At first, nothing happened.
The town remained as it was. Quiet. Ordinary. Alive.
A guard leaned against the wooden wall, half awake, scratching his neck.
"…Damn bugs," he muttered.
Another one nearby shifted uncomfortably, rolling his shoulder.
"You feel that too?"
"Yeah. Probably just fleas or something."
They laughed it off.
They didn't see the way the ground near the base of the wall had begun to swell slightly.
They didn't notice the thin, black legs slipping through the seams of the wood.
They didn't hear the deeper sound beneath the soft crawling.
Something heavier.
Something large.
Vermis took a single step forward.
"Begin."
That was when it changed.
Not gradually.
All at once.
A guard suddenly screamed, his voice sharp and raw. He clawed at his chest, fingers digging into the gaps of his armor.
Something moved beneath it.
Not outside.
Inside.
