Chapter 93: Chapter Ninety Two: Hunter Shadow Room

The next room they entered was almost identical to the one they’d just left, albeit substantially larger. Whereas before there had been only five lanterns, now there were eight. The platform was the same size, however, and on it was…

 

Someone Qube didn’t recognise.

 

It was a truly beautiful wood elf. After a moment of staring, Qube realised that the woman did look vaguely familiar. She was wearing leather armour that left most of her vital organs exposed, with only a one-shouldered strap holding her chest covering and a short leather skirt with a slit up the side. She was holding two wickedly sharp-looking daggers and had a crossbow slung over her back. 

 

And next to her was Sexy Screamy Spider Lady. 

 

Wait — was that what Sexy Screamy Spider Lady looked like without her curse? She was stunning. Or would be, if it weren’t for the expression of contempt twisting her features.

 

“Do you think they care for you?” the shade spat at the Hunter without preamble. “They only care about your body, and how you can make them feel. Trust me, darling, if you were back in that hideous cursed form, none of them would give you a second look.”

 

Qube looked at the Chosen One, who was looking somewhat taken aback by the sheer venom in the shadow’s voice. 

 

“Wow, they wasted no time going for the throat there,” he said, glancing at Qube. “Totally wrong throat, but still.”

 

“Trust me, pale shadow of my former self, that is not something I fear,” Sexy Screamy Spider Lady said, tossing her long brown hair out of her eight eyes. Squiggles attempted to go to Sexy Screamy Spider Lady, but Qube motioned for her to stay by the door. She didn’t want her getting hurt in the crossfire.

 

“Hey, Definitely Bad Guy, can you try and curse the evil one?” the Chosen One, no doubt confident in Sexy Screamy Spider Lady’s ability to handle herself, showed no need to comfort her.

 

“As you command,” Definitely Bad Guy said. “[Curse].” His spell whipped across the room, sinking into the false Hunter. She screamed, and threw a dagger at the Mage.

 

“[Lesser Shield]!” Qube’s spell only just managed to protect Definitely Bad Guy. The shade snarled at him, before another dagger appeared in her hand.

 

“Okay, do that again. Let’s see if we can kill her with just psychic damage or whatever that’s called.”

 

“It is called [Curse], Glorious Leader,” Definitely Bad Guy said condescendingly. “I am afraid I can only cast it every three minutes.”

 

The Chosen One leaned back his head and sighed at the ceiling.

 

“Fine,” he said, expasterated. “Sewer Bard, what kind of non-physical damage do you reckon you could do? Oh, wait, Sexy Screamy Spider Lady,” he called, “do you want to try shooting yourself in the face?”

 

“With pleasure,” Sexy Screamy Spider Lady smirked, cocking her abdomen to the side as she also cocked her crossbow.

 

“Such false bravado you have.” The shade seemed, if anything, angrier that both its verbal and physical shots weren’t hitting. “You’ve been handed the Thorny crown, as you’ve been handed everything in your life.” 

 

Sexy Screamy Spider Lady’s crossbow bolt went right through her chest. The shadow laughed.

 

“You’ll rot in that forest, hemmed in by those seeking to protect you. Too weak to break free, desperately in love with someone who never truly loved you.”

 

That remark seemed to hit home. The giant arachnid trembled slightly, then immediately fired a [Double Shot] at the shade.

 

“Would he even notice you, if you didn’t fling yourself at him?”

 

There was something incredibly disturbing about such hateful words, spoken in Sexy Screamy Spider Lady’s voice, coming out of a stranger’s body. Qube felt like her brain was almost fighting against itself, trying to reconcile the juxtaposition. The dissonance was intense.

 

Sexy Screamy Spider Lady threw a look over her shoulder at the Chosen One, who was looking supremely uncomfortable.

 

“His love for me cannot be questioned,” she said with utmost certainty. “His passionate declarations —”

 

“Anything at all, sing-song, just throw it at the shadow,” the Chosen One ordered, slightly desperately.

 

“Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to stop something from speaking such vile poison to such a sweet lady,” Sewer Bard said furiously. “[Siren’s Song]!”

 

“No wait, not that!” the Chosen One cried, and made a swiping motion in front of his face, fingers crossed.

 

The world shifted.

 

They walked into the same room.

 

It was… Sexy Screamy Spider Lady? Again?

 

The shadow spat venom.

 

Definitely Bad Guy cast one spell, and was told to wait his three minutes and try again.

 

The Chosen One turned to Sewer Bard.

 

“Okay, sing-song, this time, do you have any non-physical spells that aren’t the siren song one?” the Hero asked the Bard.

 

Qube stood in the same spot where she’d entered the room as the same events played out before her, with only slight changes.

 

Could the Chosen One… see into the future?

 

Time travel was not a concept Qube was familiar with. But foretelling, prophecies (golden or otherwise) had made up the bedrock of her existence.

 

Had the Golden Prophecy been helping the Chosen One more than she’d realised? Feeding him possibilities, letting him better navigate difficulties?

 

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Not all the time; otherwise he would never have done half the strange things she’d witnessed, but in life or death situations, perhaps?

 

She thought back to some of the other Temples, when it had felt like reality was looping in on itself. She’d thought it some power of the Temple’s inhabitants, or Save Points, or the Temples themselves, but this seemed more like a Prophecy-related power.

 

And she, being so intertwined with him and the Golden Prophecy, was she getting glimpses of its fortune telling because of it? Or was it what the devs had said, that she was becoming Chosen-One-eque?

 

No wonder they were nervous about letting someone with the ability to see the future run around unobserved.

 

“Forgive me, Noble Patron, but aside from that, this humble Bard knows only spells of support,” Sewer Bard said, barely at all awkward about revealing such personal information.

 

“So which path will you walk, little girl?” The shade had started talking again. The Chosen One rolled his eyes.

 

“Right, everyone get into position, let’s light this [blight] up,” he said. The others scrambled to the lanterns.

 

“Mummy and Daddy’s, where you sit on a throne and repeat decrees given to you by the long dead? Or will you use your looks and charm to get yourself into a comfortable gilded cage, admired by whomever your master puts into power?”

 

The Chosen One’s bent stick harmlessly passed through the shade’s face. She snarled and turned towards the Chosen One, lifting her crossbow.

 

“Pull!” the Chosen One ordered, catching his bent stick as it returned. 

 

The three humanoid companions pulled, while Squiggles stayed by the door. In the time it took them to reach the other spare lanterns, the Chosen One had already been forced to dodge several bolts from the shade. Sexy Screamy Spider Lady tried stabbing at the shadow with her daggers, but nothing seemed to hurt it.

 

Then the lanterns were down, and the Chosen One hurled his stick, lighting them all in a chain. As soon as he did so, Sexy Screamy Spider Lady unloaded all of her ammo into the suddenly-physical shade.

 

Several bolts sprouting out of her chest, the wood elf staggered, fell to her knee, the same as Definitely Bad Guy’s shade, and collapsed.

 

“Alone,” she hissed, and dissipated. 

 

Once again the platform started descending as a section of the wall slid back. Sexy Screamy Spider Lady delicately stepped off the platform as soon as it was snugly rested back on the floor.

 

“You did so well!” Qube enthused, rushing up to the Hunter. “Come on Squiggles, come give hugs!”

 

Squiggles, needing no further encouragement, flung herself at Sexy Screamy Spider Lady’s face. Sewer Bard stepped up beside them.“You were truly amazing,” he said sincerely. 

 

The Chosen One, having caught his bent stick and put it away, started walking towards the next room. “Good job,” he said casually. As he walked to the other side of the room, the rest of the group started to drift after him, like plants turning towards the suns. Definitely Bad Guy was already by his side, uninterested in congratulating his companion.

 

“I’m so glad your shadow wasn’t able to affect you,” Qube said, reaching out and taking one of Sexy Screamy Spider Lady’s claws as they walked. The Hunter looked down thoughtfully at the Healer.

 

“It did,” she replied simply. “Not about my appearance, but about who I’m going to be.” She was silent for a few moments, as if seeking the right words to express herself. “I don’t think I realised just how afraid I was of just being who I was told to be. I was especially afraid of being alone.” Her grip on Qube’s hand tightened, and then she let go.

 

“I don’t know if that’s something I’m afraid of anymore.”

 

She straightened up, rolling back her shoulder joints.

 

“My dear,” she called to the Chosen One, who paused and looked back at her, slightly surprised at her sudden address. “When we have finished with this Shadow Temple, I would like to travel back to the Forbidden Forest to complete my Trial.” She took a deep breath, and then shot him a provocative look. “And I would like you to compete for Head Guard.”

 

The Chosen One blanched slightly.

 

“Does that mean I marry you or something?” he asked somewhat trepidatiously. Sexy Screamy Spider Lady tossed back her hair defiantly.

 

“Thank you for the offer, but no. I’m not looking to marry right now,” she purred. The Chosen One went even paler.

 

“That wasn’t me offering!” he spluttered. The Hunter raised a claw.

 

“Please, no need to be embarrassed. I’m just not ready for that kind of commitment.” She turned her claw-hand and looked at it. She squinted, waving it back and forth.

 

“Sometimes I see it as my hand,” she mused. “And other times, as a spider claw. It is… strange. I don’t know what the Dryad Queen will say to me, or if she will even be able to break this curse. If going back to the Forest and doing the Trial will force me back into the path my parents want for me. Or if failing it means I’ll be trapped in a different way. But I’m willing to try. And I’m going to continue being me while doing it.” Here she cocked an eyebrow at Qube, who smiled. “I just need to figure out who that is,” she added.

 

“And, perhaps more importantly, who I want that to be.”

 

She reached out and took the Chosen One’s hands in her own.

 

“So, unfortunately, my dear love, until I figure out who I am, I’m afraid I cannot marry you. I’m sure you understand.”

 

The Chosen One looked up into the many eyes of Sexy Screamy Spider Lady.

 

“I hate this,” he said. “This is actually the worst.”

 

“As do I, my dearest heart, but it must be so.”

 

The Chosen One closed his eyes. He looked to be in pain. Qube looked at him worriedly. She hoped he wasn’t trying to conceal his heartbreak.

 

“I mean, I accept your… terms? Sure. I’m going to stop talking now. In fact, let’s never talk about this again. We’ll go to the forest after this, and just really enjoy never talking about this.”

 

“Your stoic resolve does you much credit, Noble Patron,” came a supportive voice.

 

“No talking!” the Chosen One ordered, and turned and plunged into the next room.

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