"Hungry... eat... so hungry... I... eat..."
In the serpent's chaotically jumbled mind, the intense hunger that had erupted since its awakening filled its thoughts, dominating its entire being.
Under the relentless onslaught of that incomparably strong desire, the serpent, usually somewhat clear-headed, now found it hard to even form a coherent thought.
No reason, no consideration. Urged on by the most primal instincts of life, rationality seemed utterly powerless.
Everywhere it looked, all was crimson. Its only thought was to eat, eat, eat...
"Devour... everything..."
Since waking, in those fragmented thoughts, only these words constantly echoed in the serpent's mind.
And in its currently disordered perception, the most eye-catching, the most striking thing was none other than that brightness and heat above its head.
So, this unprecedentedly enormous serpent, whose like would surely never come again, unhesitatingly followed its instincts and lunged at that thing providing it with light and warmth.
It had a feeling that perhaps, if it swallowed this radiant, warm object, it would no longer be hungry.
"ROAR!!!"
That roar, a thousand, ten thousand times louder than thunder, reverberated in the dome of the sky.
Excited, greedy, brutal, arrogant...
About to escape hunger, the giant serpent was filled with intense agitation, every part of its body overcome with fervent excitement.
In its view, it never considered it might fail. Even now, with its reason nearly gone, it still grasped one simple truth.
It was very strong!
Exceedingly, extremely strong!!!
...
"BOOM!!!"
Incredibly vast, as heavy as continents, the thick cloud layer stretched out over miles, tens of miles. Even hundreds of thousands of warriors would appear miniscule before these clouds, metropolises capable of housing millions reduced to children's playthings in comparison.
But before the even more titanic serpent, the continent-like clouds were nothing more than frail objects, shattering at a mere touch.
"Rumble!!!"
The giant serpent easily smashed the rolling, colossal cloud banks. And as the serpent and clouds violently collided, countless storms and lightning bolts were born in response.
The sea of clouds was boiling, the brutal serpent raising its head like a haughty monarch, wantonly traversing the cloud tops, every motion of its head stirring up innumerable anomalies.
The giant snake had no wings, couldn't fly, and lacked the power to float.
But even so, relying solely on its unheard-of size, it could still easily reach the dome of the sky that originally belonged only to gods and a few other beings.
Its body still remained in the boundless depths, but just by raising its upper half, its head had already entered the firmament.
The colossal serpent's form now spanned the entire universe.
And above the serpent's head, countless stars also fled in terror, scattering to avoid it, trying to distance themselves from this brutal snake.
The usually fierce Scorpius abandoned its typical ferocity, hastily escaping into the darker void of space.
The customarily hidden Cancer this time simply hid directly behind a panicking Aquarius, hoping to evade the serpent's notice...
Whether thunder or hurricane, sea of clouds, sun, stars, or dawn light... everything appeared insignificant before this greedy, brutal serpent.
It had barely even moved, yet with a few trifling, negligible exertions, this rapacious snake had already thrown the entire sky into chaos.
But it paid no heed to those fleeing constellations. Right now, in its sight, only one thing existed...
That infinitely bright, infinitely hot object.
"Devour it..."
Its pupils, crimson from starvation-induced madness, fixed on that thing people called the sun. Toxic saliva constantly dripped from its greedy maw.
It charged without hesitation at that heat-emanating sphere.
"ROAR!!!"
Amidst that immense roar, the sea of clouds for ten thousand miles also roiled and boiled.
And before it, the sun goddess Sol unhesitatingly chose to turn her chariot and flee.
Even gods, while powerful, weren't invincible.
Although rare, occasionally Sol would also take part in the wars against the giants. Sometimes, when facing those frost giants who had multiplied since the ancient era of chaos, even deities could be outmatched.
"Run if you can't win" - among these Norse gods who regarded themselves as warriors, this wasn't seen as shameful but perfectly natural... well, except for that battle-crazed god of thunder, Thor.
So, the serpent chased after the sun chariot, while Sol drove the chariot, racing across the cloud tops, attempting to escape the snake's pursuit.
The two, one leading, one following, formed a truly remarkable scene.
Thus, in the mortal realm, the humans were astonished to discover...
In the sky, the ever-unchanging sun had actually altered its course, moving erratically through the heavens as if trying to evade something.
At the same time, at the sun's edge, a hint of darkness slowly encroached upon the sun's form, as if it was being consumed by something.
A solar eclipse...
Had occurred.