The street shook beneath their feet as the five Spider Sisters advanced, the swarm flowing behind them like a black tidal wave.
Kenna clutched the baby to her chest, the tiny pink spider still tangled in her hair, chirping anxiously.
Cyrus cracked his neck.
"You want a nightmare?" he growled.
"I'll show you one."
He lifted his sledge axe—
lightning crawled up the metal—
ORANGE, violent, roaring like wildfire.
Benjamin grabbed the woman and her baby, shouting:
"CYRUS! Don't you dare—!"
Too late.
Cyrus's eyes flashed a deep molten gold.
His skin rippled.
His jaw unhinged slightly.
Black veins crawled over his body.
Eight new eyes opened across his forehead.
His teeth sharpened into hooked fangs.
And four shadowy limbs formed from his back, spider-like but demonic.
He turned INTO one of them—
but bigger.
Stronger.
Angrier.
A shape between man and spider demon.
Even the sisters froze.
Veira's smile faltered.
Nysessa licked her lips.
Thara's cracked voice whispered:
"…A male of our kind…?"
Cyrus roared.
BOOM—!!
He slammed the sledge axe into the pavement, creating a shockwave of orange lightning that obliterated hundreds of baby spiders and sent Veira flying into a bus.
She hit it with a laugh.
"Oh, I LIKE HIM!"
Arachneon fired a bolt of pink venom lightning at Cyrus—
Cyrus caught it in one clawed hand
and CRUSHED it.
"Not impressed," he snarled.
Narya screeched, sending a psychic blast his way.
Cyrus powered straight through it.
Thara lifted her hand—
Cyrus tackled her full force, slamming her through a collapsing storefront.
Benjamin sprinted through falling debris, weaving through broken concrete and burning cars.
He grabbed a little girl pinned under a chunk of sidewalk.
The ground groaned.
The entire building beside them started to tip—
Benjamin didn't run.
He slid under the falling wall, scooped the girl up, and launched himself forward using a burst of raw strength bordering on superhuman.
The wall slammed behind him, inches from his boots.
Kenna yelled, "HOW DID YOU JUST—?"
Benjamin didn't answer.
He wasn't even breathing hard.
As Kenna reached the truck, a swarm of spiderlings lunged at her—
Before they reached her, the baby spider in her hair chirped loudly and puffed up, glowing bright pink.
The swarm froze.
Then backed away.
Kenna blinked.
"…are you their prince?"
The baby spider chirped proudly.
Arachneon noticed.
Her eyes widened.
"That one… that's the royal hatchling."
Kenna paled.
Nysessa giggled.
"Oh sister, the humans stole one of our babies."
Kenna screamed, "I DIDN'T STEAL ANYTHING—HE CRAWLED ON ME!"
The baby spider hissed at the sisters.
Thara hissed back.
Cyrus vs Thara
Cyrus's axe crackles orangeThara summons thousands of spidersCyrus burns them with every swingHe bites Thara's shoulder, ripping a chunk offShe screeches in true spider form
Veira vs Big Jim
She moves too fastJim swings wildlyVeira laughs, hanging upside down from a streetlight"Come on, big boy, hit me~"
Arachneon vs Benjamin
Her venom lightning arcs toward himBenjamin uses a metal car door as a shieldIt MELTSHe still pushes forward, grabbing her by the throatShe hisses and slips out of his grip like liquid
Nysessa vs Kenna
Nysessa slinks toward herTongue sliding across the air"You taste afraid…"The baby spider hisses furiouslyNysessa's eyes widen"Royal hatchling or not… I want the mother."
Kenna nearly passes out.
The crater cracks deeper.
Buildings tilt.
Cyrus shouts, "WE NEED TO MOVE! NOW!"
Benjamin grabs Kenna and the woman.
Big Jim fires wildly at Veira just to slow her.
Nysessa lunges—
Cyrus blocks her with all eight limbs at once.
The ground splits.
Steam and fire jet upward.
Benjamin throws open the truck doors.
Kenna jumps in.
The royal baby spider jumps into her lap and chirps proudly, defending her.
Cyrus, still half-demon, slams the ground again—
BOOM—!!!
The shockwave knocks the five sisters back long enough for everyone to pile into the truck.
Benjamin floors it.
The truck tears down the broken highway as the city collapses behind them—
Skyscrapers fall like dominoes.
Screams echoing.
Webs stretching across buildings.
And behind them—
The five sisters rise from the crater in a single, united silhouette.
Narya whispers:
"Mother… he defied us."
Nysessa licks her lips.
"He smells delicious."
Arachneon's eyes spark.
"Let us hunt."
Veira smiles wide, teeth gleaming.
"Oh yes… let's."
Thara raises one hand—
A tidal wave of spiders pours forward.
The hunt has begun.
The truck sped down the ruined road, tires screeching over broken concrete, smoke pouring from cracks in the asphalt as the city groaned like a dying beast.
Kenna held the royal hatchling tight against her chest.
It chirped again, tiny legs clinging to her shirt.
Benjamin shouted over the roaring engine,
"KEEP YOUR HEADS DOWN!"
But behind them—
behind the smoke and collapsing buildings—
five glowing silhouettes rose higher and higher.
The Spider Sisters were climbing the skyscrapers.
Not running.
Not flying.
Crawling.
Like nightmares on the walls of the world.
Thara reached the top first, hood billowing.
Her voice echoed across the entire city:
"HE RUNS.
WE FOLLOW."
A million spiders poured over the rooftops.
Cyrus leaned out the window, eyes flashing gold.
"FASTER, BENJAMIN!"
Benjamin slammed his foot harder on the gas.
The truck fishtailed, narrowly missing a fallen streetlight.
Behind them, Veira giggled as she sprinted across the broken roadway on all fours.
"You can run but you can't hide!
I love when they run!"
Arachneon fired a bolt of venom lightning—
it hit a nearby car—
BOOM—!
the explosion rocked the truck sideways.
Kenna screamed.
Big Jim held onto the dashboard like his life depended on it.
And then—
they hit a sudden stretch of surviving road.
Human survivors.
Families.
Injured people.
People dragging loved ones.
Groups trying to escape the destruction.
Benjamin swore under his breath.
"We can't leave them!"
Cyrus snarled, "WE DON'T HAVE TIME!"
Kenna's voice cracked.
"Benjamin— they'll die—!"
The truck screeched to a stop.
Immediately, the spider swarm surged toward them.
Benjamin jumped out first.
"You! You! And you! Get to the truck NOW!"
People screamed and ran toward them.
Cyrus:
"WE CAN'T FIT EVERYONE—!"
Benjamin:
"WE MAKE ROOM OR WE DIE!"
He grabbed two kids at once and threw them into the truck bed.
Kenna helped an older woman inside.
Big Jim yelled from the cab,
"My truck ain't built for this weight—!"
Then he saw something:
A massive shadow leaping from the building.
Nysessa.
Her long red tongue flickered as she soared through the air, landing gracefully on a crushed taxi.
She smiled at Big Jim.
"You left me behind."
Jim paled.
"NOPE. NOPE. I'M OUT."
He jumped out of the truck—
And ran BACK toward the street.
Benjamin blinked.
"JIM!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
Jim shouted back:
"I AIN'T LEAVIN' MY TRUCK!
I JUST GOT HER WASHED!!!!"
Benjamin:
"ARE YOU INSANE—?!"
Jim ignored him, charging down the street toward fallen debris.
Behind him, Nysessa laughed,
"Awwww, the big one likes toys."
Thara's voice echoed from above:
"Catch him."
Narya dropped from a fire escape, landing silently in front of Big Jim.
She tilted her head.
"You cannot leave. You saw too much."
Jim stared her dead in the eyes.
"Nope. Not dying today."
He lifted his shotgun and fired point-blank.
Narya's head snapped back—
But she smiled as her face reformed.
"You cannot kill a prophecy."
Jim screamed and ran even faster.