'Nero POV'
Nero woke up after four hours of slumber, feeling relieved that he could no longer feel pain or cold. While he was eager to learn what Draven was up to, he decided to take a moment to relax as he stared at the empty sky of his mind's space.
'Let's see what that old man is up to,' Nero thought, as he focussed on seeing through his physical eyes, and what welcomed him was a massive few-meter tall spider that sent a chill down his spine.
The creature stood tall, its massive frame covered in a rocky carapace. Its pitch-dark multiple pairs of eyes stared dead at him, unblinking and void of any reflection.
Its sensing organs, long, thin appendages at the base of its head, twitching, moving in erratic patterns as if tasting the air. The sharp tips of its legs quivered, brushing the ground with light, deliberate strokes, trying to detect the faintest vibrations.
'Ohh, I am Dead,' Nero thought, for some reason thinking the creature before him was the Crysindora Arachna, the spider queen they had come to kill.
The creature moved closer inch by slow inch, making Nero uncomely step back. His fear overwhelmed his senses, and the only thought he had was to make a run for his life.
"BBOOOMMMMMMMM"
An explosion went off, so loud that for a moment, Nero thought it was the sound of the spider's leg crushing him to death, but he quickly realized he was still standing and the spider was looking toward somewhere else.
The spider shirked in anger before it turned around and disappeared, its massive frame disappearing in a flash, making Nero gulp in relief.
'Well, that was close,' Draven's voice sounded, breaking Nero from his daze.
'What the hell was that?' Nero roared, fear and anger clouding his mind as the realization that he was so close to death hit him like a hammer.
'Calm down. I have everything under control,' Draven answered dismissively as he returned to climbing the mountain, but Nero was far from satisfied.
'You have nothing else to tell me? We just nearly got killed by that big spider,' Nero roared once more, and Draven was quick to silence him, ' Stop wetting your pants when I am in control, and let me focus on the task at hand,' Draven said, pissing Nero to no end.
'Old man, you better explain what is going on, or I am taking control of the body right this damm moment,' Nero said, gritting his teeth, suppressing the urge to curse at the dam old monster.
'Old Man?' Draven repeated, making Nero realize that he blurred that out loud, but on second thought, he did not care.
'I am currently climbing the crystal mountain inhabited by the Crysindora Arachna to confirm her current state, and once I am done, I am going to climb down and create an array that would kill her and all these vermins,'
'Do you need further explanation?' Draven said, a chilly calm to words as he added, 'I will ignore this fear tantrum, but there will be no next time, so you better grow a pair,'
Nero was left speechless at the insult, but he would be damned not to give one in return, so without wasting a moment, he spat what came to mind.
'I have one, a big one, and it's mine, unlike you old ghost,' Nero said, words coming out without him knowing what he was saying.
There was only silence for the following few seconds as Nero realized what he had just said. Draven, while annoyed, decided to focus on the task at hand since he could never stoop so low as to engage in a petty exchange of insults with the foolish young idiot he was now stuck with.
Draven climbed the mountain, using the exposition to distract the spiders. A little over fifteen minutes later, he was at the top and was welcomed by the jagged rim of the hollow peak that stretched out before him like the teeth of some ancient beast.
The edge was a dangerous network of sharp, jagged spikes, uneven and weathered by time, some rising like stone spears into the air.
Along the rim's sides, shimmering crystal veins ran through the rock, catching the sunlight and casting faint, rainbow-like reflections across the paths below.
Draven checked his path for any spiders as he made his way through the uneven passages between the stone and crystal spikes, and three minutes later, he reached the point where he could see directly into the mouth of the massive mountain.
The sun hung high in the air, but even then, the massive chamber below was cloaked in shadows. The light reflected off the maze of crystals protruding through the walls, illuminating a few areas and drawing others into pitch darkness.
However, even in all the beauty and chaos, tens of meters below, one could spot a massive thing, an entity of monstres presence, that at first glance looked like an enormous crystal, layer atop layers of colorful crystals, icy white, teal blue, and a hint of star red, but on a closer look, it resembled more and more like a creature.
A terrible creature of immense size, its body stretched for close to a dozen meters and was covered in a crystal carapace. Eight hulking, long, and segmented legs, each ending in a sharp point, supported its immense bulk.
Its legs dug into the delicate-looking yet impossibly strong web beneath it, its body not moving an inching, its eyes closed shut, yet the aura that naturally emanated from it was all the proof needed of its existence as a creature of immense power.
'Sir Draven, I am sorry if my words offended you, but please don't make any rash decision,' Nero said, feeling his throat turn dry as fear engulfed his every nerve.
'Boy, I have killed galactic horror whose mere sight could drive even strong figures into madness, and in comparison, this little spider is just a bug,' Draven spoke, his nerves as cold as ice, not a shred of doubt or fear clouding his mind.
Draven gave the sleeping spider one last look before he turned and began his sprint down. His descent was accompanied by massive explosions that shocked the ground and sent chaos rippling among the spiders.
After seeing the spider, Nero felt more and more doubt as the reality of their situation became crystal clear. The thought of killing a creature that could level cities was believable, but now, having seen it firsthand, he felt it to be impossible.
Nero was going with the flow, trusting Draven fully, and even now, he did not doubt that he was capable of impossible things, but killing a Sixth Rank creature while being a mere mortal seemed like a big stretch.
'Sir Draven, are you sure the array would be able to kill the Crysindora Arachna?' Nero said, his voice puzzled and full of fear. 'How would the array even work? What if the spider sensed it while you were drawing it or responded before the array fully activated?' Nero followed, throwing any question that came to his mind.
'I understand your fear, but you need to calm down and think,' Draven said, and after a short pause, continued, 'Do you not wish for the power to make a change? Do you have the resolve to carry the burden that comes with it? If your answer is no, then it better we die here,' Draven said and went silent.
Nero was at a loss for words because he wished for great power, to be free from the influence of useless kings and nobles, and to have enough strength to make a difference.
Before he met Draven, he was counting the days until he could go to the city and try his luck at acquiring a system. He was fully prepared to risk his life if he failed to awaken a system to find a cure because he did not wish for the life of a commoner.
However, now that he had an opportunity, he subconsciously felt the need to play safe and take the easier route, forgetting why he chose the Devourer system in the first place.
'Power does change one's mindset,' Nero thought, chuckling at himself for getting cold feet after coming this far.
'So, what exactly is this array going to do? Because I am sure these spiders will not be happy once their queen is dead,' Nero said, shaking off his fear and focusing on the work at hand.
The only thing Nero knew about Arrays was what Draven taught him, so he was not sure what he was planning to do.
The arrays could do anything, from starting a massive ice or flame hurricane to a bolt of lightning straight into the mouth of the mountain or even an earthquake to bury the queen alive.
'I am going freeze all these bugs to death. Everything to the smallest of ants will be dead once I am done,' Draven said, his voice sounding slightly excited for a change.