「Time to settle in.」
Tatsuya sighed, sinking deeper into the cold bath, his feet kicking up lazy ripples across the surface. The crumbling stone ceiling above him seemed like it could collapse at any moment, but he had long since gotten used to the eerie ambiance of the ancient temple. A faded, worn-out book rested on his chest, forgotten as he gazed down the dilapidated hallway ahead.
"This is gonna be home for a while, huh?" he muttered to no one in particular, flipping through a few pages absentmindedly. "Might as well start naming things, keep what's left of my sanity intact."
The temple had become familiar to him, its layout practically etched into his mind. The spiders, however—they came in all shapes and sizes. He raised a finger and began tracing symbols in the air, mentally cataloging them as he spoke.
"Hand-spider, shelf-spider... Queen Spider." His voice dropped as he dipped his finger into the bathwater. He reached over to a nearby spider corpse he had dragged in earlier, using its blood like ink to sketch crude diagrams on the stone. "Hand-spiders are the size of my palm, mostly harmless unless you piss them off. They lurk in corners, waiting to give you a heart attack." He frowned, wiping the blood off his hands. "The shelf-spiders? Well, they're as big as bookshelves and spit acid. That, combined with their sharp legs, means instant death if you're not careful."
He paused, staring into the dark corners of the room, recalling the one creature he hadn't yet faced.
"The Queen Spider... the one I saw in the courtyard. Haven't seen her since that day, but I know she's out there."
A flicker of determination sparked in his chest, and he shot up in the bath, water splashing over the edges as he stood, arms crossed. His mind was racing. I can't afford to sit around. I need to get stronger—water magic and structure repair won't cut it.
A grin spread across his face. "Time for a training arc."
The days blurred together as Tatsuya threw himself into training. Water magic wasn't enough. He pushed himself to learn everything he could about elemental manipulation. Each day, he experimented, working tirelessly to combine different techniques and refine his control.
He learned to shape the elements more precisely. Earth, in particular, was difficult to master. It didn't flow like water, didn't respond as fluidly. He spent hours visualizing the way stone and soil should move, practicing again and again until he could form solid structures with just a thought. His hands ached from the effort, his mind strained to its limits, but each day brought a new sense of accomplishment.
It took him a week to create the perfect earth gauntlet, the first of many techniques he would add to his growing arsenal. It felt different from water magic—heavier, more grounded, but undeniably powerful. Each new spell demanded his full attention, every success hard-earned through sweat and determination.
Now, Tatsuya found himself descending the winding staircase to the lower floors of the temple, his spear slung across his back. His footsteps echoed in the darkness as he made his way deeper, the air growing heavier with each step. The smell of decay lingered in the air, mingling with the scent of old, crumbling stone.
"The top floor... that's where I woke up," he murmured to himself, his voice barely above a whisper. "The altar room with the bloodline symbols, the library, the mid-point chamber... but the spiders—they crawl up from below. I'm sure of it."
The small white rat trailing behind him squeaked softly, its beady eyes glinting in the dim light as it scurried to keep pace. Tatsuya glanced down at it, smiling faintly. "You know, you've been my only friend in this place for almost two months now," he said, his tone softening. "Kinda crazy when you think about it."
The rat squeaked again, as if in agreement, and Tatsuya chuckled. "We're in this together, huh?"
As he reached the next landing, his attention shifted to the large chamber on his left. The room was vast, its walls and ceiling draped in thick webs. The silvery threads clung to bookshelves and pillars, filling every corner with a sticky sheen. His rat companion darted ahead, its tiny feet clicking against the stone floor before it froze, wide-eyed.
The rat scurried back behind Tatsuya's foot, trembling as it stared at the far corner of the room.
"Monsters, huh?" Tatsuya whispered, a thrill running through him. "Perfect. I needed something to test my new moves."
He raised his left hand, focusing on the earth beneath him. The air grew heavy as the particles responded to his will, clinging to his skin as he shaped them into a gauntlet around his fist. The solid weight grounded him, his fingers flexing within the stone casing.
With a deep breath, he charged into the room.
The shelf-spiders loomed ahead, their bodies hidden in the shadows, their legs weaving intricate webs with mechanical precision. Tatsuya's earth-shrouded fist crashed down on the closest spider, the force of the blow shattering its head with a sickening crack. Acidic foam bubbled from its mouth as its legs twitched and curled, its body collapsing in a heap.
Without hesitation, Tatsuya shifted his focus, channeling the metallic elements within the gauntlet to form jagged claws at his fingertips. The second spider raised one of its sharp legs in defense, but it wasn't fast enough. Tatsuya slashed through its throat with a clean, decisive strike, severing its head from its body. The spider crumpled to the floor, a pool of dark fluid seeping out beneath it.
The third spider hissed, its glowing eyes locking onto him with murderous intent. It reared back, spitting a glob of acid, but Tatsuya sidestepped easily, narrowing his gaze.
"You're a real eyesore, you know that?" he muttered, rolling his shoulders as he prepared his next move. "How about we fix that?"
With a swift lunge, he drove his gauntlet into the spider's jaw. As soon as the stone made contact, he shifted the moisture in the air, transforming the interior of the gauntlet into soft, sticky clay. The spider recoiled, thrashing violently as the clay molded around its mouth, sealing it shut.
Tatsuya gritted his teeth as the creature's sharp legs raked across his arm and leg, slicing through his clothes and skin. Blood dripped from the wounds, but he refused to let go, his jaw clenched in determination.
"This isn't... going as planned!" he shouted, struggling to gain control as the spider dragged him across the floor. His feet scrambled for traction, but the creature was relentless, its movements frantic as it tried to free itself.
The spider attempted to spit acid, but the combination of moisture and venom triggered a volatile reaction. The acid exploded inside its mouth, sending gore splattering across the room. The spider's head popped off with a wet, squelching sound, and Tatsuya stumbled back, collapsing to the ground as the remains of his gauntlet disintegrated at his feet.
"Gross…" he groaned, wiping his face with the back of his hand. His arms ached, his body throbbing from the fight. "That was way messier than I expected."
Raising his hand, he summoned water from the air, letting it cascade over him in a cool stream. The blood and grime washed away as he stood, shaking off the droplets. In the corner, his rat companion was happily gnawing on one of the spider corpses, its tiny teeth tearing into the remains.
Tatsuya wrinkled his nose. "How can you eat that?" he muttered. "Then again... who am I to judge?"
The staircase leading to the lower floor loomed ahead, shrouded in shadows. Tatsuya took a deep breath, gripping his spear tighter as he descended the last few steps. As soon as he reached the bottom, his breath caught in his throat.
The entrance before him was cracked and covered in dust, but that wasn't what froze him in place.
Skeletons.
Dozens of them, wrapped in thick webs, their bones twisted in grotesque positions. Some were hanging from the ceiling, others pinned to the walls—each one bound tightly in layers of spider silk, their hollow eye sockets staring back at him.
And at the center of it all, perched on a massive web, was the King Spider.
It wasn't as large as the Queen he had seen in the courtyard, but the presence it commanded was undeniable. Its long, spiked legs stretched out, resting delicately on the web's silken threads, and its bloated abdomen gleamed faintly in the dim light. Its eyes—sharp, glowing with a malevolent intelligence—locked onto Tatsuya the moment he stepped into the room.
A wave of pressure hit him, like a physical force pressing down on his chest. The air felt thicker, heavier, the atmosphere suffocating.
Tatsuya swallowed hard, glancing at the rat perched on his shoulder. The small creature was trembling, its beady eyes fixed on the enormous King Spider looming ahead. He could feel the weight of the spider's gaze, an almost palpable force pressing down on him, suffocating in its intensity.
This... this is different, Tatsuya thought, his heart pounding in his chest. This one's not just another spider.