They quickly crossed the mountains. The desert was a bit hot, but largely uninteresting. Flat. Dry. Immense. No one lived there, and the majority of animal life seemed to agree with that assessment. Ike and Wisp ran at speed, trading off Shawn as they ran. Sand flew up behind them, drawing a singular line through the empty wastes. The sun burned down, shimmering in waves all around them. When the sun fell, a deep chill replaced the searing heat. The three of them ran on, through day and night. It took them a week to cross the desert, a week of running nonstop at Rank 3. When at last they reached the end of the desert, where a river as wide as Ike’s home city tore across the land and a forest began on its far side, Ike paused and looked over his shoulder at the space they’d ran across.

“No wonder I’ve never heard of this land,” he commented. He was one of the fastest Rank 3s he’d ever met, and it had still taken him a week of flat out running to cross the desert. At Rank 2 or 1, how long would it have taken him to cross it? Weeks? Months? And if he was slower, the kind of Rank 3 who specialized in strength and not speed, would it have taken him weeks, all the same?

“Yeah. It was hell to cross as a baby spider. I was lucky the wind was with me. I could do a lot of parachuting,” Wisp said.

“Parachuting?”

She grinned. “You’re about to find out. How do you think we’re gonna cross this river?”

Ike looked around them, then shrugged. “I have to admit, I hadn’t really put much thought into it.”

“It’s a good thing you have me. Not only am I a superior spider, but also, I think,” Wisp said, nodding, hands on her hips.

Ike gave her a look. She shot one back.

Both of them burst out into laughter.

“Before we go, though, didn’t you say there was a death region on the other side of the desert?” Ike gestured at the lush forest. “Is there something hiding in there?”

“Ah. Yes. The most vicious kind of beast. Absolutely voracious. They dart out of nowhere and pierce you up, then eat you in one bite before you even know anything is happening,” Wisp said, in the most serious tone he’d heard her use in a while.

Ike raised his brows. “Sounds pretty serious. What kind of monsters are they?”

Wisp gave him a look. “Only one kind of creature is so indiscriminately deadly. Only one kind of creature looks down on you from on high, then launches an attack from a location of unfair advantage. Only one kind of creature is so dangerous. That’s right. I’m talking about them.” She lowered her voice and looked him in the eye. “Birds.”

Ike bit back a snort. He tried to put on a serious face, but failed. “Right. Birds.”

“Oh, shut up, mister afraid of spiders. Birds are way scarier than us. We only catch those idiots who are too stupid to see our webs. We do a service, ridding the world of lesser, unintelligent beings. Birds, on the other hand…” She scowled. “Those stuck-up assholes think they’re better than all of us! They think they have to right to choose between our life and death, as if they’re the gods themselves! You’ve seen how dangerous they can be. They almost killed you!”

Ike frowned, then stilled. His eyes widened, and he nodded. Back in the Abyss, the fire-spitting ravens had almost killed him. If Wisp hadn’t been there, he would have died for sure. “No… I’m starting to see it.”

She nodded and pointed at him. “See? You understand. Birds! They should all die!”

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“I don’t know if I’d go that far,” Ike muttered. He thought for a moment, then frowned. “But wait, you didn’t mind that owl girl.”

“She’s scary, but she’s not that bad. She’s not beast or human anymore, but a failure. Somewhere between the two,” Wisp said. There was sorrow in her voice, and she shook her head sadly. “It’s unfortunate, what happened to her. But she is no longer something to be feared.”

Ike nodded. I guess I get that. The owl girl is locked at Rank 2, after all. She isn’t a threat to either of us. “So… shall we do this parachuting thing?”

“Yes! Be ready for a fight when we land. Shawn! Carry your weight!” Wisp threw her hands into the air. A big billowing pillowcase of spider silk formed in the air, growing wider and larger with every passing moment.

“Ugh… fine,” Shawn said.

The spider silk grew larger than Wisp and Ike combined, then kept growing in size. At last, It was so large that it towered over them, and it dragged at the wind like a sail. Wisp ran at Ike. The chute spanned out behind her, and as she closed in on him, it caught the air and yanked her into the sky.

“Ike!” she shouted.

Ike chased after her. “I’ve got it!”

“Hurry!”

The river loomed. Dark waters churned beneath them, just off the edge of a sheer cliff. Three steps away. Two.

Here goes nothing! Ike kicked off the edge of the cliff and leaped, launching himself into the air. He reached out for Wisp, and Wisp reached for him. For a long second, he hung in the air, connected to nothing at all.

Their hands met. Wisp pulled him up into her arms, gripping him tight. He clung on for dear life. The water raced by underneath, rushing at speed. It swirled around rocks and spun downstream, rife with currents and downdrafts. If he’d fallen into it, it would have dragged him down, so that he’d never be able to escape.

A shiver crawled over Ike’s skin. He held on even tighter, squinting up to see Wisp’s parachute more clearly. Translucent spider silk drifted over them, the envelope so thin he could barely see it. He swallowed. “How confident are you in that parachute of yours?”

She laughed. “Don’t worry. It’s perfectly safe. I traveled that whole desert with them! I even crossed this river the first time with one. It’s safe, totally safe!”

A caw sounded out in the distance. A shadow winged past the sun, momentarily eclipsing it.

“So… how bird-proof is it?” Ike asked.

“Mmm. About that,” Wisp muttered, looking up at the bird’s silhouette.

Ike reached into his storage ring and drew out a small knife. Changing his grip so he held Wisp with one hand, he tracked the bird across the sky.

The bird cawed again. It swooped, baring its claws. Black feathers glittered in the sun.

Ike loosed the knife. It crackled off, empowered by his knife-throwing skill and enrobed in a miniature Storm Clad. At Rank 3, it had become trivial to push Storm Clad onto objects, even if the effect greatly diminished when he removed it from his body.

The knife zipped into the heavens. Its shadow met with the bird’s. Letting out a piercing shriek, the bird sagged in the air. It opened its beak and spat out a stream of fire, even as it drifted toward the opposite shore.

“Wisp!” Ike shouted, tensing. He reached for her web. Maybe if I coat it with Storm Clad, I can prevent—

“Ha, get fucked, bird,” Wisp said, completely unworried.

Ike paused. He looked at Wisp.

The fire splashed off the envelope without harming it. The parachute drifted on, peacefully riding toward the far shore.

“Oh, right,” Ike said. She got a fireproofing skill.

Wisp grinned. “I figured out how to make it not red. Isn’t it cool? Stealth mode fireproof thread!”

“It’s awesome,” Ike agreed. He looked up at the bird again as it fell toward the forest, and squinted. “A fire-breathing raven, huh?”

“Yep.”

“You think it’s related to those ravens from the Abyss?”

Wisp shrugged. “Could be.”

“It’s gotta be.” Ike shook his head. “What a way to introduce ourselves to a forest full of birds.”

Wisp scowled. She glared up. “Doesn’t matter. They’re birds. They’d find a reason to hate us anyways.”

Ike laughed. “You seriously hate birds, huh.”

She nodded vigorously. “They’re the natural enemy of spiders.”

The raven vanished behind the treeline. For a time, Ike and Wisp drifted peacefully. The water swirled by beneath them, casting a chill breeze that swirled around Ike’s ankles. Ike kept an eye on the sky, but no more shadows threatened them. They reached the midpoint and kept drifting, ambling slowly toward the far shore.

Just as they crossed the center line, a deep voice rang out. “Who dares enter the territory of the Magpie King?”

In sync, a wall of birds took flight from the forest, birds so dense that they blocked out the sun.

“Fuck,” Ike muttered.

“—ing birds,” Wisp finished for him, narrowing her eyes.