Seriva was much smaller than other cities, even by human standards. Its population was only 40,000, but it had a gamesmanship governance where one must be willing to commit treacherous acts and display cunning to stay above one another. Viraa said most there kept their positions through extortion. The city was in an isolated part of the district, filled with webbing connected to the ground and trees. The buildings looked more like white treehouses or tents made of webbing and bark; each was elevated in the trees like a canopy.
"For a crest known for its architectural skills, I can't say I'm impressed," Avarice commented as we floated through the city. Below us, we saw others going about their day. We couldn't see everything they were up to, but based on the many violet colors my Heart's Eye revealed, it couldn't be any good.
"Maybe they only choose to use their skills to keep the lights on. There's only 500 pneumarians and 171 klevonians. Maybe they're not personally interested in that sort of stuff for themselves," I suggested.
We were able to fly directly to the Crest House with no issue. It was noticeably the only building that looked like a giant egg sack. Inside, webbing was everywhere; we had to levitate to avoid the sticky floors.
Strangely, we couldn't detect anyone. Not a single cindarian. Avarice quickly realized it was because all the webbing was laced with spirit energy, which overwhelmed our sensory ability.
Because of this, we couldn't detect anyone coming as Za'Fia was suddenly grabbed by a klevonian who leaped from a corner covered in darkness. He suppresses her strength with his overwhelming strength.
He was a massive figure with claws and spider-like hair all over. He bared his fangs at her as he held Za'Fia to the sticky floor with dark energy rising from him. While his arms and legs were more humanoid despite the fur and claws, he also grew four extra spider-like legs from his lower back, and his eyes were black and beady. His name was Rachnil, or Nightmare, to some. He was a 2.5-star threat with a transformed EQN of 420,897,900. Apart from Dark Radiance, he also possessed the Nightmare cintracy; a temp ability that gave him the power to see others' fears and bring them to life.
At that moment, Avarice was also ambushed by another klevonian who emerged from a section of the floor that rose like a trapdoor. He pulled Avarice into the hole before Avarice was spat back out, covered in webbing that restricted him.
The klevonian was smaller than the other one, but more terrifying in appearance. He had six disgusting fingers on each hand. In fact, he had six arms and hands in total. On the palms of each hand was a hole where his webbing originated from. He had thin, balding hair that gave room for his eight beady, spider-like eyes, and a mouth full of venomous fangs. His name was Joro, otherwise known as Trap Master. He was a 2.5-star threat, too, with a transformed EQN of 421,845,400. Joro possessed the Bio Toxin cintracy, and being a sage klevonian, his spirit energy also took on the qualities of the element. That also explains where the venom that dripped from his fangs stemmed from. His other cintracy, Auxiliary Bloom, explained why his extra appendages resembled his standard arms instead of a spider's. It was a temp ability that gave him the power to generate additional body parts anywhere on his body.
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Avarice grunted on the floor next to Za'Fia as he tried to turn the webbings to gold, but the energy laced in them was too strong for him to override.
I took a step forward to help them when a voice spoke from above.
"Don't worry about them. They'll be fine."
I looked up to see a massive figure descending from a web. As the figure entered the light, I noticed that it had a female top half with white hair, red skin, and matching, glowing red eyes. Its lower half was that of a black spider the size of a bus, until it morphed before me into a woman slightly taller than me. She still had red skin and soulless red eyes, but she also wore a strange black armor dress. No, the dress was made from the same material as her spider form.
Her name was Sikl, the Crest Head of the district. She was a 3-star threat with an EQN of 521,590,000 and had a temp cintracy called Stick Threads, which gave her the ability to produce threads strong enough to hold hundreds of tons while still being extremely flexible. It was her district's most coveted material. Many of the longest-lasting buildings in Pneuma City and on other worlds have foundations lined with the substance to help them withstand the test of time. That way, no matter what destruction happens, it would be easy to rebuild.
That explains the 660 billion crest worth, I thought.
As Silk stood before me, I could hear the echoes of thousands of pitter-pattering. I realized, in horror, as the walls were layered in black movement, that it was the sound of tens of thousands of spiders spilling into the room, until we were completely encircled.
I was never particularly afraid of spiders, but with this many this close to me, I had to fight the urge to use my power to bring the roof down just to kill them all.
The Arachneforce. I have never cared much for that sacred gift either, Viraa shared. Be warned; those spiders feed on energy, but they take a brief moment to register when energy is present.
"We don't like visitors," Sikl spoke, but her voice was also shared by the thousands of spiders, making my hair stand on end. "You are not in the way of the spider. We eat anyone not in the way of the spider. To remain here, you must be in the way of the spider. You must think like a spider. Hunt like a spider. Become a spider. You must accept the Kiss of the Spider. Only then will you be recognized as our friend."
The spiders started to creep closer to my feet.
Spider kiss? Does she mean they'll bite me?
Most likely, Viraa answered.
Are they poisonous?
No. Its bacterium does not affect strong species. This is the first I have heard of this...tradition. Likely how she keeps her populace here. She may be toying with you.
I looked at Sikl and saw a coy smirk as she willed the spiders closer. They slowly crawled over my shoes, and I tensed as I felt them over my pants. Then they were higher, to my shins. Then my thighs.
"You're halfway there, then we will eat—each give you the Spider Kiss."
I was already having second thoughts, but I definitely heard her say "eat". Hearing that, my panic level peaked, and my nerves finally gave out. I used my power to push the spiders off me before they could begin eating the energy. Then, I quickly grabbed the others with my telekinesis and shot through the roof.