Chapter 26: 25. Best

I'm not sure how long I have been unconscious in the pits. It could have been hours, days, or even months as the spiders waited for my body to liquefy or whatever they were waiting for. Now that I am awake, I can summon Bones at any moment. Perhaps we can fight our way out of this mess, or more likely, given my immobile condition, he can put an end to this suffering. However, I don't summon Bones. Instead, I use the time to meditate, cultivate, and meditate some more.

Meditation is a nice distraction from my current predicament. I reflect upon the mistakes of our escape. Replaying the retreating fight and analyzing every aspect I can. From the analysis, I form a few conclusions.

First, I didn't use my summoning powers to the best. I focused on creating a large force to counter the spiders. While it felt awesome to command my own horde of spiders, playing a numbers game was an awful strategy. 

Alternatively, I could have summoned bone walls to obstruct the spiders or even completely enclose myself turtle style. I could have been safe inside my shells while Bones and I whittled down the enemy with arrows. Eventually, they would have gotten bored or given up. However, survival wasn't exactly what we were going for, and shooting arrows does not end in me developing a sword fighting technique.  

Second, and most frustrating, I completely forgot my roar ability that I upgraded. That would have increased my army's fighting capability while reducing our enemies. Roar could possibly have given us the edge. 

I run the fight through my mind over and over, using different strategies each time. Reducing my minion count and buffing my fighters might have been the best way to escape. Possibly even keeping my eyes closed and trusting in the newly developed blade aura was another way to successfully escape.   

Third, and more frustrating than most frustrating, what in the heavens above deal is with the sun and light? Even in the depth of meditation, this is still a sensitive subject. Perhaps it is too fresh. Why are bright things out to get me? Dark things are out to get. Sure, I get that. Spiders are going to spider. But good hell, why is the sun out to get me? 

Isn't the sun supposed to be an unbiased bystander shining its light equally on all without dubious intentions? Surrounded by spiders? Here's some inconvenient light that will trigger sensitive eyes and demand sneezes in retribution. 

Overall, aside from my irritation with the sun, I am pleased with our battle performance. There were mistakes and areas we could improve, which we will consider if ever we are in a similar situation. Hopefully, battling hordes of spiders will be a one-time deal after this ordeal. 

Inside my cocoon, I cultivate as much as I can, exhausting my spirit over and over. Death mana is abundant, allowing me to take huge strides in my progress. Pale energy is absorbed into my core which I continually compact in my second layer. The tricky part is that I can feel the mana wanting to burst through the second layer into the third. 

I'm not sure what the third layer will allow me to accomplish. My assumption is that I will grow in power. My hesitation in allowing the power to grow is that I want to know if I can cultivate other mana. On the one hand, I could become a powerful wielder of death. On the other hand, if I can manipulate my other cores into absorbing different energies, my power could become very versatile. Of course, this is also assuming that there are other energies out there that can be cultivated. 

Restricting the expanding death mana has, in a way, strengthened the second layer. I can feel the mana solidifying and becoming denser. I imagine where I capped out at twenty reanimated spiders, one companion, and nine scorpses has increased by five to ten more spiders. I'm happy with the gains. Every little bit will help.

Probably the most significant gain during this downtime is a better understanding of my essences. Where once I was unsure why my body didn't feel as strong as it should, now I think I have a good understanding of what is wrong and how to fix it. It comes down to my body not being assembled correctly when I return from death. If I can manipulate the repairs, I think I can get back to full strength. 

Further examination of my layers revealed a significant difference between body, mind, and spirit essences. The mind and spirit essences are similar to how the layers are integrated with my core. The two are practically merged with the core. Body essence, alternatively, looks like an added layer instead of an integral part. Perhaps something went wrong during my soul reforging, keeping physical essences from completely harmonizing with my core.

Truth be told, essence still doesn't make much sense to me. This is a guess. It is the best guess I have come up with so far but still just a guess. Eventually, I'd like to get my hands on a manuscript or hire a tutor to teach me more of the principles. 

While examining my layers, I fixate on one of the spirit perks: energy vision. How Bones can see using mana has been an area of curiosity. Especially now, with no vision, the technique is practically begging to be learned. 

Focusing on my spirit, I can sense mana. I feel the vibrant energy around me even though I can't 'see' it. Maintaining focus with my spirit, I open myself to the mana around me. Like the sun oppressively greeting awakened eyes, mana feedback causes my spirit sense to flinch. When the shock to my spirit rescinds, I open my spirit to the mana around me once more.

Embracing myself for the overwhelming energy, I keep my spirit open. Vivid earthly colors, blackness, and pale gray energies can be felt more than seen. At first, the feeling has no meaning. As time passes, my spirit sense grows more accustomed to the feeling. Eventually, the mana that I am feeling begins to become more distinct.

What once was earthly energies becomes the deep tunnel that surrounds me. I can feel the energy of the dirt and the rocks and sense their position within the blackness around me. Blackness, unsurprisingly, is the dark energy filling the cave. Then there is death mana radiating within my close proximity, though I can't quite tell if I am the source or not. 

I keep my spirit sense open, learning to interpret the different feelings and slowly better understand my environment. After only being able to sense my surrounding environment, I finally pick up on life within the environment.

It is faint at first, appearing as blobs crawling all around me, nowhere near as vivid as the tunnels or darkness. With practice, the blobs eventually become darker blobs. After more practice, the dark blobs turn into shapes. Then, I hone the technique further. Shapes become big nasty spiders. The revelation forces my spirit to reel back in fright. Focusing on my spiritual sense almost made me forget I am in a spider cave. 

Recovering from the grim reminder, I open my spirit sense once more. It takes some time, but I can now, in a sense, see all of the spiders around me. More than that, I can also sense the captured creatures of the spiders. The captured prey is a wild assortment of beasts and monsters. Some are slightly lighter than the spiders. Others are giving off very dim mana. 

Those creatures, the faint of mana, are the ones that were consumed by the Spider Queen. The Spider Queen was quite the ruler. Rather than looking like the rest of her spiders, she seemed to have a more human form. She had arms, legs, and then four other spidery limbs coming out from her back. 

Movement was easy and natural for her. She could move quicker than anything I've encountered and launch herself across her lair effortlessly. When she was not consuming her meals, she was tinkering with my bow and arrow or observing her prisoners with heavy focus. Other times she was nowhere to be found. It was when she was away that I felt most at ease.

None of the other spiders feast on the captured prey. We are reserved for the queen. Instead, the spiders prey on their own. If there is a spider that appears to be weak, the rest of the spiders consume it. Often a frenzy would commence from the feast resulting in the death of many more. If escape ever becomes my plan, it is during one of these frenzies that I would attempt it. As it is now, I am progressing quite well. Hundreds of spiders are consumed while I am a prisoner, yet there never seems to be fewer spiders.  

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Fortunately, with how much death is around me at all times, this nightmare situation is an abundant harvest. I keep cultivating, and my death core keeps getting stronger. Pale energy is so tightly compacted that the pressure is starting to give my second layer a bronze coloration. To say I am eager to find out what the new coloration means is an understatement. 

Letting my tired core rest, I switch back to meditation. A process I have done several times over by now. One common focus point during my meditation is centered on Bones and his dilemma. How can he get a core of his own? So far, my idea is somehow binding a monster core with his mana. Maybe there is a way I can bind the core and construct Bones around it or something like that. It is worth tryi—

"Human." Words entering my mind interrupt my thoughts. "You're thinking so loud you are disturbing my peace." Though it is in my head, the voice has a distinctly feminine tone. It is regal and—this can't possibly be the right word—seductive. And terrifying, with a hint of intimidation.

The seductive voice delicately booms in my head. "You can understand me, yes?" I try to sense mana connected to the voice only to find it nowhere near. "You will not be able to find me. I have blocked my mana from your mind. Clever of you to spend your time in captivity gaining power. I'll admit I'm intrigued by you, and it is not easy to intrigue a queen."

Now that I am aware, I find that I can't sense any spiders or even hear their legs running about. In fact, I can't even sense my fellow prisoners. 

"We are in my mind space. I know you are wondering where we are. Here I have absolute power. Don't worry. I am only using this to communicate and maybe do some personal research. It has been a long time since I have encountered a presence like you. After the lycans died, there hasn't been any humanoid or beastman to walk these lands. You are a rare treasure."

The intruding and enticing voice of the queen continues to speak directly through my mind. "Can you imagine how a lack of sentient interaction can mess with the mind? Sure, you have some experience. Multiply your loneliness by hundreds of years, and you will know what true loneliness is."

Finally, there is a pause long enough for me to get a word or thought out. "Hey, thanks. Don't recall anyone ever referring to me as a treasure. I'm very flattered. Would you mind letting me know what you intend to do with said treasure? I would think that you plan to eat me or drink me, you know, do the things that spiders do, or do you plan to keep me as a trophy of some sorts? I imagine with enough polish, I can be quite shiny. A nice display for guests."

"You are indeed a treasure. What I am to do with you, I do not know." The queen responds with a soft passion. "It has been a long time since I have been in such a dilemma." She pauses for a moment. "One way or another, your existence is doomed. Whether I want it or not, the poison injected into you will ultimately kill you. However, since you are a rare treat, I will treat you as such." 

Oddly, I am not comforted by her words.

Suddenly the queen appears in my mind. Standing directly in front of me, she begins to look even more human. She stares at me as if she is using me to fine-tune her shape while her image changes. Hair becomes dark black, and purplish skin takes a paler tone closer to mine. Her round face lengthens and comes to a sharp point at her chin. Two prominent human eyes replace her bulbous spider eyes, and her fangs are replaced with immaculate teeth. 

"Since you have been here, I have already learned much. The knowledge that was too distant in the past is now right before me for study. And what an abundance of knowledge you have been, your way of cultivating, your mental exercises, and even your power has been very enlightening. I'll admit I'm even curious if you can cultivate other energies." As the queen speaks, it appears we are talking face to face.

I am taken back as she admits that she has been learning from my thoughts this whole time. I guess it makes sense why they kept me alive for so long.

"My sisters have nothing to do with your existence." Once again, my thoughts are interrupted. "If it were up to them, you would be dead" This mind-stuff is tricky. "Most of them wanted me to consume you the moment we captured you. While I prolong your life, they secretly inject you with more poison. You would be dead by now if they didn't worship my power."

The queen begins pacing back and forth with her arms behind her back. Unlike Bones, her pacing has a regal manner to it. She's around the same height as Bones but much thinner. Her slender arms and legs are barely thicker than the sharply pointed legs resting behind her back like the back of a gown. Covering most of her body is a tough, tight-fitting chitin armor. Her essence is that of power. 

"I am sorry your life will come to an end," the queen continues to speak. "Though considering the amount of suffering you have endured, maybe death is best for you. Hopefully, you don't mind me taking your memories. I could take them now, but it is much easier when the target is on the death steps. Besides, it has been a long while since I have awakened company. We can consider this a fair trade for all of my sisters' lives you have taken. To tip the balance, you can have some of my memories."

We are still in the queen's mind space when she lunges for my body. I try to resist and find myself completely helpless. Her pointy legs, resting at her side until now, shoot forward into my body. Intense pressure erupts in my mind. A creepy sensation shivers through me, leaving me feeling violated and full of eggs. I really don't want there to be eggs. Getting eaten from the inside out by baby spiders has got to be the worst way to die. My thoughts are sporadic as I try to analyze the intrusion, then it goes blank, and there is only blackness.   

I am no longer completely encased in the web when I come to. My head is free, and I can look around me. Not that it helps since the lair is entirely dark. Using my energy sense, I can see thousands of spiders surrounding me. The queen is nowhere to be found. 

Suddenly spiders in all directions come rushing towards me. Relentlessly they plunge their fangs into my body over and over. Each painful puncture brings me closer to death as something not exactly blood spills out uncontrollably. I'm all but dead when I sense my only familiar pale energy.

Bones somehow appears in the chaos. He has snapped his hand off, forming a crude spear. Rushing toward the mound of spiders, he wildly pulls the arachnids off. When he gets to a small clearing plunges his spear into my heart. More pain explodes into my body, and then the peace of death.

Death is interrupted at the last of moments. In fact, I am pretty sure I am technically dead. This is like a pre-death or the transitory step into final death. 

Pockets of memories or thoughts flash through my mind. None of which belong to me. Reflections of an overwhelming fear of impending doom, reluctance to leave, frustration with unmet expectations, and betrayal all rush into my mind. Out of the chaos comes a similar feeling to one I had. Hunger. A deep, desperate urge to fill the void of an insatiable appetite of thousands. Then a warning…

"They will consume everything."

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