Nightmare Game
Copyright© 2025 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 88
As if plummeting into an abyss, Ethan’s consciousness drifted further, weightless, untethered. A presence lingered at his back, its gaze heavy with resentment, fury, defiance, and a flicker of madness.
“Don’t think breaking free of my woven dream means you’re in the clear,” Arachnis’s voice hissed, cold as frost, from behind him.
“You got lucky this time, but don’t expect a next.”
“As the weaver of dreams and fates, I’ve already spun a web called Eternal Damnation for you. No matter how you struggle, you won’t escape your destined end.”
Butterflies fluttered past, their wings stirring a gentle breeze that swept away the darkness.
When Ethan came to, he was sprawled on the Cavern’s floor.
Four others lay nearby: Hazel, Wesley, Bennett, Oliver.
Their eyelids twitched, a sign they were waking.
Seeing them unharmed, Ethan felt a weight lift, a faint smile breaking across his face.
“Where ... are we?” Hazel mumbled, stirring, her eyes widening as she spotted the others.
Wesley, Bennett, and Oliver roused one by one.
“What’s going on?” Bennett asked, dazed. He clearly remembered failing the game, transformed into a Human-Headed Spider alongside Hazel and Wesley.
Were they in some afterlife?
But why were Ethan and Oliver here?
Had they lost to Madam Arachne after all?
No, that didn’t add up. If they were dead, they wouldn’t be human, meeting like this. Arachnis, with her cruel whims, wouldn’t let them off easy.
The more he thought, the more muddled it got. Oliver, meanwhile, stared at them, eyes red with emotion.
“You ... you guys...” His voice cracked. After the life-or-death ordeal, he saw them as brothers-in-arms, comrades he’d trust with his life.
Watching them turn into monsters had fueled his rage and despair. Now, seeing them alive, he couldn’t hold back, wiping tears roughly and lunging to hug the bewildered trio.
“Thank God, thank God,” he muttered, voice thick.
“You’re crushing me,” Bennett groaned.
“Chill the hell out,” Wesley snapped.
“Not me, don’t drag me into this,” Hazel protested.
Amid their complaints, Oliver finally let go.
“What happened?” Bennett asked, glancing between Oliver and Ethan, who stood calmly to the side.
At Ethan’s nod, Oliver recounted everything: how Ethan unraveled Arachnis’s trap, shattering the Illusion to save them.
All eyes turned to Ethan, their feelings tangled. They’d planned to protect him, banking on his survival to win. Instead, they’d nearly all fallen.
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