"We need to get back in there!"

"Calm down Alice," Sophia mumbles as she sips from her mug.

"I can't! I went home and slept like you asked, but I couldn't stop thinking about how we missed him already!" I yell back at her.

Unbeknownst to me, Sophia stood up and pulled me down on the couch next to her. She hands me a cup of milk. I start to calm down for once sitting in her living room, but I keep berating myself for missing something.

"Let me tell you something sweetie. Nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes. I missed him too so don't place all of this blame on yourself." Sophia gazes into my eyes as she tries to placate me.

"I should go back there!" I start to run out of the room but before I can move five feet I land on my butt.

"You do not have enough strength to just charge in there and try to rescue him. I mean you didn't even see me attack you. If you really want to go then you have to defeat me." Sophia just crosses her arms and stands there motionless.

Blood fills my head and clouds my thoughts as I charge at her. I try punching her abdomen but she grabs my arm and throws me onto her coffee table, shattering it completely.

I try and grab her legs to try and trip her but this proved fruitless as she wasn't moving and obviously stronger than me. She reaches for me and picks me up by my neck. I struggle to breathe and grasp at me neck when I feel airflow stop as my throat is crushed. I notice her fangs grow longer and her eyes focus on my own.

I gaze into her eyes. Eyes. The eyes are so pretty. I want to look at them forever. The eyes are forever and everywhere and forever and everywhere. All around us are the eyes and all that is are eyes and all that was are eyes and all that will be are eyes and eyes. The eyes are empty and pink and yellow. The eyes can see my soul. The eyes see all and all are eyes. The soul enjoys the eyes and wishes to join them.

Then everything went dark.

————————————————————————————————————

Wet. That's what I felt all around me.

I opened my eyes and viewed a night sky devoid of any celestial bodies apart from the moon. I tried to move around and see my surroundings but found my limbs unresponsive except for small movements.

I felt water drip into my ears and assume I must be in water of some kind. As I was making these observations what little light there was slowly grew red and I felt something wrap around my body tightly.

I try to yell for help but find this same thread like material around my neck.

Starting to panic but unable to do anything, I struggle. Unconcerned with my efforts, the thread starts to drag me under the water. I was able to breathe but all my eyes could see was the inky black surrounding me.

I floated in the water, almost forgetting the threads around me, but they soon reminded me of their presence. The threads grew tighter and tighter as I grew more tired. The threads never cut into me. They seemed to phase into me which was more painful as the foreign object intersected with me. I just hope I live.

————————————————————————————————————

[ Through external sources you have unlocked the skill: Mental Resistance(Minor, Passive) ]

[ Through external sources you have unlocked the skill: Soul Resistance(Minor, Passive) ]

[ Mental Resistance - Allows the user to resist mind attacks based on proficiency of the skill. ]

[ Soul Resistance - Allows the user to resist soul attacks based on proficiency of the skill. ]

"I hope you learned some lesson from all of this." Sophia's voice jolts me awake. I look around and see that I am once again laying down on her couch. I then realize that she asked me a question. All that I got from this experience is more questions than answers but I guess she won't say anything until I answer.

"Not to fight you?" I reply with some slight tension.

She chuckles and sits down next to me. "No, when to calm down and take things slowly. Patience is a virtue and a tool to success. However, if you do wait too long you may miss your opportunity. So in the twelve seconds you were asleep I have come up with a plan."

"Any other words of wisdom?"

"No. Now follow me I will explain my plan on the way."

————————————————————————————————————

A couple of warps and a snack stop later, Sophia and I are sitting on a rooftop near Faulken's Institute. Her plan involves waiting until midnight where most guards are tired and changing shift. We will then sneak into the Cybernetics department and try to find Dominic. However, we do have to wait until midnight, so Sophia and I have just talking.

"Wait, you're telling me that you view your Status Screen in full every time?" Sophia looks at me in exasperation. Apparently I didn't know that the Status can be abridged just by thinking, 'Status. Skills.'

[ Skills: Enhanced Senses(Major, Passive)

Observe(Minor, Passive)

Transcription(Passive)

Danger Sense(Minor, Passive)

Inspect(Active)

Sharp Teeth(Major, Passive)

Powerful Jaw(Major, Passive)

Beast Transformation(Active, Hereditary)

Bite(Active)

Jump(Minor, Passive)

Night Vision(Passive)

Sleep Immunity(Passive)

Poison Resistance(Minor, Passive)

Mental Resistance(Minor, Passive)

Soul Resistance(Minor, Passive)

Lunar Power(Passive)

Telepathy(Active, Hereditary)

Meditation(Minimum, Active)

Mana Vision(Passive)

Mana Sense(Passive)

Mana Circulation(Minimum, Active)

Earth Magic I(Minimum, Base) ]

"Yeah, I was never taught much about the strangeness of our world because, frankly, it never really concerned me. I grew up with it."

"Well it does concern you now."

"…"

"…So what's your family like?" Sophia suddenly asks to fill the silence as she sips a milkshake.

"Well, first of all, my father is dead." I say plainly.

"Oh, my condolences." I can see the immediate regret on her face so I try to clear up the confusion.

"It's fine. He had a major case of wanderlust and left my mother and me. We found out he died from a heart attack in the middle of sex with several people. I always thought of him as an okay person until that point."

"I, uh, don't know what to say. Surely, your relationship with your mother is better?"

"Not really. After my father left my mother took all of her aggression out on me and took things to a really strict level. She would go to the police station and run a background check on all of the people I knew." I shudder remembering her policies on acceptable friends.

"How did she have access to that?"

"She was the police chief at the time and she still is. We still talk from time to time, but every time I go to visit her we always argue. The rest of my extended family is great though."

"Hmm, well, since I asked should I tell you about my past?" Sophia asks me.

"Sure."

"So I was just an average spider in the Alaskan Lewis Labyrinth dungeon. Aptly named after its location, shape, and dungeon type."

"Location, shape, and dungeon type?"

"The dungeon is located in Alaska, the paths and rooms are shaped like a Lewis Structure, and the dungeon is based around disorientation. Anyway, I survived by exploring the maze and eating the other monsters. Eventually, I evolved into an Arachne and escaped. I met Thomas at a later date and we now care for our two daughters."

"You have a second daughter?" I ask. How secretive is this whole family line?

"Yes. She is an adopted dragonewt. A dragon species that looks partially human. Basically a dragon beast-human."

"Hmm. How old is she?"

"Oh, she is eight years old." Our conversation stagnates again, but all of this has given me a lot to think about mainly the Archimedes family secrets and how far that rabbit hole reaches. I mean somehow Thomas has kept his wife and two daughters a secret from society. Aria could even change the world if they knew about her. Wait, I haven't her from her in a while.

"Sophia, I haven't heard from Aria in a while."

"She has her own things to take care of so she can't listen to us all of the time. She could be in multiple places at once, but doesn't on account of it requiring her to make multiple instances of herself and she kinda likes being unique."

"Oh."

I guess we have nothing to do, but eat all of the meats and sweets we bought.