2. Serpent's Lair

The journey so far has been relaxing for Suyeong. She sat on the decently sized boat, counting the gold coins raided from their hidden stash, while slowly eating away at pieces of dried meat with small bites.

She hummed as she took in her solitude accompanied by the gentle waves, the occasional occurrence of birds flying overhead, and the splashes caused by a range of sea creatures.

With the salty sea breeze continuously passing through her nose, she found herself at peace. Her mind, had for the moment, taken a break from its flurrying thoughts and found its rest in the now.

That was until she nearly stumbled out of her seat and onto the floor, coins clanging against the wood. She got up and peered over all the edges of the boat, seeing nothing her vessel was being tugged by some kind of invisible force.

Suyeong looked in that direction, but she couldn't see a single thing that could be the source. There was nothing in the water, nor was there anything above it.

She could only sit back down, stuffing her coins back in her bag; waiting for what would happen.

Her gaze was sharp, she glared in the direction she was going for who knows how long, waiting, waiting for something, anything to happen. She didn't blink, not willing to risk missing a single moment.

Then, something happened. Fog rolled all around her and the boat, a fog so thick that it obscured her sight of the water surrounding her.

Remaining silent, she gazed around. Not a nervous bone in her body, simply remaining in her seat, lying in wait.

Soon, the fog rolled out of her sight, revealing a small mass of land. A singular Island that was separated from the world. In her mind, she questioned what type of sorcery this was, but she didn't make a noise.

Glancing around, taking note of how only one path was revealed through the fog, she hunched her bags over her shoulders, standing from her seat; waiting for the boat to make contact with the shore.

With a bump and the shaking of her seat, she descended onto the island making her way forward without missing a step, her eyes set on the rising forest ahead of her.

Suyeong was unaware of what it was she was doing, nor did she understand why she simply moved forward unfettered and unbothered by the risk — she simply felt a calling.

The Island, no something on the island was calling out to her. Singing an enchanting tune as a whisper in her ears.

"What is it you seek?"

"What dreams blind you?"

"Do you wish of? Wealth? Influence? Strength? Power, perhaps?"

"Ascend."

"Ascend the altar. Speak your heart. Lay your soul bare."

Silently listening to the voice's questions, she continued forward. Tapping her fingers on the straps of her bag, her eyes shifted continuously before stopping on a structure built in the center of the forest.

Stone stairs of an ancient civilization were erected from the ground, ascending to above the treetops. The stone was cracked and chipping away, the cracks being taken over by overgrowth.

Going up the steps, she stopped before the altar. The altar depicted a multitude of eastern dragons that circled into one large Dragon. One that dwarfed them all in comparison.

Observing the altar, Suyeong squinted her eyes. Drumming her fingers against her bag strap, she waited for a mere moment before losing her balance as the island shook.

The waters around the island were disturbed, and large waves were sent out in the distance, becoming smaller as they swept over the distance, then she saw something.

In the distant fog, a large shadow slithered through the water, continuing the onslaught of waves. The sky darkened, filled with grey clouds, rain began to fall and lightning struck the land and water, thunder rumbling through the clouds.

The fog dispersed and Suyeong was met with a mythical sight; A serpent-like creature, larger than anything that she had seen before, she doubted she would ever be able to see the full height of the creature if it was in front of her, she could barely tell its size from where she stood.

The serpent had one side of its body pointed toward her direction, and it stared down at her with its eye, piercing through her soul, "Speak your heart, Suyeong." The aged and mystical voice of the creature spoke her name. "What is it you desire?"

With her eyes forward, she closed her eyes, tapping her fingers against her bag strap once more.

Opening her eyes, she stared at the large creature far from her, not a hint of hesitation or fear on her features. "The truth. I desire the truth."

She paused to herself, looking at the callouses on her hands and feeling at the necklace hidden under her clothing. "What happened those many moons ago? What happened to the Dragon Salz' Atos after I awoke? I refuse to remain ignorant. I want. I need the truth."

She finished, keeping her stare steady, waiting for a response, an answer, something.

The serpent's eye closed for a moment, it let out a deep breath, one she could hear from where she stood. Opening once more, its piercing eye trained on her figure. "Very well then. Your desires are worthy."

The earth below her shook with fear as the gigantic serpent's eye slowly blinked. Then, everything went dark for her, she couldn't see a speck of light, as if she had been consumed by the abyss.

Her sight shifted, making her nauseous, and light returned to her eyes. The image before her was one of unfamiliarity. Her friend, her only friend in the world. Salz' Atos was lying on all fours, wings furled up, seemingly wallowing in his grief as he had been doing when she went to sleep.

Then in a shimmer of light, a figure much smaller than him appeared before the Dragon. With hands behind his back, and body covered in a robe, the figure was that of a humanoid Dragon shining in a blue light.

The humanoid Dragon introduced himself as the Dragon God. He talked words of understanding to Salz' Atos and told him that while he could not beat the Amazons alone, he could take care of Hippolyta's daughter.

The image flashed a short time later, where Salz' Atos, blinded by grief and anger spurred by the Dragon God, attacked a city, causing chaos and wreaking death and destruction. Causing an untold number of casualties.

When the woman who seemed to be Hippolyta's daughter appeared to battle Salz' Atos, she, at first, seemed to try and reason with him. But, upon realizing that it was useless, she quickly struck the Dragon down, bringing an end to his life. Afterward, she buried him in a human graveyard.

With the final sight of the Amazon standing before the grave of her dear friend, Suyeong was returned to standing before the altar.

Throughout the sequence of events, she had remained still. Silently observing the visage of the past with a somber gaze. She could only wallow in the sadness and reality of the matter; she was now alone.

Everything she knew had been destroyed by the Amazons.

Closing her eyes, Suyeong clenched and unclenched her fists, letting out a calming breath before opening her eyes. Her mind was swarming with chaos wyrms, she needed to calm them.

Following her breathing cycles was a long bout of silence before Suyeong returned to looking at the faraway serpent. Placing a hand on the altar, her eyes glazed over. "That creature claimed to be the Dragon God. How valid is that claim?"

"It is false. While a god, he is not one of Dragons."

She tapped her fingers on her bag strap, "... Are you the Dragon God?"

"Yes." It bluntly hissed.

"Why have you called on me?" She inquired.

"I require an avatar. An incarnation."

...

As if she hadn't heard its words, Suyeong looked around her. Turning her attention back to the serpent, she tilted her head in confusion, tapping her fingers against her bag strap once again. "Explain."

"Become my incarnation, Suyeong. I will grant you the ability to battle gods. I will you give you the ability to fight the being that sent the young Dragon out to his death."

Continuing to tap her fingers, she lightly bit her tongue. "Why?" She questioned.

"My children have been slaughtered. You are all that remains. I will seek vengeance through you."

Suyeong Deliberated on the request, she knew being the avatar of a higher being was more than simply being given power. Yet, she saw no reason to decline. She had no more to refuse. "Very well then. What do I have to do."

At her agreement, the island shook once more, the stone steps and altar she stood on crumbling below her feet. In seconds she was falling into a dark abyss. When she came to, she was on the ground of some sort of ancient underground structure.

Her features were being illuminated by a bright green light. Rubbing her eyes, she sat on her knees, her eyes stuck to the pool of green liquid before her.

Like she was being entranced she could not look away.