Of Ice, Death & Monsters

Chapter 93 : For A Serpent’s Tongue

14 Days Ago.

I fell into the darkness; everything felt so deafening. There was no wind, no light, only the whispers of the thousands of serpents that were climbing upwards over and over again.

It felt like forever, or maybe it was a few minutes or just a fraction of a second. I didn’t know, I couldn’t have known. I only had my thoughts, and I wanted to push them out; I wanted to burn them out.

When that thought hit me, so did the floor, yet I was cushioned by some invisible force. I groaned for a bit in the darkness, looking up as I found that the light here was somehow completely dimmed out.

I scratched my head in confusion before I heard the voice in my head, now outside of my head.

“Welcome, Jane Marcellus.” Suddenly, there was light from some inexplicable and unknown source, completely and utterly illuminating the area.

I looked around, finding that I was around some… Roots? They looked like roots, knotted and wooden growths that were half-submerged by themselves as they completely took up the ground. I couldn’t even see a single speck of dirt in the area at all.

“You stand in a realm that connects the Nawia to the Jawia. A realm where the dead return to life.” I looked around for the voice, and found it right behind me.

I sighed in relief as… She seemed quite normal. The voice was a woman, an old crone, as they called back home. She looked like she could be my grandma wearing a witch’s robes. Her body, though, was littered with scales, and on her head, with her white hair, were horns jutting out.

That’s when I realized. “Baba Kira… You’ve taken over her body.”

“No, not yet, but soon she shall be a worthy vessel for me. Now, you, perhaps, could take her place, but I would rather have you with me. You’re special, and you know that.”

I snapped my fingers as fires blazed in my palm. “Yeah, I know. So why don’t I show you why I’m special?”

“Ahaha…” She? Cackled.

“Ms Marcellus, I told you before… You would need someone like me to help, someone who can get the others under control, to help you reform.”

She raised her hands as the roots all around us began to unfurl, showcasing the bodies of serpents hidden within, squirming as if they were trying to dig their way out.

“You bring the flame, and I can come in afterwards, putting them all to the test, to see if they can support the change in management.”

“Change in management? I… I know I call myself queen, but I don’t need to rule; I shouldn’t rule. I’m here to help reform, not to destroy and dominate.”

“Then how many times shall you need to reform?” She snapped her fingers as the roots turned back to normal before the scenery changed to appear as a massive city that we were floating above.

“History has a funny way of showing that again and again, people will inevitably fall into two types. The shepherd…”

Out of the tallest building of the city came a man, at first, he wore regal clothes and a crown. A cloak draped along his neck that flowed to the ground. Then, I blinked, and he was now a businessman wearing a two-piece suit and sunglasses as he held a cigar. Both images were so stereotypical that I nearly rolled my eyes.

“And… the sheep.”

From the streets, a crowd of people formed, they waved their flags and banners, cheering on the king… Before they switched their flags to cameras and their banners to badges.

“One cannot exist without the other. The sheep need the shepherd to herd them, to protect them. While the shepherd needs the sheep to even call themselves as such, they need someone to rule over, to save, to govern. There’s nothing wrong with being either. I love sheep, and I love being the shepherd, but the world requires both to work in unison, lest the sheep trample the shepherd or the shepherd culls the herd.”

She pointed a crooked finger at me, grinning ear to ear. “You, on the other hand, are a wolf that devours the sheep and cripples the shepherd. However, if you wish to truly get rid of the crooked shepherd, you must find a way to replace them, to become them. If you don’t do that well…”

Hundreds of memories flash in the background, over and over, I saw the fall and rise of kingdoms, empires, businesses, and so much more. Each time a regime fell, something else had to take its place. Someone else was at the mantle, whether for good or bad, whether a god, a king, or any sort of ruler. The crown had to be worn.

I saw cities burn, literally and metaphorically. Some stayed in their desolation for what seemed like forever, and others were simply rebuilt by the next decade. It happened by the whims of the king, and by the hand of the people. Yes, that was right, they were needed, always needed.

“I can help with that. Even if you burn others, their essences simply fall back into the Smorodina. I can ensure those who fall can never rise, and keep others in check. To keep the people from falling in with them.”

I narrowed my eyes. Everything would be convenient, way, way too convenient. There was a catch; there was always a catch.

“And what do you gain? Why are you so uppity about wanting this, huh? What’s your game… Skiper?”

She grinned, cackling like a witch. “My game? It’s simple: tear it all down, start from the very top. I wish to bring about an age where there is no separation between those who live and those who have died. There shall be no distinction, no separation. Only that everyone is alive. There was no need for such duality; that is my goal, and you are the spark to help set that goal in the light.”

“I don’t really know the ramifications of that, cause it sounds like it would lead to uh, finite resource depletion- oh.” And then I remembered, everything has a soul, even stuff like food.

“…Holy shit, huh, I can’t really see a fault in that, huh… Well, none I can’t really comprehend, but so what? You just want everyone to be alive, and then what’s next?”

“That is all I desire, that I want, that I was born into this world for.”

I blinked, confused as could be. “That’s what you were born for? What does that mean? Like that’s how you were crafted for? Did someone make you?”

A smile came across the face of Skiper. “Who knows, really. I remember no father or mother, but I do know myself, and that is what drives me.” She looked up at the sky. 

“Do you wonder what drives you? What gives you passion, gives you your purpose? Do you know what that is? Or perhaps you’re like me, perhaps everyone is like me.” She gave me a Cheshire smile and laughed again.

“What I want? My purpose and passion? Hah… That’s easy, I just want to see people happy. I want to see people finally free from those who bind them. I want to save other people, whether from themselves or from others. I just want them to be… Free, and that’s really all I need.”

“And who gave you such a purpose?”

“Myself.” I pointed to my head with a small grin on my face. “I gave it to me, myself, and I. There’s no one really who could have given it to me. The Harbinger saw that, and it’s why she entrusted me with this power, this responsibility.”

“You’re quite idealistic, aren’t you? How quaint.” She narrowed her eyes and took a step closer.

“Everything begins with a dream.”

An eerie laughter escaped her throat as I took a step back. “You are more right than you could possibly imagine… So what shall it be then? What do you choose? I offer you everything that you would need. All you need to do is accept and together… We shall do unimaginable things.”

“Then why are the others attacking you? Why do they go to such lengths for your demise? And why do you need Granny over here to help you out?”

“Because they wish to perpetuate the cycle. They wish to ensure that it continues as they witness me as someone who is a threat to their world, rightfully so, as you are a threat to Ephitet. And as for the Baba? She’s here as my vessel, a useful way for me to incarnate. She, too, wishes to perpetuate the cycle, so a bit of force was needed… But sacrifices need to be made for the cause, don’t you think? Without sacrifice, there can be no victory.”

Yeah, that’s right, without sacrifice there can’t be any victory… He was right, some people would fight back, those in power up above in their ivory towers would go down to push back the people. And for the people to rise up, sacrifices had to be made, had to be sacrificed to the altar of progress.

But were they proper sacrifices? I don’t know at all. I haven’t seen these people before in my life, and the only person I know to take my word from is the one right in front of me. Even if I do reject him, for what? This power… It was unbelievable, he or uh she, I guess, had the strength to back up their claim. If not them, then who?

And then, I remembered the only other person who could have the power to help: Peter. That little stunt in the Nawia showed that he could do it well, maybe even better than anyone else could.

But, what do I choose… What could I do?

Everything in my body screamed that this guy was evil, that this wasn’t a good look at all. I was literally in a serpent’s den. All it would take is for this guy’s Name to be ‘Sir Evil’ or something dumb like that, and I really wouldn’t trust him.

But it felt wrong that deep inside, I almost wanted to say that he felt right in some way, shape, or form. I had to do something about the people, and well, someone so willing to do so…

But those cultists, and these serpents, it only seemed as willing as dogs going to a master for treats. There was something off about it that I couldn’t shake. That someone like me couldn’t let go.

I don’t want a crazed world like that, with people who run around with such cult-like vigor. 

But this guy is insanely powerful. If I just refuse, then that’s it, I’m done. I can’t say no to that… Can I? I was already trapped, no one was coming to save me, and if the above scene was anything to go by, this guy would wreck me even in a vessel.

I stared at the roots, hearing their whispers as they danced into my ears and mind. It felt like I was back in the Nawia… That was more than a week ago, huh, but it was still fresh in my head. 

I felt like I could still feel the Smorodina, still hear…

‘Save… Us.’

‘Help… Us.’

I could still hear it. I could still feel it. There was no mistake about it. There was no two ways about it. That’s what was fueling this whole structure, where they’re getting their souls from…

I remembered when the Smorodina flared, when the storm turned into a frenzy. Everything came crashing down with it. It was chaos, pure and unadulterated, archaic… Chaos.

A smile grew across my face as the plan became clear. I opened my mouth to deliver my verdict.