For a mont, silence reigned.
Not just the kind that filled the air, but the deeper kind— the kind that pressed against the mind itself. Even the constant hum of the forest beyond the webbed space seed muted, as if reality itself was holding its breath.
Tyler stared into the unblinking eyes of his adversary.
He wasn’t one of those people who suffered from a phobia of spiders. Back on Earth, he could squash one without much thought. But this... this was different. This creature wasn’t just a spider—it was a thinking entity, one that could reach into his mind as easily as breathing.
And right now, it had him completely at its rcy.
Tyler tried to move his fingers.
Nothing.
Tried to grit his teeth.
Nothing.
The paralysis wasn’t physical. His muscles weren’t locked, his nerves weren’t damaged. It was far worse than that—his mind had been forcibly disconnected from his body. He was conscious, alert, aware... and utterly helpless.
So this is what ntal dominance feels like, he thought grimly.
The situation wasn’t entirely hopeless. Tyler could feel the faint presence of the pocket dinsion pearl, dormant but responsive. If he wanted to, he could escape instantly, pulling himself—and Serena—into safety.
But that would an abandoning Chole.
And more importantly, fleeing wouldn’t solve anything.
This monster was intelligent. Intelligent monsters didn’t disappear just because you ran away. If anything, that would make things worse later.
As if sensing his thoughts, the spider shifted slightly, its legs moving with unnerving smoothness.
"You’re weak."
The words echoed directly inside Tyler’s mind—flat, factual, devoid of mockery.
Tyler frowned.
"Not even a month has passed since I ca here," he replied instinctively.
Then he froze.
Wait.
His eyes widened slightly in shock.
"Did you just... talk to in the Boundless World language?" Tyler asked carefully.
"Yes."
The spider’s reply was imdiate, as if it had expected the question.
"As expected, you look oddly out of place. That unfamiliarity clings to you," it continued. "Then you must have co from the Orion Cube. A cube holder... attending the Trial."
Tyler’s heart skipped a beat.
"You know about the Cube?" he asked. "That ans... you’re also a Cube Holder?"
"Hmmm... kind of."
The spider’s large black eyes glead thoughtfully.
"Actually..." it added after a pause, "which era are you from?"
"Era, huh?" Tyler repeated, buying himself ti to think. "Well... the era I’m from is called the Peaceful Era. There are no large-scale wars anymore. No extinction-level conflicts, at least not yet."
The spider went silent.
Then—
"Hmmm... the Boundless World has a Peaceful Era now?"
Its ntal voice carried genuine curiosity.
"Looks like you’re from the future."
Tyler blinked. "Future?"
"Hmmm..." The spider shifted, turning slightly as if pacing. "The Cube fragnts must have told you, didn’t they? About sending Cube Holders to different tilines and different worlds."
Tyler remained silent, listening.
"It ans you and I," the spider continued, "are probably not even from the sa ti. My era was the beginning of the Endless Era."
Tyler’s pupils shrank.
"The Endless Era?" he whispered.
"Yes. It began after all races plotted against the Dream World... and never returned. Hmm... If I rember correctly New energies where born called Aura and Prana. The old spiritual energy was disappearing Little by little. But i only ca to this world 300 years ago. I crossed three reincarnation already."
Tyler swallowed hard. He recalled the scene where practitoners from different races used the world tree as bridge and crossed the Dream world.
"That was..." his voice faltered, "...over a million years ago."
"Oh?"
The spider sounded amused.
"A person from a million years later? The heck again I am hearing about events from million years ago... is this connected to ?."
Tyler couldn’t tell if the creature was being sincere or simply entertained.
"It seems this world we’re in is so kind of parallel dinsion," the spider continued. "That would explain why we arrived here at the sa point in ti, despite being separated by a million years in our respective worlds."
Tyler’s mind raced.
A parallel dinsion... So this world might not even exist in my tiline.
His gaze drifted upward.
Chole hung suspended in the web, her body wrapped carefully, almost delicately. Her face was calm, unaware of anything and she lost consciousness.
Does this world even exist in my era? Tyler wondered. Or is it destined to vanish?
"Oi, oi."
The spider’s voice snapped him back to attention.
"Did you get emotionally attached to this world already?"
Tyler didn’t respond.
"If you want," the spider continued casually, "you could stay here. Reincarnate."
Tyler’s eyes twitched, "Reincarnate? Nah... That’s only for people who can’t finish the task."
"Yes. Reincarnating with mories of your previous life is a blessing when surviving the Floors," the spider said. "Though... there’s no guarantee what you’ll end up as."
It turned slightly, angling its body so Tyler could see its full form.
"See? I’m a spider."
The implication was clear.
Tyler exhaled slowly.
"No thanks," he said. "I’ll pass. I prefer to be in a Humanoid form."
The spider let out what felt like a quiet chuckle in his mind.
"So stubborn," it said. "What’s your na, human? You were human, right?"
Tyler hesitated only briefly.
"I’m Tyler white. I am a Sea rchant from Peaceful Era. Though the sea was never Peaceful." Tyler smiled.
The spider nodded— an unsettling gesture, given its anatomy.
"I am called Gailo," it replied. "Though now... I am just a spider."
Tyler studied it carefully.
Gailo wasn’t hostile.
Yet. It wasn’t benevolent either. It was sothing far more dangerous. A cultivator from an era where entire races vanished.
Just like that, two cultivators from different eras stood facing one another.
Three, if one counted Serena, who remained perfectly still on Tyler’s shoulder, eyes locked onto Gailo, tail flicking ever so slightly.
---
"So, Gailo... what was your task?" Tyler asked.
His voice sounded steadier than he felt. Inside, his thoughts were racing, carefully asuring every word, every pause. This wasn’t casual curiosity, this was probing an ancient being. Well he is not ancient because he is just 500 to 1000 years old right? So ... Still ancient for Tyler who is not even 100 years old.
Gailo remained still for a mont.
"Hmmm..." the spider humd, its massive black eyes reflecting faint light as if mories themselves were stirring within them. "I have already completed many tasks given by the Cube."
The words were calm. Too calm.
Tyler listened carefully, resisting the urge to interrupt. He had learned by now that rushing conversations with beings like this often led to regret.
"I only have one more task to complete," Gailo continued.
Tyler’s fingers twitched, barely perceptible, but enough for him to notice.
"And what is that?" he asked.
There was a pause.
Not a long one, but heavy.
The kind of silence that presses down on the chest and makes the air feel thinner.
"To kill a Cube Holder..."
The words echoed inside Tyler’s mind, sharp and cold.
As Gailo spoke, sothing changed.
The telepathic pressure intensified. A raw, instinctive killing intent leaked through the ntal link— not uncontrolled, but honed.
Tyler stiffened.
Every muscle scread to move, to react, to do sothing— but his body remained locked in place. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, each pulse loud enough that he was sure Gailo could hear it.
Serena was about to use the pocket dinsion.
’The heck.’ Tyler thought. ’Things had taken a turn. A very big one.’
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