Civilization

Choking on my saliva, as I try to speak, my eyes naturally gaze toward the approaching figure. With light taps on the ground echoing in my eyes, Selino draws near, her silver hair glistening over her chest, as her scarlet eyes glimmer in the dark. Revealing a cheeky grin as she stares at me, struggling in pain, she bends down, bringing her pale face close to mine. So close that I could see the deep maroon pupils diluting as she licks her lips.

"I see that you have entered the final stages… With not much left, what are your thoughts, deary? Oh! Wait, you can't speak, can you? Feeling a little pain at the moment? Don't worry, deary. Let me help you, just for a bit." - Selino

Parting her lips, her pearl-white fangs creep out, as she draws closer to my neck. Panicking at her approach, my heart starts to race faster, as I desperately try to regain enough control of my body to move away from her. However, to no avail. Piercing my flesh, her fangs draw blood on my neck as I feel 4 needles enter me. Like a syringe, I could feel the blood leaving my body, but I also felt something entering my body at the same time.

An unknown liquid could be felt pumping through my veins as my muscles relax involuntarily, making my whole body slump down into the ground unmoving. My breathing stabilizes, and I find that albeit slowly, I was regaining control over my limbs. Watching me with caring eyes, Selino rests her head in her palms as a quiet hum could be heard escaping her mouth.

Nervous, and still frightened, I think about the pros and cons of moving and interacting with her right now. However, no matter what thoughts I had, they all came back to one dominating thought. No matter what I do, she can kill me at any time. Which is correct, I would die very quickly if she so pleases, so then what is stopping her? Is it really like how Nina told me? The deadly and gorgeous Queen has a… Crush? On me?

"Feeling better, deary? I think you should be able to move now. Why don't you try to sit up, it isn't comfortable on the ground, and you might catch a cold." - Selino

Carefully, I tuck my legs in, giving up the thought of even resisting and instead following what I am told to do. Bit by bit, I pull my body together as I sit up straight. During this time, I do my best to observe my surroundings through my peripheral, trying to not look obvious. Realizing that I am completely trapped inside a small room, with only one exit and entrance, I wholeheartedly let out a big sigh as I glance up at Selino, defeated.

"Thinking about escaping, deary? The door is that way, but I don't know if you will make it outside. My children aren't fond of people leaving without saying goodbye." - Selino

"It-It's fine. I had no thoughts of running. I was just curious about where I am and why I am here, that's all." - Ian

"Hmm… Right. So, you were just looking around while you slowly get up and that is just curiosity? Do you take me for a fool, deary? I like how brave you think you are. Remember, it is just you here. Oh, and me of course." - Selino

"Where is here? What did you do to me? Why have you kept me alive?" - Ian

"Asking the real questions right away? Ian deary, you are no fun. Liven up. Relax. Nothing will harm you here. Well, if you really want to know where here is, then I guess I can tell you. You see, the place where you built your little village, the Krepost? Was it? Very interesting name for a village but nonetheless, however, the forest is right next to it. Has it ever occurred to you that the forest hides more secrets?" - Selino

"... Yes, I'm sure there is a lot we have yet to discover inside the forest. We haven't exactly branched too far out, and we are slowly combing our way through the place, starting with the area between our 2 villages." - Ian

"Well, you are obviously not going fast enough as I still have everything that I left here the last time I saw you, deary. I was surprised. I didn't think you would not find this place, but I guess I had too high of expectations. This is just one of the little 'secrets' that are hidden in the Silent Forest. However, at this rate, I doubt you will be able to even discover a fraction of it, after all, you don't have much time left." - Selino

Selino was right, I don't have much time and I don't know why. Originally, I should still have a couple of hundred hours left, but now that I am looking at my status screen there were barely even a hundred.

[Live on then, Yet Hang: 89:23:14]

Barely over 3 days left before the curse finishes, I could only swallow my nervousness as I try to confront Selino about my condition. Since she is the caster of my curse, maybe, just maybe she will reveal to me a way to cure it or at least delay it.

"Selino, I-" - Ian

"Call me Sel, deary. I like it more when someone calls me by my nickname rather than my full name. Plus, I think it sounds cute." - Selino

"Okay then, Sel. I… Was wondering if you could tell me more about what you did to me. The last time I saw you, you inflicted this curse on me. Why? For what purpose." - Ian

"I told you before, didn't I? You are mine. Nothing more, nothing less. I did what I wanted to do. I gave you a gift. It made you stronger, didn't it? You might have been in pain before but right now… You don't feel anything. In fact, aren't you relaxed? Like there is nothing on your mind to worry about? Less of a curse, is it not?" - Selino

"How am I, yours? What do I mean to you?" - Ian

"So, many questions, but I don't mind." - Selino

Circling around me, Selino taps along the wall, creating a soft rhythmic beat as she speaks to me in a comforting tone.

"Have you ever fallen in love, Ian deary? I'm sure you have, with how handsome you are… Maybe you even played with a few girls hearts. Tugged at their strings? Pulled them along? I never fell in love. It was an unknown feeling to me. One that plagued my mind as I see even the more grotesque monsters, like orcs and ogres, fall in love. However, that changed. I saw you.

A human. Smaller than some of my children. Younger than some of them as well. Less powerful than most but… There was something. Something inside of me just screamed. I want you. I need you. Initially, I thought it was because you looked so delicious. Enough for me to just squeeze you tight as I suck the blood out of you while gnawing at your flesh, but it felt different.

Instead of rejecting the foreign feeling, I chose to sit back and try to understand it. So, I gave you my mark, Live on then, Yet Hang. Something that has been with me for a long time. The reason I became who I am today. I spread that to you, in the form of a mark, and to my surprise, you didn't die straight away. Instead, you assimilated the power and drew from it.

My surprise grew stronger as I see you transform into an Arachne, yet different from the way I transformed. A slow but gradual transformation. During this time, I was able to converse with a human. You know him, as he goes by the name Luke. He told me many things about how humans interact with each other, however, his knowledge was limited, and his mind was young. There was only so much I could gather from him.

It was then I met another friend of yours… Nina. She told me an abundance of things, increasing my knowledge and expanding on it until I realize… Yes, this is it. I truly want you, deary. More than you can ever imagine. My body craves for you. Even now, I am trying my best to control myself from pouncing on you. After all, that wouldn't be very ladylike of me. However, now I see that the gift I gave you has now become nothing more than a curse.

You will die if nothing happens, and you will die if you try to do something. But there is a way. A way for you to live on. You will be hanging from nothing but a thread, but maybe you can change that deary. A change that I cannot predict. I have heard from the Horde but you and Nina and many more humans are not what you seem. There is something different something fundamentally different between all of you and the other humans.

He didn't speak much on the topic, however, he said that the time for action is approaching soon. Deary, don't you want to live? I'm sure the Horde is doing something big and when he does something, he is able to move mountains and part seas. His strength knows no bounds and his intelligence is higher than the sky.

You are nothing but a human who is about to kick the bucket. So, if I help you. Will you help me?" - Selino

"Help you? What is it that someone as powerful and resourceful as you would need help in? And what can I even do? As you said I am powerless, and weak, I have nothing going for me. So, why ask for my help?" - Ian

"Because it is love, my dear. Nothing more than love. I WANT you. I NEED you. Come with me willingly. I don't want to force my hand and do something that both of us will regret." - Selino

Giving me time to think, Selino gently hugs me from behind, breathing softly into my ear as two large mounds press against my back. However, I didn't have time to appreciate them. There were more pressing matters at hand.

"What do I need to do…?" - Ian

"Hehe… It is very simple, deary. I'll apply another mark, establishing a union on your body, strengthening it as well as accelerating your transformation. At the same time, I wish to enter the world which you came from. I can tell that you are from a different plane of existence as your body materialized in midair in this location. Fortunately for you, I know of a way to connect us together." - Selino

Gulping at the thought, I quietly ask what was the method.

"Instead of establishing a union. Let us be one." - Selino