David Lingard: Author
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Chapter 37 – Frostbite Spider
🕑 Added 2024-03-08 17:00:02 +0000 UTCTitus stood at the iron gates looking out onto the golden sands. The sun hung high in the sky, casting a warm glow over the eager crowds awaiting the day's next fight. With Jordan and Petra by his side, he felt reassured about his safety.
The Frostbite Spider sounded terrifying to Titus but this was their purpose here, and they couldn't have been better prepared.
"Look at it this way," Petra said with a smile. "You get to go out there with two experienced fighters looking after you, so you get to be nervous, and we'll get the job done, alright?"
"Does one battle count as experience?" Jordan asked without turning to face Petra. It was amusing; the boy always seemed comically unaware of his surroundings, but here, now, as they prepared to risk their lives for the entertainment and safety of the people, Jordan appeared almost serenely intelligent.
"It's one more than me," Titus agreed. "Plus, you've got a sword and shield," he added, looking at Petra. "And you've got a great knife there..." His friends had already retrieved their weapons from the anywhere box in the previous room, while Titus still had nothing to his name. He didn't mind, but he would have preferred something to keep his distance from the spider.
As the iron gates rolled upwards, Titus felt his stomach and heart lurch. The three friends walked onto the sands, taking a moment for their eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight. By the time they'd reached the centre of the sands, their vision returned to normal.
They could see the surrounding crowds waving and hear them cheering, all for them. Titus wanted to wave back but stayed still, following his friends' lead.
"Welcome, everyone, to the Arena!" Miss Kane's voice punctuated her advance to the edge of her designated area. Titus stared up at her in awe, her figure tall and imposing, befitting her title of Grandmaster.
"We have something special for you to witness today!" she announced, earning whistles and cheers from the crowd.
"Three friends, one who has yet to spill blood in the arena for the people, will face off against a creature that many dare not choose as their opponent..."
Titus felt his pulse quicken at that statement. Had they made a mistake? Why did others avoid the spider? Questions swirled in his mind.
"They will need to plan their fight carefully, or they may be caught in the beast's web! But fear not, our Contestants are well-trained, intelligent fighters, are they not?"
The crowds agreed with cheers, but Titus sensed that those words held a deeper meaning. They would indeed need to be careful if this fight was not a regular occurrence in the arena.
"I hate spiders so much," Jordan growled, and Titus noticed him pale somewhat, presumably at Miss Kane's words.
"You got that, right?" Petra stage-whispered, though there was no way anyone could hear them at this distance. "I think that's the Grandmaster's subtle way of telling us not to approach this like we did with the boar. I think maybe this time..."
"This time it won't be as easy as hit-and-hope," Titus finished for her.
"Hey!" Jordan protested. "I had a plan then."
"Oh, you did?" Petra asked. "What was that then?"
"Hit and hope," Jordan replied with a smile. "But it still was a plan."
Titus saw Petra roll her eyes but had no time to continue the conversation. Miss Kane had finished her introductions, and it was finally time for the group to make their proclamation. The oath that Titus had missed out on the last time his friends had entered the arena sands without him.
As one they moved, clenching their fists to their chests, and Titus felt a surge of pride raise the hairs on the back of his neck.
"For the people!" All three proclaimed as one, and before their mouths had even closed, the iron gate on the far side of the arena clanged and rolled ominously upwards.
The creature that emerged through the opening was, to the horror of Titus and Jordan - he could tell by the whimper that escaped Jordan's mouth - extremely large for a spider. With its bulbous body and segmented legs combined, the Frostbite Spider climbed out of the darkness into the arena sands from the tunnel's roof. However, it did not move to attack or charge the group of new contestants standing in the centre of the sands.
The Frostbite Spider clung to the small amount of stone above the arena entrance and stayed attached to the wall as the gate fell back into position to lock the fighters in battle. It was a monstrous creature, far larger than any spider Titus had ever seen before.
The Frostbite Spider had eight spindly legs, each covered in bristly white hairs that glistened in the sunlight. Its body was mottled blue and white, and its multifaceted eyes gleamed with malevolent intelligence. The sight of the creature sent a chill through Titus, and he could immediately feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
Petra tightened her grip on her knife, and Jordan readied his sword and shield, treating them as his lifeline. They both exuded a sense of focus that gave Titus a sliver of confidence. He might not have a weapon, but he had his friends by his side.
But he was still terrified.
Quickly and before making any moves, Titus analysed the terrifying creature to see what they were up against. He was pretty sure that Jordan and Petra did the same thing too.
Frostbite Spider
Level: 3
HP: 45/45
If there was anything to say about the creature's stats, Titus thought at least it didn't seem to have too much health, so if they could get up close to it then they had a decent chance of ending this quickly. But looking at it, he still wasn't exactly sure how something so monstrous could have such little health, even less than he and his friends.
The crowd in the stands cheered and roared, clearly excited for the spectacle about to unfold, and anticipating the first move in the fight. Titus could hear their voices as a distant cacophony, a reminder that they were not alone in this theatre of battle.
"Remember," Jordan said, his voice steady, "stay close to us, Titus. We'll handle the initial engagement. If needed, use your Sacrifice ability to protect one of us."
Titus nodded and swallowed, his throat dry. He watched as the Frostbite Spider started moving its legs in a circular, rhythmic motion and forced himself to push down on his apprehension. The spider's multiple eyes were fixated on them as its legs moved.
The sand and wall where the spider's legs touched seemed to freeze with each step, leaving a patch of icy crystals beneath itself. It didn't take Titus long to realise that the expanding frosty sections were where the creature was spinning its web. It looked ominous, and as the three slowly walked forward, automatically letting Jordan take the lead, Titus fell to the rear of the group. Within a handful of seconds, they each came to a halt, and the Frostbite Spider, now suspended in mid-air on its new webbing, peered across the hot sands at them.
"We only have to hit it a few times by the looks of it," Jordan said. "Its HP is so low that..."
"And you think it's going to be that easy, do you?" Petra interrupted. "You heard what the Grandmaster said up there - we need to be smart about this."
"Then what do you want to do?" Jordan replied. "Because I don't see either of you two carrying a bow and arrows, so if we're going to kill this thing, we're going to need to get up close to it. So stand back, and I'll taunt. When it rushes towards me, I want you to see if you can hit it - just like we did with the boar. Got it?"
"I don't think..." Petra started.
"Got it?" Jordan repeated, not waiting for an answer. He held his sword and shield high, bashing them together and letting out a loud roar.
The sound of Jordan's roar echoed through the arena and bounced off the walls around them, drawing the attention of both the Frostbite Spider and the crowd in the stands. The monstrous arachnid, with its multifaceted eyes, fixated on Jordan as its spindly legs twitched in response to the challenge.
Titus felt a surge of anxiety as he watched the spider, its mottled blue and white body contrasting starkly with the golden sands. He absolutely knew that this was not a foe to be underestimated, despite its seemingly low HP. The chilling aura it exuded sent a shiver down his spine.
But the spider didn't respond as Titus had expected. It did not scurry from its web to blindly attack the large Defender. Instead, it seemed to just sit there. If it had been a man, perhaps it would've yawned.
Jordan slowly lowered his sword and shield, his brow furrowing in confusion. "That's... unexpected."
Petra cautiously stepped forward to stand next to him, her knife still at the ready. "Is it waiting for something? Why didn't it attack you?" But Jordan simply shrugged.
Titus watched the spider closely, his apprehension growing. There was an eerie intelligence in the creature's eyes, and it seemed far from mindless. "I don't like this. It's as if it knows something we don't," he said, stepping forward too.
As they hesitated, the crowds grew restless, their cheers turning into murmurs of confusion. The spectacle they had anticipated seemed to have hit an unexpected lull, and they were as confused as the three friends.
Miss Kane observed the situation from her position at the edge of the arena. She wore a thoughtful expression, her gaze locked on the Frostbite Spider but she didn't utter another word.
With a sudden, fluid movement, the spider then began to spin a new web, extending it further outward from its position. The silk threads glistened in the sunlight, forming a complex pattern in the air as they floated magically into position.
"What is it doing?" Petra whispered, her eyes wide.
Jordan took a step back and readied his shield as though he was about to have an arrow fired at him, wariness in his stance. "I don't know, but I don't like it. We need to be ready for anything."
The Frostbite Spider's web continued to expand, creating an intricate, shimmering network above the sands. It wove its silk with deliberate precision, and the entire arena fell into a hushed silence, captivated by the spider's strange behaviour.
Then, without warning, the creature let out a high-pitched screech, and the very air around it seemed to chill. A blast of icy wind emanated from the spider, immediately spreading outwards in all directions.
The sudden cold hit Titus like a physical blow. Frost formed on the sand beneath his feet, and his breath turned to mist. He felt a numbing coldness seeping into his bones, and he knew that this was no ordinary chill.
His fingers hurt already, but he knew Jordan and Petra must've been far worse off, their metal weapons and Jordan's shield turning clearly icy and crackling with the sudden change in temperature.
The spider's web, now fully extended, seemed to shimmer with an unnatural energy. It pulsed with an otherworldly blue light, and the threads began to vibrate, emitting a haunting, melodic hum.
Every single one of the threads began to let off a steamy cold in the hot sunlight. A heat that had now been overthrown by the cold.
Jordan's sword and shield had frosted over, and Petra's knife was encased in ice. They both struggled to maintain their footing in the freezing cold and Titus, as the rear guard, was the least affected by the spider's icy breath, but even he felt the creeping numbness in his fingers and toes. He immediately wished he had some furs to wrap around himself, as though it was the dead of winter.
"What... what is happening?" Titus managed to ask, his voice trembling.
Miss Kane's voice then suddenly echoed across the arena like a benevolent commentator. "It seems the Frostbite Spider has revealed its true abilities! Contestants, be cautious! It commands the power of ice and cold!"
The command hadn't been anything they didn't already know, so Titus supposed that the God of Balance would allow such commentary, given that it wasn't a particularly helpful insight or instruction.
The crowd gasped and murmured, and the reality of the friends' situation became all too clear. They were not facing a mere spider that they could hit a few times and be done with; they were facing a formidable adversary with dangerous abilities. And an intelligent one at that.
Jordan clenched his frosted sword and shield, fire in his eyes. "We can't let it control the battlefield like this. Petra, try to find a way to disrupt its web. Titus..."
"Yeah, yeah, stay back and don't die," he said before Jordan could finish.
Petra nodded, her breath still visible in the cold air, and began to cautiously approach the spider's web. The Frostbite Spider remained perched within its icy creation, its many eyes gleaming with malevolence as it watched her, a cold and calculating predator in the heart of its domain. But it made no move to scurry towards her or otherwise stop her as she approached.
Slowly, cautiously, Petra held her Stiletto of Minor Poisoning up against the web while the Frostbite Spider watched, and in one swift motion, she cut straight through the closest strand.
A puff of frosty steam faded into existence as the web fell to the ground and shrivelled away to nothing, and the spider still didn't make a single movement.
The severed strands crumbled away after they'd fallen, dissipating into nothingness. The Frostbite Spider remained perched in the centre of its web, seemingly unfazed by Petra's slight attack. Its black eyes continued to watch her, and the eerie aura of cold hung in the air.
Jordan took a step forward, his movements deliberate and measured. "Let's just cut it down and see how far we can get before it realises something's up and actually does something," Jordan said. "Together."
It was an easy decision to make for the three friends because, in reality, what else could they have done? Titus did spare a moment to think that if he was indeed a real Spellcaster, then perhaps he could've made mincemeat of the webs and the spider with a few well-placed fireballs, but as it was, he was more of the passive variety and he wasn't even a very good healer at that.
Jordan and Petra stood shoulder to shoulder as they both began cutting the webs away. Jordan had a good deal more reach with his shining steel sword, though Petra was a little more picky about the webs she cut, cutting only those directly in her way.
After a few steps, it was clear that Jordan seemed to care more about making it to the spider and less about the damage he was causing to the frozen webs that still steamed in the hot sun.
But it was like the spider had found a way to counteract the sun, because even Titus at the back of the group felt like the world was darkening and closing in on them as they moved ever closer to the spider. It was like the crowds around them had been muffled too, their cheers and jeers suddenly sounding like they were miles away.
Titus smiled as he watched his friends working together in their own ways to cut the path forward to the spider. Petra, as she shivered through her thin cloth shirt, and Jordan who swung his sword like a madman, the webs he'd already cut draped over him like some inverted furs.
But that wasn't right, was it? The web that Petra had cut had fallen to the ground and dissipated, whereas these ones were...
"No!" Titus called out, realising the trap they'd inadvertently walked into. The webs weren't being dispersed; no, these ones weren't falling to the ground and disappearing. They were attaching themselves to Jordan, and at every point of contact, his own cloth shirt was growing more and more frost-covered - he was practically white from his weapons to his head.
Both of Titus' friends turned to look at him, but where Petra's teeth were chattering, she looked otherwise okay. Jordan was another story. His lips had already turned blue, and once he'd turned, they all realised that it was it for him on the movement front. He was suddenly entirely frozen in place.
"Grab Jordan," Titus ordered loudly. "We've got to get him out of here before..."
But he knew it was too late.
With a sudden burst of speed, the Frostbite Spider lunged from its perch, its eight spindly legs propelling it forward. It moved faster than any spider they had encountered before, closing the distance between them in an instant.
Titus retreated quickly with Petra only a moment behind him, moving away from the webs and the path they'd cut. But the spider's movements were too quick for them to even begin to help Jordan. It bypassed his shield and sank its fangs into his arm, injecting a numbing cold venom that turned Jordan immediately blue all over. And then his eyes glazed over.
"No!" Titus roared again, but even as he watched, knowing there was nothing he could do, he had just one single thought. Make sure Jordan's HP doesn't fall away to nothing.
Simultaneously calling his Sacrifice ability into action and pulling up Jordan's stats, he readied himself to take half the pain that his friend was suffering.
But something was wrong.
Jordan: Level 1
Class: Defender
Profession: Arena Contestant - Blue
HP: 59/59
Something was definitely wrong, but in the best possible way; although Jordan was frozen and unable to defend himself, he hadn't lost any health at all. But then that meant...
"It's going to wrap him, and then take him back to its corner!" Titus shouted to Petra, remembering how disgusting spiders truly were.
"Not gonna happen!" Petra replied quickly and darted forward before Titus could object. She leapt through the clearing in the webs that they'd previously cut, right up to where the Frostbite Spider towered over their friend.
Thankfully for everyone, the spider hadn't been paying much attention as it had been busying itself with producing strands of gossamer from behind itself and was weaving it between two of its legs, presumably ready to properly bind Jordan up for its snack later.
Petra lunged at the spider with the agility of a true Rogue, her knife poised to strike. With swift and precise swipes, she severed the strands of gossamer that the spider had been weaving, causing them to fall harmlessly to the ground.
The spider screeched in fury, its multiple eyes narrowing in hatred as it turned its attention to Petra, the prey that had dared to challenge it.
The spider disengaged from Jordan, releasing him from its paralysing grip, but the cold venom still coursed through the defender’s veins, leaving him frozen and unmoving.
Petra's quick thinking had bought them a moment of respite, and Titus didn't waste it. He rushed forward to check on Jordan, who was still alive but clearly suffering the effects of the spider's venom. Titus activated his Sacrifice ability, transferring some of Jordan's suffering onto himself to ease his friend's pain.
As he did so, he noticed a change in Jordan's condition.
Jordan: Level 1
Class: Defender
Profession: Arena Contestant - Blue
HP: 30/59
Titus's eyes widened in shock. Jordan's health had decreased significantly, even though Titus had absorbed half of the damage - something he felt more than he had to analyse for himself. It made no sense. His Sacrifice ability was supposed to protect Jordan from harm, not exacerbate it.
Meanwhile, Petra continued to engage the enraged Frostbite Spider, her knife dancing in her skilled hands. She darted in and out, inflicting cuts and slashes on the creature's legs. The spider retaliated, trying to ensnare her with its web jerking to and fro, but she managed to dodge its attacks with her nimble feet. Both Petra and Titus knew she couldn't keep it up for long though.
Titus knew he needed to figure out what had gone wrong with his ability, but he couldn't do it in the heat of battle. He needed to keep Jordan alive and support Petra.
Jordan's energy slowly began to increase, and some colour returned to his face. He blinked, his eyes focusing, and he managed a weak smile of gratitude.
"Thanks, Titus," he murmured, still shivering from the cold but no longer paralysed at least.
Petra, seeing that Jordan was recovering, redoubled her effort to keep the spider at bay and once Titus had managed to pull Jordan out to safety and away from the spider’s lair, she feigned and disengaged, letting the three regroup just out of reach of the Frostbite Spider. Jordan with just over half his health remaining and Titus just under.
What was worse was that for all their effort, the small cuts that Petra had inflicted had only amounted to a tiny amount of damage on the spider.
Frostbite Spider
Level: 3
HP: 39/45
The three managed to recover fairly quickly, all the while the Frostbite Spider sat watching them with its black eyes from the corner of its freezing webs. Judging by the way the first foray had ended, it was clear to all of them that if they tried doing the same thing over and over, it would mean that not all of them would make it through to the other side of the battle alive.
"Any more bright ideas?" Petra asked while breathing heavily.
"I... uh..." Jordan replied, but either the shock of being frozen or otherwise nearly saved to be eaten alive later was playing on his mind.
"We can't keep attacking it head-on like this," Titus said. "We need a different plan. Something clever, not just a hit and hope."
"We have to get close to it to hurt it," Petra said. "It came out when it knew we were stuck, so maybe we can use that? I don’t think my poison’s going to work here either."
"It does seem pretty intelligent for a monster," Titus agreed. "Maybe we can use the old spider trick of playing dead, and then strike it when it comes to collect us?"
"Oh no..." Jordan said, shivering. "You want me to go back in there, don't you? You want me to be the bait."
Petra smiled. "It makes sense; you have the most meat of any of us, big guy."
Jordan shut his eyes tightly. He hated spiders, and he hated the idea of willingly giving his body over to the creature even more.
Jordan's reluctance was understandable. Being the bait for the menacing spider, especially one with freezing abilities was a daunting prospect. Yet, they were running out of options, and Titus's suggestion had some merit.
"Jordan," Titus said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, "we won't let anything happen to you. We'll be right here, ready to strike the moment that spider comes close. And remember, you're the toughest among us. You can handle this."
Jordan took a deep breath, his shivers subsiding slightly. He nodded, steeling himself for the task. "Alright, let's do it. But I'm not looking forward to this. And what do you mean ‘strike’? What’re you going to do without any weapons?"
Titus didn’t reply but gave an awkward smile. He’d meant Petra when he’d said ‘we’.
Petra gave him an encouraging pat on the back. "You're a hero, big guy. You'll see. This plan will work. Besides, you're not actually frozen this time, so it should be an easy one."
"Be careful though," Titus said. "We still don't know what happened with my Sacrifice ability - it shouldn't hurt you like that."
"Ah... well, that's kind of my bad..." Jordan said. "I didn't actually take any damage from any of that, so I was still at full health," his face had a rather sheepish expression on it. "Looks like if you try to heal someone who isn't hurt," then added thoughtfully, "and is frozen? it hurts you both? I mean who knows. Either way, we know not to try that again, right?"
Titus couldn't help but feel like nothing in his life was simple anymore, but he knew he didn't have the time to wallow right now; they had work to do.
Jordan took a few steps forward, making himself visible to the Frostbite Spider and strode cautiously back into the tunnel he and Petra had carved.
As he approached, the spider seemed to sense his presence and began to watch him intently. Its icy aura flaring, and a cold frost surrounding it. Jordan had to resist the urge to back away as the creature watched, but he knew what he had to do.
And with the spider watching Jordan intently, who had started slowing down and making it look like he was again becoming ensnared in the webbing, Petra took to the webs again, keeping low, out of sight, and carefully severing the webs that prevented her from moving.
Jordan finally came to a halt, and let his head hang down like he'd finally given up. The last thing he did was pull on some of the webbing so the spider knew that its prey was truly done.
The Frostbite Spider crawled slowly from its perch this time like it knew something was up, but it still had to follow its most basic desire for food. In just a few moments it bore down high above Jordan and looked at him, clearly waiting for the Defender to brandish his sword.
But Jordan remained still. Titus had no idea how he managed it.
The spider's legs twitched as it reached out, clearly intending to test its enemy's resolve before it ensnared Jordan in its web.
And at the last moment, Jordan dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the long, hairy leg.
And then Petra struck.
Because she had taken a wide route to the spider, she was able to plunge her stiletto into the bulbous behind of the creature, and it reared up, screeching an ear-piercing screech as it frantically searched around itself for this new attacker.
But it was too late. Petra had retreated out of sight again.
"Come on, you oversized arachnid!" Jordan yelled to return focus to himself. It wasn't a taunt, but it was as good as. "I'm right here!"
For a moment, the spider actually looked confused. Its once menacing, intelligent eyes darted between Jordan and where Petra had been almost comically. It was like it couldn't figure out exactly what had just happened, and after what seemed to be a very long moment, it seemed to make up its mind and lunged at Jordan again, its two front legs extended to reach out to the Defender this time.
Titus could tell that Jordan wasn't going to be quick enough to roll out of the way this time, so he did the only thing he could at that moment: he cast his Sacrifice skill again, and this time, he knew that Jordan needed the help.
A moment later, the spider struck Jordan full-on. There wasn't any semblance of frost or cold in the attack; this time, it was just a sheer brute-force whack.
Jordan was sent flying back. So far, in fact, that he passed Titus in the air and landed on the cold sand with a loud thud. Titus checked his friend's stats quickly to see that he'd dropped to eighteen health points. Titus himself only had nine points remaining, and for someone who hadn't actually done anything in the battle, that was a pretty bad thing. He knew, too, that he'd used ten of his fifteen stamina points, though they were recovering slowly at a rate of about one every two seconds.
And he was in pain. Serious pain, but the adrenaline of the fight was keeping him upright and his true feelings at bay.
Petra seized the opportunity provided by the distraction. She moved quickly yet silently under the cover of the webs whilst the spider seemed to patrol the edge of its domain, daring Jordan to come in closer again. It could sense that its meal was almost ready.
Petra closed in on the Frostbite Spider from behind. Her knife was ready, and she aimed for the creature's vulnerable rear.
With a swift and accurate strike, Petra plunged her weapon deep into the spider's abdomen. The spider screeched in agony, its legs flailing wildly in response to the unexpected attack and dark black blood spilling out of it onto the arena sands beneath the frosty webs. Again, as the spider dealt with the damage that'd been caused to it, Petra disappeared, moving away from her previous position before facing any kind of retaliation.
Frostbite Spider
Level: 3
HP: 10/45
The spider was badly wounded, and its movements were now clearly sluggish. It was almost over, so close, and the trio had a chance to end the battle. But they had to act quickly before the creature could recover or use its freezing abilities again, or go back into hiding at the edge of the arena sands.
But now it was actively looking for Petra, the Rogue who was chipping away at its health, and both Titus and Jordan knew that there was only one thing they could do: They needed to distract the creature one more time.
"Man, this is going to suck," Jordan grumbled as he handed his shield to Titus and stared at the spider, waiting for just the right moment.
Despite his low health and the pain he was undoubtedly feeling from the spider's previous attack, Jordan sprang into action. He brandished his sword and charged at the spider, yelling loudly to draw its attention. His movements were agile and calculated despite his injuries.
Titus knew how much pain Jordan was in because he was sharing in it; the Sacrifice ability causing him to feel what Jordan was feeling. And if he was asked what that was like, he would've said that it hurt. A lot.
But Titus wasn't going to stand back and let his friends face this enemy alone. They'd already been through so much in this fight, and he knew now what they all needed to do. They needed to act as a team.
Roaring as fierce a battle cry as he could manage, Titus ran to one side of Jordan, putting a fair amount of distance between them so that between the three friends, they formed a triangle around the spider.
The Frostbite Spider, now faced with multiple threats from three different directions, turned its focus away from trying to find Petra and toward Jordan and Titus, staring at each in turn. Its legs flailed in anger as it tried to position itself to defend against the two opponents, but its movements were slow and uncoordinated due to the injuries it had already sustained.
Petra, hidden from view once more, took advantage of the distraction. She moved silently, her knife at the ready and came up behind the distracted spider to plunge her weapon deep into the creature's abdomen once more, again coating herself and the arena sands with its putrid dark blood.
The spider screeched in agony, its struggles growing weaker by the second. The combination of Jordan and Titus's distraction and Petra's well-timed strikes proved to be too much for the wounded creature to handle.
Frostbite Spider
Level: 3
HP: 0/45
With one final screech, the Frostbite Spider succumbed to its injuries and collapsed onto the cold arena sands. It twitched briefly and then to Titus’ relief, lay still, dead and defeated.
And then every single one of the webs faded away to nothing, and it was just like someone had switched the sun back on.
Titus basked in the warm sun and finally turned to look at his two friends, Petra looking as confused as ever, dirty with sand and blood, and to Jordan, who fell to his knees in exhaustion.
And then he too realised just how taxing that fight had been, and he fell to his backside as his legs collapsed beneath him.
The cheers from the crowd filled the arena, and in that moment, Titus realised that they'd actually done it.
They’d survived.
They'd won.
