The Spider Queen

Sophie tentatively opened her eyes and found herself sitting down on the edge of what appeared to be an enormous volcano.

She casually wiped some sweat out of her eyes and took a closer look at this new area.

Waves of intense heat brushed against her face as the temperature was so hot that she could see the air shimmering.

Sophie turned around to observe more details about the surrounding area but was greeted by….

Nothing.

Beyond the edges of the volcano was just a pitch-black void.

This entire world only consisted of a single volcano whose magma constantly boiled and bubbled to its surface.

Still there was something quite strange about the magma.

No matter how violently it bubbled and crashed against the walls of the volcano….

Not one single drop left the crater's entrance. It was like an invisible bubble kept the dangerous substance contained.

Sophie kneeled down and gently placed a finger on a nearby rock. Black ash coated her fingertips as the pebble immediately crumbled.

This was the final stage of the trial.

Sophie remained vigilant even as her danger sense was oddly silent. She could not sense the presence of a threat but that made her even warier.

How could the last obstacle in the trial be harmless?

"Drakanesor? Noar le' foranek kaneroc?" a soft melodic voice suddenly whispered in Sophie's ears.

Sophie instinctively punched backwards towards the direction of the voice but the only thing her fist encountered was air.

This mysterious person must be invisible!

The hybrid girl's golden eyes gleamed as her vision shifted into a world of orangish-red. Sophie scanned every nook and cranny along the volcano's edge but found nothing.

But where had the voice come from?

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Sophie yelled out.

"Noar le' kon norkera kon' doyes?" the mysterious voice replied in a puzzled tone.

A language barrier?

Sophie furrowed her brows as all she could hear was a clamor of different noise that formed what vaguely sounded like words.

Didn't the people in charge of the trial already adjust the language so she could understand it?

The mysterious person clearly wanted to communicate with Sophie as it spoke a few more times,

"Ferp xknera' losorae fokorra."

"N'real kon reaghear?"

Sophie could detect a hint of frustration and blame in the tone of the creature's voice but there was really nothing she could do about it.

She was just as lost!

"Look I'm sorry but I can't understand what you're saying," Sophie sighed helpless and replied even though she knew it was useless.

"Q'renaer dorcos sonear fokkoreas!" an enrage shriek pierced the quiet world.

Buzz!

Sophie fell to the ground in pain as a mental spike drove deep into her mind. A series of headaches caused the hybrid girl to writhe around in agony.

She tried to scream but even moving slightly was enough to cause ripples of pain to spread through her body.

It was felt as though her mind was being ripped apart from the inside.

This mental attack could have last for mere seconds or even days as Sophie lost all track of time in her confused state.

Suddenly just as quickly as the pain appeared, it vanished in an instant.

Sophie felt a warm soothing energy enter mind and start to repair the damaged areas in her psyche.

"What a strange language your species uses. I don't understand why your kind feel the need to use so many syllables and vowels," the voice suddenly spoke with some bemusement.

The mysterious creature was now speaking in the common trade language of the Earth Federation despite Sophie mainly speaking Unvoren since being teleported to the Unova Syndicate.

"I… I…What…did… you…." Sophie tried to reply but the aftereffects of the mental attack were causing her head to spin.

She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down by breathing slowly.

Breathe in… breathe out…

Breathe in… breathe out…

Breathe in…. breathe out…

The warm energy was still pouring into Sophie's mind and soon the pounding headache was replaced with milder twinges of pain.

Sophie opened her eyes and saw a humanoid figure rising up from the center of the volcano by slowly levitating upwards.

The mysterious alien's body was composed purely out of magma but there were vague resemblances to Sophie in appearance.

It had an identical body physique to Sophie along with her hybrid traits such as pointed ears and four bladed appendages.

The only noticeable exceptions were a lack of visible eyes, mouth, nose, or any other facial features.

A floating golden crown adorned with what appeared to be ruby-like gems sparkled with a bright red light.

The restless magma at the bottom of the volcano calmed down and the bubbling liquid turned into a peaceful lake of fire.

"Sorry for the pain, that was my only mental technique that would not drive you to the brink of insanity," a voice whispered in Sophie's ear.

"What are you?" Sophie asked curiously.

She couldn't detect any hint of qi energy in the creature's body.

In fact, it was almost as though she could assume that the humanoid alien was completely harmless.

Well, that was if Sophie hadn't just been completely incapacitated by a mental attack from the mysterious foe.

"I am the guardian… or maybe you could call me the grand treasure that awaits at the end of your sufferings," the voice chuckled.

"You will either pass this stage and gain your reward…. or join me as an ember servant."

The humanoid alien raised her right palm into the air and out of the volcano's depths, numerous creatures swarmed out in waves.

Each creature was also made from magma like the alien in the center, but their bodies and appearances differed greatly.

Some were humanoid, some were quadrupedal or bipedal while others were contorted and twisted monstrosities.

There were some outfitted in various armours with symbols that Sophie did not recognise while others only wore simple tribal attire.

They lined up neatly behind the alien like a well-trained army and the intense heat emitted from their bodies caused more sweat to drip down Sophie's forehead.

"Tell me challenger…."

A golden staircase appeared in the middle of the volcano that began where the alien floated in mid-air and connected to the edge where Sophie was standing.

The humanoid alien purposely walked forward with an aura of grace and dignity that Sophie had only seen before in high nobles of great houses.

Each step was small, but space seemed to be distorted in this pocket dimension as it only took five steps for the alien to stand in front of the hybrid girl.

Sophie reached for her hidden needles as she came face to face with a mirror image of herself composed of molten rock.

"What do you desire?" a dark seductive voice whispered.