Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 353. The writhing pain that comes with growth

Chapter 353: 353. The writhing pain that comes with growth

At that very last moment, just before his eyes turned golden, Theo saw the strands surrounding him, including those that were attached to his own body.

They were different now. Their colour had shifted, and their intensity had grown much further compared to before.

In that split second, it felt as if Theo had finally glimpsed what the gate truly looked like, just before he was dragged into the hive mind.

His body began to writhe in agony, especially his heart, which seemed to hammer wildly in his chest, beating three times faster than normal.

Even after he reached for the hive link and the ant queen pulled him into an isolated space to keep his brain from overcooking, Theo could still feel everything happening to his physical body.

It was as if his innards were being scraped raw, only to be healed and torn apart again, all at the same time.

A kind of pain Theo had never known.

Before he knew it, the spatial energy began surging around him, pressing against his body. And that strange, weird feeling he had felt earlier now made sense; it had been this energy that was flooding him from within.

When the ant queen sensed this energy, it froze and took in all the emotions and feelings Theo was feeling or thinking about.

Two minutes passed.

Everyone had gathered around Theo, who had collapsed near the gate, his eyes still glowing golden.

However, despite seeing his son’s condition, the baron stopped anyone from pulling Theo out of the gate’s vicinity. He could feel something happening around his son’s body.

But whether it was good or not was yet to be decided.

Just as Theo began feeling a little calm, the ant queen pulled him deeper into the true hive link. Thousands of ants flooded his consciousness and began observing his mind.

The pressure on his mind was unbearable, so much so that it made Theo scream with all he had in the real world.

"WE NEED TO GET HIM BACK!" Clara cried in horror upon seeing Theo convulsing in pain.

"Look at his body first!" the baron said, his voice filled with curiosity and panic. "Do you see what’s happening, attendant?"

When Clara looked at Theo again, she saw strands of energy erupting from Theo’s body, striking the ground like lightning before vanishing.

And upon observation it became unmistakable; the energy strands were really coming out of his body.

But despite seeing him in such pain, everyone could only stay there, helpless, knowing that this was beyond them.

This was a fight Theo had to fight on his own.

The mantis, who had hesitated to enter the hive link before, suddenly entered into Theo’s brain and was directly struck by a wave of feelings that were no less than enlightenment.

[Evolution Potential Detected]

[Evolution Potential Detected]

[Evolution Potential Detected]

[Evolution Potential Detected]

[Evolution Potential Detected]

Thousands of notifications flooded and popped in Theo’s vision, yet the force crushing his brain was too overwhelming for him to even think.

Once the ant queen made sure Theo had achieved what he had entered the hive link for, it quickly isolated his consciousness, leaving only the mantis behind.

Yet the pain remained.

Even after everyone had left his mind, the throbbing pressure they had brought by being there for even a minute still lingered.

And the strangest part of it all...

It was the fact that only a little more than five minutes had passed since Theo began his evolution.

The golden glow faded from his eyes, and Theo saw the silhouettes of figures all around him before he fell unconscious.

The baron lifted him immediately, careful not to crush the ants beneath his boots as he leapt away from the gate.

The humans left the gate’s vicinity after taking Theo away.

No one seemed to have noticed the thousands of ants scattered across the ground, many of them attached with similar energy strands on their small bodies.

Soon, the same crackling energy began bursting from them as well, like static energy, yet somehow different.

The spider, who had hopped and remained in the gate’s vicinity under the ant queen’s orders, felt it too.

Only far stronger.

As if, through Theo, it had received an enlightenment far greater than the ants.

The mantis, on the other hand, lay limp on the ground, completely motionless.

If any of the attendants or the baron had seen the mantis in the condition it was in as it lay on the ground, they would have been shocked by how utterly dead it looked.

But all their attention was on Theo at the moment. The baron had one hand pressed against Theo’s chest, over his heart, his eyes closed in concentration.

"His heart is beating very fast..." the baron muttered with a frown.

"What is this?" he added, as if talking to himself.

"There’s something here. I can feel it... but why can’t I see or tell what it is?" The baron spoke as he pressed his palm harder against Theo’s chest, as if going closer would help him understand it better.

As if sensing the pressure on his ribs, Theo’s eyes snapped open, and he instinctively tried to get up, only to feel a heavy force pinning him down.

"KUGHH!" The pained sound escaped his throat, forcing the baron to pull his hand away immediately.

Theo shot upright and clutched his head, smacking it a few times in frustration.

"Young master, STOP!" Clara rushed forward, grabbing both of Theo’s wrists before he could hurt himself.

Yet Theo struggled, his fingers twitching even as Clara held him tight, as if wanting to rip his own hair out just to escape the pain.

At that moment, the baron stepped forward and pulled Theo into a big hug.

He tried to be as gentle as he could while Theo writhed, trying his best to get his hands free or smack it on the baron’s rock-like shoulder. The baron didn’t let him do anything of that sort.

After a few minutes of writhing in pain, Theo finally lost all his strength, and no matter how hard he tried to stay conscious, his eyelids grew heavy...

...until he fell unconscious.

Theo fell into a deep sleep, with no sign of waking anytime soon.