We were hidden among the bushes, our eyes fixed on our target.
The place was beautiful, with the river flowing calmly and sunlight filtering through the leaves. But our attention was on the gigantic wild boar drinking water peacefully.
Kogorō sighed in annoyance.
—This is really stupid…
Ardan shot him a stern look.
—If you think it's so stupid, why didn't you stay back and help Saria?
Kogorō crossed his arms.
—Believe me, I would've left by now… if Jiro hadn't brought his annoying spear that doesn't let me be free.
I ignored his complaint and kept my eyes on the wild boar.
—Quiet... it's here...
We all stood still.
The boar was enormous, with dark, thick fur, hooves wrapped in blue fire, and a tail burning with the same intensity. Its presence commanded respect.
But I only thought of one thing.
—Here's our breakfast...
Ardan looked at me like I was crazy.
—Jiro, that boar isn't normal.
—So what? Besides being strong, it looks delicious... —I couldn't help but salivate.
Kogorō chuckled quietly.
—I've never seen a boar like that. I guess they're like that in this world.
Ardan sighed.
—We should think of a plan before doing anything, it's—
—Here we go! —I shouted, jumping out of the bush without listening.
I grabbed my spear and leaped straight toward the boar.
In that instant, the spear pulled Kogorō with its energy, dragging him along with me.
—I hate you, kid! —the spirit shouted as it was forced to follow me.
—No way...! —Ardan came out of the bush as well, but it was too late.
The boar raised its head, its fierce gaze reflecting rage. In an instant, it spit a blue flame in my direction.
—Tsk! —I jumped to the side, barely dodging it.
Ardan created a spiritual barrier that blocked the flames.
—Jiro, you should be more careful!
But I just smiled.
—Relax, this is just the beginning.
I gripped my spear tightly.
A crimson light burst from the spearhead, shooting red blasts at the boar.
The impact made the beast stagger back, but it didn't give up.
Ardan positioned himself by my side.
—Let's go, Jiro.
The boar roared furiously and shot an immense blue flame that lit up the entire area.
And so, the real fight began.
The sun shone brightly over the clearing where Saria was preparing some cooking condiments. She had taken her time collecting herbs and spices in the nearby forest, expecting Jiro and Ardan to return with something simple, maybe some fish or wild fruits.
But what she didn't expect at all was to see the two of them appear completely scorched, their clothes in tatters and covered in soot.
Jiro, with a wide grin from ear to ear, was carrying the corpse of an enormous wild boar over his shoulders. Its singed fur was still smoking from the blue fire it had expelled before being defeated.
—Here's our food! —he exclaimed proudly, dropping the massive beast in front of Saria with a loud thud.
The Oni's eyes widened in disbelief.
—You two are crazy... —she murmured while looking at the gigantic animal—. Couldn't you have brought some fish instead? It would've been much easier and safer, don't you think?
Before Jiro could reply, Kogorō appeared floating beside him, arms crossed with a bored expression.
—Don't try to reason with them, —he said in his condescending tone—. Because obviously, they have no sense of reason.
Ardan, ignoring the conversation, brushed off the dust from his clothes and turned around.
—I'll go take a bath in the lake.
Jiro, without thinking twice, nodded enthusiastically and followed him.
—Good idea. I'll go with you!
And without hesitation, he dropped the enormous boar right in front of Saria.
—I'll leave it to you, Saria. Bye!
The Oni blinked several times, processing what had just happened.
—Wait, why are you leaving it to me?! No, Jiroooooo!
But Jiro was already running after Ardan.
To make matters worse, he had also left his crimson spear lying next to the boar.
Kogorō, still floating, let out a sigh of relief.
—Finally, he managed to leave that spear... It's so annoying when he brings it with him all the time.
Saria, a mixture of frustration and resignation on her face, slowly turned toward him.
—Hey, Kogorō… give me a hand with this, please.
The spirit looked at her disdainfully.
—Why should I help you? —he replied arrogantly—. This is your problem, so solve it yourself. I'm not a housemaid to be helping you with your chores.
Saria narrowed her eyes and gave him a threatening look.
—Then, if you don't help me... I'll tell Ardan it was you who used up all his spiritual ointment just to look good.
Kogorō's face immediately tensed.
—How do you know that?! —he exclaimed, a mixture of surprise and panic in his voice.
Saria crossed her arms and smiled maliciously.
—That doesn't matter. Are you helping me or not?
The spirit let out a huff and clicked his tongue.
—Fine, forget it... I'll help you. —he said with annoyance—. But don't tell Ardan... I have to look good sometimes.
Saria shook her head and sighed as she looked at the enormous boar she now had to cook.
The river water was cool, flowing gently between the rocks as the sounds of the forest filled the air. I had been bathing for a while, trying to relax after everything that had happened during the day. Ardan was next to me, silent, as always.
I glanced at him without thinking too much, but then I noticed something curious.
If Saria and he were Onis… why did she have horns and he didn't?
I frowned, observing his clean forehead. It didn't look like he had lost them or anything. They just weren't there.
—Hey, Ardan… —I said, breaking the silence.
—What? —he replied without looking at me.
—If you and Saria are Onis… why does she have horns and you don't?
It was like my question had slapped him in the face. His expression immediately changed, his jaw tensed, and his eyes darkened.
—Why does it matter to you? —he spat, his voice carrying a dangerous edge, almost challenging—. Does that make me less of an Oni?
I stayed silent for a moment. I didn't expect him to react like that.
—Calm down, Ardan. Don't get mad, it was just a question... out of curiosity and nothing else —I said in a calmer tone.
But he didn't seem to want to calm down.
—Well then, shove that curiosity where the sun doesn't shine and leave me alone —he said coldly.
I blinked, surprised by his reaction.
"I think I offended him a little…" I thought.
Ardan stood up suddenly from the water, letting the droplets fall from his body as his expression remained tense.
—Damn… I lost my desire to bathe —he muttered, walking toward the shore.
I just watched him, not fully understanding.
—Did you get offended by a simple question? What kind of glass are you…?
He stopped for a moment. His back was still to me, but I saw how he clenched his fists.
—It's not just about the question —he said finally, in a quieter, heavier voice—. It's about what it implies. Some questions shouldn't be asked.
—Don't ask me that again...
And without another word, he kept walking, leaving the river.
I watched him go, feeling a small weight in my chest. Maybe… I shouldn't have asked.
—We barely got into the water, and now Ardan's leaving.
I left the river, feeling the fresh air against my wet skin. I shook my hair a little and walked back to the camp, still thinking about Ardan's reaction. I didn't understand why he had acted like that, but there wasn't much I could do about it.
Then, the aroma of roasted wild boar hit me hard.
It was... incredible.
The smell of juicy meat, spices, and fire made me forget everything else for a moment. My stomach growled loudly, and I felt my mouth fill with saliva.
—Uff! —I exclaimed—. That smells too good!
Kogorō, floating above the food, crossed his arms with a satisfied look.
—The cooking got a little complicated, but... we managed anyway —he said, with his typical attitude.
Saria raised an eyebrow and gave him a small smile.
—I didn't know you knew so much about spices, Kogorō —she said—. If the wild boar has such a great touch, it's thanks to you.
The spirit made a gesture of false indifference.
—Well... yeah, thanks for the compliment... I guess —he murmured, as if he didn't care. But I could tell that deep down, he was enjoying it.
I couldn't wait any longer.
—Enough talk, let's eat! —I exclaimed, sitting down with the others.
With all the plates served, we joined our hands and said in unison:
—Bon appétit!
The first bite was like a direct hit to the soul.
The wild boar was perfect, with an incredible balance of flavors. The meat was tender, juicy, and full of an intense flavor, enhanced by the spices. Each bite felt like an explosion of warmth in my stomach.
We finished eating until we were completely satisfied.
I sighed, lying down on the ground.
—Well... it's time to find the next Templo Telar —I said, my voice still heavy from the meal.
I waited for a response, but only found silence.
I looked at Ardan… and he simply ignored me, his gaze lost somewhere else.
Saria noticed the tension between us and turned to me.
—Hey, what happened between you two? —she asked, raising an eyebrow.
—A few things happened... —I replied, scratching my neck.
Before I could say more, Kogorō interrupted us.
—Hey... there's something inside this waterfall —he said, floating closer to the waterfall—. Looks like some kind of passage.
Saria immediately stood up, her eyes shining with excitement.
—Alright! It must be another Templo Telar! Let's go, guys! —she said, taking Ardan and me by the arms and dragging us along.
I couldn't help but smile a little. Despite everything, Saria always found a way to keep the mood high.
The sound of water echoed off the cave walls as we entered the hidden passage. After walking for a while, the view suddenly opened up to a vast space.
We found ourselves in a gigantic cave, so wide that the light from our torches barely reached to reveal its size. And in the center of that place...
A temple.
It was tilted, old, and covered in moss, but it still stood firm. Its huge pillars and ancient carvings suggested it had been there for thousands of years.
—This must be centuries old... —murmured Kogorō, floating beside us.
I didn't wait any longer.
I jumped down, landing in the crater where the temple was set. The others followed me.
I approached the entrance and pushed the massive stone door, which opened with a heavy creak.
And there, on the altar at the back, I saw it.
An ancient scroll gleamed faintly in the center of the room, surrounded by forgotten treasures and relics.
But what caught my attention the most was something else: in one corner, there were several Telares Maps stacked on a table.
—Impressive... —whispered Saria, amazed.
And I couldn't agree more.
I approached the table where the maps were. There were more than I expected, each with marks and routes that seemed to weave into one another like a labyrinth of possibilities.
—This is good... we're in luck —I said, with a satisfied smile—. Now we can travel multiple times.
—I'll take a few —said Saria, already grabbing several scrolls and tucking them into her outfit.
Ardan, on the other hand, didn't seem convinced. He crossed his arms and looked at the maps with a calculating expression.
—Something tells me this won't work... —he murmured.
Before he could say more, Kogorō shushed him.
—Shhh... quiet, kid. Don't you realize we want to stay positive?
—I didn't say anything bad, I just gave my opinion —Ardan defended himself with a dry tone.
I ignored the argument while making sure to grab enough maps and tuck them into my outfit alongside Saria.
—Alright... —I said, unrolling the Dimensional Map—. Let's go, guys, grab onto the spear.
We all placed our hands on the Crimson Spear as I inspected the map. It was a sea of interconnected lines and dots, each representing a route to a different destination.
I had no idea where it would take us, but I pressed a point at random.
Immediately, a brilliant energy enveloped us.
The air around us stirred, and I felt my body begin to lose weight. In the blink of an eye, we started to rise into the air, gradually becoming transparent…
Until we disappeared completely.
We moved at an indescribable speed.
It was like threads of light cutting through an endless dark sea. Around us, countless worlds floated like bubbles, appearing from afar as countless dots, as if painted on a canvas, each with unique and strange landscapes.
It was an overwhelming sight, a cosmic dance of realities.
I gripped the Crimson Spear tightly as we all traveled together through the unknown hyperspace.
And then…
Everything changed.
In an unknown place…
The sky was dark.
Not the way it looks before dawn, but in an unnatural and ominous way.
A giant, purple moon hung high above, casting an eerie light on the landscape.
The trees were nothing but dry, twisted trunks, and the worst part... they seemed to have eyes embedded in their bark.
Before I could process what I was seeing, we realized something even more concerning.
We were falling.
—AAAAAHHH! —we all screamed in unison.
And the worst part…
We were heading straight for a volcano.
Kogorō, floating beside us, began to scream as well.
—IT'S THE END FOR US!
But then he seemed to remember something.
—Oh, no... I just remembered that I'm already dead... —he said, shrugging—. I mean… IT'S YOUR END!
—IT'S NOT FUNNY! —Saria screamed, terrified, with tears streaming down her face.
We all kept screaming as the ground approached at a terrifying speed.
—I CAN'T DO ANYTHING! —I yelled, feeling that the impact was inevitable.
The lava of the volcano bubbled beneath us, roaring like a hungry beast.
It seemed like our fate was sealed.
We were falling uncontrollably.
The volcano was getting closer and closer, and the lava roared with a terrifying intensity.
—I'm going to do something! —Ardan shouted desperately, extending his hands.
An ethereal glow emerged from his palms, and in an instant, a translucent spiritual barrier appeared beneath us. But instead of stopping us completely, the barrier had a soft, elastic effect.
We bounced!
Not with enough force to propel us upward, but just enough to change our trajectory.
—It's not enough! —Ardan grunted, forming another barrier ahead.
We bounced off that one too.
And then another... and another...
Ardan was desperate, creating barriers in the air as we fell at full speed. Each bounce gradually diverted us from the volcano, but Ardan's effort was evident.
—Come on, come on, come on! —he muttered through gritted teeth.
Finally, on the last bounce, he propelled us out of danger, heading us toward a forest.
—Hold on! —I shouted, though there wasn't much to hold onto.
We hurtled through the air violently, breaking several branches from dry, battered trees.
The final impact was... less glorious than expected.
We fell straight into a puddle of mud.
—Ugh! —I exclaimed, feeling the mud cover my face.
Saria, covered from head to toe, let out a near-funereal groan as she recovered.
—I just dirtied my kimono... and I had just washed it! —she complained sadly.
Ardan, still recovering from the effort, looked at her in disbelief.
—It's much better to get dirty in a puddle than to die burned and melted in lava. You wouldn't even see your bones... or your kimono.
A shiver ran down my spine.
Why did Ardan have to say it like that?
—That's terrifying... —I murmured, looking at him uncomfortably.
Kogorō, floating in the air and completely clean, held his head as if he were nauseous.
—I feel like vomiting from all those trips... and I'm a spirit...
I shook the mud off my clothes and looked around.
The environment felt strange.
The trees were twisted, withered, and dry, and the ground had an ashen color, as if something had drained the life from the place.
—This world looks... very eerie and neglected... —Kogorō commented, analyzing the surroundings.
I nodded, feeling an uncomfortable sensation in the air.
—Hmm... you're right. Or maybe it's just this place we're in...
I sighed and stood up.
—Come on, let's get out of here. Maybe we'll find something outside this forest.
With that decision, we set off, making our way through the darkness of the forest in search of an exit.
We walked for a long time.
The forest was behind us, but the new scenery wasn't any better. A desolate village stretched out before us.
The houses were in ruins, the streets covered in dust, and the air itself seemed heavy. There were no signs of life.
I stopped and frowned.
—There's no one... in this village...
Saria looked around with concern.
—We haven't seen anyone since we started walking hours ago… Kogorō was right… this world looks very sinister and eerie…
I looked at the abandoned structures.
The trees were withered, the sky remained covered by a dark mantle, and the few plants that existed seemed completely dead.
Everything here... was dead.
Ardan crossed his arms with discomfort.
—Saria is right. I don't like this world... We'd better hurry and get out of here before something happens that shouldn't happen.
I nodded, and we continued walking in silence.
But Kogorō didn't seem to be paying attention.
The spirit floated slightly above us, watching a hill in the distance. There, in the dark sky, black lightning fell with a threatening glow.
I noticed Kogorō swallow.
Something... worried him.
But he said nothing.
From his mind, he only thought of something none of us could hear.
"I hope we don't go to that hill... It doesn't look like a place to visit."
---
The village remained the same.
Nothing but dust, sand blown by the wind, and broken paper lanterns creaking with the murky breezes.
Absolute silence.
Until...
A shadow passed across the sky.
I looked up immediately.
—...
We weren't alone.
Several flying and sinister figures moved among the dark clouds.
Their bodies were blurry, as if made of smoke and shadow, but their eyes... those eyes shone with a crimson glow.
And they made screeching, unnatural sounds.
—What the heck are those things...? —Saria asked, her voice trembling.
—I don't know... —I replied, slowly stepping back.
Then, one of those creatures opened its mouth and shot a ball of black fire in our direction.
—I don't want to know! Run!
Without hesitation, we ran down the empty streets.
The shadows howled from the sky, launching more fireballs.
—We didn't even spend five minutes in this world, and already strange creatures are attacking us! —Kogorō complained, floating at full speed.
Ardan extended his hands and created a spiritual barrier to protect us.
But the moment one of the fireballs hit, the barrier shattered into a thousand pieces.
—What...?! —Ardan exclaimed, surprised.
---
We turned a corner, still running, when suddenly...
—Psst! Come this way, quickly!
A voice whispered from the darkness.
Saria turned and saw a hand gesturing for us from a small entrance between two ruined buildings.
She didn't hesitate.
—Hey, guys, follow me!
Without thinking twice, we slipped into the narrow corner.
The creatures flew past us without noticing and continued their search in another direction.
For now... we were safe.
Breathless and still with my heart racing, I leaned against a ruined wall and looked at Saria.
—Thanks to you... we've been saved, Saria... you were very clever...
She didn't answer immediately.
She was staring ahead.
There, standing, was a child wearing a worn and dirty kimono.
His tangled hair fell over his face, and his eyes reflected a mix of caution and sadness.
The child crossed his arms.
—You're lucky I appeared just in time, travelers.
Before I could say anything, Kogorō floated in front of the child with disdain and shouted at him without hesitation.
—Hey! Who are you?
The child took a step back, frightened.
Saria shot Kogorō a harsh look.
—Hey, Kogorō! There was no need to shout at him. Don't forget that thanks to him, we managed to escape from those things...
Kogorō crossed his arms in annoyance but said nothing.
I approached with curiosity and gave a small bow.
—Anyway, thanks for helping us.
Ardan sighed, calming down after the chase.
—We were very lucky... but I can't understand what those things were...
The child lowered his gaze.
—They are Tandus.
I frowned.
—Tandus?
—Yes. They are the servants of the Tarantula Queen. Anyone they see... they won't hesitate to attack.
Ardan exchanged a worried glance with Saria and Kogorō.
—What do you mean by "Tarantula Queen"?
The child sighed.
—She's a woman... or rather, a Jorōgumo.
We all fell silent.
—Half woman, half spider? —Saria murmured, shivering.
The child nodded.
—Come. I'll take you to the others, and there I'll explain more...
---
As we walked through the destroyed wooden houses and broken skulls, the path grew darker and darker.
The remains of what once was a village lay in ruins, as if something gigantic had devoured it all.
I couldn't help but shiver.
Spiders...
No... I didn't like spiders.
Ardan broke the silence.
—How long have those creatures been attacking this place?
The child didn't stop.
—For many years... Since the arrival of the Tarantula Queen.
I looked around.
Everything... was destroyed. Dead.
The child continued.
—Since then, this world has been a hell. We haven't seen the sunlight because of her.
My skin crawled.
—What do you mean by that? What happened to the other people...?
The child finally stopped.
In his hand, the lamp trembled slightly.
Then he raised his gaze, his eyes darkened by something deeper than fear.
—She devoured them... all of them.
The air turned icy.
Saria held her breath.
Kogorō looked at the child in disbelief.
I... simply couldn't say anything.
Ardan swallowed.
—D-devoured?
The child nodded slowly.
—Exactly... I don't know where they came from or how they got here... but now you won't be able to leave.
The chill down my spine intensified.
The child looked at us intently.
—Now you've become food for the Tarantula Queen... and her Jorōgumo.
And then, a cold and terrible voice echoed in my ears.
"You've walked straight into the mouth of the Jorōgumo Queen."
BOOOOOM
A thunderclap struck the sky, illuminating the hill in the distance.
Gigantic shadows moved in the distance.
The nightmare... had just begun.