Chapter 24: Throne of Bone and Ice, The spider queen

  The massive quartz doors groaned open with a grinding echo, flooding the dim corridor behind Alicia with a breath of cold, stagnant air. The light from the magic crystals embedded in the walls painted the vast chamber ahead in hues of white and silver, shimmering across the polished floor like moonlight on still water.

  Alicia stepped forward in silence, her boots making no sound against the stone. Behind her, the soft chittering of her spider companions echoed faintly—sharp legs tapping, silk shifting. They moved cautiously, instinctively aware that they were intruding on something older than time itself.

  The chamber was rectangur, impossibly vast, and suffocatingly silent. At the center stood a raised stone ptform, surrounded by four towering quartz pilrs that pulsed faintly with ancient magic. Atop the ptform, coiled in a patient slumber, was a monster that could never be mistaken for anything but death incarnate.

  The Bone Dragon.

  It y curled upon itself like a guardian of forgotten ages—its massive skeletal form stretched across the ptform, ribs rising and falling in slow rhythm. Its long neck twisted in sleep, its skull resting near one of its folded wings. The bones were yellowed and ancient, yet unmarred by time. Its rib cage was see-through, revealing a faint glimmer of blue energy deep within—like a heart that had long stopped beating, but refused to fade.

  At the far end of the room stood a grand throne, carved of bleached ivory bone and inid with fractured shards of quartz. It rested on a high stone ptform, a staircase leading down to the floor. Between the throne and the wall behind it was a narrow passage of shadow—like a breath held in reverence.

  The air hung heavy. Alicia’s fingers twitched instinctively toward her bde. This wasn’t just cold. This was the weight of memory, of something ancient watching, just beyond comprehension.

  Then, without warning, the silence cracked.

  Alicia’s foot touched a specific circle in the floor—etched faintly with runes too worn to read.

  The dragon’s head snapped up.

  Its eye sockets ignited, not with fme, but with bck fire—wild, flickering shadows that pulsed with unnatural life. A low growl reverberated through the room like a drumbeat in the earth. Its wings twitched, its massive cws scraped against the stone, and its long bone tail coiled with dreadful grace.

  It rose slowly, bone grinding against bone. No breath. No blood. Just pure, undead menace.

  The Bone Dragon had awakened.

  Alicia narrowed her eyes, her breath misting in the icy air.

  “It’s strong,” she murmured under her breath. Her fingers tightened around her sword. “Be ready, Silk.”

  The eight-legged commander clicked sharply in response, crouched low on her shoulder, his red eyes glinting. Across the walls, ceiling, and floor, his kin crawled into position—silent shadows waiting to strike.

  Then the Bone Dragon roared.

  A tremor rippled through the floor. The sound wasn’t just noise—it was a cataclysm. A ndslide of bone and a scream that cwed at the soul. The floor iced over instantly, slick sheets of frost spreading like living veins.

  Bone shards unched from its ribcage like harpoons, glittering with dark magic. Alicia leapt aside, drawing a burning sigil mid-air.

  “Fireball!”

  A sphere of fme erupted from her hand and exploded against the dragon’s shoulder—but the fire fizzled uselessly on impact. The dragon's bone ptes were too dense, too enchanted. Her attack hadn’t even scorched it.

  "Its defense is ridiculous," Alicia growled, heart pounding.

  Silk gave a sharp command.

  The spiders swarmed.

  Hundreds of small bodies darted forward from the shadows, surrounding the Bone Dragon from all sides. Webs ced the walls. Some spiders leapt onto its back, stabbing with burning fang or bsting tiny bursts of lightning from their mouths.

  Alicia raised her hand again.

  “Thunder Net!”

  Electricity crackled across the chamber, converging through the threads the spiders had anchored. A coordinated bst of lightning struck from all directions—smming into the dragon’s limbs and neck, sparking across its skeletal frame.

  The Bone Dragon froze mid-step, a low groan rumbling from its chest. Its cws scraped the floor, its legs trembled.

  Then—

  It roared again.

  A shockwave burst from its throat, rattling the bones of the chamber itself. With a guttural snarl, it raised its wings, and from the shattered remains around the room, more skeletons cwed their way up from the floor—twisted things made of mismatched bones, half-human, half-beast, animated by raw necromancy.

  The Bone Dragon lunged.

  Its tail whipped across the room, pulverizing the stone floor. Alicia dodged back just in time, skidding across frost. Two of the rger spiders were nearly caught—but they leapt clear, and the tail instead crushed a group of newly raised skeletons, shattering them into dust and shards.

  But the dragon didn’t stop.

  It reared onto its hind legs, then brought its massive forelimbs crashing down. The blow shattered tiles, cracking the battlefield. Some spiders narrowly escaped—others were thrown back, stunned. Webs snapped. Crystals fell from the ceiling like meteors.

  And then, the killing blow:

  The dragon inhaled.

  Frostfire Breath.

  A bst of icy blue-bck fme erupted from its jaws, scouring across the chamber in a wide arc. The stone bckened, the very air froze. Alicia raised a shield of fire, gritting her teeth as her barrier shattered.

  She and the spiders were thrown back against the far wall, frost burning into their skin and carapace.

  The battlefield was chaos—a cartographic nightmare of scorched stone, cracked pilrs, freezing fog, and bone fragments. Thunder still echoed in the air. Webs hung in tatters. Skeletons roamed erratically. And at the center, the Bone Dragon stood tall, steam rising from its icy breath.

  Unshaken.

  The air stank of frost, bone dust, and magic.

  Alicia moved like a fme through the battlefield—her sword cleaving through summoned skeletons, fire and lightning bursting from her fingers. Every step she took cracked the icy floor beneath her. Every breath she drew burned in her lungs.

  Silk skittered above on the shattered quartz pilrs, issuing shrill clicks.

  The spiders responded instantly.

  A barrage of elemental bsts struck the Bone Dragon—bursts of fire, acid, and lightning, timed in perfect rhythm. Smaller spiders swarmed the joints in the dragon’s legs, while rger ones hurled hardened webs like spears.

  The Bone Dragon staggered.

  Its left foreleg cracked under the pressure. Alicia seized the chance and charged in, her sword bzing with red-orange fire.

  She struck—once, twice, three times. Bone splintered, brittle fragments flying through the air.

  But—

  The leg twitched, then slowly pulled itself back together, bone shards snapping into pce like clockwork.

  "It’s regenerating..." Alicia muttered, eyes narrowing.

  It was working. But not fast enough.

  A sudden screech rang out.

  From the floor, a fresh wave of bone minions rose—twisting into crude forms, carrying rusted weapons or jagged cws. The floor became a graveyard battlefield.

  The spiders were forced to scatter. Some pulled back to defend the rear. Others were surrounded and locked into chaotic duels.

  Alicia gritted her teeth, twisting to avoid a rusted axe swung by one of the skeletal beasts. She backstepped, sshing it clean in half, then spun and hurled a fireball toward the dragon’s ribs.

  It burst into smoke—but the dragon barely reacted.

  “Too many…” Alicia whispered.

  Her breath came in short bursts now. Her mana was thinning. Her arms ached. A flicker of frost clung to her boots, slowing her steps. Even Silk’s relentless coordination couldn’t keep up with the scale and power of the Bone Dragon’s defense.

  They had broken bones.

  But they weren’t breaking through.

  The battlefield split.

  Spiders were now separated by undead walls. Silk hissed a command, but the signals became staggered, deyed. Alicia saw one of the rger spiders get swarmed by skeletons, its legs crushed beneath a bony war hammer.

  The Bone Dragon’s eyes burned brighter.

  A deep growl rolled from its ribs, shaking the chamber again. It raised one massive cw and smmed it down toward Alicia.

  She barely rolled aside, shards of quartz exploding around her.

  She rose slowly, panting.

  They were losing.

  She could feel it in her bones.

  And the Bone Dragon? It was only getting started.

  The Bone Dragon roared, louder than ever before—a bst of rage and despair that shattered the air itself.

  Alicia and her spider allies were smmed against the far wall, webs torn, legs trembling. The frostbite crept across her limbs, bones aching from the strain.

  “I have to do something…” Alicia gasped, her breath visible in the freezing air. “The battle… is slipping out of our hands.”

  She gnced toward Silk—her first companion, her only family in this cursed dungeon. Silk was bleeding, screeching orders, trying to protect the others with a crumbling web barrier.

  No… I can’t lose them.

  Desperation cwed at her chest—until suddenly, it answered.

  The Bck Mana Core inside her pulsed, then began spinning violently, like a vortex swallowing the world.

  Alicia's eyes widened. Bck fog erupted from her chest, and pain exploded behind her eyes.

  Her vision turned red.

  The world was a haze of blood, bone, and screaming pressure.

  She blinked once—and suddenly, everything was different.

  She could feel every twitch in her muscles with unnatural crity.

  She could see from the eyes of each spider in the room. Every angle. Every threat.

  She could feel Silk’s fear—her resolve. Her love.

  They needed a leader.

  Alicia rose to her feet.

  And she became one.

  Something ancient stirred in her blood. The memories of the Devourer—sealed within the mana crystal she had absorbed—the bck mana core within her released some of its ancient power

  And the mana core of the spider The arcane core, bck core have devoured, evolved and become one with bck mana core and

  Realsed knowledge, its powers became one with her

  Arcane knowledge rushed into her mind. She understood it now.

  She raised one hand.

  Webs exploded from her fingers, faster than lightning. They smmed into the Bone Dragon’s form—catching it off guard—and hardened into steel cables, stopping the monster mid-charge.

  The Bone Dragon roared in surprise, not pain.

  Alicia’s lips moved on instinct. “Devour.”

  Bck fog poured from her palm.

  A massive spider’s maw—formed of smoke and void—lunged forward and crunched into the Bone Dragon’s shoulder, biting through it like brittle gss.

  The dragon shrieked as its body was torn apart mid-air, crashing to the floor in disbelief.

  Alicia’s crimson eyes burned.

  She raised her hand again.

  “All of you—take a position!”

  Her spiders scrambled up the walls, circling the Bone Dragon like a dozen glowing red eyes in the dark.

  She stepped back, raised both arms, and cast:

  “Sensory Link.”

  The spell clicked.

  Now she could see, hear, and feel everything through her spiders.

  She felt their determination. Their rage. Their will to protect her.

  Alicia smiled.

  “Let’s end this.”

  “Web Sovereignty.”

  From every spider, silk surged outward—malleable as water, sharp as bdes, hard as diamond. They wrapped the Bone Dragon from all directions, forming a prison of obsidian threads.

  Then she cast again:

  “Magic Rey.”

  Her spell channeled through every spider like lightning.

  The battlefield burned with runes.

  She cast “Devour” once more—this time, through all of them.

  Corrupted bck fog surged from every thread, every angle.

  The Bone Dragon, bound and helpless, let out one final, soul-wrenching roar—

  And was consumed in seconds.

  With a resounding poof, it vanished.

  Silence followed.

  Where the dragon had been… a single crystal dropped to the floor. Shaped like ball, but shining like a star.

  Then, with a thunderous groan, the throne at the back of the chamber crumbled, revealing a massive hoard—gold, gems, ancient relics, things Alicia had only seen in stories.

  She staggered forward, breathing hard, the crimson light fading from her eyes.

  “…We won.”

  The room was silent.

  The only sounds were the faint clicks of spider legs and the soft gnawing of mandibles as Alicia’s spider companions crawled over the Bone Dragon's core, consuming it bit by bit.

  They healed by devouring mana—drawing it from solid things like stones, meat of monster, and magical cores.

  Alicia watched quietly.

  Even Silk had joined the feast, slowly absorbing mana to repair her damaged limbs.

  Alicia gave her a fond gnce, then turned toward the back of the chamber—where the crumbled throne had revealed a glowing mountain of gold and treasure.

  She blinked.

  “Whoa... that’s a lot.”

  Coins spilled in chaotic heaps, along with chunks of rare metals in vibrant colors—red, green, silver, and others she didn’t even recognize.

  “Well, I’m the one who beat the dragon,” Alicia muttered. “So it’s mine to cim.”

  There was greed in her blue eyes, shining with reflection of golden coins

  She stepped forward, boots crunching against the quartz floor, and started sweeping coins into her storage ring with both hands.

  “I don’t even know how much this thing can hold…”

  The ring on her finger shimmered faintly with every item she sent inside: ancient artifacts, scattered weapons, trinkets pulsing with faint magic.

  Then her eyes nded on something odd.

  At the base of the treasure pile y a ft, golden pte, about the size of a smartphone. Its surface was smooth and unmarked.

  “Hm? What’s this?”

  She picked it up.

  The moment her fingers touched it, the pte glowed green—and an ancient wind spiraled around her. Symbols bloomed across the surface, circling inward.

  Then, in radiant script, one name etched itself in the center:

  Alicia.

  Her eyes widened.

  Before she could speak, the wind died, and the glow faded. The pte dimmed—now just a strange artifact again.

  “…Weird,” she muttered, pocketing it into her ring. “No idea what that was.”

  Then she noticed it.

  A passageway—narrow and white—etched into the far wall, hidden behind the throne.

  A cold wind seeped from within, thick with frost.

  “What’s that?” Alicia narrowed her eyes. “More treasure? …Or a trap?”

  She stepped inside.

  The deeper she went, the colder it became. Frost clung to the stone walls like paint. Her breath turned visible, and goosebumps pricked her skin under her cloak.

  The corridor was short. At its end, she found a small, circur room—entirely coated in ice.

  In the center stood an altar, frozen but untouched by time.

  On it floated a round, blue crystal, glowing faintly with icy runes and wrapped in an aura of power so pure it made her fingers tremble.

  “It’s cold in here…” Alicia murmured, rubbing her arms. She sneezed.

  She stepped forward, her boots skidding slightly on the frozen floor, and ascended the few icy stairs to the altar.

  The mana core pulsed with light.

  Beautiful, she thought. She didn’t know why, but she felt drawn to it.

  Just once... just a touch.

  Alicia raised her hand, slowly, and pced her fingers on the Ice Crystal’s surface.

  It was freezing. Etched with ancient runes.

  The moment she touched it—

  Her eyes fred crimson.

  Bck fog rushed out of her palm, spiraling around the crystal like a devouring storm.

  She gasped.

  A crushing cold entered her body, like winter itself piercing through her soul—

  And then, all at once—

  Darkness.

  She colpsed.

  A Spider’s Vow

  (Silk’s POV)

  Before the darkness took me, I remembered.

  I was just another spider—one of many—born deep within the nest of our colony. We lived in peace, a sprawling family of white-bodied spiders with eight red eyes, each one gleaming in the dim light of the dungeon.

  I had many siblings. Some older, some younger, some born the same day as me.

  We shared everything—food, warmth, and stories told in rustling legs and the vibrations of silk.

  But I was… different.

  Among all the spiders, only I had a red crystal embedded on my forehead, nestled just above my central eyes. It glowed faintly. It made me different.

  Yet, none of my siblings treated me unfairly. Not at first. We were one family, united.

  Until he came.

  A giant spider—five times our size—descended from a floor above, reeking of power and blood.

  He saw my crystal and hated me for it.

  He mocked me. He mocked us all. And when we tried to fight back, we were crushed.

  I still remember his fangs, his endless eyes, the weight of despair.

  I had no choice but to flee.

  I ran—through tunnels, cracks, unfamiliar pces—searching for help, but none came. I wandered until I found a strange chamber, one unlike any in our nest.

  At its center, a glowing purple magic circle shone faintly on the stone.

  That’s where I saw her, for the first time.

  Mydy.

  She was lying naked in the middle of the circle, her bck hair fanned around her like night itself. Her skin was pale, and her eyes… when they opened, they shimmered with an impossible blue. Deep, gentle, vast.

  She was strange. I ran at first.

  But… I kept watching her.

  She sat at a wooden desk and read strange books, flipping through them with a quiet intensity. She never noticed me—too focused, too serious.

  Then, she pulled a bck crystal from a chest and held it near her heart. Then she fell asleep, completely unguarded.

  I crept closer.

  Her face was so peaceful. So kind. So alone.

  I thought of my nest.

  Of my brothers and sisters.

  Of the dark spider who took it all.

  I left her, my heart heavy, and returned home with a resolve I’d never known before.

  But he wasn’t there.

  The nest had changed. The others whispered. My elder sibling told me the bck spider had gone hunting—with some of our siblings.

  When he returned, the smell of blood followed him. I knew that smell.

  He had eaten them.

  I couldn’t stay silent.

  I confronted him.

  But I was small. Weak.

  He bsted me across the room. I hit the rotted door and slumped, broken and helpless.

  Then... she came.

  Like light in the deepest dark, my dy appeared—and in a fsh of icy power, she defeated him.

  She didn’t speak much. She didn’t need to.

  When she reached out to me—offering comfort, offering warmth—I made a vow in the depth of my soul.

  I would serve her.

  No matter what. No matter when.

  For she had done what no one else could. She saved me, saved us. Something inside me changed that day.

  And then she named me.

  Silk.

  Such a beautiful name.

  Such a wonderful voice.

  To be named by her… to be seen by her…

  Even now, as I feel the mana of the Bone Dragon fade and my body drifts into sleep, I hold onto that memory.

  To her.

  My Lady Alicia.

  We spiders will follow her.

  We will fight for her.

  And one day, I will be strong enough to stand beside her, not just beneath her shadow.

  Until then…

  Sleep calls.

  And I obey.

  After sometime

  Darkness faded.

  My body felt heavy.

  I opened my many eyes and rose on unsteady legs—eight of them, strong and sure.

  Something was different.

  Around me, my siblings stirred—small spiders, rge ones, even the fragile ones that once scurried behind me. All of them began to rise from their slumber. I could feel it.

  We had changed.

  The Bone Dragon’s mana core… the overwhelming flood of power... it had not destroyed us.

  It has evolved us.

  I looked around the nest and saw it with crity: mana shimmered in the air like mist, and each spider’s aura burned brighter than ever before. They had grown—some twice their size, others with new colors, markings, or flickers of elemental power dancing across their bodies.

  And me?

  I felt it in my blood.

  I had become something more.

  Power thrummed beneath my skin. I could feel it—her power. The spells and abilities mydy used in battle. I closed my eyes and called upon one I remembered well.

  “Sensory Link.”

  Suddenly, I saw myself—through the eyes of one of the smaller spiders gazing at me.

  It stared in awe.

  And I understood why.

  My lower body remained that of a spider—sleek and white, armored and elegant—but above that, I had changed.

  A humanoid form had bloomed from my thorax.

  Pale white skin. Flowing white hair like soft silk, reaching down my back.

  Deep red eyes—four pupils in each—and a glowing red crystal eye in the center of my forehead.

  My face… it resembled mydy's.

  So much that I paused.

  There was one difference though… my chest was rger than hers. It swayed uncomfortably, so I wove a garment from webbing—tight, strong silk—and wrapped myself modestly.

  I was… like her now.

  No, not just like her.

  I was made by her.

  With renewed strength, I stepped out of the nest. All my kin followed.

  We moved together, soundlessly, through the corridor at the back of the chamber, drawn by instinct… no, by something deeper.

  By her.

  We entered a circur room yered with ancient, glowing runes carved into frost-covered stone. The air was cold—but not cruel. Sacred.

  And there, at the center of the altar, she y.

  Mydy.

  Her appearance had changed.

  Her once bck hair now shimmered silver-blue and white, glowing faintly like moonlight on ice. She looked… not asleep, but resting. As if in a deep state beyond dreams.

  Her aura washed over us like a wave.

  It pressed us to the ground.

  Not with violence.

  With reverence.

  It told us:

  Be still.

  Do not disturb.

  Bow before something greater.

  And so we knelt.

  All of us.

  From the smallest hatchling to the strongest evolved spider, we bowed our heads within the sacred circle, kneeling on the ice-covered floor.

  No one moved.

  No one dared speak.

  We felt it in our very bones:

  Mydy is not just powerful.

  She is chosen.

  She is sacred.

  She is destiny.

  She is A Myth Reborn

  She is our queen,The spider queen.

  And we—her loyal spiders, her first followers—shall stay by her side.

  Forever.

  ___________________________________________

  Author's Note – Extra Expnation

  Hello, author here! I wanted to take a moment to expin a few things about the concepts of Mana Cores, Mana Crystals, and Alicia’s situation to help you understand the world better.

  1. Mana Cores:

  Mana Cores are found inside monsters. They are concentrated sources of mana that are formed and stored within a monster's body over its life. These cores not only contain raw magical energy, but also carry the monster's DNA, abilities, and unique traits. Think of them as the "core essence" of a monster's strength.

  2. Mana Crystals:

  Humans cannot use raw Mana Cores directly because they contain impure or unstable mana that can corrupt the user. So, Mana Cores are refined into Mana Crystals. During this process, impurities are removed, and the core is inscribed with special runes to make it safe and compatible with human magic systems.

  These Mana Crystals allow humans to cast magic and interact with their Status Ptes — something you'll see more of in upcoming chapters.

  3. About Alicia:

  Alicia absorbed a mysterious Bck Mana Core whose origins are unknown. This bck core then absorbed the mana core of a powerful Bck Spider, unlocking its arcane knowledge and abilities. As a result, Alicia gained access to the monster’s power — a very unusual and dangerous phenomenon.

  In this world, spiders (and simir creatures) can devour the mana inside other cores or mana-based items to strengthen themselves. This may give you a hint about how terrifying the bck mana core really is.

  Thank you for reading! If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to comment. I’ll be happy to expin more as the story unfolds.