In a dark void devoid of any light, a dim whitish sphere of energy rested; beside it, a darker sphere the color of the void, its darkness holding both color and volume, looked at the whitish sphere with anger.
A voice like Hiruko's sounded, though if you listened closely, the voice so much like Hiruko's was fundamentally different because it held a darkness and bitterness that was unlike Hiruko's.
"What is wrong with you? You have power one could only imagine, and you nearly give it up for a Clan bitch? You bet our life for her? You're too absorbed!" The darker sphere screamed in annoyance.
It knew Hiruko was getting too close, but he allowed it; the closer Hiruko got, the more knowledge and power he could milk them for. Plus, he knew that the clan wasn't for much longer. All he had to do was wait it out and let Hiruko's mind darken naturally.
But even then he was cautious, darkening Hiruko's 'light' himself quickening what was to come, ensuring everything would continue smoothly, letting him grow, and letting time handle everything else.
But it wasn't enough. Hiruko was too close to death, and the environment he'd been growing in affected him too much, and he'd be damned if he let all he'd sacrificed go to waste.
The darker light sighing went closer to Hiruko's 'light' and began darkening it more forcefully; after 5 minutes the darker light stopped. He knew if he affected Hiruko anymore than this for a while, the fun would be affected, and 'it' would step in.
Whispering close to the now dim light that looked a darkish white edging near full darkness, its volume condensing slightly. "Listen, I'll tell you this once: you are not like them no matter how included they make you feel. You are not even from this world, an outsider, so stop playing Kumbaya and use the knowledge that is beyond anything this world has ever seen and bring this world to your knees. Or I'll make you regret it!" The darker sphere whispered before leaving Hiruko and retreating into the void.
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"Ah—" Hiruko sucked in a sharp breath as he jolted awake, the sensation of someone being there still clinging to him. Instinct screamed at him. His hand clenched, muscles tightening as he tried to pull back and strike.
Nothing.
His arm didn't budge.
Panic flared immediately. He tried again, harder this time, only to feel something tight and unyielding wrapped around his body, pinning him in place. Whatever it was pressed in from every side, leaving no room to shift, no room to breathe.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
He strained his eyes, desperate for anything, and caught only faint impressions—thin lines brushing against his skin. Strings. Webs.
They crawled over him, clinging, tightening.
Too close.
The thought echoed violently in his mind.
The air felt wrong—stale and thick, as if it had already been breathed too many times.
Each inhale grew shorter and sharper, his chest straining against whatever bound him, only making the pressure worse. The space around him felt impossibly small, shrinking with every second.
Can't move. Can't see. Can't breathe.
His thoughts spiraled, logic dissolving under the weight of rising terror. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, drowning out everything else as his body begged him to escape,now, yet refused to obey.
The walls—no, the webs—felt closer. Closer. Closing in.
Hiruko's mind screamed long before his voice could.
Boom!
The webs exploded outwards as Hiruko used the Press-Press fruit instinctively as an intense gravitational pressure ripped the webs to pieces as a large hole was carved in Hiruko's web cocoon.
Hiruko coming out took labored breaths, his eyes fixated on the cold hard ground as he savored the fresh air, bringing his hand up. Hiruko wiped a drop of blood that descended from his nose.
"Where am I?" Hiruko questioned rhetorically through labored breaths.
"You are in my home, inheritor." A childlike voice sounded its tone sweet and innocent, like
"Oh, thank you, I—" Hiruko, hearing the childlike voice, answered absentmindedly before thinking, 'Wait, whose voice is that?'
Turning his mind slowly at the origin of the voice, Hiruko saw something he wasn't expecting.
"Hakuja?" He asked, slightly bewildered at the fact that his pet spider, which should be at his house, was in front of him wherever he was and could talk?
"Yessss, Inheritor, it is me! Though my name is Shiori, Princess Shiori, but that doesn't matter right now. I'm so happy to finally meet you. Well, "meet" you is the wrong word; it's more like talk to you. I have been waiting for sooooo long, but you were assimilating my mark or gone, and then you needed to heal in the cocoon.—" Shiori said, standing on her two back legs, her two front ones extended in the air in happiness.
"Shiori, stop messing around." A gruff feminine voice said loudly, its power radiating through its words as she cut off Shiori's ramblings.
Hiruko, sensing the immense power, immediately made a move to unsheathe his sword only to find it not there.
It wasn't Until that point, Hiruko didn't take the time to look around him. He was standing in the middle of a huge cavern that was illuminated from above by a big, shining ball.
Long, warped shadows were formed by the uneven surfaces of the jagged rock formations that sprang from the walls and the ground in the dim light.
A large portion of the cave was covered in webs. Stretching across open areas and layering over one another in complex patterns. Webbed cocoons of various sizes were strewn among them, some resting on the cavern floor and others pressing against the walls.
From the main chamber, a number of tunnel openings branched off, each leading into deeper darkness and linking to cave systems that were hidden from view.
However, in one of these cave systems blanketed by darkness were 8 giant insectoid eyes locked on Hiruko, and if his Observation Haki was correct, which it always was, all around him in the various caves thousands of eyes were also watching.
Suddenly a click echoed through the quiet cave. "Mom, stop! You'll scare away the inheritor I worked my butt off to find, and you're ruining my introductions again! If you're not going to thank me for my gracious work, at least let me be fabulous and introduce myself." Shiori humphed in annoyance as she hopped from Hiruko's side, standing protectively between him and her mother.
"Good job? What for getting yourself kidnapped in the shinobi realm for months or bringing some kid to my domain?" The voice said sarcastically, irritation evident in her voice.
"You're just mad. I did what you couldn't do in decades in a few months, Mom." Shiori shot back, also irritated.
'Haku-Shiori's Mother?' Hiruko couldn't help but think internally as he relaxed coming out of his sword stance.
'Wait, where's my sword? Please don't tell me I dropped it before teleporting.' Hiruko worried as he glanced around the cave for his sword.
Not finding it, Hiruko could only sigh and refocus on getting answers as to his current predicament. Speaking up reluctantly, cutting off the bickering mother and daughter, Hiruko spoke.
"Um, so hey, a couple questions if you don't mind. So where am I? How long have I been out? Where is my sword? Did I bring it with me? Who exactly is Shiori? Who are you? And why am I naked?" Hiruko asked, his face slightly red as he said that last part, pointing down to his naked body, which only had some very tight and sticky web underwear covering his…privates.
Even though they were spiders, he was pretty sure they were still girls, and as a young boy, it was awkward being in that position.
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S: hey sorry for the long break but I'm back now. Starting now I'll be alternating between story's so Mon, Wen, Fri will be this novel and Tue,Thur,Sun my other novel while sat none due to religious reasons