In the divine age, the underworld was not some illusory, ethereal concept. It was often a kingdom of death buried deep underground, built within the dark Abyssal Layers.
Within the dim valley, jagged mountains cast layer upon layer of shadows, making the surroundings seem gloomy and mysterious.
The surging black river at the center churned and swirled through its channel, throwing up waves.
Within the splashing spray appeared distorted human faces, letting out shrill wails and screams that added an eerie air to the surroundings.
In contrast to that atmosphere were the many spear-shaped cages built along both sides of the valley.
The clusters of contained azure soul-flames appeared remarkably peaceful. Their forms still vaguely resembled the humans they had once been, and some even retained bright clothes covering their bodies.
Clearly, the Spear Cages standing scattered all around served to soothe souls after death, preserve their sanity, and prevent these underworld residents from falling into corruption and losing themselves.
As Meslamthea Temple, a towering spire-like structure amid the mountain valley, radiated warmth,
faint red light pierced the dense death mist and brought a trace of warmth. A new day in the underworld began as usual.
Squads of Garuda Spirits, Underworld Guards wreathed in mist and giving off grim, icy auras, patrolled and kept watch in different areas by instinct.
At the same time, in the various regions separated by seven gates, the ghosts dwelling within Spear Cages awoke from their slumber and exchanged a few words through some sort of dull whispering.
The underworld was, after all, a hell of death and decay.
As time passed, even with the protection of the Spear Cages, without physical bodies to sustain them, these souls would gradually have their memories and emotions worn away until they became source matter returning to nothingness.
Therefore, this land was ultimately quieter than it was lively.
However, when the rustling sound of scales sliding over stone came from a path shrouded in death mist, the underworld residents who had been dozing inside the Spear Cages jolted awake, their soul-flames violently flickering.
At that moment, a snake with black patterns slithered along. As it passed the many Spear Cages, it hissed and flicked its tongue, greeting the residents inside in a friendly manner.
It carried itself like a landlord inspecting his estate.
"Uncle Balag, Old Um said yesterday that the beer brewed from your family recipe definitely tastes like horse piss!"
"Kusim, Nash, weren't you two supposed to settle things in a fight? Don't chicken out!"
"Brother Ninurta, I found the culprit! That bastard Dam slept with your wife and beat your kid after you died!"
The Spear Cages, usually quiet as the grave, erupted into an uproar. One after another, the underworld residents who had found their targets began cursing furiously.
They exchanged greetings involving each other's female relatives and eagerly sought to establish father-son relationships beyond blood ties.
Ah, what a lively, bustling, wonderful day.
The snake looked toward the figures flickering in and out within the Spear Cages. Drunk on the various friendly expressions, it swayed its tail in satisfaction and slithered toward the quiet valley.
This little bastard!
The underworld residents whose anger had been stirred up copied a gesture they had learned, raised their middle fingers, and spat out fierce words to send off the snake that never did anything decent.
Unfortunately, those dim-witted Garuda Spirits instinctively avoided the evil long snake tainted with the aura of Meslamthea Temple.
Otherwise, the residents sincerely hoped that snake would be chopped into seventy or eighty pieces, then tossed into a pot and stewed into soup.
Just as ripples of liveliness spread through the deathly still underworld, the culprit had already coiled beneath a bluish-black rock.
After a moment, the black serpent emptied its thoughts and sent its consciousness upward, transmitting a cheerful message.
Good morning, Mama Tiamat...
After an unknown amount of time, the air faintly trembled. Nearly imperceptible ripples came from the void, as though offering a weak response.
It worked!
The serpent's upward-looking slit pupils narrowed slightly, and its triangular head bobbed excitedly.
Above its head, an invisible "spider thread" extended upward from its soul core, pierced through the outer wall of the World Bubble, and delved deep into the Sea of Imaginary Numbers.
In the end, the loop at its tip wrapped around the ring finger of a certain magnificent being's right hand.
In the unseen realm, the two sides established a subtle connection through that fragile spider thread.
Mother Goddess...
The snake hissed and flicked its tongue, suppressing its instinctive excitement as it murmured softly. A relieved smile appeared at the corners of its parted mouth.
Come to think of it, it had Gilgamesh's exile to thank for this.
Indeed, the power of the Divine Construct Gouging Sword that had once torn apart the world had once again expelled Lin Xian's unstable soul into the outer Sea of Imaginary Numbers, nearly killing him.
Yet because of that, Lin Xian had seen Tiamat, the goddess who had granted him new life.
Furthermore, while helping her "beloved child" return once more, the Origin Mother Goddess had also established a faint connection between the Sea of Imaginary Numbers and the World Bubble, as well as between herself and Lin Xian.
This made Lin Xian an anchor embedded within the world.
Perhaps Tiamat, that Ark of Life drifting through the Sea of Imaginary Numbers, could be pulled inch by inch closer to the real world through the anchor's fixation and tugging.
Of course, fantasies were beautiful, but reality was ultimately cruel.
Lin Xian tried to tug on the anchoring line within his soul-flame, thin as a spider thread. The result was not only a splitting headache, but the magnificent figure floating in the Sea of Imaginary Numbers did not move in the slightest.
For a mere snake to dream of pulling the exiled Origin Mother Goddess back into reality was truly overestimating himself!
Having recognized reality, Lin Xian drooped his head and mocked himself helplessly, realizing how absurdly wishful he had been.
With this tiny body of his, he simply could not pull Mother Goddess Tiamat's billions-of-tons wreck of a ship.
So if I wanted to help, I needed to become stronger?
And I needed more anchoring lines to support Mother Goddess Tiamat's return?
Lin Xian pondered this, then lowered his head sheepishly to look at himself, bitterly muttering inwardly.
I wanted to help, but wasn't the "love" You gave me a little too heavy?
In truth, the one who had benefited most from establishing a connection with Origin Mother Goddess Tiamat was this weak ancient snake.
So that the newborn "child" within the World Bubble would have the ability to protect himself, that loving Origin Mother Goddess had divided off and bestowed a strand of Authority through the spider thread.
Beast's Authority—Self-Modification!
That was, he could use his own magical power to construct a life framework and reshape his flesh into different forms.
In other words, could he become human again?
Lin Xian instinctively thought of using Self-Modification to reshape the first life-form of his body, and he became wildly excited.
Crawling on his belly across the ground every day, he had nearly forgotten what walking felt like. He worried that if this continued, he would completely degenerate into a snake.
It wasn't safe outside. Should I go back and give it a try?
Yeah, let's try it!
The ancient snake eagerly darted through the death mist and shot all the way into a corner of Meslamthea Temple.
The facial features needed Western depth, but they also had to possess Eastern softness and delicacy!
The body couldn't be too short!
Looks had to be a bonus! This was a world that judged faces!
Lin Xian muttered inwardly as he hurriedly mobilized the trace of Authority he had gained, intending to begin sculpting his face and reshaping his body step by step.
However, before he could make a move, a skeletal claw condensed from gray death mist in the hall grabbed the tip of his raised tail and dragged the long snake onto a large bed.
"Don't make noise..."
"Recently, there's been way too much work. I don't want to get up and make Spear Cages..."
The golden-haired goddess who refused to open her eyes seemed to be talking to herself, yet also seemed to be mumbling a complaint.
The stuffy heat created by the Temple of Heat casting its radiance into the underworld made the mistress kick off her blanket, turn over, and cling like a koala to the cool black body pillow.
"Mmm, right, sleep a little longer..."
After the exhausted Underworld Goddess fell asleep again, the ancient snake she had forcibly embraced slowly stretched his stiff body, as if he had suddenly attained enlightenment.
Actually, whether he became human or not really wasn't important.
Then the black snake head relaxed and lowered, resting comfortably against his owner's gently rising and falling chest.
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