"My… my lord…"
The maiden's lips quivered, wanting to say something, yet unable to form the words. Her body, prostrate on the ground, could only kneel in joyful tears, bowing before that colossal being that enveloped the entire vault of the heavens.
Over a century.
Over a century of countless prayers had finally been answered in this moment.
The fervor stemming from her body's innate bloodline, intertwined with over a century of zeal, made it impossible for her to suppress the trembling, dread, shuddering, and elation in her heart.
For her, whose body was infused with the might of the Great Serpent, reverence for the Great Serpent required no reason at all, for it was simply in her nature, as ordinary as slumbering when weary and partaking when famished.
And indifferently gazing down at the minuscule speck beneath it, the Great Serpent's low voice resounded by her ears.
"Over a century, I have been imprisoned at the bottom of the ocean for over a century. The world has long since forgotten my name and their fear of me."
These words were not truly spoken by the Great Serpent itself. Its physical form was not suited to produce human speech. But because its spiritual power was so immense, even a slight emanation was enough to cause the surroundings to react, thus making its voice reverberate in the air.
Rather than saying it was speaking, it was more akin to its spiritual power directly inundating the listener's mind.
"The gods cannot imprison you forever, my lord. The day will come when you will break free from the fetters the gods have placed upon you, unveiling your wrath to those deities. At that time, the entire universe will quake before your might."
The maiden prostrated herself on the ground, kowtowing with utmost reverence, and spoke to the behemoth above her head.
Her quavering, clear voice and her incomparably fervent eyes all displayed her zealotry towards the Great Serpent.
Ordinary people's worship and faith in deities often had some kind of supplication, but the maiden had none. Or rather, her intrinsic yearning was the worship and faith itself. She simply longed to revere and believe in this behemoth. This was her instinct.
She was born from the Great Serpent's power and had consecrated her entire being to the Great Serpent.
"But I cannot endure it!!!"
As if incensed by certain words in the maiden's speech, such as shackles, the Great Serpent's eyes turned crimson, and it roared in fury, causing the firmament above to darken.
In this half-real, half-illusory dreamscape, those eerie purple lightning bolts roamed across the vault of the heavens.
Divine might as lofty as peaks, divine grace as boundless as oceans.
This phrase was not an overstatement when applied to the Great Serpent. Faced with the Great Serpent's ire, the maiden could only prostrate herself even deeper, even lower, to express her utmost submission to this creator.
Only when the Great Serpent's rage gradually abated did the maiden respectfully say in a gentle voice,
"My lord, is there anything you require of me that I can accomplish?"
Over a century of experience was not for naught. She keenly sensed that her master seemed to have something it needed her to undertake.
"Go and establish a cult. Expand it, make it flourish, let those kings and heroes be manipulated by us. They may serve as aid in my struggle against those gods after I break free."
Above her head, the Great Serpent, whose end could not be glimpsed with a single glance, enveloped the entire sky. Its low voice resounded like thunder. The maiden submissively lay on the ground, heeding the Great Serpent's command.
Then, a drop of black liquid fell before the maiden.
"Drink my blood, and you will gain my power."
"Go east, bearing my will and power. In the marshes there, command those venomous serpents and fierce beasts born from my flesh and blood. They will obey your orders. In the entire eastern part of the continent, in those marshes corroded by my venom, you will be able to rule that domain as the Sovereign of the East and expand your influence."
For this pawn, the Great Serpent had shown extraordinary regard, even using a drop of its heart's blood as the price.
This single drop of heart's blood was enough to metamorphose a mortal into a demigod.
And along with the Great Serpent's words, the maiden, who was stunned to see the black blood before her, showed astonishment and awe on her face.
"My lord, how… how can your blood be bestowed upon your lowly servant."
Faced with this incomparably precious blood of the Great Serpent, the maiden's first thought was actually one of trepidation and unease about the Great Serpent drawing its own blood for her.
Undoubtedly, in her heart, the Great Serpent was naturally the most sacrosanct. Even a single drop of blood should absolutely not be shed.
This kind of unreserved, wholehearted devotion could probably only be possessed by a non-human life infused with the Great Serpent's power, with such piety.
"Then what do you desire?"
The Great Serpent's low voice descended from the sky above.
The maiden's face shifted a few times. Finally, she bit her lip, deeply prostrated herself before the Great Serpent above her head, mustered her courage, and replied,
"Please… bestow upon me a name."
She lay on the ground, unable to see the Great Serpent's reaction above her head, only sensing that it seemed to have grown quiet.
A long while later, she heard a laugh.
"Hehe… Hahahaha… Hahahahahahaha…"
The Great Serpent's wild laughter stirred up gusts in the sky, with a hint of ire, but also a hint of approbation.
"A bold notion. However, I grant it. You shall have a name bestowed by me."
"Mona, lonely, wish. You are fated to be forever lonely, granting the wishes of the masses, yet the day your own wish is fulfilled shall never come to pass. You bear my power and will also be regarded as my daughter. In the name of Jormungandr, I promise you the title of Sovereign of the East. However, those venomous serpents and fierce beasts may not meekly submit."
"Go, bring those serpentine descendants under your dominion. Prove your mettle and ability to your father."
As soon as these words fell, white mist suddenly rose, engulfing the maiden's vision.
…
"Ah!"
Suddenly awakening from the nightmare, the maiden's forehead was drenched in sweat, her eyes filled with dread.
How long had it been since she last felt fear…
Ever since becoming an undying non-human, she had long ceased to dream and experience dread.
"Was it… a dream?"
She touched her burning forehead, her words a bit hesitant.
If it was a dream, then this dream was far too vivid. The white mist, and… the figure of the Great Serpent, were all so real.
Her vertical serpentine pupils shifted, then suddenly froze…
On the small altar beside her, where offerings of flesh and blood had been made, they had vanished without a trace. Only the pure gold serpent statue remained, coldly gazing down at her.
…
The maiden departed, or rather, as her new name Mona suggested, she headed east, to that place where over a century ago had once been prosperous, but ultimately turned into a land filled with vast marshlands and aquatic kingdoms during the "Year of Darkness".
There, she would carry out the will and mission her father had entrusted to her.
Either perish there, becoming a skeleton in the marsh, or transform that place into her domain, becoming the Sovereign of the East.
This was the price she paid for choosing to refuse the blood of the Great Serpent Jormungandr and instead asking the Great Serpent to bestow a name upon her. The Great Serpent would not grant mortals too much favor or mercy. No matter how arduous, it was still her own choice. Even if she were reduced to bones, it would only prove her lack of ability at most.
When she left, she only took the pure gold serpent statue, leaving behind a gradually desolate thatched hut.
A long time later, the legend of the witch was gradually forgotten. Only some elders still remembered the tale of the witch and muttered about the times they had sought revelations from her. However, the youth had long since regarded the non-existent witch with disdain.
And at this time, a man clad in armor, with a dispirited will, quietly arrived here.
Looking at this place where the thatched hut had long since vanished, this place he had visited in his childhood, he was filled with a sense of loss.
In the end, he still couldn't elude that fate.
He, who had slain malevolent dragons, wrestled giant lions, and established all kinds of great feats, was regarded as a hero by the world. Wealth, fame, glory, family - he should have had it all. Gradually, he forgot about that prophecy from his childhood. During a hunt, he drew his bow and shot a pregnant doe.
However, what he never anticipated was that the wounded forest fairy, who had transformed into that doe, fled in a sorry state, and in her ire, cursed him.
"All that brings you joy shall be lost! All that brings you suffering shall come to pass!"
In an instant, everything turned to naught. His family was torn asunder, his wealth was plundered, his glory was slandered. The brothers who had sworn to live and die together drew their swords of betrayal against him. His wife, who had pledged eternal love, also abandoned him. His children perished…
All kinds of sudden calamities nearly caused him to collapse. Only then did he suddenly recall that witch who had made a prophecy for him in his childhood.
Coming here with one last shred of hope, he was stunned to find that this place had long since turned into ruins.
"Could it be… that I truly can't escape this misfortune?"
The man, filled with a sense of loss, was at a loss.
Until this moment, he suddenly discovered that among the desolate ruins, something seemed to be glinting. Walking closer to take a look, it turned out to be a reflective copper piece in the grass. He tried to dig it out but discovered that the more he dug, the larger it became. Finally…
He unearthed a small wooden box that seemed to have been buried for a long time.
That copper piece was the lock on the wooden box. Although the lock was decayed, it was still sturdy and couldn't be opened. However, this was not a challenge for this renowned brave warrior. With a slash of his sword, the copper lock shattered.
Inside the wooden box, there was only a piece of ancient sheepskin parchment, with a single word written on it in long-dried ink…
"East."
The word was extremely short.
"East?"
The man then gazed towards the distant east, muttering, his eyes pensive…