A Snake's Path (A Snake's Life Book 2)
Page 11
They watched me the same way I watched them: warily, while waiting for the other shoe to drop and this all to blow up in our faces.
“You destroyed Asgard,” Odin stated in a controlled tone.
“Accidentally,” I corrected.
“Heimdall tells me, and I quote, that you “destroyed the structural integrity of the mountain by diving through it, causing it to fall out of the sky.”
I looked off to the side where Heimdall—the albino from earlier—was standing. He shot me a thumbs up, then went back to staring at nothing.
I’ve already killed millions of Asgardians. One more won’t matter much, will it? I sighed to myself. “Yes, well. I had a moment of insanity.” I noticed the way they were looking at me and hastened to add, “Oh, I’m not making excuses. I fully admit that I’m the one responsible, even have the title to prove it.” I sighed again, this time aloud. “Look, you don’t owe me anything. But don’t blame Ayla for my mistakes. She’s a good kid who was dealt a shitty hand, that’s all.”
Odin and Frigga glanced at each other, an entire conversation passing between them with just a series of eyebrow movements. I know this to be the case because Sarah and I were like that. Sarah, what would you think of me now? Would you love “the Destroyer” or would you despise him for being the monster that he is?
“If people blamed my mistakes on my children, I would never see them married,” Odin said somberly. “You have my word, serpent. She will not be blamed for Asgard’s destruction. I’ll ensure that, personally.”
I exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “Thanks...” I released the full weight of my magic upon the ship. “You know what will happen if you’re lying, yes?” I hissed.
“Of course,” Odin replied. He stepped around his wife, placing his body between me and her and squaring his shoulders. The man was unarmed and armor less, but he didn’t so much as flinch when our gazes locked. “You’ll kill us. I would do the same, were I in your position.”
I nodded my agreement. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
“There is one thing you could do for us, to—help ensure she isn’t blamed.”
“And what might that be?”
“Leave,” Odin said simply. “Leave today, and don’t come back.”
EARLY THE NEXT MORNING I silently floated away from Gungnir. I’d said my goodbyes to Fenris and his family, and it went about as well as I expected.
I’d thought about biding my time and waiting for the moment I was absolutely sure Ayla was safe before I left. But truth be told, I was the most dangerous person here, and not in a good way. The longer I stayed, the more danger everyone was in. Better I leave now, before I screwed up and hurt someone I actually cared about.
For all the bad my situation caused, I had to admit, it was entertaining in a way. The Asgardian’s reactions were especially humorous. While most of them seemed to hate me for destroying their home, a select few would send me slight smiles and nods whenever they saw me. I’d heard from Uriel the Asgardians of old were a war crazed bunch that respected strength and honor in battle above all else. Guess some of them still possessed that mentality, even if it meant throwing praise to the one who destroyed your home and killed your people.
I glanced at the ship, then at my companion and nodded my head. “I’m ready, Fin. Remember, look out for yourself, and for Ayla.”
“Yes, master. I will protect Ayla with my life,” Findral replied solemnly
“No, Fin. I said take care of yourself and Ayla. The two of you are the closest thing to family I’ve got in this world. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost either of you.”
“I—see. I will endeavor to follow your orders, master.”
I shook my head. “This isn’t an order. You’re free. You can do whatever you want from this moment forward.”
Findral was quiet for a long minute. So long, I had to turn around to check if she was still there. She was. She looked at me with deep sadness in her eyes. “If I’m free to do whatever I want, then—I’ll wait for your return, Torga.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just nodded my head.
“I... I accept the King’s Challenge.” I waited for a moment to see what would happen, but nothing—
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
You have accepted the King’s Challenge.
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
I stared blankly at the gray box for a moment, then had to shake away my surprise at the pop-up. That's a new color.
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
You will now be transported to the Serpent home system.
Goals—If you fail any of these, then your right of succession will be declined by the gods and death will be your only reward.
Reach the 10th tier before your confrontation with the king.
Slay the 8 Royal Serpents.
Slay the king.
Survive.
Your transmission has begun.
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
I waved away the window and looked back at Findral one last time. "Tell Ayla I'll be back before the wedding."
"You better be. She’ll never forgive you if you miss it.”
I felt a coldness enter my mind. One minute I was looking at Findral, floating in the skies of Asgard with a gargantuan rainbow as a backdrop. The next thing I knew, I was standing in the middle of nine stone pillars on a planet with an amethyst sky. I couldn’t see any stars or moons in the sky, though from the looks of things I didn’t need them. The atmosphere was bright enough on its own. A blizzard was raging around me, preventing me from seeing anything beyond the pillars.
I reached out with my tail and pushed past the largest stone pillar, expecting my tail to carve out a path through the storm. However, I immediately felt a searing pain race up my tail instead. I yanked it back inside the circle and inspected it for damage. Luckily, I didn’t see any scaring or burns. Just a patch of ice where the storm touched my scales.
My aura isn’t working?
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
Warning!
You've entered the territory of Orochi, the Serpent King.
This territory is in a time dilated zone as dictated by the gods. As such, time passes at a rate of 10,000:1.
As you are the challenger, you are henceforth barred from leaving this area until the moment of your death—or your crowning.
You have been deposited inside the only Neutral Zone in the system. All skills and traits have been temporarily disabled. Once you leave this place, you may not re-enter on your own.
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
I groaned after reading the warning, then waved it away. Well, at least I shouldn't miss Ayla's wedding... Unless I die, anyway.
Chapter 12
MY NEUTRAL ZONE WAS marked by a circle of nine pillars: eight small and one large. I assumed this was to indicate the eight royal serpents and the king, respectively. Moving closer to the pillars, I noticed that each one had a name engraved upon its surface in a language I didn’t recognize but could somehow read anyway. Orochi, Amatzin, Naunet, Shabaka, Unger, Sereath, Rajah, Dragar, and Urosh.
I circled the zone several times before finally settling in front of one of the smaller pillars, the one with the name Urosh carved into its surface. "I guess you're first." I placed my head against the pillar and was instantly teleported away.
I found myself in the Bi-frost with a pop-up in front of me.
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
You have arrived at your destination, Planet Ushillon: Territory of Urosh, the Royal Naga
Goals:
Find and Slay Urosh.
Survive.
Rewards: Naga Form
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
Naga?
Though I'd traveled across a fair portion of Yggdrasil, I had never encountered a Naga personally. They were apparently quite rare, as even Fenris and Lena had only encountered a handful in their lifetimes. Because of this, I was somewhat eager to see what they were like and what abilities they possessed.
A deep musty smell assaulted my senses as I was released from the portal. The air was incredibly humid, and I could feel my lungs struggling to keep me sufficiently supplied with oxygen. Then came the feeling of constantly being dragged down. The gravity on this world was making it slightly more difficult to move, which made me thankful for my body’s natural strength. Were I any weaker, I may not have been able to move at all.
I found myself in something of a tropical rainforest, with tall trees approaching two-hundred feet in height with a deep blue bark. Their massive drooping leaves spread out as far as the eye could see and served to shade the ground from the intense light of the twin suns. Flying reptiles dotted the sky as they flew in groups both large and small. And in the distance, I could just make out a medium-sized stone structure carved into the side of a mountain. Might as well start there.
Along the way, I decided to have myself a little wildlife safari/snack combo as I passed by several watering holes used by the local wildlife. A twenty-foot-long purple reptile with four short legs that kept it close to the ground, a long spiked tail, and two large, white horns on either side of its head was the first to be eaten.
*Ding*
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
You’ve eaten the following race for the first time.
Horned Croc: Tier 5
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
It was followed by several ten-foot-tall tortoises that walked around on their hind legs. They had thick yellow frills around their necks, two sets of eyes on either side of their noses, and if my observation was correct, they could shoot acid out of the mounds on their shoulders. However, this failed to help them once I had them wrapped up and was crushing the life out of them.
*Ding*
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
You’ve eaten the following race for the first time.
Acid Cannon Lizard: Tier 4
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
The creatures on this planet are a little weird. They taste pretty good, though. The acid gives it a nice spicy flavoring, and they have enough meat on them to satisfy me for a little while.
While moving through the forest, I noticed that as I drew closer to my target, the size of the creatures decreased, while the tier increased.
*Ding*
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
You’ve eaten the following race for the first time.
Spring Bat: Tier 6
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
A red lizard with a six-foot wingspan, it had eight short tentacles instead of legs, which it used to bounce from tree to tree before opening its wings and gliding through the sky. These creatures were also extremely aggressive. I was attacked several times by swarms of them, though apart from their attitudes, they seemed to be relatively harmless—to me, anyway.
The way they attacked was also interesting. They would use the little spikes that covered the inside of their tentacles to find purchase in the "soft” meat of their prey, then they would use their clawed hands to rip out chunks of flesh.
However, my scales were so tough the bats simply had no way of holding on. I manipulated the air around me to blast them out of the sky, then I’d let my aura deal with them. It's almost like an all-you-can-eat bat buffet.
Branches breaking caused me to look up in time to see a mass of silver metal falling towards me. As the metal broke the ten-foot mark, it was ripped apart atom by atom and consumed by my aura.
What the hell was that?
*Ding*
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
You’ve eaten the following race for the first time.
Armored Gecko: Tier 6
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
I spent a few minutes scanning the treetops for any other armored geckos, and watched as they hunted. They were four feet long and had dark green scales and a single yellow eye on a two-foot stalk. I assumed they climbed high into the treetops and waited for something to pass beneath them, then did a freefall onto their target, killing or at the very least severely wounding it. However, if it seemed as if its prey could survive the initial impact or somehow dodge it, the gecko was more than happy to leave them alone. Unless they passed beneath them again.
But the creature that most surprised me was actually another serpent.
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
You’ve eaten the following race for the first time.
Cursed King Serpent: Tier 8
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
This two-foot-long blood-red serpent had nine eyes that completely surrounded its hooded head and an oval-shaped mouth that it used to latch onto its prey and quite literally suck the life out of them. But the thing that made me glad my aura had a ten-foot radius and could dissolve them from a distance, was the effect the creature had on the ground as it moved. The ground would turn pitch-black and dissolve into nothing just seconds after the tiny serpent passed by.
Creepy little things. I involuntarily shivered.
Three hours later, I arrived at the base of the mountain and began to scout out the area. I searched in and around the base for any entry points I could make use of, but despite my efforts I found nothing of the sort.
The only way up that I could see was a carved staircase that went up the side of the mountain and to the front entrance of the building, which severely limited my options for sneaking in. Of course, I could just blast the door down and be done with it. I tilted my head from side to side as I weighed the pros and cons of each choice. Then I remembered one flaw to my plan: my aura. Even now it was busily dissolving the ground beneath me at such a rate I had to constantly move, or I’d find myself in a hole deeper than I was long.
"Have you seen any sign of them?" a raspy voice asked.
"Oh, yeah I did. I invited them over for tavoa milk and spring bat strips last night—Of course, I haven’t! Don’t you think I would’ve said something if I had?" a higher pitched voice asked sarcastically.
I turned my head in the direction of the voice and saw two serpents bickering just inside the tree line. They were between fifteen and twenty feet long, though unlike my own body, they possessed a torso reminiscent of a human.
That's a Naga?
Thin scales covered the visible parts of their body, and two long fangs peeked out from beneath their upper lips. They had different colored scales, one being a deep red, the other a pale green, and while the red naga was completely bald, the other had black hair cut close to the scalp.
I pushed off the ground and started following them through the air, using my wings to remain high above the treetops. I followed them for a few minutes while they headed away from the building. As they were moving in an expanding counterclockwise patrol route, I knew they would stumble upon my trail eventually. I landed on the ground a dozen or so feet away from them and waited for the right time to strike.
“What’s this, then?”
And that’s my cue. I sent three stone spears into the green Naga’s body: one in the pelvis, one in the stomach, and one through the throat. However, it didn't immediately die from the ambush and was able to warn the red snake-man before I could attack again, killing him with a stone spear through the center of his face.
“Red” quickly twisted around and pulled a short wooden bow off his back, nocked an arrow, loosed it in the span of a second. The arrow shot towards my face, presumably aiming for the pits on my nose.
I didn’t bother to move out the way, trusting my aura to deal with it for me. The arrows dissolved the moment they entered my range.
The naga tsked. He pulled three arrows from the quiver on his hip and rapid fired them at me.
The first was dissolved easily enough, but my eyes widened when I saw the second and third arrows curve midflight, passing just outside of my aura’s range. They tore through anything in their way: Plants, vines, even a lone tree was ripped in half as the arrow passed through its tr
unk.
I tracked the arrows as they made yet another sharp turn and shot at my back. Getting hit by those might actually hurt. I decided to use wind to redirect the arrows instead of letting my aura take care of it. I didn’t want to risk getting injured this early in the game.
The wind knocked the arrows off course, forcing them into the ground where they buried themselves so deeply, I couldn’t see them anymore.
Red nocked six arrows simultaneously and fired; two arrows curved around to the right, two curved to the left, while the last two arrows tore through my wind defense and bounced off my nose. Though it was dissolved a second later, I was still surprised it managed to touch me at all.
"I’ve got you now," Red said confidently as he nocked six more arrows.
"Yeah, about that." Hundreds of pounds of stone shot up and coiled around the naga, preventing him from releasing his arrows. "That's my line."
“You—” A rock shot out of the ground and smashed into his forehead. His head lolled against the stone bands for a moment while his body slumped.
I flicked my tongue a few times. Though not required, using my heat sensing skill was always easier this way. After half a dozen flicks, I didn’t detect anyone nearby, so I moved past the dead green naga, allowing my aura to devour his body as I went, and approached Red.
*Ding*
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
You’ve eaten the following race for the first time.
Naga: Tier 6
ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ
I dismissed the pop-up as quickly as it came. I already had some idea of how powerful a naga was. After all, I’d had the opportunity to become one, once upon a time.
I studied Red’s form from a distance of twelve feet and came to one conclusion—I should’ve picked naga all those years ago. Disregarding everything else, the naga had one clear advantage over my current form: arms. They had a pair of thickly muscled arms that ended in three-fingered hands. Red’s hands also had short nails. I would hesitate to call them claws due to how dull they looked, but I wasn’t going to discount them yet. Maybe keeping them short was a personal preference?