They crossed the entrance of the palisade without a word. The air changed the moment they stepped inside, becoming drier and colder, carrying a strange scent of ancient dust, silk, and something unmistakably alive. Light still filtered through the upper layers of webbing, casting irregular patterns across the walls. This was no chaotic accumulation of silk. The farther they went, the clearer it became to Kenzo that this place had been designed. Planned. Structured.
The webs formed arches and natural vaults, sometimes reinforced with fossilized roots or fragments of stone deliberately woven into the structure. Some sections were almost decorative, arranged into spirals and repeating patterns, as though whoever—or whatever—had built this place possessed a genuine understanding of architecture. This was not some hastily constructed nest. It was a work of craftsmanship.
Kenzo instinctively slowed and examined the walls more carefully. The closer they came to the center, the thicker and denser the strands became, sometimes merging into sheets that were almost solid. He raised a hand and brushed his fingertips against one of them. The texture surprised him. It was neither sticky nor soft as he had expected, but taut, resistant, almost cold.
— « Be careful… this isn't ordinary silk, » he murmured.
Curious, Naty stepped closer and pressed her palm against another section of the wall.
— « It's incredibly well made… almost like a composite material. Flexible, but strong, » she observed seriously.
Ophelia, who had been leading the way in silence until now, suddenly stopped. She stared at a particularly thick mass of webbing before subtly looking away.
— « …I hate spiders, » she finally admitted flatly.
A second of silence passed before Lucian burst out laughing despite himself.
— « Seriously? You're telling us that now? »
Naty smiled, and even Kenzo could not stop a quiet chuckle from escaping him.
— « That's not very nice, you know. Madame's part of the team now. »
Ophelia shot him a dark look before turning away.
— « She's fine. The others… not so much. »
The laughter faded quickly. The farther they advanced, the heavier the atmosphere became. The webs grew thicker, some forming translucent edges so sharp that one wrong movement looked capable of slicing through skin. Madame proceeded with unusual caution, her legs sinking slightly into the taut silk beneath them, sending faint vibrations through the floor with every step.
Kenzo felt his instincts sharpen.
Something had changed.
He stopped dead.
His heartbeat quickened.
He knew that sensation.
For the first time since entering the palisade, he could clearly sense the heart of a Void Creature. Only one, but it was enormous. It lay somewhere ahead of them, deep, slow, and steady, its pulse almost ancient, as though every beat reverberated through the entire crater. This was no vague pressure like before. It was precise. Central.
Alive.
— « Stop… » Kenzo whispered.
The other three froze immediately.
— « I can feel it, » he continued. « The heart… it's ahead of us. It has to be the one inside the cocoon. »
Ophelia drew a slow breath and brought a hand to her chest, as though trying to steady herself.
— « Me too… » she said, quieter than usual. « I can see a flame. »
Everyone turned toward her.
— « It's enormous. Stable. Dormant… but there's another one. »
The silence grew heavier.
— « Another one? » Naty asked, tensing.
Ophelia nodded slowly.
— « Ahead of us. Right behind that wall of webs. And… it's watching us. »
An icy shiver ran down Kenzo's spine.
— « You mean… it knows we're here? » Lucian murmured.
— « Yes, » Ophelia answered without hesitation. « And if we turn back now… it'll attack. »
They all looked toward the barrier blocking their path. It was several meters thick, built from countless layers of tightly packed silk, almost completely opaque and trembling faintly as though something beyond it were breathing. On the other side lay the cocoon.
And something else.
Kenzo clenched his jaw.
— « Madame. »
The giant spider needed no further instruction. She stepped back, then drove her front legs into the wall. The webbing resisted for a fraction of a second before tearing apart with a sharp sound that was almost metallic. Shreds of silk collapsed around them as a wide opening appeared.
They moved through.
Beyond the barrier stretched an enormous circular chamber. The floor was made entirely of tightly woven silk, perfectly flat and faintly reflective. At the exact center rested the cocoon, colossal and slowly pulsing, like a heart trapped within a chrysalis.
But that was not what made them freeze.
A few meters from the cocoon stood a human figure.
Alive.
A man.
He looked to be in his thirties. His white hair was tied back, revealing a pale face covered in old scars. Some were thin, others broad and jagged, as though his body had been broken and put back together countless times. At this distance, Kenzo could not yet make out his eyes, but something about the man's posture gave him the disturbing impression that he was already staring directly at them.
He wore black bark armor, remarkably similar to Kenzo's, though the exposed sections were covered in leaves that strangely resembled Naty's armor. The same ancient symbols stretched across the chest.
And on his arm was something Kenzo recognized instantly.
An armband.
Identical.
He has the same armband as the Warden from my first test…
Kenzo's breath caught.
That was bad.
Very bad.
It could only mean one thing: this man could control a Void Creature. And considering where he stood, directly beside the gigantic cocoon, there was little doubt as to which creature was bound to him. The cocoon was not merely a place of gestation.
It was a weapon.
Something connected to him.
The man was tall and powerfully built, but neither his size nor his armor was what unsettled them most.
The moment he saw them, something changed.
His shoulders tightened. His breathing became uneven. Then, slowly, without any attempt to hide it, saliva began running down his chin, dripping onto the silk-covered floor with sickening softness.
Something was wrong with him.
Something inside him had been completely broken.
Without exchanging so much as a glance, Ophelia, Naty, and Kenzo whispered the exact same word at the exact same moment, their voices heavy with certainty.
— « A Deviant… »