The Unmaker

“… Dahlia? Dahlia! What's wrong? What are you screaming about?”

“Mom! Get it away, get it away! Eww! That thing, it's-”

“Oh. It's just a little bug.”

“It's not little, mom! Look! It's– no! Mom, help! It's coming towards me! Get it off!”

“No, Dahlia. It's just a regular assassin bug. It won't bite if you don't aggravate it. Just pick it up gently with your finger.”

“I… I can't!”

“You can. Try. Curl your pinky like you're making a promise, and then put it right in front of its legs. It'll get curious and climb on because it's just as curious as you are.”

“...”

“Deep breath, four seconds. Heavy exhale, four seconds. That's it, Dahlia. Just a little bit closer, a little bit closer…”

“... It's on! It's on! Now what do I-”

“Now flick it out the window as hard as you can. I don't like bugs in my house.”

- Conversation from Sina Household past

[... Greetings, Dahlia Sina,] the bug said, waving one of its legs. [I am designated ‘Eria’, your personal bug assistant, here to support your integration with the Altered Swarmsteel System. You appear to be in quite the bind. Would you like to check your status now?]

…

Dahlia raised a hand, pinched the little black bug off the bridge of her nose, and then flicked it into the wall as hard as she could. It was an instinctual move. A practised motion. She couldn’t immediately recall how many times her mom had made her do the same with bugs they found skittering across the house, but just this once, muscle memory had taken over before fear could—and then she scrambled back, her breaths hitching as her fingers started itching where she’d touched the living bug.

No.

It’s dead now.

I killed it.

So please, please, please stop itching–

[I am designated ‘Eria’, your personal bug assistant. This body of mine is ephemeral,] the bug said, reappearing on the ground in front of her, and she had to clamp a hand over her mouth to stop herself from shrieking; the cave cricket had to be close, still. The little black bug sat on its hindlegs like it was a dog, staring up at her pitifully. [I understand you must be very confused. However, you are not currently in a situation to panic. You must remain calm. You must ‘Deep breath, four seconds. Heavy exhale, four seconds.’ Can you do that for me?]

[Deep breath, four seconds.]

[Heavy exhale, four seconds.]

And the gentleness in the metallic voice caught her off-guard. The whirlwind of fear in her chest had refused to settle, but the instructions combined with the tone of voice brought in a flash of memories, white and black in her head—four years ago, curled up in the corner of her house, her mom kneeling in front of her. Six legs pricking her shoulder. Her mom told her to breathe deeply, so she did back then—and she did right now, the sound of air whistling past her lips distracting her momentarily from the pain in her eardrums.

Her heartbeat slowed a little.

Fingers shuddering, she reached into her pockets and popped a little bloodberry candy into her mouth, savouring every last drop of its sweetness.

[... Interesting. The retrieval of a positive word association from your memories proved far more effective than my calculations had predicted,] the bug mumbled. [Searching memories for a deeper understanding of Dahlia Sina. Searching failed. Searching memories for a deeper understanding of Dahlia Sina. Searching failed–]

“What are you… what are you doing to me?” she breathed, maintaining her breathing rhythm, much to her own surprise. The little bug tilted its head.

[Swarmsteel are ‘magical’ equipment created from the parts of dead insects, and I am the most advanced Swarmsteel there is. The wandering bug-slayers call us ‘Altered Swarmsteel Systems’, but you can call me ‘Eria’, an artificial lifeform created to assist its user in all things related to slaying giant bugs. This body you are seeing is but a projection chosen based on certain events from your memories,] the bug explained. [Based on your surface memories, I conclude you have no significant knowledge of the surface world. However, as you are an unauthorised user of the Altered Swarmsteel System, I cannot perform a memory link and immediately transfer all my knowledge into your mind. Would you like me to explain via oral methods what will happen to your body over the following few hours?]

Deep breaths. Heavy exhales. The little bug wasn’t so close to her that she felt the gut-roiling sensation to scramble further away, and just as well, it likely knew getting any closer to her would make her react in much the same way she did just half a minute ago. It was for this reason they were locked in a stalemate, staring dead into each other’s eyes—but, for once, she felt somewhat at ease hearing that particular voice coming from that particular shape of bug.

That small, six-legged, black and orange teardrop-shaped body with a slightly elongated neck… she knew the name of this bug by heart, but she never thought she’d get to see another one in this undertown for as long as she lived.

It was her mom’s most hated bug, after all.

“... If I say no, then what will you do?” she asked weakly, lips quivering, swallowing the last fragment of her candy. “If I say… if I say I want you to get out of my body now, will you do it?”

[I will. But without my assistance, based on prior information and observations, the chances of you surviving this Swarm invasion is less than one percent.] the bug said matter-of-factly, not beating around the bush. It stood up straight and mimed wagging a finger at her with one of its legs. [The breadth of assistance I can offer is tantamount to possessing ten A-rank Swarmsteel. The amount of assistance I can offer right now is not even close to a fraction of my true potential, owing to my inability to access your full memories, but as time goes on I will understand you better. I will understand your body better. The more you and I are one, the more personal adjustments I can alter to strengthen your system. It would be unwise to remove me now.]

[However, the choice is still yours.]

[Do you wish to accept the system, Dahlia Sina of the Alshifa undertown?]

…

… She could buy the idea that the little bug was a projection from the Swarmsteel the bug trader had made her swallow. She’d heard about it from her dad, read about it from books in the library—while most Swarmsteel were worn and carried around as pieces of equipment, weapons, and tools, there was also a different category of Swarmsteel that functioned more like implants, directly affecting the wearer’s internal body. Special dragonfly lenses could replace the human lenses, directly increasing the wearer’s dynamic vision. Folded beetle bones could replace entire arms and legs, and in time normal human flesh would grow over them to hide them from surface-level glances. In that sense, it wasn’t too big of a stretch to imagine that a far more talented Swarmsteel Maker than her could’ve created something that could talk in her head.

Besides, this Swarmsteel was something the bug trader had explicitly said he would bring to her.

If he was planning on giving it to her anyways, then it couldn’t possibly do any harm to her, right?

It wasn’t a real bug.

It was just a fake.

“... Say I accept you, and accept this… ‘system integration’, whatever it is,” she whispered, eyes lifting as she saw a massive shadow moving in the dark. The cave cricket was still nearby. “Can you help me get out of this sewer room and back up to the town? Safely?”

The little bug dipped its head. [It would require cooperation and action from your part, but yes. Based on prior information and observations, your chances of surviving this Swarm invasion would rise to five percent if you possess a system.]

“Only five percent? That’s-”

[Humans of this era are like bugs under a boot,] Eria said plainly. [Will you be the boot that crushes without thought, or will you be the bug that refuses to die?]

Her face fell, heavy with an unplaceable emotion.

That quote… she’d heard it before.

Her mom.

Her dad.

The little bug knew more about her than it let on.

“... Okay,” she said. “Five percent is… okay. Dad always says it’s a five percent chance he walks out of a patient’s house having cured an ailment completely, and he’s the best doctor in this town, so–”

[Wonderful! Would you like to check your status now?] the little bug said, clapping two legs together. [Due to current processing errors in reading your full physiological and mental information, certain status blocks have been put in place to reduce misinformation. However, you can still confirm your basic attributes and devise a strategy regarding your future progression plans. Decisions made after diligent planning will lead to better results than if you were to simply leave everything to me, your personal bug assistant–]

“I don’t know half of what you’re saying, but can you… can you help me get rid of that cave cricket first?” she said, dropping her head to the ground as the massive shadow whirled to look in her direction; she immediately clasped her hands over her mouth, speaking in a whisper. “It won’t go away. I think it knows I’m still here. Certainty. But that ladder behind it, it’s… it’s the only way to climb out of this sewage room and back up to the lower streets. I need to get up there.”

The little bug made a big show of turning around, staring at the crickets’ gently swaying antennae.

[I agree. It would be inefficient to explain your attributes and system to you while that cave cricket is breathing over your neck,] it said. [Shall we aim to dismantle it systematically, then, or should I augment your basic attributes with what little strength I can afford you so you can fight it head-on?]

She was only half-listening to the little bug as she stared at the cricket, but then she caught onto what the little bug was saying and snapped down to look at it.

“Why would I want to fight it head-on?”

[Most bug-slayers do not engage in cloak and dagger. If there is a giant bug, then slay it. It is the most simple and direct way to get rid of a bug.]

“And do I look like I have the body to… to fight that thing head-on?”

[You are correct. Until I have a better understanding of you as a person and can assign you an insect class to massively improve your progression capabilities, it will be difficult for you to overcome the cave cricket with your current strength and speed.]

“So that’s why–”

[That is why you will use the skills you have to dismantle the cricket without turning it into a fight,] the little bug concluded. [According to previous recorded conversations with your friends, you are nicknamed the ‘Make-Whatever’ of Alshifa. You are a fledgling crafter known as a ‘Swarmsteel Maker’.

[In this sewage room, with what little components you have access to, do you ‘see’ a path to slay the cave cricket?]

She looked, the tears in her eyes obscuring half her vision as she scanned the crates dangling on frayed ropes over her head. Then, she spotted the glints of tiny insect parts mixed in with the piles of garbage running along the walls.

Closing her eyes, she gritted her teeth as she tried to recall where she’d seen those parts before, what insect they’d belonged to, what combinations and reactions she would get if she just stuck all of them together—and the little bug must’ve injected something into her blood, because she felt a calm like never before as she exhaled with her lips pressed tightly together.

“... There is a path,” she whispered. “I… I can kill the cave cricket.”