It looked just as he remembered it in his dream.
The city of Sklaviunt, devoid of its citizens, alternating between a wasteland and a thriving cityscape.
Above, the Timeless Serpent slowly rotated, not doing much else.
To think that the cycle of rebirth and destruction taking place was not a conscious effort but rather a passive release of its Authority.
A truly terrifying thought.
Then again, considering what he now understood, it was unwise to refer to the sight before him as a dream.
Those so-called dreams were, in fact, him in the original timeline, just before being sent back into the alternate timeline.
Letting out a sigh, he turned, quickly coming across the sight of the one he’d been looking for.
The pale white creature had several human faces attached to spindly necks, which were further attached to a body that seemed slightly draconic, save for the fact that it had no wings.
One moment, the creature seemed alive and the next, it turned into a decayed mess.
It appeared his conjecture was correct, the Many-Headed Serpent was also corrupted.
"How did you know?" The creature suddenly spoke up, its eyes regarding Alex with interest.
Alex looked down at his body, which, unfortunately, was also going through the same cycle of death and rebirth as the serpent. "Only my brother and I are affected by the corruption of the Abyss, which meant whatever was corrupting us had already happened and was still happening. From then on, it was easy to guess that though the time loop was active, it wasn’t in our original timeline, but an alternate timeline that I’m guessing you created."
"My question now is why though?... What’s the point of creating an alternate timeline?"
"Even the Timeless Serpent is incapable of creating a time loop in the original timeline, how much less I?... Creating a branching timeline that loops out of the original is a much easier endeavor.
"My question still remains," Alex said while gritting his teeth. "Why?"
The pain the Saintess had taken from him was slowly returning, leaving him barely able to keep himself together.
"It was more instinctual than intentional."
"What do you mean?" Alex inquired with the hideous creature responding.
"The arrival of the Timeless Serpent made me realize that I was foolish to have ingratiated myself into the ritual of the Perpetual Cult. Just as I began to feel myself slipping, I instinctively triggered the time loop, perhaps hopeful that within it, I would be able to figure out a way to escape."
"And how’s that working for you?"
"Terribly and now, due to foolishly listening to the words of that bitch Thera, I have put an end to the loop. Truly, desperation is the mother of foolishness."
Noticing the expression Alex held, the serpent added. "I expected a bit of pity."
"You’ve put me in a situation where my chances of survival are less than ten percent, forgive me if I don’t care about your situation." Alex casually replied, earning a chuckle from the serpent.
"I was so worried that someone else would put an end to the loop, not knowing that I’d be the one to do it myself."
Letting out a sigh, the serpent continued. "You know, when I first awakened, touched by the hands of wisdom, I considered myself the savior of my kind, the one who would enable the rest of my kin to arise from their slumber to once again dominate the wild. But of course, for them to do that, I needed to deal with the bitch that pushed us to the brink of extinction in the first place."
"You wanted to take down the Goddess of Automation?" Alex raised a brow. "So that’s why you did this?... To gain the strength needed."
"In my state then, I could have easily pushed to become a Cryptid Ruler, but it wouldn’t have been enough. I needed more."
"And so you turned to the Abyss?... The one place that does not adhere to any laws and is always looking to find entry points into Eventide?" Alex sighed. "It seems even though you were baptized by wisdom, you aren’t very smart."
"Why else would a usually violent and bloodthirsty mutant start speaking like an old sage?"
The serpent chuckled, more amused than offended. "You make a good point."
Taking a moment to push through the bout of pain tearing through him, Alex remarked. "You said you didn’t want anyone stopping the loop. Yet you let me live, why?"
"Because you were more useful alive than dead." The Many-Headed Serpent replied before gesturing at the Timeless Serpent. "A part of its consciousness is directed towards you."
"You seem to have forgotten that you are the reason their Savior died."
"I wasn’t the only one responsible." Alex quickly argued.
"But you killed the mother and the child, effectively putting an end to their plans. Also, you are the one who’s here, not the others who took part."
Alex’s expression fell as he muttered. "So what Thera said was true."
"Indeed. The Abyss despises you greatly and with the right opportunity, just like right now, it would not hesitate to torment you before ultimately turning you into one of their own."
"Wait what?" Fresh chapters posted on n0velfire.net
The Serpent chuckled. "That is why you are still alive. They wish to make you one of their own."
Almost immediately, Alex felt something writhing inside his chest as his heart thumped, causing him to collapse to his knees.
He began to cough up black blood while gripping his chest tightly.
At the same time, his skin began to slowly transform, taking on a scaly-like appearance reminiscent of a newborn snake.
"The torment is over, just like me, now you have to wrestle with the consciousness of the Serpent. You lose, you become one of them, you win, the torment continues. So perhaps it’s best to say, We don’t win at all." The Many-Headed Serpent replied, leaving Alex too stunned to speak.