Si-eun was still sleeping, not aware of the plans Lily or Liliana had for him, poor bastard. He may be considered lucky to some but for him? Yeah he was probably done for.
You know you're finished when a noble born succubus addresses you as a snack, but he'd have to remain oblivious for a while, because he had more pressing matters to attend to.
His consciousness drifted towards a dream, one he'd always had since he took this body.
It was a dream where he found himself in some dark isle, a desolate one with nothing but withered trees and gray sands.
The place was strange, there was basically no direction, what you saw in the East, you'd find in the West.
The concept of time didn't seem to exist either.
Everything was constantly shifting, changing every time he got there, sometimes it'd look like an island, other times it'd seem like a desert or a ruined kingdom.
The only constant was the strange silhouette of a person sitting at the center of the dreamscape, or whatever it was.
Si-eun decided to call it that.
The first time he dreamt, he'd tried approaching the figure but the closer he got, the further away he was.
A lot of things didn't make sense in the dreamscape, like how everything was reversed.
If you walked forward you'd only find yourself further from your goal so what if you do the reverse?
Si-eun had always been trying but whenever he got to the figure he'd suddenly see himself at the starting point, so this time he opted for another path.
He didn't go forward, no.
Instead he turned his back on his destination.
Since going forward didn't get him anywhere then doing the opposite might.
It was a mere speculation on his part but well he had nothing better to do and it wasn't like the dreamscape was gracious enough to send him his pouch of gold, at least the mere sight of those attractive shiny metals would have put him at ease.
This time the dreamscape was in the form of an island.
The trees were bent unnaturally, their barks were a light shade of gray, the same color as the sand, while the leaves had a darker hue to it, almost black.
He moved deeper, unsure of where he was actually going to, there was no sense of direction but luckily his luck would come in handy.
Whenever his intuition pointed in a direction, he would go the opposite way.
He was getting deeper into the dreamscape and the further he went, the more unsettling it became.
At one point he just sat on the gray sand, cursing loudly for no one in particular to hear, although Loki happened to be the subject of his curses.
"Screw this! How much longer do I have to continue this pointless voyage, someone come save me please."
He let out a sigh, realizing how futile his efforts were.
"What am I even doing."
With slight reluctance, he got on his feet then continued moving.
He looked around.
There was a cave carefully concealed by bent trees not far from where he was.
His senses were telling him not to go there but he was compelled to, if felt like an unknown force was controlling his limbs with invisible strings.
A chilling Aura radiated from within the cave causing his body to go cold, he wanted to stop his feet but they betrayed him.
As soon as he stepped into the cave, a strange sensation overwhelmed him.
It felt like he was submerged deep in water but was still able to breathe just fine, his clothes were dry as well, clearly it wasn't water but something else.
The cave itself was spacious like the interior of a hollowed mountain, with a ceiling high enough that Si-eun could barely register the height of it.
The walls of the cavern however, were what caught his attention, it was smooth, not rough as one would expect of a cave but smooth, like it'd been melted and frozen to form the mesmerizing appearance it now held.
White dots adorned the walls like tiny stars, trapped inside the strange materials the walls were made off.
The scenery itself looked surreal.
Si-eun suddenly found himself moving, still guided by that invisible force, only this time… he didn't resist.
After all he knew resisting was futile, so he let it guide him.
The floor sloped gently inward the deeper he got, leading towards narrow openings which were carved by the passage of time.
But was that truly possible?
If he could remember correctly this was nothing but a dreamscape, weren't dreams supposed to be… you know, perfect or something?
But how would he know, he rarely ever dreamt pleasant dreams during his time as Si-eun, infact every time he closed his eyes it was an endless series of nightmares one particularly involving his organs or enraged investors ripping him to shreds.
There were smaller tunnels leading to, who knows where but whatever force carrying him certainly did a good job navigating because after a short while the air became cool and damp, the tunnels giving way to a larger inner chamber with a much lower ceiling, although sharper, it was more confined than the entrance.
A small pond lay at the center, its waters reflecting the same blue as the walls of the cavern.
It's surface was still, save for the occasional dripping from above.
Far above the confined inner cave, the skeletal remains of a colossal serpent embedded itself into the rock.
It's ribcage arched outward, its vertebrae fused with the walls of the cavern.
From the hollow depths of its maw, a thin waterfall poured relentlessly with clear water slipping through the narrow gaps of its fangs before crashing into the pond below.
As he moved towards the pond a deep unsettling feeling overwhelmed him.
He tried running back but his body, still under the influence of whatever force was controlling it, resisted.
In the end he could only watch in horror as his body plummeted into the pond below.
For a few seconds nothing happened, until an agonizing pain washed over him.
His cries tore through the silence of the cavern, yet there was no one to aid him.
The pain he felt was unbearable, it felt like his entire being was being unmade and shaped into something more.
His skin cracked, his vision spun, bones creaked and muscles spasmed.
He was losing it.
At some point he couldn't even yell again, it was only after what felt like an eternity he felt the pain receed.
He wanted to pass out right there on the spot but a translucent screen popped up in his line of vision.
It read.
Ω Blessing of the serpent has evolved.
Ouroborus: SSS grade
Description: You've inherited the divinity of the god killer, the serpent of end and the wielder of the concept of infinity, your chaos attribute resonates deeply with the serpent's blessing, the serpent of end has recognized you as Loki's spawn. The serpent of end pities you.
[You've inherited a fragment of the serpent's domain.]
____
He read the words, bewildered.
This was simply unheard of, even in the game.
Sure there were other events similar to that for the protagonist to get stronger but Si-eun had never heard of the serpent of end blessing someone, not even once.
His eyes traced the last line thoroughly, a bulging vein was present on the side of his forehead.
"What do you mean pities you, hey! What sort of bullshit is—"
He didn't get to complete his words because at that moment the scenery changed.
Gone was the creepy cave which nearly cost him his life, now he was standing only a few distance away from the silhouette he'd been trying to reach.
Its features were blurry, Si-eun couldn't even make out an eye or an ear, the only thing he could see was its lips.
The silhouette felt… distant, yet familiar, almost like an extension of himself yet different at the same time.
It remained motionless, then turned its head and smiled.
"Not yet."
Those were the last words Si-eun heard before being carried away from the dreamscape.