It is said that somewhere deep within the mountains of Kuinzu, Japan, a spirit lay dormant, waiting for a chosen warrior to bestow the protection and strength of the Spider Spirit. Legend has it that if a warrior were to be bitten by the Spider Spirit, he would obtain the power of the Spider Spirit herself! He who is chosen would gain the ability to climb any surface with his hands and feet, enhanced strength, the ability to sense danger before it occurs, and heightened agility!
It is also said that if one becomes the vessel of the Spider Spirit, he would have any wish granted to him, even if it includes bringing back the souls of the dead.
However, this was but a myth told to village children...
Or was it?
Takuya Yamashiro, an eighteen-year-old Japanese boy from a small village in Kuinzu, Japan, wanted to see for himself if the Legend of the Spider Spirit was actually just a story or if it were something more. Takuya, being a peasant from a poor village, had nothing more than his rough, cotton shirt on his back as he trekked the mountains in search of this supposed spirit.
He wore a box on his back, carrying something inside of it through the dark, damp forest. Though only he knew the contents of what was hidden inside of it.
Takuya didn't have many companions, so he spent most of his time painting or reading. For the last few months, he'd been reading anything he could find that mentioned Kuinzu's Spider Spirit, using all of the vague information to piece together where the spirit may have resided.
Using a map that he drew himself, Takuya wandered through the forest, following a path that he pieced together using hints from the many different versions of the story or supposed true stories of the spirit showing herself.
Eventually, he found himself in front of a cave, one that seemed to be no larger than a few hundred feet long. "This must be it." the boy told himself before lighting a torch and journeying headfirst into the mysterious cavern.
The boy walked for what felt like a mile inside the cave, which was peculiar to him since the cave seemed to have been small from the outside. "The legend spoke of an endless cave, one that may drive one mad before they reach the end, but I shall not falter."
Determined, the boy continued his journey into the cavern, walking through the darkness for what felt like an eternity before he seemingly reached its end, finding a painting of a spider at the end of it, along with some sort of altar. This was not part of any legend he'd read, most ending sometime after speaking about the cave being endless.
"So this is where the Spider Spirit resides?" Takuya spoke, rubbing his hand against the painting on the wall before dropping to his knees and praying to the spirit.
"Oh Spider Spirit, grant me your strength, for I have made the journey, proven myself worthy of being thy vessel." The boy's voice echoed off the barren walls of the cavern, reinforcing the fact that he was all alone. The legends said that if one were to speak this prayer beneath the symbol of the Spider Spirit, they would gain her power.
There was a brief silence, one that almost made the boy lose hope before a hand began to emerge from the symbol on the wall. Takuya stood up, taking a few steps backward as a woman with long black hair began emerging from the wall. Followed by the woman's naked, human-like body, was the body of a spider, having all eight legs attached to her lower body.
Soon enough, the Spider Spirit was standing before Takuya and he could feel his heart rate skyrocket. Her body shone with an ethereal glow, illuminating the once-dark cave. 'She's beautiful.' the boy thought to himself, ignoring her arachnid half and focusing on the nude upper human half of her.
"Hmm? Thou hast summoned me?" the Spider Spirit spoke with a seductive, yet maternal voice, immediately prompting the young man to bow to her.
"Are you the Spider Spirit?" Takuya asked. He was almost certain, but he wanted to be sure. "I have heard stories that the Spider Spirit could bring back souls from the dead if one presents her with one's ashes. Is this true?"
"Thou art correct, I go by many names. The Spider Spirit is one of them. " as the spirit said this, Takuya reached into the box behind him before pulling out the ashes of the only family he had left; Mei, his aunt.
"Please, bring back Mei Yamashiro's soul." The boy pleaded, holding up Aunt Mei's ashes.
The Spider Spirit laughed, practically taunting the boy. "A mortal could not possibly bring back the soul of the dead, boy."
Takuya, still bowing, furrowed his brows. 'Was this all for nothing?' He thought before the spirit continued to speak.
"However, with my strength and guidance, perhaps a mere mortal could achieve that feat..."
"Then, please! Please give me your strength!" Takuya pleaded, compelling the spirit to chuckle once more.
"If I giveth thou strength of the Spider Spirit, thou shall become a servant to me. Is that acceptable?"
"What does being your servant entail?" Takuya asked, knowing striking such a deal blindly could be dangerous.
"All I asketh of thou is for thou to fill this blade with enough souls to satiate the demon within." the Spider Spirit began pulling a sword from between her bosom before placing it in both hands and extending it to the boy.
Takuya hesitated. "What kind of souls?" he asked her.
"Human or demon it does not matter." she told him, looking up at him with a sly smile on her captivating face.
"And if I feed the blade enough souls, what then? Does Aunt Mei live?"
"Thou art correct."
"Then I accept. I will become the servant to the Spider Spirit." Takuya proclaimed, walking forward and grabbing the sword from the spirit. The Spider Spirit continued to smile at the boy as he removed the sword from her hand and placed it on his back.
"Now, place thy maiden's ashes on the altar." the Spider Spirit pointed to the aforementioned altar with her long, slender finger, prompting the boy to grab Aunt Mei's urn and place it on top of it.
"Now what?" he asked the spirit, receiving no words as the spirit extended her arms out to him, revealing her bare chest as if she were asking for him to embrace her naked body.
The boy approached, slowly and reluctantly before she grabbed him and pulled him in close. Her touch was warm, and he could feel his body pressing up against hers. Her breath, expelling from her now open mouth was even hotter, as she unhinged her jaw and bit down on the boy.
"AAAAAH!" Takuya screamed, feeling as if he were being injected with poison. His body began to convulse and his skin felt as if it were about to melt off as the spirit continued to bite into him. Slowly, Takuya found himself drifting out of consciousness as the Spider Spirit reeled backward.
The last thing he could remember was her seductive, yet menacing smile before everything faded to black.
"Hah!" Takuya woke up inside his home, looking around frantically as if he'd just had a nightmare.
However, seeing the blade that was given to him by the Spider Spirit made it known to him that what had just happened was far from a nightmare. Takuya took a closer look at the blade, though he couldn't see any abnormalities on it. It looked just as any other katana would, though he could sense some sort of energy resonating off of it.
Takuya, shirtless, looked down at his body to find that it had completely changed. Before, he was somewhat malnourished, but at that very moment, he had the body of a warrior. He immediately stood up before jumping onto the ceiling, holding onto it with nothing more than his fingertips and toes. "It worked!" the boy exclaimed before jumping back down to the ground and walking outside.
Spotting a massive rock, he picked it up with a single hand as if it were made of paper, holding it high above his head with a smile on his face. "It worked!" He once again shouted before somersaulting back into his small home with his newfound agility.
Now having these newfound powers, Takuya worked endlessly to put together a suit of armor for himself, using his Uncle's old samurai uniform. He would've asked to revive Uncle Benji as well, however, his body was not received by the boy, and therefore it was impossible. Even if he could retrieve the body, only one person could be revived by a single person, so he'd have to make a choice.
A suit of armor wasn't the only thing that the boy worked on, he also created rope shooters on his wrists, some contraptions that shoot out rope with a hook at the end of it to simulate webs sticking onto surfaces.
Once everything was finished, the boy packed the last bit of food he had in a small satchel before deciding on leaving his home behind.
Standing in front of his old home, Takuya was seen wearing red, lightweight armor with blue cloth covering his legs, chest, and part of his arms. He had strange, bug-like white goggles over his eyes and those aforementioned rope shooters on his wrists.
This is what he'd wear on his journey to collect souls for the spirit, something that would be remembered by all while also hiding his identity.
He decided that he wouldn't go around murdering innocent people just to feed the blade, he knew that it wasn't right to do so, nor would Aunt Mei approve. Instead, he decided to use his blade to protect the innocent and become the protector of Kuinzu, Japan.