Rom, The Vacuous Spider

The old man rocked on his chair as he observed the vast lake. He didn't seem to mind Surgit's presence anymore. He was in fact, content with being in the Lunarium, contemplating the stars. Surgit inspected the man up-close. His skin had grown very pale, almost viscous. It shone against the bright moon light.

On the old man's neck grew some strange fungus shaped things. They had the same properties as his skin, only paler, whiter. Surgit observed them move as the old man wheezed and rocked. His hands and legs hid beneath large robes, extravagantly sewn. Somebody must've been taking care of him.

Master Willem pointed with his scepter toward the lake again.

Surgit turned the other way. The stone railings of the Lunarium broke, or rather had been left deliberately unfinished, near the lake. Surgit approached it then looked down. The bright pale moon reflected on the still water. He got to the edge to get a better look. Surgit's pupils widened.

The lake didn't only reflect the moon, but it also cast its own light.

'Something's not right,' he thought as he observed the strange reflection. He turned to look at Master Willem, still rocking on his chair, then looked at the reflection. He must've done this at least five times before he straightened his back. He took in a deep breath, took a few steps backwards then jumped, into the lake.

As his feet came into contact with the moon's reflection, Surgit felt that he'd just landed in a soft, cushion-like surface. The surface immediately gave way and Surgit's feet penetrated it. He went through the blanket that separated one reality from another, then landed in a vast shallow water surface. His boots were barely submerged. There wasn't a single scratch on him.

The moon shone above them. Its reflection on the shallow water gave the place a celestial feel. Surgit looked up above. He could see thick clouds surrounding the area, but no trace of the moon. Far away in the distance, Surgit could make out a large shape. It moved ever so slightly, but he concluded it was his next target.

He approached the creature with careful steps. His legs caused a loud splashing sound, every time he took a step forward. He was getting ready for a fight. He'd been in these situations before, the calm before the storm. The closer he got, the calmer he'd feel. He knew what he had to do, drag the beast around, learn its attack pattern then punish it for the openings it left.

The creature in front of him grew in size as he approached. He'd been pretty far away when he'd first seen it. As he got closer, the monster's features became more and more apparent. It looked like a fat, giant rat with a stone head. It had many miniscule legs that carried it around. They hopped about the watery surface as the beast turned to have a look at Surgit.

Its stone face had multiple holes in which some dark slimy bulbs moved about. Surgit inspected the beast with his insight. It read: Rom the Vacuous Spider.

"A spider?!" Surgit surprised himself by speaking out loud, in a rather silent realm.

The spider looked at Surgit with its multiple slimy bulbs. It didn't move just fixed him with the strange things within its stone head. The silent exchange went on for quite a while before Surgit decided to leave the monster alone and move on. If the monster didn't attack, it only means he didn't have to fight it. All he needed to do was to find a way out.

"But where's the way out?" he asked out loud. Wherever he looked, Surgit could only see and endless sea; a shallow body of water that extended toward the horizon. Surgit turned to look at the spider once more. Willem pointed him to this direction. The spider seemed to be the only living thing in this endless sea.

He approached the monster, attached his sword to his hammer then whispered: "Sorry!"

He brought his hammer on the beast's head. Surgit's arms vibrated as his weapon hit the spider's hard head. A loud clanking sound echoed in the vast lake. The spider's slimy bulbs moved about. Then its whole head turned to the side. The creature curled into a large ball then slowly faded from existence.

Surgit observed, bewildered, as the beast turned into vapor and disappeared. He looked around, trying to see if a door had been opened, leading him outside. But he saw the spider, appearing several feet away from him. It moved its head upwards then some dark balls fell from the sky.

Surgit moved closer to see that the balls were actually spiders. There were at least two dozen, surrounding the Vacuous Spider. They all had heads made of hard rock. When they moved, their thin legs faintly splashed water around. They saw Surgit then came running at him. The hunter swiftly dodged the creatures then flattened them with his Kirkhammer. He was lucky to have attacked Rom on the head.

'Avoid their heads and they'll be easy to squash,' he kept telling himself as he swung his hammer.

The little spiders were a headache to deal with though. They crowded Surgit then started jumping at him. Their momentum carried them high in the sky. When they came plunging down, their heads were aimed at the ground, at Surgit. The hunter dodged the first one but didn't have time to attack it. He had to jump at least three times before realizing he had to run to safety.

'I shouldn't allow them to team up on me,' he thought as he jumped away from the swarm. Behind the numerous small spiders, Rom stood, unmoving. It looked vulnerable, unwilling to fight back. Surgit smirked then jumped back even further. The spiders followed the hunter for a while then stopped. They started walking back to Rom.

'So you summoned protector!' he thought as he observed the retreating creatures. 'Let's see how many hits I can land before they swarm me again!'

Surgit ran as fast as he could. He dashed beyond the spiders, not paying them any heed. They were going to notice his plan soon. He had to act quickly and swiftly. He soon reached the Vacuous Spider then swung the hammer at the back of its body. The spiders let out multiple shrieks then started running toward Surgit.

The hunter landed two more hits before the others reached him. He dodged some sharp spider legs then jumped away from danger. Before Surgit's eyes, the spider curled up again. A strange mist enveloped the monster as its body rotated three times then stopped. Rom didn't teleport this time.

But more spiders rained down on Surgit.

He cursed under his breath. He had to get rid of the spiders before more would show up and make his life miserable. He wanted to find a shortcut to disposing of his prey, but the shortcut seemed to have cost him. He spent a long time clearing the area of small, but dangerous spiders. Their legs were pointy and as sharp as steel. One hit almost managed to perforate his shoulder.

Another hit cut his leg open, from hip bone to ankle. He used three vials to completely regain control over his leg. He had to stay on the move, baiting spiders two at a time. He could deal with three of them, but the probability of having a fourth then fifth ganging up on him didn't seem appealing.

He stayed on the move, dodging and punishing until he was left with one final spider. He slowly walked towards the Vacuous Spider while rubbing the Phantasm against his sword. The weapon shone a celestial white color. Surgit jumped at the spider and sliced as fast as he could.

The creature moved about, as if affected by the hunter's attacks. It was hard to know what it was feeling or how it was reacting. It was a big lump of furry flesh. It didn't seem to breathe or emit any sound. Its fur shone the same color as Surgit's sword.

After six or seven swings, the spider curled into a ball again.

"Oh no you don't!"

Surgit shouted as he attached the sword to the hammer then brought it down on the beast. The weapon went through the spider's body, as though it were made of smoke. The beast disappeared and reappeared behind Surgit, several feet away. The spider raised its head to the sky and move spiders fell down.

"Here we go again…"

The hunter ran towards the spiders. He knew what to do this time around.

'Drag them around. Finish them slowly then attack the helpless one,' he continuously mumbled as he took two spiders down.

The others noticed his presence then started running toward him. Surgit jumped back, leading the spiders away. He'd dodge to the right every time one of them approached then cut it down. With the Phantasm's help, the spiders fell down in one strike. Surgit was focused on bringing the little creatures down as effectively as possible.

He didn't expect Rom to fight back.

The Vacuous Spider suddenly rose on its tiny hind legs then fluttered its front legs in the air. A strange sound could be heard inside Surgit's head. He knew it was the Spider's voice, but couldn't figure out how he'd known it. A purple light in the sky caught Surgit's attention. More spiders were approaching him as he jumped backwards.

The sky seemed to have torn. Then an opening, it looked as though another dark space had appeared through a tear in Surgit's reality. Stars shone in the dark space. Then shiny blue objects came flying out of it. Surgit observed with horror as meteors, as large as mountain rocks, were falling in his direction.

He ran for it. The meteors landed with a loud bang. Surgit could feel the after effect of the explosion behind him. His clothes fluttered, and he seemed to have been pushed a bit further. The second meteor fell and Surgit was thrown several feet forward. Thanks to his incredible, not to mention supernatural, reflexes, the hunter managed to keep his footing.

He ran from five celestial projectiles then turned to look at the large spider. He looked at it under a new light this time around, a terrifying one. Rom's kin didn't seem to be affected by the meteor strike. It only seemed to target and hurt hunters. Surgit cursed.

In order to take the beast down, he'd have to get closer. Getting closer meant being skewered by multiple spiders with eight sharp legs. He had to rely on his supernatural strength and speed to take care of Rom and its spiders at the same time. He didn't know if it were feasible, but he had to try it.

Surgit dashed forward, avoiding some spiders and slicing others. He soon reached Rom when the beast rolled, its back on the ground. It wriggled there for a moment. Surgit was about to hurl himself at the monster when he noticed a bright blue light underneath his feet. He jumped back just in time to see meteor rising from underground. They shot to the air then disappeared in the sky.

Surgit let out a sigh of relief then dashed at the monster. He had to land at least two or three hits before its kin caught up. As he landed the first swing, the spider started flailing about. Its heavy body splashed at the water and shook the ground. Surgit was slammed by the beast and thrown a few paces backwards.

Two spiders plunged at him from above. Surgit quickly rolled to the side, got up and skewered the monsters exposed bodies. More of them swarmed the hunter. He dodged and punished while more than a dozen legs were swinging in his direction. He had to get away from this dire situation. He didn't want to die yet. He wanted to see what other tricks the spider had left for him.

He glanced at Rom's direction to see it standing on its hind legs. The spiders that attacked Surgit quickly retreated. He was surprised at how fast they could retreat. Explosion ensued, The whole lake shook as six meteors landed, obliterating the hunter into smithereens.