Generations after the spiders’ rise, a warrior named Portia from Great Nest arrives at the spider metropolis of Seven Trees to help repel an advancing ant mega-colony. Anxious at the impending siege, she seeks calm in a silk “temple,” weaving the Messenger’s mathematical truths, a ritual that steadies her before battle.

Seven Trees, a lattice of silk roads, signal wires, and a high reservoir, begins evacuating while sentries announce the approaching swarm. Ant scouts hit traps and local ants counterattack, but some scouts reach the trunks. From the heights, Portia’s defenders sling stones with precision, then descend to break living ant-ladders, killing swiftly and retreating to the silk overhangs.

The main column arrives: shock-troopers with metal-edged mandibles absorb attention while other castes infiltrate local nests. Seven Trees’ males cut ground lines and haul water. Spider slingers launch pheromone globules that scramble ant coordination, creating brief windows for counterattacks, but losses mount and the column grinds forward.

Flamethrower ants spray reactive chemicals that ignite in the oxygen-rich air, setting silk and wood ablaze. Behind them, masked artillery ants flick glass incendiary grenades that burst into flame within the city. Despite frantic firefighting, Seven Trees catches and spreads fire, forcing a chaotic withdrawal as ants close in.

Racing above the smoke, Portia sheds armor, spins a parachute, and rides the thermals to glide beyond the colony’s reach. Seven Trees is lost. The ant mega-colony continues its implacable advance toward Great Nest, threatening the heartland of Portia’s people.