The dream began again. This time, I found myself in a ruined fortress, with worn, cracked stone walls. The echoes of battle resounded in the distance, blending with the smell of smoke and blood. I descended a spiral staircase, each step echoing ominously, leaving me feeling more vulnerable with every step.
At the bottom of the stairs, I entered a vast, dark hall, lit only by flickering torches on the walls. Suddenly, a dozen soldiers in black armor surrounded me, their swords and spears glinting in the sparse light. Their faces were hidden by helmets, and their movements were coordinated, like parts of a well-oiled machine.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” one of the soldiers demanded, his voice ringing out metallically from within his helmet.
Before I could respond, a shadow enveloped the soldiers, and in an instant, they collapsed to the ground, motionless. A figure emerged from the darkness, walking with a grace and confidence that only someone very powerful could possess.
“You again…” she said in a calm and familiar voice. It was Orphelia.
Although I knew her name, I decided to keep that to myself.
“You… who are you?” I asked, trying to sound intrigued yet calm.
She smiled, a gesture that caught me off guard. In her red eyes, I saw a blend of recognition and something deeper, a connection that I couldn’t quite explain.
“A friend,” she replied. “It seems I always appear just at the right moment, don’t I?”
I observed her carefully. Her presence was imposing, but there was something comforting about her closeness. Her words were a clear warning, and her serious tone made me understand the gravity of the situation. However, the way she looked at me and her expressions were surprisingly beautiful. I felt an unusual warmth that contrasted with the dark setting.
“What happened here?” I asked, wanting to know more.
“In this world, threats are constant and come from all directions,” she replied, her voice soft but firm. “You must be ready to face them at any moment.”
She came closer, placing her hand on my face. I felt her touch, cold but reassuring. Her eyes, deep and penetrating, looked at me with a mix of concern and affection.
“I can’t always be by your side to protect you,” she continued, “but remember this: even in the darkest moments, you’re never truly alone. There are those who watch over you, even if you don’t know it.”
Before I could respond, the image began to fade. I felt a mix of anxiety and determination, wanting to know more and understand the connection between us.
----------------------------------------
I awoke with a start, the dream still fresh in my mind. My mother reminded me that it was late, and I needed to go clean the streets that had been muddied during our training. I nodded and got ready quickly. Before I left, Lysa handed me my wand.
“Never leave home without it, Kaion. In Profundia, dangers lurk around every corner,” she said, kissing me on the forehead as usual.
Profundia, a continent submerged deep within the earth, was a place of equal parts beauty and danger. Every corner exuded an air of mystery and menace. The rock walls were covered in luminescent moss, and the streets twisted among ancient stone buildings that always seemed on the verge of collapse.
When I arrived at the square, I saw Aria and Ragna. Aria informed me that Ragna would be supervising my group today while she took charge of Isolte and the others. I accepted the arrangement without much thought, and we headed toward the north side of the square in silence. However, before we separated, Aria turned to Ragna with a stern expression.
“Ragna, you’re responsible for my brother’s group. I don’t want to hear about any strange behavior from you causing problems again, understood?” Aria said, her voice firm and commanding.
Ragna nodded, but the expression beneath his bone mask showed a mix of frustration and resignation.
“I understand, Aria. There will be no more problems,” he replied, trying to maintain composure.
When we reached the designated cleaning area, Ragna directed us with an unusual authority.
“Kaion, you’ll help Po Dong and Nara. I’m going to the herbalist’s house to fetch more slugs. I’ll be back in five minutes,” he said, handing me a brush and a bucket of water containing a Trierina slug.
According to the Bestiary of Profundia we had at home, Lumina Trierinas were specialized cleaning creatures; they ate all sorts of dirt, mud, moss, and moisture. I took the tools without objection and started helping Po Dong, who, in his bear form, lay on his back, gazing at the cavernous sky almost hypnotized.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/PqWPLfSZ/Whats-App-Image-2024-08-11-at-02-37-15-1.jpg]
I placed the Trierina on the ground, and it began to slide along the street I was cleaning, its segmented body glowing faintly in the darkness. Its luminescent tentacles explored every crevice, searching for any trace of grime. With a soft click, its rasping teeth sank into a crust of mud, quickly dissolving it. I watched, fascinated. If these creatures had existed in the world I came from, they would have made work much easier and saved ecosystems as well. Then, Po Dong spoke, snapping me out of my thoughts of Trierinas saving the world.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Kaion, there’s something strange up there,” Po Dong said, pointing upward. “It looks like some magical minerals are moving.”
“Maybe you’re just hungry, Po Dong,” I replied, laughing, but the truth was that I was distracted, still thinking about the dream I’d had and the image of Orphelia warning me about this world’s dangers.
While we cleaned, Isolte and Marek approached to talk. I waved to them from a distance along with Po Dong, but suddenly, I felt a chill. I activated my Infinite Eyes and saw several shimmering blue threads descending from the cavernous ceiling, aimed directly at us.
“Watch out!” I shouted, pushing my friends out of harm’s way.
The threads wrapped around my body, lifting me quickly toward the sky. I felt an overwhelming pressure and a bone-chilling cold. My heart pounded as I shouted:
“Warn Ragna and Aria!”
Isolte, Marek, and Po Dong panicked.
“We have to find Aria and Ragna!” Isolte said, taking charge of the situation.
“Let’s go, quickly!” added Marek, urging Po Dong to move.
----------------------------------------
They sprinted and found Ragna, who was returning with a bucket full of Trierina slugs.
“Kaion has been caught by some threads and taken up to the sky!” Isolte explained, her voice shaky with fear and urgency.
At that moment, Aria arrived, having heard the shouting.
“What happened?” Aria asked, both worried and angry.
“Kaion was captured by some threads and taken up to the sky,” Ragna explained, looking at Aria gravely.
“Threads?” Aria frowned, her voice filling with concern. “What does this mean, Ragna?”
“A Deathweaver,” Ragna realized immediately.
Aria felt a chill, and lightning began to crackle from her body, reflecting her feelings of anguish and anger, but before she could say anything, Ragna interrupted.
“Yes, this happened due to my carelessness—I left them alone for a few minutes because we needed more cleaning materials.”
Aria looked at Ragna with fury in her eyes.
“How could you neglect the children?” she shouted. “You know how dangerous these creatures are!”
“I went to get more slugs,” Ragna replied, trying to keep calm under his bone mask, though he looked anxious. “I didn’t think something like this could happen in such a short time.”
“That’s no excuse!” Aria snapped furiously. “Your duty is to protect them!”
Aria looked at the children and then at Ragna.
“We need to locate Kaion before it’s too late. Ragna, take the children to find Jarek and inform Eldric and Eolka about the situation. Quickly!” she ordered, then dashed off in the direction the children had indicated Kaion had been taken.
Seeing the commotion, Nara hurried over.
“What happened, brother?” she asked, concerned.
Po Dong, distressed, replied to her.
“Kaion was caught by a creature called a Deathweaver. I feel guilty because I saw something in the cavernous sky, but I didn’t know what it was, so I couldn’t help him.”
Nara, Isolte, and Marek turned to Ragna, seeking answers.
“What’s a Deathweaver?” Isolte asked, her voice trembling.
“It’s an arachnid creature with tentacles,” Ragna explained. “It has a tough, scaly skin and moves swiftly through Profundia’s cavernous skies. It hunts by weaving mana threads to lift its prey, then injects a paralyzing venom to devour it. They are extremely dangerous and difficult to eliminate.”
Everyone fell silent, feeling a shiver run down their spines.
“We must remain calm. Deathweavers typically don’t consume their prey immediately; they take them to their nest to preserve them for later feeding,” Ragna continued. “That creature won’t leave Draconia. We must go to Eldric quickly to activate the search group and neutralize it.”
With renewed determination, they ran toward Eldric, ready to do whatever was necessary to rescue me from the Deathweaver’s clutches. The situation was critical, but with the help of my friends and allies, I hoped they could save me before it was too late.
----------------------------------------
The ascent was rapid and brutal. The mana threads binding me felt like invisible claws, pulling me toward Profundia’s cavernous sky. As I rose, the ground receded quickly, and panic began to settle in my heart. The children’s shouts faded, and only the wind’s roar in my ears broke the ominous silence.
I looked up, trying to see through the darkness and mineral formations. And then I saw it. It was a creature I’d only seen in the ancient books in my mother’s library: an Arácnocalido Deathweaver. It had a spider-like, lizard-scaled body, sharp legs, and tentacles that writhed with lethal grace. Tiny claws and suction cups lined these appendages, similar to those of a squid. It was perfectly camouflaged among the sparkling minerals on the cavern ceiling, mimicking their colors with terrifying precision.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/SQr16Wn1/Whats-App-Image-2024-08-03-at-23-00-00-1.jpg]
A perfect predator in this subterranean world.
For a moment, fear paralyzed me, but then I remembered what I had read about these creatures. With a conscious effort, I cast the Bastion spell over my body, creating a protective barrier around myself.
“Come on, Bastion, don’t fail me now!” I murmured, feeling the magical energy envelop me.
The Deathweaver reached me with astonishing speed. Its tentacles wrapped around me, squeezing tightly. I could see its eyes, eight cold, black orbs staring at me. I felt its tiny claws and suction cups pressing against my skin, searching for a weak point in my magical barrier.
A sharp pain shot through me as the creature’s claws managed to pierce my shield.
“No!” I screamed, fighting against the pain.
But it was useless. The creature injected its paralyzing venom into my body, and an intense cold began spreading from the injection point. My vision grew blurry, and the world began to fade.
Just before losing consciousness entirely, a memory struck me. I remembered a lesson Thalor and my sister Aria had given me about the threats in Profundia. They’d explained that the creatures of this world were classified into threat levels from 1 to 3.
The Arácnocalido Deathweaver was a Rank 1. A perfect killer, with paralyzing venom and a camouflage ability that made it nearly impossible to detect until it was too late.
Satisfied with its capture, the Deathweaver began wrapping me in a cocoon of mana threads. I could feel the threads tightening around me, immobilizing me completely. As it wrapped me up, it held me close to its mouth with its tentacles, as if preparing its next meal.
“No… can’t…” I tried to say, but my voice was barely a whisper.
The last sensation I had was the pressure of the threads and the creature’s warm, humid breath before the venom left me unconscious.