The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

(Planet Vrean- Unknown Ruins)

The tour guide was right.

The only sounds that one could hear other than the noises of the tourists and the crashing sound of water was the wind that gently blew through the valley.

There was no living fauna in sight.

Sophie took in a deep breath and gently exhaled as she glanced at the black obelisks with red writings painted across their exterior.

There was an eeriness to this perfect paradise that was hard to describe. It was as though its natural beauty hid a terrifying secret.

Sophie played with Cleo's fingers as the pair wandered through the forest.

Cleo stretched out her hand to touch one of the green leaves growing on a vine and a surprised expression flashed across her face.

"Hey babe… try touching one of these leaves," Cleo whispered softly as she pointed at the vine.

Sophie followed her girlfriend's instructions and stretched out her free hand to gently brush it against the green leaf.

"What?" Sophie exclaimed in confusion as she felt a rough jagged surface with bumpy edges.

The strange thing was that from the outside the leaf visually was completely flat without any lumps.

"Do be careful when touching the plants!" the tour guide called out as she saw Sophie continue to rub her finger on the leaf.

"There is nothing dangerous about them, but some possess hidden thorns that can prick any exposed skin."

"The plant species in this valley cannot be found anywhere else on planet Vrean. In fact, a botanist who came a few years earlier said that…"

The tour guide continued her speech but only around half of the tourists in the group were listening as the rest were taken aback by the sheer beauty of this place.

Even Sophie couldn't resist tilting her wrist communicator and snapping a few pictures of the peculiar valley.

She zoomed in on the nearest black obelisk and snapped a picture just as the red lettering seemed to glow even stronger.

Wait… what?

Sophie's golden eyes narrowed as she stared at the obelisk that was only a few kilometres away.

The red writings on its outer surface were definitely shining brighter than they had been before and an ominous chill ran down Sophie's spine.

Her danger sense had not activated yet, but Sophie could not shake the feeling that she had to get away as soon as possible.

"Excuse me…" Sophie raised up her hand and tried to get the tour guide's attention.

"I can't help but notice that the writings on the obelisks are getting brighter… is that normal? Plus, in old photographs the writings were a purple colour…"

"Oh… well that is actually one of the unsolvable mysteries about this place," the tour guide chuckled as she gestured towards the enormous structures.

"The writings have changed colour once every three decades since this place was discovered by the first settlers."

"However, the colour change does not seem to affect anything, so most professors seem to agree that it is nothing but a pretty visual."

Sophie nodded in understanding but could not help but look one more time at the black obelisk that they were slowly approaching.

Danger! Danger! Danger!

Goosebumps rose up along Sophie's arm and she immediately froze up on the spot.

No… she needed to get out of here… NOW!

"Um…" Sophie cleared her throat and awkwardly addressed the rest of the group.

"I know this sounds crazy, but I can sense danger and I believe that a threat is coming from the obelisks… or something hidden in the valley."

"I think that we should leave now…."

Sophie words echoed through the valley and got the attention of the group who looked at her with various expressions of disbelief.

Loud whispers and mutterings erupted from the crowd but not all of the voices were positive towards Sophie's suggestion.

What the tourists did not realise was that their quiet words could easily be heard by the hybrid girl.

"Is the duke's daughter doing this for attention? Damn… how desperate is she?"

"Crazy! This place has been a tourist destination for years…"

"What danger? I swear these young nobles…"

Sophie's face was expressionless as she heard their mocking words. She understood why they probably felt like that, but she had to try.

She opened up her mouth one more time and tried to convince them that it was a good idea to leave.

"Listen… I know that some of you may have doubts, but I can promise you on the honour of my house that everything that I am saying is the truth," Sophie swore seriously.

This time her words had a much heavier weight and some of the faces in the crowd showed expressions of hesitation.

"I have been doing tours here for over ten years and there has never been a problem," the guide suddenly interjected with an annoyed look on her face.

"If you truly wish to leave then just walk back that way and enter the barrier. It will take you outside the valley."

"But… and I will say this again… there has never been any problems in all the decades that this place has been opened to the public."

Sophie's brows furrowed as she felt the danger only get stronger with every passing minute.

She glanced at the confused tourists and the angry guide and let out a heavy sigh.

Hopefully other people would follow but right now her first priority was to get herself and Cleo out of danger.

Sophie lifted up Cleo by the legs and held her in a princess carry.

Regardless of how it looked she rushed forward towards the barrier while channeling qi into her leg meridians.

The hybrid girl's figure was almost like a blur as she crossed several hundred meters in just a few seconds.

She turned around and saw a handful of people following them but moving at a much slower pace.

Sophie eventually reached a patch of shimmering air and without hesitation threw her body into the strange space.

The hybrid girl felt the air vibrate around her body and the sensation of something brushing against her leg.

The world went dark for a brief moment and then Sophie opened her eyes to find herself back in the sandy desert.

"So, what did you see?" Cleo asked curiously as she leaned her head against Sophie's shoulder.

"I… I didn't use my foresight ability… I just felt a terrible danger and knew that I had to rush outside as soon as possible," Sophie explained as she walked away from the exit.

A few moments later more tourists would appear from the other side of the barrier as Sophie took out a blanket from her storage bag.

She placed the blanket on the hot desert sand and sat down with Cleo in her arms.

The extremely hot sun rays fell on their bodies but fortunately Sophie had a tent in her storage bag which she took out for some cover.

Minutes passed and one of the tourists who exited the barrier suddenly got impatient since nothing was happening.

"This place is too hot… I… I can't believe that I listened to your nonsense," the man scolded fiercely as he rushed back towards the massive sand dune.

He entered the space without a problem which made the remaining tourists cast suspicious looks in Sophie's direction.

Eventually more decided to enter but as the hours passed…

No one came out.