Aarav couldn't sleep that night. Not that he hadn't tried.
One reason was obvious: Sina, the Soul Spider Queen, who had enthusiastically kept him occupied in bed until she was fully satisfied. Her energy was monstrous, and her appetite for intimacy seemed insatiable. Aarav had underestimated her stamina, and as the moon traversed the sky, he found himself breathless, yet fulfilled.
But the other reason for his sleeplessness was far less pleasant.
Dum. Dum. Dum. Dum.
A deep, resonant sound echoed through the walls of the palace. A drumbeat. Slow, deliberate, filled with a primal weight that stirred every instinct of caution within Aarav.
He sat up, his chest rising and falling as the sound thumped in rhythm with his heartbeat. Sina, ever vigilant, shot upright beside him. Her playful demeanor vanished in an instant, replaced by a cold sharpness that befitted a queen.
"The war drums," she muttered, eyes narrowing.
Before Aarav could react, she grabbed his hand. The world twisted around them, and in a blink, they stood upon the border of her kingdom.
The air was thick with tension. Armies of Soul Spiders, fully armed and armored, had assembled in perfect formation. Generals barked orders as massive soul beasts lined the front. Yet, all eyes turned to the figure standing opposite them.
Diran. The Python King.
He was a colossus draped in scales of emerald green, his humanoid upper body towering with regal presence while his lower half coiled into a serpentine mass. His golden eyes radiated venomous disdain, and his mouth twisted in a grim smirk as he observed Sina's arrival.
"Diran!" Sina's voice boomed across the battlefield. "What is the meaning of this?"
Diran's smirk widened. "Isn't it obvious? I'm declaring war on your kingdom."
Gasps echoed among the Soul Spider ranks. Aarav tensed, sensing the shift in atmosphere.
"I can see that," Sina replied, her tone sharp. "But why? Why in the middle of the night? This is not your way."
Diran's expression darkened, the humor in his eyes replaced by cold fury. "Because you harbor a murderer within your walls."
Sina's eyes narrowed. "Explain yourself."
Diran raised his hand, and a soul fragment appeared, shimmering in the air like a fragment of mist. "This is the soul shred of my youngest son. He was slain near the White Forest. My only son."
A hush fell over the battlefield.
Diran's voice trembled with barely contained rage. "I had nine daughters. Nine princesses born before him. He was the jewel of my eye. My only son. After centuries of waiting, he came into this world. I kept him close, sheltered. But as he grew, he yearned for the world beyond my kingdom. His curiosity, my own pride... I allowed him to explore."
His fists clenched. "But now, he's gone."
Diran's gaze bore into Sina. "And when we searched the area, we found traces of a human soul intertwined with a spider's essence. You. Your people."
Sina's brows furrowed. She looked back, eyes locking with Aarav.
Aarav felt his heart sink. He understood instantly.
The invisible python he had killed in the White Forest... it wasn't a random beast. It had been Diran's son.
He stepped forward. "But... your son attacked me first."
Diran's eyes snapped to Aarav, his pupils narrowing to slits. "You... a mere human soul dares to speak to me?"
"He was going to devour me," Aarav said, voice steady despite the pulse thundering in his ears. "I had no choice but to defend myself."
Diran scoffed. "Of course, he would attack you. Unlike you Soul Spiders, we pythons survive by consuming human souls. It's our cultivation path. Your existence in that forest was a provocation in itself."
Aarav clenched his fists. "And is it not natural for a prey to fight back?"
Diran's lip curled. "Arrogant human."
He turned to Sina. "I demand retribution. Surrender him to me. I will devour his soul personally. Otherwise, I will raze your kingdom to the ground. Every soul under your banner will become nourishment for my kin."
A hush fell. The Soul Spider army tensed. Generals exchanged glances, weapons subtly raised.
Sina's aura flared, the very air crackling with her presence. "Mind your tongue, Diran. He is not just a human soul. He is my husband."
Diran laughed, a cruel and mocking sound. "Husband? A human? Ha! Then I shall devour him in front of you. And when your kingdom falls, you, Sina, will kneel as my concubine. You will crawl at my feet, a queen reduced to a pet."
The words hung in the air like poison.
And then—
A flicker of silver.
A dagger appeared, mere inches from Diran's eyes. His reflexes were sharp, swaying back as the blade narrowly missed piercing his skull. It clattered to the ground, embedding itself near Aarav's feet.
Aarav's hand shot out, catching the dagger in a reverse grip.
The air shifted. Both armies froze. Even Diran paused, his tongue flickering in amusement.
"You dare strike me first?" Diran's smile became razor-sharp. "So be it. The war has begun."
The skies rumbled as his serpentine body coiled upward. Behind him, legions of Python warriors hissed, weapons drawn. Sina's generals issued orders, the Soul Spider army bracing for battle.
Aarav's grip on the dagger tightened. His heartbeat was loud, but his mind was clear.
He had started this war.
But he would also end it.
The battlefield descended into chaos as the armies clashed. Sina vanished into the sky, confronting Diran head-on. Their powers collided, sending shockwaves that split the ground beneath them. Lightning danced across the night as two sovereign-level beings dueled in the heavens.
On the ground, the Soul Spider kin fought with ruthless precision, weaving webs of soul threads that ensnared their serpentine foes. The Pythons retaliated with crushing force, their bodies coiling around enemies, snapping bones and devouring soul essence.
Aarav moved through the chaos, the dagger in his hand glowing with a cold blue light. Every step was deliberate, every motion precise. His mind echoed with the words of the Book of Stories.
Every battle is a story. Every kill, a sentence added to your tale.
A Python soldier lunged at him, jaws wide. Aarav sidestepped, his dagger slicing through the air, severing the beast's throat. The soul essence flowed into the blade, strengthening the web of strings attached to his heart.
He moved like a phantom, slaying without hesitation. Each kill brought clarity, his body adjusting, adapting. The forest-born blade devoured the souls, evolving, resonating with his own growing strength.
Above, Sina and Diran clashed in a violent ballet. Diran's strikes were brutal, shattering the skies, but Sina's movements were graceful, weaving through his attacks with lethal elegance. Her soul threads danced, wrapping around Diran's massive form, attempting to restrain his might.
But Diran's fury was relentless. "Give me the human!" he roared, his tail smashing into the ground, sending tremors that toppled spider soldiers.
Aarav leapt onto a rising serpent's back, using it as a springboard to propel himself towards Diran.
The Python King sensed it.
Aarav's dagger gleamed as he soared through the air, aiming for Diran's exposed flank. But Diran's tail whipped around, aiming to crush the audacious human mid-flight.
A web shot out.
Sina's thread snagged Aarav mid-air, pulling him out of harm's way as Diran's tail obliterated a patch of ground where Aarav would've landed.
She caught him, their eyes meeting. "You're reckless," she scolded, even as a smile crept onto her lips.
"Well, you married me," Aarav retorted, landing beside her.
Diran snarled. "So be it! Both of you shall fall together!"
His body expanded, aura swelling as his soul essence spiraled into a colossal serpent manifestation.
But Aarav felt no fear. His dagger vibrated, the strings pulsing with life.
He realized something then. He wasn't alone in this fight. Every soul he had merged, every thread of essence, was with him.
The dagger whispered. Unleash me.
Aarav raised his hand, the dagger transforming, strings lashing out, weaving a spear of condensed soul essence. A weapon born of spider, serpent, and human will.
Beside him, Sina summoned her full domain—a web that covered the battlefield, turning the very air into her tapestry.
Together, they launched their attack.
Diran roared.
The battlefield was engulfed in light.