The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Planet Eryndor Prime)

(Capitol City- Unnamed Alleyway)

Sophie relaxed her shoulders and mentally counted to ten in her mind as she approached the shop's entrance.

She noticed more details about the building as she got closer, and it really did not look like a place fit for habitation.

The red tiles on the roof were cracked and several had slid off the wooden frame and fallen to the ground below.

The mud that formed the main body of the shop looked slightly wet as if the material had not dried out properly.

Still… there was something about this place that didn't feel right.

Sophie frowned slightly as she felt what appeared to be a light tingle of electricity run over her body as she neared the entrance.

This place… it was messing with her senses.

The hybrid girl approached the wooden door and stretched out her hand to pull the simple iron doorknob that was covered in rust.

The door slid open reluctantly and one could hear the loud creaking of the hinges. Sophie reached into her pocket for a handkerchief and wiped her hand.

She entered the building and saw multiple shelves each filled to the brim with various knick-knacks, trinkets, and other useless junk.

There was a single desk in the corner of the space and behind the table sat a teenage human girl with long red hair that was neatly tied into a single braid.

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The girl wore a casual outfit and in front of her were several magazines depicting the latest male stars.

"Sorry we're closed," the girl quietly spoke as she continued to flip through the magazine pages without raising up her head to look at Sophie.

Sophie touched the metalloid device attached to her uniform and deactivated it.

Her disguise as a large Mendolesa warrior disappeared and her normal appearance was restored.

When meeting the woman who resided here… she needed to display her true identity.

Sophie slowly walked over to the counter and the teenage girl behind the desk finally put down the magazines.

"Look… Are you deaf? I said that we're…" the shopkeeper's voice trailed off as Sophie leaned in closer.

"I wanted to buy a night pot… let me see the flavours…" Sophie softly whispered as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a strange coin.

The coin glowed with an eerie light and carved onto its metal surface was the depiction of a genderless warrior covered head to toe in medieval armour.

The warrior carried a spear in their right hand and a large shield in their left. The depiction bore a startling resemblance to the ancient Greek warriors in the pre-Interstellar era…

They were known as Spartans.

The bored and mildly irritated expression on the shopkeeper's face immediately changed and how she looked at Sophie was now with obvious respect in her eyes.

"Of course… we have those in stock," the teenage girl whispered in a voice no louder than the faintest murmur.

She placed her hands together and then slapped her palms to make a loud noise.

Clap! Clap!

The air behind her chair shimmered slightly and then an open hole appeared in the side of the wall.

The hole was dark, unpleasant looking and seemed to be bottomless.

A set of dull grey steps made from solid granite led into the darkness and the only sources of light came from the torches that hung along the sides of the passageway.

The shopkeeper gestured for Sophie to enter the hole.

The hybrid girl nodded and then proceeded to walk into the newly formed passageway without any fear.

Clap! Clap!

The air shimmered again, and the passageway disappeared once the shopkeeper placed her hands together and made a clapping noise.

She resumed reading her magazines as if what had just happened was a perfectly normal occurrence in her day.

Meanwhile Sophie was walking down an endless flight of stairs and carefully observing the markings in the walls.

She could see paintings that displayed scenes from wars.

Battles that showed various states of civilisation from men wielding sticks and stones to interstellar wars that spanned galaxies.

The paintings seemed almost… alive.

Sophie supposed that should be the credit of whoever created them, but she could swear that the eyes of some of the warriors on the wall appeared to follow her as she walked deeper underground.

The air inside the underground passageway was humid and stale.

The stone steps beneath her feet were sturdy but occasionally pieces of dirt and some light rocks would rain down from the ceiling and directly onto her body.

Fortunately, Sophie was able to project her qi into an aura surrounding her body so that the pieces of dirt merely slid off the invisible barrier.

Time lost all meaning in this strange place.

She could have been walking for several minutes or perhaps it was a few hours.

Sophie checked her wrist communicator and discovered that it had already been one hour and ten minutes since she entered the hole.

The end was nowhere in sight.

Instead, the stairs continued to lead her downwards as if they would eventually arrive at the molten core of the planet.

Sophie's footsteps paused for a moment as she finally thought of something.

There was no need to use her ability on a mere hunch but there was just something about this situation that seemed… off.

The hybrid girl closed her eyes and when she opened them, they were now completely white with not a hint of her pupils.

She found herself standing in a black and white world where her senses were dulled as if she was walking underwater.

Sophie navigated the strange world and saw the numerous timelines and future versions of herself in this place.

She saw shadowy humanoid figures walking down the stairs for several hours, some gave up and attempted to walk back up the shop… and failed.

Most of her futures involved her getting trapped in this underground place until a mysterious force kicked her out.

Sophie wasn't sure what happened after the force removed her from this place, but she assumed that it meant that she would be unable to meet the person who she was looking for.

"Come on… someone solve this…" Sophie muttered quietly under her breath as she continued to walk through the mysterious world.

She saw versions of herself losing their temper and unleashing the full might of a void stage cultivator to smash the walls.

And yet the full force of their fists was not enough to crack the seemingly fragile walls made from dirt and clay.

Sophie continued to look around and winced as she felt a massive headache begin to throb painfully.

She still had side effects whenever she glimpsed into the future despite increasing her cultivation level.

The hybrid girl gritted her teeth and ignored the pain as she continued to observe the alternate timelines.

Finally, she spotted a future that was different from the rest.