Chapter 64 - 61: Your MINE
Ellen sat quietly on her bed, hugging a pillow close to her chest. The room was dim, softly lit by the crimson glow of spider silk that stretched across the walls and ceiling like delicate lace. In the far corner, the arachness rested silently in her web, her eyes shimmering faintly in the low light.
Ellen opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a long moment before turning her head toward the spider woman. "Hey... what's your name?" she asked softly. "I can't just keep calling you 'Spider' or 'Arachnid.' That feels wrong."
The arachness looked at Ellen for a moment, her red eyes blinking in quiet contemplation. Then she spoke, her voice low and smooth.
Evelyne.
Ellen nodded slowly, a faint smile brushing her lips. "That's a beautiful name," she said genuinely.
A comfortable silence fell between them again. The only sound in the room was the subtle weaving of threads as the spider woman constructed a mini dome around herself—a soft, oval-shaped cocoon of webbing that glowed like red starlight.
Ellen closed her eyes once more, her arms still wrapped around the pillow. Sound began to fade from the world, slowly draining into silence. All feeling, all sensation slipped away like the tide receding from the shore. It felt like she was underwater.
Then something shifted in her arms.
Her eyes fluttered open.
It wasn't the pillow she held anymore. It was IX.
The being lay still in her arms, their form ethereal and serene. Around them, the world had changed—black flowers spread endlessly, their petals shimmering like stars in an ocean of dark water. The ground beneath Ellen rippled like a calm lake, distorting gently beneath her.