Hiding the scaled book behind his back, Orochi poked his head outside the library door to where Althea was waiting. She bowed upon seeing him. Grabbing the chalkboard he had placed next to the door, he wrote down a few words.
"Althea, you may go. I won't be having dinner today. Please make sure I'm uninterrupted during my studying."
"Bu-but, young master—"
Her words were interrupted as Orochi began writing again.
"I promise I won't be long. You don't have to worry."
Begrudgingly, Althea bowed and pretended to walk away, turning the corner of the hallway. Orochi shut the door, watching her leave, knowing full well the maid was faking it and would wait up regardless.
Whoever you were, kid, you had someone that really cared about you… and you still wasted away your life, thought Orochi, placing down the chalkboard.
Pushing the tables to the corner of the room, Orochi created an open space under the evening light, the moon shining through the window like a desk lamp. Sitting down cross-legged, Orochi opened up the scaled book and began reading.
Knowledge was power, and books held knowledge, thus power. It was a medium many undervalued. Not Orochi. Not Imposter. He knew all too well the value pages could hold. Some books could influence millions, to either do evil or the greatest good.
What would The Way of the Oblivion Snake show him?
╰┈➤.
It was a method. And an interesting proposition. Spirit Users made contracts with gods, who then parted with one of their many aspects, fusing with the user's Spirit Orb, turning the vanilla white to the colour most suited to the user. From there, a Spirit User stepped into the First Ascension Stages.
However, the First Moon-Born proposed that one could attain Ascension 1 without a god contract.
Orochi had never read anything like this. Why would the Moon-Born family leave something like this behind?
Closing his eyes, Orochi began following the steps written. Again, he looked within himself, reaching into his Spirit Orb.
In the blackness of his mind, he saw white veins protruding from the fragments, no longer pulsing.
These were Serpent Veins, unique to the Moon-Born family. Serpent Veins were far more flexible, allowing for shedding and evolving. It was one of the reasons his Spirit Orb was repairable. Orochi had his bloodline to thank for that.
Pushing past the fragments, his mind went deeper into the abyss.
The book said he had to go where there was no light. Where only oblivion awaited in the spirit realm.
Hours flew by until not even the white light of his fragments could be seen. Orochi was now completely in the dark. This was it.
The end.
Oblivion.
Where there was truly nothing.
Up to this point, the words on the pages stopped. The First Moon-Born was seemingly a comedian, stating he did not want to spoil the surprise.
What surprise? scoffed Orochi. This place is empty.
"Well, hello."
Orochi turned to see a face he didn't recognise. A man stood before him. Short black hair, wearing apparel Orochi recognised from his memories of a different life. A hoodie and jeans. The young man looked sickly, dark bags under his eyes from having not slept in days, and rope burns around his neck.
A spark of his former memories came alive.
"Imposter," Orochi whispered, eyes widening slightly as he realised he had actually spoken. This wasn't his physical body, after all.
"Yeah, that sounds like something I would come up with," the guy muttered, seemingly bored out of his mind.
"What is this?"
"Beats me. Seems I'm here for something, though I don't know what."
Orochi looked at him. He didn't remember what had made his former self like this. The memories he had didn't show any of this. Had something happened before? Orochi's eyes settled on the rope burns.
"Why do you bother?"
Orochi tilted his head at the question, knowing full well what Imposter meant. "Because I am alive."
Imposter stared at him, still bored out of his mind.
"Look around, kid. This is it. Everything you plan to do and everything you will do is all this. Nothing." Imposter seemed to grow taller as he spoke, his voice heavier and more lethargic with each word. "There is no meaning, so why bother? You waste your time. The more you try, the more you suffer for no reason. Because there is no reason. Give up. Nothing you do matters, so why bother trying? Everyone fades into the oblivion. This is just the truth."
Orochi looked right back at him, floating up to meet his eye level. Slowly looking around the black space around them.
"You are the man in a dark room saying there is nothing outside, just as there is nothing inside."
For a moment, it seemed Imposter was going to get angry, but he merely blinked. Regardless, Orochi had seen something flicker in his eyes, deciding to press it.
"You tell me to look deeper inside this room," Orochi gestured to the darkness around them, "but I would rather open the door and see for myself what's outside."
Knock. Knock. Knock.
At that, Imposter's eyes widened, his mouth falling open in shock as tendrils suddenly snatched him into the darkness.
Orochi swirled around, twisting rapidly, watching for any attacks.
But none came.
For a moment things seemed to calm down, then all of a sudden Orochi looked beneath him. Something was lurching. The fabric of darkness was being torn apart by something.
Something was breaking in.
For the first time, Orochi felt a flicker of fear. The fear of the unknown.
Quickly retreating, he propelled upwards, speeding through the darkness in search of the fragments of the Spirit Orb, his source of light. A hiss reverberated across the realm, a wave of force brushing against Orochi's back.
Whatever it was had broken free.
Roaring through the dark, Orochi saw the glint of the fragments and the white thin veins in the distance.
I have to make it, cursed Orochi. He had no idea what would happen if he died in his own mind, but he suspected it would not be good.
But he was too slow.
The thing was close. Orochi could feel the weight of its aura pressing against his back. Something dark was approaching. Orochi dared not look.
Yet it was futile. He knew it.
He wouldn't make it in time.
Resigned to the inevitable, Orochi stopped. Better to die in acceptance.
Just when Orochi thought his fate was sealed, feeling the impending doom, the thing brushed past him gently.
Orochi turned.
A head the size of a whale, shaped like a serpent, paused in front of him. In the pitch-black realm, glowing purple scales shimmered dimly. Its sheer size, its endless length, should have struck fear in any man.
Yet as Orochi met the bright, starry lavender pupils of the creature, he sensed something else.
Something he had already seen in Althea.
Obedience.
Blinking with a scaly lid, the massive purple snake turned toward the fragments, accelerating into a headlong collision.
Bang.
Then... a blinding bright light.
( ˶°ㅁ°) !!
[---𝙸𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐---]
[𝚂𝚞𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜: 𝚂𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚝 𝙾𝚛𝚋 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍...]
[𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚕: 𝙰𝚗𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍... 𝚏𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚍]
[𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚕: 𝙷𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚍]
[𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚕: 𝙴𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚛...]
[𝙸𝚗𝚙𝚞𝚝: 𝚂𝚎𝚛𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚅𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚜 𝚎𝚟𝚘𝚕𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐...]
[𝚂𝚞𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜: 𝙷𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐...]
[𝚂𝚞𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜: 𝙰𝚗𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚂𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚝 𝙾𝚛𝚋]
[𝚂𝚞𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜: 𝙾𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙾𝚛𝚋 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚍!]
𝚂𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚖 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎...