The Spider Queen

"Home."

"Excuse me?" the humanoid alien tilted her head.

There were no facial features on the creature's face, but Sophie could somehow sense a feeling of shock and disbelief.

"I said…. I want to go home or at least get out of this crazy trial," Sophie stared at the guardian with nothing but firm determination in her gaze.

There was a tense moment of silence.

Sophie could feel the beads of sweat slowly running down her skin as the heat coming from the lava army was raising the temperature to uncomfortable levels.

Buzz!

A sharp jolt of pain shook Sophie to her core as she could feel an unwelcome presence digging around her mind.

At least this time the mental attack was just a light probe, so she was able to avoid falling to the ground in agony.

Sophie gritted her teeth as a steady stream of blood began flowing down from her nostrils.

She could only bear with it as the alien continued to relentlessly sweep through her inner thoughts.

"You… aren't lying," the guardian finally spoke hesitantly.

Sophie took a few minutes to catch her breath before replying in a snarky tone, "Yeah. I figured it didn't make sense telling a lie to a mind reader."

"I don't understand. Do you have any idea what you would gain by completing the trial?" the guardian whispered in shock.

Err… wasn't it just being able to survive?

No… there was something else… the strange voices in the room with the stone pods had mentioned something…

What was it?

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Sophie wiped some blood off her upper lip and desperately tried to recall what were the details of the conversation.

To be fair, it was quite difficult to concentrate with a constant mental fog and headaches from the previous attacks.

"Was it a seedling from some kind of holy tree?" Sophie tentatively guessed.

"SOME KIND OF HOLY TREE!?" a loud bellow echoed through the small world as the guardian levitated several feet into the air

The army of lava creatures behind her seemed to sense her rage as loud snarls and cries filled Sophie's ears.

An immense pressure bore on the hybrid girl that was so powerful that cracks appeared in the ground where she stood.

Waves after waves of intense heat made Sophie feel as though she was about to be cooked alive.

There was already a burning scent in the air as the tips of her hair had caught on fire due to the high temperature.

Sophie hurriedly used a sharp dagger to slice off the burning pieces.

But just as quickly as the guardian's righteous anger appeared….

It vanished in an instant.

The powerful guardian gently floated down to the ground and made a series of hand gestures into the air.

The lava creatures grunted unwilling, but their bodies reverted back into a formless river of magma that dropped into the volcano.

"My apologies for losing my temper," the guardian bowed its head towards Sophie.

"I completely understand why you seem to be treating this trial as a danger rather than the incredible opportunity that it presents."

"Can I share a story with you? I promise that once you finish listening, I can send you out of the trial immediately."

"Of course, if you instead choose to finish this final stage then that will be your decision."

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The guardian clearly noticed that the heat radiating off its body was causing Sophie discomfort, so it stepped back a few meters.

Sophie narrowed her eyes at the humanoid alien that was mimicking her appearance and fell into silent contemplation.

Was this a trap?

The voices from the creatures overseeing the trial had clearly said that this trial could not be stopped once it began, and that it would only end with one survivor.

But now the boss of the final stage was giving her a way out?

Sophie clicked her tongue and quickly made a decision. There was an immense power difference between the two sides.

All of her poisons were useless as this alien was made of molten rock. Toxins would have no effect due to its extraordinary physique.

Perhaps if she had gotten those divine powers then things would be different but there was no use crying over what had or hadn't happened.

"Yes… I am willing to listen," Sophie said politely with an indifferent smile.

The guardian made another series of hand gestures and this time an enormous pillar of lava emerged from the center of the volcano.

Sophie could see five golden boxes that resembled chests laying peacefully on top of the molten rock.

The guardian floated over to one of the chests and caressed it lovingly.

There was a great deal of care and respect in her movements.

Sophie could now hear a soft whisper flowing directly in her ears despite the guardian being several meters away and only focusing on the chests.

"My story begins ten millennia ago…."

"As you may know, there are powerful entities far beyond the realm of normal cultivators.

They are all manner of abominations, gods, legends, and monstrosities that would drive any mortal who got a glimpse at their image mad within seconds.

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The laws of the universe are strict, and these vastly powerful beings are unable to directly influence this dimension.

It's a cruel irony really.

Limitless power but being unable to use it.

One could even say that it was the same as having no power at all.

Still… this only prevented these higher existences from using their powers directly.

They had the ability to whisper and send dreams into the minds of mortals.

Oracles, champions, and priests could hear them directly and some were even lucky enough to receive a fraction of their god's powers.

There were even some ambitious gods who desired more….

Sending a bit of strength to devotees was helpful but it was far from enough to make their chosen ones unmatched throughout the universe.

Then… a particularly foolish god decided to make a mortal into a vessel.

Vessels are different from those lucky worshipers in a number of important ways.

Firstly, a god can only ever have one vessel at a time.

Secondly that vessel must come from a bloodline or a race that is completely compatible with the god's powers.

Else the divine gift would instantly explode their bodies or corrupt them into hellish twisted creatures with no sense of reason.

And lastly… the god must be willing to entrust a piece of their godhood into the body of their vessel.

This links the mortal and god with a bond that is unbreakable.

Idiotic and foolhardy are the two words many of the other eldritch beings used to describe the gods who chose to do this.

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Admittedly these vessels can directly influence the universe in ways that the god desires, but the risk is far too great.

The death of one of these vessels is enough to permanently cripple the god who placed his godhead inside because of the shared link.

But what if there was a way to gain divine strength that was almost as strong as a vessel but without the cost…"