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Arachnophobia Warning: This chapter contains written descriptions of a spider that may be unsettling for readers with a fear of arachnids. Reader discretion is advised.
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As my spirit apparated amid King Olethros's circular office once again, I couldn't help but notice the meticulous tidiness implemented since my last visit. The curved bookshelves that had been thrown about in disarray once again lined the room with their ancient tomes aligned neat and orderly. The polished marble floor I stood upon gleamed from the soft glow of the magic circle inlaid in its center, with its purple runes pulsing along the edges. Twilight lavender torches hung between each bookshelf, flickering sluggishly to create shadows that slowly waltzed to the sound of silence.
The Second of Evil himself was conspicuously absent. The room’s entrance, which had always been barricaded by a mystical haze, stood eerily open, but beyond the threshold, there was only darkness.
“Where could he be?” I murmured, asking it of the room itself to stave off the silence..
I wandered over to his desk. It was surprisingly free of clutter, except for a massive midnight tome placed prominently on its surface.
“Even if I can manipulate that book… It might be his journal or something…”
Of course, it might help give me some insight into his psyche. A potential weakness to use in negotiations?
But what if he caught me in the act? How would I feel if someone did that to me?
Conscious of my trespass, I turned my back on the desk to resist any further temptation and unsheathed my sword. The path further into his tower might be dark and hard to navigate, but I could be my own source of light. Taking a deep breath, I held out the blade, pushing my aura along its edges to create a makeshift torch.
“Not bad!”
I stormed forward purposefully as I passed through the entrance… only to end up in the exact room I had just left. Confused, I turned around, seeing my reflection painted across the door’s outer boundary.
“The hell?”
Cautiously, I extended my left hand through the threshold, only for it to appear on the same side. To my astonishment, it mirrored my movements with eerie precision. I waved, playing with the archway’s warped space for a little while with fearful fascination.
“Is it me… or an illusion?”
I’m ashamed to admit that I played a few rounds of rock, paper, scissors just for fun, but it always mirrored my choices, no matter how fast I tried to shoot.
“I’ll never win this way,” I grumbled, throwing scissors for the last time.
My reflection threw rock.
Startled, I stumbled backward, my shoulder clipping one of the bookshelves during my hasty retreat. Several books tumbled to the floor, but I caught myself before causing any more damage. Trying to keep one eye on the doorway I no longer trusted, I bent over to pick up the tomes I had tumbled.
“I guess I can touch the objects here…” I mused as I grabbed a book with my free hand. “Hmm… Maybe I should put them back in alphabetical order?”
Except I couldn’t read their titles. The script on their spines was wispy, forming complex letters of a language I had never seen before.
“Well… size is another way to categorize them, ” I rationalized as I put them back on the shelf individually. I breathed a sigh of relief when it seemed evident nothing else would emerge from the doorway. Part of me wondered if I had just startled myself, perhaps mistaking the gesture I had played earlier.
“Huh?” I paused on the last book, turning it over. Unlike its pristine neighbors, it was well-read, its corners worn and pages creased. The cover was in English and read, ‘Lucian’s True History.’
“Wait… Lucian? Didn’t Raedine want me to ask Nora about something Lucian had said?” I flipped the book open, but all the pages inside were blank.
“Ah, this is just my dream mind reminding me of something I forgot to do again.”
Maybe Nora’s right. I do need to start writing things down.
I perused the ancient wooden bookshelves, looking for any other titles that called to me, but nothing else appeared comprehensible from their covers. I selected a few randomly, noting that nothing was inscribed on their pages either. There were also a few weathered scrolls stacked between volumes, but after unraveling a few, I concluded that they were empty as well.
Annoyed that he hadn’t shown up yet, I turned my gaze to his desk. You’d think he’d have some sort of security here! Maybe he was out and about, causing chaos somewhere far away. If that were the case, I’d be obligated to figure out his plans and stop him from making global matters worse, right?
I sat down at his desk. Despite its drawers all having obvious keyholes, I tried to open each one to no avail.
That only left the volume on top to investigate.
The giant book was bound in dark, well-oiled but scaly leather, with a large, iron-clad clasp sealing its most likely forbidden knowledge within. Etched on the front cover was the striking silhouette of a demon with long, wild hair cascading down its back, its profile outlined by a glinting line of gold. Its single eye, represented by a crescent-shaped emerald, sparkled in the purple torchlight.
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“I guess that’s one way to mark your property... but it's a bit ostentatious if you ask me.”
I reached for the clasp but lost my nerve to undo it.
“No. I’ll just wait.” I spun the chair around, facing away from the desk. After waiting for what felt to be half a millennium, I looked down at my hand, wondering if I shouldn’t just signal Nora at this point.
I didn’t really need help, though. Nothing was happening.
There might be something worthwhile in it. No, wait, it’s probably blank, like everything else.
Afraid I couldn’t resist temptation much longer, I tried the direct approach. “We need to talk!’ I shouted up at the cathedral ceiling. “It’s important!”
No response. Nothing. Just silence.
“You better not be leaving me on read…”
I kicked my feet up on his desk, tapping the tome with my boot in a power play for negative attention.
Still no reply.
“Fine. I’ll just leave a message, then!” I sighed. “If only I had a pen…”
A gold quill and inkpot appeared on his desk in a small blaze of light.
“Hah!” I cheered, confident I made that happen. Pushing his chair out from under me, I undid the clasp, intent on scrawling a terse note that emphasized the worldly significance of getting in contact with me, for all our sakes. However, as the cover sprung open, a thick, black gas burst forth from within, instantly enveloping the room in impenetrable darkness. A sharp and startling twang erupted from behind me as a wet, burbling hiss filled the air, and suddenly, I was struck in the back of my head by something large and gelatinous.
My vision blinded, I frantically spun in a circle, clawing at my scalp with one hand while the other steadied my blade, ready to strike at the unseen assailant as soon as it emerged from the shadows. As I tugged at the viscous substance tangling my hair, I dislodged a thick glob of webbing that clung stubbornly to my fingers instead.
A menacing hiss filled the room again, this time so close it seemed to vibrate through my entire not-quite-there body.
Using my light aura to combat the veil of midnight, I gazed at my adversary in growing horror. An ancient being of true nightmare, its glossy, obsidian carapace reared back to expose its spinnerets. Four of its eight multi-jointed legs shot high into the air, their barbed tips bristling with rage. Its oddly misshapen head held twelve malevolent eyes that glowed a deep purple, each moving independently of the other, effectively throwing off any attempts at anticipating its next attack through its gaze. Droplets of green venom dripped from its fanged pincers, bubbling and sizzling as they corroded the marble floor.
“Are you… sentient?” I yelped in a trembling voice, slowly retreating towards the edge of the room. “I-if you are… I wasn’t here to steal anything. I need to talk to your Master!”
The enormous creature responded with a guttural hiss, its scuttling movements jerky and unpredictable. It shot forward and then to the side, quickly scaling up the bookcases. Countless books rained down, thumping loudly upon impact with the unforgiving floor. As its legs scraped gratingly against the sides of the room, it fired several shots of sticky webbing in rapid succession, the air punctuated by their swift velocity.
Frantically, I rolled and dodged the oozing adhesive, seeking temporary shelter under the nearby desk. Before I could catch my breath, the giant spider plummeted onto the desk with a resounding crash, the top groaning and buckling under its weight. Splinters flew as it hoisted the desk with its powerful legs and, with a sharp hiss, slammed it back down on the spot I had just escaped from, narrowly missing me.
It chased after me as caustic spittle flew from its mouth. I whirled and swung my sword in a wide arc to ward it away, my aura crackling as it flared outward to join the sword’s trajectory. The giant beast recoiled and halted, freezing mid-step as it considered its next move.
Despite my fingers feeling fused together by the sticky web, I strained to signal Nora during that moment of respite. Every fictional fiber of my being screamed in protest. I dared not, however, release my grip on the sword in my other hand, frightened I would be left without any defense whatsoever.
“Why don’t you just hop back into that book you came from!” I shouted with feigned bravado, gesturing at the splintered remnants of the desk that laid off to the side, certain the book was still intact underneath.
The spider's large, bulbous head turned with an eerie slowness as though it was mulling over my ridiculous request. Suddenly, it released a piercing screech, creating a vibrating barrier of pure force around itself. In response, a chorus of screams echoed from the entrance behind me, each louder and more terrifying than the last.
“Call off your goons!” I yelled, slashing my blade at its barrier in terrified desperation, knowing I would soon be overwhelmed otherwise. My sword bounced off the shimmering shield reinforced by the spider’s two twitching front legs, but I could see cracks beginning to form along its surface. Again and again, I slashed at the weakening forcefield, a loud rumbling erupting from behind. The beast before me hissed in fury, its violet eyes flashing dangerously as it sensed its protection faltering.
With a final bellow, I raised my sword high and brought it down with all the strength I could call upon, aiming for the heart of the fracture. It shattered into countless shards between us, and I tried to lunge forward for a final strike, only to find that my feet were held in place by a strong, unseen force.
“Lux purgans!” Relias’s desperate shout from behind filled my ears, melting the demonic dreamscape away in a crisp, white light.
It wasn’t a giant demonic spider I had been fighting; it was Nora. Her face, marred by streaks of tears, radiated sheer terror as her eyes never quite met mine. Clenching the hachimaki I had torn from my hair, I stood immobilized, my right hand still gripping the sword that resonated with my dangerously misguided power.
“Captain Lightbringer,” Relias snapped with surprising strength. “I order you to drop your weapon immediately!”
As pain filled my breathless chest, I let my sword fall lifelessly from my grip, the metallic sound echoing hollowly as it hit the floor. The sickening realization that I had nearly killed my best friend wracked my body, sending me into a fit of uncontrollable dry heaves. My vision started to cloud again, and I began to lose sight of reality, instead perceiving only amorphous monsters where my friends once stood.
No! This isn't real!
“Now, Nora!” Relias barked, his voice cracking like a whip.
“S-somnus sine somniis!” Nora stuttered in a fragile whisper as she extended her hand toward me. A dense fog of opaque gray nothingness swiftly engulfed my vision, erasing all sensation. The world faded into obscurity, and I was undeservingly spared the feeling of my body falling to the ground.
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Post-Chapter Hint: Lucian’s True Story: The First Sci-Fi Novel in History? (thecollector.com)
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