Fight For Your Divinity

The old woman laughed, the skin that was like aged tree bark began to crack around the outline of her face, tearing away from it, that thick braid of black hair unravelled from around her neck revealing a crusty, ragged, wound. The form of the old woman tore apart as a slender and serpentine body escaped from the smaller shell. Replacing the aged human was a lamia, half woman, half snake. The lower half curled upon itself giving a thick bed of serpentine body for the torso to rest upon.

The torso itself was of a slender woman, her skin, jade-like, smooth and clear of any blemish. A light blue strip of soft fabric covered her chest giving her upper body a slight degree of modesty, though how it moved spoke a tale of taboo pleasures. Her face was slender with a sharp chin, ruby red lips sneered down at Marcus as those snake like eyes watched him evaluating her form. Shaking off the last remains of the fake skin that hid her true nature, her slender hands slid across her pale body, her long nails drawing light red lines across the skin before the bloody trials swiftly healed.

"Ssso tell me Dragon god, what gave me away?" her voice was a throaty purr mixed with the hiss of a serpent, dangerously seductive but at the same time so unworldly that it made his scales ripple in discomfort. Her serpentine form swayed slowly as if she had all the time in the world to discuss their current situation.

"Your eyes for one, but in truth it was the killing intent you and your pets laid on my people. If a guardian you all were, there was no need to torment mortals like that, it was merely the actions of a deviant monster."

"Ooooh sssuch name calling Dragon god, tsssk, tsssk. I asssure you I am no deviant, after all, I am a goddesss." The lamia hissed, her eyes holding and looking down at Marcus in displeasure.

"Well if that's the case then why don't you introduce yourself?"

The lamia gave a hissing laugh, a hand raised to cover her crimson lips, "Fufufu, you can't tell little Dragon god? Hasss your sssleep really been that long? Oh well, sssince you and thossse little mortals won't leave here alive I can sssate your curiosssity. You may addresss myssself asss Lady Ssselvantra, goddesss of the Sssnakanan and Ssserpentsss. Oh, and after today, the devourer of the dragon god..."

Marcus smirked crossing his arms over his chest, "Getting ahead of yourself aren't you?"

Lady Selvantra laughed tossing back her head as her body lifted into the air, her long thick serpentine tail slowly unfurling as she leaned down over the flight of stairs that separated them, reaching out a dainty, bone white hand to caress his scaled cheek. "I expect nothing lesss for you to resssissst my fine well built food, though to be honessst, I dont expect much!" The beautiful visage snarled as the human like upper half swiftly morphed into a true serpent head, darting forward, maw open, fangs glistening to snap at Marcus.

Marcus dove aside feeling the rush of the air as the now giant white jade serpent lunged and tried to snap him up, barely avoiding the whip like attack that struck with near blinding speed. Scrambling behind one of the thick pillars Marcus tried to put some distance between him and that hungry mouth, listening to the thunder like hiss as that serpentine body slowly twisted around the pillar.

Pressing his back to the next column he risked a glance out but quickly dived forward, running ahead to the next column as he heard a sick squelch behind, the pillar he had just left started to sizzle and melt as the glob of poison spat from her mouth began to eat into the stone, had he tarried at minimum he'd suffer a horrible burn. Glancing from his current hiding spot he growled, "Thought you wanted to eat me you over grown tape worm?"

The serpent hissed, thos large inhuman eyes narrowing at the taunt, Selvantra's voice escaping the open maw, "Sssoup or roassst, isss all the sssame. Pleassse ssstop wasssting my time Dragon god, you do not have a fraction of your old power, you are a ssshell of your old ssself, isss there a need to continue thisss pointlesss resssissstance? Become a part of me, exissst asss more than what you ever were..."

Marcus shook himself lunging from his hiding place to claw at the end of her tail, his sharp nails clawing at her scales as he shook away the hypnotic hiss of her request. Climbing over her back half he suddenly found himself air born as her snake back end flung him away as a horse tail might sway a fly. With a groan he crashed against a pillar and slid down its cracked face, but still kept presence of mind to seek shelter behind it, feeling the rush of wind as her jaws snapped shut on where he had first fallen. Panting softly he looked around, there had to be something here, this was the shrine but what did he need to do?

Darting for the next column, the one behind burst into chunks of rubble as her whip like tails smashed through it, sending him and peices of stone flying in all directions. As he tumbled amongst the shattered stone he grunted in pain feeling a coffee table sized chunk graze his shoulder, tearingca ragged wound through his scales. The soft laughter of the lamia followed him as he scrambled and crawled behind another pillar, "Are you hoping they will all break and bury me? Sssilly dragon god, thisss isss a closssed ssspace, it will not fall if I dessstroy all of them. No little Godling, here before the heart of Zee, you ssshall fall."

Marcus gasped for breath then grit his teeth, his eyes turning to the raised dais and the burning brazier, if this was Zee's shrine then what he needed was her heart right? Growling he lunged from behind the pillar as the huge snake darted around it trying to catch him up against the unyielding stone. That mocking laughter suddenly hitched, "Wait, get away from that! That isss my treasssure! Get back here filthy godling..."

Glancing back briefly Marcus could see Selvantra freeing herself from a few of the pillars, her long body stretched taut and nearly tying itself into a knot. Yet she was giving chase as he scrambled up the stairs. Despite getting closer and closer to the flame it didnt seem to give off heat, rather it seemed comfortable and familiar. He could hear the giant snake slithering after him quickly but he was at a loss, standing before the flame what was he to do with it? He could hardly use it as a weapon, the flame didnt seem to bother Selvantra any more than it did him, so how could he use Zee's Heart to thwart this serpent goddess.

A loud hiss heralded the head as it crested the stairs, those eyes narrowing on Marcus, "You are mine little godling, you have no where to run, no where to hide. The heart isss mine and ssso are you. Give up, no sssense making thisss more painful than needsss be right...?"

Marcus glanced between the serpent and the flame, narrowing his eyes he prayed for Mari then turned launching himself into the roaring fire.