“Who are you?” was the first thing that came out of the ant’s mouth, it never having felt such a sensation as it did then. It had no tongue yet the words flowed easily, the Queen feeling that much of the work was done without her even needing to think. The skill required for such a thing. “You are not the rock I saw on the outside.”

“I never said that I was,” the girl responded, looking up from her newly-made hat. It had barely been started the last time the ant had looked down at it, making it seem like another piece of foul play had been used. “It isn't foul play if it's the only way you live. Remember that and I might just not make you feel extreme pain for a million or so years. Also, do stop thinking of me as a girl. My name is Sarah and it is what you will call me until we finish speaking today.”

Sarah… the Queen had a hard time looking at the Enlightened being, yet she knew that she had to obey. It was only a little thing, a small act that wouldn't hurt her. And the information, dull as it was, still had some quality to it. A name had been granted to here mind, and it would be used to figure out the secrets.

Sarah? It ran no bell on the race-lists. The Ant had certainly never met a creature with such a name. The Faries of the North had something similar back in the day, yet that should have been taken care of, stopping them from making any presses on history. It was a name that shouldn't have been had by anything alive.

“The origin of my name shouldn't be questioned that much,” Sarah said, putting her new hat to the side after trying it on once. It fit perfectly. The moment it got out of sight, however, it vanished into the void, the Queen not able to find it in her vision no matter how hard she looked. “I could do the same to you if you want. Just let you float outside in the nothingness for what will feel like a year.”

“I would rather stay inside, thank you,” the Queen responded, her former habits of being polite to superiors kicking in. The being before her was perhaps not more powerful than her yet it had the advantage of home ground. With no access to her Mana and no chance of regaining it, she was left with nothing but sheer will. And that mattered little when put up against an entity that could very clearly manipulate the world around as she pleased. “So, you are Sarah the what? I am truly sorry, but I can’t seem to play your origin and much less why you would be inside a random rock in the middle of nowhere.”

“This isn't the middle of nowhere and the being you call a random little rock is more important than anybody you have ever met,” Sarah answered her words a bit more cutting than before. It was meant in the literal sense, her slight air making rips in the ant's armour down the sides. The pain felt was more than the Queen preferred but it was also not close to enough to make her falter. Worse had been felt from her time learning the ins and outs of the Black Mana. “That’s what you’re going to call your pitiful displays? You flail around with the power, letting it flow through you completely as if that's gonna help anything. The only thing you did was to ruin your chance at living another decade with the price of being slightly more powerful for a few days.”

That was not information the Core was meant to have. That was information the Queen had fought for decades before, that she had killed for, that she had sacrificed for. Many had fallen in her path to gain the techniques necessary to do what she had done, and this was what the being decided to comment with? Just what was it thinking?

“I can reverse it!” the Queen said, disagreeing with the little girl’s statements wholeheartedly, even if that had been lost several hours ago. “With the proper materials-”

“I told you not to call me a girl,” Sarah said, the… being smiling when the Queen mentally corrected herself out of fear of what would happen if she didn't. “That’s better. Now, I will ignore the slight of yours since you seem to adamant about making them without meaning to. But, trust me when I say that I am not so forgiving. More has been taken for less. Many have begged me to take it all, even, just because they couldn't bear living with what I had limited myself to.”

Such a casual word of brutality… the Queen should have known it since the beginning yet had tried to convince itself that it was not so. The [Queen of Hollows] had earned her title but only through the skin of her mandibles. If anything else had happened that faithful day, she would have lost it all. Seeing the being before her, Mother Carapace knew she would have lost if she had met the creature out in the wild. Because that was just the thing. It wasn't a figment created by the little rock. It was so much more than that.

“You are not something the rock could have created. You are more powerful than it is by a magnitude that I am not able to grasp,” the ant stated, not sure how else to have it make sense. “I know I have asked you your name but what I want to know is just what you are. You are some form of an Enlgighted, judging by that appearance of yours, yet your… placement in the world just doesn't add up with anything.”

“Thinking that you can guess who I am based on mere appearance might not be the smartest thing you’ve shown off in these past minutes,” the- Sarah said, very clearly raising an eyebrow for the smallest of moments. “I am perhaps living, death, or something so high above that your soul would scream at the mere thought of me mentioning it within earshot. You can never know. And do trust me when I say that your questions are not going to help reveal the truth. Only one person in the whole world will allow that and he doesn't even realise what I am. I am still saddened by that. So many memories have been lost for so little. We were meant to change everything yet it all came crashing down instead.”

Sarah likely realised too much had been said when the Queen started to grow interested, mentally noting down every important detail. Yet those very same thoughts about its importance seemed to fade away just as quickly as they had come, the ant utterly unable to remember a single thing said. Only her name remained. And the person behind that name was able to manipulate memories.

“Only short-term ones in this current form but I can do more if I need to,” Sarah added, though the Queen wasn't able to put much thought into it, every attempt to think about it ending with her having the same thoughts again and again. “Do please stop those pitiful attempts at getting around me. We might have all the time we could ever need but I have no patience for those that want to waste it on useless things.”

“Oh, of course,” the Queen said, rather accepting of the idea of moving on. It was not because of her lack of desire to stay on the previous topic but due to a quiet acceptance of the fact that she wouldn't be able to attain more information than what had already been gained. And even that was clearly due to Sarah wanting her to know it instead of anything else. The power rested not in the [Leader]’s hands anymore and that scared her. “What do you want to talk about?”

“The very same topic you couldn't stop yourself from complaining about when you first arrived in this domain of mine,” Sarah said, crouching down to make a circle in the ground. Making two dots inside it, she continued with a gleeful tone. “You wanted to see the crack immediately, to find what was not obvious. But… you just can’t understand that there is nothing to find. Every corner, every design, and every thought put into this place is perfect. There is no flaw to find, and nothing will allow you to escape without my express consent.”

The Queen grew warier right there. She thought of perhaps trying to attack or something in that vein of thought, yet the small but strong glare gotten stopped any further ideas surrounding that. Instead, a repositioning of the legs made the perfect position to listen on without any comment.

“I have spent more time on this place than you have been alive than anything here has been alive. If you think that you will find any errors in my haven, then you will have to search for a very long time. I have perfected this craft and I will not let myself be forced down to my knees by somebody who thinks themselves a master yet are only a mere beginner.”

“I would think that-” The Queen began but was cut off.

“If there is any doubt about the result of this, I believe I have to cut it out in clear corners for you. If you do not wish to remain inside here until your very mind breaks, I suggest that you listen to what I have to say and fulfil the orders I have for you.”

Listening attentively and making sure that nothing done would further anger the being, the Queen made sure to have her thoughts mimic the same ideals. When enough of a pause finally went through, one sentence was heard.

“I want you to give up every piece of your being so that he won’t have to see you die.”

There was nothing more to that sentence, nothing more that would allow the Queen to see the punchline. Nevertheless, she laughed, unable to stop herself. The situation was worse, much worse, than anything seen before. She was trapped inside a mind with no obvious solution to get out, clearly shown the potential that she could be trapped for years more to come, and it was just as clear that she could be subjected to extreme deprivation of sensation or perhaps even the complete opposite, filled with more than enough torture to break any sane mind. Luckily, such things would affect the Queen just as much. If it would, she would have never been able to get through her dealings with the Black Mana before, it devouring her before she could be sent out her first thoughts. Instead, she was able to reign over an army.

“While I do respect you for this… display, Sarah, I am afraid I must decline that offer,” the Queen said. “Pain and suffering is a part of my daily life, dear. It will not break me.”

Sarah had been down on her knees that entire time, drawing with a finger in the ground. Around the first circle had come another of its kind. Then another. And one more after that. And, before the Queen knew it, the entire field had been covered with those very circles, it stretching out for several kilometres in every direction. It was the power of a large-scale [Geomancer] while also having the finish of one who operated in the smaller sizes as well. An impressive feat when seen outside. Inside the mind, however, it was something the Queen could copy with a few moments of preparation.

“But not time,” Sarah said again, raising her head to look towards the Mother of many [Giant-Ants]. The name of Mother Carapace had been feared in many lands yet such a fear was also felt just as well in the ant herself. There was something about the power put out at that moment. It couldn’t be hidden, it couldn't be removed, and it wasn't something felt due to logic but due to instinct. “You can’t outrun time.”

“Ah, yes. Time. You say you’ve lived through so much of it,” the Queen said, looking around again. The previous environment had reformed without her notice, though that wasn't too surprising. “How old did you say you were again?”

“Older than you. Older than the ones who created young. Older than your former leaders,” Sarah said. “Older than your leader’s leaders. Older than the earth your physical form used to stand on. I am older than the universe that this plane rests inside. I am older than the current pantheon of Gods!”

Even when inside a mental creation, the Queen feared to be so close to one who was about to be struck down. Undermining those old creatures forebode great punishments, after all, and especially when put in such a grandiose fashion. Yet… nothing came.

And when Sarah showed her final evidence, the Intelligent [Giant-Ant] gave up, her will and mind broken. Death was inevitable the Queen wanted more time living than time spent in the void. With it, she accepted the tearing of her Mana, letting the Core take every last piece of it. Before her consciousness was taken away, the [Queen of Hollows] noted Sarah looking rather smug.

Not that she remembered that fact a moment after, her mind scrubbed clean.