Chapter 673: The Master
The voice could hardly have come from a human throat, at least not that of any ordinary human.
The space itself seemed to tremble whenever it spoke, and it was difficult to tell whether it belonged to a man or a woman. Though impossibly deep, it was also unnervingly soft, the two qualities blending into a contradictory dissonance that made every word unsettling.
"Y-yes, master," the woman replied, her voice trembling as she gritted her teeth and struggled to remain standing.
The loud crunch of a bone echoed through the chamber, followed by two more. The enigmatic voice did not return immediately, and it became clear that the being was chewing.
A moment later came the wet sound of spitting, followed by an enraged hiss. "Disgusting!"
A bone still bearing scraps of flesh hurtled out of the darkness toward the horrified woman.
Boom!
It struck her squarely in the face with enough force to cave in part of her skull. Yet she did not so much as flinch, even as her flesh split and dark blood poured down the side of her face.
A sharp hiss rose from the wound, accompanied by a cloud of smoke. Beneath it, the mangled flesh drew together, repairing itself almost as quickly as it had been torn apart.
A deep sigh rolled through the chamber, stirring the frigid air around the woman. She remained where she stood, her newly restored face lowered, while the last wisps of smoke dissipated from her skin.
"Disappointing," the voice murmured. "Everything this tasteless farm produces is disappointing. So many mouths to feed, and not a single delicacy worth the trouble."
The woman’s fingers curled within her sleeves, but she offered no reply. Above her, something shifted in the darkness, producing a faint, silken rustle that travelled across the ceiling.
Then came the sharp snap of fingers.
A small globe of pallid light appeared overhead.
It burned without warmth, illuminating the chamber with a cold radiance that seemed to deepen every stain upon the stone.
Shadows withdrew into the corners, revealing walls streaked with old moisture and a floor covered in dust, discarded scraps, and dark, ingrained patches that no amount of neglect could have made innocuous.
The chamber was almost empty.
There were no furnishings, ornaments, or anything else that suggested comfort or habitation.
Its enormous vaulted ceiling rose above an expanse of filthy paving, interrupted only by the woman standing near the door and a heap of human bones gathered against one wall.
The pile formed a small hill.
Skulls rested among broken ribs and long bones, some bleached pale, others still dark with age and residue.
Several had rolled beyond the heap, lying separately upon the floor with their vacant sockets turned toward the room. Beneath the cold illumination, their irregular shapes cast a tangled array of shadows across the wall.
Yet even that accumulation of remains seemed insignificant beside what occupied the ceiling.
An immense cradle of webbing hung beneath the vault.
Its silken strands stretched between the upper walls in thick, gleaming cables, supporting a broad, concave bowl suspended over the centre of the chamber.
Finer threads layered its interior, woven so densely that they formed a pale, translucent surface, while loose filaments drifted beneath it with the languid movement of hair underwater.
Within that suspended nest lay a spider.
It was gargantuan.
Its abdomen alone could have filled a carriage, and the eight limbs extending around it reached across much of the chamber’s breadth.
Several rested upon the silken rim, their slender extremities hooked around the supporting strands, while others were folded close beneath its body with an almost luxurious indolence.
There was no mistaking that this was the master. The voice had come from that creature, after all.
And horrifyingly, it was beautiful.
Its body possessed a lustre that ordinary flesh could never have held, the smooth plates of its carapace gleaming like polished onyx beneath a veil of mother-of-pearl.
Along its abdomen, intricate markings spread in symmetrical bands, their pale silver and muted violet shades arranged with the exquisite precision of jewellery.
The light travelled over them as the creature breathed.
At certain angles, the patterns appeared almost translucent, revealing a faint opalescence beneath the darker surface.
Each movement sent a delicate shimmer across its enormous form, giving it the splendour of some priceless object fashioned by hands that had understood beauty without ever understanding mercy.
Its legs were no less remarkable.
Long and finely tapered, they bent at sharp, elegant joints, each segment edged with a thin line of argent sheen.
Their tips were dark and polished, resting upon the web with a delicacy wholly at odds with their size. One moved slowly, drawing a supporting strand closer, and the silken bowl trembled beneath the movement.
At the front of its body, eight eyes gleamed.
They were arranged in a precise, almost ornamental cluster, their surfaces dark and glassy, with subtle depths that caught the suspended light.
Beneath them, the creature’s mouthparts moved a bit, revealing a brief glimpse of curved, lustrous fangs before closing again.
The woman did not look up.
She stood beneath the enormous nest with her head bowed and her shoulders rigid, enduring the cold while the creature regarded her from above. A faint sound came from its mouth, almost sounding like an impatient click of the tongue.
The gargantuan spider began to shine.
The radiance appeared along the pale markings of its carapace, tracing them in thin, incandescent white lines.
It spread across the enormous abdomen and down the length of each limb, gathering at the joints until the creature seemed enclosed within a lattice of brilliant white fire.
The globe above it became almost invisible as light flooded the chamber.
Every bone, every fracture in the paving, every filthy streak upon the wall stood exposed beneath that merciless brilliance.
The woman squeezed her eyes shut and lowered her face farther, though the glare remained visible through her eyelids, filling her vision with an agonising whiteness.
Within it, the spider’s giant silhouette began to transform.