Evolution begins with an ant colony

Akun then replied with a cold tone, "So, you have made your choice. Pity, I was kind of looking forward to you all not making a choice at all."

Akun's words sent a shiver down the collective spines of all the Dryad elders. In a way, they were all glad the princess made a choice. At the same time, they were sad she did. Akun then walked around the king-sized bed to the side where Rinalef was resting on her mother.

Seeing him approach, Rinalef quickly stood up and stepped back.

Arriving by the Queen's side, Akun narrowed his gaze at her. He then let out a sigh as he mused inwardly, "Guess I should keep my word." He glanced at the elders who stood toward the door and then at Rinalef, who stood behind him; they all wore worried expressions.

Akun then proceeded. He lifted his right hand above the queen's weak frame, his fingers outstretched, his palm facing downwards towards her. He mused inwardly, "System, consume the †Authority† fragment."

The system's voice echoed in his head, [Affirmative...]

[Processing...]

In that moment, it appeared as if some sort of small black hole appeared on Akun's hand. Suddenly, a very dark purple mist began to come out of the queen's body, forcefully being sucked into the black hole in Akun's hand.

A massive wave of wind was being sent in all directions as the process began. The elders and the princess instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes.

Inwardly, Elder Aelorin mused, "What power." The wind whizzed past her ears, tousling her hair and clothes.

Finally, the wind subsided after the last bits of the dark mist entered the black hole in Akun's palm. Once it did, Akun clenched his hand into a fist and brought it close to his face. He momentarily gazed at it, then back at the Dryad queen.

The system's voice then echoed in his head, "[Ding †Grate Xtreme Chaos† has successfully consumed the †Authority† fragment.]"

Suddenly, the Dryad queen slowly began to regain consciousness. Her eyes fluttered open, and she slowly sat up. Her gaze fell on Elder Aelorin as she then mumbled, "Is that you, Elder Aelorin?"

Upon laying her gaze on her recovering figure, Elder Aelorin suddenly began to tear up. Tears gathered in her eyes as she slowly gasped and brought both her hands to cover her mouth. "Thank goodness," she mumbled, her tone laced with relief and joy.

Suddenly, a voice called out, "Mother!" It was Princess Rinalef. She instantly hugged her mother as she fell to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I missed you so much," her words came out muffled as her sobs made her voice barely audible.

Instantly, the elders got off their knees. Elder Aelorin, Sylara, and Nyressa rushed over to the queen's side; they all wore joyous expressions, tears streaming down their cheeks.

Elder Thalanor simply stood and watched the exchange. A soft smile graced his lips as he slowly folded his hands.

Elder Sylara cast a healing spell on the queen. She closed her eyes, placed her left hand on her head, and said the incantation. A big green magic circle hummed to life and rotated slowly as the spell was being cast. After the incantation, she spoke, "Greater Heal." The queen's body shone brightly as she began to slowly regain all of her strength.

"Thank you, Elder Sylara," she replied as she smiled.

While the dryads were enjoying their warm reunion with their queen, a voice broke their rather happy moment.

"Activate taming," it was Akun, and he couldn't care less about how the dryads' precious reunion with their queen went. He had taken a few steps back earlier so he would have enough space to activate his skill. He had his right hand stretched toward the queen, his fingers open.

Suddenly, a purple chain shot out of his hand to the queen's neck, abruptly interrupting her conversation with her beloved family as she had just awoken.

She instinctively reached out to the chain that wrapped itself around her neck, wearing a distressed expression as she asked with a confused tone, "What is this?"

Suddenly, controlled by emotion, the elders sprung into action. Time seemed to slow down as the gaze of the elders widened with disbelief.

The elders all instantly redirected their collective gazes at Akun, seemingly completely forgetting everything they knew about him. They all launched an attack.

Elder Thalanor instantly turned one of his bracelets into a sword and charged at Akun. His gaze was dead serious, and he wanted to make Akun pay for what he did.

Elder Aelorin instantly caused roots to sprout from all over the room. They all stretched towards Akun with the intent to restrain him.

Elder Sylara instantly conjured a fire magic circle and began saying an incantation. Elder Nyressa instantly shape-shifted into a werewolf beast folk and began to charge towards Akun.

Suddenly, Akun's voice seemed to echo as he said, "You impudent fools, what do you think you are all doing?"

In that moment, a massive instantaneous force forced them to their knees. But it wasn't a display of aspect power; it was as if their very bodies stopped listening to them, and there was nothing they could do about it.

What happened to their bodies instantly stopped their attacks.

Elder Thalanor was stopped in his tracks; his sword fell from his hand as he couldn't move, his muscles rigid and unresponsive.

Elder Aelorin's roots halted abruptly; she found herself on her knees, her body frozen, and the struggle for breath became apparent in the slight rise and fall of her chest.

Elder Nyressa was forcefully reverted back, the transformation abruptly ceased, leaving her bewildered and disoriented. Meanwhile, Elder Sylara, her attempts to circulate mana thwarted, stood frozen with her hands raised, a visible frustration etched on her face.

The princess, terrified, took a step back, her body language revealing fear as her eyes darted between Akun and the restrained elders. She pleaded, "Please spare them; they didn't mean it, please."

"Who are you?" the queen questionaed with a strained movement, attempting to free her neck from the purple chains that had tightly wrapped themselves around it. Her muscles tensed as she struggled against the restraints, a mix of defiance and desperation in her eyes.

Akun then replied, "I am your master from now on." His eyes shone brightly as his words sent a chill down her spine.