Please, Be Human

In the Age of Gods, the Underworld wasn't a hazy, ethereal concept. It was a kingdom of death, buried deep underground in abyssal darkness.

Within the dim valley, rugged mountain rocks cast heavy shadows, making the surroundings dark and eerie.

A surging black river in the center churned and swirled within its channel, its waves splashing.

They splattered into the distorted faces of humans, emitting shrill wails and screams, adding to the surrounding gloom.

In contrast to this atmosphere were the numerous spear-like cages built on both sides of the valley.

Those clusters of contained, ethereal blue soul flames appeared quite serene. Their forms vaguely resembled their former human shapes, and some even showed traces of brightly colored clothing covering their bodies.

Clearly, the spear cages, standing scattered around, served the function of appeasing departed souls, maintaining their sanity, and preventing these residents of the Underworld from falling into delusion.

As the tall, spire-shaped Meslamthea Temple stood in the deep mountain valley, it emitted a warmth.

A faint red light pierced the thick death mist, bringing a sliver of warmth, and a new day in the Underworld began as usual.

Columns of Underworld guards, the Garula Spirits, shrouded in mist with cold, eerie auras, patrolled and kept watch in different areas based on instinct.

Simultaneously, within the various regions separated by sevenfold gates, the ghosts residing in the spear cages awoke from their slumber and engaged in sparse communication through a kind of muffled whispering.

The Underworld, after all, was a hell of death and decay.

As time passed, even with the protection of the spear cages, without the support of physical bodies, these souls would gradually have their memories and emotions eroded, eventually returning to the primal source of nothingness.

Therefore, this land was ultimately more silent than noisy.

However, when the rustling sound of scales echoed from the stone path shrouded in death mist, the drowsy residents of the Underworld within the spear cages were instantly alerted, their soul flames flickering intensely.

At this moment, a snake with black markings slithered along, its tongue flicking as it passed the rows of spear cages, greeting the residents within in a friendly manner.

It carried itself like a landlord surveying his territory.

"Uncle Balag, Old Um said yesterday your secret recipe brew tastes like horse piss!"

"Kushim, Nash, weren't you two going to fight? Don't chicken out!"

"Brother Ninurta, I found the culprit! It's that bastard Dam. After you died, he slept with your wife and beat your child!"

The usually silent-to-the-point-of-deadly spear cages erupted, and the residents of the Underworld, having found targets, began to curse.

They greeted each other's female relatives and wished to establish father-son relationships beyond blood ties.

Ah, it was truly a vibrant, noisy, and beautiful day.

The snake looked at the flickering human figures within the spear cages, listened with intoxication to the various expressions of goodwill, wagged its tail contentedly, and swam towards the quiet valley.

You wretched thing!

The residents of the Underworld, their tempers thoroughly provoked, used learned gestures, giving the snake the middle finger and spewing vitriolic language as they bid farewell to the troublesome snake.

Unfortunately, these dim-witted Garula Spirits instinctively avoided the evil serpent that carried the aura of the Meslamthea Temple.

Otherwise, the residents sincerely wished that snake could be chopped into seventy to eighty pieces and then stewed into soup.

Just as the dead silence of the Underworld began to ripple with liveliness, the instigator had already coiled beneath a blackish-green rock.

A moment later, the black snake emptied its thoughts, its consciousness spreading upwards, transmitting a message of pleasure.

"Good morning, Tiamat…"

After an unknown amount of time, the air subtly vibrated, and faint oscillations, almost imperceptible, traveled from the void, as if a weak response had been made.

"Success!"

The snake's vertical pupils, looking upwards, narrowed slightly, and its triangular head nodded in excitement.

And above its head, an invisible "spider silk" extended from its soul core, piercing the outer wall of the World Bubble and delving into the Sea of Immeasurable Numbers.

Finally, the loop at the end was wrapped around the ring finger of the right hand of a certain majestic existence.

In the unseen depths, the two established a subtle connection through this fragile spider silk.

"Mother Goddess…"

The snake hissed, suppressing the excitement from its instincts, whispering with a grin, revealing a hint of relief.

Speaking of which, it had to thank Gilgamesh for its banishment.

Indeed, the power of the divine construct weapon, the Ea, which tore through the world at the time, caused Lin Xian's unstable soul to be repelled once more to the outer Sea of Immeasurable Numbers, nearly dooming it.

However, Lin Xian also met Tiamat, the goddess who gave it new life, because of this.

Furthermore, as the Origin Mother Goddess helped her "beloved child" return, she also established a faint connection between the Sea of Immeasurable Numbers and the World Bubble, as well as between herself and Lin Xian.

In this way, Lin Xian became an anchor embedded in the inner side of the world.

Perhaps Tiamat, this Ark of Life drifting and navigating the Sea of Immeasurable Numbers, could inch closer to the real world with the anchor's stabilization and pull.

Of course, fantasies were beautiful, but reality was ultimately harsher.

Lin Xian tried to tug the anchor line, as fine as spider silk, within its soul flame, but the result was that it not only suffered a splitting headache, but the majestic figure floating in the Sea of Immeasurable Numbers remained completely still.

A mere snake attempting to pull back the banished Origin Mother Goddess to reality – how audacious!

Recognizing the reality of the situation, Lin Xian dejectedly drooped its head and mocked itself, realizing its own wishful thinking.

Its small body, carrying little flesh, could not possibly pull the megaton-class sunken ship of Mother Goddess Tiamat.

So, if I want to help, I need to get stronger?

And more anchoring lines to support the return of Mother Tiamat?

Lin Xian mused, looking down at himself in embarrassment, a bitter smile playing on his lips as he murmured to himself.

I originally wanted to help, but is the "love" you gave me a little too overwhelming?

In fact, the one who benefited the most from establishing a connection with the Origin Mother Goddess Tiamat was this weak Ancient Snake.

That loving Origin Mother Goddess, in order for the newly born "child" within the World Bubble to have the ability to protect itself, had divided and bestowed a wisp of authority upon it through this thread.

Beast's Authority - Self-Modification!

That is to say, it could use its own magic to construct a life framework and reshape its body into different forms.

Does this mean I can become human again?

Lin Xian subconsciously thought of the first life form he would reshape his body into using Self-Modification, his heart filled with excitement.

Crawling on the ground with his belly every day, he had almost forgotten what it felt like to walk. He worried that if this continued, he would completely degenerate into a snake.

It's not safe outside, should I go back and try?

Yes, let's try!

The Ancient Snake excitedly zipped through the death mist, darting all the way to a corner of the Meslamthea Temple.

The features must have the three-dimensionality of the West, and also possess the softness and delicacy of the East!

The physique cannot be too short!

Appearance must be a bonus point! This is a world where looks matter!

Lin Xian muttered to himself, urgently mobilizing the sliver of authority he had obtained within his body, wanting to start shaping his face and form step by step.

However, before he could even make a move, a bone claw condensed from the gray death mist in the hall, grabbed his upturned tail tip, and dragged the long worm all the way to a spacious bed.

"Don't make noise..."

"The workload has been too heavy lately, I don't want to get up and make the gun cage like this..."

The Blonde Goddess, unwilling to open her eyes, seemed to be talking to herself, or perhaps grumbling a complaint.

The stuffiness caused by the heat radiating from the Temple of Heat towards the Underworld made the mistress kick away the covers, roll over, and like a koala, cling to a cool, black bar-shaped pillow.

"Mmm, yes, a little more sleep..."

Held tightly by its owner, the Ancient Snake, after the tired Underworld Goddess fell asleep again, slowly stretched its stiff body, as if it had a great realization.

Actually, whether or not to be human, it really doesn't matter.

Immediately after, the black snake head stretched out and lowered, comfortably resting on its owner's slightly rising chest.