[The God Realms]
Mountains crumbled into obsidian dust, and ancient rivers hissed as they evaporated into caustic steam. The very foundations of the earth fractured, bleeding molten magma that surged toward the heavens. In the center of this apocalypse, two figures hovered—fixed points of stillness amidst the cosmic devastation.
"You know we cannot allow that child to be born, Arachne!" The man was a pillar of blinding, golden radiance, his voice vibrating with a terrifying, righteous weight. He glared at the woman before him, whose silk robes trailed behind her like liquid webs and whose pupils were many-faceted and predatory. "Stand aside! You claim to cherish mortals as your children—would you truly sacrifice an entire world for the sake of this one?"
Arachne smiled, her fingers weaving threads of dark energy into a lethal, shimmering pattern.
"I am a Goddess of Fertility," she purred, the sound like silk dragging over stone. "Of course, I cherish them... but how can a million foster children compare to my own flesh and blood? I have waited eons for this bloom. Did you truly think you could storm my nest and snatch my egg away?"
The God of Light shifted his energy into a shimmering, defensive shield. "Wait—others? You knew we were coming?"
A wicked, triumphant grin spread across Arachne's lips as she drifted back into the swirling void.
"You should know my divinities well enough by now. I see the threads of fate before they are even spun," she laughed. "I have already made my move. My child is no longer in this realm; I sent the egg into the lower dominions long ago. My little darling should be hatching any moment now."
You wouldn't!" The God's light flared in alarm. "Without heavenly energy to nourish its form, the risk of deformity is absolute. It will be a monster!"
Fufu... perhaps. But I have a feeling she will be just fine. Besides," Arachne's grin widened as the golden aura around the man began to dim and flicker. "I believe you should be more worried about yourself. I have never met a being capable of surviving my soul-venom. I wonder... can the God of Healing cure his own demise?"
[Mortal Realm – Lower Dominion]
In a forest untouched by the sun, a giant arachnid stood guard over a hidden grotto. While others of her kind birthed millions, she guarded only one: a single, pulse-less egg bundled in silver silk.
"This way! The beast I saw is just ahead!"
A voice shattered the silence. The spider stirred, her many eyes fixing on the cave entrance. She had seen this dance before—the bipeds with their cold iron and loud voices. To her, they were merely the first meal for her soon-to-be-born charge. She scuttled up the damp walls, vanishing into the shadows of the ceiling.
"The beast should be inside," a man's voice commanded. "Prepare for an ambush. My scouts identify it as an arachnid guarding a nest. We draw it out, then we strike."
The spider tensed. As the first shadow crossed the threshold, she lunged. But the figure below was not the weak prey she expected. A man in silver armor stepped into the gloom, his deep crimson eyes cutting through the dark with unnatural clarity. He didn't flinch. He didn't even slow down.
I've been spotted! The spider attempted to recoil, but it was too late. A flash of steel severed the air.
"And here I thought the one causing such trouble would be a challenge," Lord Fu sighed, flicking the ichor from his blade. "A mere [Venom Weaver]. We were over-prepared."
He looked toward the silk-wrapped nest.
"Still, its young should make a decent enough gift for that girl my son is chasing." With a casual stroke, his blade cleaved the mother spider in two. "Enter! Harvest the silk and bring the egg. Leave nothing of value."
Twenty armored soldiers filed in. They searched every crevice but found no herbs, no gold—only the solitary egg.
"Sir," a soldier stammered, holding the silk bundle. "This egg is the only thing here. It's... odd. Usually, these creatures hoard treasures for their young."
"Then this expedition was a waste of my time," Lord Fu spat. "I expected a Rank 4 beast at the very least. Well, no matter. It's a beast egg nonetheless. It will serve its purpose."
The soldier's face went pale. "My Lord... I know there is bad blood with the Si clan, but isn't a common weaver egg an insult? To use this as a bride price..."
Lord Fu sneered. "They should be lucky to receive anything from me! If it weren't for that girl's talent and my son's obsession, I wouldn't even offer them my shadow. Pack it up. We return to Phoenix City."
[The Next Day: Phoenix Fall City]
The Fu estate was a whirlwind of silk and vanity. While the men waited with practiced patience, the women labored over their finery.
"Father, is the gift ready?" Fu Huijin asked, his eyes bright with arrogant excitement.
"Lady Si deserves the finest beast in the empire!"
In this land, the Fu and the Si were the twin pillars of power—the Fu masters of beasts, the Si masters of war. Even the Royal Family walked softly when these two houses spoke.
Lord Fu looked at his son with doting eyes.
"Everything is prepared. There is no way she will choose anyone but you, my son."
"We would have been ready sooner if your sister hadn't redone her makeup two hundred and seventy-five times," Madam Fu remarked as she joined them, her eyes sharp. "Huijin, remember: you are the heir to the Fu line. Do not embarrass us for the sake of a girl."
"Of course, mother. I have everything prepared. I am confident in being chosen."
As the carriage began to roll toward the obsidian spires of the Si manor, none of them noticed the silk-wrapped bundle in the storage chest. Deep within the shell of the "common" egg, a tiny, ruby-colored heart began to beat for the very first time.