The Spider Queen

Sophie felt a strange sense of respect when she saw the guardian's intense devotion to the five golden chests that were suspended above a pillar of flame.

She couldn't imagine being trapped for thousands of years in a world of ash and smoke with nothing to do except protect five powerful artifacts.

Or perhaps the guardian had been created with a sense of duty and dedication towards her task.

There was even a small part of Sophie that was honestly a bit tempted towards getting one of the seedlings.

Who would be crazy enough to turn down the opportunity to gain divine strength without a cost?

The problem was that she was already a vessel of the hunter goddess.

Judging by what happened in the previous stage of the trial, it was probably safe to assume that divine powers from other higher-plane creatures were incompatible with her aura.

And these seedlings were created from splitting off a portion of the sun god's strength. Sophie's moment of contemplation was interrupted by a sudden voice.

"It is time for you to make a decision," the guardian spoke firmly.

"Will you stay and complete my final challenge? Or will you leave this trial and never have the opportunity to return."

"Make your choice."

The featureless mask of the guardian's face composed of molten rock was the perfect cover for the complex emotions that were hidden behind the steady tone.

None of the other challengers had ever accepted her offer to leave.

The allure and temptation of divine power was a promise that was hard to resist.

Immortality and the strength to travel through the vast universe unhindered was the ultimate goal of most cultivators.

The influence of the seedlings would also increase the likelihood of success for any Ascension stage cultivators attempting to cross the barrier to the upper planes.

Sophie smiled gently at the floating guardian as she casually placed her hidden needles back into her storage bag.

There was no trace of desire or regret in her expression as she looked up to the guardian and spoke softly,

"I would like to leave the trial."

The small world fell silent as the guardian floated closer to the only challenger who had just willingly gave up a chance at eternal life.

"Are you sure?" the molten humanoid asked curiously.

"Yes," Sophie replied with the same easy-going smile.

It was as though this decision was an easy one for the challenger who just calmly waited for the guardian to send her out.

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Hahaha!

A loud chuckle echoed in Sophie's ear as the guardian's shoulders shook with a mixture of laughter and pure shock.

"So be it," the guardian whispered softly

"I will keep my promise and expel you from the trial."

Two palms slowly began to make a series of hand gestures in a pattern that was both mysterious and strange.

From the edges of the small world, there was a crackling noise and Sophie could see the pitch- black void beyond the volcano slowly moving in.

The space seemed to be frozen in place and then the scenery started to blur as Sophie's vision darkened.

The last image Sophie saw was the guardian's figure changing from her image into an enormous flaming serpent that grew to a colossal size.

Sophie yelled out as the void reached her feet,

"Thanks for everything…. I hope you can find someone who is worthy of those seedlings!"

Before leaving she saw the guardian shoot a warm energy blast in her direction. Sophie fell into the void at the same time that the blast hit the middle of her chest.

There was a feeling of comfort as the energy penetrated the surface of her skin and spread through her body.

This time instead of a whisper, Sophie could hear the guardian talking directly into her mind.

[My gift to you…]

(Unova Syndicate- Sector Alpha- 099)

(Unknown Planet)

Sophie slowly opened her eyes and found herself back in the underground tunnel inside the sinkhole.

She tried to make out some details about the surrounding area, but all she could see was thick walls of black dirt.

It seems as though she had been buried in an open hole that was a few feet deep.

There was a pounding sensation in her head and a sharp pain in her ankle that was hard to ignore at first but then gradually faded away.

A harsh green light shone on Sophie's body from an unknown location and the bright glare forced her to place a hand above her eyes.

This light swept Sophie's body multiple times but turned off after a few minutes and the room fell back into darkness.

What the hell was going on?

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Sophie tried to grip both sides of the hole's walls to hoist her body upwards but was shocked to find that there was barely any strength left in her dantian.

Wait… my injuries!

The hybrid girl hurriedly pulled a pocket-sized device out of her storage ring and tilted it to face her direction.

A much gentler beam of white light scanned Sophie's body and soon a three-dimensional image was projected above the device.

Oh, thank goodness.

Sophie breathed out a deep sigh of relief as the image of her body with all of her missing limbs fully restored was shown.

Even the mild injuries caused during the trial as well as the stone statue hours prior had been mysterious healed.

There were even no wrinkles on her skin!

The only major concern that Sophie had to deal with now was the lack of qi in her dantian.

It was important to be at full strength before leaving the hole as Sophie had no idea what the situation above was like.

Sophie sat down in a cross-legged position and began to circulate the Spider Whisper Art.

She could feel warm energy pouring into her meridians and it seemed that her body cells trembled with joy.

It was like a dry sandy desert had finally received rainfall after hundreds of years.

A quick smile flashed across Sophie's face as she continued to circulate the qi gathering method.

After two hours passed by uneventfully, Sophie could feel her body throbbing with power as her dantian was filled to the brim.

She bent her knees and leapt out of the hole with a casual hop.

The room she found herself standing in was a familiar but unpleasant sight.

It was the place with the murals painted on the walls that depicted various images that all represented the might of the sun god.

Heavy stone pillars jutted up from the ground with strange carvings written in a language she could not read.

Sophie was instantly on her guard as she remembered the terrifying stone beast that had nearly taken her life.

The details of the monstrous creature from its vaguely humanoid torso, five arms, and ten legs to the misshapen prehensile appendage that was wrapped around its waist was burned into Sophie's mind.

However, the room was now completely empty with the horrifying abomination nowhere to be found.

There was also a major detail that Sophie had noticed as soon as she took note of her surroundings.

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Numerous holes were scattered across the room with each having a thin green tendril that was plunged inside.

Sophie turned around to look at her hole and saw the dried up remains of a vine that was presumably in there with her.

She curiously walked over to one of the other pits and looked down at what lay within.

There was a humanoid figure inside that was tightly wrapped up in layers of twisted vines.

She could not make out many details about the body as the vines obscured her vision but there were a few uncovered parts that showed what looked like metalloid armour

This was one of the knights!

Wait… did every hole contain her fellow members of the expedition?

She ran from hole to hole and checked to see if her theory was correct.

To Sophie's surprise, she found that some of the holes were empty with the only thing left inside being the dried up remains of the vines.

Sophie walked around and spotted a slightly bigger hole hidden towards the back of the room.

She took a cursory glance inside but found something unexpected.

The person inside the pit was Captain Dawn.

Sophie almost didn't recognise the wrinkled body covered by the vines, but the grey hair was unmistakable.

Sophie still vividly recalled that the captain had removed his armour and his appearance had become a frail old man thanks to the stone statue.

This was the chance she was waiting for!

Killing intent filled Sophie's heart as she reached for a sharp dagger in her storage bag and knelt down to stab its bladed edge directly into the heart of the captain.

Just for good measure, she poured on the sharp edge of the blade multiple vials of dangerous toxins and chemicals.

Sophie crouched over the edge of the hole and used her spider appendages to slowly lower her body.

There was just a thin barrier of vines blocking the captain's exposed skin from the outside world.

Without hesitation, Sophie plunged her knife downwards with an expression of rage and fury on her face.

Suddenly she paused with her knife just two inches from the surface of the green vine.

Sophie's danger sense just let out a sharp warning.

There was no visible threat present, but Sophie could sense that if she had tried to cut the vine…

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She would have died instantly.