The Traveler's arm stopped.
Half-raised.
His fingers remained curled.
Then the pressure struck again.
Harder.
His entire body locked.
His shoulders.
His chest.
His legs.
Even his jaw.
Nothing moved.
Not an inch.
The Traveler stood completely upright.
Like a statue.
His eyes remained open.
The spider had frozen him.
The elder sister saw it.
Her expression changed.
The younger sister looked toward him.
"Traveler..."
Nothing.
He couldn't answer.
Couldn't blink.
Couldn't turn his head.
The creature had taken away everything.
Movement.
Resistance.
Choice.
The spider slowly turned away from him.
Its many eyes settled upon the sisters.
The elder sister's breathing became shallow.
The younger sister tried to retreat.
Her foot wouldn't move.
The invisible force held her too.
The spider advanced.
One enormous leg descended beside them.
THUD.
The ground trembled.
Another.
THUD.
The sisters stood frozen.
Unable to flee.
Unable to fight.
The creature lowered its massive body.
Its eyes moved between them.
The elder sister tried to reach for her broken blade.
Her fingers remained locked.
The younger sister's eyes filled with tears.
The spider raised one front leg.
The tip hovered above the younger sister.
The elder sister's eyes widened.
She tried to scream.
Nothing came.
The leg descended.
At the last instant—
the spider stopped.
Not because it had changed its mind.
Because it was examining them.
Its head tilted slightly.
Then it moved toward the elder sister.
Closer.
The creature's shadow swallowed her.
She stared directly into its eyes.
Terror filled her face.
The spider's freezing force tightened.
Her body became completely rigid.
The younger sister could only watch.
And several meters away—
the Traveler remained motionless.
His cloak barely moved in the wind.
His white hair hung across his face.
His eyes were still open.
He could see everything.
The grave.
The sisters.
The monster.
He could do nothing.
The spider raised its front limbs.
The elder sister's eyes closed.
The Traveler's pupils remained fixed upon her.
Something inside him screamed.
But his body remained silent.
The creature moved.
One step closer.
Then another.
The mountain became utterly quiet.
And for the first time since entering this world—
the Traveler was not the hunter.
He was only a witness.
A powerless one.
The spider lifted its leg.
The elder sister waited.
And somewhere beneath the Traveler's frozen skin—
something began pushing back.
Not enough to move him.
Not yet.
But enough to make one finger tremble.
Once.
Barely.
The spider didn't notice.
The sisters didn't notice.
Only the Traveler felt it.
A tiny movement.
A reminder that the statue was not completely dead.
Yet.