"Heidlin Miriam Wals, from her name, it was clear... she was not a native of the empire. She was born in a small country, a country that was buried in history."
"In this world, there were many such countries."
"Just like the realms now covered by calamity, Heidlin’s country too would not be remembered... Even Heidlin herself did not remember it; she only knew that war had destroyed it."
"Of course, in the eyes of many, it was merely a war between "cities" and seemed insignificant compared to the wars between great nations."
"Yet, even such battles, placed upon an individual, were disasters nonetheless."
"Heidlin’s home and country were destroyed then, and her pain and despair at that moment awakened something hidden within her bloodline... It was a door, connecting the Main Plane to an unknown place."
"It was the first time the Evil God’s Followers received supplementation of flesh and mana."
"After that, Heidlin often dreamt, dreamt of the sea, dreamt of the girl standing in front of the research table, dreamt of countless gigantic tentacles... These dreams entangled her until she became Yila’s disciple and later the Governor, and only then did they somewhat improve."
"It was also then that the Evil God’s Followers, who destroyed both countries, became her Death Trigger."
"At the moment of Heidlin’s death, her consciousness would sink into a dark sea, and part of the power of the Evil God’s Followers would replicate and spread from her blood and remnants, devouring all nearby living beings."
"A portion of the devoured mana would transform into vitality, allowing Heidlin to "resurrect."
"This was actually the most basic contract, for within any "position," the Death Trigger always included such a vow, and actually... to achieve this, one only needed to repair the physical body; no matter how you thought about it, it was easy."
"Living beings’ vital signs would vanish, the mana pathways within their bodies would extinguish, and their souls would depart... It was a process that took place over time."
"But within the Governor’s body, there was originally no place for mana."
"I understand, then... be careful not to die again.""
"Yila told Heidlin this, sitting in front of her... At that moment, he understood what Leonard had meant by "several riots."
"The recent riots were caused by Heidlin recklessly using her "Death Trigger" on the battlefield in the Duchy, allowing the Evil God’s Followers to continuously receive flesh and mana supplementation through Heidlin’s vow."
"So, what exactly happened? Is there something special about my Death Trigger?"
*Considering Heidlin’s question, Yila thought for a moment and decided to slowly explain the connection between the so-called "calamity" and her Death Trigger.*
*Of course, Yila’s explanation was based on current assumptions... but he couldn’t guarantee whether it was right or wrong.*
"Aren’t you going to say something?"
The golden-haired woman with serpent-like eyes asked a small, lazily sprawled snake on the table... The surrounding world was only darkness, and she avoided even the souls around her.
This was the small snake’s reply.
"So I’m saying, can’t you take a human form? Or at least speak human words..."
The snake woman said this, propping her chin and complaining: "Clearly, as fellow "snake sheddings," I also want to live inside Yila’s body with you... But I was sealed as "chaos," and you were regarded as a "savior" hope from the same origin. Why?"
It seemed the woman with serpent eyes was truly dissatisfied.
Interestingly, the snake woman referred to herself and the small snake as "snake sheddings," which meant the skin shed by a snake, sounding... like mere appendages of something.
To the small snake’s words, the snake woman gave a bitter smile and said: "I only showed off a "little" bit too much arrogance, that’s all. Besides, didn’t I think I was bound to win?"
To the snake woman’s words, the small snake displayed a clear smile, speaking in snake language... or perhaps words that even snakes couldn’t possibly understand: "Hiss hiss hiss~"
"Indeed, whether because I oversaw Yila’s crossing or for other reasons, I was sealed by this world’s false gods. That’s a fact..."
The snake woman sighed helplessly, seemingly thinking of something that made her look a bit sad: "After leaving this world, I might be laughed at by other snake sheddings... But that time is still far, so let’s take one step at a time."
In the snake woman’s words, one could easily hear that by "this world," she did not mean the Main Plane or other planes, but literally... this "world" constructed by the World Tree itself.
The distinction was between the concept of the "world" before and after Yila’s crossing... Even those aware that Yila came from another world did not understand this.
What they thought of as "another world" was other planes, but the two snakes present knew... That wasn’t the case.
Moreover, it seemed that Yila’s crossing was orchestrated by the snake woman, as indicated by the term "oversee"; Yila’s crossing as the last survivor of a civilization was neither luck nor coincidence.
However, in Yila’s perception, his crossing with the "soul" of an entire civilization should have been due to an AI’s mercy... There seemed to be some inconsistency in understanding.
Or perhaps... there was no inconsistency?
This time, the snake’s voice probably meant agreement; it was apparent she felt certain about the snake woman’s fate of "possibly being laughed at by other snake sheddings."
Afterward, the two (one human and one snake) continued their conversation and communication in a way incomprehensible to ordinary people... Mostly idle chat without much significance.
Yet it often revolved around Yila.
Eventually, the pretty snake with metallic gleam on its scales seemed to think it was about time and began negotiating something with the snake woman in "hiss hiss hiss" sounds while swimming towards the distant darkness.
That was the correct way to leave the space around the World Tree.
"Are you leaving? Not staying a bit longer? Hmm..."
The snake woman thought for a moment and then said: "I’ve recently learned a powerful game of Go... Want to play a round with me?"
"Hiss hiss hiss! (You play it by yourself!)"