Feitan x Reader; Tangled in a Web of Spiders

Spiders in Meteor City part 1

    ~ * ~

The hours spent on the airship taking you closer to Meteor City were uneventful, to say the least, and you spent most of them playing cards and chatting with Shalnark, Shizuku, and Kalluto, while Feitan, Phinks, and Bonolenov sat together, looking half asleep most of the time. Once back on the ground, you hitched a ride to the outskirts of the city, then continued on foot.

This city was unlike anything you'd seen before, smoke and dust rose from enormous hills made out of garbage while murders of crows circled above or were searching the ground for anything edible. The dust as well as the smell of rot and decay was as overwhelming as the heat, invading your senses and making your nose and lungs burn. The people you could see outside were fully covered in protective clothes, some with built-in gas masks, others with only thin fabric covering their mouths and nose.

'Was it always like this?' you asked, trying to take in all the impressions.

'Oh, yes,' Shalnark said, 'this place never changes. It takes some getting used to, but we'll be out of the sun soon. Once we're inside the smell won't be so bad.'

You headed toward the large cathedral. Shining white and golden the enormous building sprawled in the baking sun, its splendor somehow untainted by the dusty, gray surroundings.

With Phinks taking the lead you were shown to a huge hall, where row after row of dead bodies covered by identical white sheets indicated the city's losses. More than three hundred, one of the masked residents had told you.

The true horror of the ant attack was only revealed when a sheet was lifted, showing a grossly misshapen monstrous shape that, just days ago had been a normal human being. For some reason the Assembly was debating whether these transformed monsters could be turned back to their human form and whether they should be considered "dead" or "altered". When Phinks heard it, he snorted disdainfully,

'They can't retaliate because they're arguing about whether their people are dead or just altered. What a waste of time. These are as dead as door-nails.'

You agreed with him, but curious you knelt beside the body to get a closer look. Feitan crouched down next to you,

'I can see also?'

You placed your hand on his arm and activated X-ray so you could share your vision with him.

'This is very strange,' you frowned as you looked the body over. There was not a shred of human physiology left, even the texture of the blood, the internal organs, and the way they were connected looked alien. You altered the level of x-ray several times to get a complete overview until you'd both seen enough, then you relaxed your aura again. You looked up at the others,

'This one is definitely dead, nothing can change that. The transformation is so thorough that I doubt it can be reversed.'

'Not human any more. No turn back. Assembly is wrong, it not possible.' Feitan sounded more confident than you, and you gave him a questioning look. He chuckled softly,

'I study anatomy, look in medical books, dissect many bodies. Vivisect some.' He shrugged, ignoring your gasp. 'Know human body very well. Must know for work. This not human. Reverse not possible.'

He did what? In a horrible way what Feitan said made perfect sense, you knew how thorough he was, you'd even noticed some of the books he mentioned and you remembered all the anatomical sketches you had seen on his desk. You glanced at him as you got back up on your feet, letting your fingers caress his hand before you broke contact. It seemed so unreal that the same hands that gave you such comfort, such pleasure, were also capable of causing so much pain. Vivisecting people. You swallowed hard. He had mentioned it like it was an obvious thing to do, as natural to him as the study of anatomical books.