The air crackled with tension as the spiders closed in, their many red eyes gleaming like malevolent stars in the shifting shadows. Vivienne's hydra form towered over them, her six heads snapping and hissing in anticipation. But as the misty humanoid figure loomed, and the massive spiders swarmed, she did something ued.

  With a slow, wicked grin stretg across her faces, Vivienne began to sing, her voices harmonising in eerie unison.

  "The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout..."

  A massive spider luoward her, its fangs gleaming with venom. Viviewisted in a blur of motion, her heads snapping sideways, oearing into the creature's abdomen with siing precision. The spider screeched, its legs filing before it crumpled to the forest floor.

  "Down came the rain and washed the spider out..."

  Another spider, rger and angrier, skittered toward her, its fangs dripping with the same venom. Vivienne hissed as it struarrowly dodging the vicious strike. The spider’s fangs tore into her thick hide, but she roared in fury, her hydra heads shing out. Two of them sank their jaws into its legs, tearing the creature apart in a frenzy of snapping fangs and rending cws.

  "Out came the sun and dried up all the rain..."

  A third spider dropped from above, its legs ing around one of Vivienne’s heads, strig tightly. She snarled, shaking her massive form and throwing the spider off. The creature twisted mid-air, ndily on the ground. She growled, her jaws parting, and she charged forward, two of her heads sinking deep into its flesh. Its legs twitched violently before the creature finally fell silent.

  "And the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again..."

  But before she could savour the victory, a massive shadow loomed from behind her. Another spider, rger than the rest, with body parts shimmering with dark aether, crawled out from the trees, its many eyes fixed on Viviehis one was different, its form crag with wild energy, glowing runes carved into its body. It was almost as if it was no longer a simple creature—it had bee an avatar of the dark aether itself.

  Vivienne's ugh was low and guttural as she tilted her heads back, the chorus of voices rising in eerie unison. "Here we go again..."

  "The itsy bitsy spider..."

  The battle raged on, each of Vivienne’s heads snarling with savage glee, but her voiever faltered, the familiar rhyme eg through the chaos. She darted forward, her cws and fangs fshing, tearing through the spider’s hide with brutal efficy, yet each blow left her feeling more and more draihe weight of the aether pressing in on her like an uing tide.

  "Skath!" Rava hissed through ched teeth, clutg her side where a spider's cw had raked across her. Blood stained her fingers, but she barely seemed to notice. "I should have raided the armoury for more battle gaus. And some bloody armour while I was at it."

  “Well,” Vivienne said, her voices overpping in a dissonant melody, “we could probably head bad see if the armoury has something for you. Doesn’t look like any of those eight-legged snacks are still skittering around. At least, not alive.”

  Her five heads that were dedicated to eating desded upon the mangled remains of her prey, serrated teeth tearing through their shattered carapaces. Streams of glowiher poured into her waiting jaws, each head dev with a feral huhat made the air hum with tension. Her form shuddered as the stolen energy coursed through her, rest her strength in sharp, painful bursts.

  Rava grimaced as she watched, leaning heavily against a nearby tree. "You really have a talent for making meals uling."

  One of Vivienne’s heads turo her, its crimson eyes narrowing pyfully as it wiped its maw with a serpeongue. “I’d offer to share, but I doubt you’d appreciate the fvour. Or the texture.”

  “Pass,” Rava muttered, flexing her fingers and wing as the movement pulled at her wounds. “Just finish up before more decide to crawl out of whatever pit they call home.”

  Vivienne’s heads tiheir feast, but her tral one remained fixed on Rava, her grin fading. "You’re hurt worse than you’re letting on."

  "I’m fine," Rava shough her voice cked its usual bite. She pushed off the tree and stood straighter, determination flickering iired eyes. “I’ve dealt with worse.”

  “Pretty sure that’s how people die,” Vivienne said, her tone light but her words pointed. “Even I’m fairly certain their venom did something to me. My aether feels... tight, twisted where they struck. Had to basically burn it out of me.” She shrugged as if purging corrupted aether from her body was an everyday annoyance.

  “I said I’m—” Rava began, her voice defensive, but Vivienne’s tral head turned sharply, fixing her with a pierg stare that silenced her.

  Rava let out a resigned sigh, rolling her shoulders as if trying to shake off the weight of the enter. “Fine. Let’s head back for now. I need better equipment, aill o figure out what that ritual did.”

  Vivienne nodded, her many heads bobbing slightly in unison. “ht. And what about the boy? You know, the whole reason we’re out here?”

  Rava froze for a moment befroaning, ping the bridge of her nose. “Gods above, how could I have fotten? I told him to hide somewhere while I dealt with the…” She gestured vaguely at the altar and the scattered remains of the spiders and other humanoid bodies.“...clergy or whatever they were.”

  A wicked grin spread across Vivienne’s face, each head chug in turn. “Ha! And I thought I was the scatterbrai’s find the kid, poke around a bit more, then make a tactical retreat.”

  “Tactical retreat?” Rava asked, raising a sceptical eyebrow.

  “Fine,” Vivienne said, her tone dripping with mockery. “Advang in the opposite direoving to a strategically more advantageous position. Also known as running away.”

  Rava rolled her eyes. “Are you doh your dinner yet?”

  Vivienne paused in moption, tapping a cw against her . “Not quite, but I speed things up.”

  In a fluid motion, her monstrous hydra form began to melt away, limbs and heads folding inwards as her body shrank and shifted. The transition was uling, her form twisting into something more alien, less defined. When she finally reformed, her base form stood before Rava—an amorphous, shadowy mass that pulsed with aetheriergy.

  It was bigger tha time she’d reverted to it. Easily the size of a horse, if not more.

  Or, as Vivienne surmised, big enough to devour a few giant spiders at once.

  She stretched herself out, her formless body flowing like liquid over the pile of spider corpses she’d collected. Tendrils shot out in every dire, probing through cracks in their carapaces—both natural and the ones she and Rava had created.

  It was effit, ing them en masse. But efficy had its drawbacks.

  The moment she absorbed them, her mind was inundated with a cacophony mented memories. Dozens of lifetimes fshed before her in rapid succession—brief, disjointed glimpses of lives lived, fears felt, ahs endured.

  A hunter in a forest, ered by something unseen.A child hidih a floorboard, the sound of skittering legs drawing closer.A woman running, her cries swallowed by darkhe spiders' collective experiences overpped and iwined, drownihoughts in a flood of fear and hunger.

  Vivieaggered, her amorphous form rippliically.

  “Vivienne?” Rava’s voice was sharp, cutting through the haze. She reached out but hesitated, unsure where to touch. “What’s wrong?”

  “Too much,” Vivienne rasped, her voices yered in distortion. “Too many... memories. All at once.”

  Her tendrils retracted, withdrawing like retreating shadows, and her amorphous body began to steady itself. She trembled visibly as she wrestled with the flood mehoughts, log them away like unruly prisoners. Slowly, her form coalesced into its pact humanoid shape, though her stance was unsteady. Her shadowed face seemed duller, almost drained, but the faint curve of her griurned, albeit weaker.

  Vivie out a grunt. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that.”

  “Used to what?” Rava asked cautiously, her golden eyes narrowed with .

  “When I absorb aether like that...” Vivienated, her gaze flickering as though trying to ground herself. “I see fshes of the people they used to be. Fragmented, inplete memories from lives long gone.” Her voice faltered before she added softly, “It’s... disorienting.”

  Rava froze, her expression tightening. “Wait. You never mentiohis before. Why do they carry the memories of people?”

  Vivieilted her head, fusion flickering across her features. “Aetherbeasts... they’re made of the aether from people who died, aren’t they? Isn’t that on knowledge?”

  Rava’s golden eyes widened, her brow furrowing in disbelief. “That’s not on knowledge. Most people thiherbeasts are just raw aether run wild, not...” Her voice trailed off as she studied Vivienne, something unreadable in her gaze. “Not the remnants of people.”

  “Well,” Vivienne said with a half-hearted shrug, trying to dispel the tension. “Now you know.”

  The silehat followed was heavy, the forest around them eerily still as if listening in on their exge.

  Rava broke the quiet, her voice low and firm. "We o talk about this ter. Right now, we still have to figure out what that ritual was about—and what exactly I might have woken up."

  Vivienne gave an exaggerated flourish toward the darkened forest, her sharp grin curving with wicked amusement. "Lead the way, oh fearless warrior. I’m just the nightmare shadow that snacks on spiders." As she moved to retrieve her discarded clothing, she hastily slipped bato her dress—backwards, though she seemed entirely unbothered by it.

  Rava huffed, rolling her eyes, though the fai smirk betrayed her amusement. She cupped her hands and called out, her voice carrying through the eerie silearon! It’s safe now. You e out!"

  At first, there was only the rustle of leaves, but then a soft, hesitant shuffle broke through the quiet. From behind a moss-covered tree, Taron emerged, his small frame trembling as he stepped into the faint light filtering through the opy. His clothes were muddy and torn, his face pale and streaked with dirt, but his wide eyes were alert.

  "Are the monsters gone?" he asked, his voice small and shaky.

  Rava softened her tone, gesturing for him to e closer. "They’re gone. We took care of them."

  Taroated, lookiween Rava and Vivienne. His gaze lingered on Vivienne, his expression shifting from nervous curiosity to ht fear as he took in her shadowy form and glowing eyes. Her sharp grin didn’t help.

  "Y-You’re one of them!" he yelped, stumbling backward and nearly tripping over a root.

  Vivienne raised her cws and rolled her eyes dramatically. "Yes, yes, I am a big scary monster."

  Rava sighed, steppiween them and kneeling down to the boy’s level, which was saying something about her height as he was in his teens. "Taron, listen to me. Vivienne’s not one of them. She helped me fight those things off. We wouldn’t be standing here without her."

  Taron g Rava, then back at Vivienne, his fear tempered by her words but far from gone. "But she—she looks like—"

  "Like your worst nightmare, yeah, yeah," Vivieerrupted, her tone wry. She crouched down, her glowing eyes narrowing pyfully. "Kid, if I wao hurt you, do you think I’d be standing here making polite versation? I’d have eaten you by now and burped your name."

  Taron stared, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Rava shot Vivienne a gre. "Not helping."

  Vivienne shrugged, standing back up with a flick of her cws. "Just being ho. He’s going to have to at least tolerate me for now."

  Rava turned her attention back to Taron, her voice calm but firm. "She’s... ly ventional, but she’s on our side. Trust me, okay?"

  Taroated, then gave a relut nod. "Okay... I guess."

  "Good." Rava straightened, her expression hardening as she sed the dark forest. "Now, let’s keep moving. The sooner we figure out what’s going on here, the sooner we get baewhere safe."

  Vivieretched, her shadowy form rippling unnaturally. "I’ll keep a for more eight-legged friends." She paused, casting a sidelong g Taron. "Or anything bigger."

  Taron swallowed hard, his grip tight on Rava’s sleeve as they moved deeper into the dense forest. Every step seemed t the air around them heavier, the weight of the shadows growing more oppressive. The trees stretched high above, their twisted branches looming like skeletal hands, and it felt as if the forest itself was watg them.

  Somewhere in the distahe whispers began again, low and insistent, like a thousand voices murmuring just beyond the edge of hearing. The sound ed around them, curling into the spaces betweerees, pulling them forward. Taron gnced over his shoulder, but the path behind them seemed unged, a dark tunnel of gnarled wood and shifting shadows.

  Vivienne’s voice broke the silence, smooth and dripping with mockery. "Well, darlings, I hear the whispers again. Nasty little things, aren’t they?"

  Rava gave Vivienne a sideways gnce, her brow furrowing. "Focus, Vivienne. You’re the one who said we o figure out what’s going on here."

  Vivienne shrugged, her shadowy form flickering at the edges of her words. "Oh, I’m focused. Just trying to lighten the mood. After all, we’re about to plunge ourselves into the heart of whatever this mess is."

  The whispers grew louder, their ce shifting from mere murmurs to something more... iional, as though the forest itself were calling to them. The voices were twisted, inplete, fragments of speech woven together in a way that made the air feel thick with tension.

  Taron's pulse quied, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end as the whispers wove through the air like threads of unease. "W-what are they saying? What do they want?" he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper.

  Vivienne’s many heads tilted, as though tasting the whispers with ears instead of tongues. Her voice dripped with theatrical fir. "Wellll, I’m making a few educated guesses based on my extensive experience during snack time, but they seem to enjoy poking at personal doubts. A little twist here, a little prod there—cssient."

  Rava rolled her eyes, her voice ft with disbelief. "As if you have doubts."

  Vivienne fshed a grin full of razor-sharp teeth, her many eyes gleaming with amusement. "I am well aware of how utterly, indescribably amazing I am, thank you. Self-awareness is key."

  Despite himself, Taron cracked a nervous ugh, though the sound quickly died as another wave of whispers crept through the air. Rava gave Vivienne a sharp look, shaking her head as she pressed forward through the trees.

  "Great, that’s one of us," Rava muttered. "Meanwhile, the rest of us have to actually deal with our insecurities instead of eating them."

  Vivienne chuckled, the sound a low, almost purring vibration from her chest. "Oh, darling, it keeps me sharp. You should try it sometime—quite cathartic."

  The whispers grew louder, their tourning mog, as if emboldened by their approach. Taron stiffened, gripping Rava’s arm. "It’s getting worse," he said, his voice trembling. "I feel them... pressing into my mind."

  "Ig," Vivienne said with uncharacteristic firmness, her voice cutting through the tension. "They’re just fragments of what once was. They ’t harm you unless you let them."

  Rava gnced back at her, golden eyes narrowing. "That’s a f thought ing from someone who feeds on those fragments."

  Vivienne’s grin widened again, this time with a pyful edge. "What I say? I know my snacks."

  Taron didn’t seem reassured, but he nodded, his hands trembling slightly as he tried to push the whispers aside.

  The forest opened up ahead, revealing a small clearing dominated by a sione obelisk, its surface etched with glowing ruhat pulsed with an ominous light. Around its base, the ground was scorched and barren, a stark trast to the dense foliage surrounding them.

  Vivienne’s heads all tilted in unison, her voice tinged with intrigue. "Well, this is inviting. You don’t see foreboding magical relics like this every day."

  Rava stepped cautiously into the clearing, her posture tense, golden eyes sing the treeline for any threat. The air here felt different—denser, charged with the aftermath of powerful aether. Her voice was hushed but firm. "This is where the ritual took pce... But where’s the—"

  A deep, resonant rumble cut through the stillness, vibrating through the ground like a drumbeat. It was followed by a sharp tig sound, deliberate and rhythmic, that seemed to amplify with each sed. From the shadows beyond the obelisk, a figure emerged, its presence sending a chill through the clearing.

  It stood in a humanoid shape, its unnervingly smooth body crafted from gleaming white ceramic that seemed untouched by time or decay. Delicate filigree of gold traced its surfa intricate, living patterns, pulsing faintly with an internal rhythm, shifting and flowing like clockwears hiddeh its shell. Eaent recise yet unnervingly unnatural—jerky in a way that suggested a being not bound by flesh, but by perfect calcution. T over Rava in both height and breadth, its sheer presence pressive, its looming size casting a long shadow over the clearing. The tig sound grew louder, steady aless, as it turs featureless head toward them. The ck of eyes or a face was more chilling than any gre could have been—a void of expression that stripped it of any sembnce of humanity.

  Rava’s breath hitched. Her voice came out in a whisper, filled with equal parts awe and dread. "Nexus Arbiter."

  Taron’s voice trembled. "What’s a—a Nexus Arbiter?"

  Rava’s fists ched at her sides, her bid. "An emissary of Praxus. Enforcers of his order. They’re not supposed to be here. Not unless something’s seriously wrong."

  Vivieilted her head, her griurning but without its usual levity. "Oh, look, a shiny toy soldier. Seems like it’s fallen out of the wrong toy chest."

  The Arbiter turs head slightly at the sound of Vivienne’s voice, its movements apanied by the uling sound of whirring gears. It raised a hand, long, segmented fingers unfurling with a faiallic hiss. A golden orb of light began to form in its palm, pulsating with raw aether.

  "Identify yourselves," the Arbiter repeated, its voice a cold, meical monotone ced with an unnerving sense of finality. "You trespass in a sanctified zone of the Snty. pliance is mandatory."

  Rava squared her shoulders, her voice cutting through the tension with authority. "This is the territory of Serkoth, not Aegis. Your presence here is the real trespass."

  The Arbiter’s featureless face shifted slightly, its golden filigree glowing brighter. "Incorrect. All nds are uhe dominion of the Aegis Snty. This site has been sanctified. You are unauthorised entities. Surrender yourselves for processing and evaluation."

  Taron looked to Rava, pani his eyes. "Processing? That doesn’t sound good!"

  "It’s not," Rava muttered grimly, her gaze locked on the Arbiter. "They are the messengers of Praxus. They don’t process people so much as they process problems—permaly."

  Vivienne chuckled, her grin full of sharp teeth and menace. “Oh, it wants us to turn ourselves in. How delightfully quaint. Rava, darling, should I deal with our charming bureaucrat, or would you prefer the honour?”

  Rava’s golden eyes flicked to her panion, her voice ced with warning. “Vivienne, don’t provoke it.”

  Vivieilted her head, her grin growing wider. “It already seems quite set on ‘processing’ us, don’t you think?”

  The Nexus Arbiter’s voice cut through the tense air like a bde, cold and meical. “This site has been sanctified. You are unauthorised entities. Surrender yourselves for processing and evaluation. pliance is mandatory.”

  Vivienured theatrically toward the mae. “See? It’s practically begging for it.”

  Her gaze shifted to Taron, who looked like a rabbit caught in a srembling but trying to appear brave. She crouched slightly to meet his eye level, her voice softening, though the glint in her dark eyes remained uling. “Run that way,” she said, pointing toward the de part of the forest. “Keep going until you’re far enough that you ’t hear the screaming. That’s your cue to stop.”

  Taroated, his wide eyes dartiween Vivienne and Rava. “But—”

  “Go!” Rava barked, her tone leaving no room fument. “We’ll find you. Just move!”

  The boy turned and bolted into the trees, disappearing into the shadows with a rustling of leaves and snapping of twigs.

  Vivieraightened, her form subtly rippling with barely tained energy as she turned back to the Arbiter. “Well, I suppose it’s just us now. Shall we dance?”

  The Arbiter’s meical body shifted, the tig sound intensifying as it raised one arm. From its hand, a bde of pure aether energy extended with a sharp hum, the glow casting eerie shadows across its cerami. “Resistance is nonplianonpliance will be ralised.”

  Rava stepped forward, crag her knuckles and narrowing her eyes. “I don’t care what the Snty sanctified. You’re not ying a finger on me, her, or that boy.”

  Vivienne’s grin twisted into something darker, her shadowy form beginning to expand as she grew in size. “ yoing to keep repeating 'delete, delete, delete', aren't you?”

  SupernovaSymphony