Father of Despair [HIATUS]

Arc 1 Chapter 3 - "The Ghost Serpent incident."

The next day, as agreed, Zach and Zorian teleported near the Ghost Serpent Acolytes settlement.

Thanks to Zorian's understanding of the aranean specie, he quickly sensed and mentally contacted a sentry as they approached. It was only recently that he could so easily converse with these types of araneas, those who never learned to interact with humans or any other species. Zorian realized that it would go a long way to ease the nerves of this particular paranoiac web.

Zorian remembered the last time he came. At that time, he did sensed the sentries but couldn't communicate with them efficiently enough. All he did was sending them a rough bunch of emotions to convey his message. In their eyes, the boy had simply barged in without really announcing himself, which obviously would put anyone on edge at least a little. Even more so through the prism of aranean culture, which highly valued patience. Some webs, such as the Luminous Advocates, would even deliberately prolong negotiations. Not for any particular gains... just because of their customs.

The time travelers could see and hear a bunch of araneas skittering around, toward their destination, probably announcing them to the colony. To give them time, Zorian quietly advised Zach that the two of them should slow down.

As they approached the entrance of the cave, they were immediately ushered inside. Zach and Zorian gave each other an incredulous look. They tried to ask why they admitted strangers so readily, to which their aranean guides simply responded that the Ghost Serpent wanted to see them, and that they neither knew the reason why nor cared. They simply did what their adopted deity told them to do.

As they navigated the narrow tunnels, it was clear that those araneas weren't particularly fond of being in the presence of humans such as themselves as they swiftly discarded any attempt at conversation along the way the moment any of the two tried initiating it. Or maybe it was also an instruction from their deity that forbid them from interacting with outsiders more than what was required.

Eventually, they arrived at their destination. A large circular cavern entirely filled with a beautiful translucent body of water, with the exception of a lone outcropping of crystallized rocks in its the center and a stone bridge connecting it to the entrance. The ceiling contained a number of glowing white crystals, giving it the appearance of a starlight sky.

Strangely enough, while most would be in complete awe in front of such natural wonders, Zorian felt an eerie felling swelling up in his stomach. The reason floated in the center of the room, willfully ignoring the rules of gravity.

Just above the rocky outcropping, a giant, milky-white, translucent snake hovered. Its eyes had a soft pink complexion, glowing in the barely illuminated underground lake. Spirits were often said to have fanciful and poetic names that rarely depicted the reality of their being, but it seemed the Ghost Serpent wasn't one of them.

Both Zach and Zorian could feel the ancient and powerful aura emanating from the owner of this place. It wasn't anything magical stricto sensu, just a primal feeling that indicated that they were in the presence of a higher being. As they entered the cavern, the Spirit focused its large slitted eyes on them. A wave of pink light rippled across its ghostly scales, travelling out from its eyes and down to the very tip of its tail.

"Leave us, leave us, leave us," it ordered the araneas. Its voiced wasn't what Zorian expected. It was soft and melodious without a hint of a hiss.

As they waited for the last araneas to skitter away, both party studied each other. A certain weight hang in the air as the silence became louder and louder by the second. Zorian heard a sound behind him. The araneas had sealed the entrance. Though it wasn't anything Zach nor Zorian couldn't easily obliterate to smithereens, being physically enclosed with such a powerful entity was unnerving.