Chapter 10: Descent Into the Abyss
The Great Temple had deceived them all. From the outside, it stood as a towering monument, an illusion of grandeur and mysticism. But as the group ventured past its threshold, they found themselves descending, not ascending—a revelation that sent a cold shiver through even the bravest among them.
The temple was, in truth, a reverse labyrinth, a vast, spiraling structure that plunged deep into the earth. What lay at the bottom remained a mystery, but one thing was certain—this journey would be far more harrowing than any of them had anticipated.
Kyron was the first to break the uneasy silence. "So… we're not climbing our way to glory, huh?" He smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Fine by me. That just means all the tough bastards are waiting below."
Cynthia didn't share his enthusiasm. She stood at the edge of the descending staircase, gripping the hilt of her dagger. "A labyrinth this size… and we don't even know if the Conqueror Stone is inside. We could fight through every floor and still leave empty-handed."
Celess crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. "That's the worst part, isn't it? Even if we survive, this might all be for nothing."
Sakuchi exhaled, his breath steady despite the weight of their task. "We knew this wouldn't be easy. But the Conqueror Stone is the only way out of this world. Even if we're walking blind, we have to move forward."
Telemon nodded. "Then we waste no more time."
With that, the group descended.
The air grew thick with moisture as they traveled downward, the temperature shifting ever so slightly. Shadows clung to the walls, flickering under the dim torchlight. The deeper they went, the more oppressive the silence became, broken only by the faint drip of unseen water and the muffled echo of their footsteps.
Then, the smell hit them.
It was a stench unlike anything they had encountered before—a mixture of rotting flesh, venom, and decay. It coiled into their nostrils, turning stomachs and forcing a few involuntary gags.
Kyron waved a hand in front of his face. "What the hell is that smell?"
Cynthia coughed, covering her nose. "I think we're about to find out."
They turned the corner into a massive chamber, its ceiling stretching high above them like the belly of a beast. The sight that awaited them sent a ripple of unease through the group.
A small rabbit-like creature—tiny, frail, and barely clinging to life—twitched feebly on the cold stone floor. Its large, beady eyes shone with terror as a grotesque, nightmarish spider loomed over it.
The creature had thirteen jagged legs, their tips curved into razor-sharp points. Its twenty glossy black eyes glistened in the dim light, spread haphazardly across its bloated, pulsating body. Oozing sacs of venom dripped from its mandibles, releasing a shrill, chittering noise that grated against the ears. Its stench rolled off it in waves, thick enough to choke on.
And then, it screamed.
A piercing, unnatural screech that reverberated through the chamber, rattling bones and sending a primal, instinctive fear through them all. Even Kyron, who had faced monsters without flinching, felt a jolt of unease.
Then it lunged.
Its movements were unnatural—erratic, twitching, far too fast for something so massive. Its limbs swung wildly, each strike carrying enough force to shatter bone. The group barely had time to react before they were thrown into battle.
Telemon was the first to move, sword flashing as she deflected a lashing leg. Cynthia rolled backward, hands weaving illusions to distort the monster's perception. Kyron roared, meeting the spider's monstrous strength with his fists, but even his raw power could only knock it back slightly.
The battle turned chaotic.
The spider skittered around the chamber, its legs moving independently, making it impossible to predict. Every time they struck, it twisted at unnatural angles, avoiding direct hits.
Then, its eggs hatched.
The motion of the battle had disturbed the sacs on its back, and now, hundreds of spiderlings poured forth. Each was already the size of a human toddler, their sharp fangs glinting as they swarmed toward the group.
"Damn it!" Sakuchi growled. "We don't have time for this!"
Celess nodded, already preparing his magic. "I'll freeze them—get ready to burn them all."
With a sharp exhale, Celess unleashed a freezing wave, the cold creeping along the floor and encasing the spiderlings in solid ice. Before they could thaw, Sakuchi raised his hands, summoning a roaring inferno that consumed the frozen creatures, turning them to ash.
For a moment, they thought they had won.
Then, the ceiling shifted.
A shadow, far larger than the mother spider, detached from the stone above.
Cynthia's scream rang out just as the father spider dropped from the darkness.
It was a colossal nightmare. Twice the size of the mother, its body was covered in thick, spiked armor, its legs curved like sickles. Its mandibles were lined with serrated edges, capable of cutting through flesh and bone with ease.
Kyron froze. His bravado faltered for the first time as the massive spider landed with a deafening crash, shaking the entire chamber.
The father spider moved instantly.
A single leg swiped sideways, and Telemon barely managed to throw herself clear. The impact cracked the stone where she had stood, sending debris flying.
Kyron was the first to recover. "I love this thing!" He charged, fists cocked back. His first punch connected with the beast's hide—only to have no effect. The spider shrugged off the impact like it was nothing.
Sakuchi and Celess didn't waste time. Flames and ice intertwined, crashing into the spider's body with explosive force.
The spider reeled but did not fall. Its twenty eyes glowed, and then—it screamed.
The noise was different from the mother's. This was deeper, more guttural. It carried pure malice, a sound that reached into the soul and squeezed.
For the first time, Kyron hesitated.
Celess's breathing quickened. "That's… not just a noise. It's…"
"Aura-based fear induction." Kyron's voice was tight. "It's a skill. A damn strong one."
Telemon gritted her teeth, shaking off the paralysis. "We're not dying here." She raised her blade. "Form up and strike together."
The team locked eyes, steeled themselves— and charged as one.
The battle raged on, the massive father spider now fully in the fray. Each step it took shook the ground beneath them, sending tremors through the chamber. Kyron, still caught in the spider's fear-inducing aura, hesitated for a moment longer than usual, but his instincts snapped him back into action. With a roar, he threw himself into another charge, his fists hammering against the spider's thick hide.
Sakuchi, his body burning with a new intensity, could feel it—the familiar surge of power that had lain dormant inside him. He clenched his fists, flames dancing from his fingers. But something inside him was different. A sharp, painful heat, deeper than his usual flames, began to claw its way to the surface.
"Something's… wrong…" Sakuchi's voice was strained as his body trembled.
Telemon, still reeling from the force of the father spider's earlier attack, caught sight of the change in Sakuchi. She narrowed her eyes. "Sakuchi, what's happening to you?"
Celess's ice magic collided once again with the spider, freezing its limbs for a brief moment. But the creature's strength soon shattered the ice. It was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed. And then… Sakuchi's aura began to shift.
His body shook violently, his breath coming in ragged gasps as the fire inside him surged to dangerous levels. His flame was different now—wild and uncontrollable. The temperature in the room seemed to spike, the air heavy with the weight of the energy gathering around him.
"Hell's Cloak." The words whispered to him from deep within, a power he had never known before. In an instant, his form ignited.
The transformation was sudden—a wave of intense, violent flame enveloping his body, engulfing him in an ethereal cloak of molten energy. His eyes burned a bright purple as his very being became a living flame. For a fleeting moment, it felt as though he was both the fire and the one controlling it.
A deep, guttural growl escaped his throat as the flames intensified. His body shifted—flames roared around him like an untamable storm.
Sakuchi took a single, calculated step forward.
The ground cracked beneath him. The sheer force of his movement broke the sound barrier, creating an explosive shockwave that sent debris scattering through the room.
Cynthia's eyes widened. "What the hell—Sakuchi, what are you—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Sakuchi raised both hands, the flames flaring around him as his body pulsed with newfound strength. He clapped his hands together.
BOOM.
A massive wave of fire erupted, a blend of purple and blue that consumed everything in its path. The intense heat seared the air, the inferno spreading with devastating speed. The mother spider didn't stand a chance, disintegrating in seconds, her body turned to ash as the wave washed over her.
But the father spider, far larger and more durable, staggered but managed to survive the blast. Its legs twitched, the creature's massive form singed but still moving. The force of the wave had clearly damaged it, but the father spider was not yet finished.
Sakuchi staggered, his cloak of flames flickering dangerously. The toll of the power began to show. His knees buckled beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground.
He could barely breathe. His head spun. The intense power of Hell's Cloak was too much for him to bear. The flames began to die down, and with a final, desperate cough, Sakuchi collapsed forward, his consciousness slipping away.
Cynthia, eyes wide with fear, rushed to him. She rolled him onto his side just in time. Blood dripped from his lips—his body was fighting against him. His breath came in strangled gasps, and his pulse was weak. It was only by sheer luck that she had acted fast enough to prevent him from choking on his blood.
"Celess, Kyron—help me!" Cynthia's voice was frantic as she held Sakuchi's limp body. The others rushed over, their faces grim.
Kyron, now having shaken off his earlier hesitation, was the first to turn his attention back to the fight. "We can't waste any more time!"
With Sakuchi down, the group turned their focus back to the father spider. Celess raised his hands, forming ice as sharp as daggers. Kyron charged in, fists flying as he took the spider head-on, using his strength to distract it.
Number 8—who had been observing from the shadows—finally made his move. His body moved with the fluid grace of a seasoned Shinobi, darting in and out of the spider's reach. Using his agility, he struck quickly, targeting the spider's weaker joints and exposed underbelly. His strikes were precise, cutting deep into the spider's armor.
Together, the group attacked with all they had left. The father spider howled in pain, but its rage only made it more dangerous. It lashed out with its massive legs, and one strike sent Celess crashing into the wall. But he wasn't out—he quickly recovered, his ice magic freezing the spider's leg in place.
With one final, all-out assault from Kyron's fists, Celess's ice, and Number 8's precision strikes, they brought the father spider down. The creature let out one last scream before collapsing into a heap, dead.
Panting, bruised, and bloodied, the group took a moment to catch their breath.
"We… need to stay here for a while," Celess muttered, eyes scanning the wreckage around them. "We can't push forward until we heal. We're not going to make it if we don't rest."
Kyron grunted in agreement. "I'm all for getting stronger, but I can barely move."
Number 8, ever calm, nodded. "We heal, we train. We don't have the luxury of dying here."
Telemon, still breathing heavily from the battle, turned to Number 8, a scowl on her face.
"You!" she snapped, hands on her hips. "Where the hell have you been? We've been fighting for our lives, and you just disappeared on us without a word! What the hell was that?"
Number 8, who had been silently observing the aftermath, didn't flinch. His expression remained calm and unreadable as ever. He shrugged, a hint of indifference in his voice. "I had my reasons."
"Reasons?" Telemon scoffed, her voice rising with frustration. "We're in a life-or-death situation, and you decide to bail out on us? What was so damn important that you couldn't help us?"
Number 8's eyes flickered for a brief moment, and he crossed his arms, unfazed. "I didn't bail. I've been here all along, watching from the shadows. You're not the only ones who need to conserve their energy."
Telemon's patience snapped. "Are you kidding me right now? We almost died, and you didn't even give us a heads-up? You could've helped us sooner!"
Number 8's eyes locked onto hers, cool and collected. "And if I had revealed myself sooner, would you have been able to focus on the battle? The distractions would've been more of a liability than an advantage."
Telemon ground her teeth, ready to snap back, but she held herself back, letting out a slow breath. "Just… next time, don't disappear on us when we're fighting for our lives. Got it?"
Number 8's expression softened ever so slightly, his voice quieter now. "Understood. I'll do what I can, when the time is right."
For a moment, there was silence, as Telemon stared at him, still a bit angry but also relieved that he was finally back in action.
Celess, who had been watching the exchange, chuckled. "Could've been worse. At least he's not trying to kill us."
Telemon shot him a glare, but the tension in the air finally eased.
Cynthia, still kneeling beside Sakuchi, took a deep breath. "We'll stay here until he wakes up. We need him at full strength before we continue."