Slithering

"Stop trying to bite me, you damned snake!" I abruptly retracted my fingers from the jaws of the beast and jerked my body back. The little snake, close to 15 inches long, wiggled around in front of me, its forked tongue flapping up and down out of its mouth.

In response, the snake just hissed at me, but didn't make any move to leave, even as I let it go.

"What's going to be your name…" I mutter, staring into the eyes of the snake, before mine went to the sky in thought. I never had a pet, and wasn't the most imaginative guy with names. Should I go with something classic like 'Bob', or just copy a name from fiction or mythology? As dumb as 'Thor the Chihuahua' sounded, since I planned to evolve this snake to become a mighty dragon, an edgy name didn't seem that dumb anymore.

I took another look at the snake approaching me, its baby blue scales and its purple-slitted eyes. No matter how dangerous this snake could be—considering it was a beast from a fantasy world I knew nothing about—it just seemed cute to me.

I slowly extended my hand towards this adorable little thing, but this time with some insects I caught on my way. Who would have thought those recommended videos would be so useful in catching a future dragon? I learned snakes did eat insects thanks to them.

"Come here, little thing~" The snake, seeing the food and once more flicking its tongue, allowed my index finger to rest upon its scaly head. Despite the spiky appearance of its body, its length was very smooth. I rubbed its head, not knowing whether it appreciated it or it could even feel it.

I was pretty sure normal animals were not supposed to react to potential threats like this, but I shrugged; this was a fantasy world for a reason.

"Eat all you want; I'll go searching for more if you want." Man, the sensation of the snake fluttering under my finger was bliss. The smooth scales moved up and down with my finger, reacting to every single little touch. The insects, which were nearly as big as the little snake itself—a fact which made me realize how fucked up the wildlife was here—quickly entered its body.

Its jaw opened far more than I thought it was capable of, and engulfed the carcass entirely. I… I was not expecting this at all. But then again, I remembered snakes are capable of eating entire mice at once, so this wasn't that out of the norm.

It was still impressive though; 'You go, girl!'

Girl? How do you even differentiate between a male and a female snake?

Anyway, I had two of these bastards, just because they tried to attack me and suck my blood. Judging by their size, were they to succeed, I would probably be dead due to blood loss. The width of these monsters did not seem to matter to the snake, as they both entered its stomach without a problem. I noticed the snake's shifting pupils, opening up before closing again, and cooed at the sight. It was just so damn cute!

I let a sliver of my qi slip through its skin to reach the animal's soul. It shivered for a second before it dropped to the ground, barely moving.

"Oh shit! Was that a mistake?" I grasped the inert body with my hand. When I saw the snake coil around my arm with a gentle grip, I let out a sigh of relief. The snake closed its eyes and lapped at my wrist. The slimy tongue tickled me-

Wait, was it taking my qi?

I could feel a minuscule but steady stream of qi flowed from me to this cute thing. It consumed such a small amount of my life-force it was very hard to perceive, even if it did it right before my eyes.

With my other hand, I caressed its head once more while it feasted on my qi. "So, a name, huh…

"Before that, do you even want to stay with me, little thing?" I asked rhetorically, knowing the snake couldn't answer me. Bending down, I lowered my hand to the ground when the snake stopped taking my qi. Its bloated body made contact with the soil, but instead of leaving me, it simply slithering on my arm further up and looked at me, its tongue flicking up and down again.

"Alright, there's no taking it back now..." I let out a small chuckle, seeing the snake climb until it wrapped itself around my neck. It even slept, apparently content with its new seat.

"Your name shall be… Tiamat." A goddess, if I remembered correctly, so I put big expectations on you, little girl.

If it ends up as a male snake… I'll just deal with it later. Something like 'Jormungandr' would work well.

I walk out of the forest, towards the roads which would lead me to Orario, a new companion with me.

A dragon in the making.

After traveling for an unknown length of time on the road, I arrived in front of a stone wall stretching into the sky. The top of it was high, very high—as if the inhabitants of this city were preparing for some sort of attack from the outside… at least when this was constructed.

Judging by the cracks in the wall and the vines entrenched deep into them, spilling out into the open, it must have been a while ago.

According to a couple I met on the road, I was heading towards the western entrance of the city. Apparently, my appearance wasn't common around these parts, because they acted very shocked when I approached them.

I didn't know if there are some cultural norms I was unaware of or if my face was really that special—Hinks didn't possess a mirror after all, and I didn't think of checking myself out when we went to the nearby lake—but I earned the standard slightly widened eyes and unresponsive behavior from them.

Weird.

A guard halted me on the sandy road towards the city and didn't even ask for any sort of registration—which I didn't have. So everything worked out fine in the end, just had to pay a couple of what the locals called 'valis'—the coin of the region—for the entrance fee.

It wasn't a sizeable amount, but it wasn't something I could just shrug off, either. I possessed little money, to begin with, just enough to start in this city. Hinks had warned me the cost of living in this city was very high, especially in some neighborhoods, but that was something I, as someone who lived in a big city my whole life, was well-accustomed to.

The moment I stepped into Orario officially, the smell instantly changed. It was the scent of a city, alright. It smelled vaguely chemical, mostly because I couldn't recognize half of the things registering in my brain from my nose, but it smelled of people.

It was horrible, in a way. Like any big city would. Being a cultivator in the Qi Condensation Realm, my senses were upgraded to a point where what would be a horrible smell became a putrid and nigh-unbearable stench permeating the city like unwashable filth.

Good thing I got used to it very quickly.

But it was also a vaguely familiar scent to me. As fun and relaxing as the farm was, even if it meant hard work, this was closer to home to me. Not necessarily the city itself, but the atmosphere was something I instantly recognized.

There wasn't a single building made of concrete, but the sight of the tall structures stacked close to each other in a somewhat organized way was a well-known view to me.

My eyes wandered around as I observed every little detail I could, my enhanced eyesight helping me towards this goal. After the initial nostalgia hit, I realized there were many differences between modern cities and this one… which was almost medieval, if one excluded the anachronistic lightbulbs scattered across the streets, for example.

The more I advanced along the main street connecting the western gate and the gigantic tower perforating the clouds in the distance, the more excited I got. It was really a fantasy world!

The crowd… so many different people! Different colors, different races, everything blended in the busy streets of this city. Cat ears, tails, some people were giants, others were tiny—it was an incredible sight. I probably spent a couple of minutes just observing the people walking.

Everything was so new and interesting it blew my expectations for a fantasy world out of the water — Wait, is that an elf? They even have elves here?

"Woah," I blurted out, just shifting through the crowd, my eyes wide open every time I saw something new. The incessant thrum of life, the sound of a city, entered my ears and made me feel safe. It was one point that did not change no matter the world or the age—people were loud.

And I love it.

I caught a couple of really cute women with my eyes along the way, which boosted my motivation to become something great in this world.

But the knowledge this was a xianxia world quickly dimmed the fire inside of me. Why can't I have nice things…

I noticed part of the city was in ruins. I could even see the vegetation threatening to take over civilization, broken buildings starting to be overwhelmed by sprouts and vines. Just in the middle of the city, ruins—this was interesting.

I enjoyed the huge bustling medieval town feeling this place gave off a bit too much, the various spices I could smell once I approached a market, food of every color I didn't know about. Civilians of every shape and tone I could see. The diversity was blinding.

The sight of what I guessed were adventurers awed me: men and women of all ages carrying weapons I didn't even know existed on them. Some were normal-looking, unthreatening, while others gave off an oppressive aura, which was reinforced by the look of the armor and the weapons they had.

But the sight prompted a thought to appear in my mind. No obvious sects, no Chinese-looking buildings, no obnoxious young masters, and no jade-like beauties.

This really doesn't look like a xianxia world, does it?

#####

This snake was but a simple snake. It had been born among the roots of the wood, entrenched deep inside the very earth. It had witnessed the moon and the sun chasing each other repeatedly. It had seen the law of the world, of the weak being preyed upon by the strong.

It rebelled, refusing to be weak. Refusing to be mere prey… But it had lost, and was forced to retreat like a coward…

It felt shame.

It had been shown the beauty of the wild, of the trees piercing the heavens, of the lakes, full of water and covering the entrance to the deep abyss. It had smelled blood; it had smelled food, and it had smelled predators.

It had met the people of the forest, from the inhabitants of the trees to the walkers of the night. It had learned much. It had learned its place, feeble and tiny.

It felt resignation.

And then it had met him.

It had thought at first he was easy prey. It was big, bigger than most predators it had sensed, but he felt weak, slow, and defenseless. So it struck.

And before long, it was once more at the mercy of the stronger, of the quicker, and the cleverer.

But he did not kill. He fed it. He caressed it.

Why? It wondered. But more importantly, he had given her a name.

Tiah Mat. The divine gift of God. A spark appeared inside of her. Just the glint of greatness, the possibility to reach him.

But first, Tiah Mat needed to sleep. Tired, she curled around his neck, feeling its warmth suffusing her body, and she felt safe, safer than ever.

She had been given the opportunity to stand side-by-side and return what was given. Tiah Mat dreamed of him, the unfathomable being who gifted her the path to her apotheosis.

She dreamed of her...

…ascension… to the Heavens.

#####

Up to 5 chapters in advance on Pat re on: https://www.patreón.com/HiddenSword

If you want to talk, join the discord: https://discord .gg/UQ4YbqphM9

Beta: AsuraJZero and Ekaterina.

A/N: 2 Chapters on the same day? What is happening.