A massive tree loomed in the center, its bark faintly glowing with veins of blue.
_Kreee!
Around it, the swarm drifted in slow circles, wings humming softly in the heavy air.
They were silent.
Almost too silent, moving like sleepwalkers.
For a while, nothing changed.
The creatures floated lazily, lost in some strange trance, their bodies pulsing faintly with light.
Then, something stirred.
_Crack!
A cocoon near them began to tremble violently, as if something inside was struggling to break free.
_Tick!
With a sharp snap, the graft holding it to the trunk broke.
The cocoon rolled down the side of the tree and hit the ground with a wet thud.
_Slash!
It burst open, spilling out a figure, a naked girl, her skin glistening with a thin layer of translucent fluid.
For a moment, everything stilled again.
Then, one of the insects twitched midair.
Its wings shuddered.
_Kreee!
The sound tore through the silence.
