Chapter 201: Questions Begets Answers
Snake’s eyes fluttered open, confusion clouding his face as the haze of unconsciousness lifted.
For a fleeting moment, he seemed unsure where he was, until the feeling of the chains around his wrists, and the suffocating grip of shadows around his mutilated body reminded him.
His pupils narrowed, panic and realization dawning all at once.
He was at Noah’s mercy.
Snake shifted, instinctively trying to call upon his healing.
The broken stumps of his limbs twitched, bone and sinew squirming as if eager to regrow.
But before the transformation could progress further, Noah’s shadows surged tighter, sinking into the flesh like blackened nails, locking the process in place.
Snake’s breath hitched in pain, his head snapping back with a strangled sound.
"You thought it would be that easy?" Noah’s voice was calm, detached, but there was venom beneath it. "Not here. Not with me."
Snake’s lip curled into a defiant smirk despite the agony, a laugh rasping from his throat. "Do you think... pain frightens me? I’ve fought and bled more than you’ve ever imagined, boy."
Noah crouched before him, eyes glowing faintly red through the dim brazier light.
"This isn’t about fear though. It’s about questions. And you’ll answer them for me."
He leaned in closer.
"Where did the potion come from? And what did you do to Juniper?"
Snake blinked. "Juniper?"
He feigned ignorance, grinning wider. "So many faces. Hard to keep track of all the little lambs we slaughter."
The words hit their mark, but Noah’s expression remained eerily calm.
He tilted his head, studying Snake like he was nothing but an ant. "You’re confident for a man in chains. I must admit to being curious as to where this confidence comes from."
Snake chuckled, shoulders shaking despite the burning shadows eating into him.
"Because you think you’ve won. You think you’ve trapped me."
"But there’s someone greater, someone you can’t touch, who watches over all of this. He’ll come for me. And when he does, you’ll kneel like the rest."
For a moment, there was silence.
Then Noah laughed, low at first, then louder, the sound rising till it filled the space.
He laughed long and hard, until Snake’s smirk disappeared from his face.
"Thank you," Noah said at last, his voice dark with amusement. "You’ve confirmed it. Someone is pulling the strings. Someone thinks they can play god with the lives of others."
His grin widened, cruel and gleaming. "That’s the first thing I needed to hear."
Snake tried to sneer, but uncertainty flickered in his eyes.
Noah stood, shadows rippling around him.
"I won’t ask you any more questions," he said. "You’ll tell me yourself, when it’s time. But before I leave, I’ll give you a gift."
He lifted his hand, mana coalescing into a spell formation, which ignited to become flames.
"Have you heard of this spell? It’s called Pillar of Judgement. Its fire burns forever, reducing all in its path to nothing."
"But what, I wondered, would happen if I modified it? If instead of destroying, it only burned."
"Burned without end, searing every nerve, every thought, but never granting the release of death?"
Snake’s eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen. "No!"
"Let’s find out," Noah said softly.
The pillar erupted, not blazing high, but wrapping Snake like a living shroud of fire.
It licked across his body, burning without consuming, and granting pain without mercy.
Snake screamed, the sound tearing raw from his throat, shaking the chamber walls.
His back arched, chains rattling violently as his flesh sizzled but refused to vanish, nerves alight with agony.
Every fragment of him was on fire, and yet he endured, alive, trapped in the flame’s cruel grasp.
Noah watched, expression calm, almost contemplative.
"You’ll beg to answer me soon enough," he murmured. "Every moment will keep taking until you’re hollow. Until all that’s left is truth."
Snake howled, his defiance dissolving into shrieks. The brazier’s flame flickered, throwing light on his torment, but Noah did not waver.
Instead, he turned away. "Farewell, Snake. I’ll be back for your confession."
And he vanished, leaving behind the echo of Snake’s endless screaming.
[][][][][]
The night was quiet when Othello stepped into the Ash Serpents’ den.
His boots left no sound on the wooden floors, but the silence didn’t last long.
The moment he entered, the air pressure dropped, shadows bending unnaturally toward him.
Then, with a gleeful hum, he moved.
The first scream tore through the building as his claws raked across a man’s chest, splitting him open like parchment.
Othello cackled, humming a tune as if conducting a cheerful symphony.
He strolled through the halls with unhurried steps, his laughter echoing.
Any who tried to bar his way died where they stood, throats torn and bones shattered, their blood painting the walls.
"Ah, music," Othello sang under his breath, dragging a body across the floor as if it were a dance partner. "The sweet rhythm of flesh breaking."
By the time he reached the study, the hallways behind him were littered with corpses.
The gang leader was waiting inside, pale and trembling.
His eyes darted from the corpses at the man’s feet to the mad grin splitting Othello’s face.
"I’ve heard the stories," the gang leader whispered, sweat dripping down his temple. "The Demon of the Night."
Othello burst out laughing, slapping his thigh. "Oh, that’s adorable! Demon of the Night? I rather like that one. Fitting, don’t you think?"
"Why?" the gang leader croaked. "Why kill us?"
Othello tilted his head, grinning like a child explaining a game. "Imagine a sandbox. Clean, perfect, carefully curated with all the little toys in their right places."
"Now imagine a grubby child sticking his hands in, ruining it. That’s you. You almost ruined my dataset." His smile grew. "So you must be eliminated."
Before the leader could speak again, Othello’s hand pierced through his chest, crushing his heart in a wet, bloody squeeze.
The man collapsed, eyes wide and lifeless.
Othello sat in the blood-soaked chair, laughing to himself, muttering half-coherent sentences.
"Should I... go seek out Snake? Or should I let them fight, gnaw, tear at each other... and see which rat crawls to me?"
He leaned back, licking blood from his fingers, eyes gleaming with madness.
"Yes... let’s leave it to the participants. A sandbox even I won’t tamper with."
"Yessss." he nodded to himself. "That is how it should be."