The pair of glowing white eyes, the only feature on its face, blinked once, twice, then fixed their gaze on me. A creaking sound echoed through the chamber as the figure shifted, its body emerging from the shadows. Its joints clicked and cracked like twigs snapping. Thin, almost imperceptible, strings of a marionette ran up into the darkness I couldn’t see into. Its hands ended in large metal scissors that swayed lazily.

  I swallowed hard, instinctively raising my arm protectively and my gun with the other. Orange...what am I looking at?

  That is a wooden golem. Golems are typically soulless and animated by magic. They have any form their creator manufactures for them to perform any function they are directed to. Their material and strength vary greatly.

  The golem’s movements were slow yet jerky. It kind of looks like a puppet. As it stepped forward, I saw the twisted grain of the wood composing its body, the sharp edges of its limbs, with splinters jutting out like makeshift spikes. It didn’t look nearly as dangerous as the spiders I had faced before, but I wasn’t about to let my guard down.

  I glanced at the marionette’s legs—if you could call them legs. They were long, jagged chunks of wood attached to uneven stumps that scraped the floor with every step. And then I saw it—faint lines, almost like runes, glowing faintly on its chest.

  The magic on this golem has nearly run out. It should be inert.

  I blinked and took a couple of steps back. Should be? It doesn’t look like it agrees with you.

  Above me, the clacking heels of the ice demoness echoed again, growing fainter but still far too close. There was only one door, and it was behind the golem. I don’t think this thing’s going to give her much trouble.

  We suggest the host destroys it.

  The golem jerked forward, its strings tightening. One of its arms swung down, aimed directly at my head. I stepped to the side, feeling the sharp tang of metal smashing into the stone floor where I had just stood. The force sent out harmless pieces of debris and shook the ground beneath my feet.

  Okay, it’s stronger than it looks.

  I took another step back and fired at the chest of the golem. Splinters spewed out from behind it as the construct raised upward on a pendulum swing. It came right back towards me, scissors hands open, and aimed to stab me.

  I ducked under and tried to get behind it, but it kicked me with a leg as it went by. My arm took the brunt of the hit, but a few of the small spikes scratched my side. I fell backwards from the impact. As I rolled further away and to my knees, I didn’t feel anything from my arm.

  So my arm is tough enough to withstand both Bark’s sword and this thing. Losing the feeling is starting to be worth it.

  The golem turned mid-air and faced me. It still wasn’t touching the ground.

  I’m not an expert on this thing, but that thing shouldn’t be flying. It’s defying the laws of physics!

  Analyzing… Strings appear to be controlling the golem’s movements, possibly linked to a central source above. Hypothetically, disabling the strings may interrupt its control.

  I glanced up into the darkness, but the strings disappeared into the ceiling. Right, hypothetically.

  The golem swung towards me and lashed out again, its movements jerky and imprecise. It bothered touching the ground before it reached me. I dodged the blow and fired another shot, this time going for an arm. The shot shattered its elbow, causing everything past it to clammer to the ground.

  Or the host could disable the golem piece by piece. It would take longer.

  Shut up, Orange. I’m trying here.

  I pulled my dagger out and raised the blade. With a deep breath, I lunged forward, ducking beneath another wild swing from the marionette’s remaining arm. I slashed at the string attached to its back.

  Splinters flew as the blade made contact with its torso. The golem dipped in a jerking motion. From that spot, I could see several more strings attached to the legs of the construct. Before it could turn around, my dagger bit into the ones controlling the left leg. It took more effort to cut through the four strings, but when I did, its leg went completely limp as it dragged it to swing its arm at me.

  I stepped out of its reach. This is almost too easy.

  When the host arrived in the Soul Nexus, they were level five, and now they are level sixteen. Some improvement in their capabilities is expected. The host is stronger, faster, and more durable than before. However, the host must continue to damage the strings to disrupt control. Time is limited.

  Working on it! I hissed in my mind, narrowly dodging a stabbing swipe from the creature.

  I circled around the marionette, keeping my eyes locked on the stings. If I could just disable a few more… Especially that one controlling the arm.

  The marionette’s head twisted unnaturally, its glowing eyes tracking me. The rest of its body twisted to follow suit. It lunged forward, attempting to tackle me. It was faster this time, forcing me to throw myself to the side to avoid being grappled. My back hit the damp stone floor, and whatever was controlling it swung the golem through the air like a child pretending to be an airplane. I barely had time to raise my arm before its wooden leg came crashing down.

  I felt the impact vibrate through my epidermal plating—the force pinning my arm to my chest and dropping my dagger. My arm caught the blow, but I was slowly feeling my chest being crushed. The sheer weight of the golem was pushing down, pinning me to the floor.

  With my other arm, I placed the barrel right on the golem’s knee and fired. It earned me a face full of splinters and a chance to breathe.

  I gasped and rolled with all my strength, scooping my blade up as I did. I used my arm to deflect its scissor hands. It tried to close the blades down, but they just slipped off my metal skin. My next shot went past its face, but the second went through the featureless head.

  Another shower of broken wood hit the ground. The golem hung in the air lopsided. Whatever was hanging onto it, was running out of holds, and I was running out of bullets in my gun. Four shots, make them count.

  I stood up just as the wooden leg dragged on the ground when the golem swung towards me. I took a step back to avoid the attack. I fired another two shots, aiming at the remaining anchors for the strings. It fell to the floor, landing in a heap, scissors clacking.

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  Everything seemed to freeze. The marionette lay beneath on the ground, its strings severed, the glow in its eyes fading to darkness.

  I took a deep breath, feeling my muscles burn from the exertion. Well... that was something. In the corner of my vision I received one thousand four hundred and thirty shards and five stat points that I immediately put in quickness.

  What was that thing’s deal? How did it move the way it did.

  With the strings attached to the golem, that could only mean that there was another creature controlling it.

  That means that puppet-looking golem was actually a puppet, and the puppeteer is still above me. I looked up and didn’t see the ceiling. A cloud of darkness clung to it, and it even blocked my vision. Let me guess, magic.

  Highly probable. However, chasing the puppeteer is an inefficient use of the host’s time. The ice demoness is still in pursuit.

  I know. You’ve not let me forget it.

  “Right,” I muttered, glancing up at the gaping hole in the ceiling. The clacking heels were growing louder again.

  An icy staircase started to form and descend from the pole. I wanted to roll my eyes. Magic is so not fair.

  I sprinted for the metal door and slammed it shut behind me. There was a very convenient metal bar that would serve as a way to hold it shut. Without hesitating, I pushed it so that it would hopefully hold her back.

  Let’s see if her magic can cheat her way through that. But by then, I’ll be long gone.

  I turned around to see a room full of tables, chairs, cubicles, and curtains of spiderwebs.

  “Why?” I screamed.

  Despite the plethora of webs, there were no signs of spiders. As a bonus, I could see the ceiling. A dim amber light illuminated from the molding along the ceiling. More spiders. I hate spiders!

  My outburst didn’t attract anyone, but I had no doubt the assassin after me knew where I went. The room had two doorways with doors on them, but webs covered both of them. Picking the one on the right, I took off for it. I didn’t want Orange reminding me yet again that the assassin was still following me.

  The webs peeled off easily, and I surveyed the room again, just in case a spider was hiding. There wasn’t one, but I noticed the webs were tucked up and through the door. It was odd, and walking through the door verified that something fed the webs over the top.

  Odd.

  More amber lights and webs continued in the hall. The ceiling was lined with ropes of web. Two sets of two seams perpendicular to each other in the stone traveled the length of the hall. I closed the door and jogged down the hall. Then I heard a click behind me.

  In front of me, a buzzing noise preceded the sight of spinning saw blades. Four blades, one in each seam, filled the hall, offset from each other.

  The host will not survive being bisected, trisected, or quadrisected.

  I sprinted back and slammed into the door. It wouldn’t budge. I slammed my shoulder into it again and again, but the door wouldn’t give. I turned around, and my eyes widened in horror. The blades were advancing on me. I slammed my hand against the door.

  “Let me out! Let me out!” I screamed.

  The metal was cold to the touch, and it refused to open. My heart raced as the saw blades kept closing in on me. There was no way to dodge them. I wouldn’t have been able to jump over, and the lowest blade would still split me if I laid down on the ground.

  I slammed my body into the door one more time. Nothing.

  The blades were a foot away. I dropped to the ground and shielded my face. They weren’t going to stop. I was going to be torn to shreds.

  Then, when the blades would have ripped into my arm, they pulled them to the side. A heavy pressure attempted to crush my arms. I heard the gears grinding. I opened my eyes and saw the blades remained a few inches away from me. The saw’s teeth pinned my arm to the wall.

  Pain started filling my arm as I could feel the bones in my forearm start to bend with the growing dent in my metal skin. The grinding sound grew louder and turned into something chugging. Each second increased the pressure until something snapped and the pressure ended instantly.

  I breathed deeply, trying to calm my racing heart. The saws were motionless. I waited a few seconds, and they started to move backwards.

  I let out a sigh of relief as I watched them move away from me. I looked down at my arm as the bone and metal returned to their normal states. My arm just stopped a spinning blade. My metal arm just stopped a saw blade.

  The defense of the host’s epidermal plating is equal to two hundred and ten. It’s surprising that they held. The mechanisms controlling the trap must have fallen into disrepair.

  Whatever. I’ll take it. It still feels weird to accept that I have arms made of metal that block and stop blades. I’ve come a long way.

  There are many more augments for the host to take if they should choose to take them. But at this time, the host can’t afford them.

  Our internal conversation was interrupted by the door opening behind me. It wasn’t the assassin staring me in the face. The creature was far more hideous.

  I jumped back, and so did it. My back brushed against the saw blades, but they moved and spun so that they didn’t cut me.

  The creature’s body was a grotesque amalgamation between human and arachnid, with a swollen torso that resembled a bloated human chest, ribs bulging beneath pale, mottled skin with scraggly black hair. Its head, vaguely humanoid, was disturbingly elongated, with large, lidless black pools for eyes. Multiple smaller eyes dotted its forehead, twitching independently as it surveyed me.

  The creature’s mouth gaped open, revealing rows of jagged teeth that seemed too numerous for its narrow face. Four mandibles twitched in the corners of lips, dripping a viscous liquid.

  Each of its ten legs was long and covered in coarse, dark hair, ending in disturbingly human-like hands. Its fingers curled and flexed constantly. The hands were twisted and malformed, with extra joints or far too many knuckles.

  Behind it was a bulbous spider abdomen that bounced with each movement. It moved in a jerky, skittering motion, almost like it was struggling to balance on its limbs, yet it was never close to hitting the ground. As it mirrored my movements, its legs clicked against the floor, the tips of its fingers making grating scraping sounds like fingernails on chalkboards.

  Orange, what is that? I could not take my eyes off the grotesque creature.

  Unknown species.

  It reached up and slammed the door between us.

  It seems the creature is intelligent. Proceed with caution.

  That meant I went in the opposite direction. I scrambled to the other door that was, mercifully, unblocked. I closed the door behind me. Please tell me that wasn’t the thing controlling the golem puppet.

  The possibility is logical.

  I turned to see a spider lying on a bird’s nest of webs. I wanna go home.

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