Spider Awakening

"How many times do I have to repeat? I'm here only on Caesar's orders. I'm checking if everything is working as it should or not," Gabriel was already starting to blush with anger.

"Just say you were forced to become a nanny," Horkim turned back to his forge, where Vallynor had already begun his work under the time artifact.

"Nooo," Gabriel wanted to shout and argue, but he fell silent, not wanting to embarrass himself even more.

Ashley smiled faintly, watching Horkim and her father argue. She turned her head away so her father wouldn't see her face and get angry with her.

Horkim taught and showed Vallynor how to work with different metals, how to clean them properly, and so on, until 6 hours passed. Horkim looked at Vallynor and felt a slight satisfaction from being able to teach and work with Vallynor for 6 hours without stopping, although in reality, only 2 hours had passed. How much more time could he get with this artifact?

"Hey, Gabriel!" Horkim shouted at the bored Gabriel with shining eyes.

"What do you want?" Gabriel, who had long stopped paying attention to the artifact's work and was so bored that he wanted to leave, replied. But he couldn't, so he just sat there and almost fell asleep from boredom until someone shouted at him and almost dropped him.

"Create such an artifact for me."

"What? Do you know how difficult it is to create it, how much time and precious resources like gemstones, mithril, orichalcum, magical gold, and so on, it requires?"

"I heard differently. This guy said he made this trinket in a day," Vallynor asked, now talking to Ashley while getting ready to go to the shower and then to Caesar's lesson.

"Oh? Yes, he said that in one night... Well, in 10 minutes, I'll be in the library. There I..." Vallynor quickly replied, not even thinking, then continued the conversation with Ashley.

"How much time does it take to create such a useful artifact?" Horkim asked, grinning, waiting for Gabriel's answer.

"Still, it requires a lot of resources that I'm not ready to spend," Gabriel snorted, turning his head away.

"Precious resources? If you're talking about gemstones or mithril, or similar things, you can easily find them in trash bins. They are no longer valuables, just trash, more useless and cheaper than iron."

"And so what! I won't make such an artifact for you," Gabriel wanted to leave and go to some pub or to the girls.

"I reduce the supply by 10%," Horkim shouted.

"You can't be serious!" Gabriel turned around quickly, angry.

"How dare I! Ahh, you'll see soon."

"We have an agreement..."

"Which ended 178 years ago," Horkim interrupted Gabriel, who wanted to stop the dull gnome.

"We silently agreed not to sign a new contract to avoid wasting resources on useless papers," Gabriel said, offended.

"Don't you want to create such a thing?" Horkim asked Gabriel, pointing to the artifact, while Gabriel tried to come up with something, as if realizing something.

"Wait! How do you know that mithril and other things can be found in the trash... Now, after you said that, I remember that Alexander raised the issue of disappearing iron trash bins. Did you... Hehe! Did you steal them?" Gabriel looked at the frightened Horkim with a devilish smile.

"30%," frightened Horkim shouted, remembering that the best defense is a good offense.

"You wouldn't dare..."

Gabriel and Horkim started yelling and arguing. Ashley and Vallynor fell silent and watched them, then stepped away to avoid the transition from threats and shouts to a fight.

"Shall we go?" Vallynor asked, realizing that this verbal battle wouldn't end soon.

"Mmm!" Ashley nodded. And together with Vallynor, they left the forge.

At the entrance, they encountered two elves. Ereladar swayed back and forth from drunkenness, shouting that he wanted to drink with his nasty friend who dared to enter the hole... He didn't finish as the elf girl holding Ereladar struck him in the stomach with all her might. Because of this, Vallynor even thought he saw an invisible force leaving Ereladar's back, like in manga.

"Is Horkim inside?" the elf girl asked coldly, looking strangely at Vallynor.

Ashley and Vallynor nodded in unison. After that, they used Vallynor to teleport to the castle right outside Vallynor's room.

"Who is this girl?" Vallynor asked, looking closely at Ashley.

"Ereladar's younger sister. Also, Horkim's woman. It's better not to mess with her; she's too sharp about those who come from other places after the uprising."

"Uprising?" Vallynor heard about some uprising for the first time and was curious to learn more.

"After the world started dying, we all began to live and enjoy what was left. But the young souls, who had not been to other worlds and could only listen to the stories of the elders, couldn't accept the idea that we weren't fighting to the end. They rebelled, led by Alexander's first son. They managed to take some resources and left to wander this dying world in an attempt to find a way out."

"I see. I'll go and take a quick shower. You can go straight to the library." Vallynor, having thought over Ashley's story, quickly said goodbye and entered the room.

"Okay!" Smiling, Ashley turned and went to the library.

"I see you've already started charming a girl who's several thousand years older than you and who would suit you for Great-Great-Great... Grandmother." Glazik, who had risen from the pillow, spoke near the bed, looking at Vallynor attentively.

"Why are you here?"

"I wanted to say that I want to become stronger and more useful to you in the future. And for this, I will sometimes participate in your lessons with you. And if you want to find me, I'll be in the library, collecting all the knowledge and recording. In return, I ask... no, I beg you to fulfill the promise you made to My past Mistress and Her Husband." Glazik lowered herself to the floor and awaited the response from her current master, who was now weak and powerless but could become a threat in the future that should be reckoned with.

"Fine. But in return, I want full obedience and no betrayal. And don't even think about it."

Glazik nodded with her flying eye. After that, she flew to the door. But before opening it, she stopped. She turned around and said:

"I will often disappear. Then I won't be able to answer you through our master and servant pact..."

"Wait, can I communicate with you through the established contract? Is it like mental messages?" Vallynor asked Glazik because he was unaware of such a feature, although he was only connected with Glazik and, therefore, wasn't that interested.

"Yes," Glazik replied and turned away, leaving.

Thinking about the pact, Vallynor couldn't help but remember Annino. Several days had passed, and he had hardly visited him. But what could he do? He was still in a coma. From what he learned, he began to grow, absorbing demonic energy. Shaking his head, he thought he should visit him after all.

Vallynor took a new set of clothes and headed to the shower. The dirty clothes flew towards the door. The door opened, revealing Astro. He took the dirty clothes and closed the door. After the shower, Vallynor quickly dressed.

Ashley stopped at the library door and was ready to open it but suddenly hesitated, considering what to say to Caesar. Probably, he expected Vallynor, not her.

"Don't worry, just come in!" a warm voice of Caesar came from behind the door.

Upon opening the door, Ashley saw Caesar, as always, immersed in written notes, occasionally tearing and throwing them into the trash bin. He raised his head and smiled at Ashley, asking:

"How are you? Everything okay? Are you here to check the artifact or... because of the guy?" Caesar smiled, speaking in a soft voice. He noticed that Ashley paid attention to the table covered with books, which, as he knew, she liked.

"There's a place for you, and if you want to read, I've already prepared several books," explained Caesar, intending to continue writing, but suddenly stopped, looking with curiosity at Ashley.

"Where did you..."

"How did I know you were standing behind the door? Hehe, I haven't played with you and my dear daughter in various games for a long time. Remember how I always won because of my ability to predict the future?" At first, Caesar was cheerful and even chuckled a bit, but then he remembered his daughter and became sad.

"...forgive me," Ashley immediately realized her foolishness and how she could forget Caesar's power. She apologized, realizing that her carelessness made him sad, remembering his daughter and their best friend.

"Don't blame yourself, girl. It's my fault..." Pausing, Caesar looked at the door through which Vallynor entered. He nodded in greeting and started the lesson, during which they were already under the influence of the artifact, accelerating time.

Ashley took a book and began to read as Caesar talked about mundane things, such as differences within the same race with various anomalies. For instance, beastfolk could exist in one world where they had two pairs of ears, one human and one animal, and in another world, they had only one pair of ears, completely animalistic. Then Vallynor began asking unrelated questions, irritating Caesar.

Ashley was surprised by this, as she rarely saw Caesar so irritated. He possessed the ability to predict the future, and therefore, he could guess many things. But he couldn't foresee the tragedy with his daughter.

While Ashley read the book, it seemed to her that the more she read, the less she remembered, as she recalled her past and moments from it. But she didn't want to fall into sadness and depression, as before, so she occasionally glanced at Vallynor until those 6 hours passed.

When Ashley and Vallynor left and moved away from the library, they left Caesar alone. With a sad smile, he mumbled to himself:

"Love! I wonder if my daughter were here, would she have fallen in love with this guy? Well, fortunately, she doesn't live in such a dreadful world." He smirked and continued writing on paper.

***

"Today, I have a chemistry lesson," said Vallynor, looking at the note he received from Caesar, indicating the location.

Together with Ashley, they examined the house. Ashley scrutinized it carefully, as if a sudden thought crossed her mind about its owner, and she said:

"This house belongs to Mia; she specializes in water magic but also teaches chemistry and uses various chemical apparatuses," Ashley explained to Vallynor.

Vallynor nodded, understanding, and headed towards the door. As he raised his hand to knock, he heard sounds resembling the noise of a river. After a few seconds, the door opened, and before him stood Henry, holding a sword in one hand and an activated spell in the other, ready to be cast. He was prepared to attack, but upon seeing who stood before him, Henry realized that these were not his father's old servants.

"Something happened?" Lowering his swords, Henry canceled the spell.

"I came to Mia to learn chemistry," Vallynor replied and added, "What are you doing here, Henry?"

"I'm with my girlfriend," Henry answered affectionately.

"And the swords and this spell?" Vallynor couldn't help but ask, as it intrigued him. Ashley, judging by her strange look, was also quite interested in the answer.

"Oh, the swords and the spell are to ward off my former servants. As soon as they learned that... my father is alive, they started actively pursuing me again."

"But how did they find out that Cthulhu is alive? It's just legends made up by one person," Vallynor doubted back then and couldn't understand what made everyone accept his return as a fact.

"You don't know?" Seeing Vallynor's questioning face, Henry realized that no one had told him before. "Every god must have their believers, even ancient gods like my father. He was exiled and forced to wander through space. But to restore their power, they decided that they needed not only believers but also those willing to sacrifice their flesh and soul. To do this, they need to find those who can provide them with this essence, and for this, they send waves of information about their existence. Those who receive this knowledge become sort of anchors and, at the right moment, indicate where the population is."

"But... they, like gods, aren't they forbidden to directly interfere in the lives of mortals?"

"Ha-ha... They are exiled and have severed all ties with other gods because they became enemies. They are ready to attack the domains of other gods to gain power," Henry turned, contemplating, and added, gesturing with his hand, "Enter the house; we can continue the conversation inside."

Ashley and Vallynor nodded and entered the house. Not far from them sat a man reading a book, and his tentacles, growing instead of a beard, flipped through the pages. Black eyes were looking towards the house where Ashley and Vallynor had just entered.

"So, this mortal has revealed my existence," came a weak and deadly voice, as if from a distance.

"Yes, Your Majesty," another voice, full of fear and anxiety, came from the mouth of this man.

"Leave them; I don't care what this mortal will do."

"Yes, even your own son..."

"Hmm, pitiful creatures. He found himself a blind passion that will soon end, not even having time to sacrifice his love," the servant heard the lord's words, full of disgust and hatred, and an even greater horror seized him. But maybe he imagined it, but it seemed that in these words there was a hint of longing and warmth. No, it couldn't be. It's just fear, it seemed that way.

"Do not contact me anymore so that these fools do not realize that I am still alive," the voice of the lord sounded again.

"Yes, Creator."

***

Entering the house, Henry pointed the way to one of the enormous rooms designated for guests. Inside the room, there was a massive table covered with substances and sticky liquid.

Henry immediately got confused and scratched his head, as if he had forgotten something. Then he quickly summoned a huge water bubble that covered the table, and inside it, some swirling movement began, cleaning the table. The same fate befell the entire room, which was completely filthy.

Ashley and Vallynor looked at each other, then at Henry, who seemed embarrassed and pretended as if nothing had happened. Footsteps could be heard outside the door, approaching slowly. Understanding who was coming, Henry shouted nervously:

"Darling, we have guests!" – A frightened scream and the sound of shattered glass came from behind the door.

***

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Start Song: https://soundcloud.com/sevenwheelsound/the-skull-sorcerer?si=55be676f921740409b7a5eef89feac3e&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

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The accursed forest in the ruined temple of Gara. The once-destroyed temple was completely shrouded in cobwebs. Spiders, both large and small, crawled on the webs, holding various things in their claws. Some moved stones, others - corpses.

Inside the temple, by the ruined throne, sat a girl with closed eyes. Until a giant spider approached and began emitting sounds that awakened the beauty from her sleep. With her venomously green eyes, she looked at the spider, listening to its sounds.

"Bring what you found," she ordered with excitement. Finally, they found what she was looking for. The preparations had also been completed, but the servants continued to gather materials.

Several spiders brought a cocoon before the girl, cut it open, and showed her a piece of wing, head, and limbs. Taking the wing and then the head in her hands, she nodded happily. But after taking the limbs, which were unclear whether it was a hand or a leg because it was almost turned into minced meat, she looked closely at it, tore off a piece of flesh, and put it in her mouth.

The taste was disgusting, but she also felt some euphoria. Putting everything back, she ordered to prepare everything because today the ritual would begin.

Walking deep through the ruined turrets held together only by cobwebs, the girl entered a huge room without a floor and roof. Only a path led directly to the center of the room, where a cauldron almost two meters high was half lowered for convenience. Walking along this path, she saw how the cauldron was filled with blood, and occasionally small spider legs and human hairs emerged from it.

The girl took a piece of wing in her hands and threw it into the bloody liquid. Then she threw the limbs, which made her doubt whether to throw this unusual piece of flesh. But for the sake of success, one must go to any sacrifices. And then she took the head. The head of her mother and began tearing flesh, hair, eyes, brains.

Throwing everything into the bloody liquid, leaving only the bloody skull in her hands, she commanded with a commanding tone:

"We begin!"

Spiders of various sizes began to emerge from different crevices. All of them started tearing off their limbs, spilling their blood onto the web, coloring it in black-red-green hues.

What used to be ordinary white cobweb was now covered in these colors. She pointed to the drawn symbols and runes that began to glow everywhere, even slightly illuminating the hole below and above, where, upon closer inspection, thousands of fallen representatives of different races could be seen.

The girl, taking the skull in both hands, turned it and lowered it into the red liquid in the cauldron. When the skull was completely filled, she pulled it out of the liquid. Spider legs of various shapes and sizes began to grow from her back. They were all deformed, but there were also several arms that started undressing the girl naked. Bringing the skull to her lips, she greedily began to drink the liquid. Then she bit off pieces of the skull until she ate it completely. Pain and fire engulfed her. She jumped naked into the cauldron.

The spiders, who tore off their limbs and spilled their blood, began to restore their limbs and throw a liquid resembling acid. The lit fuse spread, destroying everything around, including the cauldron and the girl inside.

The fallen creatures were torn to pieces, and blood spilled everywhere. The cauldron fell and sank in blood and pieces of fallen flesh. The spiders watched attentively, waiting for a second, two, three, four... one minute... two minutes... six minutes. A huge hand emerged from the blood and flesh, followed by another. They helped the girl climb out of the blood and flesh. Before the spiders appeared a girl with six eyes and eight arms. The lower part of her body was spider-like, but then she contracted and returned to her human form.

"I am the Queen! But I need a king. Someone who will be willing to fertilize and then give his life to me. And I know one thing," she said, recalling the euphoria from consuming the piece of flesh.