It was child-sized, barely a meter tall, its body connected to the larger creature through thousands of organic cables, veins and neural pathways linking it to the factory-body like a brain to nervous system.
It sat motionless, eyes closed, its surface covered in the same leathery armor but smoother, more refined.
This was the controller.
The intelligence directing the mindless horde.
The heart of the factory.
Around the room, hundreds of eggs lined the walls.
Larger than before, pulsing with power that made the air vibrate.
CRACK!
The child-creature's eyes snapped open.
White pupils, completely blank, showing nothing.
Then… it screamed.
SHRIIIIIIEK!
The sound was wrong, hitting frequencies that made ears bleed, that made skulls feel like they were cracking.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Every egg in the chamber burst simultaneously.
Creatures emerged, dropping from the walls, falling from above, their sizes varying but all clearly powerful.
