Evolution is Overrated (And So Am I)
After what felt like an eternity of agony, near-death experiences, poison meals, and being hunted by literally everything from birds to boots, Aya had finally done it.
She had evolved.
Not just mentally (though the trauma definitely added character), but physically. It had happened sometime between crawling out of her hiding hole and face-planting into a puddle of despair.
✨ Evolution Results:
Stronger exoskeleton? ✅ Confirmed by smashing her head into a rock by accident and not immediately dying.
Sharper mandibles? ✅ Confirmed by biting a stick and feeling a sense of power for the first time in her tiny life.
Slightly bigger body? ✅ Confirmed by noticing she was now roughly 1.5x larger than a dust mite. Amazing.
Aya stood triumphantly on a raised pebble, her tiny ant chest puffed out.
She flexed her mandibles with a wicked grin.
She laughed.
Aya: "Hehehe... YES! This is it! This is MY villain arc. I've evolved. I am power incarnate. I am no longer prey—I'm the HUNTER now!"
Cue dramatic music in her head.
Cue her heroic internal monologue:
"I, Aya the Ant, cast aside my weak form. I reject my former, pathetic self! From this moment on—nothing and no one will trample me underfoot again!"
And then—
A light breeze passed by.
Aya: "…"
The wind gently nudged her body—
—and she stumbled backward, flailing like a paper scrap caught in a fan.
Aya: "W-WHOA WHOA WHOA—"
She wobbled dramatically before falling flat on her side with a soft thud.
Silence.
Aya: "...Okay. Maybe I'm still a little weak."
She laid there, staring at the sky (or what little of it she could see through the towering blades of grass). Somewhere, she could almost hear the universe chuckling.
But no! She wasn't giving up now.
Aya rolled over and sprang back onto her six legs. "No big deal. I just need to test my new form. I need... a warm-up."
That's when she spotted it.
A tiny beetle, minding its own business. It was small, slow, and blissfully unaware that it was about to become history.
Aya: "Heh. Perfect. You're my first prey in this new era. Prepare yourself, fool. This is my—"
The beetle sneezed.
Loudly.
Aya: "...Wait wha—"
FWOMP.
The sheer gust from the sneeze blasted Aya backward like she'd been launched from a cannon. She tumbled three times, flipped end over end, and landed flat on her back once again.
A pause.
Aya: "…What… the actual hell was that…"
She groaned and flopped onto her side, antennae twitching like sad noodles.
Aya: "Maybe… maybe I should rethink my life."
But the beetle wasn't done.
It turned toward her, gave her a long, judging stare—
—and walked away.
Aya: "…I've just been disrespected by a bug with allergies."
She curled up into a dramatic ball of shame, dragging one leg across her face like a soap opera heroine fainting from heartbreak.
✨ Aya's Mental Status:
Confidence: ☠️
Pride: ☠️
Will to keep fighting: Barely clinging on
But then…
A flicker of determination returned.
Aya: "No. No. NO. This isn't how my evolution arc ends! I've suffered too much to give up now! That beetle may have defeated me... but next time?"
She pointed a trembling mandible at the sky.
Aya: "Next time, I'll sneeze harder!"
…Whatever that meant.
With a fresh wave of mostly delusional courage, Aya climbed back onto her feet and stomped forward (which for an ant is basically a determined shuffle).
Because no matter how many times life threw her into the dirt—
She was going to evolve.
Even if it killed her.
(Again.)
Meet the Real Monsters (A.K.A. Professional Hunters & Aya's Worst Day Ever)
Aya had just finished peeling herself off the dirt from her beetle-defeat incident when she felt it.
A chill ran through her antennae.
The forest had gone… quiet.
Too quiet.
Her instincts screamed. The silence wasn't peace—it was a warning.
That's when she saw them.
Humans.
But not like before. These weren't scared kids throwing rocks.No. These were seasoned, battle-hardened, armor-wearing, monster-slaying hunters.
They moved like predators—low to the ground, quiet as shadows, faces painted with camouflage. Each one held something dangerous: crossbows, daggers, alchemical vials that glowed faintly, like they could erase you from existence.
Aya immediately dove behind a rock and clamped her mandibles shut.
Aya (internally): "Oh no. Nope. Nuh-uh. What kind of isekai throws me from discount centipede nightmares straight into professional monster-hunting assassins?!"
Then the woman among them spoke, her voice low and sharp like a dagger in the dark.
"There's something unnatural here," she said. "A mutated insect. Something small… but dangerous."
Aya's mandibles clicked open.
Aya: "I AM SMALL BUT NOT DANGEROUS, I SWEAR—Wait, did she just call me unnatural?!"
She tried to crawl backward slowly, gently, silently…
SNAP.
Aya's body froze in place.
The tiniest twig had cracked beneath her foot. A cursed, traitorous, evil little stick. It might as well have exploded with how loud it sounded to her ant ears.
Hunter: "Over there!"
Aya: "TRIPLE. OH. NO."
Then everything exploded into motion.
Arrows flew. One embedded into the tree right next to her head.
Aya: "AHHH! They're armed! WHY ARE THEY ARMED?!"
She sprinted like her tiny life depended on it—which it very much did. Her new evolution granted her a bit of extra speed, which was great… until she ran straight into a tree root and bounced like a rubber ball.
WHAM!
Aya: "Okay, that's a concussion. Can ants get concussions?"
She scrambled to her feet and ducked as a glowing dagger flew over her head, slicing a strand of her antenna off.
Aya: "NOT THE HAIR! I MEAN—ANTENNA!"
Another hunter pulled out a net gun.
A NET GUN.
Aya (in despair): "I am literally the size of a toe. This is overkill!"
She weaved through roots, dashed over moss, and parkoured off a mushroom. Her legs burned, her lungs screamed, and she swore her soul was trying to flee her body.
Finally, salvation: A massive pile of fallen leaves.
She dove headfirst, burrowed beneath them, and stayed perfectly still.
Aya: "Okay. Okay okay okay. Invisibility mode. Be the leaves. You are the forest. You are the peace."
She held her breath as boots thudded nearby. A hunter crouched close, sweeping his blade through the leaf litter just a few inches away.
Hunter: "Whatever it was, it's gone now."
Other Hunter: "If it's really mutated, it'll show itself again. We'll come back."
And with that, they moved on.
Silence fell again.
Aya waited five minutes before poking her head out of the leaves.
And then another five just in case.
Then she collapsed in the most dramatic, flattened pose an ant could manage.
Aya: "I just got hunted like a boss-level mob and I wasn't even worth killing."
"This is not the overpowered evolution arc I dreamed of! This is the underpaid intern version of being a monster!"
She rolled onto her back and flailed her legs.
"What's next? A dragon? A god? A dragon god with a vendetta?!"
A tiny acorn fell and bonked her on the head.
Aya: "...That felt personal."
The Snail from Hell (A Horror Story in One Act)
After escaping death by trained hunters, Aya needed one thing: a win.
Just one.
A small, pitiful, morale-boosting win.
And that's when she saw it.
A snail.
It was beautiful.
Slow. Slimy. Practically a living blob with no bones or thoughts. The very definition of harmless.
Aya's six legs quivered with hope.
Aya (internal monologue):
"Finally… A fight I can win."
She crouched low in the grass like a predator stalking its prey.
Aya (whispering):
"This is it. Redemption. Destiny. VICTORY."
She crept closer, heart pounding. Her mandibles clicked in anticipation. The snail didn't even notice her.
Aya (smirking):
"You fool. You absolute gelatinous buffoon."
She lunged with everything she had—
—AND INSTANTLY REGRETTED IT.
Her feet sank into the snail's slime trail like wet cement.
Aya:
"Wait. WAIT. WHAT IS THIS—WHY IS IT SO STICKY?!"
She struggled.
Nothing.
She strained harder.
Her legs squelched and slipped, but the goo clung to her like the cursed hands of a vengeful ghost.
Aya (screaming):
"I'M TRAPPED! I'M ACTUALLY TRAPPED BY SNAIL SLIME?! THIS ISN'T HOW WARRIORS DIE!"
The snail turned.
Its beady eyes slowly tracked her.
Aya (horrified):
"It sees me."
The snail tilted slightly.
Its expression didn't change.
But Aya felt it.
Mockery.
Judgment.
Aya (snarling):
"Don't look at me like that! THIS ISN'T OVER!"
She pulled harder, her entire body shaking.
One leg tore free.
Then another.
Then—
—RIIIIIP.
She left half her leg hairs behind.
Aya (gasping for breath):
"Oh my God… I lost a part of myself."
She collapsed on the dirt, traumatized and covered in goo.
The snail continued on, silent… smug… victorious.
📖 Aya's Bug Survival Guide – Updated Edition
Entry #2: Everything Still Sucks
✔ Rule 1: Hide from predators.
Step 1: Stay still.
Step 2: Blend in.
Step 3: Don't move.Outcome: Bird still snatches her up like a snack.
✔ Rule 2: Find good food.
Step 1: Smell it.
Step 2: Bite carefully.
Step 3: Enjoy a safe meal.Outcome: Poisoned violently. Loses 90% of dignity.
✔ Rule 3: Trust no one.
Step 1: Avoid everything.
Step 2: Stay alone.
Step 3: Do not interact.Outcome: Still gets hunted for sport by terrifying humans.
✔ Rule 4: Never fight a snail.
Step 1: Avoid sticky things.
Step 2: Avoid smug mollusks.
Step 3: Avoid leg-hair sacrifice.Outcome: NEVER. AGAIN.
Aya (deadpan):
"I have achieved nothing… but pain."
Short Stories of Aya's Pathetic Life: 200% More Failure Edition
1. Aya Tries a "Sneak Attack" (Instant Failure Edition)Aya spotted a small, slow bug.
Aya:
"Perfect. I sneak up. I attack. I win."
✔ Crouches down like a jungle cat.✔ Moves in complete silence.✔ Leaps like a true predator—
—And slams directly into a rock when the bug moves 1cm.
Aya:
"I am power. I am stealth. I am… concussed."
2. Aya's First Duel (Against a Stick)She saw a shadow—tall, thin, ominous.
Aya:
"It's finally time for my first serious battle."
She lunged with full force.
It was a stick.
A dead twig.
She lay flat on the ground, staring at the sky.
Aya:
"This… is fine."
3. Aya and the Eggshell of DespairAya found a cracked eggshell, gleaming white and beautiful.
Aya (envious):
"This thing looks majestic. Powerful. Unbreakable."
She kicked it.
It didn't move.
She kicked harder.
It still didn't move.
Aya (screaming):
"WHY IS THIS EGG MORE STABLE THAN MY ENTIRE EXISTENCE?!"
Aya (summary):
"So far, evolution has given me:
Slightly better teeth.
Moderate leg trauma.
Chronic humiliation.And absolutely no respect from anyone, including snails."
She curled up beneath a leaf, sighing into the dirt.
And yet…
She wasn't giving up.
Not yet.
Aya (quietly):
"If I survive this… I swear I'm taking over the entire forest. One humiliating disaster at a time."
The Reality of Evolution (A.K.A. Aya Still Sucks)
Aya had evolved.She had battled poison.She had evaded trained human killers.She had survived a death match between a spider and a wasp.She had even fought (and lost to) a snail.
Truly, she was a veteran now.
Or so she thought.
As Aya sat atop a mossy stone no larger than a human fingernail, staring at her reflection in a tiny dewdrop, the truth hit her with the force of a butterfly's sneeze.
She was still weak.
Stronger exoskeleton? Check.Sharper mandibles? Check.Slightly larger body? Check.
But the reality?
If a human spotted her—squish.If a bird saw her—peck.If she even accidentally stepped in another snail trail—emotional devastation.
Aya sighed, her antennae drooping dramatically.
Aya: "Evolution isn't a cheat code. It's a scam. A pyramid scheme with extra trauma."
She fell backward, lying flat on her back in the soft dirt, staring at the patchy sky through the blades of grass above.
How had her grand dream of becoming an apex predator turned into a series of near-death experiences, humiliation, and slime trauma?
Flashback Montage (In Aya's Head):
That one time she tried to roar at a beetle and got launched by its sneeze.
That time she picked a fight with a baby centipede and accidentally ended up its chew toy.
That tragic moment with the poisonous caterpillar that made her vomit for ten minutes straight.
And the snail. Always the snail.
She curled up dramatically.
Aya: "All I wanted was to level up like in the games! Eat one boss monster, evolve into a goddess, overthrow the system… Was that so unreasonable?!"
Her stomach grumbled.
Loudly.
So loudly, in fact, a nearby beetle scurried away in panic.
Aya groaned.
Aya: "Great. Even my stomach has a louder presence than me."
She pushed herself up, legs shaky but determined.
Fine.
If the world was going to bully her into reality, she'd fight back.
But first—
She needed food.
Actual, edible, non-poisonous food.
Aya's New Plan (Operation: Don't Die This Time)
✅ Step 1: Avoid anything that looks colorful, fuzzy, slimy, or smug.
✅ Step 2: No more tasting things she can't identify.
✅ Step 3: Stick to boring, pathetic-looking bugs that looked like they had also given up on life.
Aya crept through the underbrush, eyes scanning for her next meal.
A dead worm? Too mushy.A bright blue beetle? Probably death-flavored.A pale, boring grub slowly wriggling in the dirt?
Perfect.
She licked her mandibles.
Aya: "You look like you've never won a fight in your life. I like that in my prey."
She pounced—And missed.
The grub, in a rare burst of energy, wriggled in terror and flopped directly into a puddle.
Aya stood there, frozen.
Aya: "…Did I just get rejected by my lunch?"
The puddle began to ripple.
Aya backed up.
Aya: "Nope. Nope nope nope. Last time I went near water I almost drowned in a raindrop."
She retreated back into the tall grass, her pride slightly bruised… again.
But this time, something shifted.
Not her strength. Not her size.
But her mindset.
Aya wasn't strong. Yet.She wasn't fast. Or dangerous. Or even scary.But she was still alive.
Despite everything—the poison, the predators, the humiliation—she was still crawling.
And that meant she had something no other bug around here had.
Persistence.
Aya looked up at the sky, her voice filled with fierce, tiny determination.
Aya: "Okay, world. You win today. But tomorrow… I bite back."
Her stomach rumbled again.
Aya: "...After I eat something that doesn't make me cry."
She marched forward with shaky steps, ready to continue her journey of survival, sarcasm, and highly questionable decision-making.
The great predator of this leaf pile was still out there.
And she was hungry.
📖 Bonus Entry: Aya's Evolved Survival GuideRule #41: Evolving is not a shortcut. It's just suffering in a cooler skin.Rule #42: If something smiles at you, run.Rule #43: If it doesn't run away when it sees you, it's too strong. Abort.Rule #44: You are NOT the main character. The bird is.