I woke up, feeling as though a moderate amount of time had passed.

[Did it work?]

Joule's reply sounds a little concerned.

[I... I think so? I'm not sure. Do you know what four is?]

[Yes.]

She sighs in relief.

[That's good. Now I can properly show you your abilities!]

The transparent board from earlier appears, and I look at it carefully.

[...Yeah, I think I prefer the bars.]

[...You're kidding.]

I wish she had a face I could see.

[More importantly, how many spiders was that mouse worth?]

[About eight.]

[EIGHT?]

[Well, yes. It's a considerably more complicated creature, especially when you think about its heightened intelligence.]

That's incredibly helpful.

[How many of those are nearby?]

[Not many. That species isn't exactly common around here, so you'll likely have to keep going for the spiders.]

I think about it for a moment.

[Should we pour it into improving the void again?]

[NO.]

I clack my mandibles, amused.

[How much should we hoard before we use it?]

[Fifty spiders. A hundred spiders. I don't care right now, I just don't want to go through that again.]

[Fair enough. Is there any prey nearby?]

[Quite a bit, yes. Would you like to go hunting?]

[Of course. What else would I be doing?]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I waited near the small hole.

Just a few minutes earlier, I'd seen a decent-sized spider enter it, and I wanted my food.

[Why don't we just go in?]

Joule responded tersely.

[Because it's a lot harder for me to detect creatures through a foot of dirt.]

[Fair enough... but I'm getting bored. It's not like the spider can hurt me very much.]

[I seriously do not recommend it.]

I stand up and head into the hole.

[Why do you want this spider? We can find another one pretty easily.]

[Because I'd like to get back to my hill as quickly as possible, and if we get rid of all the spiders in the area, it'd increase my odds of getting back in the colony.]

[That's not a good enough reason to risk your life and mine at the same time!]

I ignored her, going deeper. I'd missed the feeling of being surrounded by dirt. And it was just one spider, after all...

I see two eyes in the darkness. They have slit-like pupils and are rimmed yellow.

That's definitely not a spider.

Spinning around, I begin charging back to the surface.

[What is that?!]

[That's a snake. A pit adder, to be precise. And before you ask, yes, they do eat ants!]

I exploded out of the hole and tried running, but the snake had already emerged. It wasn't especially large in terms of snakes, but it was still dozens of times bigger than me.

Oh, that's why numbers are helpful!

It slithers towards me faster than I can run away, and its mouth opens wide.

[NOTICE: Emergency conditions met. Temporary possession activated.]

[Temporary whaaa...]

My vision went black.

When my sight returns, the snake's headless body is lying on the ground.

[Joule?]

[Yes?]

[What just happened?]

[I have no idea.]