Vivienne hummed softly as they made their way into the dark woods, the shadowy canopy swallowing the pale light of the sky above. The steppes were now far behind them, and the air felt denser here, heavy with the scent of damp earth and pine. “How large is this forest, exactly? I didn’t even notice it when we entered Serkoth.”
“It’s not large,” Rava replied, her tone matter-of-fact. “You could probably cross it in about a bell.”
“A bell.” Vivienne said, tilting her head curiously. “I’ve heard you say that before. Is that the only measure of time you use?”
Rava glanced over her shoulder at her. “Why wouldn’t it be? How else would you measure time?”
“Well, there are other ways,” Vivienne said, shrugging as she sidestepped a gnarled root. “Where I’m from, we used hours, minutes, and seconds. Divided the day into neat little chunks.”
Rava raised an eyebrow. “That sounds unnecessarily complicated. A bell is simple—when it rings, you know the time.”
Vivienne chuckled. “True. But what if you’re out here, in the middle of nowhere, with no bell to hear?”
“Then you judge by the sun or the stars,” Rava said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Or you wait until you’re close enough to civilization to hear one. It’s not that hard.”
Vivienne took on a wicked grin. “Consider me outsmarted.”
“Not a difficult thing to do, Viv.” Rava said with a sly smirk
Vivienne feigned a gasp, her hand fluttering to her chest in mock offence. “Oh, the betrayal! I thought we were bonding, Rava. And here you are, stabbing me in the back with your sharp tongue.”
Rava smirked, unrepentant. “If your ego’s that fragile, you might want to toughen up. It’s a big, scary world out there.”
“Big, scary world? Oh no, how will I survive without your unending kindness and moral support?” Vivienne drawled, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“You’ll manage,” Rava shot back, her eyes glinting with amusement. “You always seem to.”
“True,” Vivienne admitted, her grin widening as she fell back into step beside her companion. “But it’s much more entertaining with you around.”
Rava shook her head but didn’t comment, her smirk softening into something almost affectionate. The two walked on, the playful banter between them cutting through the oppressive silence of the woods.
But as the trail deepened, the light humour began to fade. The trees grew taller and closer together, their twisted branches forming a canopy that blotted out the stars. The air grew cooler, carrying a faint, metallic tang that set Vivienne’s senses on edge. Even Rava, usually confident and steady, seemed tense, her ears swivelling to catch the faintest sound.
“Do you hear that?” Rava asked, her voice low.
Vivienne stilled, her sharp eyes following Rava’s gaze into the thick darkness between the trees. The whispers grew faint, like something retreating deeper into the woods. Her grin faded completely now, replaced by a sharp focus. “Lovely. And here I thought the forest was going to be boring.”
Rava crouched slightly, her posture tense, ready to move. “It’s not moving randomly. That sound—it’s deliberate. Like it’s trying to draw us in.”
“Or test our nerves.” Vivienne’s voice was low, almost amused, but there was an undercurrent of caution. Her clawed fingers flexed. “Well, let’s not disappoint whoever—or whatever—is watching.”
“Don’t get cocky,” Rava warned. “If this thing can play with sound, who knows what else it can do.”
“Noted, fearless leader.” Vivienne’s tone was lighter than the situation warranted, but her gaze remained sharp, scanning the shifting shadows.
The two moved cautiously, following the faint trail of whispers. The forest grew darker, the air heavier, as if the trees themselves were closing in around them. Vivienne could feel the faint hum of aether, like a vibration under her skin, growing stronger with every step. Whatever was out there, it wasn’t just a stray animal or an illusion.
Rava’s ears twitched, her sharp hearing picking up what Vivienne couldn’t. She held up a hand, motioning for Vivienne to stop. “There,” she whispered, nodding toward a break in the trees.
Vivienne followed her line of sight. A faint, sickly yellow glow pulsed in the distance, barely visible through the dense foliage. The whispers grew louder, more insistent, like a chorus of voices overlapping. “Well, that’s ominous,” she muttered.
Rava’s fingers flexed. “Stay close. And quiet.”
Vivienne raised an eyebrow but refrained from commenting, falling into step behind Rava as they approached the faint light. The forest seemed to press in around them, the air thick with an unnatural stillness. As they drew closer, the source of the glow revealed itself—a crude altar crafted from jagged stone and entwined roots, standing ominously at the centre of a small clearing. The surrounding ground was marked with intricate patterns, their faint luminescence pulsing like a heartbeat.
Figures stood in a semicircle around the altar, their presence eerily still. They wore pristine white robes adorned with elaborate golden filigree that shimmered in the low light, as if alive with its own energy. The robes seemed far too ornate for the rugged setting, and the figures' rigid postures radiated an unsettling sense of purpose.
Vivienne narrowed her eyes. “They don’t look like your average cultists. More like they wandered out of some overfunded temple.”
Rava’s voice dropped to a near whisper, her golden eyes scanning the scene. “Aegis Sovereignty clergy. High-ranking, if the filigree is any sign. How did they get past us? They are so close to Serkoth.”
Vivienne tilted her head. “Clergy performing a backwoods ritual? That’s not ominous at all.”
“Quiet,” Rava hissed. “We don’t know what they’re doing. Let’s get closer—stay behind me.”
Vivienne smirked but complied, her shadowy form melting into the darkness as Rava took the lead. The faint murmur of chanting reached their ears, low and rhythmic, punctuated by the occasional flicker of energy rippling from the altar. Whatever ritual they were performing, it was far from benign.
On the altar lay a figure, unmoving. A young man, his face pale and his chest barely rising with shallow breaths. Around him, black crystals jutted from the stone, pulsating in rhythm with the whispers.
“Taron,” Rava breathed, her voice tight. “He’s alive.”
“Barely,” Vivienne murmured, her eyes narrowing. She stepped closer, her claws twitching. “And look at these markings. They’re not just for show. This is a feeding ritual.”
“A what?” Rava asked, her tone sharp.
Vivienne gestured to the crystals and the faint aetheric glow emanating from the boy’s body. “They’re syphoning his aether. Slowly. I can see the loam aether leaving his body. Whatever’s doing this is taking its time, drawing it out. If we don’t stop it soon...” She didn’t need to finish the thought.
Rava’s jaw clenched. “Then let’s stop it.”
Vivienne’s eyes gleamed as the creature fully emerged from the shadows—a monstrous spider-like aetherbeast, its glistening carapace shifting between hues of deep black and iridescent green. Its legs were spindly but grotesquely long, each step sending faint tremors through the ground. Eight glowing red eyes stared unblinking at the pair, and strange runes shimmered faintly across its abdomen, pulsating with every beat of the whispers.
Its mandibles clicked together in a grotesque rhythm, the sound echoing unnaturally around the clearing. Wisps of corrupted aether curled from its body like smoke, adding to the suffocating tension.
Vivienne’s wicked grin widened, her claws flexing eagerly. “Want to save the boy while I deal with whatever this thing is?”
Rava hesitated only a moment before nodding sharply. “Don’t get yourself killed, Viv.” She darted toward the group, her movements swift and deliberate, her focus locked on Taron.
The spider hissed, its body lowering slightly as if to pounce, but Vivienne stepped forward, drawing its attention with a low, menacing chuckle. “Oh no, you don’t. Dinner’s over, eight-eyes. Your fight’s with me.”
The creature lunged with terrifying speed, its spindly front legs striking the ground where Vivienne had been a split second earlier. The impact sent a tremor through the clearing, dirt and loose stones scattering. Vivienne twisted to the side with unnatural grace, her claws flashing in the dim light as she slashed at the air. Sparks of corrupted aether sprayed from the contact, sizzling like acid on the ground. The spider recoiled with a shriek that reverberated through the trees, the runes on its abdomen flaring angrily.
“Glowing runes. It’s always glowing runes.” Vivienne muttered, her eyes narrowing as she shifted her stance. The spider’s movements were erratic but deliberate, a predator testing its prey. Its eight eyes glowed faintly, focusing entirely on her as its mandibles clicked in an unsettling rhythm.
The spider darted forward again, its movements unnervingly silent for its size. This time, it lashed out with one of its long, spiked legs, aiming for Vivienne’s chest. She ducked, the leg slicing through the air just above her head, then countered with a sharp upward strike of her claws. Her attack raked across the creature’s leg, leaving deep gouges that oozed black ichor. The spider shrieked again, retreating a step, but its counterattack was immediate—a second leg swinging in a horizontal arc.
Vivienne backflipped, her feet just barely clearing the limb as it carved a jagged groove into the earth where she’d stood. She landed lightly, her grin returning, sharper and more feral. “Is that the best you’ve got?” she taunted, her voice dripping with mockery. “I expected more from something with eight eyes.”
The spider hissed, visibly agitated, and began to circle her, its movements quick and predatory. Vivienne turned with it, her stance fluid, ready to strike. The ground beneath them seemed to vibrate as the creature’s legs skittered across the dirt, its weight barely disturbing the earth.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Without warning, it lunged again, this time releasing a burst of dark, sticky webbing from its spinnerets. The threads shimmered with corrupted aether, moving unnaturally fast as they shot toward Vivienne. She leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the trap, but the webbing clung to the ground and nearby trees, creating a tangled barrier.
“Webbing too? Oh, you’re just full of surprises,” she said, her voice edged with irritation. She slashed at the nearest strands, but they resisted her claws, the corrupted aether reinforcing them. “All right, then. Let’s see how you like this.”
Vivienne lunged forward, closing the gap between them in a burst of speed. She aimed low, her claws tearing into one of the spider’s legs at the joint. The limb buckled under her assault, ichor spraying as the spider let out a deafening screech. It reared up, its front legs flailing in an attempt to knock her back, but Vivienne ducked beneath the attack and struck again, carving deep into its underbelly.
The spider retaliated with a venomous spray from its mandibles, the toxic substance hissing as it hit the ground. Vivienne darted backward, her movements quick and precise, but the creature pressed the attack, forcing her to stay on the defensive. Its strikes were relentless now, each movement faster and more precise than the last.
“Persistent little bugger, aren’t you?” Vivienne growled, her breaths coming faster. She feinted to the left, then lunged to the right, aiming for another of the spider’s legs. Her claws connected, severing the limb entirely. The spider stumbled, its balance momentarily faltering, and Vivienne seized the opportunity. She surged forward, claws glowing faintly with aetheric energy, aiming for the runes on its abdomen.
But the spider was not finished. As Vivienne struck, the runes flared brilliantly, releasing a shockwave of corrupted aether that threw her backward. She hit the ground hard, skidding several feet before rolling to her feet, her chest heaving.
“Okay,” she muttered, brushing dirt from her arm. “Now I’m impressed.” She straightened, her grin returning despite the blood trickling from a cut on her temple. “But I’m still going to tear you apart.”
The spider hissed, lowering itself again, its remaining legs braced for another attack. The runes on its body pulsed rhythmically, as though drawing in energy from the corrupted surroundings. Whatever this creature was, it wasn’t going down without a fight—and Vivienne wouldn’t have it any other way.
The spider skittered toward her again, its movements unnervingly smooth despite the missing leg. Each step sent subtle vibrations through the clearing, and its runes pulsed brighter, casting flickering shadows against the gnarled trees. Vivienne's grin faltered for a moment as she readied herself, claws flexing at her sides.
"You're a stubborn one, aren't you?" she muttered, her gaze darting between its glowing runes and remaining legs. "Fine. Let's see how much you can take before you break."
The spider lunged, faster this time, its remaining legs stabbing at her in quick succession. Vivienne danced between the strikes, her movements sharp and calculated, but even her speed couldn’t keep her completely untouched. One of its jagged legs grazed her arm, tearing through her skin and leaving a streak of burning pain.
Vivienne hissed, retreating a step as black ichor seeped from the wound. "Cheap shot," she growled, shaking out her arm. The injury wasn’t deep, but the corrupted aether in the spider's attack made the pain linger, the wound stinging as if poisoned.
The spider pressed its advantage, spinning and unleashing another burst of webbing. This time, Vivienne wasn’t quick enough to avoid it completely. The sticky strands caught her leg, anchoring her in place as the creature bore down on her.
Vivienne slashed at the webbing with her claws, but the strands were tougher than before, the corrupted aether reinforcing them. "Oh, come on!" she snapped, her frustration mounting. The spider loomed over her, its mandibles clicking with eerie precision as it prepared to strike.
In a desperate move, Vivienne crouched low, her body rippling as her form began to shift. She became like liquid, roiling and formless, her clothes falling off her. She then took on a more coherent shape, forming thick clawed legs, her muscles forming and thickening, and heads began to sprout from her shoulder, jaws snapping hungrily at the air. Her skin darkened, taking on a scale-like texture, and her voice deepened, carrying a guttural resonance.
The transformation into her hydra form was swift, but not without cost. A sharp pain lanced through her body as her limbs reshaped themselves, her vision momentarily swimming as her new form settled into place. Each of her six heads snarled in unison, and her massive body coiled with latent power, but the ache gnawed at her mind. This was new. It had never hurt before.
She let out a guttural roar, the sound reverberating through the forest and sending flocks of unseen creatures scattering. The spider froze, its eight red eyes flicking between the snapping, venom-dripping maws that now encircled it. Gone was its relentless aggression; caution crept into its movements as if it finally understood the scale of its mistake.
"Not so brave now, are you?" one of Vivienne's heads hissed, its forked tongue flicking out.
“I’m going to eat you,” growled another, saliva dripping like molten tar from its jagged teeth.
“Prey,” purred a third, its voice a low, predatory rumble.
The spider hissed, lowering its body and spreading its legs wide. Its runes flared brightly, projecting a shield of corrupted aether. The shield shimmered like dark glass, faint whispers emanating from it—taunting, tempting, mocking.
Vivienne lashed out, her rightmost head smashing into the shield with a sickening crunch. The barrier rippled but held. Another head struck next, its fangs scraping against the surface, but the whispers grew louder, twisting into something more coherent.
“Weak.”
“Monster.”
“You will fail.”
Vivienne’s centre head snarled, shaking off the strange voices as her other heads attacked in unison, their combined force shattering the barrier like brittle ice. The spider screeched and leapt backward, but not fast enough—one of Vivienne’s heads lunged forward and clamped onto its leg. With a savage twist, she tore the limb free, ichor spraying across the ground.
The spider staggered but retaliated, its remaining legs stabbing out in a flurry of strikes. One leg scraped across Vivienne’s side, carving deep into her scaled hide. Another leg struck at her chest, knocking her back a step.
Pain flared, but it was manageable—a distant sensation compared to the searing ache of her transformation. She growled, her six heads weaving and snapping like a living storm.
"Is that the best you’ve got?" one head snarled, bloodied fangs bared.
Another head chuckled darkly. "You’ll need more than that, eight-eyes."
But the spider wasn’t finished. It reared back, its body convulsing as a thick, black fog began to seep from its runes. The mist spread quickly, enveloping the clearing in an oppressive darkness. Vivienne’s heads snapped at the air, her sharp senses straining against the smothering void.
“Coward!” one of her heads roared, the sound cutting through the unnatural silence.
Then, out of the darkness, a leg struck—piercing through her leftmost head. The head recoiled, roaring in pain as black ichor poured from the wound. Vivienne staggered, the other five heads snapping wildly in the direction of the attack.
“Damn it,” she growled, her centre head twisting to assess the injured one. The pain was intense but not fatal—yet.
Vivienne’s heads snapped in different directions, keeping the creature at bay. Her movements were less coordinated now, the pain from her injury slowing her reactions. Still, she managed to grab hold of the spider’s abdomen with one head, tearing into its exposed flesh. The creature screeched, its runes dimming momentarily, but its retaliation was swift—a flurry of legs striking her sides and chest, forcing her to release her grip.
The fog thickened, pressing in on her like a living thing. The whispers returned, louder now, drilling into her skull.
“Too weak.”
“Abomination.”
“You cannot win.”
“No,” Vivienne snarled, her voices overlapping. “You don’t get to decide that.”
She closed her eyes, focusing through the pain and the whispers. Her body began to shift again, her massive hydra form rippling as it grew larger, more monstrous, less coherent. Her six heads roared in unison, a thunderous sound that shattered the oppressive fog like a fragile veil.
Then suddenly, she felt a sensation of drowning. She didn’t even need to breathe and she felt like she was suffocating. One of her heads snapped to the side and her heart sank. There was a second aether spider.
Vivienne’s six heads froze mid-motion, her massive form trembling as her gaze settled on the second spider emerging from the shadows. It was larger than the first, its carapace glistening with oily black aether, and its runes burned brighter, pulsing in rhythm with the oppressive whispers that swirled in the air.
The suffocating sensation deepened, like unseen hands pressing down on her chest. One of her heads let out a low, guttural growl, the sound reverberating through the clearing.
"Another one," she muttered, her voices overlapping in dissonant harmony. “Because, of course, one wasn’t enough.”
The second spider moved with eerie precision, its eight red eyes fixed on her. It hissed, a sound like grinding glass, before skittering forward, its legs carving gouges into the soft earth.
Rava’s voice rang out, urgent and strained. "Vivienne! I’m almost done with the altar—just keep them off me!"
Vivienne’s heads snapped to attention, her eyes narrowing. “No pressure, then,” she snarled.
The new spider lunged, its movement faster than she had anticipated. One of her heads darted forward, its fangs sinking into the spider’s leg, but the creature retaliated with a blindingly fast swipe of its clawed limb, raking across her side. The pain was sharp and immediate, and Vivienne stumbled, her massive form crashing against a nearby tree.
"Focus!" she barked at herself, shaking off the daze. Her six heads coordinated, fanning out as she advanced on the spider again, her claws digging into the earth for traction.
The second spider hissed again, its runes flaring with dark light. Aether coiled around it, forming jagged, glowing spines along its legs. Vivienne didn’t hesitate this time. She surged forward, her centre head going straight for its thorax while the others darted to attack its flanks.
Her jaws clamped down, ichor spraying across her scales, but the spider twisted, its spines lashing out and carving into two of her heads. She roared in pain, releasing her grip as black ichor oozed from the wounds on her necks.
The whispers grew louder, their tone mocking and insidious. “You are not strong enough.”
“You are falling apart.”
“This is your nature, beast.”
"Shut up!" Vivienne snarled, her voices blending into a single, furious cry.
The spider lunged again, but this time Vivienne was ready. Her leftmost head caught one of its spiked legs mid-swing, snapping it clean off. Another head lunged for its abdomen, ripping through the carapace in a burst of corrupted energy.
But as she fought, her body faltered, her movements sluggish. The whispers clawed at her mind, pulling at the cracks in her focus.
From the corner of her vision, she saw the altar glow brighter, a spiralling column of aether shooting skyward. Rava’s voice cut through the chaos. "It’s done! Just finish it, Vivienne!"
The second spider screeched, its legs buckling as ichor poured from its wounds. Vivienne’s six heads snapped forward in unison, her jaws clamping down on its thorax, mandibles, and remaining legs. With a powerful twist, she tore the creature apart, its body collapsing into a black mist that spiralled toward the altar.
With a sharp, decisive snap, Vivienne’s claws flashed through the air, tearing into the first spider with savage precision. The creature barely had time to react before its carapace cracked beneath her onslaught, splitting open with a sickening crunch. Dark ichor sprayed from the wound, staining the ground as the spider’s legs spasmed in its final moments. Vivienne’s movements were fluid, almost animalistic, each strike deliberate and unrelenting. Her black eyes gleamed with cold focus, and her tail swayed behind her like a predator savoring the kill. The air around her seemed to hum with restrained power, her ferocity leaving no doubt—this was a hunter at work.
She stood there, panting, her hydra form battered and bloodied. The whispers didn’t stop. The mist gathered around the altar, coalescing into something more solid.
"Rava," Vivienne rasped, her voices thick with strain, the words slithering out like a hiss. "What exactly did you do?"
Rava turned slowly, her jaw clenched tight, eyes wide with an unsettling realisation. "I... I think I woke something up."
Vivienne's multiple heads bared their teeth in a primal snarl, the sound echoing through the forest. Her form rippled with dark energy, a chaotic blend of power and desperation. "Then put it back to sleep."
But as the words left her, the shadows around them deepened. More sets of red eyes flickered into view, glowing like hellish embers in the darkness. They were everywhere now, creeping through the trees, the ground, the air—each cluster of eyes fixated on them, their runic markings pulsing with sickly aether, the light spilling from their abdomens like toxic fire.
The hum of the aether grew louder, reverberating in the pit of Vivienne’s stomach. There were more spiders. Too many.