The Spider Queen

Darkness

Nothingness

A never- ending void.

Sophie found herself drifting through a new plane of existence that was both familiar and incredibly strange.

Soft whispers could be heard coming from all around her in a language that she could not understand.

The void was incredibly cold and lonely and yet Sophie could swear that a warm presence was wrapped around her body which prevented her from feeling cold.

"Hunter goddess… is that you?" Sophie called out hesitantly as she stretched out her hands and made a pulling motion.

"Yes, my child… it is good to see you again…" an enchanting feminine voice echoed through the void space.

In another place far beyond the reaches of space and time, a mysterious lady was staring at Sophie with a look of pride and adoration.

It was hard to describe her appearance as it seemed to be constantly shifting between two forms at the same time.

She possessed eight golden eyes that were sat deeply within their sockets and softly glowed. Her figure was quite well endowed with a pair of plump breasts.

Six blade-like appendages jutted out of her back with several purplish stingers attached to their ends.

Her ears were pointed just like Sophie's with thick greenish veins that covered most of their outer surface.

The mysterious lady had physical characteristics that matched those of the ancient Arachnais ancestors from eons ago.

As for the other form…

It was a cosmic horror in the image of a colossal spider-like beast with massive limbs that seemed to stretch out endlessly with no end in sight.

The space around the creature was warped and twisted as if reality itself was affected by the beast's large size.

"It has been some time… err… how have you been?" Sophie asked politely.

"Oh? It is quite rare for a vessel to be concerned about their patron…" the hunter goddess chuckled softly.

"I'm fine… on the time scale that the gods operate… this current moment is merely a blip in our eternity…"

Sophie nodded her head and pretended to understand as the hunter goddess talked about events that were far beyond her understanding.

"Perhaps I am boring you with petty details…" the hunter goddess whispered gently as she stretched out one of her many hands.

The space around her palm rippled and a soft glowing beam of light erupted from her fingertips.

This beam of light slammed into Sophie's body and her golden eyes began to change colour under its influence.

First Sophie's golden eyes shifted to a crimson red colour then pink and then finally the pale white with no pupils.

Sophie gasped in pain as her emotional state underwent a rapid change with every shift in her eye colour.

Eventually she returned to normal as the hunter goddess snapped her fingers and the beam of light vanished instantaneously.

"I am very pleased with the progress that you have made…" the hunter goddess spoke gently with a hint of pride in her voice.

"There have been very few vessels throughout history who have managed to unlock two or more of my abilities without going completely insane…"

"Although it is perhaps only a matter of time…"

"What?!" Sophie exclaimed in horror.

"Relax my cute little hybrid… I am only teasing you…" the hunter goddess raised up her hand to cover her mouth as she giggled.

"Forming a soul bond with your chosen mate will help you to maintain your sanity and sense of self…"

"The bond anchors you to your mate."

The hunter goddess stared off into the distance and for a brief moment a human-like expression of sadness and loss flashed across her face.

Even after millions if not billions of years… there were some things that even the gods wished to forget…

"You may be wondering why I have invited you here on such short notice," the hunter goddess finally spoke.

"It is to deliver both a warning…. and an opportunity…."

"Forces unseen are fighting a war beyond your reality… they seek to gain control of the ninth dimension and bring order to the realm…."

"Order… they are nothing but fools… the universe breeds chaos… order is merely stagnation and rot…"

The hunter goddess smiled, and her beast form made a similar expression. She was not a particularly kind entity and got bored quite easily.

It was for this reason why Sophie was her favourite vessel.

Due to some unknown power, the threads of fate seemed to wrap around her precious vessel which meant that her life would be quite… eventful.

"What do you want me to do?" Sophie asked reluctantly as she could not help but anticipate what manner of terrible task the hunter goddess would assign her to perform.

"Just stay alive," came the simple reply.

"Huh?!" Sophie raised her eyebrow with a puzzled expression on her face,

"Priestess Raphi'elle seems to have taken a liking to you and scolded me quite fiercely for sending you on that last hunting mission…" the goddess spoke casually.

"Something about you barely surviving… having to fight to the death… she was not very happy… I don't think I've ever seen my loyal servant so upset…"

"Anyways… you don't need to worry… it should be at least a few years if not decades before I get bored… so do your best to live until then!"

The hunter goddess bared her fangs and then muttered a few incomprehensible words under her breath.

The void space shattered into a million pieces and Sophie found herself hurtling through the unknown space at a breakneck speed.

She opened her mouth to scream but her body dissolved into a million particles through the long rivers of time.

Sophie opened her eyes and sat up on the mattress.

She felt a warm body stir gently next to her and looked down to see Cleo sleeping peacefully without a care in the world.

The hybrid girl flicked on the light switch and stared at the cabin room with numerous thoughts running through her mind.

What a strange encounter…

Well, every meeting with the hunter goddess was a bit peculiar but this definitely had to be one of the oddest.

Just stay alive…

Was there a hidden meaning behind that phrase? Or was the goddess merely stating the obvious?

Damn it!

Sophie gritted her teeth in frustration and turned off the light before she woke up Cleo.

The hybrid girl lay down on the bed but found herself unable to sleep as she could not help but recall the encounter over and over again in her mind.

Being a vessel to a powerful entity beyond the normal dimension was a blessing but, in many ways, it was also a curse…