Belly Of The Beast

June couldn't tell what was happening or where he was going. Somehow, he was flying in a straight line… without a hint of stopping — and what was even more bizarre was that someone had been capable of pushing him with such force.

The situation was hard to believe.

However, it didn't last long.

After only a few minutes, the sight of a beaming light in the depths of the darkness caught his attention.

'Uh… w-what..?'

June noticed a figure clad in what seemed to be a hooded robe standing on a small rowboat, a bright lantern gripped in his hand.

At first, he thought his eyes were simply deceiving him.

After all, it's impossible for him to be seeing another person — alive inside of a serpent, at that. It just didn't make sense, and he was sure his mind was playing tricks on him.

Only, it wasn't.

As he closed in on the figure with great speed, they never faded. Then the second he came close enough, the person grabbed June from the rear of his collar, stopping his momentum entirely as his head whipped back from the sudden change of speed.

A split-second later, he was thrown onto the rowboat with a thud, coughing violently.

'W-what… the hell!'

He allowed himself a moment of respite, struggling to contain his violent coughing. He couldn't help but slightly pound the surface of the wooden hull with his clenched fists, hoping for the fit of coughs to subside. 

Which they did, thankfully.

Shortly after, he sat up and turned to face the man, albeit a bit dazed.

As he suspected, the man was wearing a dark robe that entirely draped over his figure, the hood obscuring his face. The robe was frayed and somewhat torn at the edges, appearing decayed as it hung over his skinny frame.

In his hand, he tightly clenched a crooked lantern, its light illuminating the residual area as June squinted against the glare.

Blinking heavily and clearing his throat, June then spoke up after he fully regained his bearings:

"W-what in the world is going on… and who are you?"

His voice echoed within the Serpent's stomach, giving himself a slight chill. It was still hard for him to believe what was going on.

The man towering over him slightly stepped forward and lingered for a moment before reaching over to take off his hood.

Once off, June flinched, his eyes widening.

"W-what…"

He was expecting a man… but instead, he was met with the face of a skeleton devoid of any life. There was one singular eye that seemed to respond to its surroundings, but other than that, it was simply a construct of a human figure. Everything else was hollow. 

The surface of the skull was visible with a web of cracks — on it, several spiders could be seen crawling in and out every second. Parts of his teeth were missing as well, a few even loosely dangling as though they were about to fall at any moment. 

June immediately stood up and backed away.

He was a bit shaken; nothing made sense anymore. No, nothing made sense for a while now, but it was only now that it seemed to reach an unfathomable depth than before.

The undead skeleton didn't pay him any attention, ignoring his reaction entirely.

Instead, it simply turned around and reached over to grab a jet-black oar with its bony fingers.

"H-hello..?"

June spoke again, hoping he'd get some kind of reply this time. 

It turned back around to face him. But, it didn't say anything. Rather, it took a step toward him and set down the oar before reaching over with his skeletal hand.

'W-what is it doing…'

June brought his own hand up to push away the skeleton's, but before he could, a resounding smack reverberated through the air. 

June immediately held his face in stinging pain.

'D-did he just…'

He had been slapped by the undead skeleton.

With a grimace, he turned back towards the skeleton and complained:

"What was that for!?"

But, of course, his question was not met with a reply. 

At least, not momentarily. Pressing its crooked finger against its mouth, the undead skeleton silently gestured for June to remain silent.

Which… reluctantly, he did. Although, he was a bit ticked off by the slap.

'Whatever…'

There were several questions he wanted to ask, but they'd have to wait. He wasn't about to tussle with an undead skeleton, or get slapped in the face again. 

It was quite embarrassing as well… thankfully, no one was present to witness it.

He rubbed his red cheek a few more times as he watched the undead skeleton begin paddling the row boat using the long oar. As he did, June himself took in his surroundings.

The light from the lantern that had been placed at the center of the rowboat was illuminating a lot, but not close to enough.

He couldn't really see far out into the distance as it was pitch black, but the area close was more so visible.

Underneath him, the rowboat was gliding through a sickly pool of the Serpent's digestive fluids. 

The acid bubbled and frothed on the surface, boiling with heat. If June had landed directly in that... he'd have severe burns to deal with.

In fact, he would probably be dead, succumbing to it without an escape.

The undead skeleton had saved him, though, thankfully. So maybe the slap was okay… 

June shifted his attention away from the vast pool of acid beneath him, craning his neck to look above. The ceiling was pulsating every now and then, with very strange organic patterns that resembled twisted roots. 

They were obviously the veins of the colossal Serpent, throbbing with each beat of its heart. 

'This is crazy…'

He still couldn't believe it.

Sighing, he soon noticed small gleams of ruins and organic debris emerging from within the shadows.

No, not just that… but a lot more.

On one side, there were scattered bodies of long-dead remains that partially peeked out the depths of the sickly acid, their bodies weirdly shaped and greatly formidable in size. Corroded to the bone, they rotted in the depths of the Serpent's belly.

On the other side, layers of thick tree trunks were stacked over one another, their surfaces long torn and dead, lying in waste without ever being able to see daylight again.

Several collapsed structures were also present with objects and piles of sludge coating its surface.

There was just so much — too much to take in all at once. June was literally just skimming past millennia of objects consumed by the Great Serpent. And the deeper they went, the more ancient everything got.

In spite of that, the undead skeleton continued rowing as June struggled to comprehend the vastness of it all.