Chapter 2

After thinking it over repeatedly, I finally walked toward the elderly couple.

"Hello, sir, ma'am. Please take care of me in the days to come. You can call me Lia," greeted the young woman with pigtails.

She showed no fear at all, and the elderly grandma smiled warmly back at her.

However, there was something deeply unsettling about that smile. Her entire face looked like wrinkled tree bark. Her features squeezed together when she grinned.

I recognized who the pigtailed woman was—Thalia Cross, the college roommate whom I'd never gotten along with. A surge of irritation rose in me.

Just as I stepped forward, the grandma waved her hand, and a thick white mist shrouded the area.

A mournful, melodic voice echoed from afar.

"The lucky hour has arrived."

The grandma clasped both my hand and Thalia's. Her eyes slowly became vacant, and her voice turned extremely shrill.

"Escort the bride into the bridal carriage!"

When I opened my eyes again, I realized I had been awakened by Thalia. Only then did I notice that both of us were wearing wedding gowns.

Thalia was screaming hysterically beside me. Her face was deathly pale as she fell to the ground and scrambled backward.

Following her gaze, my whole body went rigid, and I froze in place. Luckily, I was quick enough to clamp my hand over my mouth, stifling the scream that threatened to escape.

Goodness, those scales… That damn glossy sheen. How could scales be so smooth and beautiful?

In front of us stood a giant snake. It was hundreds of feet long, and its body was covered in shimmering scales. At that very moment, it reared up in a coiled attack stance.

Its golden eyes stared directly at Thalia, and there was a bone-chilling air about it. Behind it, bones and corpses were heaped into mountains, and an indescribable stench assaulted my senses. Those were undoubtedly the remains of previous explorers.

A low, cold snort came from above. With a slurping sound, the giant snake's tongue flicked out and dragged Thalia into its mouth. The air instantly filled with the thick smell of blood. It smacked its lips a few times, then spat something onto the ground.

Thalia was already unrecognizable. Her bones—mixed with saliva—had turned into a pulpy mess.

Yet, I remained unmoved. My eyes gleamed as I stared at those glossy, intricate scales. Heaven knows how tempting this was for a snake enthusiast like me. Only when the snake's head stretched right in front of my face did I snap back to reality.

I stared at the snake's head, just inches from me, and reached out to stroke it. Then, I brushed the few stray strands of grass dangling near its eyes.

"There, you're clean now."

My voice trembled slightly as I said this. No matter how much I pretended, seeing something so gruesome still filled me with terror.

The giant snake studied me thoughtfully, but it didn't seem like it had any intention of sparing me. That was, until the small snake in my pocket slithered up my arm and curled around my shoulder.

Only then did that oppressive, bone-chilling presence finally ease.

The giant snake also shrank considerably until, finally, it curled itself up inside a coffin.

I let out a sigh of relief. But my tense body had barely relaxed for more than a few seconds when, suddenly, countless snakes poured from a nearby cave.

There were so many of them that I couldn't see a way to escape. The venomous snakes piled on top of each other, forming a snake tide that surged toward me at a terrifying speed.

Goosebumps erupted across my arms. I instinctively glanced at the now-shrunken giant snake, and our eyes happened to meet. In that moment of eye contact, I saw something almost human in its eyes—vivid emotions that only humans should have.

Naturally, I didn't miss the provocation and disdain in its gaze either.

As the snake tide drew closer, I looked at the giant snake lying in the coffin. It was seemingly watching the chaos unfold with amusement.

Gritting my teeth, I made up my mind. Taking two steps as one, I lunged into the coffin and wrapped my arms around its silky, scaly body.

"Move over, move over," I muttered as I nudged it aside.

In the narrow space, I could almost smell its scent, a mixture of fresh grass and earth after rain, evaporating into the air.

The next second, a sharp, angry voice rang next to my ear.

"You're lying on my hair!"

What?

I stared in shock and bewilderment at the white-haired, golden-eyed young man beneath me. After staring blankly for a few seconds, I gave him a small smile.