realms had made it to the lower realms on their various ships. Based on the total number of invaders, most of those who died had at least successfully taken down many targets with them.

The one exception appeared to be the fleet with Sudin aboard, but she could easily see how they would have fallen to a Domination cultivator. Plus, it wasn’t like she could be mad at him because he was very dead. Anton had made certain of that. Now she just had to wait for him to not be inside a star so she could properly thank him.

The Great Queen had joined the two of them on Akrys, as there were important matters regarding the future of the void ants to discuss. Especially with regards to the upper realms.

“We have successfully provided aid for our allies,” the Great Queen said. “We can claim total victory in this latest war. Now we have another full cycle for the lower realms to grow strong on its own. I trust we will grow to be impossible to defeat, all of us together.”

“I think so,” Crossed Antennae agreed. “That is why I am looking forward to returning to the upper realms.”

There was a moment of stillness, no signs nor pheromones to indicate the Great Queen’s reaction. Then, finally, the Great Queen slowly signed her response with her forelimbs and antennae. “I don’t know if you should.”

“Because we will draw attention to the Scarlet Alliance?” she asked.

“That is but one part of it. As a whole, the upper realms are hostile to void ants. Too many died, and for what? We have a few friends in the upper realms, and many will continue to ascend… but void ants aren’t needed there.”

“Perhaps. But… maybe we don’t have to be needed.” Crossed Antennae fidgeted. “What if we went there because we wanted to?”

The Great Queen thought about that for a time. Fearsome Mandibles was giving Crossed Antennae odd looks. “The best thing for void ants is to be somewhere with powerful energy. However, the lower realms and building their systems to be ever better in that regard. Ascension energy isn’t so much better, is it?”

It really wasn’t. At least, not out on the border worlds. The energy was good, of course. A delicacy, even. But Crossed Antennae felt like they had barely enough to keep them going. If they had focused on developing the planets like in the lower realms it would have been another matter, but they had to keep a low profile.

“You know how good it can taste,” Crossed Antennae said. “But perhaps it is not worth it, as we were living. However… if we were to be accepted into the Scarlet Alliance it would be far greater. Or we could live on isolated worlds separate from them. My guards learned much from some in the upper realms.”

“Perhaps. But they could not be your friends, could they?” The Great Queen shook her head. “Friendly, yes. Good allies. But they were not able to be present at all times for the sake of both, and that will remain true.”

“... I still wish to return to the upper realms,” Crossed Antennae commented. “If that would somehow be possible.”

-----

Anton’s rest was not entirely because of fatigue, though he certainly felt like he had drained himself and his star enough for several lifetimes. He wasn’t entirely conscious of the passing of time, but he couldn’t have done much about it regardless. He did need the rest. And the time to dwell on his insights.

He wasn’t suddenly ready to break through to a level beyond Enrichment. Indeed, it was too early for that, even as centuries began to be the only reasonable measure of time he experienced. But just because he wasn’t suddenly about to break through didn’t mean he didn’t see the path.

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Part of that was courtesy of Sudin himself. The man’s death had provided feedback to Anton that he hadn’t been able to process at the time, revealing many secrets. Whatever lay beyond Enrichment would be different from Domination, just as the previous stages, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t share principles. Anton was already bound to stars, but the binding wasn’t the same as Domination’s anchors.

One was a connection to the self, the other was the self. That was what Anton decided. While in certain ways he could say that his stars were part of him, it wasn’t complete.

Zaur had apparently been injured by damage to his Anchor, and the same was true in reverse. Would Anton be harmed if one of his stars was destroyed? Certainly, but only because of how he was connected. Lev wouldn’t die if Grandfather Willow did. Nor would Vincent die if the Order of One Hundred Stars was wiped out.

Well, that last one didn’t quite fit. Vincent was not an Enrichment cultivator, but as an Assimilation cultivator he still had a connection. Enrichment was just more. Vincent also would die before he let such great harm come to the Order.

The point was… Anton’s cultivation might be harmed due to the damage on things outside, but he would not directly be harmed. Nor did he think he should build up a connection to that point.

Clearly it worked, but that was in the upper realms and for those on a different path. But in too many ways, it didn’t match. First, Anton had connected to many stars. The second and perhaps most important from his perspective… he could share said connections. There was no way a Domination cultivator could share an Anchor. Or at least… not in a generic fashion. Obviously there were always going to be exceptions.

Thoughts swirled through Anton’s mind. What he wanted was a broader net. Not just the hundred or so stars he had bound, or the two hundred he could see himself reaching someday far in the future. Instead, at least for his personal advancement, he saw the path of constellations.

If Anton had bound individual stars starting from Ceretos and the others then spreading outward… he would have reached not even a single notable system other than their core worlds and the Sylanis Cluster. The ‘adjacent’ systems to a single star could number half a dozen easily, and another layer beyond that could reach another ten or twenty. Two hundred stars would be four or five steps out from a central point at most, not even to Tenoun’a and Shrenn to the east, nor to Udre to the south or Nidec and Vrelt to the north.

There was no level of cultivation where he could truly cover all of the Lower Realms Alliance, let alone the broader section of the lower realms they were in including the Shining Cooperative. While he didn’t need to control the area of their neighbors, he did want to cover as far as he could.

It wasn’t just some sort of selfish ambition, now, but it came with a very practical thing. Constellation Shot came with both power and range- though replicating the exact same feat would not be easy. He could see the path, however, and how linking systems together would not just be good for him but for them. That wasn’t a principle solely tied to cultivation either.

The connections slowly formed in Anton’s mind, and he seized every opportunity he could to experience that… before he would have to go out and try it at some point. But he had to take the opportunity he had available, seizing upon valuable insights and casting away those that he felt would lead him astray.

-----

“We could probably make this faster,” Juli commented.

Velvet sighed. “Probably is not good enough. Do you know? Do you even have the materials?”

“Not much is needed,” she said. “We just need to tie it to us in particular.”

“While I could likely repay the Scarlet Alliance for that… I’m going to have to continue with my refusal to let you tinker with the ship carrying us over hundreds of lightyears of enemy territory,” Velvet said. “We can find you the opportunity to tinker with your insights later. Perhaps in the Chaotic Conglomeration.”

“Do they have tech?” Juli asked.

“Not to any level that you would count it,” Velvet shook her head. “Why?”

“Because it would only work if I messed with the tech and Misi worked on the formations,” Juli said. “Each are individually good enough we can’t improve the ship otherwise.”

“And the two of you after just a century or so are suddenly experienced enough to improve the fusion?”

Misi shook his head. “That is not the case. It is because it is a fusion that the two of us would be able to make small, if relevant, adjustments. In theory. Furthermore, it might not surpass the personalization that could be achieved by others. This ship just happens to be generically viable.”

“There’s standardization for a reason,” Velvet said. “I really would like to give you the chance to grow, but it can’t be altering our only form of transportation. I’m the only Augmentation cultivator and I’d be slower alone than the ship, except in short bursts. Together, we’d be a slow wander. It could easily add a year to our trip.”

“How long are we staying at the other end?” Misi asked. “We could work on it there. I promise we’d keep it at least as functional as it is now.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Velvet said. “... If you can show me some promise in similar areas, I’ll consider allowing it. But don’t expect anything. Besides, I don’t think we could replicate any tech here or there.”

“I wouldn’t need anything complicated,” Juli said. “And recreating existing structures isn’t so bad. Cultivators don’t consider the same materials precious as are relevant for some tech purposes, so extracting what I need from useless slag might be possible.”

“Interesting. I thought high end materials were equally valued.”

“In the Alliance, certainly,” Juli replied. “But electrical conductivity is not prized except by certain specific cultivators. And they would usually want something sturdy and capable of transmitting large amounts of electricity instead of… nearly negligible amounts.”

“I wouldn’t call this ship’s power usage negligible,” Velvet pointed out. “This ship’s engine could kill Life Transformation cultivators on its own. And that’s at a functional cruise.”

“It’s still not as much as a lightning storm. It’s just more focused.”

Velvet might come to regret promising even consideration of their fiddling… but sometimes valuable things had to go for the sake of individual cultivation advancements. If they were just bored, they twins would give up at the other end but if it was the itch of insight then Velvet would have to take it seriously.

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