A Snake's Path (A Snake's Life Book 2) Page 18

  "Let me be frank with you, Torga. Consider it a parting gift if you’d like: You were never meant to meet with your wife again. You were meant to fail. The fact that you lived this long is just a testament to your stubbornness and luck, nothing more.”

  I felt the strength leave my legs and I stumbled back. "What are you talking about? No, you told me if I evolved, that if I did everything in my power to grow stronger, I could see her again. You promised me that!" I yelled.

  Niabus shrugged. "I cannot recall ever promising such a thing. But did you honestly believe it would be so easy? That she would just be waiting for you with open arms? You're a monster and a damned good one at that. You've slaughtered countless people in your quest to see her again. But—did you never stop and ask yourself if I could have been lying?"

  "Of course, but what else was I supposed to believe?”

  The being let out a deep sigh. "Be that as it may, I suppose congratulations are in order. You’ve fulfilled your destiny."

  "Destiny? What fucking destiny are you talking about? I. Died. How is me dying without seeing Sarah again a ‘completion of my destiny?’”

  "Your destiny wasn't to meet Sarah again. It was to die here, now, in this very spot."

  I stared at him for several seconds. "Why?" I hissed.

  The being shrugged. "I made a deal."

  "What kind of deal?" I asked weakly.

  "The kind where I get what I want, and in exchange, someone else gets what they want. But you want specifics, don't you?" As the being said so, a tremor rocked the ground, causing me to lose my balance and fall over.

  "What's happening!?"

  "You asked 'Why' you had to die here and 'What' was the deal I made,” Niabus said, ignoring my question entirely. “Well, they are one and the same. Long before I had the pleasure of meeting you, my sister Forna and I were mortals—"

  I opened my mouth to speak, but he silenced me with a gesture. "We don't have time for interruptions, so please, be silent. I am—was the Dragon King and she was a Royal Phoenix. Upon our ascension to godhood we kind of... drifted apart. I led my dragon followers farther down Yggdrasil than any being before or since and she—" He took a deep, ragged breath. “She met him," he hissed.

  "She never told me just what that bastard did to her, but it fundamentally changed her. She became cold, cruel, and full of hate. But she stayed with him. The fact that I, a God of Destruction, did not notice when my own sister was being slowly destroyed from the inside out—it almost broke me to see her reduced to that." He shook his head. "So, I killed the bastard. Scattered his body to the four corners of Yggdrasil. But the damage was done. She no longer trusted anyone, and I couldn’t blame her.

  “The man she loved entrapped her within her own mind, while treating her body like his personal toy. And I was so focused on myself that I completely ignored her cries for help.

  “I was locked within a temple on the very planet my dragons had claimed was their home world as she and her pantheon destroyed all the work I'd done over the years. Her way of paying me back for leaving her trapped within her own mind while her body was destroyed, I suppose." He took another pause, then continued. "I scoured my personal library for eons for something—anything that could help her move past her hatred. I eventually found it in the Tribunal, an organization dedicated to upholding the Hero system and ruled by the gods of Fate, Life, Death, and Rebirth.

  “An accord was made. In return for my help, they would convince the heads of their respective departments to give her another chance at life. A chance to be happy."

  I felt my eyes involuntarily widen.

  "Yes," Niabus laughed, "I suppose that wish would sound quite familiar to you, wouldn't it? Seeing as that was your wish as well. You have no idea how much I had to restrain myself when you told me your dream. How excited I was to find someone so like myself, and yet, so very different.

  “I knew you would do whatever it took to find your wife, so I simply pointed you in the right direction and off you went. Of course, I had to step in a few times to make sure you would survive some of those earlier encounters, but that’s a paltry sacrifice in the grand scheme of things.”

  The ground was again rocked by intense tremors as a large black object began to rise out of the ground a few tens of feet away from us. "How does my death help you then?”

  "It doesn’t, but it wasn’t my idea to have you die, you understand. If it were up to me, I would’ve left you alone and let you do whatever you wanted. But my associates wanted this conversation to happen, so here we are,” Niabus chuckled.

  "The time has come."

  "For what?"

  "For you to move on. Don’t you want to go home?"

  "You said I could never go home."

  "Yes, I lied about a lot of things. Can we get this over with, already? I've had enough of this place to last me a lifetime. Or two, in your case." Suddenly, against my will, I was violently dragged towards the circle.

  Just before I was pulled inside, I lifted my arms and pressed them against it in an attempt to keep myself away from it. Though the circle continued to try and pull me inside, I was just barely able to keep a hold of its edges and keep from falling in.

  "You're as stubborn as ever, aren't you?"

  "What is this!?" I hollered.

  "Don't you remember? This is how you were brought to Yggdrasil in the first place. A little more violent this time, perhaps, but the premise is the same. You go through that portal and you're home. You'll still be dead, but at least you'll be able to see your family again."

  Something clicked in my mind. I glared over my shoulder at him, "You're lying. I go through this portal and I'll cease to exist, won't I? This was all just some sick fucking game to you, wasn't it!?" I hissed.

  "A game you would have gladly played had it been your wife at stake."

  "You know what?” I laughed. “You're absolutely right, I would have." I extended my arms, pushing my body further away from the portal. "I would have done everything you've done and more." The white space around the circle began to crack. "You say this is my destiny?" Another crack. "I say you’re wrong." I shoved with my arms and stood on the edge of the portal. My body began to twist and expand, then I was suddenly in my true form: My body extended far beyond the horizon, my wings cast a shadow over the entirety of the white space, and my eyes were locked onto Niabus. "I decide my fate. No one, not you, not the gods, and not some 'Tribunal' will ever tell me otherwise."

  My hunger exploded out of me in a brackish aura that dissolved the portal, a wide-eyed Niabus, and the white space itself...

  I OPENED MY EYES AND glared at the little god still holding my face.

  *Ding*

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  For defying the fates and rejecting your destiny, you have been granted a new title and trait.

  Free:

  Sometimes being free isn't all that it's cracked up to be. You are now free from the machinations of fate and are free to decide your own path.

  Good luck Torga. If we ever meet in person, I'll buy you a beer.

  Signed, Shai: God of Fate

  P.S. Here's one for the road.

  Would you like to evolve?

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  Yes.

  A transparent white shell formed around my body so fast the goddess barely had time to pull her hand out of the way before it was sealed shut.

  "Oh ho. He had an evolution hidden up his sleeve." The little goddess laughed.

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  You will evolve in... ??????

  WARNING: Yggdrasil magic detected!

  Commencing absorption of excess Yggdrasil magic

  Magic absorbed!

  Remaining time until evolution completion is.... 10 seconds

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  The influx of power flowing through my veins caused me to scream in pain. I felt my body break endlessly only to be rebuilt again. I felt the wings on my shoulders rip apart and begin shifting and moving
as if the individual strands had minds of their own.

  After an eternity of pain, my eyes opened, and I was staring down at the little goddess.

  *Ding*

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  Name: Torga

  Race: Gluttonous Dark Naga Hydra

  Classification: Tier 9

  Level: 94

  Experience: 2,971,652/ 12,000,000

  Titles: Destroyer of Asgard, The Dark Serpent, The Unwavering One, Royal Serpent, Free

  Stats:

  Physical Strength: 899,752

  Endurance: 899,752

  Dexterity: 1,051

  Speed: 1,201

  Mental Intelligence: 60

  Wisdom: 45

  Charisma: 21

  Resistances Elements: 60%

  Divinity: 80%

  Mental: 20%

  Immunities Mind Control

  Illusions

  Skills: Major Stealth, Heat Detection, Absolute Gluttony, Absolute Growth, Greater Petrifying Gaze, Superior Acid Venom, Detect Concealment, Energy Breath, Fly, Magic Enhancement, Elemental Manipulation, Gravity Manipulation

  Traits: Divine Gluttonous Aura +40, Growth +70, Venomous, Aquatic, Forever Growing, Indomitable, Supreme Regeneration

  ꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏꝏ

  "Alright, you stupid little bitch, it’s time for Round Two!" nine voices said in unison.

  "Umm..." The little girl gave me a funny look. "I'm a guy."

  "Oh... Then I don't feel nearly as bad about doing this." I wrapped a gravity field around my fist and slammed it into his face. Unlike before, this time my arm wasn’t destroyed by simply connecting with his face. Instead, I felt all the bones inside my remaining arm turn to dust a moment after the god was knocked off his feet.

  I followed the punch by opening my mouth and firing a beam of condensed mana into his face at point blank range, though I was pleasantly surprised to see nine other beams flowing over my head, striking the god and pushing him deeper into the ground. This also created something of a smokescreen, which I used to steal Naunet and make a break for it.

  I was under no illusion that I’d done anything more than piss the god off with that move.

  "What the hell happened to you?" Naunet asked from his position, dangling over my shoulder as I flew through the air.

  I glanced over my shoulder at the spot where my wings used to be: Nine thirty-foot-long eyeless serpents of varying shades of green were flicking their tongues at the horizon. They appeared to be ninety percent mouth, as the entirety of their heads were split in half by a giant maw full of dagger-like teeth.

  "It's a long story," I sighed.

  "I imagine so. You know what? Never mind, it can wait."

  "We need to get out of here."

  "Correction, you need to get out of here. I need to head back and hold them off for as long as I can.”

  “What? No, I can’t let you do that.”

  “I’m not asking you; I’m telling you. Besides, of the two of us, only you have something you’re meant to be doing."

  There was a pregnant pause as neither of us wanted to give in.

  “You aren’t meant to die here, Torga. You have a wife to find, a daughter to marry off, and friends waiting for your return... I have none of those things. Besides, I haven’t fully paid up yet.”

  “And I haven’t found your wife’s murderer yet either.”

  “No need. I know where he is,” Naunet said.

  “What, where?”

  “Look to your right.”

  I did so and saw the overly large planet Naunet’s moon orbited.

  “When you get to that planet, find the serpent known as Rajah and tear his head off for me, won’t you?”

  “If he’s that close, then why the hell haven’t you killed him already?”

  “Because I’m forbidden to leave my moon. Trust me, if I could’ve killed him when I first noticed him inside the Bi-frost on the way here, I would have. As it is, I’m going to have to get you to do it.”

  I let out a sigh. “I don’t like this.”

  “You don’t have a choice. Just put me down and go on with your life. The gods’ pride won’t allow them to let me live, so I’m betting they’ll come after me first. Besides—” He held out a small red stone for me to inspect: It was the one he’d pulled out of my neck. “I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

  ONE OF MY SERPENT HEADS was staring in the direction of Naunet's moon and had the job of alerting me if I was being followed.

  While it was different from seeing through my own eyes, in that I couldn't actually see what they saw, I somehow still knew.

  Each head swayed back and forth as they looked at anything that caught their eye—er, tongue. Currently, most of them were transfixed on my rapidly regenerating arm. I flexed the muscles in my broken right arm and had to grit my teeth to avoid yelping at the pain.

  My arm was still mostly destroyed, but at the rate it was healing it would be back to normal before I arrived planet side. My left arm, on the other hand—I glanced down at the stump where my lower left arm used to be and sighed. Sure, I had a spare left arm, but I was still sore about losing it.

  *Boom!*

  I stopped flying and turned to look at the moon. A wave of mana was in the process of glassing the surface and creating a crater large enough I could see it from space.

  I hope you find your wife again in your next life...

  I BROKE THROUGH THE final atmospheric layer and saw something I hadn't seen in decades—a city. It was a large urban metropolis with towering gray-metal skyscrapers and a colossal golden statue of a Serpentine Dragon with a halo of jewels encircling its head. The statue towered over the city surrounding it. Its head was tilted slightly down, giving it the appearance of a permanent scowl as it stared at the city below.

  I shook my head at the garishness and landed away from the city in a blood-red canyon. As soon as I touched down, the ground beneath me began to melt away. No, I need to control it... I am the master of my hunger, not the other way around. I drew my aura into my chest and locked it down tight.

  I need to find Rajah and kill him before those damnable gods show up. I had faith that Naunet held them off as long as he could, but I also realized that the explosion wouldn’t kill them. Wound them, maybe, but they were too powerful to die from such a trick.

  I started flying in the direction of the city and the large golden statue of what I could only assume to be my target.

  I landed just outside of the canyon, within sight of the city's imposing walls. I’d made it through the canyon without issue and even managed to catch a few grizzly bear-sized black rabbits with antlers to hold me until I could finally relax and take time to eat again.

  The problem was, they did nothing to sate my hunger. Despite eating several of the creatures, I still felt empty. At least the simple act of hunting was useful for keeping my mind off of Naunet’s death and my impending doom.

  However, about an hour or so into my little jaunt over the canyon, my stomach started to cramp, and I developed a migraine. To make matters even worse, I noticeably began to lose muscle mass. Because my body could no longer devour its surroundings to fill the void that was my stomach, it'd begun eating itself in an attempt to keep me alive.

  Eventually, I’d have to loosen the reins on my aura or else I’d end up starving to death. However, if I did that, I’d be back to square one and I could potentially cause the planet irreversible damage.

  Of course, I didn't actually care if the planet was obliterated, or its people killed. But I couldn’t breathe in the vacuum of space, and it was in my best interest to avoid destroying my only source of oxygen until I was ready to leave.

  I began scanning the road leading to the city for signs of life and found a group of people walking towards me. Suppose I could try asking for directions. Who knows, they may be able to lead me directly to Rajah and I can cut this trip short.

  Interlude: The Hunters

  THE LITTLE GOD WAS staring through n
arrowed eyes at the being sprawled on the ground before him. "Where. did. he. go?" he growled. Each word was punctuated by an intense burst of divinity being forced into the body of the serpent through the hand holding Naunet down.

  "Give it up, Carlas." Naunet groaned as his body began to rapidly age. "You know you can't kill me. I’m protected."

  The little god growled in indignation but didn't disagree. "And how I wish it wasn't true. Nevertheless, you do not meet the criteria," he said while removing his hand and stepping away. "Unlike you mortals, we gods must hold ourselves to a higher standard. The law is everything and no matter how much I may wish otherwise, you haven't technically broken any laws in my presence. So, you may live—for now."

  Naunet began to laugh, quietly at first, but it soon built into a loud cackle as the serpent sat up. "You couldn't kill me if you tried and you know it," the serpent said as any remaining wounds rapidly healed and vanished as if they were never there. "The only beings in this universe that could kill me are the original nine and Torga. Xitas saw to that personally."

  Carlas grabbed the serpent by its throat and slammed his head into the ground.

  "Let's get one thing straight here, you little worm. I can, and will, kill you if you cross the line. So, watch your damn mouth," he harshly whispered.

  He let go of the serpent’s throat and stepped away. He walked over to Arkos and motioned for the much larger god to follow him while using his other hand to brush his hair out of his face.

  "Let's go, Arkos. We've got a worm to catch."

  “Have a pleasant day, gentlemen. And—don’t mind the noises you may hear,” Naunet chuckled after them.

  CARLAS AND ARKOS HAD been flying along the branch, while following Torga at a safe distance, waiting for the moment he would stop to sleep or eat, so they could avoid spending any unnecessary energy. However, their plan was thrown off the rails when they sensed a familiar energy racing towards them.

  "Arkos... We have an unwelcome visitor," Carlas muttered as he came to a stop.