The Spider Lady’s Lament

After a thorough discussion, the temple priests reached a consensus.

The malevolent Swarm Will was relentlessly eroding the divine realm. If these believers could alleviate their burden, then bestowing blessings was only natural.

“We should be grateful that the Thorin Protozoa are more obsessed with satisfying their physical appetites than devouring spiritual consciousnesses…”

“…Otherwise, even the Void Realm would find no peace.”

****

Ming Yu stepped through the ‘door’ created by Nicolaus. One moment, her heel rested on the tree-lined lakeside; the next, her foot plunged into a thick, murky fog.

The grey mist was so dense she couldn’t see her own hand before her face.

After only two steps, Ming Yu found her feet ensnared by something sticky, impossible to pull free.

Reliance on the faint light filtering from the closing portal allowed her to barely discern what lay beneath her feet.

“Nicolaus, could you get me some lighting equipment?”

“Lighting equipment? What is that?”

“Something that glows. I can’t see the path.”

“Can’t see the path… I’ll think.”

…

Ming Yu clicked her tongue and forcefully lifted her knee. The spider web glued to her sole stretched with remarkable tenacity, proving difficult to dislodge.

‘This virtual reality world is truly peculiar.’

“Ah, I’ve thought of something. Take this as a welcoming gift… I’m going to rest now. If you encounter any trouble, you can call my name. Most of the creatures here won’t bother you.”

With that, Nicolaus’s voice faded from Ming Yu’s mind, and the open portal slowly closed, extinguishing the last glimmer of light.

Simultaneously, in the deepening darkness, Ming Yu felt a sudden, sharp pain in her eyes. She furrowed her brow, hissing and gasping from the intensity.

In a moment, the pain vanished.

When she opened her eyes again, Ming Yu was startled to find her vision incredibly sharp, effortlessly piercing the darkness as if she possessed night-vision goggles.

Scanning her surroundings, she finally grasped the nature of her environment.

Ming Yu stood upon a web.

A colossal, white spider web.

Beside her, a massive dark silhouette lay prone. From her vantage point, she could only make out a surface of dark green chitin and a single thick, yet slender, razor-sharp spiked leg.

Ming Yu’s eyes widened.

‘What the hell? What is this? A gargantuan spider?’

As she stood momentarily stunned, rustling sounds suddenly emanated from all directions.

Following the sounds, Ming Yu was startled once more.

She saw bizarre-looking arthropods, crustaceans, and mollusks… in short, all manner of gigantic insects, struggling on the spider web. Their grotesque mouthparts occasionally scraped together, producing sharp, guttural cries.

It seemed these insects, like her, were also stuck.

Ming Yu observed the scene with astonishment.

What was truly baffling was that all the insects were hissing at the colossal spider, waving their highly aggressive forelimbs towards it.

If she wasn’t mistaken, this posture suggested not that the giant spider was hunting, but rather that the swarm of insects was hunting the large spider.

Ming Yu’s attention returned to the colossal spider.

Due to her angle, she couldn’t see its full form, yet she noticed something strange.

‘Hmm?’

‘The upper part of this gargantuan spider… what’s going on?’

‘Those two lumps look a little like…’

Ming Yu lowered her head, glancing at the ‘useless appendages’ on her own chest.

****

The Thorin Protozoa were a formidable space-faring species, widely recognized throughout the galaxy as interstellar hunters.

Driven by an insatiable hunger, they reveled in devouring all living matter, natural-born predators of blood and carnage.

Benefiting from the attention of a certain Warp God, the entire swarm underwent a Great Awakening, with psychic potential blossoming like spring bamboo shoots throughout their species.

The individual entities of the swarm lacked independent consciousness; all actions adhered strictly to the will of the Swarm Overlord. Billions of Thorin Protozoa were commanded by a single mind, possessing unparalleled judgment and executive power.

However, just as genes naturally mutate, within a swarm of such immense numbers, the process of reproduction inevitably spawned a few rare anomalies.

Vera was not the first individual entity to develop independent consciousness, but she was the first high-tier queen to escape the Overlord’s mental control.

Consequently, as an anomaly in the Overlord’s eyes, she faced the betrayal and relentless pursuit of her entire species.

Severely wounded and on the verge of death, Vera escaped the chase, only to be surrounded by an unknown fleet in the vast expanse of space. She was captured and imprisoned day and night within a laboratory specially prepared for her.

Days of torment were bound to end eventually.

Finally, on an ordinary night, Vera reconnected with the Swarm Will. Harnessing the collective psychic power, her consciousness broke through the Void Realm’s barriers, allowing her to escape alone into that perilous domain.

The Void Realm was the ultimate resting place for souls.

There, pain would cease; only a quiet death awaited.

‘Yes, a quiet death.’

****

‘Could this be the Spider Lady from myths?’

‘I’m not entirely sure since I can’t see anything above its chest. What if it’s not a human head perched on those shoulders?’

‘There seem to be similar creatures among sea beasts…’

‘They consume humans, then manifest a human face on their bodies to lure prey.’

‘Sigh, on another note, where is Little Nightingale anyway…’

After a while, Ming Yu still couldn’t devise a way to break free. She decided to lean against the colossal spider’s chitinous shell and sit down, pondering her next move.

She had to admit, while the quality of this virtual reality was excellent, the new player guidance left much to be desired. The tutorial wasn’t just unhelpful; it was entirely nonexistent.

Before entering, she hadn’t seen any instruction manuals or anything similar. Even logging out seemed impossible, as she couldn’t find a “logout” button.

‘It seems I can only ask Nicolaus for help.’

Just as Ming Yu prepared to call out to the Black Goat, the colossal spider she was leaning against suddenly stirred.

Similar to Nicolaus’s communication, an incredibly weak female voice resonated within Ming Yu’s mind.

“Why…”

In the faint, ethereal voice, an unspeakable resentment was suppressed.

Ming Yu paused, then tilted her head back.

‘Is this thing speaking?’

Ming Yu tentatively raised a hand and tapped the hard chitinous shell.

“Why…”

Amidst the overwhelming bitterness, an undeniable sorrow and melancholy seeped through.

Vera forced herself to gather her thoughts, feeling her current state of utter exhaustion, her heart filled with despair.

The Overlord’s will could not be defied.

Since even her last line of defense had fallen, she could no longer muster the will to struggle or resist, left only to await the Overlord’s pawns to devour her consciousness entirely.

‘It should end now.’

Vera felt a profound sadness, yet she held no regrets.

At the very least, she could still understand and feel what sorrow was.

Unlike her zombie-like kin, who were driven solely by instinct, immersed in the ecstasy of slaughter and consumption until their demise.

“Why…”

Vera summoned her last reserves of strength. Her colossal consciousness, like a deflating balloon, began to shrink at a visible rate.

Her voice grew ethereal and faint, as if it would dissipate into the wind at any moment.