Warmth Beneath the Dusky Skies

13, Refurbished Trails

Between the set of chrome green eyes staring at them from the ceiling and the silky adhesive threads scattered everywhere in the room, Marice was more than certain that they had stumbled upon a spider monster's nest.

But for some reason, the giant spider wasn't moving at all, almost as if it was keeping its distance from them. The standstill lasted for a few more seconds until the spider let out a sigh.

"My, and here I thought Christmas came early today with this bountiful catch. Sorry Mimi, these ladies are too much for me."

"You're more cunning than you look," Vivianne said, summoning a light orb. "I would've atomized you the second you pounced on one of us."

"So you were baiting me to attack first? How sadistic."

"No," Katherine replied, "it's just that we've faced so many of your kind that we already knew what to do in this kind of situation."

Vivianne reclined on her bindings. "Speaking of which, we did encounter a lot of spiders during our group finals. And of course, Laetitia too."

She pursed her lips, staring at Marice who just let out a huge yawn. "I've been thinking about that for a while now. Maybe a past life of yours did something bad to spiders?"

"Maybe," Marice replied, "but it's not like I'm completely clean either..."

"What do you mean?"

"When I was a kid, I used to catch spiders and make them fight each other."

"Huh?! Why would you do something like that?"

"It's a popular pastime around these parts. Basically an all-ages version of cockfighting."

"No wonder," Vivianne replied, swaying her head side to side. "Animal blood sport, even if they're just spiders, is a surefire way to rack up negative karma. Was your attempt in saving Laetitia partly an act of repentance, Marice?"

"Shut up. I did it because I wanted to-nothing more." She turned her gaze to the spider monster. "And how long are you just gonna gawk there? Isn't it about time you release us?"

"Ah, of course. Give me a minute."

When the spider tapped the ceiling with its leg, the dimensions of the room started to radiate a soft green glow. And when the light subsided a few seconds later, the artificial darkness cloaking the house disappeared, allowing the light from the windows to flood the room. The silver threads binding Marice and her friends lost their adhesive and elastic properties as well, slowly dissolving into tiny ether particles. Meanwhile, the remaining strands began dragging several pieces of furniture along the walls back to their respective places, eventually forming a simple but cozy living room.

Once everything was in order, the spider enveloped itself in a shadowy blob and collapsed on the floor. The wriggling mass hardened into an upright oval cocoon, and ether started to brew inside, forming a humanoid figure. When all the built up energy reached critical mass, the figure inside placed a hand on the cocoon, causing it to collapse in half.

The woman with brown and gold hair stepped forward, brushing off the silky strands off her shoulders and puffy one-piece dress. As she offered them to take a seat on the sofa behind them, she laid her eyes on Marice with a smile on her face. "You definitely look the part, but just to be safe: you are an Alcantara, right?"

"I am."

She sat on the chair across Marice. "Ah, I thought as much! But why do I sense a whiff of dark magic on you?"

"I just used Reanimation a few minutes ago. That's probably what you're smelling."

"Ah, you're a necromancer?" She brought her hand over her mouth, facing the bookshelf to her left. "I see, I see. So you're looking for reference material. She does have a collection of books here, but I don't think I've seen anything related to necromancy."