What is an ant in the face of true horror? Disgusting, you dare look at me with defiance? You… puny ant.
Have you no shame?
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David was a restless man. He vied for adventure in his life, yet there was none. Not because there wasn’t general adventure, but because he was not big enough.
David, at the age of 23, was 3 feet tall. He was not fat. He was not all around stoic. He was just a skinny, short, boy of a man.
He felt shame. Not even the Divers. would accept him, an organization with an 98% death rate. He wanted to do something with his life. He wanted to prove himself. He wanted to show everyone that a little hobbit like man can be mighty, can be strong, heroic.
He felt shame. He felt shame that although he was 23, he looked like a 14 year old, a very short one. He felt shame. He felt shame that a dagger was the size of a sword in comparison to him.
But this would not stop him. He would become an ant with the shape of a giant. He will.
Won’t he?
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For the 20th time, David applied for the Divers.
To his surprise, he was accepted.
“Finally!”, David cried out. This joy he felt lasted long. He did not think about why they had done this.
On the envelope the Divers sent him in the mail, there was a location on where to find his Depths escort. Said escort would tell him where to go in, and what his job was, in the Depths.
He met up with this escort. His name is Bone. Bone nicknamed David “ant”, due to his small size. David did not like this, but what could he do?
Bone armed David with a Gilded Knife, and took him to his boat. From there, they entered the Diving Pools, and drowned. Deeper… deeper…
Deeper…
Deeper.
Deeper.
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When David awoke, he gasped for air. He was in an unfamiliar place. The boat was nowhere to be found. Bones crouched in front of him.
“You awake, newbie?”, asked Bones, while gulping down some Mushroom soup. David had no idea where he got the soup.
David answered yes, and Bones took him to the Castle Light.
On the journey, Bones spoke to David.
“You’re probably wondering why we brought a little ant into such a hellscape like the Depths. Well, we actually need a little mouse man like you. Specifically, for rescue missions. We will keep you in the Castle Light till you can fend for yourself against a health pack.”, said Bones.
“Specifically, we need you to be able to rescue some people that have been inside of the City of the Drowned for a long while now. All you’ve gotta do is open the gate and you’ll be good to go. We don’t have to rush, as our men and women stuck in there have found a safe place to wait it out for a rescue crew. Us normal sized people would be too noticeable, and no matter how skilled a Diver can be, you don’t want to deal with one too many monsters.”, continued Bones.
David nodded his head in acknowledgement, and made sure to pay attention on the road to Castle Light.
David arrived at Castle Light and stayed there for a month, training in the ways of a dagger and stealth. The dagger was weight training enough, as it was the size of a short sword in his eyes.
Many Divers ridiculed him and told him he was destined to fail. David took no notice.LISTEN TO THEM LISTEN TO THE VOICES
Eventually he became fast enough to outrun almost all of the Divers in the Castle, except for one Black Diver. David had hidden potential, and was proud to see it being proven like this.
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Foolish ant.
Bones protected David till the entrance to the City. After that, it was farewell. Bones handed him a map, so he could know where to go. David followed the map, and it took him 7 hours.
Not to find the people he was supposed to rescue.
No.
What he saw, was indescribable. Whatever it was, it looked like an owl with the body of a man.
“A mouse comes crawling into my nest. What causes it to do so? Please do sate my curiosity.”, said the monster.
David trembled in fear.
“Hm. I suppose you are smaller than the mice I come upon. You are more ‘ant-like’ than the rest. Oh, such bad manners of me. Please, do forgive me.”, said the monster.
Since when were monsters friendly? David had a gut wrenching feeling. Staring into the eyes of this owl creature, what he could see was nothing. Emptiness. And something else… something he could not understand.
“I forgot to say, forgive me. You are free to go. Carry on, little ant. I’m sure you have places to be.”, said the owl-man.
Upon these words, suspicion aroused in David’s mind.
This Owl will kill him. One way or the other. How will he survive and make it leave him for good?
An idea popped in his head. A clever one.
“No, in fact, I do not. Would you like to play a game?”, said David.
“Oh? A mouse wants to play with me? I suppose I’ll hear you out.”, answered the Owl. Something inside of it flickered. Davids gut wrenched even more. He could make out the other feeling he saw inside of its eyes.
Bloodlust.
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In the face of death, how will a puny ant survive?
“Let me introduce you to the rules, and how to play.”, said David. It wasn’t a game he had played before, or a game that even existed until David created it. It was a game only he could win.
“How to win is simple. All you have to do is answer my question.
If you answer it correctly, you get to answer a question.
If you answer my question 3 times in a row incorrectly, you must fulfill one wish, and vice versa.
The opponent will only get a chance to ask their question after correctly answering a question.
This wish cannot go outside of you or my owns full capacity. For example, a wish like ‘make me fly in the air’, would not work.”, said David. The Owl let out a noise that almost sounded like a snicker.
David kept his composure.
“The rules are: You cannot forcefully make the opponent answer the wrong question.
You cannot let anyone or anything help you or give you the answers.
You must not let anyone or anything interrupt the game. Shall we begin?”, said David.
The Owl slowly nodded.
“First question,”, said David, “What has no arms, no legs, and no eyes, but makes everyone cry?”, asked David. He knew the answer to this question.
“Hm. I am not sure. I suppose you win this one.”, said the Owl. David could feel it’s bloodlust flicker out of control, just for a moment.
“Second question…”, said David, “There was a green house. Inside of the green house there was a white house. Inside the white house there was a red house. Inside the red house there were 200 babies. What is it?”, asked David. He knew the answer to this question, as well.
The Owl fell silent.
“You wouldn’t be cheating, would you, little ant? You wouldn’t dare.”, said the Owl, almost as if it was glaring at him.
“No, I wouldn’t dare! I know we are both honorable creatures, correct? It would be a stain on my manhood if I did such a thing.”, said David. What he said was true, as technically he wasn’t cheating, he was simply asking questions and the Owl simply had no answers.
“Hmph. I suppose you win this one… as well.”, muttered the Owl, flexing its claws.
“Last question. If you fail to answer this, you lose and have to fulfill one wish of mine.”, said David. “What has teeth but cannot bite?”, asked David.
The Owl said nothing.
“A little mouse? Hehehe.”, said the Owl, slyly. “Hmph. Forgive me for my impudent banter. What is your wish of me?”, asked the Owl.
“I wish for you to let me live and leave this place.”, said David.
The Owl, surprised that David knew what it was planning, accepted these terms.
“You fooled me, ant. Say, what is your name?”, asked the Owl.
“David.”, answered David. He continued on his path, and gathered the refugees in the City.
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David and the refugees exited the city and made their way to the Castle Light.
On the way, a black feather dropped on David’s head.
“A crow? In the deep?”, thought David. A gust of wind passed.
David turned around to what was left of 3 of the City refugees. The others ran in fear.
The Owl dashed to them and and beheaded them as well. It stood in front of David.
“You dared to look at me with defiance. Puny ant. I couldn’t just let it slide, after all.”, said the Owl.
“I remember you. I am true to my word, so I suppose I’ll let you live.”, said the Owl, turning to feathers and flying away.
David was dumbstruck.
He attempted to make a mark on the owl, but he comprehended it too late, and the Owl was gone.
An absolute mission failure.
An ant standing up to a giant. Who would have thought…?
“Eran ologbon yoo gbe.”
Ant who overcomes.