The Spider Queen

(Planet Caorn â€" Elysium Archipelago)

(Unnamed Island- Hidden Temple)

"Alright... one of you go grab that jewel before you give me a headache," Sophie groaned as she pointed at the sparkling blue object attached to the chain.

One of her clones nodded and then walked towards the giant marble pillar at the back of the arena.

She easily scaled up the side of the pillar by using her blade-like appendages to stab into the material.

Sophie's mirror copy grabbed the chain and broke apart the metal like she was tearing through a piece of paper.

The sparkling blue jewel fell to the ground but fortunately Sophie's clone was able to catch it using her quick reflexes.

She then jumped to the floor with a heavy thump. Cracks appeared on the ground where she landed but the clone appeared to be unfazed.

"No one likes a show-off!" a mirror copy yelled from the crowd.

"Oh fuck off," the clone replied with a sneer as she proudly walked up to the original Sophie with her head held high.

"Thanks," Sophie casually spoke as she grabbed the jewel and examined its strange appearance.

The jewel had been cut roughly in the shape of a diamond but that was where the similarities ended.

This jewel was a dark blue colour almost similar to that of the ocean with tiny star-like objects inside the gem that sparkled with an eerie glow.

Sophie ran her fingers along the cold edges of the jewel and a frown appeared on her face.

The jewel did look special but she wasn't exactly sure what to do with it.

"Maybe we should spread out and look for a door out of here?" one of the clones suggested helpfully.

A mirror copy yawned sleepily and then proceeded to lie down on the ground. She opened her mouth and dismissed the suggestion with a wave of her hand,

"Well not all of us need to look... call me when you want to fling us into another life and death struggle."

Another one of Sophie's clones sat down next to the lazy one and also decided to take a break.

"Seriously?" Sophie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Look... we need to have a frank and open discussion about our rights... I was thinking that we should unionise," the clone sitting down spoke in a serious voice.

"Clearly we need some health benefits, life insurance, paid vacation and time off or at the very least a salary for all our hard work."

"Plus, some psychological counselling... remembering dying in various painful ways can be very traumatic."

"Unionise? You are me!" Sophie growled darkly and a heavy pressure spread out from her body.

Her golden eyes flashed crimson and the lazy mirror copies on the ground immediately jumped up and ran away.

"Sorry! I meant to say... right away boss!" the fleeing clones yelled as Sophie's eyes followed their retreating figures.

"And what are the rest of you waiting for?" Sophie asked the other mirror copies who were standing on the side like spectators watching a show.

"Yes boss!"

"No problem!"

"Don't kill me! I have a family!"

Sophie placed her face in her hands since she could feel a headache coming on.

An unfortunate side effect of her Rsychosis technique getting stronger was the fact that her mirror copies now had a bit more personality.

They still could not disobey her direct orders but it was difficult to command them to do something that Sophie herself would not want to do.

Honestly... they might be more trouble than they were worth...

Still... they had their uses.

It only took around five minutes for the eleven clones to search the entire arena and eventually one found a small hidden door carved into a layer of rock.

"Found it!" the mirror copy yelled loudly.

Sophie walked over in the direction of the shout and saw a person-sized outline carved into a layer of dense rocks,

In the middle of the door was a small opening. Sophie stretched out her hand and gently pressed the blue jewel into the opening.

The jewel was immediately sucked inside by some unknown force and a faint rumbling noise echoed through the arena.

The ground trembled violently and pieces of rock and stone fell down from the ceiling as though the roof was about to collapse.

One of the large chunks fell directly from the ceiling above Sophie and her clones.

Aura Whip Art- Python's Fangs!

Sophie unsheathed her whip and lashed it in the direction of the large boulder. The length of the whip changed slightly and the shadowy image of a snake coiled around the weapon.

The snake opened its jaws and devoured the boulder with one large bite. The rock was instantly crushed to tiny pieces and rained down as specks of dust.

More large rocks began to fall down from the ceiling as the violent shaking of the ground got even worse.

Sophie jabbed her blade-like appendages into the ground to maintain her balance as her body almost fell.

The hidden door shuddered and then lowered to reveal a narrow passageway barely able to fit Sophie's unique body shape.

Without hesitation, the hybrid girl rushed towards the opening and pushed her body inside.

She began to crawl on her knees through the narrow passageway and towards an unknown location.

Sophie was not alone since at least five of her eleven mirror copies had manage to escape with her while the rest had been crushed under the falling ceiling.

"Fuck... those memories are painful," one of the mirror copies whined as she clutched her head in pain.

Sophie nodded her head in agreement and pursed her lips together.

The memories of being crushed by rocks were not particularly pleasant.

Sophie and her clones crawled for what seemed like several hours until the passageway widened out to reveal a large hall.

Cleo was already waiting patiently next to one of the pillars inside the open space with her eyes closed.

She immediately opened them when she sensed multiple people entering the hall.

"Sophie!" Cleo smiled gently and walked over to her girlfriend... girlfriends?

Err... which one was the real one?

The six women in front of her were completely identical in every way from their aura to their thoughts to even their looks.

Well that was not a surprise since Sophie had once told her that the clones made by the Rsychosis technique were her but still...

"Hey gorgeous," one of the Sophies winked mischievously with a charming grin on her face.

"Cleo! Good to see you babe!" another one rushed over and held her palms.

"You know... why have you never summoned us during... you know..." one of the Sophie's voice trailed off as another shot her a warning look.

The princess was eventually surrounded by a group of beautiful women who all looked like her girlfriend.

Honestly... it felt like a dream come true.

"That's enough... give her some space," Sophie groaned as she pushed aside the crowd and reached Cleo's side.

"Ahh... darling..." Cleo smiled sweetly as she rested her head against Sophie's side.

"I knew you were the original one."

"Really?" Sophie teased her girlfriend by pinching her cheeks.

"Okay... I was ninety percent sure," Cleo admitted with a smirk.