Water rushed beside them, the stream keeping pace as Alistair and Kaelren sprinted through the canyon. The rock walls loomed on both sides, tight, uneven, and too narrow for comfort.

  It wasn’t a good place to be ambushed.

  It wasn’t a good place for anything.

  Kaelren’s voice came from just behind, breathless and irritable.

  “Are you sure this is the way? I don’t like it. I don’t like being this far from the trees.”

  Alistair didn’t slow.

  [Treasure Seeker – Passive: Target nearby.]

  The ping was sharp, insistent. Like a compass screaming this way in his skull.

  “I’m telling you,” he called back. “We’re close. Really close.”

  Kaelren grumbled something about stupid traits and stupid vampires but kept pace.

  “We’ve been running for nearly an hour,” he added louder. “I’m almost out of stamina points.”

  Alistair felt it too.

  The weight in his legs. The dryness in his throat. The way each stride felt half a beat slower than the last. They’d been pushing hard, trying to put distance between them and the necromancer’s walking corpse collection, trying to get somewhere safe. Somewhere with medallions.

  “Just a bit more,” he said, half to Kaelren, half to himself. “We need this.”

  They rounded a bend, and the canyon widened, just a little.

  That’s when Alistair saw it.

  A dark opening set into the left canyon wall, half-covered by moss and twisted root.

  Not a slit or crevice.

  A full cave mouth. Wide, shadowed, and deep enough that the light didn’t touch the back.

  His eyes lit up.

  “There. It has to be in there.”

  Kaelren slowed beside him, hands on his knees.

  “You and your glowing instincts,” he muttered. “I swear, if it’s another cursed rock…”

  Alistair was already moving toward the entrance.

  The ping pulsed again.

  Louder.

  Closer.

  Something was inside.

  Alistair was a step from the cave when he heard it.

  Footsteps.

  Rapid. Uneven. Panicked.

  Two figures burst out of the cave, running full-speed, one limping, the other soaked in sweat and blood. They didn’t stop when they saw Alistair and Kaelren. Didn’t even slow.

  Their eyes were wide. Wild.

  The shorter of the two, the limping one, shouted, voice cracked and ragged:

  “Don’t go in there! She’s in there! The goddess Iola’s in there!”

  They sprinted past, barely avoiding a collision.

  Kaelren turned, frowning. “Who?”

  The taller champion screamed over his shoulder as he vanished around the bend:

  “The Spider Queen! It’s Iola! Run!”

  Then they were gone.

  The canyon echoed with their retreating panic.

  Alistair and Kaelren both stood frozen.

  “Iola…?” Kaelren said slowly.

  Alistair didn’t answer.

  He couldn’t.

  Because the name hit harder than any spell.

  Iola.

  Daughter of Fate.

  Guardian of the Threads.

  The mother of spiders.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Alistair muttered.

  Then they heard it.

  Click. Click. Click.

  The distinct sound of massive pincers, snapping once, then twice, deliberate.

  Then a sound followed a deep, echoing roar.

  It wasn’t spiderlike.

  It was worse.

  Like something bear-sized or bigger was fighting something else inside.

  Something screamed.

  A distant thud shook the earth beneath their boots.

  Kaelren swallowed. “Still think your trait is pointing to treasure?”

  Alistair didn’t respond.

  Because deep inside the cave, the fighting only got louder.

  They slipped into the cave, slow and silent.

  The canyon's sunlight fell away behind them, swallowed by stone. The air grew colder. Heavy. Damp.

  And then, light.

  Faint, pale-green glow from moss on the walls. Enough to see by.

  Enough to witness.

  The passage opened into a wide, hollow chamber.

  At its center, a battle.

  On one side, a bear but not just a bear.

  Massive. Shaggy. Its fur matted with blood and torn webbing. Its jaws opened unnaturally wide, and its fangs extended beyond its lower jaw like ivory scimitars.

  It roared, swiping with claws thick as cleavers.

  On the other side, the spider.

  As large as a horse.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Dark, mottled shell.

  Eyes like glassy stones. Legs long and braced in angles too smart, too calculating.

  It moved with eerie precision.

  Not just instinct.

  Tactics.

  It didn’t lunge blindly; it tested the bear’s movement.

  Feinted.

  Retreated.

  Then spat.

  A glob of pale green venom splashed across the bear’s shoulder. The flesh sizzled, but not deeply. More irritation than injury.

  The bear charged.

  The spider side-stepped. One leg lashed out, slicing across the beast’s leg. It pivoted, then struck with its pincers, forcing the bear to reel back.

  Alistair froze, heart thudding.

  Something was wrong.

  Not with the spider.

  But with him.

  Watching it fight. Watching how it moved, like a general commanding troops, like a scholar drawing blood in chalk circles.

  His stomach twisted.

  His hands went cold.

  “No,” he whispered. “No, no, no…”

  Kaelren whispered back, tense. “What’s wrong?”

  Alistair didn’t answer.

  Because he didn’t know yet.

  Only that something deep inside him, the part that responded to gods, blood, and fate, was stirring.

  And the spider in the cavern…

  Wasn’t just a spider.

  The spider moved fast, too fast for its size.

  It scuttled left, then forward, legs slamming into stone with sharp, dry clicks. The bear turned to face it, roaring, thick claws swiping in a wide arc.

  The spider ducked low, then spat.

  A stream of pale-green venom hit the bear’s chest and shoulder. It sizzled, smoke rising from the matted fur. The bear grunted and staggered, wounded.

  The spider didn’t press the attack.

  Instead, it circled.

  Measured. Patient.

  Its body never stopped moving, legs twitching with tension. One front pincer clacked open and shut, dripping venom. The other tapped the floor like it was counting.

  The bear lunged again.

  It slammed into the spider, fangs gnashing, massive bulk driving forward.

  The spider didn’t retreat.

  It met the charge, side-on, letting one leg brace against the stone while two others curled up and struck.

  Crack.

  The spider’s left pincer closed on the bear’s side. It didn’t pierce, but the impact knocked the bear sideways.

  Before the beast could recover, the spider spat again, this time aiming for the eyes.

  The bear roared in pain, blinded by the sizzling venom.

  It swiped blindly.

  The spider danced backward.

  Then leapt.

  Eight legs launched it high. It landed on the bear’s back, latching on with terrifying force.

  Its fangs stabbed downward, short, thick, and too dull to pierce deep, but venom still dripped in.

  The bear staggered.

  It rolled hard, slamming into the wall. The spider flew off, hit the floor, then bounced back up like it hadn’t even felt it.

  Kaelren whispered, “That spider’s not normal.”

  Alistair didn’t respond.

  The spider had repositioned, its front low, pincers wide.

  The bear stood again, legs shaking, blood dripping from its side. Its breath came in ragged bursts.

  The spider didn’t give it a chance.

  It charged.

  Low, fast, fangs bared.

  The bear roared one final time and charged, claws tearing grooves into the stone.

  The spider didn’t flinch.

  It darted forward with terrifying speed, then leapt. All eight legs tucked beneath its armored body as it arced through the air.

  The impact shook dust from the cavern ceiling.

  It landed on the bear’s back, sharp legs stabbing in for grip, and plunged its pincers deep into the base of the beast’s neck.

  The bear screamed, a guttural, choking bellow that echoed through the cave like a death bell.

  Its legs buckled.

  Its massive body slammed to the ground.

  The spider stayed on top of it, pressing downward, venom hissing from its jaws, legs digging in deeper, anchored until the final shudder stopped.

  Then it stilled.

  The cave was quiet except for Alistair and Kaelren’s breathing.

  Kaelren exhaled low. “That was… brutal.”

  Alistair didn’t respond right away. His gaze stayed fixed on the spider, which now crouched silently over the corpse, legs flexing slightly as if checking its balance.

  He leaned toward Kaelren and whispered, “We should go. Quietly.”

  But his voice must have carried, just enough to bounce off the cavern wall.

  The spider’s body twitched.

  Its head turned.

  And it looked at them.

  No lunging. No hissing. No rage.

  Just a look.

  Not animal.

  Awareness.

  Its eight eyes locked onto Alistair and something inside him jolted like a blade had passed clean through his spine.

  He couldn’t breathe for a second.

  Couldn’t blink.

  He felt exposed. Not physically, but existentially.

  Like something had reached into his soul and turned it over.

  His vision swam.

  “No, no, no…” he whispered.

  Then it hit.

  [Soulbinder Trait – Activation Triggered]

  A soul of rare resonance has entered your sphere.

  [Trait: Soul Insight – Passive Activated]

  You sense this being will play a pivotal role in your journey.

  Alignment: Unknown

  Impact: Significant

  Bond Compatibility: Eligible

  Some threads are chosen. Others are inevitable.

  Alistair’s pulse spiked. His hands curled into fists. His mouth opened.

  “Oh, hell no.”

  He turned, grabbed Kaelren by the arm, and started pulling.

  Kaelren stumbled. “What the?”

  “We’re leaving.”

  “But...”

  “Run, Kael.”

  Kaelren saw his face.

  Whatever he saw was enough.

  They ran.

  Boots scraping over stone. Breath ragged. Alistair didn’t look back. He didn’t need to.

  The spider didn’t follow.

  But it was watching.

  And Alistair could feel it.

  Fate had looked at him through eight black eyes.

  And it had smiled.

  They burst out of the cave and into sunlight, lungs burning, boots skidding through the gravel.

  Alistair came to a hard stop.

  Kaelren ran a few more paces before spinning back around. “Why’d you stop?! Keep moving!”

  Alistair just stood there.

  Still. Silent.

  Kaelren stared at him. “Seriously?”

  But Alistair wasn’t listening.

  His chest rose and fell, not from the sprint, but something deeper. Something hollow. Something turning in his chest like a slow key.

  “A spider,” he said.

  Kaelren blinked. “Yes. Spider. Giant. Monster. In cave. Let’s go.”

  Alistair turned his head slightly, looking back at the mouth of the cave.

  “No… a companion.”

  Kaelren stared. “What?”

  “For years…” Alistair’s voice was low. Measured. “My Soulbinder trait never triggered. Not once. Not during training. Not on missions. Not even in life-or-death. Everyone else around me, my father, my brother, they had bonds. They gathered people like gravity. But me?”

  He laughed. A dry, bitter sound.

  “Nothing. Just a title with no substance.”

  Kaelren was frowning now, arms crossed.

  “So what, now you’re telling me the spider is...”

  Alistair ignored him.

  “And then today, today, I get two in one day. Out of nowhere. A bond with you. A bond with that.”

  Kaelren took a step closer, voice sharp. “Alistair. Snap out of it. That was Iola’s spider. That thing could’ve ripped us in half.”

  “But it didn’t,” Alistair whispered.

  He looked down at his hands.

  “The Bloodmistress told me to seek allies. Companions. ‘Tools.’”

  He clenched his fists.

  “And now they’re just showing up. Falling into place like the world suddenly remembered I exist.”

  Kaelren was losing patience. “Okay, cool existential meltdown, but maybe have it somewhere far, far away from a cave that still smells like spider death?”

  Alistair didn’t budge.

  “Should I reject it?” he muttered. “It’s a spider. For gods’ sake, it’s a giant, venom-spitting spider. Who even bonds with that?”

  He paused.

  “But it didn’t feel wrong. It felt… inevitable.”

  “Like I’d be cutting off a piece of myself.”

  Kaelren threw up his hands. “Great. My Soulbound partner is hallucinating fate now. Fantastic.”

  Then...

  Clack. Clack. Clack.

  Kaelren stopped talking.

  The sound was unmistakable.

  Multiple legs clicking against stone and loose gravel. Smooth. Calm. Approaching.

  Kaelren went rigid.

  Alistair turned.

  Slowly.

  The spider emerged from the cave mouth, massive and quiet. Its legs moved with eerie precision. In its pincers, something metallic gleamed. A medallion, maybe. Or something rarer.

  Alistair didn’t care.

  He wasn’t looking at the item.

  He was looking at her.

  Her eyes met his, eight black spheres reflecting sunlight.

  And something ancient moved behind them.

  Something watching.

  [Soulbinder Trait – Activation Triggered]

  A soul of rare resonance has entered your sphere.

  [Trait: Soul Insight – Passive Activated]

  You sense this being will play a pivotal role in your journey.

  Bond Compatibility: Eligible

  Alistair exhaled.

  “Hi,” he said aloud. “I’m Alistair.”

  Kaelren turned to him like he’d just confessed to kissing a rock. “What.”

  Alistair smiled faintly.

  “Nice to meet you.”

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