I was not returned to the common slave cells. Instead, I was taken to a "recovery room" that was a world apart from the filth and despair of the mines. It was a small, but clean, chamber with a real cot, a table, and even a window—a luxury I hadn't seen since arriving in this world. The air didn't smell of dust and death, but of faint, cleansing herbs. My wounds were treated by a silent, efficient medic who didn't meet my eyes.
This was my new cage. Gilded, but a cage nonetheless.
I was under constant, discreet surveillance. I could feel the spiritual probes brushing against the edges of my consciousness, monitoring the state of my Dark Seed and the collective within. They were wary of me, treating me like a volatile, priceless artifact.
Tua Bangka was not allowed to see me. I was cut off from my only real ally. The isolation was more profound than in the crowded, noisy slave cell.
For days, nothing happened. I was fed, my room was cleaned, and I was left alone with my thoughts and the thousands of voices in my head. The collective was restless. The integration of Jiao's fierce, predatory nature had changed the group's dynamics. There was a new undercurrent of aggression, a desire for action, that balanced the sorrow and wisdom of the older souls.
Liang Jie's voice was often at the forefront now. 'We cannot stay here. They are studying us. Deciding our fate. We must act before they decide to dissect us.'
'And go where?' the voice of the old strategist countered. 'We are deep in Clan territory. Our every move is watched. Patience. We must learn their new game.'
The "game" became clear when Pengawas Shen visited, accompanied by two high-level Elders I didn't recognize. They wore pristine white robes, a stark contrast to the grimness of the mine, and their auras were so controlled they were almost imperceptible, which was more frightening than Yan's obvious power.
"Wa Lang," Shen began, his tone formal. "This is Elder Zhu and Elder Li of the Internal Review Board. They are here to... debrief you on the events in the Heart of the Parasite."
Elder Zhu, a man with a long, wispy beard and eyes like chips of ice, spoke first. "Explain, in your own words, what transpired when you connected with the Primordial Entity."
I had prepared for this. I couldn't tell them the whole truth—that I had empathized with the monster and convinced it to sleep. That would mark me as too dangerous, too unpredictable. I had to give them a version they would believe, one that aligned with their worldview.
"My Dark Seed... it acted as a filter," I said, choosing my words carefully. "The entity's consciousness was too vast, too alien. My Seed, filled with the many human consciousnesses I've absorbed, was able to interpret its intent. It was not time for it to awaken. The energy was wrong. Impure. My collective... rejected the connection, and in doing so, caused a feedback loop that reinforced the seal."
It was a lie woven with threads of truth. I presented my actions not as a conscious choice, but as an instinctual, defensive reaction of my mutated parasite.
Elder Li, a severe-looking woman, leaned forward. "And the Fragment of Primordial Core? Shen's report mentions you possessed it."
"It was drawn to the entity," I said. "It acted as a conduit. The energy within it was consumed during the process." I showed them the dull, lifeless crystal. It was no longer a threat or a tool.
The Elders exchanged glances. They were cultivators; they understood concepts like resonance, feedback loops, and instinctual spiritual reactions. My story was plausible to them.
"Your Dark Seed is unique," Elder Zhu stated. "It has evolved into a form of symbiotic spiritual colony. This is... unprecedented. The Clan can use this. The knowledge contained within you, the ability to interface with unstable spiritual entities... you are a resource of immense strategic value."
There it was. The verdict. I was not a person. I was a "strategic resource."
"You will be reassigned," Elder Li declared. "You will no longer work the mines. You will serve directly under the Internal Review Board. Your primary duty will be to assist our researchers in understanding the Primordial Parasite and in developing... more stable applications for the Dark Seed technology."
A cold dread filled me. I had escaped being Yan's lab rat only to become the lab rat for the entire Clan leadership. They would poke and prod, trying to replicate what had happened to me, trying to weaponize my collective consciousness.
Shen looked at me, and for a brief moment, I saw something in his eyes—not sympathy, but a flicker of shared understanding. We were both pieces on the board, though he was a much more powerful piece than I. He had won his power struggle with Yan, but he was still subject to the whims of the Elders.
"Your cooperation will ensure your... comfort," Shen said, his voice neutral. "You will be provided with better nourishment, spiritual supplements to sustain your Seed, and a degree of autonomy. In return, you will serve the Clan."
It was an offer I couldn't refuse. Resistance meant immediate destruction. Compliance meant a slower, more controlled death, but it also meant time. Time to learn, to grow stronger, to find a weakness in my new gilded cage.
"I understand," I said, bowing my head. "I will serve."
The words tasted like ash in my mouth. The collective within me seethed with resentment, but they, too, understood the necessity. We had to bide our time.
As the Elders left, satisfied, Shen lingered for a moment.
"Yan has been sentenced to 're-education'," he said quietly. "He will not trouble you again. But be warned, Wa Lang. The attention of the Elders is a double-edged sword. You are valuable, which means you are also a threat in the eyes of many. Tread carefully."
He left me alone in my comfortable room. I looked out the window, which offered a view of a stark, rocky courtyard. The sky above was the same dull, oppressive red it always was.
I had achieved a perverse form of success. I was no longer a slave in the pits. I was a slave in a palace. The chains were cleaner, but they were still chains.
The hunger of my Dark Seed was a constant, low burn. It was no longer just for spiritual energy, but for freedom. For justice. For a purpose beyond being a "strategic resource."
I closed my eyes, connecting with the legion within.
'We play their game for now,' I told them. 'We learn their secrets. We grow strong in the shadows they provide. And when the time is right...'
'...We become the plague they fear,' Liang Jie finished, his voice a dark promise that echoed through the thousands of souls bound to mine.
The Belalang was in the nest of the spiders now. And it was learning to spin its own web.