The World Serpent

Statera began looking around as the bright light that enveloped her completely disappeared. She calmly investigated her surroundings as she found herself in a strange yet nostalgic place. She looked upwards as she found herself staring at the Darkened Sky. It had numerous thunders echoing within it as it seemed that a battle was happening on the Heavens. She calmly looked around once again, and she finally realized where she was. Statera felt her beating heart getting faster and faster as she heard a voice behind her.

"Astral Lord Statera, The Dark Daemon Monsters, and the Savage Daemon Monsters have begun moving. The Occidental Region is temporarily lost. We need to help our Elven, Dwarven, and Beastfolk Allies." A Stern and Serious Voice echoed as Statera turned her head. She then saw an Old Man who had a long white beard. He had a scar on his face as he waited for Statera's orders.

"Hmm... Are we fighting in a Great War?" Statera asked as the Old Man tilted his head in confusion. Statera then realized that she was asking a stupid question. She shook her head and spoke with a calm voice. "Forget what I said. Give me the reports about the remaining battlefields." The Old Man nodded after hearing Statera's orders. The Old Man then began speaking about the reports.

"The Dwarven Battlefield is going well as they are using the Mountains as their natural defenses. The enemy still hasn't sent their Ruler, which means the Dwarven Ruler would have to stay put. About the Elven Battlefield, The Casualties are quite high though it seems that they are still defending it without any problems. The Last Battlefield, which is the Beastfolk, is rather complicated."

"Complicated?" Statera questioned as the Old Man nodded and continued. "The Beastfolk created a Gigantic Wall that spanned the entire Oriental Region. During that entire time, The Ruler died. It seems that his daughter got elected to be the next one. The Command Chain of the Beastfolk is crumbling with the death of their Ruler. They might need help as there is a possibility that their wall would break."

"I see..." Statera nodded as she began thinking about herself. She wasn't thinking about the war. She was thinking about something different. Why did she question the time? It was Statera's question as she finally realized what was going on. She sighed and looked at the Old Man with a cold voice. "So you're the thing. Pretending to be my Old Adviser, Do you want to die?"

The Old Man tilted his head as a smile appeared on his face. "That was rather disappointing that it took you a while. Did you think that everything after the war was a Dream? Did you wish it was a Dream?" The Old Man said with a mocking voice as Statera's face got colder and colder. An Aura of Pressure got released from her as it decimated everything around them though it seemed that the Old Man was not under its effect.

"Now, now, There is no need to fight me, Statera. You are one of the heir's friends after all." The Old Man said with a calm voice as Statera raised an eyebrow. "Heir? You mean Persia?" Statera said as she squinted her eyes towards the Old Man. The Old Man nodded in agreement and continued with its calm and old voice. "The Heir of the World Serpent, Persia. A Girl with the same power and potential as the World Serpent. One of the most powerful beings that eat worlds as its breakfast."

"What are you trying to do? Are you planning to use her?" Statera asked as the Old Man shook his head and denied with his old voice. "I am serving her, not using her. Only those foolish fools who haven't seen the power of the World Serpent dared to fight against it." Within his old voice was a tinge of fear. Statera raised an eyebrow and asked with a calm voice.

"You have seen the World Serpent?"

The Old Man turned his gaze towards Statera and answered. "I haven't only seen it. I have seen its power. It destroyed and ate my world though it wanted me to be under its care. I didn't know the reason, but it seemed that it saw something within me. Though the fate of my world was rather sad and pitiful." The Old Man turned his head towards the Heavens and spoke once again.

"Anyway, I do not need to speak of my story. You need to complete your test, Statera." The Old Man said as he disappeared from his spot. A Mirror then fell from the Heavens as Persia stared at it with curiosity written all over her face. Statera walked towards the Strange Mirror and wondered if she needed to go inside to start the test.

She touched the Mirror with her pale fingers though it never went through it, which meant it wasn't a portal. Statera also noticed her strength returning, which also means that her enemy was a strong one. She sighed as she began looking around the place she always stayed during the Great War. She sighed as she couldn't notice the smiling Reflection on the Mirror due to her Nostalgic Entrancement.

Statera turned her head once again in the Mirror as she furrowed her eyebrows. She slowly stepped back as she spoke with her seductive voice. "Come out." Nothing answered though Statera waited patiently. The Mirror Reflection began moving as it smiled towards her. Statera squinted her eyes after seeing her Reflection moving. The Reflection then walked out of the Mirror and entered through Reality.

"My, my, It's nice to see you, Original." The Reflection spoke with its seductive voice as Statera stared at it with her cold eyes. She didn't release a single word as she disappeared from her spot. Statera's Scythe materialized within her hand as she swung it towards the Reflection. The Reflection dodged as it also created its own Scythe. "Isn't that bad manners, Original?"

"I cannot believe that the Original lack the courtesy of a Lady." The Reflection said with a mocking yet seductive tone. The Reflection began spinning her Scythe as she disappeared from her spot. Statera quickly investigated her surroundings with a single gaze as she also disappeared. Flashes of light and Thunderous sounds kept echoing as the Fight started at a fast speed.

The two of them disappeared and reappeared as they cut anything their Scythe touched upon in half. 'She has the same strength as me.' Statera thought to herself while fighting against the Reflection. She never expected the Reflection to have the same strength though she wasn't bothered about it. She continued fighting as the two of them retreated and stood at the opposite spots.

"My, my, The Original is rather Cold. Don't you want to go back when everything was simple? The time where you only need to fight without dealing with politics. A Great War with blood and suffering all over Piksyon." The Reflection spoke with its seductive voice as Statera furrowed her eyebrows. "You don't know what you're talking about," Statera said with a calm yet cold voice.

"Oh, I know what I'm trying to say. Don't pretend to lack knowledge about your hidden thoughts. Don't you want to go back to the past? Where most of your equals stood and fought against each other, including you? When did you care about Lives, Spirit of Death?" The Reflection continued mocking as Statera didn't answer and disappeared from her spot. The Reflection began spinning its Scythe as Statera appeared right behind it.

The Reflection dodged Statera's attack as it swung its Scythe towards Statera. Statera's Scythe got hit by the attack as it flew towards the distance. "You're losing your grip. It seems that what I said about you is true." The Reflection mocked once again with its seductive voice. It then disappeared from its spot and reappeared right in front of the weaponless Statera.

The Lack of weapons and any Defensive Armaments gave Statera no other choice but to activate her Trump Card. 'Death.' It was a simple thought which opened everything within Statera. Statera transformed as her Blue Azure Hair turned Jet-Black and Red Crimson Eyes turned into SIlver Light. Statera turned onto her death form as the Reflection smiled and did the same.

"You aren't the only one that can do such a thing, Original." The Reflection spoke as it threw its Death Scythe towards Statera. Statera dodged it as it flew towards a Random Mountain behind them. As its hit the Mountain, A bright light shone as a shockwave went through the two of them. *BOOM!!!* An explosion echoed as a mushroom cloud formed. The Mountain disappeared as it crumbled into a Gigantic Crater.

Statera then turned her head towards the Reflection as she disappeared once again and started her counterattack. The Reflection called its Death Scythe as it was smirking towards Statera. Statera then appeared right next to it as she swung her Death Scythe towards the Reflection. Unfortunately, The Reflection already got its Death Scythe under its hand. It blocked Statera's attack and retreated.

"You can go back if you want to. The only thing you need is to start a war. You can use your little friend to start it. Or, is she even your friend?" The Reflection said with its seductive voice as Statera shook her head as she didn't want the Reflection's words to keep repeating within her ear. "What are you trying to say?" Statera released the sentence that kept repeating within her mind.

"You accepted Persia as a friend in a near-instant. You accepted the Demons without any problems. Are you sure that you aren't planning to go to war? You must be thinking about the races that have grudges against Demons. The News would spread as you would have no choice but to kill the Demons or Defend them. Another Great War would start, and you would finally feel something that you couldn't feel for millenniums." The Reflection began preaching supposedly about Statera's plans.

"Your wrong..." Statera gritted her teeth as she didn't want to believe that she would want such a thing. The Reflection smirked and replied. "Are you sure about that?" It said with its seductive voice as Statera's mind slowly broke down. Her beating heart was ravaging her body as it couldn't help but feel the pain of emotions. Statera tried to calm herself, but to no avail, it didn't work.

Statera then remembered Persia's words. *Releasing your emotions to those that you consider Important is a great thing. Even if you feel embarrassed about it, There is no such thing as too late, as everything would get revealed if you are willing to. Though, I'm not the one to talk about such a thing. After all, I am always hiding things from him. Him? Who the hell is this guy.* Statera could still see a clear image of Persia grinding her head to remember her memories.

"You're wrong. I am myself, and I do not want to go to war or plan to instigate it. I accepted Persia as my friend because I saw her as my Equal, The one who was willing to speak to me without thinking about my Title. I accepted the Demons because I believe in change. You're simply assuming things that you don't even know. You're the one who is lying to yourself." Statera said as she charged towards the Reflection.

The Reflection found itself in shock after hearing Statera's words. Statera then appeared right beside it as she swung her Death Scythe towards the Reflection. The Death Scythe passed through the Reflection as the Reflection found its body cut in half. It then smiled as it looked at the Original.

"My, my, It seems that you haven't lost your grip, Original." The Reflection spoke with a soothing voice as Statera found herself standing while staring at the Heavens. It began to rain as her body got illuminated by a bright light. She completed her duel as she couldn't help but smile to herself. "I haven't lost my grip," Statera muttered as the bright light enveloped her body.