The Spider Queen



(Planet Cthelen- Hive City)

(Private Residences- Floating Gardens)

Cleo's entire body froze as the voice entered her mind. She could not move… she could not think… she could do nothing but listen.

As the warning faded, Cleo stood up and then sat back down on the bench before taking in a few deep breaths. 

All the psychic energy that she had built up to attack the group of nobles was now gone.

But more importantly… she knew who that voice belonged to.

There was only one person who could predict her intention and then just seamlessly enter her mind with a mere whisper and that was the Guardian of the royal family.

Cleo sobered up immediately as she noticed that the tips of her fingers were trembling ever so slightly.

That raw power and strength…

It was only for a brief moment that the guardian had entered her mind, but Cleo had no doubt that if he wanted to then he would be able to kill her in a mere fraction of a second.

Ascension stage cultivators were not bound by common sense or even the laws of physics. They were the closest entities to living gods.

Cleo gently exhaled as she focused on her breathing and tried to ground herself in the moment. 

It was a technique that she had picked up after watching Sophie deal with her murderous urges when she saw blood or felt threatened.

The group of nobles walking by continued to joke and laugh not knowing that they had been seconds away from being hit with a heavy-handed mental attack.

As the sounds of the group faded away into the distance, Cleo placed the empty wine bottle in her storage ring and leaned against the back of the bench.

She had been incredibly stupid.

If the Ascension cultivator had not stopped her from attacking that group of arrogant nobles, then she would have caused a great deal of trouble for Sophie.

Everyone knew that they were engaged, and she now unofficially represented the prestige of House Peterlor.

She could not act recklessly due to her emotions anymore. 

That was the price one had to pay for becoming a member of high noble society.

Cleo stayed outside for a few more minutes and enjoyed the cool nighttime breeze as the wind passed through her hair.

The air was heavy with the scents of the flowers that were all around her, but it was not an unpleasant odour. Cleo got up from the bench and returned to the main building.

There was a lot on her mind to think about.

Honestly there was a part of her that no longer wanted to be on this planet.

She did not know if she would be able to handle watching more of her siblings die every single day for the next few weeks. 

Would she eventually get used to it? Get used to the sight of her half-siblings killing each other over their ambitions and desires…

Was this really something to get used to?

The Imperial Family was being culled. Make no mistake about it… the royal family was being systematically eliminated.

Princes and princesses with impressive genetic lineages and talented cultivation bloodlines would die for no reason.

If Cleo was in charge of the ceremony, then she would hire mages to create time reversal formations.

The fights could still be to the death but at least then the Federation would not lose talented individuals permanently.

But she wasn't in charge.

Cleo walked through the long and winding corridors before eventually arriving back at the main bedroom which she shared with Sophie.

The princess placed her palm on the scanner next to the door and a green light flashed twice before the door swung open.

The room was bustling with activity as genetically modified humans were cleaning up the messy bed and tidying up the other parts of the room.

Cleo sat down on a chair in the corner of the bedroom and watched them absentmindedly. They all wore identical, form-fitting uniforms of dark tones.

Their eyes lacked all traces of individuality and now held vacant stares that were devoid of any emotions or feelings.

Their movements were eerily synchronised as if they were all puppets dancing on the strings held by an unknown master.

Each broom stroke, swipe of the duster or swish of the mop was highly efficient and soon the bedroom was completely tidy.

But their movements lacked something.

They lacked the subtle motions that spoke of humanity's touch. The imperfections and the flaws were nowhere to be found.

Cleo watched them with a mixture of pity and anger in her heart. She felt sorry for the workers and angry at the system which had created them.

These humans had known no other life than one of servitude and obedience. 

All of their free will had been stripped away from their consciousness thanks to genetic modification and programming.

Wait… maybe if she…

Cleo was suddenly struck by a feeling of curiosity as she got up from her seat and stepped a bit closer to the servants.

They were now putting the finishing touches on the room by wiping down the paintings that hung on the wall using pieces of dry cloth.

Cleo stretched out her palm and sent out a small probe of mental energy into the mind of the female servant in front of her.

Psychic Technique- Mind Scan!

The mental tendril burrowed itself into the mind of the female servant who stopped moving and remained frozen in place.

Cleo closed her eyes and established a link with the frozen girl's mind. She looked into the female servant's thoughts and psyche but was left disappointed.

The princess withdrew the connection and the female servant continued to clean as though nothing had happened.

Cleo returned to her chair slightly shaken by what she had seen. The female servant lacked an ego or sense of self.

Even if she was rescued and taken away from this planet, she was nothing more than a living doll with no thoughts or desires of her own.

It had been a long shot to see if she could somehow break the mental conditioning that these genetically modified humans underwent but Cleo still felt unhappy.

If she was stronger… would she have been able to create a personalities and egos for these blank slates? 

But then would they be individuals or just puppets acting according to the personality that she had chosen for them?

These were questions with no good answers.

Eventually the servants exited the bedroom and Cleo was left alone in the chair with numerous thoughts running through her mind.

Sophie was still not back yet but that really wasn't a cause for concern.

Cleo knew how her girlfriend could get once she started a training session, so she was not too worried about her safety.

Plus, void stage cultivators were considered as true powerhouses and only those in the god and ascension stage could threaten them.

The princess yawned sleepily and headed for the bed. She crawled into the sheets and felt a wave of exhaustion hit her all at once.

She needed to take some rest.