"Alright," Noah said, exhaling. "But before we continue—I want a cigarette."
My divine body could not control the way my lips smirked upwards.
Jormungandr, that's what they called me.
The World Devouring Serpent.
All my life, I have been devouring, consuming, and eating worlds to satisfy my hunger.
Guess the surprise I felt when I found a mortal with a similar trait to mine?
That too in a world created by that half assed God william hired–
Ever since we realised the creation of a new world, every single clerk in the Pagoda wanted access to it.
It had been eons since the last one was made, and although I wasn't much strong of a god when compared to others and was only considered a Draconic being, I had still been accepted into this heaven-defying corporation.
Sitting across one of the private desks in the immortal building, I excitedly stared at the Ipad in front of me.
Yeah, this Ipad was a mechanical feat introduced by William, granting us access to the world with its help.
I wasn't tech-savvy, but I did understand that this Ipad connected us with an AI interface known as the system.
With this, we could not only watch the world through the Ipad but pass our soul forms into the world and choose people as champions.
I had long been waiting to sponsor someone.
William had announced that whoever's champion comes out to be one of the major characters of this world and has a chance to ascend would be rewarded with Divinity Crystals.
It is the only type of power, beings at our stage can consume and grow stronger.
Not waiting to lose my fish, I threw the bait at it.
With that, I had found the chance to shoo away all the other gods eyeing the boy under the pretext that this was a trial.
This was one loophole that the humans were not aware of: the moment they enter a trial, the God's soul can temporarily enter the contestant's soul space.
Of course, the moment the contestant passes the trial, we can enter and exit the user's soul space at will.
Willing myself into the boy's soul space, immediately—I froze.
The dark, swirling place of a mortal's soul space should have been empty, save for its owner.
But there was something else here.
A presence. A consciousness.
My scaled fingers tensed as I almost flicked my tongue out, adjusting to this bizarre discovery.
A tiny blob of blue with small legs and feet, along with 2 horns atop its head, floating in the abyss like a misplaced mistake.
He had no real body, no true power, yet he sat there, radiating an almost obnoxious level of self-importance.
The little entity—Damien, as Noah called it—froze mid-thought.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
Then, in a horrified whisper, he blurted out:
"Oh, you've gotta be shitting me."
Knowing that this was definitely something out of Bear, the author of this world's control, I laughed out loud.
Only a deity level entity could enter an individual's soul space, after all—
Seeing an almost scared expression on the cute little blob's face, I let out.
"Noah's split personality only makes me like him more," I murmured. "Obviously, I will not disclose this truth to the boy. You need not be worried-"
Turning my focus back to the boy, I had only one word in my mind.
Noah exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples. "Damn, my head hurts."
Meanwhile, this Damien—oh, what an amusing creature seemed to be scrambling.
"Alright, champ," Damien said, trying to keep his voice forcefully light. "You had your little blackout. You're back now. Rest a little now."
Noah frowned. "Wait—shouldn't I at least figure out what happened? Plus, what about these assassins?"
I tilted my head, curious.
Would he push? Would he seek the truth?
No, it seemed his little system wouldn't allow that.
"NOPE. NO. NOT HAPPENING."
Ah, such desperation.
"What you need to do," Damien said, far too quickly, "is get some rest before your body collapses."
Noah hesitated. "But I feel—"
"Tired. You feel tired."
He was forcing exhaustion onto the boy.
I chuckled. Clever little thing. Desperate, scrambling, but clever.
Noah blinked, body swaying slightly, then sighed.
"…Maybe I do need to sit down," he admitted.
I watched as Damien visibly restrained himself from celebrating.
"Smart choice," he said, dripping with relief. "Go find a quiet place, relax, and, uh… don't think too hard about stuff. These assassins won't dare to come at you-"
Noah narrowed his eyes. "You are being suspiciously pushy."
What would the little system do now?
Ah, an old trick. Misdirection.
"You know what happens when you overthink?" Damien asked, voice as grave as if he were uttering divine law.
Noah blinked. "What?"
Damien let the silence stretch.
Then, with the utmost seriousness, he whispered:
Oh, this was priceless.
His entire face twitched.
Then, in pure, unfiltered horror, he gasped—
How utterly ridiculous.
I laughed, deep and amused, as Damien milked it further.
"You don't want those, do you?" he pressed. "At your age? So young, so fresh, so full of potential?"
And this boy—this child with divine chaos sleeping in his veins—actually shook his head in fear.
"No… I—no, I can't afford wrinkles."
"Exactly," Damien said smugly. "So relax. Rest. Let it go."
And just like that, Noah gave up.
"…Fine," he muttered. "But only for a while."
"Of course," Damien lied smoothly.
You are playing a game against the gods.
And yet, I found myself entertained.
How will Bear react when he knows that his very creation is being manipulated into killing him?