The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Planet Eleron)

(Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456Y)

"Arghh!" Sophie screamed out in pain as she collapsed on the ground and began to convulse violently.

Squeak! Squeak!

(Mommy! What's wrong?)

Moon flew towards his master with panic clearly visible on his furry face. He landed on the ground and hurriedly crawled towards the shivering hybrid girl.

Sophie's skin was incredibly pale and clammy, beads of sweat were running down her brows and her pupils could not stop shaking.

She could barely make a sentence since every time she opened her mouth, another convulsion would rock her body.

Pain. Agony.

Every second that passed felt like an eternity.

It was hard to describe what she was currently feeling.

It was like if thousands of red-hot needles were slowly piercing your body while an electric current shocked you periodically.

Sophie bit her tongue accidentally and could taste the heavy metallic tang of blood as her tongue began to bleed.

She coughed violently and thick wads of phlegm mixed with blood were expelled from her mouth.

"Make… it…. stop…" Sophie wheezed hoarsely as she curled up into a ball and tried to ride out the pain.

She had not expected this sudden painful experience since it had been two weeks since the last time she suffered.

One moment she was cooking some noodles in the kitchen and the next she was lying down on the floor suffering immensely.

Well… she did know the cause…

Her promotion to the void stage.

But it had been months already… when were these attacks going to end?

Squeak! Squeak!

Moon was saying something, but Sophie's mind was too occupied by the painful sensations to respond to her pet's words.

Crack!

Sophie heard a loud thunderous booming noise in her mind and then her vision went completely dark.

.

.

.

.

(Two hours later)

Sophie slowly opened her eyes and let out a small groan as she felt as though her body was sore all over.

She looked around and saw that she was still lying down on the floor of the kitchen. Moon was nowhere in sight, and she could hear the faint sounds of water boiling.

The hybrid girl gritted her teeth and grabbed on to the side of the countertop. She hoisted herself up and barely managed to stay on her feet.

She reached for the heating button on the cooking stovetop and turned off the heat. The noodles inside the pot had been cooking for who knows how long.

Sophie remained in place for a few minutes and took in several deep breaths in order to calm her mind and gather her thoughts.

Inhale… exhale… inhale… exhale…

Oh?

Moon was leading Cleo back to their apartment.

Sophie hummed softly under her breath as she sensed her girlfriend riding a train towards the elite student housing complex.

It should take her about thirty minutes to arrive considering that she was over one hundred miles away.

Wait… how did she know that?

Sophie frowned slightly as the painful aftereffects and the feeling of soreness magically disappeared.

The world around her suddenly became more… alive.

There was no other way that she could put into words what she was experiencing.

Sophie blinked and could see the microscopic organisms on the specks of dust floating around the kitchen.

She could hear everything.

Not just the sounds in her apartment but the noises that were coming from all the mansions and houses in a thirty-mile radius.

She heard conversations, lovemaking, fights, arguments… an endless stream of information was flowing into her mind.

And yet she was not overwhelmed.

What was going on?

Sophie leaned against the countertop and was shocked to see the metalloid surface suddenly dent quite heavily.

She quickly moved away but the damage was already done. Half of the countertop had collapsed, and the other half had large cracks in its surface area.

The hybrid girl closed her eyes and checked the condition of her dantian. The first observation that she noticed was that her meridians had widened quite substantially.

She followed the qi travelling around her body until she saw the interior of her dantian. What she saw inside blew her away.

There was a miniature galaxy inside her dantian.

Qi droplets were rotating in a circular pattern that was very similar to the way that planets would orbit a sun.

Sophie opened her eyes and could not stop the wide grin from slowly spreading across her face.

She had done it!

She had entered the void stage!

The hybrid girl carefully touched the screen of her wrist communicator while being extra careful not to break the fragile device with her newfound strength.

There were several missed messages from Cleo in her inbox, so Sophie opened their conversation chatlog first.

Cleo: [Hey babe… classes are running a bit late today, so I won't be home until later. Don't watch the new drama without me!]

Cleo: [Are you okay?! Moon just came to class and started pulling me out. I thought he was being mischievous, but he looks desperate]

Cleo: [Hello? Hello? Babe what is going on?!]

Sophie didn't trust herself to type out a message while she still learning to control her strength, so she sent over a voice note.

"Hey Cleo. I fainted earlier after a pain attack but… the good news is that I've finally reached the void stage!" Sophie excitedly spoke.

"Now I can see my mom again! This is amazing! It also means that now I have a decent chance to find out where my dad is."

"Also… on a more serious note… I may have to spend a few days in an isolated training room while I get used to my strength… I don't want to kill you by accident."

Sophie finished recording and sent the message over to her girlfriend. She didn't have to wait long for a reply to appear in her inbox.

Cleo congratulated her on reaching the void stage and said that she was still coming over to make sure that she was alright.

Sophie understood her girlfriend's worries, but she did not plan on making any physical contact with Cleo… at least for the time being.

The hybrid girl walked out of the kitchen and towards the training room located at the back of the mansion.

Her footsteps sank into the ground with every step that she took and she left behind a trail of cracked tiles.

Yeah… she definitely needed to spend a few days controlling her strength...

Sophie walked for around ten minutes until she finally arrived at a set of heavy metalloid doors. She grabbed the handle of the door and pulled gently.

The entire thing came off its hinges.

Sophie froze for a moment and then awkwardly set the door aside and entered the room.

Well before she learned how to control her strength… there was something that she needed to do first.

She needed to see her mom.

It was time for answers.