Chương 4: Darkness

"You're awake." The voice echoed in his head. Kal's whole body trembled, but he didn't say anything. He was hallucinating. He must have hit his head hard during the fight. There was no way someone was talking to him. Or maybe it was some kind of trap. So he focused on the darkness behind his eyes. In front of him, the spider clittered again, and his heart thumped even louder against his chest. He thought of his training, of the training his brother had put him through. Of…

anything that would keep his mind off the present, off the Moonweaver that was standing a few inches in front of him. And… of the dinner he was about to become.

"Human." The same voice echoed inside his head. It wasn't a voice that he'd heard… or a voice at all. It was like he heard the meaning… or… He wasn't sure how to describe the feeling. It was like he was understanding the thoughts that someone was sending him. That didn't make any sense to him. Yeah, he was hallucinating. There was no other reasonable explanation.

"Did I go overboard?" the same voice said. Kal wanted to open his eyes. Maybe someone really was out there and was talking to him. But was that even possible? Then, he heard laughter inside his head, followed by the clittering noise the moonweavers produced. It was soft at first, before it grew louder and louder. It lasted only a few seconds, but they felt like a lifetime. It stopped, and the quiet returned. Even the steps of the spiders around him had stopped. It was deadly quiet, which Kal hated.

After a few moments of complete silence, he started missing the hundreds of Moonweavers crawling around him and their constant clittering. The unnatural silence was the worst thing that could have happened to him. The only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat pounding in his chest.

"Boy," the voice said again.

"Open your eyes." The last words were a command that his whole body wanted to obey. He tried to keep his eyes closed, but he couldn't. His eyes started opening by themselves, as if the command they received needed to be followed. It had to be followed. Kal struggled, but the command won within moments, and his eyes were wide open. In front of him was the same Moonweaver he'd faced on the second peak, the same one that had captured him. His whole body trembled harder than ever.

Looking at the Moonweaver was like looking at his death. Was this where his life would end? His only wish was that it would be painless. He hated pain. The fear lasted for a moment before it was gone. His body returned to normal, and the spider looked like the friendliest and most trustworthy creature he'd ever met.

"That's better," the voice said. Kal nodded slowly, agreeing. He wasn't sure why he had been terrified earlier. The spider moved its leg faster than his eyes could track, and he landed softly on the ground. He was finally able to move his body freely. The web that had held him was gone. He glanced toward his hip. His sword was gone, too. He felt awful about it. The sword he was supposed to use for the rest of his life was gone, and it had only taken him a few days to lose it. His father would be mad...

He returned to the present. Ignoring the Moonweaver felt like a sin that he didn't want to commit. Looking at the magnificent creature before him, he didn't feel it was the right time to worry about such insignificant things. Master Valien would craft him a new one.

"Follow me," the voice said as the creature turned and moved deeper into the cave. The smaller Moonweavers that were all around him stood frozen, only clearing a path as he followed the large one. They moved through the cave, the Moonweaver tearing through the webs that covered the walls and floor. Kal was certain that he would have gotten stuck if the magnificent creature hadn't cleared a path for him. Soon, they entered an even bigger cave.

The ceiling was twice as tall as the previous one, making the cave feel enormous. Sunlight didn't reach this part of the cave, as the only light came from the mana cores tied in webs all along the ceiling. The cave was also filled with Moonweavers, but unlike the first one, the Moonweavers here were active and far bigger than the ones in the first cave. The best way he could compare them to was a carriage, though most of them were a little smaller than that. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road.

If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Some were moving around wooden poles and using their webs to bind them together, while others were moving the finished poles toward another cave tunnel, disappearing inside. Every single Moonweaver was working.

"What do you think?" the voice echoed inside his head.

"About what?" Kal asked. As soon as he asked the question, he felt guilt building up in his chest. Who was he to question the words of the noble creature? The Moonweaver stopped, each eye glancing at a different part around the cave.

"The operation," it said soon after. Kal thought about it for a few moments. He had to give it the perfect answer. Anything less wouldn't be enough to make up for questioning it earlier. Whatever the operation was, it was efficient. There were no wasted movements, and all of the hundred or so Moonweavers were working without interruption. The whole process moved quickly, and the spiders didn't get in each other's way.

"It's efficient," Kal said. It was the best way he could describe it.

"There are no wasted movements. Every Moonweaver..." He paused at that, hoping he hadn't offended the creature by using its race name. Since there was no sign of a reaction, he continued describing the operation, choosing every word carefully. The Moonweaver slowly nodded.

"I guess it is," the voice echoed inside his head. Then, the Moonweaver continued moving toward another tunnel, and Kal followed. He heard nothing inside his head the whole time, and soon they arrived at another cave. This one was filled with the products the Moonweavers were making in the previous cave. At least he assumed they were products, he really didn't have any other word to describe them.

"This," the voice echoed, "is the quota for the next year." Kal slowly nodded, as if everything made sense to him. It was hard to disagree with the creature; whatever it said, it was the truth. A small, warm chuckle echoed inside his head. Then, they continued. This time, they crossed two different caves filled with smaller Moonweavers and a few much larger ones. They were the biggest he'd seen, other than the one leading him. They were at least three meters tall, and there were at least a dozen.

They stood in one of the corners of the room, facing the wall, as if they were frozen. Kal knew they weren't, as their bodies still swayed slightly. They arrived in the next cave, and it was filled with eggs and cocoons. The cocoons were of different sizes. Some were as big as a Moonweaver, while others were as small as rabbits. One half of the cave was filled with them, while the other was filled with what he assumed were Moonweaver eggs. The eggs were pure white, with a pattern that looked like the night's sky.

They didn't have the glistening effect the web usually had, though. There was no sunlight in the room, so that was probably why. He started exploring the area and went over to the cocoons. He was careful not to touch any of the webs because he didn't want to bother the noble creature with freeing him again. It didn't feel right to do so. He stopped by the ones that had a humanoid shape, or at least something close to one. Kal wanted to ask what they held, but he didn't. It didn't feel right.

"Demon folk," the voice echoed inside his head, this time with a slight hint of hatred.

"How did they get here?" Kal asked. This wasn't something he could hold back. His concern was for the future of his father's territory. The closest demon tribe was on the other side of the mountain, more than a few weeks walk away. Since the last skirmish, which had happened when he was ten, there hadn't been any other demon incursions into their territory. Looking at the cocoons now, he was certain his father would be mad.

"They crossed the border?" Kal asked. There must be a reason the Moonweaver had brought him there.

"Yes," the voice echoed.

"The second time in the last week, though, the first one looked like a patrol that had got lost."

"That…" Kal stopped. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. The only thing on his mind was that his family had to be notified immediately. Since they had already crossed once, they likely would do so again, which meant they were getting bolder. If things weren't done, another war, or at least a skirmish, could start.

"…I need to inform Father," Kal said. His mind felt at ease, and he felt like he could say anything in front of the creature.

"That should be enough," the creature said. Kal turned and looked toward it.

"Enough?" he asked. His knees suddenly grew heavy.. He dropped to the ground, scrambling backward, pushing himself with his legs to create distance from the creature. His heart thumped inside his chest, and his whole body shook.

"Calm yourself," the voice said. Kal didn't… he couldn't. It was the same creature he'd faced on the peak, and now he was somewhere inside a cave, talking to it, and… he'd felt safe moments ago. But how? Had the creature used some kind of spell on him to make him lower his guard? But what would that accomplish? He was at the mercy of the creature. In mere moments, his back hit the wall behind him. The Moonweaver didn't move. It simply stared at him.

"W-what do you want from me?" Kal asked. He wasn't sure what was happening. The whole thing earlier felt like a dream. Like… he wasn't even sure what it was. But he was certain he was under some kind of influence and wasn't thinking straight. The noble creature? No.

"Deep breaths," the voice inside his head said. His hand went toward his hip, where his sword should have been. But it was gone, and he had nothing else to defend himself with. Magic… if he had a core and was awakened, maybe… The spellbook he'd read hundreds of times might have given him something to defend himself with. But… he wasn't, and he couldn't use mana without it. Fuck. The creature didn't move. It didn't even blink… if that was even possible for spiders.

They stood like that for a full minute, neither of them saying anything.

"Do you need me to calm you again?" the voice said.

"No!" Kal said. He didn't want whatever that meant.

"Then," the voice said, "you've got a minute to calm yourself before I'll have to do it for you." His heart sank, and he took a deep breath. He used a breathing technique his brother had taught him, one meant to calm his mind and make everything he did more precise. There were other things the technique was supposed to do, but his brother had never revealed them to him.

"The Calm Mind breathing technique," the voice said with what sounded to him like a chuckle. But it was inhuman… he had no idea how he could describe it. The chuckle lasted a long time.

"The one I taught your brother… it's your brother, right?"

"My brother?"

"Well, I'm not sure how many human years have passed since…" The creature paused.

"It should be around… seven. Carcian?"