Had she but listened to them perhaps she would have survived the night. At least that was what the inn keeper and his serving girls thought as she went about her day after inquiring of perhaps the most dangerous being they had ever known. They had only come across the lord of the manor once in their life and it still gave them nightmares. The inn had been taken over by a group of bandits attempting to lay low. Held hostage and made to close the inn for the day. However that had only served to arouse suspicion. Had they known that lord Sero was hunting them they may have fled right away. To this day they still thought the bandits who threatened their lives had been preferable to that monster. He came in and spread darkness through out the inn and flooded it with mist. The sounds of the bandits screaming haunted them every time they closed their eyes. It had seemed to last for hours. They recalled the sounds of men, hardened criminals begging through sobs to be spared his justice. To simply face execution. They remembered the bandits being driven mad as they were picked off one by one in the mist with no chance of escape. Most of all, the inn keeper and his serving girls remembered almost going mad themselves. For having witnessed the devil do his deeds the entire time they huddled together in a corner and felt in every slow second that they too would be next.

Still the choice had been hers. With her mechanical spider carrying her about the crowds were nervous to begin with. To them Sero was like a living deity of death. Lacking a sense of morality or mercy. They knew of his connection to spiders and had seen his 'servants' come to the village more than once. Massive spiders come to collect what the manor needed. Leaving behind coin and yet people were always terrified. They could not reason out the spiders simply going about a set task. As if at a moments notice the spiders might lash out at them. To drag their young off in the night. At worst they had consumed some stray animals...a pet or two left unattended. However it only further instilled their terror of him. A spider like deity. Sending his servants into the world and now this strange girl would mimic them. Perhaps it was unknowingly. However they feared it would not be seen as flattery or worship. They feared it would be viewed as mockery. So when she finally left the village behind they were put more at ease. They did not try and stop her because her fate was sealed where ever she went. So long as she was not next to them when he came they would be fine. However Sero was yet to know of this girl. No messenger had come, no rumors ever swung by the island. They were secluded and visitors were rare. At least until she arrived at the gateway.

Most people crossed quickly using supernatural walking practice. However he methods were slower. The air tight submersible puppet held under the lakes surface along the bottom. Even as she went though it would be slow going. Lack of visibility and stable footing slowing her progress as well as a slight tide occasionally pulling at her puppet. Had she been able to see more though it would have only been more reason to turn back. Under the waters the closer she got to the far shore of the island the more the puppet stepped across bones. Animal and human alike the bones were scattered there. Like a mass grave only tossed into the waters. Flesh peeled clean off of them. Some more broken than others and some even partially melted. She crossed dark waters and a massive grave all at once. Perhaps it was how dark the waters were that gave her this courage. Letting her press forward. Perhaps had she known the horrors she was seeking out she may have stopped then. However Nova would not be stopped so easily. Not by a body of water. However even as she emerged she would feel it. Clear as day there was something already watching her. Hunting her as she became visible on the shore with water pouring off of her. Even as she progressed to the road quickly within the woods dark shapes darted back and forth. Watching, chattering...waiting. Unsure of what to make of this metal version of themselves.

Nothing would bar her path though as she progressed forward. Her construct that she rode within was less than subtle and seemed ever louder out in the woods alone. As if she were screaming her presence to whatever resided further in. As she drew close to the clearing with the black gate though it would feel like she had stirred whatever was idly watching her to wakefulness now. Like it was always right behind her. Like it could somehow crawl into her protective shell without her noticing. The kind of sensation that has you imagining things in the corner of your eye. As she opened the black gates their creak would echo across the mist and for a moment after nothing moved. The area was so void of movement and sound one might have though time had paused itself. Yet she proceeded onward. Moving through the garden as a great machine carried her forward. So safe within it. As if she were invited there she simply strode up the path to the front door itself. So eager to meet this man. As her puppets spindly leg rose suddenly it would stop responding to her commands. As if it had been encased in solid concrete. From nothing suddenly he was there. A man with long white hair in white robes with blue trim. A single long sword on his left hip. Eyes as empty as a dead mans looking down at the puppet with a pale hand sporting long fingers with nearly black crimson nails holding her puppets leg with no chance of escape. No hint of where he had come from. In the blink of an eye he simply existed. Still he seemed to look beyond the puppet. As if he was making eye contact with her regardless of the metal between them. When he spoke it was monotone and yet his words could not be doubted.

"If you wish to meet anyone here, you will come out of your shielded safe space. If you prefer however, I will come to you."

1100

Sero would watch her with a steady gaze. Hell hidden behind those grey orbs. There were few in the world that could reach him and fewer still who could conquer him. This being was not yet on this list. He had known passion few times in his life but when it came to fruition it was a terrible and great event. One of the few things that held a key to that doorway was his children. Beings only come to life through their connection to him and in a way extensions of himself. His true being much like a spider itself. Far more spider than he was man. The world broken down easily for him into what was prey and what was not. Those who threatened his territory often fell under the category of prey. He was unsure as to this one though. Some basic form of infiltration? A shell meant to mimic or mock his brood? He knew not her intentions but she had trespassed despite the warnings he knew she must have received. The world could fear him somewhat but anyone who made it this far rarely did so without the knowledge that they were no longer in the realm of man.

He could feel her within. Feel her chakra waning away from his own out of fear. A dark thing pulsing as she fumbled about. Still he did not move. Patient as he listened to her fingers scraping to obey him. He could feel her fear like an intoxicating perfume. At least it was to him. He played with his prey because fear was something he rarely felt. Something that made his blood boil and excited him when so little else did. To pull that from others allowed him to feel power and control. Still she would finally pop the latch to her puppet. As it opened he noted a young girl. The smell of food within was interesting. A mixture of everyone one might need and more to travel comfortably. How far had she come? There were hints of other smells as well. The entire puppet smelled as if she lived in the small space...there were hints of desert sands and river waters as well as she smelled of some sort of scented soap. She was unique and foreign. If he had to surmise the make and design of the puppet was beyond that of anyone from Kiri. A clan from another country...the desert sands suggested Suna.

She would unclip herself as well before she moved up into a sitting position. A young woman by the look of her. For a moment she tried to hold his gaze but failed as she looked away. She seemed so small even as she was nearly eye level with him. Still his hand held her firmly by the puppet. He knew one thing of them and that was that a puppet was the ultimate type of weapon. A dozen attacks capable of happening all at once. His eyes shifted to her fingers which seemed unsteady. How much would they have to move to attack at this range? If they twitched in the wrong way would he react violently? He supposed he could stop her from moving entirely if he wished. His chakra alone enough to hold her in place. However he wished for two simple answers. So he would let just a tiny amount of katon chakra seep out. In the wet and cold air it began to feel slightly warmer. She would notice the warmth and then the light even looking down. Passed her face fell a single slow wisp of katon chakra. Like snow, bits of flame slowly drizzled around them. The door and the stone around them seemed unaffected as did his robes and her puppet but it was now raining fire around them. Commanding her attention as he spoke once more. Like stone grinding on stone. Slow and without emotion.

"You trespass on my home. Doing so in a contraption like this is and odd choice. I smell the village on you, which means you had to have been warned not to come her foreigner. As such for your own well being you will answer two questions with clarity and honesty. Who are you? Your full name and origins. As for the second question, do you come as a spider to mock this place or to infiltrate it?"

1835

“My name is Nova Makato. I am from the destroyed village of Suna. I now live in the village of Kiri, though just recently. As far as why I come here.... I was intrigued by the rumors of what resided here on this island, though I was advised against it my curiosity got the better of me. My puppet has no purpose to be used against you or your kin.... this is merely my puppet Kurogokegamu. I am.... a cripple... and my puppet makes up for my lack of mobility. Spiders are truly a wondrous type of creature...”

He would listen as she spoke quickly in response to his inquiries. Answering both of them and more. She wished to obey his commands it would seem. So her name was Nova Makato. Not a clan name he was familiar with. Though the destruction of the village of Suna was news that just now reached him. Perhaps he was a little to detached from the world for that to be true. However he didn't seem to feel much towards it regardless of the suggestion of lives lost. Destruction always left bodies in its wake. The greater the destruction the greater the number of bodies. So she was a survivor from the destruction of her home. Moving to the strongest nation in hopes of...protection perhaps? As for her reason for coming to the island it was just curiosity. Her different abilities for survival seemed to conflict with one another. She had escaped destruction only to seek out a place known for it. What an odd creature. Still she would emerge from the construct that carried her around. A design for mobility. He supposed the statement at least was accurate. Still he noted something he had never seen before on anyone besides Gin. She too being from Suna. A prosthetic limb.

He was cautious of that even as she adjusted her clothes and the limb itself. It appeared so normal but he had an experience that stated otherwise with a prosthetic. He had seen perhaps one of the most powerful ones in the world in action and could not hope to break free from it. He tilted his head as she stood tall. Regaining her composure as she held out her hand to him. Inquiring of what to call him. His reaction was less than friendly. One moment he had been standing there holding her puppet by the leg and the next he was no longer holding it. He was simply gone. Like a wisp of mist he was no more. As if he were but a spirit haunting her in the moment. However behind her she might feel a slight touch as he ran a thin hand through the edge of her hair. Contemplating if she was simply too sheltered for what the manor held. Was she a fighter or was she bound to flee like so many others? Still he would speak in the same toneless voice. Bidding her to listen all the same.

"I am known as lord of this manor. Lord Osada. Such is my title, should you prove to be more than the average it may change to captain. Let us not get ahead of ourselves though."

He would listen as she continued all the same. Moving in a slow circle now around her. “I will admit... I am unsure why I came here. I felt like it called to my soul to explore here. I have gotten... a good many unsavory looks and comments in town due to my puppets form.... I know I will never find someone else in the same position as me but I had hoped perhaps there would be some here who might understand. I do promise however I had no ill intent coming here.... I wasn't even certain I would find this place. I just felt as though I had to try” He would turn his head and make a growling noise in the direction of the village. Already they let their fear of his children rule them. After he had done them the favor of cutting off the only way across the waters and began receiving his monthly supplies by docks. That they would shun anything even remotely like his creation was mocking to him. How much would he offer to them as they spat on his designs....Still he would stop pacing as he stood between her and the door again. His grey eyes seemed to stare through her. The wind seemed to die down and the color in the world slowly seemed to fade away under his chakra. All was still and grey now around them. As if the world had been paused in a black and white image only they could move within. It was a disorienting effect but one his chakra demanded. Life itself of every type short of her beating heart and bated breath was called to be still as he spoke.

"So now you have come this far, made it to the doorway. Few would say as much. You could turn back now and claim a great deal. Perhaps even impress the locals. However there is another path, another way. If you know nothing else in life to strive for perhaps it is time to study death. Would you turn away from those who live in fear? Turn away and find your own hidden promise steel spider Nova? All you have to do is but to ask and the doors to a different future may open for you. However do not do this lightly...if you ask of this it is done with a price....one you will discover one day when all is silent around you."

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