[Hannible! Ask for us too!]
[I want one!]
[How is she doing that? Does it actually work? If it does… why haven't we been able to?]
The voices overlapped in his mind.
Layered.
Persistent.
Hannible focused.
The pheromones of his brothers pressed in on him from all sides—but he shut them out.
Silenced them.
If he was going to speak—
He needed control.
He stepped forward.
Dusting himself off as he rose.
And only then—
Did he truly notice her size.
Small.
Fragile.
Different.
"More?" he said slowly, forcing the words aloud.
"Made… for brothers?"
He gestured behind him.
Three kneeling.
Three standing.
And behind them—
Just out of her view—
Him.
Their Leader.
The one seated on the boulder.
This entire planet—
A temporary construct—
Had been made just to study the object that became her.
Worlds were easy to build.
Damage—
Was not.
And yet—
This child…
Might solve that.
Hannible watched as she tilted her head.
Looking past him.
Studying the others.
Then—
She glanced around the planet.
Searching.
Thinking.
She inhaled slowly.
Closed her eyes.
Then exhaled.
And smiled.
"Sure! It's easy!" she said brightly.
Then pointed.
"But may I use that boulder as material?"
Silence.
"…It's already solid and stable," she continued gently.
"It would make crafting multiple items much easier…"
A small pause.
"…Would that be alright?"
Hannible hesitated.
"Let me ask."
He turned.
Released his pheromones.
[She wishes to use the boulder you are sitting on—to craft for all of us.]
The moment the message left him—
He regretted it.
The others tensed.
Heads lowered.
Bloodlust.
Close.
Too close.
". . ."
CRACK.
The sound shattered the stillness.
The boulder broke.
Fragments split cleanly.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Hannible lifted his head.
The Leader remained seated.
Calm.
A single piece of stone—no larger than a hand—spun lazily in the air above him.
Toss.
It rose.
Fell.
TWACK.
A flick of his finger.
The stone shot forward—
Curving.
Whistling.
It passed between the standing brothers—
Missed the kneeling ones by inches—
And struck Hannible square in the chest.
Thud.
He caught it on instinct.
Silence.
Then—
A wave of dense pheromones.
Heavy.
Precise.
[Make me one… of a different variety.]
A pause.
[Only then… may she use my boulder.]
"…."
Hannible exhaled slowly.
Steadying himself.
Then turned back.
The girl was still waiting.
Head tilted.
Patient.
For a moment—
He saw it.
A flicker of red in her eyes.
Gone as quickly as it appeared.
Replaced by something else.
Gold.
With faint hints of blue and white—
Like petals drifting across her irises.
Subtle.
Easy to miss.
He stepped closer.
Shutting off his pheromones again.
"Our Leader requests… something unique," he said carefully, offering her the stone.
"Different from the others."
A small pause.
"…If you would."
She took it.
Up close—
She felt even smaller.
Fragile.
And yet—
Her hands began to glow.
Soft white.
The stone shifted instantly.
Color moved through it like fire trapped beneath the surface.
Red.
Orange.
Gold.
Meeting at the center—
Like a contained inferno.
"He wants something unique… correct?" she asked.
There was strain in her voice now.
Hannible felt it.
"Yes…"
A pause.
"…are you in pain?"
The question surprised even him.
But it was real.
Something about her—
Pulled at him.
Unfamiliar.
Dangerous.
She pressed her hands together.
The stone softened.
Like clay.
She shaped it slowly.
Carefully.
Compressing it.
Smaller.
Denser.
The glow shifted—
White to blue.
Heat intensified.
Then—
A disk.
She pressed a finger into its center.
Green light flared.
Her other hand steadied it—
Still glowing white-blue.
She rotated her fingers in small, precise motions.
The disk opened.
A ring formed.
Intricate patterns emerged across its surface.
Ancient.
Flowing.
Green energy moved within it.
Red traced its lines.
White-blue sealed its edges.
Hannible barely breathed.
Then—
He heard it.
A whisper.
A tune.
Soft.
Barely audible.
He leaned closer—
Listening.
"One ring to rule them all…
My power to bind them…
One ring to break the silence…
As the new Abyssal Eternal."
The moment she finished—
The crafting ended.
A golden light washed over the ring.
She opened her eyes.
Bright.
Happy.
"Done!" she said proudly.
"A very unique one!"
Then she looked up at him—
smiling.
"Now I can use the boulder!"