Then it stopped.
Instead of biting, the creature slowly backed away.
Riven stared at it.
"…Did it just refuse?"
Seris looked equally confused.
"That has never happened before."
She carefully lifted the spider and returned it to its terrarium.
Then she gestured toward another enclosure.
"Let's try another."
After a while Riven found another spider he quite liked.
This time it was a bit smaller.
But it behaved the same way.
It eagerly rushed toward Riven.
Climbed onto his hand.
Reached the exact spot where the soul force fragment hovered.
Then froze.
And refused to bite.
The third spider did it too.
Then the fourth.
And the fifth.
Each one rushed toward him eagerly.
Each one climbed onto his hand.
And each one stopped at the exact same place.
Not biting.
Almost as if something there frightened them.
Seris stepped back slowly, her brows furrowing.
"…What's going on?"
Riven looked down at the back of his hand.
The faint soul-force spider hovered above the tattoo beneath it.
Around them, dozens of spiders inside the terrariums were still pressing against the glass.
Watching him.
Waiting.
But none of them were willing to bite.
And Seris had no idea why.
But Riven was starting to make sense of it.
His gaze had drifted down to the back of his hand.
Riven replayed the last few attempts in his mind.
The way the spider's legs stiffened.
The way its fangs hovered just above the skin.
The way it slowly backed away, as if biting there would be a very bad idea.
His eyes shifted to the tattoo beneath the hovering soul-force spider.
Eight thin legs.
A small body.
Simple lines.
Maybe…
Maybe the problem wasn't the venom.
Maybe it was the spot.
More precisely—
Maybe they were afraid to bite the tattoo.
Riven didn't say anything.
Instead, he slowly guided the hovering fragment of soul force away from the back of his hand.
It drifted along his arm.
Then stopped above his elbow.
If his guess was correct…
Then the next one might behave differently.
He looked at Seris.
"Can you apply the mixture here?"
Seris blinked.
"Your elbow?"
Riven nodded.
She clearly didn't understand why he would move the reservoir after choosing a location—but she didn't question him further.
He held his arm out.
She pulled his sleeve back, aware that he'd have trouble doing it himself with only one arm and then rubbed the shimmering paste onto the spot.
Another spider was released.
It rushed toward Riven eagerly, just like the others.
Climbed onto his arm.
Reached the fragment.
Then froze.
The spider's body stiffened.
Its fangs hovered just above the skin.
And once again—
It slowly backed away.
Seris frowned.
"That… shouldn't happen."
Riven barely heard her.
His eyes had drifted back to the tattoo on the back of his hand.
Just before retreating, the spider had turned slightly.
Its gaze flicking toward the mark.
As if checking it.
Riven's brows drew together.
Maybe it's still too close.
Without saying anything, he guided the fragment again.
This time it slid down his body.
Stopping above his right foot.
Riven bent down and pulled off his shoe and sock.
"…The mixture," he said.
Seris hesitated for a moment.
Then handed him the jar.
Riven applied the paste himself.
Another spider was released.
It rushed toward him eagerly.
Climbed onto his foot.
Reached the fragment.
Stopped.
Just like the others.
The spider hesitated for several seconds before retreating.
Riven exhaled slowly.
They're scared of biting me.
No matter where it is.
He glanced again at the tattoo.
The crude spider shape.
He didn't know what exactly this tattoo was.
Yet every spider that approached seemed to recognize it.
And fear it.
Seris folded her arms now, clearly baffled.
"I have never seen anything like this."
Riven didn't answer.
Instead he guided the fragment back to the back of his hand.
If he could find a spider willing to bite…
The location probaly wouldn't matter anymore.
Might as well try the best spot.
He extended his hand again.
"Next one."
Seris gave him a strange look.
But she opened another terrarium.
And another.
And another.
One by one, the spiders approached.
Riven saw creatures he would have gladly taken as his venom source.
A pale frostweaver whose legs left faint trails of ice across its web.
A crimson ember-spinner with glowing veins across its abdomen.
A bonecarapace widow whose armored shell looked like polished ivory.
Each one impressive.
Each one powerful.
Each one eager.
And every single one stopped at the same place.
Fangs hovering.
Bodies tense.
Fear flashing across clusters of tiny eyes.
Then retreat.
Seris' confusion deepened with every attempt.
"This is absurd…"
Riven kept going.
One spider hesitated longer than the rest.
A small thin-bodied creature with silver markings and scales like a snake.
It stayed on his hand for nearly half a minute.
Its fangs twitching.
Almost biting.
Then it withdrew.
Riven watched it return to its enclosure.
Maybe that one would have done it… if the fragment had been somewhere else.
But he didn't move it.
Not yet.
Instead he continued.
Until eventually…
There was only one terrarium left.
Riven glanced at the fragment hovering above his hand.
Its edges flickered faintly.
His control was weakening.
If he didn't bind it soon, it would disperse.
He exhaled quietly.
One more try.
If this one failed…
Then he would go back to the spider that had hesitated the longest and try another location.
Seris opened the final enclosure.
The last spider crawled out slowly.
Riven barely watched it.
He held out his hand, expecting the same result as before.
The spider approached.
Climbed onto his wrist.
Reached the fragment.
Stopped.
Riven waited.
Not expecting anything.
Then—
The spider bit.
Venom pierced the soul-force fragment.
And the hovering spider-shaped construct suddenly darkened.
For a moment Riven simply stared.
The sudden shift caught him completely off guard.
The pale, translucent lines of soul force turned murky as the venom spread through them, thin veins of dark color racing along the shape of the crude spider.
"Don't just stand there!"
Seris' voice snapped through the room like a whip.
"Bind it!"
Riven reacted instantly.
He focused inward, recalling the final steps described in the manual.
The fragment had to be stabilized before it dissolved.
Or worse—
Spread.
He merged the soul-force spider with the poison.
The venom swirling inside it resisted at first, wild and unstable, but the method gave it structure.
Riven forced the two together.
Binding them into a single construct.
The spider-shaped fragment trembled violently.
Then slowly—
It descended.
The shape pressed against the back of his hand.
For a brief second it felt cold.
Then it sank into his skin.
Riven inhaled sharply.
The sensation was strange.
Not painful.
Just… unfamiliar.
When he looked down, the original spider tattoo was still there.
But now the lines appeared slightly darker in places, faintly thicker where the venom-bound soul force had settled beneath the skin.
Seris watched carefully.
After a few seconds she nodded.
"…Good."
"It worked."
"Finally."
Riven flexed his fingers slightly.
The fragment of soul force no longer felt unstable.
Instead, it felt anchored.
Separate from the rest of his mind palace.
But still connected.
Somehow.
He tested it carefully.
A thin strand of the venom-infused soul force slid outward from the mark, like a faint shadow stretching from his hand.
It moved slowly through the air.
Riven narrowed his eyes.
If that touched someone…
He was fairly certain they would be poisoned.
He guided it forward a little further, curious how easily he could control it.
But Seris didn't grant him the joy of experimenting.
"Don't."
Riven paused.
She was watching the faint strand with a knowing look.
"Everyone tries that first," she said dryly.
Her finger tapped lightly against the back of her other hand.
"That reservoir isn't meant to poison people directly."
She gestured toward the strand.
"It moves too slowly. Anyone with half a brain could avoid it."
Her gaze lifted to his.
"Use it to coat a weapon."
"Or wrap it around your hand or foot during an attack."
"Then strike."
"That's how you deliver the poison."
Riven nodded slowly.
That made sense.
He retracted the thin strand back into the mark.
The faint darkness settled once again beneath the lines of the tattoo.
Only then did Riven finally look down at the spider still resting on his hand.
The creature hadn't moved since biting him.
It sat there quietly.
Almost calmly.
Riven studied it with growing curiosity.
What kind of spider… bites something the others fear?