Chapter 13: 13: Whole Again

I clung to the great stone-spike, coiling around it in a winding path that led ever upwards. The stone-spike’s smooth surface was shattered and fragmented, covered in cracks and edges that gave my length purchase. The light began to dim ever so slightly, fading as the distance between myself and the ground increased.

The droning buzz in my ears had begun to fall away, filtered out by time and sheer concentration. I was coiled tightly, in mind if not in body, slithering upon a fang’s edge. My ears searched for the slightest noise, my scale-flesh for the smallest vibration that could signal the discovery of my approach.

Above me, I could still hear the Aridae stumble about, thrumming those disgusting threads in their wake, rustling their wretched fangs. Most were rather far off, clustering near the threads that nestled above the mana-water pool. Directly opposite of me, tucked away in her horrid little alcove and isolated from the others, the Aridae mother awaited. I had chosen a stone-spike near the edge of the cavern, one from which I could easily reach the wall-cracks if I needed to escape. One far away from her.

I wasn’t ready to face her.

Not yet.

Despite the tremendous amount of mana that imbued my venom, I knew that I would lose that battle. I was both at my strongest and at my weakest. [The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail] had been ineffective in dealing with the blowback from my heavy mana usage; more time would be required to bring me back to normal. Time that I didn’t have. There was no way of knowing how long the Festering Rats would continue to have an effect on the Aridae cluster.

My vision had resolved slightly, opening up from the pinpoint that it had recently been to a more manageable view. It was hardly enough to see; I would be extremely vulnerable to any attacks from the side of my vision. It would be enough for an ambush, at least.

I touched a thread lightly, causing the shimmering white strand to thrum slightly. I touched another, sending it thrumming as well, just a little bit harder that time. At the cavern’s edge that I had chosen, there were very few options for my own path. Here, most of the pathways lacked the thick, twined characteristic of the more well-traveled portions of the Aridae’s network. There, I would have had an easier time, the bundled fibers providing enough space for me to slither along safely.

The cavern’s edge was different.

The threads were sparse, filled with gaps through which I could easily fall through, if I were not focused and agile - I wasn’t confident in either of those qualities, with the way that my insides pulsed with never-ending fire-pain.

So, instead, I coiled around to the other side of the stone-spike, clinging to its edge. I listened. I waited.

It didn’t take long.

I remembered well how responsive the Aridae mother had been to the thrumming of the threads. Each time that I had tried to escape, setting the fibers buzzing, it had returned to me. It had made me helpless again. Weak.

My inability to forget that helplessness, along with its cause, served me now.

The threads thrummed lightly, nearly imperceptibly. Still, to my straining ears, it was unmistakable. The rustling of fangs that followed was even less so.

I slowly bent around the stone-spike’s corner, pulling my head around enough to catch a glimpse of my prey. It was close, close enough that I could imagine it sinking its fangs into my scale-flesh. I pulled back, hiding behind the stone-spike before it could notice me.

I gathered my courage, praying to the Great Core for victory. Praying that it would notice my efforts. Praying that it would find me worthy.

I coiled around the stone-spike, slipping into view.

The Aridae reared back.

It was far too slow.

I lunged forward, the strength of the strike enough to stir the air around my head-scales. My mouth opened, revealing the sharp fangs within. It closed, embedding those very same fangs in the Aridae’s flesh.

My venom flowed.

Lesser Core Skill: [Mana Venom I] Increased.

[Mana Venom II] Acquired.

And flowed.

Lesser Core Skill: [Mana Venom II] Increased.

[Mana Venom III] Acquired.

Perhaps a bit too much. The Aridae twitched, shrieking as the highly-modified venom entered its body. Its legs shuddered and jerked, nearly forcing it to throw itself from the tenuous footing provided by the bundles of threads. Immediately after, it fell limp, twisting slightly before the little bristles that covered its limbs tangled themselves on the threads.

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Experience Gained!

The ease of the fight took me by surprise. I knew that my channeling my stored mana into my venom could increase the strength dramatically, but that was...well, dramatic. A feat worthy of the Great Core’s greatest creation, even.

The thought pushed past the persistent pain brought on by my recent mana overuse, erasing it for a moment with the joy that it elicited.

I wasn’t worthless.

My tongue flicked from my mouth, creating a small hiss of excitement. Before me, the Aridae’s corpse continued to twitch and bounce, knocked to and fro by the rather flexible threads. Further down the line, the thrumming of the network picked up in intensity, brought to a frenzy by the corpse’s erratic movements.

There wouldn’t be much time, if it was allowed to continue. Already, Aridae were beginning to rouse from their sickness-produced slumber, dragging themselves to their feet. And I still hadn’t gotten what I came for, despite my small victory.

I coiled tightly at the point where a bundle of threads lashed onto the stone-spike, curling around it to give myself leverage. My form wasn’t built for the network of threads, created with thin legs that could straddle across the net that they created. I was forced to adopt a different tactic to avoid falling, and to recover my prize.

I looped slowly around the fibers, my scale-flesh pressed tightly against its length, until I finally reached the corpse. The next part would be more difficult, I knew. My jaw unhinged, pulling wide.

I stuffed a leg in.

Then another.

And another.

As the body began to fill me, coiling around the threads and moving forward to consume what remained became more difficult. The Aridae had been larger than me, as most of them were, and - while I was perfectly capable of eating something larger than myself - it made movement difficult. Movement that was necessary in order to consume it entirely.

My scale-flesh rubbed against the threads, the fibers rippling over me, catching on the bumps and protrusions created by the Aridae that filled me. I coiled around laboriously, ignoring the thrumming of the threads that had only increased in strength. Ignoring the searing fire-pain that filled my insides. Ignoring the ever-present fear of being caught in the shimmering threads again.

Finally, the last of the corpse slipped down my throat, settling into my waiting stomach. A moment later, it shifted, the sudden change in solidity nearly causing me to lose my grip on the threads as my form deflated dramatically. A sense of warmth traveled from my stomach, settling into place upon my head-scales. The thought-light flickered, congratulating me on my victory.

Level 1 Juvenile Aridae Consumed.

Transferred to Core.

Blooded Trait Acquisition Progress: 2/5.

The threads bounced and wavered from the sudden change in weight, creating an audible hum that began to stir an even greater number of the Aridae. Still, I wasn’t nearly done. I needed three more.

I coiled around the fibers in the same way that I had before, wrapping around them and pulling myself down their length. They pulled slightly at me as I passed, gripping onto my scale-flesh, but it was far too weak to do more than that - the threads that formed the main lines on which the Aridae traveled were far less sticky than the ones used to connect to the stone-spikes and hold prey. With the potential for stealth nearly destroyed already, I didn’t bother to move slowly. Instead, I gripped the threads tightly, pulling myself along as fast as I could. I was making myself more vulnerable, pressing closer to the greatest concentration of enemies within the Aridae’s cluster. Still, there was something about it that was exhilarating, a sense of rightness, as if I was denying the fear that tried to cripple me. As if I was destroying the terror that had caused me to question the Great Core. As if I was fighting the demon that had made me doubt myself.

It probably helped that I could still barely see.

Yet, I could hear them.

I could hear the rustling of fangs and the scrabbling of legs. I even imagined that I could hear the dripping of slow-venom.

Nearly directly below me, the light of the mana-water pool shone, illuminating the bits of my vision that still remained.

Aridae of various sizes clustered at the network’s center, brilliant blue light reflecting off their many eyes. Some stumbled, their legs weakened by the sickness. Others stood more powerfully, less affected by its insidious efforts.

It didn’t matter. I would eat my due. I would consume my fears. I would feel whole again.

My venom burned in the fire of concentrated mana.

My mind burned in the fire of hate.

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