The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Planet Eleron)

(Newron City- Lucy's Café)

"Welcome back Sophie!" Astrid excitedly spoke as she grabbed Sophie by her hand and leaned in close to give her a tight hug.

"Don't suffocate her…" Qiana chimed in as she pulled back her girlfriend who was squeezing Sophie a bit too tightly for her liking.

"It's good to see you all again," Sophie cracked a small smile as she sat down on a nearby chair and looked at her friends.

"Well… I hope you don't have to leave anytime soon," Cleo scowled with a light teasing smile on the corner of her lips.

The four friends were hanging out in a café located in a town a few hundred kilometres away from the main campus.

It took quite some time to get here but it was worth it. Lucy's Café was an up-scale establishment that served the best tea that one could find.

The interior of the café clearly displayed luxury and class.

The floors were made of coloured glass, magnificent chandeliers hung from the ceiling and white marble statues were scattered across the hall.

There was a band playing in the corner of the restaurant and one could hear the soft jazzy sounds that echoed through the large space.

Cleo smiled sweetly as she watched her girlfriend talk to her two friends. This was her first day back on campus after her mission from the hunter goddess.

Obviously, she still had to tell her about the blackmail video, but Cleo planned to save that talk for later.

No need to sour the mood just yet.

"So did you end up finishing the mission?" Qiana asked curiously as she leaned back in her chair and stretched out her arms.

"No… well… I couldn't find the missing pet that the clients were looking for in the sewers… so I guess not," Sophie hesitantly replied.

"Plus… I mean… by the gods… the sewers were absolutely fucking awful… when I tell you the smell… fuck… I think my nose is broken now…"

"Garbage… shit… needles… might actually throw up…"

Astrid placed a furry paw over her mouth and giggled as she listened to Sophie's complaints about the underground sewer system.

"What about you all? What's new?" Sophie inquired softly.

Qiana and Astrid exchanged looks and had a silent conversation about which of them wanted to speak first.

It looked like Astrid won that exchange because the Mendolesa girl opened her mouth and began to talk about her recent experiences.

"Well, the archmage has recently been teaching me a new spell… it's called Spatial Fracture…" Astrid cheerfully spoke.

"Basically, if I manage to learn this spell then I should be able to rip apart space in a certain area and slice apart the bodies of anyone trapped inside the range of the spell."

"Unless you are a cultivator in the void stage… it's a sure fire kill move."

Naturally it was a spell that she would be banned from using in the inter-university tournament due to the nature of it.

In fact, there were a lot of restrictions on which type of cultivation techniques and equipment that one could use during the tournament.

There was no point in running a tournament if someone showed up with a mech and then blasted a planet destroying plasma beam at their opponent.

"Sorry for interrupting but may I take your order?" a deep baritone voice asked.

Sophie turned in the direction of the sound and saw a sharply dressed robot butler wearing a long black tuxedo.

The butler placed four paper menus on the table with smooth practised motions and then took a few steps back.

"Actually, I'm starving… maybe… I… ow…" Sophie winced as she felt multiple sharp bursts of pain erupt across her body.

"You okay?" Cleo asked with concern evident in her voice.

"Yeah… I'm fine… must have stubbed my toe…" Sophie nonchalantly replied as she tried her best to avoid her girlfriend's direct gaze.

Cleo clearly didn't buy her excuse but dropped the matter. Sophie let out a light sigh and gently squeezed her fingers into a tight fist.

God… the pain… was unbearable…

Every now and then her body would flare up and it felt as though thousands of red-hot needles were stabbing every inch of her skin.

This was a side effect of her transitioning to the void stage, but Sophie could not feel excited about her cultivation promotion when it felt as though she was about to die.

"I'll have a cup of black coffee," Qiana calmly ordered as she pointed at one of the options on the menu.

"Hmm… let me get… a double sugar… double whip cream… vanilla smoothie…" Astrid happily spoke as she gave the menu back to the robot butler.

"Surprise me," Cleo softly spoke as she gestured towards the mystery option.

"Err… guess I'll have the same as Astrid without the whip cream," Sophie finally spoke after browsing the menu.

The robot butler bowed politely and then walked towards the kitchen with synchronized steps.

Sophie tried to pay attention to her friends' conversation, but it was getting harder to hide her unusual state.

Beads of sweat ran down the sides of her brow and her fingertips trembled ever so slightly as she hid them under the table.

Why did this process have to hurt so much?

Sophie excused herself from the table and then headed for the bathroom in order to take some pain relief medication.

The hybrid girl entered the bathroom and headed for one of the private stalls in the back of the room.

She entered the stall and locked the door. Sophie reached inside her storage bag and pulled out several bottles of pills.

Unfortunately, due to her physiology… foreign substances were broken down in her body almost immediately.

Therefore, in order to feel any amount of relief she needed to overdose and even then, it would only last for a few minutes.

Sophie let out a painful moan as she slumped forward. Another sharp burst of pain this time in her back made it almost impossible to sit upright.

Damn it… would she even be able to compete in the inter-university competition?

The hybrid girl scowled heavily as she hastily opened up multiple bottles and then dumped the pills into her mouth.

Finally, some relief…

Sophie leaned back against the seat of the toilet and closed her eyes. Her body felt numb but at least now the pain was gone.

One minute… Two minutes…

And… the effects were gone.

Sophie sighed heavily as she looked at the numerous empty bottles scattered across the ground.

She bent down and began to pick them up with slow agonising movements.

All she could do now was ride out this flare up until it eventually stopped. Usually, they ended any time between thirty minutes and two hours from when they started.

Knock! Knock!

There was a sharp knocking noise coming from the other side of the door of Sophie's stall.

"Are you okay?" Cleo's voice gently asked.

"Not really…" Sophie truthfully confessed as she took in a deep breath.

"My body is killing me… the process to reach the void stage… it really hurts babe… like… really… really hurts…"

Cleo remained silent and then tapped on the door with soft movements.

"Can I come in?" the princess asked with worry in her voice.

"Yeah… just give me a minute…" Sophie replied tiredly.

She didn't want her girlfriend to worry which is why she hadn't said anytime about how bad the flare ups really got.

But… it looks like now she had no choice but to come clean.

Sophie slowly got up from the toilet seat and stepped towards the door. She almost stumbled and fell but somehow managed to unlock the latch just before collapsing.

She fell into a warm embrace and saw Cleo looking at her with an expression of 'I knew something was wrong'.