(Snakes= Nagas) for those who don't know....
Chapter 4: The Trial of Nagastrya
Anos opened his eyes, but darkness engulfed him completely. There was no light, no shapes, nothing—just an infinite void. He rubbed his eyes in confusion, trying to make sense of his surroundings. Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet, but his efforts yielded no change. The world around him remained shrouded in pitch black.
His heart began to thump erratically, panic creeping into his chest like a cold, invasive shadow.
"System? System?" he called out, his voice trembling.
A faint blue glow appeared before him, forming a floating panel in mid-air.
[Trial for Nagastrya.]
The words lingered momentarily before the panel vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Anos stared at the spot where it had been, his chest tightening.
"Trial?" he muttered to himself. His voice echoed faintly in the void. "What the hell do you mean by trial? You said I'd get the weapon! Now you're telling me I have to pass some trial? What was the point of completing your stupid task if this is what I get?"
Frustration surged through him, but he forced himself to take a deep breath. Calm down. Focus, he told himself, exhaling slowly to steady his nerves.
Suddenly, a voice emerged from the darkness—deep, cold, and strangely hypnotic.
"What do you think of Nagas?" it asked.
The question seemed to resonate within his very soul. Before Anos could process or even think, his mouth moved on its own, uttering a single word.
"Betrayal."
The word echoed in the void, sharp and unforgiving. Anos froze, his eyes wide with shock. He hadn't meant to say that. He hadn't even thought about it. Yet, deep down, he knew it was the truth.
A suffocating silence followed his answer, stretching on for what felt like an eternity. Then the voice returned, this time accompanied by a chilling hiss.
"Hissss… Why?"
Anos felt his throat tighten. He wanted to lie, to fabricate a clever response that might appease whoever—or whatever—was questioning him. But once again, his mouth moved of its own accord.
"That's what I've always thought," he said, his voice steady despite the fear gripping him. "From childhood, I've always heard people call snakes a symbol of betrayal. If someone lies, cheats, or stabs you in the back, they're called a snake. Like, if my friend said he had a fever and couldn't come to a movie with us, but then I saw him sitting front-row with a girl, I'd call him a 'fucking snake bastard.'"
The honesty in his words startled even him, and his voice trailed off as the last syllable echoed into the void.
The silence returned, heavier this time, like a tangible weight pressing down on him.
Then, suddenly, light erupted from all around him. Anos blinked, his eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden brightness.
When his vision cleared, his heart nearly stopped.
Towering before him was a massive snake with a hundred heads, each one more terrifying than the last. Its immense body coiled endlessly, stretching beyond the horizon. Each head swayed rhythmically, its sharp eyes locked onto him. It was a creature straight out of a nightmare.
Anos's heart pounded violently in his chest. His legs trembled, threatening to give out beneath him.
One of the snake's heads leaned closer, its forked tongue flicking out as it hissed, "This boy is too rude."
Another head chimed in, "Hisss… What did he mean by betrayal? Are we truly such beings?"
A third hissed, "Hissss… But what he said is what he learned from his surroundings."
The voices overlapped, each head voicing its thoughts, their tones ranging from curious to enraged.
"Hissss… So what? Can we truly entrust our legacy to a boy who sees us as a symbol of betrayal?"
"Hisss… But… we are—"
"Silence!"
The sharp command came from the central head, adorned with a crown that radiated authority. The other heads fell silent instantly, their piercing gazes turning to their crowned leader.
The crowned head regarded Anos with cold, calculating eyes. "Your trial begins now," it hissed.
Before Anos could react, the ground beneath him shifted. Hundreds, then thousands of small snakes emerged from the earth, slithering toward him with terrifying speed. They climbed up his legs, their cold, scaly bodies brushing against his skin.
"W-what is this?" he stammered, his voice trembling. He tried to shake them off, but they only multiplied, swarming him like a living tide.
The snakes began to crawl under his clothes, their fangs sinking into his flesh. A sharp, burning pain spread through his body, each bite more excruciating than the last.
"Stop!" he screamed, his voice filled with panic. "Stop! Get off me!"
But the snakes didn't stop. They slithered into his mouth, forcing their way inside as he gagged and choked. The venom coursed through his veins, setting his entire body on fire.
"I don't want the weapon!" he shouted desperately, his voice breaking. "I don't want anything! Just stop!"
But his cries fell on deaf ears. The pain intensified, consuming him entirely.
The crowned head watched silently, a cruel smile playing on its lips.
"Betrayal, hmm?" it hissed, its voice dripping with malice. "Hissss… How fitting."
Anos's vision blurred as the agony reached its peak. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain. His screams echoed through the vast expanse, growing weaker with each passing second.
And then, silence.
The crowned head smirked, its gaze unwavering as it whispered, "Let's see if you survive, little one."
"His his hissss his hisss"(ha ha hahhaha hahah) snakes laugh resounded across the realm.