Ball of Nothing

#11: Silent Killers

Remember those worms? Yes, those useless ones that climbed up and disappeared. I must say that I certainly did not expect this outcome.

While Namekuji and I continued our peaceful day to day lives, those worms were working hard behind the scenes. I had no idea what was going on until much later.

Long story super short, they killed the bird and I absorbed its remains. Namekuji and I have long parted ways and there were no tears involved.

How? Well, here's the long version.

Remember how Namekuji first revealed his trump card? I scorned at that useless ability, right? Well, not exactly but something along that line. Anyway, those worms had climbed up but not out. Goodness, they were vicious!

I think that those worms were born natural killers. They targeted all the critical organs in the bird-like its heart, lungs, and brain, then the stayed there and ate the organs, absorbing all its nutrients to grow. They ate and grew until they could secrete a paralyzing kind of substance that slowly forced the bird's organs to shut down one by one. It was an unspoken teamwork, one that shocked me. The worms in the lungs started first, causing the bird to cough endlessly until the end. The second one targeted the heart that circulated the poison throughout the body, rendering the bird unable to move while the last worm in the brain delivered the final blow.

It was a perfect crime worthy of my respect. Only masters of the art of murder could pull something off so flawlessly with so much ease.

Once the bird collapsed, they made their escape through the mouth, eyes and just about any exit they could find. Namekuji gave me one last look of thanks before making his way out slowly. I struggling with transforming into a worm. I could only manage to transform into a worm with only five segments. A very tiny existence but something that could pull its own weight at last. The progress was slow and tiring but it paid off when I finally reached the brain.

I knew that absorbing the entire bird would take me a long time so I had to prioritise. The brain was what held the most memories so I targeted that first. The joy of gaining so much new knowledge made me forget about my troubles for a good while.

I envied the bird who had the freedom to see many things from the clouds. The feeling of wind beneath its wings was one that I too wanted to experience. With this new goal in mind, I resolved myself to absorb the bird completely and take on its form no matter what. It took me a while but I finally managed it.

The moment the last of the talons were absorbed, I allowed the exhaustion to claim me, ignoring the lurking dangers in the forest.