Periodic Cycles of Civilization

Chapter One: The Moment of Hatching A viscous liquid meandered down the rock wall, gathering into eerily shimmering puddles on the cave floor. I awoke in darkness, enveloped in thick gloom, with only faint fluorescent lights appearing in the distance. My body was tightly bound by a translucent egg membrane, as if trapped in a warm cocoon, yet I felt a strange sense of oppression. Through the haze, I could see flickering lights and shadows around me—other eggs of my kind about to hatch. Countless eggs like mine were scattered throughout the cave…