The World Serpent

The Trio calmly stood while facing towards the Old Man. They stood within the Gargantuan White Marble Hall as the Reflection looked at them and the Old Man. The Old Man kept smiling as he spoke with a calm voice. "How rude... I'm far from a Monster, Young Lady." Persia didn't dare to lower her guard as she continued staring at the Old Man with a Cold Expression.

Seeing the situation, The Old Man sighed and spoke. "I do not plan to fight a needless battle." Persia couldn't sense any lies from the Old Man's words. Persia was a Serpent and a Demon. Lies were her forte. She turned her head towards Ego and Statera as she nodded towards the two of them. The two, seeing Persia's nod, back down. They stopped releasing their Hostile Pressure towards the Old Man.

"Well, It seems that you three aren't extremely violent. I was sure that you would attack me." The Old Man chuckled as he was a bit surprised that the Trio managed to calm their anger. Persia shook her head and replied. "We aren't that muscle-headed, Old Man." Hearing the words of Persia, The Old Man stopped his chuckle as he smiled towards the Trio. He then spoke with a calm voice.

"Hmm... The Three of you have passed the Second Realm of the First Rite. You would need to pass the Last One to gain your rewards." Such information spoken by the Old Man gave the Trio some curious expressions. They wondered the rewards of the Rite, Persia was about to ask, but the Old Man continued his words. "Your Rewards will be simple. It will be a Specified Origin Skill from the Results of everything you had done during the Rite."

Persia, Statera, and Ego found themselves in shock after hearing the Old Man. Origin Skills? Weren't such skills supposed to be Legendary that it was rare to get one? Why would they receive it in such an easy test which doesn't take much of their time? The Trio got confused and couldn't believe the words of the Old Man. The Old Man chuckled once again after seeing the faces of the Trio.

"The Rites Rewards are stack as your Enemies would get larger and larger. And believe me, The Rite of Battle isn't as simple as you think it is." The Old Man gave a fair warning towards the Trio. Statera, Persia, and Ego nodded in understanding as they began thinking about the rewards. Persia wasn't that much affected as she already had two useful ones. Statera and Ego were severely affected as the Rewards could increase their firepower by a thousandfold. The already strong Statera might get more powerful.

"Hohoho, It seems that the Rewards is singing in the ears of you two," Persia smirked while staring at Ego and Statera. Statera and Ego got out of their tranced and avoided her gaze in embarrassment. Persia released a Soothing smile as she turned her head towards the Old Man. "Are you sure this isn't a scam?" The Old Man, hearing Persia, began laughing as this was the first time someone told him such words with a Straightforward voice.

"No need to fear if it is a scam, Young Lady. I'm not even the one controlling what Rewards you get." The Old Man tried to stop himself from continuing his Senile Laugh. The words of the Old Man gave Persia a sudden realization. She then looked at him and asked with a calm voice. "Who are you, Old Man?"

"Who am I? I'm simply a humble servant of the World Serpent." The Old Man answered as Persia raised an eyebrow. The World Serpent was the Being that brought Persia into a New World. Though, Persia could remember that it wasn't the Realm of Piksyon. It was a Newborn World according to Persia's Memories. It then gave Persia a good insight into her Memories with the World Serpent. The World Serpent was her Origin and her Beginning. She then remembered that its name was Jörmungandr, The Beginning and The End.

Statera then stopped thinking about the rewards and whispered towards Persia. "I remembered talking to him about the World Serpent. It seemed that his World got destroyed, and he turned into his Servant." Persia nodded after hearing Statera's explanation. It gave her a good look at the identity of the Old Man. She then started asking questions based on the current information provided to her.

"If your World got destroyed by the Serpent. Why are you serving it? Are you afraid of it?" It was a simple question as the Old Man shook his head and answered with a smile. "Long ago, I was afraid of it. But I then realized that it wasn't as Demon-Like or some Chaos Eldritch Creature. During the destruction of my World, It gave my people a chance to live onto its World. Of course, We didn't have a choice, so we accepted the offer."

"We thought that it would be a Hellish Place, but it was paradise. Despite destroying my Homeworld, Our History, Artifacts, and Even Ancient Ruins got transferred into a new part of its World. Nothing change other than the fact that we have a lot of neighbors that also came from the Worlds it destroyed. It was a strange situation as our Neighbors seemed to be happy."

"Since then, I have been serving under its scales. Then I was given a chance to guide its Heir. I pity the destruction of my World, but such destruction also saved us." The Old Man looked at Persia as Persia couldn't believe what the Old Man was saying. Does he have some Stockholm syndrome? Why the hell was he looking at the one that destroyed his Homeworld as some savior? Persia could never understand the Old Man's Personality. Though Statera, who stood right beside Persia, completely understood the Old Man's words.

'In a Reality where it was being eaten or eat. Having a Being that eats or destroys your World, but preserves the most important part of it, is good mercy. The young ones wouldn't understand that most otherworldly beings that eat worlds wouldn't care about the World's inhabitants. The inhabitants are merely ants, and the World is simply what the ants stood in.'

'From this comparison, The World Serpent gave the ants a new home before eating their World. Why would something that could step onto the ants without any problems care of it? Mercy from a God-like being that eats worlds would probably make it a religion for some people within the Paradise of the Old Man. Though I do wonder about the reasoning of the Serpent? It could simply eat without needing to care of the World's inhabitants.'

"I'm too weak to look at it from their perspective." Statera shook her head as she discovered a lot of things from the Journey with Persia. The Existence of Worlds beyond the World of Piksyon. World Eaters? Maybe something more would spring up within the Journey. Persia, on the other hand, decided not to judge the Old Man. It was the choice of his People and himself. It was not her position to change their already stable fate.

The Old Man shook his head and spoke with a calm voice. "The Duel is simply a fight against your Greatest Enemy that knows you. From Fate, Freedom, and Doubts. Such are the best ingredients for an interesting journey, isn't it?" The Old Man smiled as the Trio didn't release their answers. He looked at them and turned his gaze towards the Reflection.

"I see... It seems that there are Four Individuals within this Hall." Statera and Ego turned their heads and saw Persia's Reflection, who seemed to be taking a nap. Persia seeing her Reflection acting like some Lazy Girl, couldn't help but disappear and reappear right beside the Reflection. She then lightly smacked the head of her Reflection, which made the Reflection rise from its Slumber. "Eh?"

The Reflection could see the whole group staring at it. It coughed as it began rubbing its hair embarrassingly. Statera raised an eyebrow and asked. "Persia, Is she your Reflection?" Statera asked with her seductive voice as Persia turned her gaze towards Statera and answered. "That is correct. She is my Reflection." Statera, hearing Persia's answer, continued asking. "Then why is she here?"

"I pulled her out of the Second Realm and brought her here," Persia answered as if she had done nothing wrong. "You what!?" Statera couldn't help but find herself in shock by Persia's answer. Why the hell did she bring the Reflection out of the Realm. Statera couldn't ask such a thing as Persia seemed to be stern with her decision. She turned her gaze towards the Old Man and spoke. "Does he agree?"

Persia shook her head and answered. "I don't know, but if he does not. I will make him agree." Her soothing voice had a tinge of coldness. The Old Man shook his head and spoke. "As I said, I do not plan on stopping you." Persia nodded with pride after hearing the Old Man's answer as she walked towards the Reflection. "Well, wasn't that easy? You're finally free, and you can do anything you want."

The Reflection shook its head and spoke with a calm voice. "I'd rather stay with you." Persia tilted her head after hearing the Reflection's answer. "Is it because you feel indebted? You can go if you want to. There is no need to feel that way." The Reflection shook its head once again and replied. "I want to stay with you under my will and choice."

"Well, I won't stop you." Persia sighed after hearing the Reflection's answer. Statera and Ego looked at each other after hearing the words of Persia and the Reflection. Ego couldn't help but feel as if a Younger Sister was about to be brought into the family. Her hidden emotions were swirling around as she kept her emotionless expression plastered on her face.

"What the? Does she love collecting herself?" Statera shook her head after hearing the whole conversation. There was nothing she could do, though having a second Persia would probably be a hundred times annoying than before. 'Let us see where this road takes us.' Statera thought to herself as she gave up on trying to stop anything.

Persia then looked once again at the Old Man and asked. "Are you planning something? Why did you easily accept it? Isn't it breaking the rules?" The Old Man gazed upon Persia after hearing her words and answered. "Because anything that you do is completely allowed by the World Serpent. The Rules couldn't get applied to you as you are the Heir of the World Serpent. You are simply a natural rule breaker."

Persia raised an eyebrow as the answer was completely unexpected. The Old Man then looked at the Reflection and nodded towards her. The Reflection understood what the Old Man meant, so she walked towards the Old Man and stood in front of him. "You will be free from the Mirror, but you might need a new power source as the Mirror has no control over you."

The Old Man then took out a Pitch-Black Orb and gave it towards the Reflection. "This is my Gift, The Orb of Nightmare. You will have the power to control the Dream Realm, but it might take a while for you to use it. It will be your strength, and it is a gift for your Freedom and your Loyalty to the Heir. After all, The Heir needs a powerful subordinate."

A Dark Light then enveloped the Reflection as the Old Man looked at the group. He smiled and spoke towards the group. "It is time for you to leave. Your Actions will lead to the activation of the Third Realm, which is the Realm of War. It is clear what you are needed to do, so I hope you can complete it. Anyway, I hope we meet again, Young Ladies." The Old Man slightly waved his hand towards the group.

The Bright Light enveloped the group as the Reflection slowly transformed into something different. The Bright Light completely engulfed the Dark Light as the group got teleported out of the Gargantuan Hall.. With that, The Second Realm got completed, and the group received a new Member.

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