The Weaver

This was a long underground tunnel, a natural cavern that bore clear traces of human interference.

Fragments of rock embedded in the cavern walls emitted a faint, greenish fluorescence, while cold droplets fell from the ceiling, their rhythmic ticking echoing further and further into the depths of the tunnel.

Everything around was white; dense, overlapping cobwebs accumulated in thick layers upon the four walls of the tunnel, and tiny shadows occasionally flashed across the webs before vanishing back into the white ocean.

Click-clack, click-clack.

In the darkness above, the sound of chitin striking rock echoed intermittently, and a massive black shadow drifted just beyond the reach of sight, accompanied by the intermittent rustling of crawling.

Following the dark tunnel deeper, it reached an underground cavern. The cave was wide and flat, with dense clusters of mushrooms growing on the ceiling. These mushrooms emitted a faint green light, bathing the entire cave in an eerie and malevolent glow.

Under this uncanny radiance, a tall figure strode into the cavern. Regardless of how unsettling the environment was, her steps remained steady and unwavering.

As if disturbed, thousands of small spiders surged from between the mushrooms and webs on the ground, swarming toward the intruder.

"Authority, protection, capability, lockdown."

The officer gently tapped her sword against the ground. A circle of light appeared, surrounding her. The tide of spiders swarming toward her recoiled instantly as if encountering a natural predator the moment they neared the ring of light.

"Jeremy, I know you are here. Come out."

The officer’s spine was as straight as an unsheathed blade. With her hand on the hilt of her sword, her gaze pierced directly into the darkness at the center of the cavern.

"It has been a long time, Officer Angel."

A figure stepped into the green light. He was quite tall but extremely obese, with a rotund waist and belly that made him look like a massive water vat. The fat man was dressed in the aristocratic fashion common centuries ago and wore a curled wig. He looked like an ordinary person, yet he remained unhurried in such a bizarre environment. He walked out slowly with his hands behind his back and nodded at Officer Natalie.

"It really is you, Jeremy. The case of the Martha family two years ago should have made me realize that your Thorn Flower is actually a stronghold for those cultists who worship the Abyss Weaver. You are the leader of that pack of lunatics."

"Heh, that little girl was a rare vessel for manifestation. I, too, felt it was a great pity that she could not become a container for my lord's arrival," the round face displayed a look of genuine lament, as if he were not discussing such an evil act. "However, it is also thanks to your willingness to believe my explanation and not make things difficult for us that we were able to continue serving my lord. I am truly, deeply grateful."

As he spoke, the obese body bowed elegantly.

"Hmph, it is not too late to make things difficult for you now. I will not fall for your tricks again this time. You sent people to carry a mystery relic to create chaos at Crown Square; that charge alone is enough to have you executed. Over a hundred innocent lives—is this what your spider master wanted?"

"Heh, of course. More than a hundred delicious souls are the best diversion for my lord in the midst of its busy schedule."

The obese Jeremy clapped his hands. The darkness behind him surged as two giant spiders crawled out, dragging a magnificent throne behind Jeremy. He sat his massive body upon it and smiled kindly:

"If someone is willing to offer them to my lord, why should we refuse?"

"Who told you to do this? Speak."

"Heh, naturally, it was the Railway Workers Union. Who else could orchestrate this tempting sacrifice more conveniently than they could? It was an act committed by you humans for the sake of profit; why should you hold us accountable for it?"

Jeremy spread his hands, revealing an innocent expression as he said distressfully:

"To advance their railway project and penetrate the Carlos Mountain Range to realize their plans, they not only organized the protests to strike at opposing forces but also orchestrated this heinous event, artificially manufacturing a large scale disaster. They made arrangements in advance and signed a contract with my lord, using all the lives lost at the venue as a sacrifice in exchange for my lord's help."

"It was actually a soul sacrifice for the Abyss Weaver..." Officer Natalie’s face turned ashen. "You didn't just kill them; you didn't even spare their souls."

"Otherwise? One must make use of waste, hehehe."

"You..." The flippant tone made the officer grit her teeth, forcing back her rage as she said, "What do they want the Abyss Weaver to do for them? Find those four mystery relics?"

"Four mystery relics? Oh, one could say that, but actually, that was done by us, the servants. It doesn't count as my lord's help; it can only be considered a necessary part of the process."

Jeremy beckoned to the side. Several chelicerae reached out from the darkness behind him, holding three bundles. Jeremy took the bundles and tossed them directly to Officer Natalie’s side, chuckling:

"These are them. The other one should have already been obtained by you, Officer. Now, I must congratulate you. Heh, you have successfully found the four murder weapons and also found the culprit behind the massacre and the sacrifice to the evil god. You are truly a model of the Watchers. What are you waiting for? Celebrate!"

As he spoke, he clapped his hands. From the darkness behind him came the sound of countless chelicerae clashing, as if countless spiders were applauding and celebrating along with him.

Officer Natalie’s expression grew increasingly grim. She stared vigilantly at Jeremy and said in a deep voice, "If it isn't to find these mystery relics, then what is the Abyss Weaver's help? Would you confess everything so easily?"

"My lord's help? It is, of course, to keep this secret," Jeremy said with a smile. "To be safe, they wanted to utilize my lord's authority to help them keep their secret, ensuring that no one could discover what they did at the square. To my lord, this is not a difficult task; it is merely a little extra work while weaving the web, a reward for the sacrifice they offered."

"Keep the secret? Like how you are keeping it now?"

"Heh, if I don't let you know clearly, how could you keep the secret?"

Jeremy spread his hands and said languidly:

"Weaving is my lord's nature. It weaves the secrets of the mortal world into a web of dreams. Anyone who glimpses a corner of this secret will be targeted by my lord immediately, like a fly that touches a spider web, and be dragged into the dark abyss. Those railway workers who carried out the task sought their own deaths by prying into this secret and should already be dead. A few days ago, a hillman pried into these mystery relics; he touched too little of the secret, so he shouldn't be fully dead yet, but he is close. Now it is your turn, Officer. Congratulations, you have probed this secret, and at the same time, congratulations—your soul has become my lord's prey."

Officer Natalie pursed her lips, her palm pressing against the sword hilt. A sense of deeply unsettling fear had been enveloping her body since just a moment ago. In the deep darkness, it seemed as if countless desperate, eerie gazes were fixed on her every move, as if the most terrifying hunter were approaching her silently, having already bared its fatal fangs.

Her body began to feel waves of discomfort, and a faint itching sensation crept across her skin. Jeremy’s hideous smile was filled with joy and madness, yet Officer Natalie did not panic; instead, she revealed a cold smile of her own.

"For the sake of little Martha and her family, I have been studying your spider master for these past two years, and of course, I have learned of its authority and traits. While its authority is not widely known to the public, it is no secret to me. Its authority has a loophole: one must discover the truth themselves to become the Abyss Weaver's prey. But if the truth is revealed through an indirect channel—for instance, if someone who has discovered the truth publishes the facts so that others come to know them—then those who learn the truth indirectly will not be affected by the Abyss Weaver."

Jeremy’s smile froze, but he quickly regained his pleasant demeanor. "So that was your plan. No wonder you have been stimulating your soul power ever since you learned the truth."

"As long as I can hold on until I make the truth public before I die, all of your actions will be exposed." The officer closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, a giant golden balance was already floating behind her. "Then, Natalie Angel, representing the Watchers in the Wheatfield, declares war on you."

Clang. Her sword unsheathed, pointing directly at Jeremy on the throne.

At the same time, countless giant spiders emerged from the corners of the cavern. Their bodies were blue and purple, their black chelicerae covered in bristles, and they stood taller than an adult. Waving their eight long legs and staring with blood red, humanoid eyes, they surrounded the officer, clicking and clacking.

"I hope you can struggle to your heart's content. Heh, every bug that falls into the web struggles with all its might, but unfortunately, you cannot escape." Jeremy clapped his hands again. The terrifying, rustling sound appeared once more from the shadows around the cave, closing in secretly from all directions. "We love to watch our prey struggle to the very end until they are tightly wrapped by us. I hope you can give us a wonderful performance, Officer Angel."

"Hiss~~"

Countless giant spiders raised their upper bodies and lifted their chelicerae. Sharp, wheezing sounds erupted from the spiracles on their abdomens, merging into what sounded like the most terrifying opening bell. The next moment, the spider swarm moved violently, surging toward Officer Natalie like a tide.

Facing the ocean of spiders, the officer’s expression remained unchanged. She knelt on one knee, using her sword as a support, and whispered with her forehead pressed against the hilt. The giant balance in midair became increasingly solid, and a majestic aura emanated from the invisible scale. Three light orbs representing authority, which were circling the balance, lit up simultaneously.

"I shall become a shield, protecting the weak with my life; my armament shall surely be pointed at the strong enemy."

The shield shaped orb flared with brilliant light, turning into an arrow of light that sank into the officer’s brow. At the same time, all the spiders rushing toward her crashed into an invisible wall, their carapaces shattering as they rolled into a heap.

"I shall practice the law, upholding order with my life, and vow to fight against evil to the end."

The orb with the book pattern suddenly magnified, its pages flipping rapidly without any wind. Every time they flipped, countless characters seemed to drill from the pages into Natalie’s body, causing her to exude a majestic power with every gesture, her whole body shimmering with endless pressure.

"I shall become a sharp sword, fighting against chaos with my life; where order reaches, I shall be invincible."

A wooden gavel descended from the sky, passing through the officer’s body to strike the ground. It shrank smaller and smaller until it gradually merged into the sword in her hand. Once the gavel vanished, the sword began to flicker with a faint light, and a chill emanated from the blade.

Exhaling a breath of turbid air, Officer Natalie stood up, watched the countless hideous spiders calmly, and slowly raised her blade.

"Then, let me show you the power of a Soul Severer at their limit, you monsters."

As she spoke, the golden balance behind her exploded with a boom. The rain of light across the sky seemed to be drawn by an inexplicable force, sinking entirely into the officer’s body, causing her form to radiate a billion beams of light for a moment.

Under the radiance, the officer wore a cold smile. Amidst Jeremy’s nervous and astonished gaze, she took a light step forward.

Boom.

The movement was light, but the effect was heavy.

A violent tremor originated from the point where she landed, spreading rapidly outward.

It was not the ground that was shaking; it was the entire space.

An invisible shockwave swept across the surroundings instantly, causing all the spiders nearby to lose their footing and making the spiders on the cave ceiling fall down. In an instant, the cavern was thrown into chaos.

Hmph.

With a mocking smile playing at the corner of her lips, the officer used the chaos of the spiders to grip the hilt with both hands and plunged her glowing sword fiercely into the ground.

"Only order is the cornerstone of the world; only order can bring the light of hope to this world."

As the blade entered the ground, both she and the sword flared with brilliant light. Centered on her and the sword, an intense brilliance filled the entire cavern in the span of a breath. For a moment, every corner of the cave was illuminated in clear detail. Countless terrifying spiders twisted their massive, distorted limbs in agony under the erosion of the light, appearing as if they wanted to flee the radiance.

However, light is inescapable.

Pure, holy, and scorching—it was the natural predator of all evil.

Facing their natural enemy, the spiders gathered all their remaining strength, clustering tightly around the obese Jeremy to wrap him in the middle. Under the radiance of order, more and more spiders began to emit rolling red mist from within their bodies, their forms becoming increasingly translucent until they finally returned to the memories of the Dreamlands. The remaining spiders surrounded Jeremy even more tightly, leaving not a single gap.

Five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen seconds.

The officer’s expression suddenly changed. She pulled her sword from the ground and, using the lingering glow of order to keep the spiders distracted, she pointed her sword forward. Her body transformed into a stream of light, galloping toward the tunnel she had arrived through.

"Hiss~~"

Behind her, the spiders, relieved of the pressure, let out frantic hisses. Not caring that their bodies were still emitting red mist, they pursued the officer’s retreating figure relentlessly.

However, after the baptism of the light of order, there were no spiders left in her path; only a clear road remained.

Even though her skin felt increasingly uncomfortable, as if something were expanding from beneath it, the officer gritted her teeth, enduring the piercing itch, and sprinted toward the exit.

Hold on for a few more minutes. As long as I can disseminate the message, I will die content. Hold on, Natalie. This is the final step to success.

Yet, at the very moment she was about to take the final step, the running and hissing sounds of the spiders behind her suddenly vanished simultaneously.

Officer Natalie felt her heart sink. An eerie and massive pressure emerged from thin air behind her.

It was a strange pressure difficult for mortals to comprehend. The moment she felt it, the officer’s body went limp, and she fell forward powerlessly.

As she collapsed, she seemed to see in a hallucination that she was suspended above an endless abyss, eight blood red eyes rising slowly from the bottom. Behind the blood red eyes, a mountain-sized black shadow loomed, drawing closer and closer to her.

It was merely a sensation—nothing to be seen by the eyes, nothing to be heard by the ears, yet it was bizarre and terrifying, casting one into endless despair. Mortal power was as insignificant as a fly, and facing this fear that originated from the soul, one could only fall helplessly into the abyss.

The Abyss Weaver had found its prey.