Greyskin

Chapter 4. Demonic fury.

Within the spider lair, many eight-legged critters skittered along the floor and walls. The monstrous spiders ranged from tiny sizes, small enough to swallow them in one bite, to giants, capable of feeding demons for days. The biggest one was the queen, a giant spider birthing egg sacks every day, increasing the spider population.

Out of all the spiders, only few grow to mature age, most of the others eaten or killed. And when they grow, they evolve, change, touched by the fel energy permeating the east part of the continent. There are razerlegs, spinewalkers, venomspitters... Each spider changes according to their inner self. Truly, it would be an amazing thing if somebody documented their lives, their changes and their deaths.

But, amongst all the spiders, very few ever become a queen. You have to be strong, ruthless, unyielding and cunning. You have to kill and consume your brothers and sisters, hunt the most dangerous beasts and bathe in scourge. Only the worst of the worst would become a queen.

It was such queen that was residing deep within the cave, the cave Sel attempted to investigate. The queen was hungry, it waited for the meal to be ready, but it was taking too long. The last two-leg should have been predigested by now, but the workers said he was still struggling.

For two days now workers were applying venom and digestive fluids to a certain cocoon under the ceiling. It was big and it was hot. In fact, it was so hot, that the web applied to it was slowly cracking after turning dry, so workers had to apply more and more web. Nobody really observed it closely, each worker just doing their job, but the amount of web and liquid going inside it was tremendous. The sack actually grew slightly, becoming heavier.

For two days queen waited for a new exquisite meal, a weird two-leg, who had both massive amounts of fel energy inside, but also he had something else, something only two-legs from beyond the desert had. The cool sensation when she consumed them was satisfying, like swallowing a star, devouring its light. This one had a very distinguished taste, stronger than any eaten previously. The queen has already tasted some of the two-leg, his two legs tasted just fine.

In fact, they tasted great. And the power they carried... Oh it was intoxicating, invigorating, indescribable... It was just amazing. The queen felt herself growing, and that's just from a simple limb. She couldn't wait until she tastes the main course. Granted, acid and venom destroy much of blood and release the fel energies, but the body is sure to have enough. Perhaps the queen can evolve beyond what she was. The eight massive eyes were glowing with anticipation.

After two days, the queen ordered the workers to bring the sack that she was waiting for. She would use her own stomach juice to predigest the pest.

When the sack was cut loose and brought to the queen, she sunk her massive fangs into the exterior shell made of web and injected her own acid. It was sure to digest anything it touched but the web, which was often added onto the cocoon by the workers, as it seemed to be thinning out...

At first, the sack began writhing about and moving, as if the thing inside it was still alive. After five minutes, the movements stopped and the queen was about to feast on the liquid remains of the two-leg. She didn't get the chance, because suddenly the temperature of the sack increased and it was set aflame, red streams licking away the white web, releasing what was beneath.

As the red flames died down after consuming the entire web, they were replaced by the black flames, darker than the deepest pits of Hells, so dark, they consumed the light around them. Those flames ate away at everything they touched, safe for the person they came off of. 

Sel rose slowly from the ground, stretching out his arms and legs. His body was restored fully, only white scars remained in the places where his arms and legs were removed. His legs and his left arm have been reformed, looking almost identical, although slightly whiter than the rest of Sel.