"AHHH!!!"
Jericho screamed and stood up. He then performed a guarded stance against the enemy in front of him.
"A-A-A talking s-s-snake?" Asked Jericho as his lips shivered resulting in a stutter.
'What the hell is this thing?! A beast that could speak human language?' He thought as he observed it.
'Wait a minute...I-I-Its transparent!!!'
Jericho's complexion paled as he thought of one possibility.
"Ghost!!!"
He then turned around and was about to run but…
"Ah!"
Thud!
He bumped into something and then fell on top of it.
Jericho got up slowly and looked down. His eyes widened as he saw the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She has long lustrous black hair that spread on the ground. Red-ish lips that screamed sex appeal and light grey eyes that feel bottomless. She also has smooth and soft skin that he felt. She was wearing a tribal attire, long tunic dress with tribal symbols and leather boots. A tribal headband also covered her forehead. If he wasn't disciplined he would have definitely lost control of himself.
"Get off me!" Screamed the girl as she pushed Jericho away.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Jericho said slightly flattered. He was no greenhorn when it came to the affairs of a man and a woman but this woman in front of her, she just takes his breath away. He didn't even consider that she could be an enemy, after all she her push didn't even contain that much strength.
He almost forgot about the snake because of her but it was only for a second.
"Get behind me!" He said as he shielded the girl from this unknown beast.
He stared at the beast and then glanced at the girl behind him.
"I'm gonna distract it. When its attention is on me, run as fast as you can!" Jericho whispered as he grabbed a tree branch nearby.
Jericho wasn't foolish enough to throw his life for someone he just met but seeing that he encountered a human here in the middle of nowhere then there could be others. He planned to save this girl so the others if there are would accept him and maybe help him. He planned to create a friendly relationship with them using this chance. He didn't plan on fighting the beast, he would only distract it for some time. And then he would run after the girl.
After saying his plan he then dashed toward the snake but still made sure he kept his distance after that he proceeded to scream at the snake!
"Come beast! Fight me! I will shove this branch up your ass! Come on!"
"Are you scared you oversized worm?!!"
He looked at the girl "Hurry! Run!"
He was about to throw the stick at the snake when he noticed that neither the snake nor the girl was moving. The snake was in its original place and hadn't moved an inch. And the girl, she was just sitting there just looking at him while holding her laughter.
"Puff! HAHAHAHA" she broke as she couldn't hold it anymore. She laughed so hard that she was lying on the floor and holding her stomach.
*twitch
Jericho stopped and his lips twitched as he began thinking at lightning speed. It didn't take him long to come up with a guess.
'Now that I think about it, her voice sounded like the first one I heard. It didn't come from the snake. It came from behind me and since I was too distracted with my own thoughts I failed to notice it. She was also probably the one who pulled me out of the water.'
'Fuck! How embarrassing! That snake is just probably a projection and it's not real. Was she playing a prank on me from the start?'
The girl saw Jericho's expression and laughed louder. It's been ages since she laughed this hard.
"Are you done?" Jericho asked with a smile that was not a smile as he saw her stopping. But she still giggles every now and then.
The girl suddenly turned serious and looked at the snake.
"Come beast! I will- hahah I-I will HAHAHAH"
"...."
After a couple of seconds filled with melodious laughter she got up and dusted her long dress. "Okay now I'm done" she said with a bright smile.
Jericho's anger and embarrassment disappeared immediately. That smile was like a smile of an angel. When she smiled everything stopped and suddenly she was bathed with the warm light of the sun.
Jericho froze as he witnessed this. 'I wish I could see that smile everyday' he thought.
"So stranger, who are you? And why are you injured?" She suddenly spoke asking the things she wanted to know.
"I- " Should I tell her my name? No, that would be dangerous.
"My name is Marcus, thank you for rescuing me, you have my gratitude. I was attacked by beasts when I was climbing the mountains with some friends and now I'm currently lost." he said as he performed a bow.
"Your name sounds cool~ it sounds like the name of the Serpent God Marcurias" said the girl with sparkling eyes.
'Serpent God?'
"Oh yeah let me introduce myself again, I'm Sarah, Sarah Ophidia, and this is my partner Ofil" she said as she gestured at the snake.
"W-Wait a minute. Partner? It's not an illusion?"
"Illusion? Of course not. She's a byproduct of manifesting my aura." She said as if looking at him like he's dumb.
"WHA-"
"Enough about that, let's head back to the village. Everyone is probably worried about me."
Sarah then led Jericho deeper into the mountain and after a couple of minutes they now stood in front of the village gate.
"Welcome, to the Ophidian tribe." Sarah said as she gestured towards the entrance.
-------
2 weeks had passed since Jericho entered the village. At first the villagers were wary of him because he was after all an outsider. They also didn't want him to enter their village at first since he was probably from the Empire. But when Sarah told them how he tried to protect her when he thought her partner was a beast, it immediately made them laugh and they saw Jericho in a good light.
Despite being in a secluded area. The villagers still have contact with the outside world. They were mostly hunters and farmers so they would once a month trade their goods to travelling merchants that passed by their village. Not only would they trade goods for medicine, food, silk, and other necessities but they would also trade for the latest news and information.
Most of the news that they got wasn't that great. They heard about corruption, war, terrorism, and other kinds of problem from the Empire thus their view of it is not that good. So him being part of the Empire made the villagers still wary of him. Except for one…
"You're from the Empire? Woah! What's it like over there? Is it true that there is a pen that can write by itself? Is it true that you don't eat a boar's liver over there? Are you guys allergic to mint? Do you sleep on a floating bed made of water? I also heard that you guys can't swi-"
During his first few days at the village he was always bombarded with endless questions from a certain someone. But he answered them all. All of the questions were just how the people of the Empire lived and the latest technology so it wasn't that hard to answer.
The villagers were very accommodating, they fed him, gave him a roof to stay and also a change of clothes. He was very grateful thus he helped around the village. He also shared his knowledge on music, poetry, dance and art.
Once a week the villagers would gather in the village square to pray, celebrate and thank the Serpent God Marcurias for protecting the village and also for the great harvest. They would play music, dance around the campfire and some would sing praises of great Serpent God.
"Once was a world devoid of light, so the Serpent God removed her scales and it became countless stars. The reverse scale being the brightest."
"Once was a world without life, thus the Serpent God released a breath that resulted in the living."
"Once was a world devoid of water, so the Serpent God cried for those who needed it and so appeared rivers and lakes."
"Once was a world full of evil thus the Serpent God sank her fangs deep into the earth and released her venom. Creating hell for those who have sinned."
"Once was a world plunged in chaos and death. It was without a savior thus she gave birth to one during a stormy night."
Jericho listened as he thought how this world definitely is full of evil and death. He looked at the starry sky and then closed his eyes.
'I have to return soon.'
'I'll return as soon as I'm fully healed'