Chapter 22. The Void
"Come on, down this way. We're already running late."
The young woman in layered robes and twisting dark hair he'd seen on top of the tower when he first entered Shimih's body, which he now knew to be named Elista, dragged him by the hand through winding corridors.
She kept repeating that they were late for a ceremony announcing Shimih to be made an Aracinate. He had no clue what this meant and was unable to ask her.
As nothing more than a spectator inside of Shimih's mind he was forced to take the backseat and watch, for now.
"Elista," Shimih called out to her sister but was denied a response.
Charon could feel the irritation like a dark wave inside of Shimih's mind. "Elista!" She called out once more, this time in a louder voice. She succeeded in getting her attention.
Twisting her head quickly to look back at her sister she responded with agitation and dislike clear in her voice that Charon hadn't noticed before. 'She doesn't like me...us...Shimih?'
"What do you want, Shimih? What are you complaining about now?"
Negative emotions invaded Charon's mind as he watched the scene unfold.
Feeling her heart falter for a second Shimih looked at her sister with softened eyes. "I don't want to be an Aracinate! Please, think about it for once! Nothing good comes from being one of those wretched things!"
Charon did not know what an Aracinate was or what it meant but even his uneducated mind could tell that it was nothing good for the way Shimih's body felt about it or the feelings that resonated within them.
After a string of arguments and counterarguments exchanged between the two, Elista began pulling Shimih toward the ceremony once more, now without Shimih's resistance and her head down.
Following her down a steep corridor they ended up in front of a single door at the end, with two guards covering both sides. Elista gave the nearest guard, one filled out with a full shining set of armor and a long spear, an affirmative nod. Acknowledging her movement he promptly raised the door. Rotating the wheel behind him with a metal screech. The gate opened with a groan of metal, once fully revealed Elista took Shimih's arm and dragged her deep into the chamber.
With the two navigating through the unlit, damp chamber the metal gate behind them shut as the guard lowered it once more.
"Are you ready sis?" Elista called out with a bit of nervousness. Shimih could feel sweat starting to form on her sister's palm.
After a moment's hesitation, Shimih radiated tendrils of resentment and sorrow in her mind from where Charon could see. They were held back by the woman's body as she gave her a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Of course, Elista."
Charon, still spectating from within Shimih's form, followed Elista deeper into the chamber, their pace quickening to keep up with her determined stride. As they descended, the air grew colder and cobwebs more abundant. Small spiders could be seen here and there spinning threads and making their traps. The ominous shadows shifted and changed as if unwilling to let this spectacle go by. The oppressive silence only to be filled by the delicate scuttling of small arachnids.
Shimih's gaze was drawn to a dim glow emanating from Elista's collarbone, barely revealed due to the slight shift of her robes. It seemed to pulse with mysterious energy, casting the only source of ethereal light in the darkness.
Finally reaching the intended location Elista turned to embrace her sister quickly before taking her hands in her own. "Best of luck Shimih, she's in here." She said pointing to the largest and deepest section.
Confusion came over Charon at her words. 'She?' Who were they to meet?
Thanking her sister Shimih entered the final section.
After a few moments, nothing changed except the abundance of webs. Looking around she felt the shadows move in reverence and more scuttling. Except this sounded larger than the average spider.
Staring up at the ceiling where the roof met a raised ceiling stretching further than she could perceive, Shimih's breath caught in their throat as a massive spider descended into the center of the dark chamber, its segmented body moving with eerie grace. Her eyes already adjusted to the darkness had could not make out the fine details of the towering arachnid but the fear was all the same in front of its eight glowing red eyes. Instinctively taking a step back the way she came, Charon felt a surge of fear and uncertainty wash over her and infect his own mind. They were both terrified.
The spider's numerous eyes fixated on them, gleaming with an unsettling intensity in the dim light of the chamber. Its huge fangs glistened menacingly as they pointed in Shimih's direction, sending a shiver down her spine. Of course, Charon also felt the shiver as well as the increased blood flow and the shaking from her legs.
Elista stood her ground, her stoic expression unfaltering despite the palpable tension in the air. "What do you want, Arachna?" she asked, her voice steady but tinged with a hint of apprehension.
The towering spider, named Arachna, tilted its head as if considering Elista's question. Then, with a low hiss and a voice disgustingly similar to a human, it raspily spoke in a voice that sent chills down Charon's spine. "Welcome... to my domain," it hissed, the syllables slithering through the air like the delicate touch of its many legs. There was a disconcerting, almost mocking tone to its words, as if it took perverse pleasure in the fear it inspired.
Each word felt like a trap, ensnaring you further into the web of terror spun by this nightmarish creature. "I seek the one who bears the mark," Arachna replied, its voice echoing in the chamber like a sinister whisper. "The one destined to further my domain. The one to become....the mother... the one to bring about the end of...our.... world."
Charon's heart raced as he realized the gravity of the situation. Shimih opened her mouth to respond, but her voice was no longer there. Unable to even feel the intent of Shimih's words, his vision was engulfed in darkness, and the image of the dark chamber receded back into the endless void.
Opening once more the void revealed the woman to be inside a large chamber surrounded by several masked individuals surrounding her in a massive circle. He was still in Shimih's body but something felt....different. This feeling wasn't made better by the analyzing gaze of the masked ones.
"Have you donned the mark?" A booming deep voice asked, echoing in the lit, round chamber. The voice had come from one of the dozens of masked ones, but to Shimih, and Charon residing inside her body, couldn't figure out which one it had stemmed from.
"Yes, shrouded one," Shimih answered in a voice devoid of emotion.
Another booming voice sounded, this one sounding slightly different than the last.
"Show us the mark. Show us you bear the curse." it hissed.
Slightly nodding, Shimih held out her open palm and after a moment of silence, a mark appeared on her skin in the shape of a large spider. The legs of the arachnid wrapped around her arm in intricate weavings stretching up to her shoulder.
"Wonderful. Activate it." The same voice demanded with a hiss.
Shimih did as they said without hesitation. Feeling a flow of energy go through Shimih's body Charon shivered at the perverted energy invading his perceived shared body. The energy flowed through the tentacle-like spider legs, reaching the base of her palm, which glowed with intensity. The light, Charon found, was similar to what he spotted on Elista earlier but this one was much more concentrated, brighter, and more powerful.
A voice dipped in satisfaction commented upon the appearance of the glowing mark.
"Wonderful, quite wonderful. Weaver of silk and Aracinate of ####### please show us the way."
Wincing at the man's words Charon found them to be absent, as if they were filtered out. That the void swallowed the words much like his own self, not allowing the words to pass by without filter.
Another wave of energy erupted within Shimih's skin as she willed a string of energy to flow through her mark and out into the material world. Manipulating the string of energy with her hands she forced it to become a web of energy.
Upon the display of power, a burst of murmuring erupted from the masked figures as they all exchanged conversation.
Finishing the brief exchanges they began chanting in a strange dialect and Shimih's web fell apart slowly as she no longer willed any energy into it.
Charon's view disappeared once more as the void reappeared to swallow it up. Then again a rush of colors and lights whipped past Charon's face as he was welcomed to another glimpse into Shimih's life.
Before his sight cleared up he could already feel the presence of strong emotions. Panic, rage, and sorrow filled Shimih's being so deeply that it violated Charon's consciousness. Only then could he see properly.
The scene in front of him was a horror-stricken state of the once-thriving city he had looked over from the top of the tower. Black beasts, the size of ants from where he was, ran and flooded the streets as fire raged through the buildings without consequence. Further into the distance the once massive mountains that had looked down at the city now gave way to hidden monstrosities that lurked within, their peaks blown to smithereens by an unknown force.
All of this he had seen from Shimih's eyes.
Her voice was weak and laden with mental exhaustion, Shimih held none of the vibrant energy she possessed atop the tower nor the defiant tones she spoke with. Now, compared to what she once was, she was no more than a hollowed-out shell, standing aside as her city burned.
Tears streamed down her face in ragged lines. " ####### save us, please." Her voice cracked from her sincere effort. The words she spoke filtered out by the void.
Charon who felt her sorrow and pain attempted to reach his consciousness out to her in any attempt to comfort her. Just as it was mere inches away from connecting he heard the sound of glass shattering as he was thrust out of the sight of the burning city, past the endless void. With a cacophony of shattering glass, the sights he had experienced and the void that held them together broke away from his view and soon the familiar scene of the church ceiling and familiar panicked voices brought him back to reality.
"Charon? Isha, come quick! It's Charon, he's waking up!"