The Spider Queen

Chapter 264: The First Offering

(Unova Syndicate- Planet Xerciam Prime)

(King’s Island)

“You piece of shit! I’ll rip off your fucking head!” a humanoid figure with four blade-like appendages jutting out of her back leapt at an unknown enemy.

“You will pay for what you’ve done!”

The humanoid figure split into five identical copies with each attacking a different part of the mysterious opponent.

This did not appear to surprise the unknown enemy as he calmly unleashed a series of slashes from the thin sword held in his right hand that eliminated four of the five copies.

Laying on the ground were the shredded remains of a child-sized corpse. 

Lily’s eyes were still widened in shock as if she could not believe that she had been killed.

The corpse of the little girl had been savagely torn apart and the ground darkened with the crimson colour of blood.

Sophie shook her head in confusion as she saw what seemed to be a nightmare unfolding. 

She didn’t understand what was happening inside this twisted world of black and white.

There right in front of her eyes was a mirror image of herself but there were some differences.

The Sophie fighting desperately was missing an arm and one of her eyes had been gorged out so only a hollow hole remained.

It was a strange feeling to watch yourself from a third person point of view. 

Sophie vomited out a mouthful of blood as with every passing moment she could feel jolts of pain ravaging her mind.

There was an unknown desire surging through her body. 

Sophie did not know if it was her own thoughts or the urging of the great Weaver, but she raised her head to catch a glimpse at the face of the unknown enemy.

There was a smoky fog hiding the face of the mysterious opponent, but Sophie strained her eyes and could feel a force flowing through her body.

The fog slowly begun to fade, and Sophie ignored the pain to strengthen her vision even further. 

No matter the cost she needed to know who this enemy was. 

One minute passed….

Then two minutes….

Then three….

Sophie’s headache only worsened but the thin veil of fog was now down to its last layer. If she could just keep going then the mysterious identity would soon be revealed.

There!

Sophie could see a brief flash of the opponent’s face but the picture that she saw left her with more questions than answers.

It was a human.

A human was the one who killed Lily. 

Sophie narrowed her eyes and memorized the face. 

Every single detail was burned into her mind until she could think of nothing else.

The face belonged to an androgynous beauty whose gender appeared to be male. 

He had dirty blonde hair and soft feminine features.

His nose was slender and delicate, and his eyes were a deep chocolate brown colour that seemed to hold an endless abyss of darkness.

Sophie also noticed the scar running down the side of his left cheek that formed the shape of a brand.

It was carved in the image of a sun.

Sophie’s train of thought was interrupted by an unexpected yell as the fight soon tilted in the favour of the mysterious man.

“Arghhh!”

A loud screech of pain leaked out of the other Sophie’s mouth as a sword pierced her stomach and the blade slashed sideways.

The hybrid girl crashed to the ground as the blood and guts of her stomach spilled out. 

Then less than five seconds later a strike from the man’s sword cleaned lopped off her head.

There was no warning nor suspense. 

It was as though killing the hybrid girl was akin to a butcher slaughtering a pig.

Right at the moment of death Sophie saw her future image turn to her and whisper a quiet warning,

“Don’t trust the Hyperion.”

Four simple words but Sophie could hear nothing but bitterness, pain and….

Endless regret.

The black and white world shattered as Sophie found herself back in the central square. 

There was a feeling of wetness running down her cheeks.

Sophie placed a finger gently on this wet sensation and discovered that tears were flowing down her eyes.

“Big sister! Big sister!” Lily shouted as she saw Sophie finally move.

“Are you alright?” she asked tearfully. 

The little girl had been badly scared as her big sister had just suddenly knelt down and remained motionless for five minutes.

It was fortunate that the spectacle occurring in the pit fighting ring was enough to draw the crowd’s attention, so no one noticed Sophie’s strange state.

Sophie staggered to her feet and swayed unsteadily as numerous thoughts flashed across her mind.

There were three powers that the great Weaver said that Sophie could channel.

The first ability was her Berserker rage where anger and adrenaline would fill her body until she was consumed by a state of mindless fury.

The second ability was her pheromonal state where her eyes would turn pink, and Sophie would gain the sight of all pleasure points on a person’s body.

The pores on her skin would also subconsciously emit subtle odours that would act as an aphrodisiac when smelt.

And the last and perhaps most confusing ability was her clairvoyance state.

This ability allowed Sophie to peer into the flow of time to determine the exact location or future condition of a target.

But then was the target that mysterious man?

Sophie didn’t activate this power consciously so did that mean the hunter goddess herself had sent a warning?

No… 

Sophie knew this wasn’t a warning.

The hunter goddess was many things, but she was not a kind or merciful god. 

This was an opportunity.

As soon as this thought flashed across Sophie’s mind, she could hear a dark chuckle echo in her head.

[I knew you would understand me] 

[You are my favourite vessel after all]

The voice was cold with an inhuman tone that made it slightly unnerving to hear the whisper but there was trace of gentleness hidden deep behind the frozen exterior that Sophie did not realise.

Sophie could feel multiple eyes staring at her from a location far away and infinitely close at the same time.

[I have chosen that prey to be your first offering to me….]