CHAPTER 15 : Weaver's Web - Cornered Prey

Cornered. Again. Kaelen's back was almost touching the humming obsidian pillar. In front of him, half a dozen of those creepy crystal spiders – Obsidian Weavers, the System called them – were skittering down the walls and onto the glassy floor. They spread out, forming a half-circle, blocking any escape. His heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird.

He scanned them quickly, fear making his breath short. His [Avian Vision] picked out the sharp, pointed tips of their many legs and the way the blue light pulsed inside their dark, glassy bodies. His [Vibration Sense (Basic)] felt the light, scraping clicks of their legs on the floor – an unnerving sound in the otherwise quiet chamber. [Chemoreception] still got nothing from them, just the weird electric tang of the room itself. They weren't alive, not like the bugs or birds or even the fungus people. They were… things. Constructs. Guardians. And they were all focused on him.

The System finally updated, confirming his fears.

[Target Analysis Update: Obsidian Weaver]

[Type: Crystalline Construct / Guardian Protocol]

[Threat Level: Moderate (Individually) / High (Group)]

[Abilities: High Durability (Obsidian Structure), Razor Limbs, Energy Resonance (Confirmed: Draws power from central structure), Unknown Energy Projection?]

[Potential Weakness: Structural Joints? Internal Energy Core? (Speculative)]

[Biomass Yield: 0 (Inorganic)]

[Genetic Data: None]

Zero biomass. Zero genetic data. Fighting these things wouldn't make him stronger, wouldn't help him evolve. This was purely about survival. And they drew power from the pillar right behind him. Great.

One of the Weavers, slightly larger than the others, suddenly darted forward. It didn't shoot anything, but lunged, moving way faster than Kaelen expected, one of its front legs slashing towards his face like a black glass knife.

Kaelen yelped, throwing himself sideways, stumbling against the base of the pillar. The sharp leg missed his head by an inch, scraping against the obsidian pillar with a high-pitched screech. Sparks flew. Okay, they were definitely fast and sharp.

He needed to slow them down, test their defenses. He activated [Adhesive Slime Generation (+)], flicking a thick glob towards the Weaver that had just attacked. The slime hit its glassy body with a wet smack. It stuck! The Weaver paused, trying to scrape the sticky stuff off with another leg, its movements becoming awkward. It worked, kind of. But there were still five more coming.

He scrambled away from the pillar, trying to keep some distance. He wished desperately for the heavy pipe he'd used on the Larvae, but he'd lost it in the narrow tunnel. He looked around – the floor was bare, smooth glass. No rocks, no debris. Nothing to use as a weapon. Just his own body and his skills.

Another Weaver scuttled close, legs stabbing towards his legs. He dodged back, feeling the reinforced chitin on his arms and back tense up. A glancing blow from a leg scraped his forearm – it hurt, but didn't cut deep. Thank god for the Stage 1 evolution. He tried pulsing his [Glow] ability, hoping the sudden flash might affect them. The blue lines inside the Weavers flickered for a second, but they didn't seem confused or slowed down. Guess weird green light didn't bother glassy spiders.

He managed to land a solid kick on one Weaver, sending it skittering back a few feet, but it barely seemed damaged. These things were tough. He noticed the blue light inside them pulsed brighter when they were closer to the central pillar. They really were drawing power from it. Like plugging into a wall socket.

He was dodging and weaving, using bursts of slime to slow them down when he could, but he was getting tired. There were too many of them. They kept trying to surround him, herding him back towards the pillar. He felt like a fly caught in a web made of glass and angry energy.

He needed to do something drastic. Something unexpected. Fighting them one by one wasn't working. Running wasn't an option. That left… the pillar. The source of their power. The thing the System warned him about. High energy field. Precursor Abyssal Core energy. Reboot Sequence 6 overload…

It was crazy. Touching it could overload his System, fry his brain, kill him instantly. But maybe… just maybe… it could also help him? Could he absorb the energy? Could it create a pulse, a shockwave, that would affect these Weavers who were plugged into it? It was a wild gamble, maybe a stupid one. But being sliced into pieces by crystal spiders felt pretty stupid too.

Another Weaver lunged, forcing him back right against the smooth, humming surface of the obsidian pillar. He could feel the deep vibration thrumming through his back, feel the static charge prickling his skin even through his clothes. The other Weavers were closing in, sharp legs raised.

No more time to think.

"System, whatever happens, just… try not to explode, okay?" he muttered, half prayer, half desperate command.

He spun around, ignoring the Weaver lunging at his back, and slammed his bare palm flat against the pulsing, humming surface of the ancient obsidian pillar.

Energy, raw and overwhelming, flooded his senses. The System screamed a thousand warnings at once. The blue lines in the pillar flared, blindingly bright. The Weaver right behind him shrieked, a sound like shattering glass amplified a million times.

Then, everything went white.