Thomas bit down on his lower lip, staring toward the mouth of the cave with a face that clearly said, what the hell is this?
Spidey stood beside him as well, tense and alert.
Spidey's scent should've spread all over the cave by now… and there's fire too…
Damn it. With this much protection, what kind of monster would still—
Could it be something that hunts Spidey…?
The moment the thought crossed his mind—
Two eyes appeared in the darkness.
Silence.
Then those sharp, piercing eyes roared again, shattering the stillness.
"AAAAHHH!!!"
Thomas felt his legs shaking so badly they were about to give out.
As the eyes drew closer, he saw a small nose.
Closer still—a furry face came into view.
"…What?"
When it finally stepped into the light, it was no bigger than a cat.
A bear cub.
Its blue eyes shimmered faintly.
"A cub…?"
Just moments ago, he'd been terrified out of his mind.
Now his fear melted into laughter.
"Hahaha… it's just playing around, right?"
"I thought it might be some dragon-like magical creature—"
"But it's a cub!"
"Not even a bear, just a cub!"
"Hahaha!"
Thomas burst into laughter, unable to hold it in.
Gasping between laughs, he turned to Spidey.
"It's a cub. Look!"
"Hahaha!"
"All alone, in the freezing dark night too."
Still laughing, Thomas turned back.
"Hey, kid. Where's your mom?"
The moment he looked again—
A massive bear filled the entire cave entrance.
Big enough to block a two-story building.
His laughter froze into despair.
His eyes widened.
The words he'd just spoken felt like they dropped straight into his stomach.
"…Your mom?"
The whisper barely reached his own ears.
The bear roared, its voice echoing through the cave.
The ground shook as if the cave itself might collapse.
The warmth of the fire vanished in an instant.
Cold darkness swallowed everything.
The bear's paws crystallized, ice spreading over them.
Even the undersides were frozen solid.
It swung its paw as if to wipe the cave away.
Spidey leapt up, clinging to the ceiling.
Thomas threw himself flat against the ground with all his strength.
"Damn it… damn it…"
The paw came crashing down again.
Spidey kicked against it, pushing it aside with his hind legs.
Thomas didn't waste the chance.
He sprinted toward the cave entrance with everything he had.
The bear noticed.
Its eyes flared open—
Thomas's feet froze in place, trapped in ice like a snare.
"…It controls ice?"
The bear slammed Spidey hard against the cave wall.
CRASH!
Blood sprayed from Spidey's mouth.
Thomas couldn't even think.
He smashed the ice with his spear in desperation.
The bear lunged, jaws wide open.
"AAAH!"
"No!!"
Thomas raised his arms in front of his face—
But the bite never came.
Peering through his arms, he saw the bear frozen in place.
No—
Something had stopped it.
Looking closer, Thomas realized the bear's head was stuck to the upper part of the cave entrance.
It wasn't standing still—it was trapped.
The bear roared, struggling to pull free.
"ROOOAAARGH!"
Thomas immediately turned to Spidey.
Spidey stood firmly on all fours and ran toward him.
Spidey's fur floated upward on its own.
In one motion, Spidey shattered the ice trapping Thomas and carried him out of the cave.
They didn't get far.
Only then did Thomas realize how exhausted he was.
His speed slowed, his breath ragged.
Suddenly, Spidey scooped him up—almost instinctively—and carried him on its back.
"Ahh… ahh…"
"Woah…"
"You really get used to people fast, huh."
Riding on Spidey's back, Thomas noticed something strange.
Spidey was much larger than before.
And the air coming off its body wasn't warm—
but it wasn't cold either.
They ran for a long time, eventually reaching another forest.
There, Spidey shrank back to its normal size.
It shook its body violently and dropped Thomas to the ground.
THUD!
"Hey! Couldn't you put me down gently?"
"…Ow, my butt."
Rubbing himself, Thomas looked up.
"So where did you even bring me?"
"And what was that thing back there?"
Spidey lowered its eyelids halfway, saying nothing.
"…"
"…"
"…Why am I talking to a cat, anyway?"
Scanning the area, Thomas noticed footprints—almost human.
"…Human footprints?"
Large toes were visible in the snow.
"…Barefoot?"
Without hesitation, Thomas followed the trail through the dark night, Spidey beside him.
Along the way—
Bears usually don't attack… especially if there's fire.
There weren't even bear tracks in that cave…
Lost in thought, he walked far—
Then looked up.
He was standing right in front of a cliff.
One more step, and he would've fallen to his death.
His face went pale as he stumbled back.
"What…? It ends at a cliff?"
He knelt at the edge, as if the person had come here to commit suicide, and looked down.
Eight pitch-black, glossy eyes stared back at him.
A humanoid spider clung to the cliff face, drool glistening in the moonlight.
Two massive pincer-like fangs framed its mouth.
Thomas froze, eyes bulging.
A giant… human-shaped spider…
Without making a sound, he slowly backed away.
Turning to Spidey, whispering with trembling lips—
"…The real thing is down there."
Spidey drooped one ear and tilted its head.
Thomas quietly but quickly ran back toward the forest.
Spidey followed.
"What kind of cursed world is this?
I thought I'd never have to work again—now it's all monsters."
Clenching his fists, his face red from cold and anger.
Moving farther away from the trail, he spotted another set of footprints heading in a different direction.
"I won't fall for it again."
He followed them.
Soon, he saw another spider sleeping among the trees.
This time, he wasn't afraid.
He simply turned away with a figures look.
That night, the moonlight was unusually bright.
"What a bright moon."
"When I met that bear, it felt so dark…"
Spidey silently followed behind.
At least I need to find a safe place…
Thomas stopped beneath a massive tree.
"Spidey, can you climb up and check?"
Spidey leapt up the trunk with ease.
Once Thomas felt it was safe, he climbed up too.
Sitting on a thick branch, he leaned against Spidey for the first time.
It was soft.
So fluffy.
He leaned in more, pressing closer.
…It's really like a cat.
Spidey shot him an annoyed look.
Thomas pulled back slightly.
Putting on an innocent face, he stretched his arms and yawned.
"Looks like I'll be sleeping cold tonight."
"I've got a weak body. I'll probably freeze to death soon."
He glanced at Spidey pitifully.
"And then you won't have anyone to make fire for you anymore."
Spidey sighed and pulled him closer with its tail.
Thomas smiled as if to say I knew it.
Exhausted from everything, he fell asleep almost instantly.
The full moon shone down on the two of them—
like a painting.
Morning came.
Eyes barely open, drool still at the corner of his mouth, Thomas woke up.
"Despite everything last night… I slept really well."
As he sat up, he realized—
Spidey was gone.
"…Where did it go?"
I'm already your owner, you know… how could you just leave?
Looking down, imagining falling and dying alone, he felt hurt.
He climbed down carefully and looked around.
Spidey's not here either…
His lower lip trembled.
Tears fell.
He truly believed he was Spidey's owner.
And more than anything, he was hurt that Spidey had left him in such a dangerous place.
Thomas wandered the forest, searching for food and dry wood.
Elsewhere—
Spidey was stripping bark from a tree.
After a while, Thomas found lichen growing on a stump.
"Food!"
He examined it closely.
This stump used to be chocolate pine… now even lichen sounds delicious…
With numb, reddened hands, he tore the lichen off.
Better boil it…
Some plants like lichen can be eaten, but raw is dangerous.
Luckily, this was something Thomas had studied as a hobby.
One good thing about this world…
even the weeds taste amazing.
He grinned ear to ear.
"Hehehe."
While gathering lichen—
He didn't notice the reindeer approaching from behind.
It was smaller than a normal reindeer, but bulkier, with massive antlers.
Starving.
Its head lowered, antlers scraping the ground as it charged.
Thud thud thud
A sudden chill ran down Thomas's spine.
"—!"
He barely dodged in time.
Looking back, his mind screamed—
It's going to eat me.
The reindeer's antlers were stained with dried blood.
Sharp fangs filled its mouth.
And its pupils were vertical.
Predator eyes.
Thomas ran.
The reindeer chased him relentlessly.
The trees thinned.
The reindeer sped up and slammed into him.
CRACK!
A bone snapped.
"KYAAARGH!"
He was sent flying, pain exploding through his body.
He couldn't breathe.
Screaming, tears streaming down his face—
He crawled to the edge of a cliff.
The reindeer waited, shaking its head, preparing to charge again.
Below was a frozen river.
The reindeer charged.
Thomas jumped.
Please let the ice be thin…
CRASH!
The ice shattered.
Water splashed everywhere.
Moments later, a hand emerged.
Thomas pulled himself out.
Gasping, barely able to move, he lay there.
The reindeer ran off.
"Even if I hadn't jumped…
that hit alone would've killed me…"
His vision blurred.
"Spidey… where are you…?"
His body went numb.
You left your owner…
His consciousness faded.
…Where did you go…