The Spider Queen

(Unova Syndicate- Planet Xerciam Prime)

(Rexanera Sea- Unnamed Ship)

The silence inside the cabin room was broken by a robotic voice after a green light swept the surrounding area.

[No monitoring devices detected….]

"Scan again," Sophie remarked emotionlessly. The cold metalloid orb in her hand buzzed faintly before releasing another round of green light.

Several minutes passed as Sophie waited patiently for the results.

It didn't take long for the robotic voice to speak once more.

[No monitoring devices detected….]

Sophie frowned silently and paced around the room with an uneasy expression on her face.

She didn't like being in dangerous or unknown situations and this ship was precisely the latter.

From the outside everything seemed to be perfectly fine.

The cabin room was even larger than the one she had enjoyed on the S.S Annamarie and it was clear that the furnishings were made from materials of a higher quality.

The bed was made from a memory foam material that perfectly molded into the most comfortable shape to rest in regardless of physiology.

Inside the washroom was an enormous bathtub almost the size of a swimming pool with a built-in heating function.

Snacks and meals could be provided from the food replicator device hidden in the corner of the room and the menu had a variety of different options.

It was almost akin to the experience of staying in a four-star hotel room.

Lily was currently asleep on the bed after the long day, but Sophie could not rest so easily.

What was wrong?

There was no monitoring or listening devices and aside from the three rules that the crewmate had informed them about…. all appeared to be well.

Speaking of those rules, Sophie could not help but recall the third and final rule that seemed to be a bit strange.

She could somewhat understand the rule to not destroy the security devices in the hallway and the other rule not to leave the room without permission.

But that third rule….

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She could not make out the facial expression of the crewmate as the alien was little more than a bundle of sentient gas but judging by his tone of voice….

It was clear that the third rule was the most important.

"X'reah rylair Domineas!" Sophie mouthed silently and mulled over the meaning of those words.

The last rule involved the chanting of a strange phase.

Every two weeks an inspector would knock on every door and demand to hear the password from the occupants inside.

When guests hear the knock, they are supposed to immediately chant the phrase three times and then wait for the inspector to leave.

Should the password be spoken incorrectly, or no response is given… well the crewmate warned that there would be dire consequences.

Sophie sighed lightly and placed her scanning orb back into her storage bag.

It was useless to inquire about these matters.

At this point nothing that happened on the ship would have anything to do with her.

Sophie was not a curious person by nature and there was no urge in her heart to explore the hidden secrets of the crew.

She just wanted to go home.

Home….

That was another source of heartache.

It was easy to put on a brave face and cheerful attitude in front of Lily but secretly Sophie was very worried.

A qi tide cultivator did have strength, but it was far from enough to roam the galaxy unhindered, and god knows what kind of powerful enemies she would be forced to confront in the future.

Finding a ship to leave the planet.

Travelling to a war zone.

Sending a message across enemy lines and hoping that it would not get intercepted.

These all seemed like impossible tasks for a girl barely in her first year of college.

Sophie's mood sunk lower and lower, so she decided to cultivate to get her mind off these unpleasant matters.

She closed her eyes and sent a strand of qi into the amulet resting on her chest.

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The Star of Ethnaise warmed up slowly as Sophie concentrated on the mantra of the Spider Whisper Art.

Breathe in…

Breathe out…

Focus on the cycling of qi through your meridians…

Relax your mind…

The surroundings faded away and Sophie opened her eyes to see the familiar dark void of the amulet space.

Her body felt lighter but there was a spiritual pressure that seemed to be pressing down on her soul with every passing second.

Whispers and dark murmurs in the ancient language of the Arachnais Tribe filled this darkness but Sophie could only grasp a few insignificant meanings before they vanished.

The stone monument lazily floated in the center of the space with the all too familiar words of the Spider Whisper Art.

It was a dark and dreary realm and yet Sophie felt nothing but peace as she floated in the darkness.

The feeling was of a child coming home or a spider returning to its web.

Suddenly it occurred to her that she hadn't taken a look at the writings on the monument since hitting the qi tide stage.

Sophie could recall that her aunt had said that the secrets of this hidden realm would be revealed as she cultivated to higher levels.

Gliding through the void using her qi energy, Sophie soon approached the stone monument and placed her left palm on its grey surface.

Sting!

Sophie withdrew her hand in shock as a fierce bolt of pain travelled up her arm and struck her right in the heart.

She doubled over in pain as it felt as though a destructive poison was tearing up her insides and turning her blood into flames.

The minutes passing seemed like an eternity as Sophie was hunched over and trying her best not to pass out.

This was clearly a trial as the pain inside her body only intensified as she remained in front of the monument.

Sophie glanced up with bloodshot eyes and to her surprise she could see the writings on the stone monument disappear.

Soon the pain also vanished and the whispers inside the void appeared to pause as an unknown force descended from beyond the space.

In front of Sophie's eyes, she could see new writings being carved onto the stone monument in a colour that resembled the crimson flush of blood.

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"Arghhh!"

Sophie screamed in pain as a wave of text entered her mind.

This pain was far greater than anything she had ever felt before and it felt as though her very soul was fracturing into tiny shards.

"Arghurys jaesa kostilus grant issa se kustikane."

"kostagon nyke bathe isse se anogar hen issa enemies."

"rual issa aoha olvie dangerous irudy."

"Se laesi bona undegon skoros path pirtra ahead."

"Se power naejot undegon skoros emagon issare ruarza."

"Se power naejot undegon skoros emagon daor massitas."

"Se power naejot arlinnon skoros actions emagon daor issare taken."

Over and over these words pounded into Sophie's mind until mercifully she found herself blacking out and exiting the space.

Opening her eyes Sophie immediately spat out a mouthful of blood and felt a deep crippling weakness in her body.

She could barely move and only managed to crawl to the bed before collapsing after her muscles gave out.

Too tired to move, Sophie felt a deep sense of fear at what she had just experienced inside the amulet space.

Her aunt had talked about new abilities that were hidden inside every star amulet but there was no mention of a trial nor a backlash if one wanted to learn these powers.

Was it due to her hybrid nature or something else?

Sophie was almost certain that the unknown force that descended on the stone monument came from the hunter goddess.

But what was this new ability, and should she even cultivate it?

Every single gift from the goddess came with a debt.

This was no gold finger but rather a deal with the devil and Sophie was unsure if she could afford to pay the price….

The language used in the writing was difficult to translate for Sophie as it appeared to only be phonetically similar to the Arachnais tribe.

There were great differences in the syntax of the language and even the structure of the sentences themselves were foreign and strange.

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All she could understand were a few key words such as, 'enemies', 'ahead', 'power', 'actions', and a handful of other words that did not paint a clear picture of what the mantra meant.

Sophie tried her best to recall the words of this new mantra but the headache from the backlash made it too difficult to concentrate.