Issue 2: The Fell Dragon: Grima

A Couple of Centuries Later at Universe-000

After the Great Weaver's passing, the other Great Spider-Gods continued their roles in protecting and maintaining the Web of Life and Destiny, with the Master Weaver serving as Anansi's successor. While looking through the countless worlds connected by the Web and the many different Spider-Men and Women, The New Weaver sensed a strange, but dark presence from one world and calls forth the Other to the center web chamber.

"You've called me, Master Weaver?" The Other asked when he stepped forward to the enormous reality web.

"Yes, because I have an important task for you to complete." Master Weaver said when crawling down from the web of life.

"Let's hurry it up. I have to go back in finding the perfect Spider-Totem who could serve as my host. One of the many tasks the Great Weaver bestowed upon me before he passed away." The impatient Other said with his arms crossed.

"I need you to go and deal with the Fell Totem." The Master Weaver informed his multi-armed spider associate.

"The one the Great Weaver briefly mentioned? What is a Fell Totem anyway? This is the first I'm hearing about one." The Other said, curious.

"From what I've researched, a Fell Totem is like any other totemic avatar such as the Spider-Totems, but have been fully corrupted and consumed by the darkness, turning them into the greatest of evils. Not wanting any more than total destruction," The Master Weaver began explaining what he knows about a "Fell Totem" to his arachnid god cohort. "They possess enormous strength unlike any other. Strength and power that could threaten and destroy their entire native world. And if left uncheck, could threaten the rest of the multiverse."

"Hmph. That definitely sounds like trouble. Luckily for us, we already have the strongest Totem and he's standing right here," Other boasted about his strength. "So where's is this Fell Totem so I can put him in his place?"

The Master Weaver turns to the Great Web, showing the Other an image of an alternate Earth. "It resides in this world, Earth-5673, in a continent called 'Archanea'. Inside a particular maze-like dungeon. You must strike it down now."

"Understood. Beginning the mission now." With the power of the Great Web, the Master Weaver teleported the Other to the world where the newly-learnt Fell Totem has just been brought into a world it would soon consume with despair.


Earth-5673, The Thabes Labyrinth

Located in a vast desert is a hulking husk of a massive city once rich in magical power, now buried under centuries of the sands of the desert. The Other finds himself at the entrance of the labyrinth, taking a quick glance of his surroundings before getting up from the floor he landed on.

"This grand husk of a capital once seemed to be once coursed with magic, but it has been forgotten for centuries, neglected, the victim of human folly. And now I disturb its rest, before whatever that lives here destroys all life as we know it." He commented. He spots a stone tablet statue in the center of the room and begins reading from it, "'This is the Thabes Labyrinth. Let none set foot within its cursed halls.' At least I know the location of where I stand." He said, not worried in the slightest after reading about this cursed labyrinth.

The Great Totem calmly treks through the massive dungeon, not sensing any danger with his extrasensory senses for miles to come. After another minute of traveling through the buried city, he comes across another stone slab. He kneels down and reads from it, "'In Thabes lived an alchemist named Forneus, much praised for his genius. In time, he would be feared by all.' Hmmm. I wonder?" He stands back up and continues trekking the empty caverns.

During his journey through the labyrinth, the Other finds and read more stone slabs that contain small descriptions and stories about this feared alchemist of the land, slowly piecing together a puzzle that might connect this 'Forneus' individual to the Fell Totem. The Spider eventually jumps down to a lower level of the cavern after taking out a seal from a stone door that leads to the basement. As he reads from another stone slab, his psychic senses tell him of danger coming from behind and quickly vaults over a horizontal axe swing to behind the assailant, who appears to be undead and wearing a mask.

"I take it you're one of the infernal creations of this 'Forneus' character? A 'Death Mask' they're called?" The Spider-God asked while crouching down like a spider. The undead Death Mask simply moans like a zombie, signaling more of its brethren to come and surround the Spider. "I have no times for games. Begone." He summons sharp blades made of webbing that protrude from underneath the Death Masks, piercing through their bodies and instantly killing the small army. The Other then resumes his venture through the cavern as if nothing has ever happened.

'Other, are you there? Have you learned anything about the Fell Totem?' The Master Weaver began speaking in the Other's head as he webs swing.

"Yes, along with the origins of its creation," Other told him before he explains. "The Fell Totem was the creation of a Thabean human alchemist named Forneus, who spent many years trying to create what he refers as 'perfect life' by using the blood of a Divine Dragon. With their sacred blood, he discovered how to raise the dead as perfectly obedient soldiers using insects called Thanatophages. Soon after, he obtained materials from what the humans here refer to as the Senate and used them in his experiment. He eventually gave life to the creature, strengthening its power with his own blood, but because of unintentionally making a blood pact with his creation, he began hearing dark thoughts echoing in his mind. The man became possessed and driven into darkness by his own creation. And thus, the Fell Totem, or I guess 'Fell Dragon', was born into the world." He told the Weaver of what he learned from the stone slabs he's been encountering for quite a while now.

Not long after telling his findings to the Master Spider, the Other's psychic senses goes nuts, triggering him to a dangerous presence not far from where he is standing. "I'll get back to you. It would appear I have found my target." The warrior spider swing-kicks through another big double door and lands on the ground like a spider, finding himself in a dark, circular chamber with few torches that lights up the place. He stands up from the ground and spots his opponent floating above the end of the small staircase. "Hello there, my prey." The Spider leaps to the top of the staircase and finds himself confronting a giant, dark slither dragon with multiple eyes that almost encompass the entire room.

"WHO DARES DISTURB ME?" The supposed Fell Totem gazed at the tiny spider with all of his eyes.

The fearless Other gets into battle position, protruding his stingers from all six arms, "Your destruction."

Thinking how ridiculous the small spider's threat was, the Fell Dragon simply laughs. "WHAT CAN A TINY BUG SUCH AS YOURSELF CAN POSSIBLY DO AGAINST MY UNBRIDLED POWER?" He queried.

"You'll be surprised just how much power this 'tiny bug' possess, vermin." The Other growled, pouncing up high to the dragon's eyes and repeatedly slashes at them with his stingers. This pains the monster, shaking his head to fling the warrior spider away back to the ground before firing a large dark fire ball at him. The Spider uses his incredible reflexes to dodge the fire ball with ease, along with a few dozen more dark balls that the dragon repeatedly sent him.

"YOU'RE NOT HALF BAD…FOR A MERE BUG." The Fell Totem taunted him.

"I am no mere bug. I am the Other. The strongest of all Spider-Totems. A warrior and protector of the Great Web that connects our worlds. A Fell Totem like you is just another prey for me to hunt down and destroy." The Other boasted, summoning multiple thick-like webbing around the dark dragon to stab and put him in his place. He then proceeds to web up his eyes and mouth so he won't cause any more damage while he lunges towards his face and repeatedly slashes it, causing the dragon to roar in agony.

"MISERABLE PEST!" The Fell Dragon summoned a burst of dark energy that expels the spider god from his face back to the ground. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU SPEAK A 'FELL TOTEM'? I AM THE CREATION. A FELL DRAGON THAT WILL PLUNGE THE WORLD INTO ETERNAL DESPAIR. I AM GRIMA!" He roared so loudly it almost caused a cave-in to happen.

As he stands on one knee, the Other snarls with his head lowered to the ground. "It doesn't matter what you call yourself…" He places one of his right palms to the floor. "You are a poison that will bring ruin to this world and beyond. That is why I am here…" He slowly starts to stand up, with a blue aura starting to surround him, giving him strength and beginning his metamorphosis. "To destroy such evil that disturbs the beauty of the world. You will be purged from this realm so the Web can be at peace once more."

BGM-Dragon Ball Z Ultimate Tenkaichi OST-Burning Soul

The Other roars and transforms into his massive, monstrous-looking Man-Spider form, taking the same size close to Grima. With his powers and reflexes increased to unmeasurable heights, the Other ruthlessly jabs to the Fell Dragon's face. The demon beast counters by swinging his tail to stun him, then getting a few pot shots with his fire breath. The Other covers Grima with a face full of webbing, firing his own breath attack while he's distracted. Grima managed to dissolve the webbing with his tremendous power, shooting a big energy blast from his mouth at the spider, but he was able to counter it with his own energy blast, causing a huge explosion that covers the chamber in dank smoke, but thanks to the warrior spider's vision being better than Grima, he was able to see clearly through the smoke and lunges at the dragon with a hard right hook to the face, grabbing a hold of his entire head and slams it to the ground. And while he's pinned down, the Other takes this chance to stab the back of Grima with multiple spines protruding from his entire left arms.

"GET OFF ME!" Grima growled, summoning dark spikes from the wall near the Other to stab him with them, forcing him to let go of his head now that he's in pain. As he flies to the air, Grima fires a giant breath attack that knocks the Other to the wall, with the force of the impact causing a small cave-in to collapse on top of the Great Totem. Suddenly, Grima starts to feel weak and getting weaker. So weak he slumps back to the grounds of his chamber. "AHH…WHAT IS THIS POSION HE INJECTED ME WITH…?" He asked himself, not knowing that the Other's venomous stingers are extremely effective against malevolent totemic entities such as himself.

With the Fell Dragon weakened and dazed, the Other bursts out of his temporarily grave and pounces back to finish this fight. He smacked and thwacked the evil dragon with a flurry of punches to the gut. Even though he's weakened, Grima is still strong enough to fight, firing another gigantic dark ball, but the Other was easily able to punch right through it with an energy fist. For his final attack, the Other web yanks Grima's face to another one of his fist, ending his terror with a monstrous uppercut that has his stinger protruding straight through the demon's head. The Fell Totem proceeds to fall to the ground, seemingly dead as the entire cavern starts to cave-in, slowly burying his entire body.

BGM End

Other transforms back to his deific humanoid form while the chamber breaks apart from the fight. "So ends the Fell Totem. May you rot in hell for all of eternity." He lamented to its grave before exiting the dimension back to his own. But, even though the Fell Dragon is dead, a foul air still lingers, filling the collapsed cavern with a sense of dread, with a weird mark that suddenly brands the entire floor, and with it, a familiar, dreadful laugh can be heard throughout the entire dungeon.


KFX here: Grima's origins and the location of the Thabes Labyrinth are directly taken from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia for those that are wondering if I'm making this stuff up. The world of that game and Fire Emblem Awakening do exist in the same world, with Awakening taking place a couple centuries later after the former. Nonetheless, the final chapter for this mini-story is coming, which will take place during Grima's first attack on Ylisse. See ya.