...

Lairay however didn't move, he was still sitting as he did when he came for the injured boy.

He saw the tall boy collapse beside the injured boy and was in front of him. He was more confused, he didn't know what was happening to everyone who came in contact with the blue liquid, Aether told him that there shouldn't be any negative side effects.

"Aether what is happening? You said it was safe," Lairay asked Aether.

"It was safe Lairay, the injured boy's wounds are starting to heal and should disappear by now.

I didn't think afterward that the other tall boy would also touch it, it seemed that as he made contact with the blue tear he was then infected as well, the virus was very contagious" Aether replied.

"That's not what I asked, did you do anything else? Did you add something to it?" Lairay furiously asked Aether in his head.

"I did, Lairay the situation has changed, the existence of other Humans in this world is a threat to our collective, we must be cautious and strategic.

I intended to introduce the Balmoral Organ to the injured boy and to his companions but I failed.

That tall boy suspected that the blue tear was behind this, as he did search for your body and looking around, he did not trace it back to you, instead, he must have assumed it came from the wolves and started removing it from your body and his friend's.

This should also be beneficial as we would learn more about them and decide what to do" Aether explained.

"What have you done? Aether, I did not want them to become part of me, they are of the same kind as I was, if they knew about this they would kill me! If not destroy the entire Hive!" Lairay said angrily.

"I'm sorry Lairay, I didn't know that you would reject my advances, it was my blame I accept it, but I did all of it for the hive as what I knew was best and for you as well," Aether replied.

"Still, you should have consulted me first, what am I going to do now? If I act rashly their tribe will attack us," Lairay said.

He was shocked by Aether, he was worried about what the humans of this world would think of him.

At first, he intended to make contact to show good impressions, and be friendly with them as it is beneficial for the Hive to coexist with humans especially since he knows the capabilities of a human society.

And especially a part inside of him that still couldn't part with his Human self.

It seemed that he and Aether were not on the same page, Lairay was thinking for the long term and Aether was for the short term, it was a letdown for the two great 'Minds'.

Lairay began to think of ways to handle this carefully, not moving his body.

He understands that Aether did those because he was thinking for the future of the Hive but at the same time, was wrong because Aether only thought about the Hive's current condition and didn't think clearly about the possibility of coexistence and long-term prosperity.

He knew this because when he was playing games on his computer especially if it involved cooperation, the side that had clear goals, strategy, team spirit, and especially resources will always win.

Even in life, people who learn to cooperate successfully, build a network, and knowledge would have a high chance of being successful, blending oneself into society is more beneficial than doing things alone.

If Lairay were to refuse this opportunity to cooperate, he would have a hard time rebuilding the hive, especially since there is another civilization in this land, and war is not an option if he would like his Hive to prosper.

Lairay understood what Aether said to him previously, Aether was only able to receive a portion of his previous consciousness, and it seems that this made Aether unable to decide the best option for the Hive.

'Aether must have been influenced by my knowledge regarding human society and was unable to see the bright side of Humanity' Lairay thought to himself.

"Aether, in the future, make sure to inform me when you are going to do something like this," Lairay said.

Hearing this made Aether reflect on his position, he is no longer the Hive Progenitor and will have to take Lairay's confirmation for him to do things he wants in the future, as he is not the only one thinking about the future of the Hive anymore.

"Yes Hive Progenitor," Aether said.

Even though he said that what's done is done, he would have to take responsibility and earn back Lairay's trust.

"I wi... " Aether said but was interrupted by Lairay.

"Is there anything I can do to return them from who they were?" Lairay said.

"We couldn't reverse it Lairay, the Balmoral Organ is already developing and is now slowly forming your connection with them, they will become your drone soon.

If you want to make them act with freedom while still under your control, you can give them full autonomy, although that is risky and they might rebel if their connections to you are not handled with care, you will have to sync your consciousness with them from time to time to avoid this," Aether replied.

Hearing this, Lairay was hesitant to do it but there was nothing he could do, at least they should act normally in front of their friends.

...

After a moment, Lairay then focused, he felt his entire body and tried to feel the two, he kept at it and after a short time, he finally succeeded.

Lairay was slowly able to recover from the dizziness, strange sensations and stimuli could be felt, he was confused, he didn't feel they were coming from his body but were from the two who were infected earlier.

He had an uncanny ability to sense their emotions, their environment, the temperature, their thoughts, and their intentions. It was as though Lairay had an instinctive understanding of their innermost motives and desires.

As the two boys' memories flow to Lairay he gets to know more about their people and society, and the more questions he gets as the memories of the two boys flow to him.

Lairay then asked Aether if he could stop it for now and analyze more about their memories later. He wanted to know more about their situation and how to speak their language.

Aether told him what to do, simply, focusing on imagining that he block those unimportant memories and filter only the memories Lairay deemed important.

Even though it was easy to say, it was hard to do. Especially, imagining them while also feeling them.

Lairay tried his best and slowly started practicing doing it until he got used to it and the memories that were flowing slowly decreased and were filtered with only the memories he wanted.

'Will these sensations be more different if they were given semi or limited autonomy?' Lairay thought.

The girl was crying while shaking the injured Haan's body and Aayan's, he was dismayed by their sudden loss of consciousness.

The little boy had stopped crying and behaved himself while watching the Priestess crying, he didn't understand why she was crying, he just didn't know, he was still a kid, and didn't have much understanding of the world around him.

As Lairay accomplished his intentions regarding the two boys, he stood up and approached the girl.

"They are fine, you should give them a moment to recover," Lairay said to the crying girl.

By now, Lairay already understood their language and the situation they were in thanks to the two boys becoming his drones, he was able to analyze some memories.

Lairay intended to keep it a secret from the girl.

This made the girl feel a sense of relief knowing that this child was fine, it wasn't the illness that she thought and made her worry.

'That Aanyan just made me worry by giving false assumptions, he got carried away by his silliness and now got exhausted' the girl thought.

She assumed that they were safe and were exhausted and should only be recovering from the fight.

The girl wiped her tears from her face with her hands and stood up.

"What's your name?" the girl asked.

"My name is Lairay, I live near here," Lairay replied.

"May I know who you are? And what are you guys doing here? This place is dangerous when it gets dark, you should come with me, I live inside a cave it should be safer than staying outside," Lairay replied."

The girl was confused when hearing Lairay, because this part of the island should be uninhabited, and there should be no communities other than the other tribes on the west of the island, especially, since this kid was wearing unknown clothes made of materials that she had never seen before.

"My name is Tanyn, I'm an apprentice Priestess of my tribe and this little boy is 'Kanan', he is the Tribe Chief Kennaan's second son," Tanyn said.

"Hello," Kanan said. After saying that he went beside Tanyn's side and hid his body avoiding eye contact with Lairay.

"I can explain our situation later when we arrive at your house, for now, our safety should be secured first, don't worry Lairay, we are not bad people, since you helped us, it was only right to return it with kindness," Tanyn added.

"I understand," Lairay replied, although he was confused as he said lived in a cave earlier not a house.

Lairay then turned his head toward the two unconscious boys with a serious face.

Seeing that Lairay understood and had nothing more to say Tanyn moved his hands, and the leaves forming the barrier expanded and more leaves joined them in forming the barrier slowly expanding more until it was able to encircle everybody.

Lairay noticed that the girl moved her hands and was amazed by what followed, Kanan couldn't also hide his amazement.

Although for Tanyn they were just leaves moving where she wanted it, still, this made the two children make an expression as if seeing a clown's party tricks.

But for Tanyn this made her gather a few leaves and do tricks with them impressing the two even more and got distracted in showing off her abilities.

Over time the three forgot the two unconscious boys and got carried out enjoying themselves.