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Chapter 165: There Is No Choice

The Spider Queen

(Domain of the Hunter Goddess)

"Wait I never pledged my soul to anyone!" Sophie firmly retorted.

The information given to her by Princess Rai'lle had some knowledge about the background of her mother's people.

Most of the detailed knowledge were sealed away as to prevent Sophie's mind from becoming overwhelmed by the foreign memories….

But she had still grasped the basic history and culture of the Arachnais.

This included the various religions and cultural practices held by different members of the tribe.

She knew that some of the Arachnais tribe folk worshipped a hunter goddess called the Great Weaver but many of the younger generation simply saw her as a myth.

Worship of the Weaver was now a lesser religion only practiced by a few members of the royal family and some nomadic Arachnais groups.

"Oh?" came a cold laugh from the mysterious voice.

Priestess Raphi'elle smiled as she saw the angry looking spiderling showing an expression of both dissatisfaction and disbelief.

It was so cute!

Being the priestess and host of an elder goddess was impressive, but it was pretty lonely spending thousands of years in a void by yourself.

This is why Raphi'elle was very pleased whenever a new member of the Arachnais tribe managed to find their way here.

Raphi'elle asked calmly, "Then tell me whose power have you been borrowing for your own use?"

"Did you really think that you could simply gain strength without paying a price?"

"Perhaps you need to learn about the greatness of the one who saved us all….

The priestess transmitted into Sophie's mind the true origins of the hunter goddess as it was important that the hybrid girl gained some understanding about the master she now served.

Unlike many of the other gods, the hunter goddess did not want or need the worship and adoration of her race.

She was content with choosing a few powerful individuals to share her power and blessing them with great strength.

These individuals would then serve as her apostles and carry out her will.

This meant that her image had gradually faded away from the consciousness of the everyday Arachnais clansman.

Even the royal family had begun to see her gift as just a mere genetic ability.

The fools.

If it were not for the protection of the Weaver….

There would be no Arachnais tribe.

The universe is nothing more than an endless cycle of death and life.

Of destruction and rebirth.

Eventually all races fall.

Life is nothing more than a brief flash of miracles in the cold unfeeling void of empty space.

It was a time long before the name Arachnais was used to describe her people.

They were simply known back then as the Ranzioere.

The Insectoid Empire of that time was nothing more than a collection of scattered races whose goals, ambitions and objectives were widely different.

The hierarchy was not as defined back then as dozens of higher order races fought desperately for control over their simple-minded brethren.

The lower order insectoids creatures were not an infinite resource and hence wars begun to erupt between the different species.

It was in this era filled with war and strife that a Ranzioere girl whose true name remains a mystery managed to secure a long-lasting dynasty for her people.

The Ranzioere people had aligned themselves with another Insectoid race known as the Igairens but were betrayed.

Men and women.

The young and the old

They were all massacred without mercy.

The Arachnais tribe of today was supposed to fall eons ago were it not for that unknown Ranzioere girl who managed to cross the border of mortality during a crucial battle.

The realm beyond the Ascension stage.

A place where strength had no meaning as the universe became nothing more than a chessboard.

She was the first of her kind to enter the realm of the gods.

Gods may not use their powers directly on reality as it would easily disrupt the fabric of space and time.

However, the newly born hunter goddess managed to safely hide away the last survivors of her people until the war ended.

When the Ranzioere clansmen returned to the Insectoid Empire they found that many of their fellow higher order races had been destroyed.

Even their one-time friends and then enemies the Igairens were no more.

Only three other races remained.

Naslitsers, Serpentinea and the Fayera.

Serpentinea were humanoid insectoids with elastic and stretchy skin that resembled that of rubber.

They were covered in yellowish scales and had tiny green spikes that jutted out of their shoulder blades.

Three bright pink eyes were located along their torso and the mouth orifice was found near their posterior.

Naslitsers on the other hand were beast-like creatures with narrow mouths and long noses that made them appear permanently angry.

Their bodies were snake-like with a long continuous tail that stretched further than seven feet.

Possessing no limbs, this race relied on psychic abilities to move objects around using only their mind.

And the last race was the Fayera who were enormous aliens over eight feet in height with four translucent wings found on their backs.

Their body was covered by a metallic exoskeleton that was extremely difficult to break as it was made of a modified chitin material.

Five long pincers, ten compound eyes and two blade-like scythes for arms made them one of the strongest insectoid races in combat.

However, with only four higher order races left, the Insectoid Empire was now a mere shadow of the strength that it once possessed.

It was this senseless destruction and loss of life that formed the basis of the treaty of Namiar.

The higher order races of the Insectoid Empire would never take up arms against their own kind ever again.

Millions of years passed and the Ranzioere people evolved and changed due to the subtle influence of the hunter goddess into the modern day Arachnais.

"That's…. a lot to take in," Sophie paused for a moment and replied carefully.

"I am grateful that the Weaver saved my ancestors, but I don't want to pledge my soul or serve her for the rest of my life."

"You may be under the wrong impression," Raphi'elle's tone shifted and Sophie shivered as she sensed eight eyes staring at her from the darkness.

"There is no choice."