Chapter Thirteen: The Lady in Violet

The scent of fresh blood provoked the insects’ ferocity; the more violently he resisted, the more savage their predation became. The silver spear in Ye Ran's bloodied hands swept through the air like the wind; with each swing, a cluster of gold-eating ants was flung away. Yet this did nothing to alleviate his peril. The fiery red ants surged upon him one after another, and soon he was submerged in a crimson tide of mandibles and limbs.

Agony struck first from his back. Each ant, the size of a man’s palm, tore off flesh with a single bite. Already grievously wounded, Ye Ran coughed up blood and fell to his knees. Soon, pain flared from every inch of his body. When three ants crawled onto his arm, he watched, horrified, as his flesh was stripped away at a shocking rate, until only white bone remained.

“Get away from me—I will not die here!”

The ants’ gnawing was a torment that seemed to tear at his very soul, and fury at being so easily sacrificed welled within him. Blood surged, his expression twisted with near-madness. The silver spear in his grasp moved faster, fiercer, deadlier. At last, he hurled the bent weapon aside and fought with his bare hands, slaughtering the ants one for every bite they took from him.

Blood spattered everywhere. His entire body was nearly unrecognizable, but still he fought like a crazed beast, battling the ants swarming over him with the most primal savagery.

Battle is merciless; no matter how strong his will, he could not withstand the overwhelming numbers. Gradually, blood blurred his vision, and his consciousness grew hazy.

Yet in that haze, the pain seemed to lessen. His field of vision, once blocked by the writhing ant horde, widened again.

Was it an illusion? Or something else? It seemed as if the ants had all fled. Around him, the gold-eating ants hissed and scattered.

He raised a hand—now nothing but bleached bone—to wipe the blood from his eyes, and saw the ants neatly parting to either side.

His ghastly hand was stark before his eyes, and looking down, he beheld a mangled ruin: half his body was little more than a blood-soaked skeleton, all trace of humanity gone.

As his mind cleared, terror arrived as expected.

Tears dripped onto the yielding sand.

Why?

Why had he been fated for such unfairness from birth, forced to endure suffering when others were still swaddled in comfort?

Why, when he strove so desperately, could he never escape his wretched circumstances?

Why must he risk his life for what others could attain so easily?

Why did the one he’d fought so hard to protect turn on him without hesitation?

As blood poured endlessly from his wounds and life ebbed away, he realized how much hatred and resentment he harbored.

“Are you afraid? Do you feel powerless? Are you unwilling to accept this, human?”

A pair of small feet slowly appeared in his sight.

A woman’s voice soon followed, her tone tinged with an unfamiliar flavor as she approached with light steps.

“When humans abandoned the forests for bustling cities, shielded from heat and cold, considering themselves the highest of all creatures and distancing themselves from the cruel wild, they also forgot the fear of death and the primal law of survival—the weak are prey to the strong.”

“Having forgotten these things, humans deem themselves superior, placing themselves on a level with the gods.”

“No, above the gods.”

A slender finger touched Ye Ran’s forehead. He grunted and brushed her hand away, struggling to his feet and stumbling back two steps.

Yet those two steps left another pool of blood upon the ground.

Through his blurry vision, Ye Ran saw a woman in a violet dress; her hair was violet too, and a crimson mark shone on her forehead. Blood in his eyes prevented him from seeing her features clearly, but he could make out eight long appendages extending from her back.

“Impressive—so tenacious.”

With a hiss, silken threads shot from her fingertips. Ye Ran tried to dodge, but his strength failed him; the delicate strands swiftly bound his limbs, then wove into a dense web, cocooning him tightly.

Ye Ran struggled violently.

“If you don’t want to die, then don’t move,” the woman said.

Her voice was not harsh, yet carried an innate authority, as if she were born to command.

Ye Ran paused, astonished to find himself obeying.

Crimson light traced the web, and with it came a strange force that poured into his body, repairing his ruined flesh and organs; even the meat on his arm regrew rapidly.

His vision cleared, and he finally saw the woman’s lips, as red as fresh blood, and her cold, breathtaking beauty.

A chill radiated from her, one that seemed wholly foreign to humanity.

But most striking were the eight long appendages at her back—unmistakably spider legs.

“Miss... who are you?” Ye Ran asked, fear in his voice.

The red glow on her forehead flickered like a tiny, living eye, and that strange force emanated from it.

Her indifferent gaze lingered on his face. “A creature, like you, unwilling to submit to fate.”

“Since you are so stubborn, so desperate to live, I will give you a chance.”

The web enveloping him began to change color—from pure white to an eerie blue-green. Some fluid seeped from the silk, rising steadily until it reached his neck.

The web transformed into a spider’s egg sac, its interior filling with liquid, and Ye Ran felt a penetrating coolness.

He stared in shock at his recovering body; that strange power seemed almost miraculous, restoring flesh to the dead.

He had never heard of such an ability—not even the best healer in Torrent City could manage this.

The web detached from the woman’s fingertips. She folded her pale hands into her long sleeves, turned away, and said in a low voice, “Human, mere tenacity will not defy your fate. But perhaps, with such a will, you may go farther than most.”

She strode toward the cavern at the center of the sand, the gold-eating ants parting in silence, even the massive queen watching her with something like reverence.

Yes, reverence.

In nature, only lesser creatures look upon their betters with such eyes.

“Miss, please tell me your name. One day, Ye Ran will repay you.”

She gave a cold laugh.

“If you wish to repay me, then learn to survive in this cruel world—force fate itself to bow before you.”

“What I most wish to see is a creature that fate itself cannot subdue.”

She walked to the edge of the cavern, and the few remaining gold-eating ants inside scrambled out in terror to huddle beside their queen.

The woman’s figure slowly sank into the depths.

Behind her, the spider’s sac thickened, until it covered even Ye Ran’s head. Inside, his battered skull was rapidly being restored...