-Somewhere in the eastern continent.-
A middle-aged man was walking through a nearly pitch-black cave. He wouldn’t have been able to see where he was going if it were not for the lanterns that hung from the ceiling.
image [https://i.imgur.com/VJSmgBL.png]
The man wore simple black clothing and had black hair. Beyond this, there was no significant distinguishing feature about this person that stood out. However, many people in the western continent would immediately recognize his face and realize who he was.
Vince Neev.
He was an infamous black mage and mass murderer of the Rattle Bone cult. Wanted across the entire Western continent for his brutal acts of manslaughter, which Vince referred to as his “artwork”.
Vince: “This is such a waste of time,” he mumbled to himself.
He was currently on a mission for the cult. Apparently, the bone readings are off. So he was ordered to consult with another cult known as the “Fateweavers” into why that may be the case.
The Fateweavers is a nameless god cult dedicated to a god associated with foresight. They are made up of seers and experts in divination. They were also one of the few nameless god cults that weren't actively hostile to Vince’s cult in the past. Unfortunately, the Fateweavers in the western continent all died out a long time ago. Forcing Vince to travel to the eastern continent to talk with the Fateweavers who are still alive and active here.
He paid off some people and killed others for information that eventually led him here, to a cave the Fateweavers apparently operate out of.
As Vince walked along the path, the number of lanterns started to decrease, and the amount of spider webs he saw increased. Eventually, he came upon the last lantern in his path. Ahead of him, the tunnel continued into pitch-black darkness.
Vince opened his hand and a white ball of light floated out of it and started hovering just above his head. The black mage continued his way forward with the magical light following him.
He walked forward for another ten minutes. As he did, he noticed that the stone walls of the tunnel became completely covered up with spider webbing. He could also hear the chittering of countless spiders crawling around him somewhere in the darkness.
Vince: “Ugh, fucking hate spiders. Maybe they wouldn’t be so bad if they had bones in them.”
The black mage continued forward into the tunnel until it exited out into a large enclosed area. The space was so large that Vince's magical light couldn’t illuminate the entirety of it. He could only see thirty feet (9 meters) around him. Beyond that only more darkness.
In this room, he could hear even more things crawling around him. He looked towards the edge of where his light shone and could see the silhouette of countless spiders crawling around. They were waiting for Vince to drop his light so that they could approach and swarm him.
He then heard something else move. It was large, and moving towards him.
Stepping out into the light was a giant spider leg, then another, and another. A giant ferocious-looking spider the size of a bus revealed itself. Its maw dripped with venom. A savage hunger could be seen in its eight black eyes.
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Just above the monstrous spider's head, was a woman with six black arachnid eyes beside her normal human ones. She was pale and her breasts were wrapped in spider silk to cover them. The woman was physically attached to the giant spider at the waist.
The monster spider and woman appeared to be one creature.
Spiderwoman: “Oh my. It is not every day that someone willingly walks into here. Who do I owe the pleasure?”
Vince took a second to clear his throat and then started talking to the spider woman.
Vince: “I’m Vince Neev of the Rattle Bone cult,” he stated calmly.
Spider woman: “Hisssssssss! Rattle Bone! What are you doing here!?!” she yelled, surprised.
The spider part of the woman seemed to take a defensive stance as soon as Vince declared he was part of the Rattle Bone cult.
Vince: “For a cult that is said to have the greatest foresight, it’s amusing you didn’t expect my arrival.”
Spiderwoman: “Bah! The weave is shattered. There is no foresight to be had anymore. For anyone.”
Vince: “So it’s the same for you too? Do you know what’s causing it? Does it have something to do with our mutual enemies?”
Spiderwoman: “No. Not even the pale one has a hand in this. It’s something else.”
Vince: “Then what is it? What is causing divination magic to be in such disarray?”
Spiderwoman: “Simple-minded fool. It’s not just divination that's broken. Fate is broken itself. The prophecy is breaking down. The future is becoming so uncertain that even the gods do not know what is to come.”
Vince: “Oh, it’s that serious? Hm. Maybe this trip wasn't such a waste of time. Now when you say prophecy, are you talking about any specific one? Like that prophecy with the Blood Callers? Or, something else?”
Spiderwoman: “The only one that matters obviously. The End Times.”
Vince: “Oh, that boring one. Meh, who cares if it comes true or not,” he said while shrugging.
Spiderwoman: “The prophecy of the End Times is still active even now. Maybe the only one that still functions. But, it’s changed. No longer what it once was. It’s…yet undetermined.”
Vince raised an eyebrow once he heard that.
Vince: “Now you’ve piqued my interest. What’s changed about it? What does it mean for a prophecy to be undetermined?”
Spiderwoman: “You think I'll just tell you?”
The spider body below the woman made a monstrous hissing sound directed at Vince.
Vince: “Come now. I don’t know what the Rattle Bone cultists are like here, but I’m from the Western continent. And, Rattle Bone and the Fatweavers were allies in the past where I'm from. So let's be civil and—” was all he got out before being cut off by the spider woman.
Spider woman: “Your words have no sway here, man from the cult of lies. I know what your cult did to my sisters in the West. How you betrayed them and butchered them even after they helped you. How you took their bones and made mockeries of them.”
Vince: “Ah, shit. I was hoping you wouldn’t know that.”
Spiderwoman: “YOU WILL DIE HERE!!” she screamed.
Countless chittering of spiders could be heard in the darkness along with the approach of what sounded like more giant spiders. It looked like Vince would have to fight for his life now. However, despite the danger of the situation, Vince still looked calm.
The black mage let out a long sigh.
Vince: “I guess I'll have to find out the hard way by ripping your soul out,” he mumbled in annoyance.
He then looked at the spider woman who was prepared to strike at Vince at a moment's notice. His eyes wandered to the part of the giant spider with the female human torso attached to it. A crazed thought just flowed through Vince's mind.
Vince: “Wait a minute, you're not completely a spider. You have human parts. Which means you have BONES! BONES FROM A SPIDER! SPIDER BONES!!!!! Now I get why my predecessors killed you all! Where else would you ever get bones from a spider! HA! HA! HA!” he yelled, before laughing madly.
Vince now had a crazed look to him. No longer motivated by finding out what the Fatewevers knew about the change in prophecy. Now he was singularly focused on collecting the bones of the half-spider women in front of him.
(Author’s note: If I wasn't committed to only numbering the intermission chapters with roman numerals, I would definitely have titled this chapter “Spider Bones” (>.<). Anyways, I think this is the first time someone from one of three major cults showed up in the story since Alan’s flashback. I’m so excited to slowly start exploring more about Vince and his cult in future chapters!)