Jormungandr's roar continued, low, long, and heavy, as though the entire Pacific Ocean were groaning.
Jade leaned over the railing, gripping its bars with both hands, craning her neck as far as it would go to look at the continent-sized serpent's head in the sky.
Her mouth hung open, and she could not close it for a long time.
"Hey! Tso Lan..."
"How-how big is he, exactly?"
Wangchuan stood beside her, his long silver-gray hair streaming backward in the gusts, the Moon Wheel beneath his feet slowly turning.
"From north to south, spanning Midgard."
"His head is in San Francisco, his tail is in Tokyo, and his body stretches across the entire Pacific Ocean. And he's still growing."
Jade thought it over.
Then she sucked in a sharp breath.
"Then doesn't that mean he's going to circle the entire Earth?"
Wangchuan tilted his head to glance at her. "Yes."
Jade shut her mouth and turned her gaze back to the enormous serpent's head in the sky.
Loke stood at the edge of the rooftop, his arms still spread wide. Silvery-white light reflected in his gray-blue eyes, and the smile on his face seemed carved in place, impossible to rein in.
"So beautiful."
He spoke softly.
"My child."
"The World Serpent."
"The great serpent that encircles the world."
He smiled in great excitement.
Jade turned to look at Loke's back and could not help speaking.
"Your son's that big, and you're not afraid he'll crush you to death?"
Loke turned his head and glanced at her.
"He won't."
"He's my son."
"Besides, he's biting his own tail right now. He can't move."
He shrugged.
"All he can do is turn around up there."
Jade: "..."
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing seemed quite right.
Just then, a