The walk was suffocatingly quiet.
Arachne walked stiffly ahead, her weakness obvious but her hatred palpable. Fin followed close behind, the connection between them a silent leash. The rest of the team trailed further back, a tight knot of distrust and exhaustion.
Gary kept glancing between Fin and Arachne, his hand never far from his hamr. Susan nursed her wounded arm, her face grim. Joe and Lucas stuck close together, whispering occasionally. Mary walked silently, but her gaze missed nothing.
Hana remained detached, watchful, her earlier outburst replaced by a chilling calm.
Fin could practically taste their unease, thick and sour in the air. He didn’t care. Let them doubt. He had the power, and he had the way out.
They reached the waterfall maybe twenty minutes later. Water cascaded down a sheer rock face into a churning pool below, the sound echoing slightly in the cavernous space. Hidden behind the curtain of water was a dark cave entrance.
"In there," Arachne muttered, pointing a trembling hand.
"After you," he ordered.
She hesitated for only a second before pushing through the water, vanishing into the darkness. Fin followed, the team close behind.
Inside, the cave was damp and surprisingly large. Water dripped from the ceiling, pooling on the uneven floor. In the center of the main chamber stood three massive, dark stones, each easily twice Fin’s height, arranged in a rough triangle. They humd with a low, latent energy.
"The middle one," she said, stopping before it. "That’s the gate."
"Open it," he commanded.
She turned, her six eyes pleading. "Opening it requires a significant energy expenditure. I... I don’t have much left."
He raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like a ’you’ problem." He flexed his right hand.
She flinched, wrapping her arms around herself. "No! Please!" She turned back to the stone, pressing her pale hands against its cool surface. She closed her eyes, concentrating.
For a long mont, nothing happened. Then, the air around the stone began to shimr. Faint runes etched into the rock began to glow with a purple light, tracing intricate patterns. The light intensified, coalescing in the center of the stone, which seed to soften and ripple like water. An oval-shaped portal swirled into existence, its surface shifting with colors that didn’t belong in the natural world.
Arachne staggered back, panting heavily, visibly drained further by the effort. The portal remained stable, humming softly.
The team stared at the swirling gateway.
"So we just... walk into that?" Joe asked nervously, fiddling with a dagger.
"Looks like it," Gary grunted, hefting his hamr. "Got any better ideas?"
"It could lead anywhere," Lucas pointed out, adjusting his glasses. "Another trap, maybe?"
"It’s a risk," Hana stated, her voice flat. "But staying here is certain death eventually. This is our best chance." She looked pointedly at the portal, then back at Fin. "What about her?"
All eyes turned to Arachne, who leaned weakly against one of the other stones.
"Kill it," Susan said imdiately, her voice hard. "We don’t need it anymore."
"No," Fin said, his tone leaving no room for argunt.
"Fin, be reasonable," Mary began calmly. "She will try to kill us. She serves whatever runs this place. She’s too dangerous to bring along."
"She’s mine now," he countered, stepping slightly in front of Arachne. "I caught her, I control her. She might still be useful." He could feel their skepticism, their fear. He t Hana’s cold gaze. "Anyone tries to touch her, they answer to ."
Hana’s lips thinned, but she didn’t challenge him directly. Gary shook his head but stayed silent. Susan looked furious but held her tongue.
"My gut says she cos," he finished, daring anyone to disagree. No one did. The power dynamic had shifted too much.
He looked at the portal, then back at the team. "Alright. Let’s go."
He grabbed Arachne’s arm, ignoring her hiss of protest, and pulled her toward the swirling colors. He glanced back once. "Coming?"
Hana stepped forward first, her expression unreadable. Gary followed, then Susan, then Joe and Lucas together. Mary brought up the rear, pausing for a mont at the threshold before stepping through.
Fin took a breath and pulled Arachne into the portal with him.
The sensation was brief but disorienting – a twisting, pulling feeling, then solid ground beneath his feet.
He blinked, adjusting his eyes. Gone was the oppressive purple gloom, the damp cave air. They stood in a forest. A normal forest. Green leaves rustled on tall trees, dappled sunlight stread through the canopy, and the air slled fresh, earthy. Birds chirped sowhere nearby.
The rest of the team materialized around him, looking equally stunned by the abrupt change.
"What... is this?" Lucas breathed, looking around in wonder.
"Feels... normal," Gary muttered, lowering his hamr slightly.
Fin scanned the surroundings. It looked peaceful, almost idyllic. Too peaceful. His eyes followed a break in the trees, looking out across a rolling landscape.
And there, several miles away, perched atop a distant hill, stood a castle. It was huge, built from dark stone, with sharp towers reaching toward the clear blue sky. Even from this distance, it radiated an aura of power and ancient nace.
Boss vibes, indeed.
"Well," he said softly, nodding towards the imposing structure. "Guess we know where we’re heading next."
Arachne, standing beside him, stared at the castle with a mixture of awe and terror in her six dark eyes.
The relief was short-lived. Every mber of the team understood that the forest was just another layer of the dungeon, leading toward the ominous castle on the hill.
"So that’s the boss’s place?" Gary asked, shielding his eyes to get a better look at the distant structure.
Arachne nodded silently, her gaze fixed on the castle with a dread that seed to outweigh her fear of Fin.
"Looks like it," Hana confird, her voice tight. "No point standing around. We move."
They set off, falling back into their wary formation. Fin walked slightly ahead, pulling the weakened Arachne along by the arm. The rest of the team kept a distance of several yards, weapons ready, eyes shifting between the path ahead, their strange captive, and the D-rank Hunter who now seed more alien than the monsters they fought.
As they walked, Fin glanced down at Arachne. She moved stiffly, her energy still low, but her eyes kept darting around, assessing everything. After several minutes of silence, broken only by the crunch of leaves underfoot, she spoke, her voice low enough not to carry back to the others.
"Why?"
He didn’t look at her. "Why what?"
"Why keep alive?" she pressed, her voice a mixture of confusion and desperation. "I told you how to find the portal. My purpose is served. Letting live... it’s dangerous for you. My Queen... she won’t forgive this. If she finds with you..." She trailed off, the implication clear. "And your own kind will kill the mont they think you don’t need ."
He remained silent for a few steps, his gaze fixed on the path.
He looked at her then, a quick, unreadable glance, before looking forward again.
"Honestly," he said, his voice flat, devoid of emotion, "I think the spider mana is affecting more than I thought."
She stared up at him, her eyes wide. "What... what do you an?"
He didn’t answer, didn’t elaborate. He just kept walking, pulling her along, his expression unchanged.
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