Chapter 37 - Edge of Despair
Lucas staggered backward, his heart pounding in his chest, as his eyes focused on his hands. The scene was like a grotesque nightmare, one he wished would leave him.
His hands, once clean, were now sinking into dark, purple, sticky blood. It seemed like something that should not belong in the human body. He wiped his hands, but the blood continued to flow, gathering in his palms, dripping onto the ground beneath his feet. His vision blurred as he moved away, panic tearing at his throat.
"You..." he whispered hoarsely, "You deceived me..."
The Spider Queen's laughter filled the air, harsh and mocking, echoing in his ears like the ringing of a death knell. Her mouth was covered in the purple blood she had licked from his hands, and she smiled a grin that seemed too wide, as if she knew everything.
"You were distracting me to poison me!" he shouted, his voice filled with betrayal.
She did not answer. No, she only laughed more, her eyes gleaming with sadistic joy. She slowly raised her hands, as if savoring the moment, enjoying his suffering.
Lucas' body went limp. He felt weak, his body paralyzed, everything seemed slow, as though the air around him had turned dense. The poison coursed through his body, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. His muscles froze. The world began to spin around him.
Yet, the Spider Queen's laughter reverberated, her voice sweet and venomous.
His breaths quickened as his mind sank into a spiral.
What is happening?
His thoughts began to scatter, each one vanishing into nothingness, overwhelmed by a deep dizziness, as if the earth itself was pulling him downward. His arms grew heavy, his body unresponsive, as if every particle of energy was being drained from him.
"Am I going to die?" The thought appeared in his mind, unwanted and unstoppable. He tried to steady his breath, but it felt as if the air had turned to lead. "What about Siman? André? Darlene? Was it all in vain?!"
His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground. His vision blurred, and the world grew dark at the edges, as if a candle was melting. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He felt his body falling apart, piece by piece, until he could no longer feel it at all.
Then... silence descended.
The pain, the poison, the fear—all of it vanished, replaced by a profound emptiness.
❖ Host: Dead
❖ Condition four activated.
❖ Fourth property: ✦ [Dimensional Shift] ✦
❖ Status: Confirmed.
Problem: No active host.
Selecting a random planet from (13) sub-worlds...
Confirmed.
Selected world: ⟡ [Tirata]
Lucas opened his eyes.
He let out a sharp breath, as if he had been pulled from the deepest depths of a nightmare and returned to the waking world. His head throbbed with pain, and his thoughts were slow, like fog creeping into his mind. He blinked several times, trying to focus, trying to make sense of the feeling.
Where am I?
The ground beneath his body was cold and soft, in stark contrast to the rocky, thorny ground he had been fighting on in the ruins. His fingers brushed something soft, something natural. Grass. Thick, green grass with a fragrant, fresh scent. His chest filled with wonder as he pushed himself into a sitting position, his eyes scanning around him with a confused expression.
He was not in the cold, dark world of the Spider Queen. He was... somewhere else. A strange place.
The sky above him was a pale blue, a calm color that seemed too serene to be fitting for someone who had just witnessed the depths of despair. The air around him was warm, carrying a strange energy, as though the earth itself were alive. There were trees, tall and towering, their leaves gently swaying in a breeze that whispered through the fields. The world seemed perfect, so alive, nothing like the barren ruins he had left behind.
"W-what... is this?" he muttered to himself, his voice trembling. He felt his breath shallow as he inhaled the overwhelming beauty of the place. How could this be real? How could he be here? He had died. He remembered it clearly... the poison, the agony, the moment everything went dark. But now... now he was here. Alive.
He looked around desperately.
Was it all a trick?
Was this one of the Spider Queen's illusions? But no, this didn't feel like her methods. This was something entirely different.
"Where am I?" he whispered.