Chapter 515

The High Priestess of the Chaos Serpents Dances

In a forgotten realm lost to the passage of time, nestled at the base of a perilous mountain separating the Kingdom of Remno and the Holy Principality of Belluga, there existed a place erased from both history and memory. Concealed within a dense forest, a forsaken structure stood—solitary and forlorn. Yet, to label it a castle would be a misnomer, for it lacked the grandeur, visual finesse, and architectural grace associated with such fortifications. Rather, it stood as the remnants of an ancient people’s fleeting dream, constructed stone by stone in this refuge where they sought sanctuary.

This place was meant to be the rallying point for the defeated, a stage for their triumphant resurgence. However, that anticipated day never dawned. The inhabitants lived, and eventually perished, within its walls. The fortress, devoid of a master and untouched by the chaos of battle, faded into obscurity, erased from the records of time. Aged by the relentless march of years, the crumbling edifice transformed into a gathering ground for the Serpents.

At the heart of the dilapidated stronghold lay its throne room, where a lone woman, seemingly in her midtwenties, engaged in a silent dance. Her glossy, jet-black hair cascaded and swirled with each movement. Expressionless and wordless, she danced with unwavering focus. Her motions, though peculiar and disconcerting, possessed a unique beauty, devoid of any specific form or style, creating an eerie yet enchanting aura.ALL new chapters on nov(e)lbin(.)com

It was difficult to imagine a dance more befitting the Chaos Serpents, who sought to destroy all order. However...

“What the hell are you doing?” The man who walked into the room shot her a bemused look.

“Performing a dance,” she said, placidly answering the wolfmaster’s question, “as an offering to the Archdaemon. What do you think?”

Despite the sudden interruption, the woman stopped dancing without the slightest hint of reluctance. She dabbed away the sweat on her forehead with a look of boredom.

“I made it up, but I think it actually passes for a ritual dance. Personally, I feel like I really evoked the image of the high priestess of the Serpents being an apostle of the Archdaemon.”

The high priestess favored the wolfmaster with a bewitching smile. The wolfmaster remained unmoved.

“I don’t remember us becoming apostles of the Archdaemon.”

She regarded him for a moment, then shook her head and smiled. “Men are such glory-seekers. You seek simple outcomes. Ones that visibly distinguish your accomplishments. Not that I don’t understand this desire of your kind, of course... But I personally couldn’t care less about any of that. Ruin is inevitable, after all. Eventually, everything will be destroyed.” She spoke with no passion or zeal. To her, it was merely a statement of fact. “What do you think is the strength of the Chaos Serpents?”

“Beats me. The ability to manipulate people with words?”

“That is neither true nor correct.”

The priestess fixed the wolfmaster with a look. It was calm and unassertive, but there was a depth to it, as if she were peering into some cosmic truth.

“The strength of the Chaos Serpents,” she explained, “is that they cannot be killed. They cannot be eradicated. They may not succeed today, or tomorrow, or the day after, but they are eternal. And with enough time, they will eat away at the world until nothing is left. So long as humans continue to exist, so will Serpents. That’s how this world works. And how it will unravel. There is no future in which we fail.” She folded her hands before her chest and closed her eyes. “And no one can change that. Not even the Great Sage of the Empire.”

Then, a playful smirk spread across her lips.

“Unless, of course, she replaced all the humans in the world with those horses your people love so much. Then, the Serpents would indeed disappear. Because it is the ever-unchanging nature of humans that the Serpents are a curse upon.”

She paused. Her pursed lips suggested the abrupt emergence of a thought.

“That reminds me. Your little sister... Is she out plundering again?”

“We need enough food to feed the clan, after all, or our people will starve. I believe she’s operating near the Sunkland border...”

“Is she? Well, tell her to come pay me a visit some time. It’s high time we had some tea together again.”

She smiled, this time with all the grace and polish of a princess.