Go right.

"Let's try this way," you decide as you gesture a hand towards the rightmost pathway. Anastasia nods, and she follows closely behind as you carefully march in that direction. It arches widely to the left before snaking back right again, rather narrowly as if carved long ago by water that lingers now only as a damp floor, though you wonder if it still runs through here. You'd rather not find out. It continues on for a distance, to the point where you begin to worry that you made the wrong decision. You can always Bunny Hop to somewhere else, so the fear isn't becoming lost, but you won't abandon even a single of your allies.

You stick with it for now regardless and hope for the best.

As you proceed, there's no other sound. Perhaps what you heard before was an illusion of your mind. It does gradually open wider, not to the point of what you'd call a room, but at least you feel less claustrophobic. It looks for a moment that the path is about to split, but really there's just a column of stone in the center of your path.

"You still doing all right?" you ask.

Anastasia steps forth. Suddenly, she gasps, and you turn in surprise. "Ah!" she lets out, but then catches her breath. "Spider web."

You breathe a sigh of relief. "Don't scare me like that. Are you afraid of spiders?"

"I don't fear any creatures of darkness."

You place your hand upon the column and step around to the left. "The path descends up ahead--"

Anastasia screeches out once again. You turn to see her batting a spider off her head, and one that's rather large--by spider standards anyway. You've seen some pretty massive creatures in this world, so it isn't much of a surprise to you. But she panics, hustling ahead for a moment, around the right side of the column instead. Then she stops in her tracks. It looks like she's struggling again, perhaps with another spider, but it's strange. As you look closer, it looks like she's beginning to float.

Stepping around the center of the path to see her from the front, you realize what's happening. Anastasia is caught in a massive, barely visible web.

"Don't move," you say calmly. "I'll get you down."

She stares at you with terror in her eyes. Her hands are up to the sides, and her legs are spread. There's absolutely nothing to stop you from staring at every last inch of her naked body, and while you do take in a nice little look, that isn't your focus right now. "N-No..." she mumbles. "No!" she shouts.

"Hey, hey. Not too loud. If any spiders crawl up to you, I'll--"

"Not the spiders," she says. "D-Don't look at me, please!"

"You're more concerned about being naked than being eaten by what made this web?"

"... W-Well, get me down already!"

You reach up, and suddenly the hairs on the back of your neck stand on-end. You slowly look towards the ceiling and spot a flash of light coming down from a crevice. It looks too small for what climbs out, though it seems this creature is nimble. Eight legs become visible first, and then a bulbous body. A flicker--some sort of strange glow--is seen down its stomach like a crackle of lightning from within.

"What is it?" asks Anastasia. Then her eyes slowly tilt up to just barely glance the edge of what lurks above. She then flails wildly. "Let me go! Let me go, you beast!"

I wish I had my sword. All right. Let's see. What can I do? Bunny Hop onto it? No... It's not just a spider. I have a bad feeling about that glow. Flare Blade and Bolt both need a weapon. Entangle? Well that's already the problem, isn't it? I'm not gonna be able to be the webber here, at least not while it's up there. Pleasure? I mean, I don't know a spider can't orgasm, but that's not it.

"Hold strong. I know you can. Let me try something."

She looks to you and nods. "Of course, Kyle. This monster doesn't scare me. Just... don't stare at me while you do it, all right?"

You scramble along the ground, looking for something. Then you suddenly hear a crackle at the same time as a shock of panic up your spine. You turn as the spider's mandibles crackle, and a jolt of electricity leaps out to scorch the ground where you knelt a moment ago. You roll to the side and catch your breath. "Oh good. Some kind of lightning spider."

Then you find it. You have no idea if this is going to work, but you need to try. From the ground, you lift a wide, flat stone, with a somewhat sharp edge. Gripping it in two hands, you speak the magic words, "Flare Blade," and when you do, much to your surprise and excitement, the edge of the rock sizzles with a burning fire. At first it flickers with a red warmth, but then a moment later, it flashes with bright pink rising flames. You spin around, and hurl it through the air to the part of the web between Anastasia and the spider.

The webs snap and burn, and the creature retreats back along the ceiling.

"A-Amazing!" Anastasia lands on her feet, though kneels down. She tears as much of the web off as she can while crawling away. "You're full of surprises."

"Let's attack it together," you call out.

She stands, and though it takes all her strength to do so, she doesn't cover up her nudity. Instead, she raises her hands up, and shines with radiance as she manifests a spell.

At the same time, however, you spot a light in the darkness. It grows until it becomes fully visible--a bright, charging blast of electricity from within the spider's maw. This one looks more powerful than what almost hit you before. You step forth, placing yourself between the creature and Anastasia while she readiest to cast.

"Kyle..." she whispers.

"Come on, fire!" you bait your foe. "Hit me! You missed last time, so try again!"

Then with a thunderous blast, a lightning strike comes forth from the creature, so powerful that it singes its own body. But you're quick to think. You raise your hand up, and in an instant, the magic is sucked right into your ring. With a smirk, you step to the side, and Anastasia unleashes a Celestial Blast. The sparkling wave of gold and white illuminates the dimly lit tunnel as it travels past the column in the center, and straight into the evil beast. It reels back in pain and fear, and to follow up, you're already there.

In your hand is the burning stone from before. Now you swing up, and thrust it down into the spider's underbelly.

You step away. As the flames dissipate, the spider's legs curl in. The spark within its body vanishes.

"W-We did it!" Anastasia smiles wide.

You turn to see her celebrating, perhaps in a more bouncy manner than she meant. Quickly, she covers herself up again and flushes red.

"You're right. We did," you say, touching a hand to your signet ring. "Now let's keep moving, just in case that thing wasn't alone."