Part 1: Why Didn't They Attack?
Aya pressed herself deeper into the small crevice, her body still trembling from the encounter. Even now, her mind replayed the moment over and over—the glowing eyes, the skittering legs, the sheer overwhelming presence of the spiders.
But they never attacked.
Why?
She was a trespasser in their territory.She was small, weak, vulnerable.She had expected death.
And yet, they treated her like she didn't exist.
Aya's mandibles clicked softly in thought.
There were a few possibilities.
One: They simply weren't interested in her. Maybe she was too small, too insignificant, not worth the effort of a hunt.
But that didn't sit right with her. Even if they didn't see her as a threat, they should have at least been curious. Animals were territorial. If someone barged into your home, you didn't just ignore them.
Two: There was something worse in this cave. Something that made even the spiders hesitate.
That thought sent a cold chill through her body. If they didn't care about her… then maybe it wasn't because she wasn't a threat. Maybe it was because they thought she was already doomed.
Her mind churned with possibilities.
Was there something deeper inside that made her presence meaningless?
Or…
Three:
Maybe she wasn't seen as food.
Aya hesitated, flexing her mandibles as she thought about it.
She was technically a maggot—or, at least, something close enough to one. And spiders? They were hunters. But they were also web-weavers. They fed on creatures that struggled. That got caught. That they could wrap up and drain at their leisure.
But Aya wasn't prey.
She was a scavenger. A consumer of the dead.
And maybe—just maybe—they could sense it.
Maybe there was something in her body, in her scent, that told them she was more like a fellow predator than a meal.
That thought sent a strange, unfamiliar thrill through her.
For once, she wasn't hunted.
She wasn't food.
She was something else.
And if she played her cards right, she might just turn that to her advantage.
She had to evolve.She had to adapt.She had to grow stronger.
But for now… she needed to rest.
Aya curled up tighter in her little crevice, exhaustion crashing over her in waves.
Her eyelids drooped.
Her thoughts slowed.
And then—
Darkness.
Part 2: A Place Beyond Reason
Aya had never been this exhausted in both of her lives.
The moment she wedged herself into the crack of the rock, her body gave in.
No thoughts.No fear.Just—instant, absolute sleep.
And then—
She dreamed.
Or rather—she found herself somewhere else.
This was not the hazy, chaotic nonsense of an ordinary dream.
There were no walls. No ceiling. No ground.
Only endless, liquid darkness that rippled beneath her like the surface of a cosmic mirror.
When she moved, it shifted—fluid yet solid, empty yet suffocating.
Above her, the sky was filled with orbs of light.
Hundreds. Thousands. Maybe even Billions
Glowing spheres pulsing like dying stars.
Some flickered. Some burned steadily. Some were so dim, they seemed on the verge of vanishing entirely.
And in the vast, endless void—Aya was alone.
No sound.No wind.Not even the whisper of her own breath.
Until—
The chains rattled.
Aya turned.
And she saw it.
A figure stood in the distance.
Wrapped in chains.
Bound so tightly that only its shape remained visible through the mist.
It was tall. Impossibly tall.
Not a monster. Not a human.
Something… wrong.
Aya's body screamed at her to run.
But her feet wouldn't move.
The figure's eyes—if they could even be called that—opened.
They weren't eyes.
They were wounds in the fabric of reality.
A gaze that didn't see her but pierced through her.
Aya had never felt so small.
And then—
It spoke.
"Do you want power?"
The words didn't echo.They didn't boom.They simply existed.
The chains shuddered as the entity took a step forward.
Snap!
The bindings yanked it back, the metal digging into the formless mass of its body.
It struggled for a moment—then stopped.
Aya's breath caught.
This thing—whatever it was—couldn't reach her.
Or rather… something was stopping it.
But why?
Was it trapped?
Or was it being kept away from her?
Aya's instincts screamed danger.
Every nerve in her body told her to reject, to run, to wake up.
But another part of her… hesitated.
Because deep inside, she knew the answer.
Yes.
She wanted power.
She wanted to survive.
She wanted to never feel helpless again.
But before she could reply—
The world shattered.
Part 2: Suspicious Power Comes with Suspicious Consequences
Aya's eyes snapped open.
Her entire body jerked, antennae twitching wildly as she sucked in a sharp breath. The cave. She was back in the cave. The cold, damp air clung to her exoskeleton, the faint dripping sound of water echoing from the cavern's depths. It was real. It was familiar.
But her heart was still racing.
Her mind replayed the dream—the void, the chains, the entity that shouldn't exist.
That gaze.
That horrifying, soul-rending gaze.
She felt tainted. Like the presence of that thing had sunk into her very core, leaving behind some invisible brand.
Her mandibles clicked anxiously.
"What the hell was that?"
It felt too real to be just a dream.
And then—
DING!
A high-pitched chime rang inside her skull, nearly making her jump out of her own exoskeleton.
Something appeared in front of her.
A screen.
A floating, translucent screen.
Aya froze.
Her brain completely short-circuited.
There it was. Hovering midair.
Glowing letters etched across its surface.
[Do you want power?][YES] [NO]
Aya stared.
Then stared some more.
She rubbed her compound eyes with her tiny, awkward ant legs.
Looked again.
It was still there.
"...Nope. Nope nope nope. This is WAY too sketchy."
She tapped the screen with an antenna.
It didn't flicker. Didn't distort. Didn't disappear.
It just sat there. Mocking her.
Aya's thoughts spiraled.
This was the exact kind of scenario where a naive protagonist in some horror novel blindly presses YES, thinking they've just unlocked some god-tier power… only to realize later that the fine print included 'your soul, your sanity, and possibly your left kidney.'
She narrowed her eyes.
A thousand warning bells were ringing in her head. This had to be a trap.
But—
She needed power.
Aya clenched her mandibles.
She was weak. And she hated it.
She needed to get stronger. She needed to stop running. She needed to make those torch-wielding, human psychopaths regret ever messing with her.
She took a deep breath.
"Okay. Let's think logically."
1. There was no fine print. That was a good sign. If this was a scam, wouldn't it at least have some terms and conditions?2. There was no countdown timer. No shady "Accept within 10 seconds, or the deal disappears!" message.3. But… what if there was a countdown timer?
What if… it just wasn't showing it?
Aya's body locked up.
Her antennae shot upright.
What if she was seconds away from missing a once-in-a-lifetime, overpowered cheat skill?
Her mind spiraled into full panic mode.
"OH CRAP, WHAT IF IT EXPIRES?!"
Before she could second-guess herself—
SLAM!
She smashed her tiny ant leg onto YES.
...
...
Nothing happened.
Aya blinked.
"...Well, that was anticlimactic."
She half-expected some dramatic transformation. A divine light show. Maybe even a creepy, disembodied voice laughing ominously.
Instead—
Another screen popped up.
[In exchange for power, you must complete a mission.][Mission: Unknown. Details will be revealed soon.]
Aya froze.
"...Okay. Hold on. That's WAY too vague."
She squinted at the screen.
"What kind of mission? 'Help an old lady cross the street' mission? Or 'sacrifice a hundred souls to the dark gods' mission?"
The system did not respond.
Instead, another message flashed.
[Processing...][Congratulations! You have unlocked the path to evolution.][New skill acquired: ???]
Aya stared.
"...Excuse me?"
She barely had time to process that before—
Her entire body locked up.
Heat surged through her veins—fire and ice mixing into something unnatural.
Her legs twitched violently.
It wasn't painful—but it was alien. Like something inside her was rearranging itself.
Something bigger than her was at work.
Then—
As suddenly as it started—it stopped.
Aya collapsed onto the cave floor, panting.
"...What the hell was that?!"
She felt off.
Not bad. Not good. Just… different.
Did she feel stronger? Not really.Did she feel different? Not much.Did she immediately regret clicking YES without thinking?
Absolutely.
She gritted her mandibles.
"Alright, mysterious system thing… I don't trust you one bit, but you gave me something. So, for now—I'll play along."
She forced herself to her feet.
Her legs wobbled slightly, but she felt… weirdly stable.
She took a deep breath.
Then she took one step forward—
—and immediately faceplanted into the dirt.
"...I hate my life."
Aya groaned as she peeled herself off the ground.
This cave was still dark.It was still dangerous.And she still had no idea what was lurking deeper inside.
But something inside her had changed.
For the first time—
She wasn't just surviving.
She was evolving.
And one day—
She wouldn't run from the world.
The world would run from her.
Part 3: Aya's Bug Survival Guide – If a God Offers You Power, Run.
Aya stared at the glowing system screen in front of her.
[New skill acquired: ???]
The message still floated in the air, taunting her with its sheer lack of explanation.
She waved a tiny antenna at it.She poked it.She tried reasoning with it.
No response.
Aya let out a long, suffering sigh and plopped her tiny body onto the cold cave floor. "Okay. Deep breath. Think this through."
Step One: Denial
This wasn't happening.
Maybe she was still dreaming. Maybe she was just a very tired ant hallucinating after a near-death experience.
Yeah. That had to be it.
Aya smacked her tiny face with her front legs. "Wake up, idiot. Wake up."
...Nope. Still here.
Still an ant.Still in a damp, monster-infested cave.Still stuck with a mysterious system contract that had no take-backs.
"Crap."
Step Two: Bargaining (With Herself)
"Okay, let's be real," she muttered, pacing around. "Maybe this isn't a total disaster."
Maybe the god-thing from her dream wasn't evil. Maybe it genuinely wanted to help. Maybe this system was a blessing in disguise, and she was about to unlock the ultimate cheat code to survival.
…
"Yeah, and maybe I'll sprout wings and fly straight out of this nightmare."
She groaned, flopping back down.
Step Three: Paranoia (Reality Hits Like a Truck)
Aya narrowed her eyes at the system screen.
There were too many red flags.
A random god-thing appeared in her dreams, looking terrifyingly powerful but also suspiciously chained up.
It offered her power without any real explanation.
She accepted it like an absolute idiot.
Now she had a mysterious skill with no description.
The system refused to give her proper answers.
This was sketchier than a haunted house with a 'Free Candy' sign.
Aya stood up sharply.
"Alright, that's it. I'm making this official."
She grabbed her trusty twig, dipped it into some crushed cave moss ink, and scrawled onto her flat rock.
Aya's Bug Survival Guide – Entry #3
DO NOT trust gods that appear in your dreams.
If a shadowy being wrapped in chains offers you power for no reason, do not accept it.It is 100% a scam.
Possibilities include, but are not limited to:
A death trap.
A deal with consequences you don't understand.
A horror movie scenario where you're the dumb protagonist.
A game where you're not the player—you're the entertainment.
If you absolutely must accept, READ THE FINE PRINT.Oh wait, there was no fine print.Which makes it even more terrifying.
Aya leaned back, satisfied. There. Now future Aya (or any other unfortunate bug who found her notes) would know not to be an idiot.
She tapped a tiny foot against the stone, thinking.
Her paranoia was justified, sure… but she'd already accepted the system.
No backsies.
So now what?
Step Four: Testing the "??? Skill"
She needed to know what this skill actually did.
Theory #1: Maybe It Gave Her Strength?
Aya glanced at a nearby pebble.
She took a deep breath.
Time to demonstrate her godly new power!
She kicked the pebble.
The pebble did not move.
She pushed it.
The pebble did not move.
She headbutted it.
Ow.
Aya sat back, massaging her tiny aching head.
"Okay, not strength."
Theory #2: Maybe It Was A Special Skill?
Aya focused.
She concentrated every fiber of her ant body on activating her unknown power.
"Skill Activate!"
...Nothing.
"System, use ???!"
Silence.
"Come on, at least give me a dramatic glow or something!"
Nothing.
Aya glared at the system screen."You gave me a power but won't tell me what it is?! What am I supposed to do, just wait until it randomly activates?"
[Processing…]
Aya perked up.
"...Wait, are you actually listening—"
[Access Denied.]
"...I hate you."
Step Five: Accepting Her Fate (While Complaining About It)
Aya flopped onto the cave floor, legs sprawled dramatically.
"This is my life now," she muttered.
A suspicious god had gifted her a mysterious skill she couldn't use, under a contract she didn't read, for a mission she knew nothing about.
In conclusion:
She was doomed.
Aya stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Okay, self. What's the plan?"
...
"Survive."
"Figure out this stupid system."
"And most importantly…"
She sat up, eyes gleaming with determination.
"If this god-thing thinks it can control me, it's got another thing coming."
Because if she was in a game, then fine.
She'd learn the rules.
And then?
She'd break them.
With style.