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UE Rewrite: B4 — 11. Threads of Dominion
🕑 Added 2024-11-22 23:08:32 +0000 UTCPoV:
1. Camellia (But Our Crimson Flower Is Here!)
2. Elinor (Our Lich Empress!)
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Rain hammered through the fractured ceiling, droplets sizzling as they struck venom pools carving shallow scars into the stone. Mist coiled through the musky air, each curl pulled into Camellia’s ruby gaze as she perched on a jagged stalactite. Her weight shifted on the lattice beneath her, each thread whispering Noklan’s chaotic movements below.
Noklan’s frame jerked, his segmented carapace shivering with raw, untamed power as steam billowed from his plates. Caustic discharge dripped steadily from his open maw, hissing against stone, filling the cavern with its acrid tang. Every sound rippled through her web, mapping his clumsy movements.
Pathetic. Wasteful. Her lips fell into a faint frown. Leaving trails for anyone to follow… Borrowed power rarely fits its wielder, mother used to say. Did you even earn the shell you wear? Obviously, not.
Noklan’s gem-like eyes gleamed as they locked on her, his foreleg twitching. The power radiating off him pressed against her instincts, urging her to strike. But as the limb blurred toward her, she let go, her body twisting through the air as acid sliced the stalactite clean in two. Stone fragments rained down as she landed in a crouch, the web carried with her flexing beneath her feet.
Noklan lunged, mandibles flaring as his rasping voice scraped the air. “Your threads won’t save you. I’ve learned your games.”
Camellia tilted her head, crimson silk spilling around her like a veil while burrowing deeper, deeper, and deeper still. Her smile deepened, fingers brushing her shimmering locks.
“Stronger?” she murmured, crimson weave pulsing with a faint charge beneath her touch as she discovered what she was looking for beneath her feet. “Perhaps. But you’re still blind to the threads you can’t see due to your inability to utilize all the brains at your disposal throughout your body.”
The Empress’ voice came to her as they sized one another up; as dangerous as she was to him, Noklan was to her. Of course, that was only if she was caught. “I’m about to enter the cave. War was handily picked apart by them. Can you handle it?”
Her lips curved. Without a doubt, Empress. I have already eradicated the false drones. All that is left is the fake guardian.
“Is that so?” her new ruler hummed, clearly impressed by her tone. “You’ve given me all I need then. Take your time. Dismantle him. I don’t want a hair on your head harmed.”
A strange, warm bubbly feeling welled up within Camellia’s breast. That is a challenging demand. Understood, Empress. I will see to it.
In the swift interaction, she remained totally still, knowing her agitated opponent could sense his disadvantage. The guardian’s frame was far from perfect, as well, the Xaltan’s crude control evident in the jerky motion of its limbs, but its power—raw and unrefined—pulsed through the space like a slow, gathering storm. Then, it blurred.
His foreleg snapped upward, a venom-laced scythe carving through the air. Camellia’s gaze locked onto the jagged limb, her body twisting away as it split the air beside her. She leaped to the side, the blade-like leg leaving a rush of cut air that narrowly missed her as his second strike came, spearing the place where she had been perched.
Carrying her gossamer trap with her, she landed in a crouch, the slick webbing beneath her flexing but holding steady, her hair fanning out to anchor her in place. Every twitch, she followed through the guardian’s complex nerve system, identifying what attributes the toad in thélméthra shell could activate.
The hiss of dissolving rock met her ears as she straightened, her vision narrowing. His foreleg withdrew, acid dripping from its tip, and his mandibles parted in an unnatural way for her kind. “I feel your threads…child,” Noklan said, his voice rasping like brittle stone against steel. “Do you think I haven’t learned your trick? Every move you make teaches me more about myself.”
Camellia tilted her head, the faintest curve of a smile pulling at her lips. Her fingers brushed the webbing beneath her, the electrical pulse spreading them out around his frame, taunting. “You call me a child? Perhaps to that guardian, I am. Yet, we live far longer than your frail species. We didn’t even consider you worth hunting.”
Steam hissed from his legs as she charged forward. Each shift of his limbs revealed his flaws—the slight drag on his hind leg, the inefficient use of his spinnerets as they twitched but failed to fire with precision. It was a crude mimicry of her kind’s natural grace, an insult to the artistry her mother’s brood embodied.
He spouted more insults, attempting to connect to her sea of webbing that she tugged around the cavern, leading him to a more confined tunnel. Her projected lattice dug through the earth, knowing he could sense it, knowing he could do nothing about it.
Her silence seemed to aggravate him, though. Noklan lunged, his barbed leg a blur. Camellia pivoted, her web snapping as she twisted away, her foot brushing the venomous strike. His next limb followed, forcing her low, her hair anchoring her escape with perfect precision.
Sliding under his bulky swings to his underbelly, she batted away the silk he shot from his spinneret. Her hair lashed out, crimson thread penetrating tiny openings in his unprotected left legs, right where the tiny liquid openings were left open and vulnerable, plugging them.
Side stepping, she couldn’t help a light laugh as he leaped upward to project a cyclone of webbing to ensnare her. Shifting lightly on an elevated ledge, she crouched low, her gaze fixed on the guardian’s exposed spinnerets as they spasmed, time slowing.
Her instincts screamed for the strike—to tear him apart as her mother had taught—but the weight of his hulking frame forced her muscles taut, demanding control. Another second, and he surged again, forelegs slashing where she had stood moments before.
He’s stronger… Faster. I can’t do the damage I know I should be able to. Precision. Nimble efficiency… Me, precise and efficient? What would you think of that, Sisters?
Silk gathering under her feet, it launched her upward through the clumsy gaps as Noklan spun to face her, his gem-like eyes glimmering from the ceiling. Smoothly bypassing the trap, she cut the thread from her hair, sending it spiking into the ground while retreating further into the narrowing tunnel.
She skipped back, crimson weave snapping taut as her threads rewove the trap. Noklan lunged, releasing a hissing wave of toxins that coiled, clawing toward her. Camellia moved like water, batting the toxins aside without pause.
Too slow.
His barbed forelegs scraped against the stone, the sound grating and sharp. Stone cracked beneath her as she darted forward. Her web caught the strain, anchoring her sharp, fluid turns. The rain spilled around her, streaking across her skin and soaking her shorts, steam rising where droplets met Noklan’s acid-slick carapace, typically a defensive mechanism—he was growing less confident.
She adjusted her footing on instinct, her body moving like a taut thread poised to snap. Noklan surged, his foreleg a jagged blur. Camellia’s slim form wove like smoke in response, defying the jagged arcs of his assault. Her hair snapping taut as she narrowly avoided the strike—stone exploded behind her, shards grazing her shoulder as the acid hissed against the walls. Too close. She spun low, every nerve alive as she brought him into alignment.
“Running again, little princess?” Noklan’s mandibles clicked as he lunged, acidic venom streaking the air. He shifted his weight, legs flexing as he tried to anticipate her next movement within the pattering rain, distracting him. “You cannot outlast me. I will master this body, and then…”
Camellia's lips curved, not needing to speak when playing with her prey; that was her middle sister’s pastime. Rain spattered against Noklan’s trembling form, droplets tracing the crude contours of his stolen guardian body. The hiss of acid rising from his spinnerets mingled with the sharp crackle of her threads.
Running? Her lips curved, fingers brushing the web. A faint pulse answered. Beneath them, silk buried deep snapped taut, the ground shuddering in submission. Such ignorance to our ways.
Noklan froze, gem-like eyes flaring as he realized too late—her trap had been sprung. A tremor ripped through the cavern, the stone buckling beneath them as a flawless circle cut away with surgical precision. The falling droplets peppered them as the newly created platform lurched, beginning to plummet into empty space.
He staggered, the Xaltan’s barbed legs scraping against the slick stone. Instinctively, he fired a thick tether of silk toward the wall, seeking stability, but a sharp twitch of Camellia’s fingers activated another thread, sending pre-cut slabs of rock crashing down, severing his lifeline before it could anchor. Once again, he was too slow to curve their trajectory.
Noklan growled low, his spinnerets spasming as he sent another pulse to redirect his web.
From her perch atop her bundle of silk, Camellia pointed a finger his way, unleashed a single thread, unique and almost invisible in the dim. Her lips curved into a faint smile.
Predictable.
It connected inside Noklan’s gaping, unprotected mouth. His body jerked as a crackling pulse surged through him, forcing his legs to lock and his mandibles to snap shut.
“You—” His voice cut off as Camellia immediately severed the connection, jarring his silken pulses to change their trajectory and keeping his senses in total disarray.
In the next moment, they passed into total darkness, their platform breaking free over a massive underground lake—one her mother had crafted for the drone’s daily sustenance needs. Directing a finger heavenward amidst the pattering rain, her web pulled tight, jerking them to a halt just above the massive underground lake that teemed with life.
Rain continued to fall through the fractured ceiling high above, splashing against the stone and pooling on the edges of the platform. The rhythmic patter seemed to echo Noklan’s rising panic, a relentless tide of noise that disoriented his crude senses. Underwater fish darted away in alarm, sending more sound and movement colliding with his fractured brains.
Camellia slowly advanced, her steps deliberate, her ruby eyes gleaming as she closed the distance between them, crimson silk coiling from beneath the platform.
He tried to steady himself, his barbed legs twitching erratically, senses overwhelmed amid the millions of raindrops colliding with the stone and against his body. But she was already before him. Utterly paralyzed, all he could do was watch from every angle, unable to block out the flood of information she’d purposefully activated with her earlier shock.
Her figure loomed large in his vision, her presence filling his fractured sensory field.
“Small,” she murmured, her voice a lilting melody that seeped into his mind. Her hands slid down the length of his venom-coated fangs—useless; she’d analyzed and neutralized it—her touch feather-light yet like fire to him. “Weak. That’s how you feel, isn’t it?”
Noklan’s body shuddered. His spinnerets twitched, firing an erratic pulse in an attempt to seize control of her silk. For a brief moment, his thread surged toward her, seeking to wrap her in its cutting grasp. Camellia didn’t flinch. Instead, she caught the thread midair with her hair, twisting it with effortless precision and redirecting its energy back into his frame.
“You thought you could use silk against me?” she purred, her tone dripping with mockery. “Hubris. Is that the word? I’ve rarely spoken to those I devour,” she giggled, licking her wet lips and tasting the tantalizing flavor to come.
The delicate balance between his borrowed strength and the guardian’s raw power unraveled as his confidence wavered. Camellia’s crimson lattice slipped beneath his defenses, infiltrating the vulnerable gaps in his joints and spinnerets. Her locks spread outward, an intricate web of ruby silk that hummed with its own predatory intent to his knowing senses.
Noklan staggered, his legs buckling beneath him as the threads burrowed deeper, infiltrating, hijacking. Camellia’s voice lowered, her words a soft, venomous whisper as her hands caressed his quivering jaws. “I feel everything, you know. Every pulse. Every tremor. Even your doubts are laid bare for my delight… I feel a little closer to my little sister. This is…delectable.”
Her silk wove through his nerve system, latching onto the flickering impulses that controlled his limbs. His mandibles clicked in a futile attempt to fight back, but his own threads betrayed him. Her web coiled upward, lifting her effortlessly onto a platform formed from his own silk. She gazed down at him, her ruby eyes glinting with predatory amusement.
“When it comes to raw power,” she said, her voice calm and deliberate, “you have me beaten. But finesse?” Her lips parted in a chilling smile, her sharp teeth glinting. “You never stood a chance.”
Her threads plunged into Noklan’s gem-like eyes, infiltrating the crystalline structures from within. A sharp crack echoed through the cavern as the silk took control of his sensory receptors, severing his connection to the outside world. His trembling ceased, his movements stilled as she claimed complete control.
Rain continued to fall, the droplets hissing against the heated stone edges from their downward descent and sliding down the sleek surface of her expansive crimson hair, now draped across the stilling waters.
Suddenly, her body contorted, reshaping into her true, 5-meter-tall arachnid form. Steam hissed from the plates on her back and legs, the humid air shimmering around her as she loomed over him. The humanoid facade melted away, revealing the terrifying elegance of her true figure.
Eight limbs extended, each gleaming with a smooth, metallic sheen that seemed to drink in the dim light. Her eyes—now thirteen glowing rubies—fixed on Noklan with unrelenting focus. A low, melodic giggle escaped her lips, the sound reverberating through the cavern like a sinister lullaby.
“I’m so hungry,” she murmured, her voice carrying an edge of dark satisfaction as her diamond-like teeth flashed in the misty air. All he could do was silently watch her mouth open wide, pincers closing in, screaming in utter silence. “Thank you for the meal.”
* — * — *
Rain spilled into the jagged opening as Elinor descended, a chain splitting space and lurching toward her. Each link clinked faintly in the humid air as she snatched the lapis with ease and began to descend in silence.
Her bright emerald eyes swept the space, the expanded cavern below stretching wide, an echoing chasm marred by shattered webs, cracked stone, and glistening pools of acidic venom. Her boots touched the uneven ground, her dark gaze sweeping the devastation Camellia and Noklan had left in their wake.
Ash waited at the bottom, his pale horse a ghostly specter amidst the gloom. His sharp silver eyes met hers beneath his hood, a faint smirk tugging at his bone-like mouth. “She’s impressive. I suppose that is to be expected from someone in the Royal Court.”
Elinor clasped her hands behind her back, posture rigid as she studied the destruction. Camellia hadn’t been the one to carve this chaos, but the surgical precision of certain cuts in the stone did bare her marker.
War lives because of her, she coolly returned. But we will see what can be done about his condition when this business is finished. It makes me want to find her mother and sisters… We have time on our side.
She walked past a jagged hole in the stone floor, where Noklan had been hurled into the jungle above. Her Nexus pulsed faintly, a web of connections as she took stock of her unit positions. Her chains extended again, coiling downward as she stepped over the edge and began her descent into the lower caverns. Ash followed, his horse effortlessly leaping down to keep pace, looking for lurking danger.
Garu was closing in on Chief Zargoth, his steady presence like a heartbeat in the distance. Black was already retreating with Red, moving to rendezvous with Quin and the Roxim citizens. Her mouth became a line, eyes burning like a fire upon envisioning his condition: losing a leg, arm, and having a gaping hole through his torso.
Her boots met the cavern floor, water trickling in faint rivulets around her as she continued through the ravaged zone. Jennifer’s face fixated in her mind and all the damage she’d caused to her life, to so many lives now under her protection.
“Would you prefer to ride with me, Empress?” Ash asked, his voice low and haunting with the aura of death he projected. “The drone and Garu are converging from different angles. If we ride fast…”
I’m not in a rush, she whispered, her calm mental voice brushing against his like the faintest whisper. Everything is already in motion.
Sensing his confusion and discontent, eager to slice souls, Elinor sighed, trying to temper her expectations and plan for reality. If I thought rushing would provide us with results, I would. We are not only dealing with Jennifer and her master but new forces we have yet to properly identify.
Her vision narrowed. We cannot underestimate Shade, either. I am sure his manipulations entangled my sister. We’ve learned much after infiltrating the Xaltan. I can expect Jennifer to have a way out. Despite us closing in on all sides… She is a cockroach who prioritizes her own life above anything else. This requires a measured pace and controlled spirit.
Ash’s fingers tightened around his reigns. “The nalveans Garu smells could be her trump card? Given what they did to the Xaltan elite and the damage they caused to my brother, I can certainly respect the need for caution. Is this nalvean the one who sent the armada of flying creatures that you sent Grace and Valentina to handle?”
She stepped toward one of the broken thélméthra Camellia had dispatched, its massive form crumpled and lifeless. Emerald butterflies materialized around her in the dark space, falling rain pattering in the background as they shimmered and fluttered around her. Without a gesture, they flew forward to land on the corpse, Death Energy flowed into the creature, sparking new life into its shattered frame and shackling it to life just as a surge of power embraced her.
[Level Up - Level 27]
[1 Stat Point Added; 2 Available]
[1 Feat Extension Point Added; 3 Available]
[1 Refinement Point Available]
[1 Branch Feat Point Available]
The notification barely registered in Elinor’s mind as she walked up a fallen rock formation, the thélméthra’s renewed form rushing to the location for her to smoothly step onto its back. She spoke through the Nexus to the Intelligent drone.
You know how nalveans and ri’bot smell, I assume. Follow the scent of those who passed through here.
The arachnid lurched forward immediately without a sound, its movements smoother than she’d expected for something recently awakened. She balanced effortlessly on its back, her gaze shifting to Ash, waiting for a response while riding beside her, keeping pace without a word.
Her thoughts briefly turned to Grace and Valentina, challenging whatever flying army Jennifer had called to her aid. Shade’s influence was involved, no doubt, making her jaw tighten. At least Nungal had offered to handle it, using her loyal hare man as an instrument. The mysterious goddess was always meddling.
I have no time to waste thinking about something that is sure to be handled with Grace involved… They might as well be facing the hag herself.
Garu’s steady voice reached her through the Nexus, diverting her mind as his calm and focused tone snatched her attention. “Chief Zargoth is just ahead of me… I smell blood and the smell of ash. What’s this…”
Elinor didn’t interrupt, waiting for him to report, her calculating mind already anticipating the worst. Yet, at that exact moment, another surge of energy coursed through her, sharper this time, from Camellia as she killed the Xaltan Chief.
[Level Up - Level 28]
[2 Stat Points Added; 4 Available]
[3 Feat Extension Point Available]
[1 Refinement Point Available]
[1 Branch Feat Point Available]
Refocusing, her nose twisted as Garu’s report continued. “I’ve discovered many small circular jewels, emeralds and diamonds… They are imprinted with a marker and smell of nalvean. There is also a seal on what appears to be copper, showing a creature I am unfamiliar with. Chief Zargoth wounded one of the nalveans but appears to have been captured.”
Or dead and they took the corpse so I couldn’t resurrect him, Elinor mumbled, glancing toward Ash. Continue to pursue them and rescue him if you can. I give you full command over the drone that is tracking them from another tunnel. Don’t let them escape.
Her fingers tightened around her wrist as she felt a surge of cold fury from her father’s connection. His confrontation with Xaria Dalria burned like a storm through the Nexus. Her jaw locked as she thought of the ri’bot who had killed her mother.
Dalria is a monster, a tool…but not the root of the rot. That lies with Jennifer and Shade. Now, we have a new target, a nalvean. It took me too long to get strong enough to confront them… Butter, why are you taking so long?
Her gaze drifted to the northeast, her connection to her twin faint but present. Mika has returned to the afterlife and I almost lost War. What baggage will you bring me, my fatty little sister?
Elinor’s lips curved into a faint, sardonic smile while recalling their united spiritual fight against Ashrit. Like you, will I face the echoes of my former life? Will my past demand an audience? If anything…that scares me. Ironic, my worst fear is myself. Her fingers curled into a tighter fist, the faintest tremor of resolve passing through them. If so, I won’t face her alone.
The thélméthra surged forward, its movements smoother now as it carried her deeper into the caverns to find what Jennifer had scrambled to secure before losing access to the valley—because, when this night was over, it would be hers.
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