Facing that powerful force, Kane was powerless to resist and could only helplessly be swept into it.
No one had asked for his consent beforehand.
For to the entities within the colony, the right to refuse an order simply did not exist.
Nor was there any special treatment. It wasn't that Gaia was intentionally torturing him; she simply did not know any other way to do it.
Kane's body was covered by wriggling symbiotic carapace ants, while his consciousness was forcibly cast into the distant hive mind.
Kane had already heard of the hive mind.
After all, the Great Devourer could act as a single entity without relying on any tools or means, so there had to be a secret to it.
In fact, Kane had observed them from the sidelines and speculated that they might share a single consciousness.
‘C-Could this place be...!’
And now, he had confirmed with his own eyes that his speculation was true.
Struggling to stand up, what greeted his eyes was a vast wasteland, with a cosmic space stretching out above it.
The hive mind grew stronger with every passing second, weaving into countless torrents. Its scale was already enough to overwhelm a world's goddess, and its mere existence made Kane's consciousness feel completely overwhelmed.
No wonder the other Legion Commanders did not like to linger in the hive mind.
If one's self-awareness was not born from this hive mind, maintaining one's sense of self in such a massive torrent for a long time would be an arduous task.
“Ugh?!”
Just then, something began to approach him.
The very space where Kane's consciousness resided began to tremble, as if an earthquake were occurring.
Unable to support himself, he stumbled and fell to the ground, his face turning pale.
The entity causing the earthquake burst through the ground in front of him, instantly soaring into the air.
Kane gritted his teeth as he looked at the somewhat familiar figure.
It was a colossal tree, even more massive and oppressive than in reality, its size difficult to even take in all at once.
However, the tree's countless branches looked like human hands or tentacles, and its rough bark had been replaced by an exoskeleton.
Then, with a sharp crack, the massive exoskeleton split open, revealing a woman's face from within.
“Third Queen!”
Seeing Gaia's true form for the first time within the hive mind, Kane's body began to tremble.
Already overwhelmed, he did not dare to defy the Queen, one of the rulers of this giant main nest colony.
“A more precise administrator is needed to maintain the colony's neural network.”
Along with Gaia's voice, a neural network resembling tree roots wrapped around Kane's feet, creeping upward to envelop his body.
This was ultimately the process of completely assimilating his consciousness with the hive mind.
“Ah!”
Kane almost lost his mind due to the information forcibly flooding in.
Yet, just as quickly, he understood what role he had been given, what power he had acquired, and what he would have to do in the future.
‘As a captive, to be recognized to this extent... should I be happy? Or should I...’
Fortunately, Gaia adjusted the volume of information for him. Before losing his self-awareness, he began to slowly detach from the hive mind, thinking blankly.
When he was first captured, Kane had only chosen to cooperate out of fear and dread of these monster-like beings.
Over time, he had developed a sense of awe and curiosity toward them, which led him to actively provide assistance.
Gaia saw through Kane's abilities and temperament.
She calculated that even as a mere ordinary assistant, Kane could work well driven by his own motivations and capabilities. If she granted him the power of a Legion Commander, his efficiency would increase several-fold.
However, becoming a Legion Commander meant possessing the corresponding authority and power. Conversely, it also meant that he would ‘never’ be able to leave the colony from now on.
Though it felt like only an instant within the hive mind, an entire day had actually passed in reality by the time Kane woke up. He stared blankly at his own body lying in the nest.
Long ago, when he was captured, he had already been forced to leave the Goddess's embrace through means such as the Gene Stealers, so complex modifications were not necessary for him.
...
‘Does Gaia need a capable administrator? That makes sense. With the territory expanding so rapidly now, we indeed need someone to manage it. After all, not every individual is connected to the hive mind.’
Lin Miao knew how Gaia intended to utilize Kane now that he had become a Legion Commander.
Kane was clearly not meant for combat.
Gaia herself had little interest in fighting, and she intended to have Kane act as an administrator to assist her.
And Kane already knew this fact.
Waking up in the nest, Kane stood up with a blank expression and walked straight toward the nearby nutrient solution pool.
He looked at his reflection in the nutrient solution pool, its surface shimmering as if covered by a layer of oily sheen.
His body had already fused with the symbiotic carapace ants.
Covered in a thin, black exoskeleton, loose black membranes wrapped around his body like a robe or cloak.
Thus, at first glance, he looked like a priest dressed in a black uniform.
The messy-haired, middle-aged man's face, looking somewhat bewildered, was slowly covered by a black mask.
The mask also featured antennae and mandibles, looking highly similar to the Great Devourer mask he usually wore.
“Now, I finally understand.”
Kane silently gazed at his reflection, and after a moment, he turned around.
Celia was landing in front of him, folding her membrane-covered wings.
Although he was still a bit unaccustomed to it, his consciousness, now connected to the hive mind, was rapidly sharing the surrounding information.
Kane marveled from the bottom of his heart, “Just how incredible are you all? Even now, information is still continuously pouring into my mind, and my senses are being shared. This is truly...”
The corners of Celia's mouth curled up slightly. “It won't take long to adapt. But be careful. If you indulge too deeply in the hive mind, your own self will gradually weaken.”
Another companion had joined them. And unlike the others, who were merely warriors knowing only how to fight and kill, this was a companion who, like her, enjoyed exploration and research.
“The Queen has handed over the management of all reared subjects in the occupied territories to me.”
Although Kane had only been a Legion Commander for a few minutes, like all individuals of the Great Devourer, he clearly understood his role and mission from the moment of his rebirth.
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