Chapter 167: Time For The Truth

(Domain of the Hunter Goddess)

"Relax my child," Priestess Raphi'elle gently whispered as she saw that Sophie's face had a nervous expression.

"There is only one demand that the great Weaver expects from her followers...."

"Hunt."

You had to feel sorry for the hybrid girl as it was quite overwhelming to be suddenly transported into an unknown realm where a hidden entity proclaimed that their master owned your soul.

Sophie was trying her best to remain calm and ask questions but the pressure from the eight eyes hidden in the void staring at her was making it difficult.

For now, it would be best to get as much information as possible to know about the benefits or detriments to be a follower of the hunter goddess.

"Hunt? Hunt what?" Sophie asked curiously.

Priestess Raphi'elle chucked lightly and replied,

"Worthy prey."

"Hunt those who are as strong or stronger than you and offer their life essences to the Weaver."

"She requires an offering at least once every five years."

"In return you will be able to channel her powers but the extent to which you can make them your own depends on your willpower."

What Priestess Raphi'elle neglected to mention was that most worshippers would only be able to unlock one aspect of the Weaver's abilities, but Sophie's body could handle three states.

The Berserker rage where anger and adrenaline would fill the body which led to enhanced physical strength and regeneration.

Their vision would shift into a world of orangish-red and the user would be able to hunt prey in a state of mindless fury.

The pheromonal state that was characterised by the user emitting subtle odours that would enhance the pleasure and act as an aphrodisiac against a target of the same or opposite gender.

In addition, the user would gain the ability to see pleasure spots that were areas on the prey that were particularly sensitive.

And the final ability was the clairvoyance state.

Sophie had used this ability only once as the conditions necessary for its activation were particularly harsh.

It could only be unlocked if the user were in a deep state of desperation or despair.

This ability allows the user to peer into the fate of a particular target to see their current and future location.

This is what Sophie used to find Astrid's location after the Triple headed elemental snake exploded during the university entrance exam

The major downside to this ability was that it completely shuts off the other senses with the exception of sight so it would leave the user vulnerable to attacks.

Sophie paused for a moment and then asked again to confirm,

"So, I only need to offer the life essence of a powerful enemy once every five years and that's it?"

"There are no hidden lies or price to pay," Priestess Raphi'elle calmly spoke.

"How do I sacrifice their life essence?" Sophie inquired.

"Allow me to demonstrate the prayer needed to activate the sacrifice," Raphi'elle replied

Priestess Raphi'elle closed her eyes and the harsh words of devotion echoed around the empty void.

"Oh, beleg nathron."

"Im cín loyal múl offer hi belth- in cín est-."

"An i blood -o nin enemies na- i onlui worthui offering na a aenil."

"Let i enemies -o i Arachnais núr onlui n- govannen with gurth a destruction."

"Consume i faer -o nin preui a lothron their pitiful polod aid cin in cín beleg thel-."

"I dú falls a i fuin fills nin. Im am a calf -o cín will."

Six sentences were repeated over and over again until Sophie felt as though she was eventually turning insane.

It was in a language that was both familiar and strange to Sophie.

The words spoken vaguely resembled those in the language of the Arachnais tribe, but they sounded ancient and full of power.

Sophie clutched her head in pain as the hidden meaning of the repeating verse slowly entered her mind.

"Oh, Great Weaver."

"I your loyal slave offer this kill in your name."

"For the blood of my enemies is the only worthy offering to a goddess."

"Let the enemies of the Arachnais people only be met with death and destruction."

"Consume the soul of my prey and may their pitiful strength aid you in your great purpose."

"The night falls and the darkness fills me."

"I am a vessel of your will."

A mysterious force gripped her body and Sophie found herself chanting along with the words flowing from her mouth with practised ease.

Time seemed to have lost all meaning and Sophie could not tell how long it had been since she arrived in this realm.

Eventually the chanting stopped, and the priestess sighed with relief as she received the order from the goddess to return Sophie to her body.

Priestess Raphi'elle decided to give the little spiderling a parting gift, so she secretly injected a tiny stream of qi into Sophie's dantian.

"I look forward to seeing you soon," the priestess spoke and then waved her hand lightly to send Sophie out of the domain.

"Arghhhhh!" Sophie shrieked with agony as the darkness around her loudly shattered and she found herself laying down on a bed.

Crash!

Sophie looked up to see Cleo standing at the doorway with a shattered plate full of food as the princess had just returned to check up on her.

"Are you okay?" Cleo was startled to hear her girlfriend cry out in pain, so she hurriedly walked over and began checking her vitals on the medical scanner.

"No everything seems okay," she muttered as she continued to look over the data.

Sophie froze as she tried to process what had just happened in that strange space.

She could remember the encounter with the priestess quite clearly and the words of the offering prayer seemed to be deeply etched into her mind.

Sophie groaned as she stretched out her limbs and contemplated if she should tell her father what had happened.

She did not want to worry him but as a god stage cultivator he may have knowledge about those beyond the Ascension realm.

Sophie planned to message him once the mission on Planet Calypso ended.

But first there was an important matter to address....

Sophie saw the worried expression on her girlfriend's face and silently made a decision.

She could not keep hiding the truth about her parentage and forcing Cleo to deal with her out of control abilities.

All relationships need honesty and although Sophie was scared that the princess would choose to leave her....

Cleo deserved to know the truth.

It was time to tell her everything.