Bryce’s POV:
I materialized to where it all began, in the ashes of the remains of what used to be my home. Arachne, or should I say mommy, didn’t specify where I should go so I guess, since she knows me so much, she’ll figure I would come here.
About the smoke, yeah, since I discovered that the Dark Warlord was my father, I figured, maybe I can cast spells. So, yeah, that’s how I did that.
“Would you look at that perfect face. Such a shame to drain such a beautiful work of art,” an icy female voice said as it echoed through the deserted forest.
“Who are you? Show yourself,” I shouted back, trying my best to keep my bravery intact.
“What ever happened to save the best for last? I thought I weaved a better mind than that, son,” the icy voice replied with a scary chuckle.
Spiders of all sizes began creeping in. There were tarantulas, black widows, spiders the size of footballs and had the marks of blood red and nightshade black and spiders as large as a plate with the deadly shade of yellow and red.
I know right? I’m doomed.
Okay, spiders, I guess I fight them with fire right? Of course I will use regular fire. I don’t want mother, here, to know that I have inherited father’s ability yet.
“Incineratos Curiculus,” I whispered as a circlet of fire danced around me, flickering like graceful ribbons descending from heaven.
“I see you have discovered spell casting. I take my words back, I did do a great job in weaving you that brilliant mind of yours. Alas, you are no match for me,” she said as she blew from somewhere and a thick weaving of web came from somewhere and extinguished the fires.
The spiders came rushing in once more, some clambering through the thick web, some using the wind currents to fly towards me and some beginning to spin web.
“What do you want from me?” I asked as I simply watched in horror.
“I want you to be the loyal and faithful son that you should be,” she answered as she finally came out of the shadows.
She was concretely the lady I saw in my dreams. The exact woman I dreamed about.
“Why should I be loyal to you? Even an ounce of love, I have never felt from you,” I answered softly.
“I have carried you in my womb for nine months and have spun wonders for you. It was your fault that you came out as a useless mortal. If your heart wasn’t made of pure gold, then I would have weaved darkness in your very soul,” she spat back, obviously disgusted with the little mishap that I was, as if I was the bad person.
“You call that love?” I asked, both agitated of her shallowness and pitiful of her ignorance.
“What more will you ask for? You were made to be the ultimate weapon, a weapon powerful enough to bring down the rest of the Greek gods and that puny Man in the Moon. You are a creature of darkness and vengeance, and there’s nothing you could do about it. You are darkness and darkness you shall be,” she snarled, baring her fangs in anger.
“I don’t think that’s love. Jack cared for me more in a week than you had for nine months and you have the nerve to ask me to be your puppet?” I asked, keeping my voice to a monotone to avoid further insulting of her obviously shallow thinking.
“You will bend to my will or else...” she began but I quickly cut her off.
“Or else what? You’ll leave me? Stop being my mother?! I already lost everything! Gave up everything! You think I have more to lose?! You left me when I was a child and I survived for twelve years, you think I need you now?!” I snapped at her, my anger bursting through my words.
