Chrysalis Chapter 1734 - Behold It!

Beyn could barely make out the chaos of the fight through the torrent of tears clouding his sight. Overwhelmed by raw feeling, he struggled to carry out the very task he mastered above all: delivering words.

The view of the Great One hurling themself into peril, enduring strikes and the humiliation of clashing against foes so much weaker, stirred him to silence. What a majestic offering! What a compassionate core of insight! Without doubt, the Great One had ascended to a realm of purity where they would clash and endure agony for the sake of others, even courting death. Such pure devotion! Such boundless kindness!

How could Beyn just remain idle and observe?! No, he'd rather give up his last arm, his two legs, and every vital part inside so the sacred form of the New Path wouldn't have to endure such torment!

Yet... yet he'd–greedily–beg to retain his eyes, to keep gazing upon their splendor, and his tongue too, so he could proclaim their wonders.

Regrettably, no such decision was offered to him, leaving Beyn with nothing but to observe and withstand. But was that truly the case? He was merely one person, a frail and flawed being who happened to be in the perfect spot at the perfect moment for an awakening. Beyn had never viewed himself as extraordinary or worthy. In fact, his initial response to the wonder of the New Path was rejection! A grave error that cost him a limb.

Still, he possessed gifts, he understood that much. He held unwavering loyalty, a follower's soul, and a fierce flame of belief. Moreover, through the mercy of the New Path he followed, he ranked among the finest orators.

Determined, he wiped the tears away with his sleeve and pushed up from his knees, where he'd dropped without noticing. Gripping the ant-headed staff firmly in his grasp, he faced the two battalions, comprising thousands of humans and scores of his fellow Priests, and lifted his chin proudly.

“BEAR WITNESS!” he bellowed, his cry booming so fiercely it bounced from the far tunnel walls and pierced every listener, rising over the clamor of combat. “Bear witness to the service and sacrifice of the Great One!”

Using his staff, he gestured toward the massive creature, hemmed in from every direction and fiercely defending itself right before them. Beyn avoided turning to gaze, knowing it might flood him with too much sentiment to keep talking.

“See how they suffer in our place! See how they take on the burdens and struggles that were meant for us. This is the fight of the new against the old, the past against the future! By your side stand the members of the Colony who have never betrayed you, who have never turned you aside, but rather welcomed you as a member of their family!

“Over there see the servants of the old way! See those who spurned you, who looked down on you, who suppressed and oppressed you!”

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“I tell you truly, we have been shown a New Path! A new way to exist within the Dungeon! We have been given salvation beyond what we deserve and grace far greater than we could ever hope to repay.”

In the gazes of the believers, Beyn spotted the matching fire he knew burned in his own. Numerous followers wept freely, tears flowing as they raised their hands to the tunnel ceiling or toward the Great One. Some snapped their mandible clackers to mark his words, the rapid clicks resembling bursts of cheers and agreement.

The ants felt a touch puzzled but paid little mind anyway.

Passion welled up inside the priest, and he sensed his voice expanding to its grandest, resonant force as the audience surrendered to his speech's grip.

“DO NOT FEAR!” he thundered. “THE ONLY THING THAT SHOULD TERRIFY US, IS OUR OWN UNWILLINGNESS TO EMBRACE THE NEW WAY!

“YOU HAVE BEEN SHOWN THE LENGTHS TO WHICH THE GREAT ONE WILL GO FOR YOU. ARE YOU WILLING TO RETURN THAT SAME DEVOTION?”

“YES!” the people roared.

Within the throng, a handful started questioning the direction this was heading. They weren't meant to join the fray yet, as the strategy had made clear, and a wild rush into the melee hadn't featured in the outline. Even with their doubts, the priest's compelling and mighty rhetoric pulled them along in the surge of passion that engulfed everyone.

Beyn surveyed the two battalions, reveling in the zeal staring back at him. Aside from the ants, naturally, who appeared somewhat baffled. Though he could communicate via pheromones, these declarations targeted the faithful, not them.

He flung his arm out broadly.

“Let us pray.”

Head bowed, Beyn spun back toward the conflict and dropped to his knees again, the stone pressing into the thin cloth of his robe.

“Great One. Giver of hope. May your antennae always seek truly the light of the New Path. May your mandibles forever cut through the lies and deceptions of this world. May your carapace shield us from harm and inequity. Ours is a simple request, that we be allowed to shelter you as you have sheltered us. That we may FIGHT to realise THE TRUTH and let it be made MANIFEST, HERE, IN THE FACE OF THE UNBELIEVERS.”

Despite his efforts to contain the fervor, Beyn's voice climbed to a thunderous peak by the prayer's close, erupting from his chest and drowning out the battle's noise entirely.

Before he could continue, a system notification popped up in front of him.

[Congratulations, you have reached the maximum level for your Class: Ant Orator.]

[You may choose to advance this Class to the following: Prophet of the Colony.]

Beyn's heart quieted in his chest. He confirmed the notification right away, yet the ensuing details escaped him as his mind raced and fresh tears welled up.

As if more evidence of his mission's validity was required, but it arrived regardless.

He rose and hoisted the ant-headed staff aloft.

“FOR THE COLONY!” he roared.

“FOR THE COLONY!” the troops roared back.

Then, brimming with justice and rage, they surged forward… abandoning their stunned and perplexed ant companions in the dust.