Thump.
The Impert snake dumped Damien on the ground of the cave where it had brought him. Damien heard the crunch of bones and whatnot that got crushed under his weight as the snake let go of him.
Good news, Damien was finally free of the clutches of that thing. The bad news was that thing advanced on him just as it let go of him.
And as the thing slithered closer and closer to him, Damien closed his eyes. This was it, he was going to die in this very cave. What a way to die for the second time, he thought to himself.
The first time he was burnt alive, the worst experience of his life,0/10 he would never recommend it to anyone.
For the second time, he was going to be eaten by a giant snake.
Dang it.
He clenched his fists, prepared to die after sending a punch flying at the face of this damned snake when —
"Lord Medus.." the snake hissed in his mind and Damien raised his head to look at him.
"Who are you calling Lord Medus?" Damien asked and Dan looked at him with a subtle frown on his face. He asked Damien, "To whom are you talking, host?"
Damien didn't answer Dan. Only now did he understand that he could hear the voice of this snake in his head. He didn't even know how it was possible but it was happening and the best he could do was to accept it to the best of his ability.
"You, Lord Medus. You," the snake hissed once again and Damien winced not liking his hisses echoing in his head. "It has been so long, was it a thousand years ago or two thousand years ago? No..it was more than that. I am so glad that I found you."
The Impert Snake sighed with relief as if she had finally gotten rid of the weight that she had been carrying on — her head or tail whichever suited her the best.
Hey, he was not going to differentiate between species alright?
"Umm," Damien pushed his body back a little. A part of him wasn't particularly keen to tell this Impert Snake Beast that he wasn't Lord Medus but at the same time, he was too scared to do so.
For Damien knew that the second he was to tell this beast that he wasn't who she was looking for, this Impert Snake Beast would kill him.
However, his mind changed swiftly when the Impert Snake Beast swooped down and peered at him closely, "Now we can be together for all eternity."
And that was where Damien drew the line, alright. Of course, he loved his life, this was his second chance and all of that. But if he had to spend it with an ugly, monstrous giant snake —death seemed a bit more welcoming.
His eyes darted to the entrance of the cave, if he wanted to run then he had to distract this snake first.
He licked his lips and turned his gaze back at the Impert Snake before saying, "Woah there who are you? I mean don't get me wrong but like you said, it has been so long that I seem to have forgotten you. Help me jog my memory a little bit."
With his hands pushing him to the side, Damien smiled up at the Impert Snake Beast. He hoped that this thing was just as lacking in the area of wits as it was packing in size and long, sharp fangs.
Maybe the beast god along with his brother thought that they had subjected Damien to enough trouble, but the Impert Snake Beast turned out to be an idiot.
Which provided the smallest of comfort.
"Of course," the Impert Snake Beast's eyes lit up as if no one had asked her a question as flattering as that. "How could I not think of this, you must have saved so many beasts in your prosperous and adventurous life that I might have become history to you already." There was a glum note to her tone like she didn't like the thought.
Damien however didn't stop her, instead, he let the Impert Snake Beast continue speaking. He didn't know how to explain it but there was a tingling sensation in the back of his neck like he needed to hear it.
After a quick pondering the snake began hissing as she slumped down on the floor of the cave, "It happened five thousand years ago. I still remember the horror of that day, I was supposed to turn one thousand and five hundred years old. But then a beast man captured me and brought me to the Ring Of Ire."
"Ring of Ire?" Damien mused at the same time slowly pushing his body to one side. "Why did he bring you there?" Was it some sort of vacation or birthday party celebration?
The Impert Snake Beast glanced at him. And though it didn't have brows, Damien had a feeling that it had frowned at him. He heard the Impert Snake Beast say, "Of course to sacrifice me. You know this Lord Medus, one of the few ways to gain the power of a transcendental beast man is to sacrifice an ancient beast older than one thousand and five hundred years."
"It is the magical number of all transcendentals. My blood and soul could have brought imperceptible power to that beastman, this is something you know."
"Haha, yeah —I do...I mean I did, I kind of forgot it," Damien laughed dryly. He didn't know why but for some reason the word transcendental beastman brought a chill up his spine. Like someone was sitting behind him and laughing at him and his poor attempts to survive when he was destined to die.
"Anyways, that beastman was about to sacrifice my soul to the demon beast god, Zima, when you came to save me like a messiah, Lord Medus. That was when I decided to become your sole devotee and follower."
"I am so glad to see you again, for I have been waiting for your return."