Survival, Fate, Justice
(At readers' request, daily updates resumed on February 1st: two updates at 7:07 every morning, totaling ten thousand words a day, until the stockpile runs out.)
(Haha. (Actually, the stockpile will be gone pretty soon.))
It... approaches.
Beyond the stars torn apart by darkness, twisted tentacles drifted slowly through the void. A slick voice came through, carrying a soft hiss.
The Norn Queen was thinking, resonating with the Hive Mind.
A spherical mass of energy that drew upon immense power was approaching. The swarm had carefully avoided that bizarre madman, but the Outsider had begun moving, to the surprise of every race.
The Tyranids would be utterly incapable of facing such an existence. Relying on biomass to build their survival, they were not adept at fighting enormously powerful entities of pure energy.
Move away... evade...
The instinct to survive stirred the swarm gathered here. The Norn Queen could sense the unease from the farthest reaches of the Hive Mind. The Tyranids were afraid; the instincts within them whispered for them to flee.
But...
But...
The tentacles greedily stretched and recoiled through the void, like a beast wrinkling its nose as it caught the scent of blood.
The swarm did not rely on pure instinct alone. The highest levels of the Hive Mind ensured that they could make long-term plans, trading temporary losses for greater gains.
And now, such a tempting existence lay before them.
C'tan...
Can... be modified...
Travel-worn and starving, even after devouring countless star systems, the Tyranids still could not reach a higher level of energy conversion. Arrogant beasts bared their fangs and gnawed every blade of grass from every planet.
Above them, the brilliant stars continued watching them, cold and merciless, burning—and continuing to burn after all else had passed.
They... had never managed