Chapter 2187: Seeking Flamie’s Soul, Entering Lolth’s Divine Soul Stomach Dungeon

It was a little confusing at first, but Lolth wasn’t just one person anymore. She hadn’t permanently changed into that calmer version of herself. The old Lolth was still there, existing as some kind of... split personality. This was absolutely batshit insane, and somehow even better than I had imagined. Especially because the old Lolth would now be endlessly teased by her sister. I couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh at the thought of the endless arguments they were going to have.

Anyway, after Lolth’s "other half" revealed herself more clearly and everything settled for a moment, my father desperately asked about Flamie. Now that the conflict was finally over, this question had been weighing heavily on him. After all, this dungeon used to be the place where that dragon once lived.

"I wanted... to see if Flamie’s corpse... the dragon that gave birth to this dungeon... do you know what happened to it?" he asked, his voice quieter than usual, almost hesitant.

At his question, both spider sisters remained silent for a long moment, as if talking with one another through their shared mind. Their eyes flickered with internal conversation before they finally spoke.

"I fused with that corpse. It was a giant dragon undead boss," Lolth explained with a casual shrug of her many legs. "I did it for sustenance, and more than that, I was beginning to forge a new Divinity of Undead with it. But thanks to that process, I also gained the Divinity of Monsters. It was an incredible specimen."

"Y-You fused with it?!" my father screamed in pure disbelief, taking a half-step forward. "Sylphy, did you... see any dragon parts on her?"

"She did manifest draconic parts before..." I said, thinking back carefully. "But in our fight there was none of that left... Did you discard it?"

"It was likely completely absorbed by this clueless dum-dum," Htlol said with a tired sigh, gesturing toward her sister. "Regardless, its essence remains... within us. As we evolved, it seems that the power of this dragon’s corpse and the lingering soul essence was refined over time."

"Refined?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Wait just a moment," Htlol said calmly.

"What are you doing?!" Lolth asked, suddenly sounding alarmed.

"Just follow me."

FLASH!

Lolth’s body transformed without warning. She became a gigantic metallic spider, half purple obsidian and half white-gold. Her chest slowly opened like a massive door, revealing a strange white-purple dimension swirling beyond the threshold. The air around the portal felt heavy, thick with divine pressure that made the ground tremble slightly.

"W-What is that?" I asked, staring into the shifting space.

"My Divine Soul Realm," Lolth said with a wicked little grin. "You want to go in? I’ll eat you."

"Enough, sister," Htlol said firmly. "You may go in. It’s like... a dungeon. Living Memories, Souls, Nightmares, and Dreams of our memories materialize there. Flamie... his reconstructed form remains somewhere inside. But I must warn you, it is not the same being you once knew, hero."

"..." My father sighed deeply, the sound heavy with old pain. "Why?"

"Because his soul was gone," Lolth answered, her voice losing some of its usual mockery. "It was an Undead Monster! Your friend’s soul departed long ago. Sure, the lingering soul essence was still there, but those are just tiny fragments, not the real one..."

"..." My father sighed again and lowered his head for a moment. The silence that followed felt thick. Then he looked back at me, eyes searching. "Then... what do I do?"

"I’ll go," I said without hesitation. "Can we go inside?"

"It’s unstable in there... if you’re not a god you’ll likely melt without our protection," said Lolth, almost cheerfully. "Which is what I want! Go inside, go on!"

"I would recommend Sylphy go with you," said Htlol more seriously. "No more than two additional people, or it might become too tiring for her and her familiars to maintain the necessary protection."

"..." I looked back at my family. My mother’s steady gaze met mine, and my brother’s expression was already determined. "Mom, bro, let’s go with dad. This is something we as a family have to solve."

My mother nodded once. "Very well."

My brother agreed without delay. "Alright, let’s do this."

We prepared to enter through the dimensional portal after saying our goodbyes. Aquarina stepped forward and hugged me tightly, then kissed me all over my face with a mix of worry and stubborn affection.

"Take care, and come back alive!" she said firmly, her voice only slightly shaky.

We stepped through the portal together. The heavy doors closed behind us with a deep finality.

BAAAM!

The loud thud echoed for a moment before everything went quiet.

As the door shut completely, we stepped into the dimension that existed within Lolth and Htlol’s Divine Souls. It was indeed a twisted and strange spiritual world.

There was no clear sense of up and down, or even right and left. Giant floating platforms made of divine crystals drifted through the space, some glowing yellow and others deep purple. The air itself felt dense, as if it carried weight.

Suddenly their heads appeared high above in the "sky," enormous spider forms watching us. One was gold with calm blue eyes, the other purple with sharp red eyes.

"Welcome to your deaths! Fools! You shouldn’t have come inside!" Lolth laughed loudly, her voice echoing across the strange realm. "I will now digest you—"

"Don’t listen to her," Htlol interrupted calmly. "She cannot do that without my permission. If we don’t agree on something together, she cannot do anything. Anyway, the time you have here is still limited. I cannot completely control the digestive divine soul stomach within our shared soul. Sylphy, the crystal platforms will lead you toward where his remaining fragment should be... Be careful. Do not try to fly too high or jump too far. The pressure of our divine powers is constantly clashing due to our divided, contrasting, yet fused natures. Follow the path and don’t get lost. Whatever comes your way, you must defeat it on your own."

"Why? Can’t you help?" I asked, frowning. "You own this place!"

"As I said, do you think you can just enter inside your own stomach to stop the enzymes from digesting the food you swallowed?" Lolth asked with a mocking laugh. "No, right? Not even gods can do that!"

"...I guess," I sighed, nodding slowly as the reality of the situation settled in. "Alright everyone, let’s go. Dad, we’ll find him!"

He nodded silently, his expression resolute despite the weight he clearly carried. "Thank you. Let’s move."

We started walking together as a family across the crystalline platforms. Behind us, Ignatius, Yggdra, Beelzebub, and Armageddon formed a tight defensive formation so that nothing could surprise us from behind.

The place was incredibly bizarre. Memories, forms, and different shapes twisted and shifted everywhere. The entire "background" of this realm constantly mixed yellow and purple colors, creating a dizzying, dreamlike haze that made it hard to judge distance.

As we walked deeper into the strange dimension, the world around us began to tremble.

RUMBLE!

The platforms shook beneath our feet, and the clashing divine energies in the air grew stronger, as if the realm itself had noticed our presence and was beginning to react.

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