Adam's steps echoed faintly in the damp tunnels, the air thick with a stale, murky scent. His antennae twitched at every subtle vibration, yet his thoughts were elsewhere.
"I shouldn't have left them unsupervised…" he muttered under his breath, his voice low but edged with frustration. "I can't believe they could do something like this. Weren't they made up of mana anyway? Shouldn't they be more… robot-like, just as in all the video games?"
A faint, humorless chuckle escaped him. "It was weird at first… but I guess it's better this way." At least he is not "alone".
For the past few days, his life had been nothing but constant skirmishes against the beetles, long hours of his body changing, and stolen moments of rest. This solitary walk through the tunnels almost felt like a breather. Almost.
His pace slowed as his mind wandered deeper into unease. "Does this mean they could even… revolt against me?" he murmured, feeling a faint chill crawl down his carapace. "What if another ant came in and took control?"
The thought settled in his chest like a heavy stone. It didn't sit well, didn't sit at all. He shook his head sharply, forcing the notion away from his mind. "No. I need to focus. Find the cure first. That's what matters. If I can figure out what caused this mist, there's a chance the cure is connected to it. Ecosystems balance themselves.... I hope so."
The words lingered in the stale air as he realized how much his surroundings had changed. The familiar tunnel stone gave way to rougher, unfamiliar walls. He had passed the well without even noticing. Before he could map out his path ahead.
A faint pop echoed. Then another.
Adam froze, antennae flaring. The sound was eerie, filled with torment, sounding as if someone was tearing the limbs by pulling them out of their sockets.
Before he could place it, something seized him from above. His world spun, his body twisting until his gaze locked with a nightmare.
White eyes stared at him intensely. A grotesque face framed by chitin ridges, mandibles flaring wide in a silent snarl.
Then it screamed.
The sound tore through him, a piercing shriek that rattled his skull and made his legs buckle. His ears felt as if they would burst, his mind ready to spill out of his head.
Instinct took over. Adam lashed out with his own mandibles, catching the creature off guard. The grip on him loosened and he fell staggering back away from the danger, breaths coming hard and fast.
Only now did he see it fully.
A spider, if one could even call it that, descended slowly on a thick thread of silk.
Its size made Adam's gut tighten. Even hunched, it loomed nearly twice his height, its pale body swaying slightly with each controlled drop. The thread glistened faintly in the dim light, but his focus was on the monster itself.
It clittered as it moved, a sick, rapid tapping of fangs against one another, like dry bones rattling inside a snake. Beneath that sound was another, deep, heavy thuds and creaks as its weight shifted through the thread, each motion betraying how much mass it carried. And yet… despite its size, there was a dreadful fluidity in the way it descended, its body adjusting midair, limbs expanding outwards in a display of absolute power and size.
As it neared the ground, the spider's limbs spread wide—eight grotesque appendages twisting and bending at unnatural angles, joints popping and snapping in protest. It crouched low, legs braced, like a living trap ready to spring shut.
The air felt tighter with every heartbeat. Its white, unblinking eyes glowed faintly in the dimness, locked entirely on him. The clittering stopped for the briefest second, just long enough for Adam to realize the grave situation he has been thrown in.
Then, with a slow, deliberate shift, it adjusted its stance, limbs curling inward, mandibles flexing in anticipation. It was aligning for the perfect strike.
Adam's antennae twitched violently, his body stiffening before his mind could even process why. Every instinct, every fragment of primal memory embedded deep in his being, was screaming the same thing.
Run.
But his legs felt locked in place. His breath came shallow and fast, mandibles trembling in the stale air. The spider's white eyes seemed to swell in his vision, filling the world until nothing else existed. He could almost feel those limbs coiling, winding tighter like the strings of a bow about to snap.
The clittering began again, faster now, like a war drum pounding in the hollow of his skull. The smell hit him next, a damp, rotting sweetness that clung to the spider's breath and wrapped around his senses. His pulse spiked.
Then it screamed.
The sound tore through the tunnels, a piercing, inhuman shriek that made his vision blur at the edges. It was as if a physical force rattled his mandibles and burned through his nerves.
And in the split second. It launched at Adam, screeching violently.