{I know my story isn't doing well, and honestly, I'm feeling pretty desperate because this is a last-ditch effort on my part. After all, I have nothing else, no money, nothing but acceptance of the situation. I'm not tired of writing, but seeing no results from my efforts hurts. I understand why this is happening; I know I am not a good writer, but it still affects me. I want to let you know that I will be uploading daily chapters until the end of December unless something changes. And thank you from the bottom of my heart to whoever is still reading my story.}
Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.
John F. Kennedy:
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As time passed, the beast observed the boy sitting motionless in one spot. From the cold void of the shadow realm, the spider began to relax. Its defenses faltered slightly as it dared to believe in the safety of its concealment.
And then, it heard something.
A voice, faint at first, calling out.
The beast focused intently, trying to make sense of the sound.
"Hey… why don't you come out?"
It glanced at the surface again and saw the boy still sitting there. But deep within, it didn't believe for a second that the boy was as idle as he appeared. Paranoia gripped the beast, and it acted. Firing a corruption bullet directly at the boy, it aimed for his head. The projectile hit its mark—but instead of causing destruction, it simply rolled a little before losing all momentum and vanishing.
"Come on… just come out and play," the boy said in a hushed, annoyed tone. His voice shouldn't have reached where the beast hid, but somehow, it did.
The words reverberated through the beast's very being, freezing it in place with a chilling realization: the boy could follow it. He could breach the shadow realm just as easily as he did the physical one.
Panic set in. The beast made its move, surging at full speed out of the shadow realm. Emerging into the forest, it spread its webs in all directions, ensnaring the web-coated trees and yanking them toward the boy's location.
With a cacophony of snapping and tearing, the towering trees crashed down in unison, creating a massive cascade of destruction. Dust and debris surged skyward, a cloud of chaos that momentarily obscured everything in sight.
As this unfolded, the beast began condensing darkness within its jointed legs. The pressure of the gathered energy grew so intense that it emitted a sound—a paradoxical hum that defied logic, for darkness itself should be silent.
The swirling sphere of darkness in its grasp was a blend of dark magic and corruption, so volatile that the beast had to exert immense effort just to hold it. Finally, as the strain became unbearable, the beast slammed the orb into the ground.
This weaponized fusion of magic and malice unleashed devastation with horrifying precision. The sphere, a miniature black hole encased in corrupted tendrils, warped the air around it as it tore free of the Shadow Realm. As it came out, its passage distorted light, bent reality, and drew the forest toward it like a cosmic predator. As it reached the boys location.
Trees groaned and twisted, as though compelled to reach for the orb. Leaves and small debris were drawn into its gravitational pull, swirling around it in a grim spectacle. Yet, the forest remained largely intact—until the orb struck.
At the point of impact, the orb anchored itself momentarily before erupting in a concentrated release of gravitational and magical energy. The singularity pulled everything in its immediate vicinity toward its core, collapsing the area inward with catastrophic force.
The target would be consumed, their form grotesquely stretched and compressed before vanishing into oblivion. Corruption spread outward in sinister tendrils, infecting the earth and draining life from the surroundings.
The once-vibrant forest was left scarred. Trees near the blast zone stood lifeless, their bark blackened and leaves crumbling to ash. A smooth, unnatural but small hole in the void marked the epicenter, glowing faintly with malevolent energy. The ground around it was cracked and compressed, bearing the eerie precision of a singularity's wrath.
The edges of the void radiated a faint corruption, dark tendrils of energy whispering outward. The terrain bore the marks of decay—cracks and withered vegetation a grim reminder of the attack's potency.
The beast descended onto the devastated ground, its many legs clicking against the compressed surface. It scanned the aftermath, its mind buzzing with hope that its foe had been eradicated.
Then, it heard a voice—not from in its head, but from above.
"So... did you get him?"
The beast froze in disbelief. Slowly, it turned its focus upward.
Standing atop its own monstrous body, unscathed and with a faintly amused smirk, was the boy.
As the boy came into full view, the beast could not find words. What could it possibly say now?
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The spider beast knew it was defeated. Its strength, sapped by the devastating attacks, was gone. Even the thought of using its reality marble—a last-ditch effort—seemed pointless. There was no power left to summon.
The boy leapt gracefully from the beast's head, landing with a solid thump that echoed in the stillness. He brought up his fist, laced with cold, blue flames, ready to deliver the final blow.
But the beast did not move. It could not. Or perhaps, it chose not to.
"What? Done already?" the boy asked, his voice tinged with curiosity and disappointment.
The only response was the beast's head shaking in defeat.
"Guess this is it, then," the boy sighed, lowering his stance and letting the flames flicker down. "Well, I should—"
The beast struck with a sudden, desperate attack, one of its massive legs slashing through the air and obliterating the boy on impact. For a brief moment, it felt as though victory was within its grasp.
But then the form of the boy melted away—a mere illusion.
The beast's many eyes focused again, and there he was: the boy, standing unscathed, his smirk firmly in place.
"Hahahahaha," the beast laughed, a bitter sound echoing through its being. The laughter wasn't aimed at the boy but at itself—at the futility of its struggle.
"Good try," the boy said with a genuine smile. Then, with a casual flick of his arm, he launched a punch into the air.
The resulting shockwave thundered through the forest, carrying such immense force that it crushed the massive four-story spider beast into a lifeless mush.
As its remains spread across the ground, the forest around them began to shift. The trees restored themselves....
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We are at Chapter 23 On Patreon! Link: patreon.com/TenaciousJay002