My mind went blank for a solid three seconds.
'My little spider sister.'
The words echoed in my head as a church bell dropped down a marble staircase.
The woman in the chair was smiling. A warm, soft, sisterly smile. She looked like a statue carved from moonlight, dressed in dark, flowing robes that seemed to drink the light around her. Her white hair cascaded down her back like liquid starlight.
And she was floating.
Literally. An inch off the chair, like she was too divine to touch mundane furniture.
This wasn't a mortal. This wasn't a hunter. This wasn't even a monster. This was something… else.
A Divine Constellation.
'The Shadow Veil?' I tried to recall the name, my mind going through the known constellations that exist, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't.
Maybe because it's a new thing? Constellations appeared on Earth pretty recently, just 15 years ago.
They chose champions, gave humans skills, items, and sometimes even quests, acting like a cosmic job center with a god complex. But they didn't just 'show up' in people's living rooms and call them 'sister.'
[The divine constellation "The Shadow Veil" is pleased to meet you]
[The divine constellation "The Shadow Veil" is observing you with great curiosity]
[The divine constellation "The Shadow Veil" is thinking: My sister has her mother's breasts. Good genes.]
"..." My eye twitched. I lowered my dagger, but my spiders stayed perched on the ceiling like eight-legged gargoyles, their red eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?" I finally spoke, keeping my voice low and respectful as much as possible. After all, I was dealing with a divine being here that could erase me from existence.
[The divine constellation "The Shadow Veil" said that you must first accept the private conversation so she can talk to you without annoying blue screens]
"I..." I bit my lip. I wanted to say no. I wanted to stab her in the face and run. But that would be suicide.
"Okay," I mentally clicked one of the two 'Accept' as I didn't want to anger a goddess. Plus, she didn't leave me any other choice.
The air shifted.
Not physically—no breeze, no mana pulse, no dramatic whoosh like in the movies.
But something settled over the room the moment the blue screens blinked out.
Like a giant cosmic cover pressed itself against the walls.
The woman—no, the Constellation—tilted her head with a soft hum, her eyes gleaming like polished bone under moonlight.
"Much better," she said, her voice gentle, smooth, and layered with something that wasn't quite an echo but felt like it came from everywhere.
"Gulp!" I swallowed.
My dagger hand lowered a fraction more. My spiders didn't move; they stayed ready to jump her divine ass if she so much as blinked at me funny.
Better not do that… just calm down, Nana, I kept reminding myself. You're Lady Raven right now, and Lady Raven is calm, collected, and in control... Lady Raven doesn't panic when a divine constellation calls her 'sister' and comments on her tits.
"Um." I cleared my throat. "So… you're The Shadow Veil?"
"That is one of my titles, yes." The Constellation nodded, her smile unwavering. "My given name is Nyx."
She suddenly stood up from the chair and started to walk towards me. Her bare feet made no sound on the floor, and as she got closer, I could feel a strange energy radiating from her. It wasn't hot or cold, but it made the hairs on my arms stand on end.
She stopped a few feet away from me.
"I'm the goddess of darkness and secrets." She reached with her right hand, and I instinctively flinched, but I forced myself to stay still.
Then, her fingers gently brushed a stray strand of my black-dyed hair away from my face.
"But you call me sister Nyx."
Her touch was… weird.
It wasn't warm like a human, or cold like a vampire. It was… nothing. Like touching a memory, a shadow that had no temperature, no substance, but still existed.
"Sister…?" I repeated, my own voice sounding small.
"Yes, sister." Her eyes crinkled at the corners.
"I'm pretty sure that my mother gave birth to only me," I said, my brow furrowed in confusion. "And my mother is a human, not a goddess."
Tap!
"Ouch." She poked my forehead; her finger still felt like nothing, but it still hurt.
"I don't mean your human mother." Nyx pouted, her lower lip pushing out in a way that was both adorable and unsettling.
"I mean your OTHER mother." Her eyes twinkled like distant, laughing shadows. "The one who's been very, very naughty. The one who likes to eat pussies, the one who has a big dick, and the one who's currently throwing a world-spanning orgy to celebrate the birth of a tree."
"Eh?" My brain crashed. My jaw dropped.
My spiders literally fell off the ceiling, landing on the floor with tiny, soft plops.
"You mean...." I stared at her, my mind racing faster than a horse on fire.
"The one and only." Nyx grinned, black raven wings sprouting from her back. "Our mother, Morgana."
"M-Morgana is... your mother?" I stammered, my world tilting on its axis. "And that makes us...?"
"Sisters, yes." Nyx's smile widened, a flash of something ancient and wild in her eyes. "Half-sisters, to be precise... but that's not the point."
Her gaze intensified, the playful look vanishing, replaced by something sharp and serious.
"The point is that I need your help, sister."
"M-me?" I pointed at myself, my finger trembling. "What could I possibly do to help a goddess?"
"Actually, you are the only one who can," she said, her expression grave. "The only one that I could contact on this earth."
"But why? What about Morgana?" I asked, my mind a whirlwind of questions. "Why can't you ask her for help?"
"Because I can't." Nyx shook her head. "Due to my divine aspect, my mother doesn't even know that I exist."
My jaw hung open.
This was... this was too much. Too insane.
"Okay," I said, holding up my hands. "Let me get this straight. You're my half-sister. You're a goddess. Our mother doesn't know you exist. And you need my help. With what, exactly?"
"To break free," Nyx said, her voice dropping to a near-whisper. "I'm trapped."
"Trapped? Where?" I asked, my eyes scanning the empty room as if I could see the walls of her prison.
"Too risky to say," she said, her gaze distant. "I'm a prisoner of my own power. Everyone forgot about me the moment they looked away."
She paused for a moment, her expression pained.
"Think of me as a ghost, sister," she continued. "I'm here, but I'm not. I can talk to you, but only because you share our mother's blood, and I used her essence to create this avatar that slightly reduced my powers."
"..." I blinked at her. Once. Twice. My brain was suffering from the amount of information it was trying to process.
"You're… trapped because people forget you?" I finally managed.
Nyx's lips pulled into a thin, pained smile.
"Not just forget," she murmured. "They lose me. The moment their eyes leave me, the moment their thoughts drift, I vanish from their memory completely. Even gods. Even Mother."
My throat tightened. That was horrifying. I'd definitely lose my mind if I were in her place. Just imagine the difficulties she was facing, not being recognized by her own mother.
"So what do you need from me?" I asked, keeping my voice low and gentle, but deep inside I had a suspicion.
Is she really the daughter of Morgana? What if she were one of the enemies that Morgana made?
"I need you to become my chosen champion," Nyx declared, her eyes gleaming with something I could only describe as hope. "To be my anchor in this world. A mortal champion can give a trapped god a foothold, a way to interact with the world without fading away."
"A champion?" I repeated, my heart thudding against my ribs.
"Yes," she said, her smile returning. "If you become my champion, you'll gain immunity against my power, and you'll be able to remember me. You'll be my anchor, my sister, my partner. Together, I can break out of my prison."
"And in return?" I asked, my mind already racing. "What do I get?"
"Power, of course," Nyx said, her grin widening. "Divine power. The power of darkness and secrets. The power of a goddess."
My mouth went dry.
Power. Divine power. From a literal goddess of darkness, secrets, and… sisterhood? That should've been an instant yes. But instead, my brain did what it always does:
Panic. Question. Self-sabotage.
"I…" I swallowed hard. "W-wait, wait, wait. Becoming a champion is a big deal! There are contracts, bindings, divine marks, sometimes tattoos that glow when you're horny—"
"That last one depends on the goddess," Nyx smiled sweetly. "Mother's future champions will definitely have that."
"Of course they will."
Nyx stepped closer, shadows curling around her ankles like affectionate cats.
"You hesitate," she said gently, her pale eyes studying my face like she was reading my soul. "Because you fear deception. You fear that I might not be what I claim."
I didn't answer. Mostly because yes.
And also because her robe was swaying, and I was very distracted by the fact that she wasn't wearing anything underneath.
"I understand," she murmured. "Trust is… difficult. Especially for someone who survived a blonde stalker in the Hunters Academy."
"Ouch."
Okay, now I felt personally attacked.
"But I can prove myself," Nyx continued.
Before I could react, she reached out and took my hand. Her fingers were weightless. Not cold. Not warm. Just… there without being there.
A shadow that decided to pretend it was touch.
Then—
FLASH!
A vision slammed into my mind like a meteor.
A memory of Nyx living happily with a breathtaking pale woman with long silver hair and red eyes.
"Morgana?!"
Our mother.
I instantly knew it was her despite being the first time seeing her in her human form. And damn! she was hot.
Nyx's voice whispered inside the vision.
"This is mother. I was created from her essence, not born in the traditional way. But the truth remains."
The vision shattered.
I gasped, stumbling back, clutching my head.
Nyx steadied me with one hand on my shoulder.
"Do you believe me now?" she whispered.
"..." I stared at her. Her raven wings. Her aura. Her touch. Her connection to Morgana's power. It wasn't fake. It wasn't an illusion.
It was real.
Painfully, terrifyingly real.
"I…" My voice cracked. "Y-yeah. I believe you."
Nyx's relief was so raw, so vulnerable, it felt wrong on the face of a goddess.
"Thank you," she breathed, then extended her right hand to me. "Are you ready to become my champion, dear sister?"
"Yes."