Slowly, light returned, dim and eerie as Flint's vision sharpened. Blurry shapes turned to outlines, then to visible forms.
At that point, he realized he was hanging upside down, wrapped in sticky silk. His arms were bound to his torso, legs cocooned up to his knees. Blood pounded in his skull as it rushed to his head.
All around, the space pulsed with quiet dread. Strange, swaying silhouettes filled the nest. Dozens, if not hundreds, of cocoons, slung from thick silk like rotten fruit, few still twitching in the gloom. The air reeked of damp rot and a sweet, cloying musk. The webs shimmered faintly, some veins pulsing with black ichor.
Across from him was that Eldian girl who was following for quite a long time, wrapped tightly so that only her face was visible, and her eyes were closed. Perhaps still unconscious.
"Sparkles! Wake up!" Flint's voice cracked.
But no answer.
Flint struggled against the silk, trying to break free, twisting his shoulders, and groans were sounds from the sticky fibers, but to no use.
"Come on, Sparkles... wake up!"
Then he looked again at his surroundings and noticed some cocoons had been torn open. Inside, filled with jagged bones and skeletal limbs, while others with twisted faces into their final expressions of terror. One husk, still with some flesh half dissolved, still dripped with dark fluid.
"Damn Arachnyrs," Flint muttered while struggling in its cocoon. "I swear, if I see one, I'm ripping its legs off. One by one. Then I'll burn this cursed nest with every single one of their eggs inside."
A smooth, velvet voice floated from the dark. "Oh, Flint... so dramatic."
From the shadows emerged a terrifying figure, towering in size, with a colossal spider's bottom and on top half of a woman. Her upper scaly-like body, draped in jewel-strung silk, swayed like a queen. Below, her glistening spider form moved with elegant menace. The mandibles under her humanoid torso twitched softly.
"Would you really be so cruel to an old flame?"
Flint smirked weakly. "Velka. Still dressing like a nightmare dipped in perfume. Did you grow new legs? They look great."
"Always with the charm." Her smile didn't reach her eyes.
"Well, you know me," he muttered. "All charms and feathers."
She crept closer, veils trailing. "Until you leave a woman heartbroken. I thought we had something… special," trailing her clawly finger on Flint's jaw.
"Yeah, about that…" Flint shifted. "Once I found out you planned to use me for hybrid spider-children, I figured we needed to go our separate ways, you know? I was not ready to be a father… nor dinner..."
"But sweetheart, you never even said goodbye."
Flint's smirk faltered. "You were halfway through knitting me into your brood. Was I supposed to bring flowers or something?"
Her voice dropped to a whisper. "And now… you've brought a new plaything?I thought Nyxes despised Eldians."
She turned to Ellowyn, drifting toward her cocoon. Her many legs made no sound, but the air grew colder as she moved.
Ellowyn stirred. Her eyelids fluttered, breath catching.
"Wh—what is this? Who are you?!"
Velka leaned in close, her eyes narrowing. "Such soft features… such noisy Ether. I can see your thread, little one. And where it leads."
Ellowyn whispered, voice tight. "Please… let us go. We didn't come here to fight."
"No, child. But fate spins tighter than that. A mercy, really, to end you here, before the rest of your path unfolds."
"Sparkles, don't listen to her!" Flint shouted.
Velka's eyes flicked to him. "You still protect her? Even now? But no matter, my purpose has been fulfilled…"
She backed away slowly, dropping her voice. "Oh, sweetie... soon you will fulfill your purpose. It's time to meet your daughters."
A sick squelch echoed beneath them. Silk strands trembled. Dozens of pale eggs began to pulse, their skins splitting open with wet cracks.
Flint's eyes widened. "Da.. Daughters?! I—what—NO!"
Ellowyn screamed, "You mated that thing?!" Her eyes darted between Flint and Velka.
"It was ONE date!"
Velka's laughter rang like bells in a crypt. "Feed, my children."
Flint twisted violently, his feathers slicing through the silk. With a final yank, he broke free and dropped with a grunt.
"Sorry, Velka. I'm not ready to be a father."
She hissed, flinging silk with a snap of her claws. Flint rolled under it, slashing Ellowyn's coccon mid-air, falling into his arms.
Suddenly, the nest exploded with noise. Hundreds of spiderlings poured from tunnels and cracks. The air filled with the sharp scent of silk and sour rot. Their screeches layered like a swarm.
"RUN!" Flint yelled.
They bolted. The nest pulsed and shifted, walls rippling with life. Threads snagged at their limbs, catching ankles and fingers. Spiderlings dropped from above like darts, teeth snapping.
Velka shrieked from behind. "YOU CANNOT OUTRUN FATE!"
"Eyes forward, Sparkles!" Flint yelled.
As they both ran, whispers rose from the silk itself, haunting Flint. Ivy's voice laced the air: "Stop running. You're better off dead than living, clinging to someone who'll just leave you, too. You know that, Flint."
He gritted his teeth. "Sparkles, you hearing voices too?"
Ellowyn glanced at him, breath ragged. "Yeah… my father. But I know it's not him. He'd never say that."
"Good," Flint said, breath sharp. "The silk messes with your head. So focus on what you know is real, don't listen and run."
The corridors started to twist as they both ran through there, turning into a silky maze. Behind them, spiderlings swarmed from all sides, some crawling on ceilings, others bursting from egg pods. Their screeches became unbearable, high-pitched, like glass cracking inside the skull.
Ellowyn hurled Ugniballs, slamming fire into the mass, briefly burning clusters of spiderlings, but the fire smothered quickly, choked by the damp webs.
"They won't burn!" Flint shouted. "The silk, it's immune to fire."
Ellowyn's brow furrowed. Then, something sparked in her memory.
"Cover me. I need a moment."
Flint growled, "Well, you better have a good idea, or we're gonna be the appetizer."
He planted himself between her and the oncoming swarm. Spiderlings lunged. He deflected with spinning daggers and sharp feathers, as electric sparks snapped with each blow.
"RAIKO-TAHAL!" Lightning surged, flinging spiderlings against walls.
Behind him, Ellowyn began chanting. Her voice was low, rhythmic as fire surged from her boots curling around her.
Flint glanced back. "Another Ugni sigil? I told you the silk is immune to fire!"
"Then we force it," she whispered, eyes still closed.
"What?!" he snapped.
The walls pulsed with movement. Velka returned, shrieking, gaining on them, her massive form tearing through web and wall. Scythe-like limbs burst from her back, dragging against the walls. She bellowed with rage.
"THERE IS NO ESCAPE!"
"I'm close, just a little more…" Ellowyn said, sweat on her brow.
Flint's chest heaved. "Sparkles, whatever you're doing, do it now!"
Then—
Her eyes blazed golden. She raised her staff and slammed it down.
"UGNIWALL!"
Flame erupted in a pillar around them, a ring of fire roaring to life. The heat was blinding, the sound deafening, and spiderlings shrieked and curled, burning in waves. Velka reeled back, shrieking in agony.
"NO! MY CHILDREN! YOU VILE GIRL!"
Smoke thickened as the silk walls blackened, and the swarm halted alongside Velka.
Flint coughed. "You could do that the whole time?!"
Ellowyn staggered, half-smiling. "You never asked,"
At that instant, the walls stopped moving when A seam in the wall split open.
Ellowyn glanced back. "We have to hurry... it won't last for long."
They both sprinted toward the opening to the outside. The walls trembled slowly, and silk was starting to fold inward like a closing wound, while the path narrowed with every step.
Ellowyn slipped with some webs, hitting the ground as silks started to wrap around her.
Flint, close by the exit, halted, looking back at the eldian girl on the ground.
Mist coiled, and Myri stood there in his path.
"Just leave her, Flint, you know she deserves to rot like all Eldians."
For a brief Flint hesitated, but the shadow of Myri stepped closer with a coaxing voice. "You don't care for anyone, just yourself. So go now and save yourself."
His fist clenched when he saw Ellowyn nearly gone, wrapped in the silk.
"Tch," he spat.
"RAIKO-TAHAL"
He dashed back, blue electric sparkles flaring as he grabbed Ellowyn, pulling her from the silk.
"RAIKO-DASH!"
With Ellowyn in his arms, he surged forward as the corridor collapsed behind them. The narrowing veil sealed shut the instant they crossed, brushing against his back, just enough to snap one of his back feathers, leaving it caught in the silk.
Velka's voice howled after them
"ALL PATHS LEAD TO ME!"
They collapsed in a tangled heap of torn silk and sweat, gasping for breath.
Flint groaned, catching sight of one of his feathers stuck in the webbing. "Damn it, Velka. That feather took me weeks to grow."
Ellowyn laid still beside him, then let out a shaky, breathless laugh. "Thank you, bird boy."
He turned, "For what?"
"For coming back."
He scoffed lightly, brushing damp hair from his face. "Tch. I'm not a heartless monster."
"Well, I'm glad you're not," she said, sitting up beside him with a faint smile.
Flint's face flushed. He looked away, frowning, though the twitch of his ears betrayed him.
Up ahead, the trees began to thin. A flickering light shimmered through the fog.
Ellowyn squinted. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Oh yeah. Come on, Sparkles," Flint said, standing and stepping forward.
As they drew closer, the shape became clearer. Beyond the veil of mist stood an inn—its frame old and moss-covered, twisted by time and draped in ivy. Blue lanterns hung from poles of Alborian bark, and an arch of stone and vine framed a wooden sign swinging gently in the breeze:
The Whispering Root.
Her eyes widened. "No way… Elves? This far from Aeloria?"
Flint nodded. "Yep. And the best part? Hot meals, beds, company — and no one asks questions." He smirked and strolled toward the gate.
"What a guy," she muttered, though she lingered.
Her eyes drifted to the warm windows, where laughter spilled out, shadows of song and clinking mugs dancing on the glass. Inside, elves and travelers mingled, safe and at peace.
A soft smile grew across her lips.
Her fingers brushed the frayed red scarf at her belt, worn, weathered, and tied with care.
"If only you were here to see it together, Rikuin…"
"Hey, Sparkles! You coming or what?!" Flint's voice called back through the fog.
She blinked, the moment breaking like a ripple across water, and without a word, she followed him in.