Chapter 4: The wolf, the labyrinth and the spider

The wasteland was a cold silent graveyard of darkness. Miles and miles of barren dirt was all that could be seen for what seemed to be an eternity. Dust particles still lingered in the air but had mostly settled. Black clouds continued to loom overhead and obscured the sky. Where the sky formed with the horizon was endless and with no end in sight. There was no structures, ruins or even mountains for reference.

Syora used every ounce of this brain to recall the map he had seen of the world as Syaiori skipped cheerfully like a schoolgirl. They had agreed on heading a random direction until they could find something to use as a reference point. Yet, they found nothing.

“Hey bro, we have been walking for about 2 to the power of 13 nanoseconds.”

“Yeah, I know. You would think with an area like this we would be able to find some kind of landmark or at least something.”

“Oh, hey, are does wolves in the distance?”

In the distance horizon was a pack of wolves. They had not seen or were aware of Syora or Syaiori.

“I count 12 in total. Should we greet them?” Syaiori asked.

“Guess now is a good time to try out how effective our magic is,” Syora said.

Making their way towards the wolves, Syaiori hummed a tone as she strolled up to the pack causally. The wolves growled and snarled as they took a stance to engage the enemy before them. Syora could sense the aura each of the wolves emitted and picked up on which of them was the leader as two wolves cautiously made their way towards them.

“They are of no value,” Syora said.

“Yay! I get to incinerate them,” Syaiori giggled as she snapped her fingers.

As Syaiori snapped her fingers, a red circle appeared under the wolf on her left. In less than a second the wolf had been engulfed in flames. The cries of the wolf rang out as it felt its fur fray into nothing while the skin carefully melted at the temperature that Syaiori had prepared for it. Just enough heat to kill its nerves but still keep the meat intact without being overcooked. Syaiori turned to the other wolf and smiled sadistically.

“How does it feel to be powerless?” Syaiori asked in the monster’s native tongue.

With another snap of her fingers she summoned circle under the wolf. The wolf used what speed it had to dodge the killing spell but found his right eye severely burned beyond repair. It was clear by the state the wolf was in that if he did not dodge a single spell his body would be cooked.

“Oh? The wolf managed to dodge that, brother.”

“Looks like the leader is starting to make their move.”

The wolf in the back started to make its way to the front. One interesting feature of note was the metal ring piercing through the left side of the wolf’s bottom lip. It was different then the others. Stopping a few metres in front of the body the twin siblings inhabited, the wolf howled with might that kicked up a mass amount of debris. While their vision had been obscured from the particulate matter, the siblings could see a shift the aura of the wolf. In a matter of seconds the dust settled and before them was a sight neither of the siblings saw coming.

Before them stood a small petite girl with long silver hair that flowed smooth down her body. While resembling a human to some degree, her ears were in the shape of a wolf and had matched the coat of her fur before the transformation. The metal lip ring was still visible while piecing red eyes struck a hint of determination and confidence. Her outfit was a simple white top that just barely covered her breasts while her skirt was made of the same silver wolf fur as her own coat and stylised like that of a barbarian or primal warrior.

“Okay, well, that is interesting. Bro, you remember reading anything about this?”

“Yeah, its abyssal magic. Transmogrify. She is of value.”

“Understood.”

Syaiori watched the wolf-girl’s placement of her body. The simple shift of her bare feet and the posture she was partaking in. Every hint of information she could gleam was why into how she fought and her mindset.

“It is clear you are a strong warrior. I wish to challenge you in a one-on-one fight. If I win, you will leave us alone in peace,” the wolf-girl said in an authoritative tone.

“And if we win we request one favour from you,” Syaiori said with a cheerful tone in her voice.

“Very well. You will now face Lyumina the Wolf Queen!”

Lyumina bent down on all fours like a wolf. Her body arched back while her posterior remained upright. She was dead set on rushing forward and ending the battle with as few moves as possible. Her feet were planted firmly on the ground as her toes gripped into the dirt. A howling scream echoed throughout the battlefield as Lyumina rushed forward. Her body lunge like a bullet at the target before her.

Syaiori waited for the perfect time to strike. As she watched Lyumina close the distance until they were only a metre from each other, Syaiori made her move. The second Lyumina reached out her hand to strike, Syaiori shifted her hips to dodge the attack and quickly wrapped her arm around her opponent. With little force she flipped the confused Lyumina onto the ground as she conjured abyssal blade and thrust herself on top of Lyumina, pinning both arms down at her wrist with just one hand.

Only the sounds of the gentle wind blow as Syaiori stared into the eyes of Lyumina who still could not process what had happened. Everything had seem to shut off as Lyumina’s brain processed what transpired. After few seconds, Lyumina started to realise what had happened.

“So, Lyumina, it looks like we win,” Syora and Syaiori said.

Lyumina watched as Syaiori unsummoned her blade but continued to feel the hips of the girl on top of her. She could only blush as she squirmed slightly from the feel. In her pack, the alpha would take control of the beta wolf as a queen of sorts.

“D-Do whatever you want to me just please… let my brothers and sisters leave,” Lyumina pleaded as she felt her body warming up around her sensitive areas.

The sadistic smile of the girl on top of her drove her to a desire of anticipation and anxiety. Her body was not ready to serve as a functional wolf mother but at the same time her mind always fantasised about the day.

“Oh do not worry. We have plans for you.”

Syaiori stood to her feet and took a moment to look out at the wolves that were still left.

“For starters, you and your pack are going to serve us,” Syaiori said with a cheery tone as she smiled at Lyumina and held out her hand.

Lyumina sat up and grabbed Syaiori’s hand as she lifted her off the ground with no effort. She could feel a large weight lifted off her shoulders. Being the alpha wolf her sole duty was to protect the pack. This meant feeding them, finding shelter throughout their travels and ensuring that none of them were weak. Serving under someone as powerful as the person before her put her mind at ease. Kneeling to the ground, she lowered her head.

“I, Lyumina the Wolf Queen vow to serve and protect you until the end of time,” Lyumina said with conviction in her voice.

“Well, now that all of that is settled,” Syaiori started to as as she made her way over to the wolf she had burned.

The wolf had managed to evade her first spell but at the lost of its right eye. Nether Syora nor Syaiori felt any remorse in their actions. Even though the wolf had lost part of its vision and its sibling was dead, it harboured no ill-will. Petting the wolf gently, Syaiori placed the palm of her hand on the wolf’s eye. Slowly the changed their magical energy to heal the eye. Yet, it was only an artificial eye. Even the world they were in had limits. Holy magic could not fully restore a body part that lost existence to time.

With time, Syaiori and Syora could better control their magic and possibly do the impossible for now they could only do what was within the realm of their capability. Using shadow magic, they forged an eye that was as black as night with a small hint of red in the pupil area. She also used a bit of holy magic to help the wolf with the burns on his face. While the wolf was healed, the scars remained.

“There, might not be a new eye but at least it will not hurt. Maybe I could get you an eyepatch and a beret,” Syaiori joked.

“Boss, if I may ask… what are you doing out in this wasteland?” Lyumina asked.

“We are looking for the Abyssal Labyrinth,” Syaiori said in a cheery tone.

“I read there are various powerful monsters in the labyrinth and we wish to see just how strong we can become,” Syora said.

The Abyssal Labyrinth was a massive underground dungeon that spanned 100 floors with monsters that could destroy whole cities. No one had ever been able to clear the dungeon, nor could many hope to reach even the fifth level of the dungeon. Monsters in that dungeon were able to devour the skin from flesh with their venom and acid or burrow inside the body to cause mass destruction to a person’s inner functional organs.

“Now, lead the way, Lyumina,” Syaiori said with a heart-filled smile.

Lyumina remained in her human-like form as she and the rest of the wolves led the way to the labyrinth. As they approached the opening mouth of the cave, both Syora and Syaiori had a feeling. The two of them still needed data to confirm but they were working on a theory. Upon closer inspection of the ruins that were barely quantifiable as rubble, both had the same conclusion. Stopping for a moment they looked at the various ruins and their positions and were certain.

“Boss? Is something wrong?” Lyumina asked.

“No, we just hope this labyrinth will not disappoint us,” Syora and Syaiori said with a sadistic smile.

Lyumina ordered a few of the wolves to stay at the entrance and not to let anyone in or out. With the rest of the of the wolves ready to fight, they preceded into the dungeon with Syora and Syaiori by their sides. Unlike a proper lit cave, the Abyssal Labyrinth held no light beyond what those who entered carried. Spells or other items could be used to illuminate the area but with the risk of alerting the creatures that lurked in the shadows.

“Boss, I have to ask…”

Lyumina began to fidget with her hair as she struggled to say the sentence on her mind. She was met with mixed emotions on how she felt. There was apart of her that feared the backlash of seeing something wrong but there was also the excitement of being punished for speaking out of line. Her tail twitched as she continued to find the right words.

“If you have something to ask then ask. Questions are how we learn and understand the chaos around us,” Syora said calmly.

“Okay. I noticed you say ‘we’ when referring to yourself. Is their a reason for it?”

“Oh, that is because my brother and I share the same body,” Syaiori said in her cheery tone.

“Its true. You probably noticed the change in our tone and voice. My sister is playing the role of a cute effervescent demon lord while I am trying my hand at the dark reclusive demon lord.”

“That must be hard on both of you, boss.”

“Nope. We wanted it. Better for us to be together than separated. Just think, if we had been separated,” Syaiori mused as she continued to skip merrily without no fear.

As the group continued to make their way down the floors one by one, Syaiori and Syora thought back to their past lives.

#

The brother rested his cheek against the palm of his hand. His ability to care about the class was something that eluded his high-functioning brain. Nothing about algebra or geometry excited him when he was solving dynamical systems and chaos theory equations at twelve. He was one of logical, rational and fractal reasoning.

The sister bared the same fate. She was a person of logic and reason. Her ability to empathise was non-existence as she – like her brother – only saw human being in one of two states: value or no value. Few people were of value to her such as her brother. Yet, she understood that in order to blend in to the reality of life, she would need to mimic those around her. As easy as that logic was, it was something she struggled deeply with at her age.

As the hour came to an end, the lunch bell rang which allowed kids the time to eat and socialise among each other. The twins looked around at the other students and what they at brought. Others had nicely packed bento lunches with rice and other foods of optimal nutrition. Opening their single lunch box the twins started at the single peanut butter sandwich cut in half and a small bottle of Dr Pepper.

The simple and effective lunch before them was enough to satisfy their nutritional intake and while the soda was of a relatively unhealthy variety, they enjoyed the pleasure of the carbonated concoction over various juices and milks. From an outside prospective, how the siblings went about their lunch was a strange anomaly and led to countless encounters with students picking on them or teasing them.

Even the teacher was unable to deal with the two siblings. What she saw as abnormal was an analytical form of efficiency. Their mother often found herself in meetings with their teachers due to their lack of participation in the classroom. Yet, there was little that could be done when they excelled at every test, mid-term and exam with perfect scores.

Both the brother and sister sat in the office as one of their teachers continued to berate the two siblings in front of their mother. Their mother had become so accustom to teachers trying to convince her that her kids were going to fail that she gave up trying and merely allowed her two twins to prove it. The principal was no stranger to the twins before him and he tried his best to simply leave things be. He knew far to well that the two kids sitting across from him were smart – smarter than him.

Yet, the teacher continued to raise an issue where there was none. Her voice was one control and dominance. She did not like the idea of two kids being smarter than her and it was slowly starting to become apparent as the meeting went on.

“Your children are of no value to society if they continue down this road,” the teacher said.

The mother sighed. As much as it angered her to hear someone speak ill of her children, she knew that her kids were fully committed to ending the teacher’s career with just their words alone.

“If you believe us of no value than that shows a lack of intelligence on your ability to critically and analytically contrive information,” the brother said calmly with his gaze showing no hint of life.

“A failure is someone of no value. This would be the case for you and your inability to functional assess and compartmentalise information then communicate that information to your students.”

“Your students are constantly failing due to your inability to teach the subject matter. In reality, you are costing the school a negative cash flow state by remaining employed at this school.”

“Thus, termination is a more logical answer as that is the source of the problem.”

“And for proof, the various test scores for the past three years are more than enough to conclude that you are truly of no value.”

The room was silent for a moment as the blood pressure of the teacher was reaching a boiling point.

“You and your kids can go now, Ms Karuisawa.”

Both twins followed their mother as she did not speak. The car ride too was silent as their mother tried to find the right words. She was not angry with her kids – how could she be? No, her anger was at the woman who that tried to belittle and devalue her kids in front of her. Life as a single mother working two jobs was not even an issue. Her problem was her failure as a mother to provide her children with a proper education that could satisfy their unique brains. For her, her kids were everything.

Stopping at a red light, Karuisawa sighed. She had to figure out the best way to word what she was feeling without emotions. Speaking on their level was a challenge for her and she struggled on what words to say and how. As the light turned green she took a moment to rethink her words. Every word she would say would need meaning behind it, facts, logic, reasoning. They responded best to scientific conversation over emotional discourse.

Coming up on another traffic light, Karuisawa finally broke the silence.

“Okay, so I am bad at this but hopefully I can make my intentions clear. Neither of you did anything wrong. I do not blame either of you and that teacher deserved what she got.”

“We are aware, mother. My sister and I see no reason you should feel a need for blame. That woman was simply of no value and in time she will be fired.”

“While I appreciate that and love you both, maybe you could be less direct in the future?”

“What do you mean?” the sister asked as she looked to the front of the car awaiting her mother’s answer.

Karuisawa pondered on how to reply. Her kids did not know the meaning of the word discretion.

“People say one thing and mean another. You understand this, right? In life, people wear masks or maybe persona is a better phrase. People hide their true selves when they wish to be safe from the rest of the world. I can’t begin to understand what it is like for both of you but as your mother, I love you both and wish for your success in this world. Even if the day comes where you see no value in my life, discard me, I will still love you both.”

“This does not make sense? Why would we discard you mother since you have value?” the twins said in unison.

A tear flowed down Karuisawa’s eye. From her kids, that was the highest praise and comment one could receive from them.

“I have the best kids in the world,” Karuisawa cried as she felt her eyes water with joy.

Karuisawa continued to cry as the tears flowed. It became so bad her vision started to blur and she was unable to see. For a moment she took her hands off the wheel and tried to dry her eyes. As she continued to carefully dry her eyes while being careful of her eyeliner, the car began to veer to the oncoming road.

“Truck,” her son said in a calm voice.

“What dear?”

“Truck at your twelve o’clock, suggest swerving to the left.”

It took Karuisawa a second to realise what her son had meant. Before her eyes was the blinding reality that her and her kid’s lives were about to end. The truck before them was a nondescript truck. It was plain and blending into the society of the world like many humans in their daily lives. Like a deer caught in headlights, Karuisawa had been unable to communicate to her brain about the action she needed to take in order to ensure her existence and her kids was continued.

Her son calmly grabbed the wheel and pulled it back into the proper lane. They had avoided death by truck. While their mother continued to process what had happened, she realised her son was still keeping the car steady on the road – a perfect straight line. Taking a moment to compose herself, Karuisawa smiled and grabbed the wheel from her son.

“Thank you, dear.”

“I would advise not testing the force impact of inertia while we are still in the car, mother.”

Karuisawa laughed.

“Was that a joke?”

“Indeed. I figured trying to lighten the atmosphere was the best course of action.”

“Yeah, soldiers do it often. Dissociation,” the sister said in a cheery tone as she smiled.

Many parents had to worry about if their kids were doing drugs or teach them about the world of the butterfly and the flower, Karuisawa had nothing to worry about with her kids. At least that is what she thought as she pulled up to their home. The house was grand in scale and appeared out of a modern-day architecture book. Yet, there was always a part of Karuisawa that hated the house.

The house was simple in its design and followed the principles of minimalism and drew various influences from the design of Switzerland and the Bauhaus school in Germany. Function was the core of the design and every room served a purpose throughout the design.

“You kids want anything to eat?” Karuisawa asked.

“We are fine.”

After that simple exchange, Karuisawa watched as her kids entered the house. She knew they would go to their rooms and do various activities from science experiments to building something like a quantum computer – or at least drawing up the plans for one. Their family life was abnormal but she loved it. Her kids did not do anything bad or kill anyone – that she knew of. Still, it was enough for her. She got to enough what time she had with her kids and learn about so many interesting things in the world. Even if she had trouble following ninety percent of everything they would discuss, she loved that they would share their knowledge with her.

The hours passed by until it was dark. Karuisawa took the time to read a book she had bought some time ago. While simple in plot, the story was romantic and touched on a feeling she could relate to. As she turned the page, a loud thump echoed through the wall. She paid it no mind, believing her kids were up doing something that involved building or some sort of game they were creating. Another thump echoed out, followed by a few more.

Suddenly, the thumps turned into a steady rhythm and her mind could only fathom a guess as to what her kids were doing. Closing her book, she made her way to her kids bedroom to find something she wish she had not witnessed.

“Ah. Brother, fluids are in.”

“Mother, we are still having trouble understanding why people take pleasure in the sexual expression of this mundane labour.”

Karuisawa could only sigh at what she had witnessed before her eyes. The sight would normally shock most parents but Karuisawa had been around her kids enough to know they would not do this for some stupid reason.

“Okay… kids… we need to talk. Go get dressed and meet me in the living room.”

Making her way into the kitchen, Karuisawa brewed herself some coffee and grabbed a Dr Pepper for both her kids. Once they were seated on the couch, she took a moment to figure out what to say. Where was she to start? Being normal was not going to work as she already knew they would have counter arguments for anything she threw at them.

“All right, so do you remember that persona thing we discussed?”

“Yes,” both siblings said in unison.

“Both of you are unique and while that is a good thing, the world tends to look down on different people. Those who are geniuses are often shunned for their ideas or cast aside for going against the grain.”

“Okay, we follow you so far,” the siblings replied in unison again.

“There are may things, some stupid and devolved of logic, that are seen as taboo. Now, I am fully aware that both of you did not commit that act out of lust or love but society does not share the same beliefs. I know I can’t share what those emotions feel. Describing them would be impossible.”

“So, we should refrain from engaging in further sexual intercourse with each other from now on?” her son asked.

“I have no idea what exactly I can say but if the two of you want an experience, build a persona that can mask your true intentions.”

“I see. So, this means we should lie to people?” her daughter as she looked to her with a deadpan expression.

“Lie if it means holding onto the darkest parts of yourself until the end of your existence. There are people who only see the world in black and white, good and evil. The two of you are unique in that you see no black, no white, no good or evil. You simply see the truth of all the lies through fact, reason and logic. Anyway, before I go back to sleep, can the two of you at least promise me that if you decide to engage in dynamic fluid exchange, you will at least reach the age of consent, please?”

“That is fair. We promise mother, not to engage in sexual—”

“Good enough, good night.”

#

Through the labyrinth, there was often artificial light that would shine brightly in the dark. This light was emitted from monsters that that would use them as a way to lure adventurers into a trap. After floor 50, the dungeon became pitch black and only those with heightened skills of perception could hope to navigate their way through its depths. Many of the monsters above floor 50 were considered weak – despite the failed attempts of many different adventures.

Legends said of one party that made their way down into the 66 floor of the dungeon known as Judgement comprised of a strange but unique group. A human commoner from a poor city, an elf guild receptionist, a noble demon and a narcoleptic who hated work. Even with the many flaws, the party was somehow able to battle with the creatures of the labyrinth. Yet, most of their tales are lost to time, forever to go amiss in the shadows. Yet, the watcher always watches.

While Syora and Syaiori used magic to see in the dark, Lyumina and here pack were able to naturally see in the dark. All of them continued to descent down the stairs until there was no more stairs. In the room before them was various cavern pillars and critters that scuttled along the floor.

“Here we are, masters, floor 69. This is the floor that the Spider Queen is said to make her home on.”

Syora noticed some of the spiders flee down a corridor.

“We should head that way,” Syora said as he pointed in the direction of the corridor.

The group continued to follow the corridor that opened to grand chamber. Broken rocks and stalagmites grew from the craven floor. Various stalactites grown down from the ceilings with some chipped or broken off over time. In the distance eggs of spider sacks grow in bulk around different areas that gave a faint greenish hue. Beyond the vision of the darkness that was beyond the group’s range of visibility, the could see eight crimson red eyes staring at them in the distance.

Lyumina growled as she instant dropped on all fours into a combat stance. A few of the other wolves readied themselves to fight. Syora and Syaiori remained calm as they both went over the information in their head from the vast library of books they had read. Spiders were often weak to fire, even the strong monstrous ones still felt a deep pain from any sort of fire magic. Taking out its legs was also one method to slowing down its agility.

“Lyumina, be a good girl and buy us some time,” Syaiori said as she continued to scan every book that she had read in her mind.

“Got it, boss!”

As Lyumina kept the spider queen busy, both Syora and Syaiori continued to look through the knowledge they had acquired. While fire magic would have been acceptable for spiders, they wished to try out the different types of abyssal magic. Throughout their time in the library, something had always been nagging at them in the back of their brains: what were the conditions to cast and use spells? Thinking of a spell to cast required some form of link to the magic essence. There needed to be something there.

“Hey bro, should we try casting that spell?” Syaiori asked.

“Sure, why not. It would stop the spider queen from moving,” Syora replied.

While Lyumina continued to engage the spider in fierce one-on-one. It was clear the two of them were evenly matched though the spider had a slight upper hand due to the help of her children.

“All right Lyumina, that is good enough,” Syora spoke.

Syaiori held out her hand, aiming at the spider.

“Black tentacles,” Syaiori yelled.

A black goo-like liquid appeared on the ground around the spider. Out of the ground sprung various black tentacles of a liquid substance that still held the shape and form of something solid. The spider struggled to move as Syaiori slowly made her towards the creature. Syaiori continued closer until she was within a few inches from the creature’s face. Her sadistic smile and cold gaze drove fear into the heart of the spider.

“Now, let us see how long you last,” Syaiori said in her cheerful tone.

“You are just to valuable to kill. Now, my sister does not mind torturing you until you are close to death or you can serve us and make better use of your skills,” Syora spoke in the spider’s native tongue.

With a nod, the spider confirmed that could understand the two of them and wished to serve the two.

“Good arachnidian,” Syaiori said as she unsummoned the tentacles.

“Is it possible for you to transform in the same way as Lyumina over there?” Syora asked.

The spider nodded before a gulf of white light filled the room. Once the light had cleared, before the group stood a mysterious beauty with long black hair tied into two twin-tails and eight crimson red eyes. She wore a black top cut at the shoulders with the breasts predominantly exposed for all to see. A black shadow cloak covered her legs and feet appearing almost ghost-like in how the fabric flowed. Over everything she wore a black cloak with a hood to cover her eight glaring eyes.

“Greetings to you all. I am Ryakaria the Spider Queen.”