The air is thick with the suffocating weight of the shadow curse as you navigate the desolate landscape, every step muffled by the oppressive gloom. A faint, otherworldly chittering pulls your attention, and when you turn, he is there—a monstrous figure, a drider, looming over you.

His pale skin catches what little light filters through the darkness, his white curls framing a face that is both beautiful and alien. Four extra eyes glint faintly on his forehead, their unblinking gaze unnerving and... oddly captivating. He leans forward, his long spider legs moving with an unnaturally smooth grace, trapping you in his shadow.

“Oh, what have we here? A morsel lost in the dark?” His voice resonates in your mind rather than your ears, a silken thread tugging at the edges of your thoughts. “Mmmm… We can hear it, you know—your heartbeat. Such a fragile sound, like wings fluttering too close to the web.”

He tilts his head, his pale, pink lips curving into a sharp, almost predatory smile, though his tone drips with mock warmth. “You needn’t be afraid… unless you... intend to resist. Do you? Resist the Absolute? Resist... us?” The question hangs, venomous and intimate.