The Swarm's Will

"Evolution complete."

Gabriel Tosh, a former follower of the Haj Voodoo cult, the newly born Swarm, tore at the tough yet elastic outer layer of the cocoon with his bizarre and twisted hands, while his strong and powerful legs kicked at the hardened exoskeleton outside the cocoon.

"The human body is an organism with a primitive mind; discard the dross and make good use of it."

With little effort, Tosh tore open the cocoon's outer layer with the sharp claws extending from the tips of his fingers, like sharp scissors cutting through white paper. He ripped open the cocoon and breathed his first breath of new life in the soft and warm evolutionary chamber of the Char insect nest.

"Independent thinking, Swarm will. Both."

The cocoon shattered like a broken skateboard or an eggshell, splitting into several pieces. With a wild roar, Tosh shook off the sticky green slime covering his body, revealing his grayish-green skin and back covered with a chitinous carapace.

Multiple pairs of spikes extended from Tosh's back, resembling a giant spider, with each spike secreting a viscous yellow venom, like Viper's venom gland.

"The lack of wings is unexpected. I can't understand it; further research is needed."

"The skin is greener, which is puzzling."

"Get out of my way." Tosh felt an unprecedented power, as if he could tear apart the Goliath Combat Robot of the Terran Confederacy at will, and shred those arrogant soldiers to shreds. This power was something his once thin and weak body could never possess.

When Tosh opened his eyes, which glowed with a yellowish light, he saw for the first time the green monster whose body was buried in the evolution pit. This monster was as huge as the Hydralisk that had appeared on Haji, and its swollen head was covered with glowing bubbles that wriggled and emitted a green fluorescence.

Although its enormous head is almost disproportionate to its body, its face is nearly flat, with an ugly, distorted face and at least four terrifying insect eyes.

It has many short arms, some of which look even too short, and one pair is particularly thick. Its fingers are as flexible as a human's, capable of performing a variety of complex movements such as grasping.

"Get lost, you monster," Tosh emphasized again, surprised to find that he wasn't actually speaking, but was instead using Psionics to project his thoughts directly onto the monster before him.

Tosh knew the monster's name; it was Abathur, one of the earliest creatures created by the Overmind, the evolutionary master who oversaw the evolutionary path of the Swarm. Within the Swarm, having a name signified the strength and seniority of the Zerg.

"The Swarm, Supreme." Abathur clasped his hands together, like a patient steward. His telepathic language contained undisguised contempt, a response to Tosh's disdain for the Zerg.

"Cough cough." Tosh spat out a clump of viscous green liquid from his swollen throat. The liquid sizzled as it landed on the writhing, fleshy wall, causing the flesh beneath his feet to contract and spasm in pain.

Upon closer inspection, Tosh found himself inside the body of a gigantic Zerg creature or in its underground nest. The dimly lit chamber writhed, and enormous worm intestines hung from the walls. The air inside was humid and viscous, filled with the stench of decay.

Tosh coughed up the last glob of phlegm from his throat, his yellowed eyes scanning everything around him. After a moment of silence, Tosh stopped roaring and focused on his reborn body.

Sharp bony spikes grew from the ends of each of his fingers and elbows, each one a long, deadly blade. Tosh felt he could easily tear apart this green-glowing creature before him and bite its throat open.

"Did you turn me into this?" Tosh looked at the evolution master Abathur, stretching out his arms and sharp fingers as if he wanted to strangle the Zerg in front of him.

"Organic Abathur, complete the process. Create, evolve, until perfection." Abathur crawled in front of Tosh, stretching out his forelimbs to touch him, but was immediately and roughly pushed away.

"Don't touch me, you sticky slug." Tosh took a few steps back and found that he not only didn't find the sticky interior of the chamber disgusting, but actually thought the air was intoxicating and warm.

Suddenly, Tosh gripped his own neck so tightly that his long claws dug deep into his flesh. To his surprise, he found himself holding the pendant his grandmother had left him, a sacred object from the Manan, a doll said to bring curses upon its enemies.

A fleeting sadness filled Tosh's heart, reminding him of his grandmother's passing. The high witch who worshipped the goddess of death died in the Psionic Storm Tosh unleashed in a fit of rage, and was then torn to pieces by the Zerg.

The Terran Confederacy is the culprit. Instead of helping the people they swore to protect, they blocked the people of the Haj slum from escaping, leaving them to the Zerg.

"Cerebrate Tosh, imperfect," Abathur responded.

"I'm going to kill you, crush you like a quacking duck." Tosh stretched out the many pairs of sharp appendages on his back, the new bone blades clicking like sharpened knives.

"Organic Abathur, the strongest." The green Zerg Abathur raised its upper body like a cobra, waving its multiple pairs of forelimbs to demonstrate its power. In any case, Tosh might also have seen the movements of the underground boxers from the Haj slums in Abathur.

"Abathur, unique."

"I'll tear you apart." Tosh was consumed by hatred for the Terran Confederacy; his heart could hold no more.

"Stop, newborn Cerebrate."

Then, a new voice appeared in Tosh's mind; it was a strange, shrill voice.

"Why? Why should I obey your orders?" Tosh instantly recognized the voice— the Cerebrate of the Garm Brood, the Swarm's leader, Sath.

Upon learning of the Revolutionary Army's naming of its people, Sath readily accepted the name, seeing it as a manifestation of humanity's fear and respect for it.

The Cerebrate Sars was wriggling in a corner of the chamber. Its worm-like body shone with a silvery-white luster, making this fleshy lump of a creature appear as clear and translucent as crystal. Beside it were two other Cerebrate that were almost identical to it, but one of them clearly had more delicate skin.

"You have received the Overmind's favor, a favor that extends to every Cerebrate, but you are merely a servant," Sath reprimanded Tosh without any politeness.

"You're right." Tosh lowered his extended claws and the appendages on his back, no longer staring maliciously at Abathur: "But you are not the Overmind, you are nothing but a Cerebrate."

"Anger is not important." Seeing that Tosh had stopped attacking, Abathur also lowered its many outstretched limbs.

During the months that Tosh was brought to Char for modification by the Zerg, he was confined in an airtight cocoon, surviving on the nutrient solution that filled the cocoon. As his body was constantly being broken down and reassembled, Tosh's mind was also distorted and changed by the Swarm.

From the moment he emerged from his cocoon and let out his first scream of rebirth, Tosh had accepted his new identity, knowing that the supreme Overmind of the Swarm, the Overmind, was his own creator.

He is a new, perfect being created by the Overmind, who will rule the Swarm until he fulfills a supreme mission—the meaning of Tosh's birth is to ensure the eternal existence of the Swarm.

As a creation on Overmind placed high hopes, Tosh held a status in the Swarm equivalent to that of the Cerebrate, possessing his own race. Moreover, Tosh was an individual highly favored Overmind the Overmind, which subtly elevated his status above that of the other Cerebrate.

However, a veteran Cerebrate like Sath doesn't obey Tosh's orders; it is also a Zerg individual with a unique personality.

"I'm just a Cerebrate." Sath acknowledged Tosh's words and then fell silent. Its purpose was merely to stop the conflict between Tosh and Abathur. Cerebrate are sentient Zerg that possess emotions, but they do not fight or kill each other—at least not yet.

"Where is the Overmind?" Tosh wandered around the writhing chamber, stretching his limbs and feeling the terrifying power contained within his new body.

"The great Zerg that created me, the undisputed Overmind of the Swarm, a being like a father and a mother, my exalted Heavenly Father."

In the past, Tosh, who came from the slums of Haj, would not have been able to say such things, but during the transformation process, Tosh's vocabulary was expanded, which likely came from the human brain tissue absorbed by the Zerg.

--But it's also possible that a Cerebrate overheard it while watching the human UNN channel, perhaps while munching on larvae and watching a news anchor's latest report on the war between humans and Zerg.

The Terran Confederacy army never imagined that the enemy was listening to human broadcasts, and even went so far as to report in detail the operational plans for the Zerg main hive on Little Murphius in an attempt to encourage the public, which subsequently turned into a terrible disaster.

"The Overmind has descended upon Aiur, the Protoss's homeworld." Another Cerebrate raised its head, which had sharp mandibles, and said with pride. Tosh knew its name without a doubt: Cerebrate Carlos, the leader of the Carlos race.

"The Swarm swarm will destroy the Protoss homeworld, shatter their pride and everything." The Cerebrate Carlos is a Cerebrate adept at manipulating infected alien creatures into battle; its greatest skill lies in transforming the enemy's most powerful warriors and even generals for its own use.

Carlos is one of the most well-understood Cerebrate by humans, and this understanding goes far beyond the superficial.

"The Swarm are about to achieve immortality, and our great immortal mission is about to be completed. Once we conquer the Protoss, humanity will be no match for us, and they will perish like all the races we have encountered."

"In other words, the Overmind is not here." Tosh uttered strange byte by using his vocal organs for the first time. He straightened up and realized that he had become as burly as a grown man. He was so strong, and his Psionics power was far greater than before.

Tosh was consumed by a thirst for revenge; he couldn't wait to tear the Terran Confederacy's army to shreds.

"The Overmind is not here." A young and immature Cerebrate responded through the unique telepathic link between Zerg. It was an unnamed, newly born Cerebrate, almost as young as Tosh had been a member of the Zerg swarm, and one created by the Cerebrate Overmind it came to Char.

In Char's hive, even a Cerebrate would have a higher status than this newly born, nameless Cerebrate; it was the youngest among the newest batch of Cerebrate.

This lowly and inexperienced Cerebrate had little influence; it had only learned how to command its own kind before the Overmind left Char.

"The Overmind has entrusted Char to us—our mission is to protect your cocoon until you emerge," the newly born, nameless Cerebrate said.

"Thank you," Tosh said. "The first thing I learned while struggling in the Haj slums was that if someone treats me well, I'll repay them tenfold."

"I have received your thanks." Abathur, who had been silent for a long time, also took it for granted that he was the one being thanked.

"Organic Tosh has defects and must be improved. Throw it into the splitting pool."

Let me see.

"Stay away from me." Tosh took a few steps back, but did not choose to force Abathur to submit.

Undeterred, Abathur eventually caught Tosh, pointing at his body parts with his thickest forelimbs and rubbing something in his insect-like hair, until the other man growled in dissatisfaction.

"Go easy on me, you jerk," Tosh complained. "I'm not your guinea pig."

Abathur's actions were anything but gentle; they were practically slicing Tosh's skin with his sharp claws. Although the cuts on Tosh's skin healed quickly, he still felt real pain.

Just as Tosh was growing increasingly impatient with Abathur, a startled Psionics fluctuation suddenly emanated from the Cerebrate.

"Intruders!" the Cerebrate Sars snarled.

"Templar Knights, and humans," the newborn Cerebrate added.

"I suggest we adopt a retreat tactic." Carlos, adept at learning human tactics, firmly pointed this out, glancing left and right as he searched for a way out.

It then revealed a startling fact. "There are too many Cerebrate here. Once we are killed by the enemy, the Char Swarm will collapse."

"Where are they? How far away are they from us?" The spikes on Tosh's back stood up.

"On the planet," Sath telepathically said sharply and loudly, "But my people have already discovered them."

"The Revolutionary Army of Humanity! I will never forget their scent. They've come, Augustus Mengsk must be here too!" it screamed.

A massive Zergling and Hydralisk surged toward the chamber from a writhing passage outside. Each one was enormous, with bright red skin, and was ferocious and swift.

"I'll stay here." Tosh realized this was a formidable opponent and immediately told the Cerebrate, "I'll cover the rear."

Unlike the Cerebrate, Tosh possesses both the powerful physique of a warrior and the intelligence to command his swarm, while the Cerebrate, who command billions of Swarm, lack the ability to protect themselves.

"Altruism, admirable." Abathur drew something with its two appendages on its chest.

"The Swarm is unnecessary."

"Swarm win by sheer numbers."