Chapter 3: 3. Getting Better

The directions I received from the rats didn't lead me to a village. Instead they led me to the ruins of what clearly had been a village at some point in the past. Buildings, burnt, and in shambles, some standing, some not. They were all that was left amongst it all. Just echoes of some catastrophe. 

Slowly, I walked through the ruined village. Taking my time as I went, stopping here or there to get a picture of what it must have looked like before it got destroyed. 

Amongst some of the destruction I occasionally found a rare trinket. A necklace covered in soot. A barely recognizable doll. Even a sewing needle. I kept the needle and moved on, passing by the middle of the village and over to the other side. There the destruction wasn't as bad. As if whoever - or whatever - had done this had grown tired or bored halfway through. 

The results was a lot of standing, empty, buildings. Still, most of them weren't recognizable for what they were. It was only because of the contents within that I was even able to figure out what some of them were. 

There was an empty bakery, where I found an unreadable list. A bar forever empty. And what must have been someone's home. It was the only place that I found that had a couch. 

While inside the now owner less home, I foraged around. Looking for anything of meaning. I found a surprising amount of fabric in a basket. And after a bit of mental debate I decided to take it with me to use as material to make a dress, or a skirt at the very least. 

Outside, I found one last thing of interest. At the edge of the ruined town was a sword stabbed into the ground. It looked and most likely was, completely average. 

I took it with me. My need for a weapon had been made clear when those rat men attacked me. Despite me being severely stronger than them - which was really surprising - they had still almost killed me. A sword would help to prevent something like that from happening again. 

But I'd also need to cultivate more. Those rat guys had recognized that I was a cultivator, which meant that there were more cultivators around. And while they probably all aren't psychopaths out to get me, I'd rather be safe than sorry. 

So only a few minutes after picking up the sword I returned to one of the buildings in the village. There, I started to gather essence and cultivate it. This time, though, I didn't just let it run through my body as it pleased. I actually tried to control it. A feat that was far harder than I thought it would be. It was like trying to thread a needle blindfolded. 

On my first few tries, I'm pretty sure I almost killed myself several times. My heart had stopped beating, twice, and once I suddenly just started feeling very cold. Like I was freezing. 

But, eventually, I got it. Or I at least came close enough to success that the difference was negligible. 

I felt even stronger than I did yesterday. My body practically hummed with a new strength. 

... And yet, it felt as if there was something missing. Like there was something more that I could do; if only I knew what it was. A ghost in my thoughts, forever eluding capture. 

I brushed it off for now and got up to go. As I neared the edge of the village, however, I heard something from behind me. Something, or someone, that sounded human. 

A survivor, I was sure, and one that probably needed help. They could be stuck under some rubble or trapped by any number of things. Whatever the issue was didn't matter, all that mattered was that someone needed help and I was ready to give it. 

"Ah." The sound was faint, but it was getting louder. I was getting closer. 

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"Ahh!" It was nearby now, so close that it had to be originating from one of the ruined houses near me. 

Recklessly, I charged into one of the ruins and started lifting rubble and throwing it into the street behind me. Soon there was a rather impressive pile and I had confirmed that the house I checked was the wrong one. 

Worse the cries had gone silent. 

Desperation written on my face, I quickly moved to the next house and repeated the process. Halfway through and my arms were getting tired. Instead of stopping to take a break I just cycled some essence through myself. It was, as always, more energizing than it needed to be. I put that extra energy to good use removing the last of the rubble. And beneath it all-

I found a snake. 

We both stared at each other for a moment. Many thought went through my head then, and the snake looked pensive. Which was weird. It was a snake, and snakes weren't supposed to look pensive. 

Then, as if to add insult to injury, the snake spoke. 

"You shall do. Hold still." 

Faster than my eyes could track, the snake moved. It was in the air, then it was on my neck, and next thing I knew it had bit me. Which is when things got weird. As the snakes bit didn't kill or disoriented me. It didn't even hurt me. What it did do was take me somewhere else. 

Suddenly, I wasn't in the ruined village. Instead I was in the forest in front a tree covered in snakes. 

One of the snakes - the biggest of them - stretched out towards me. My first thought, and instinct, was to try and back up. Except, when I went to move, I discovered that I couldn't. Something was firmly holding me in place, preventing me from doing anything as the snake drew near.

It opened its mouth wide, and I saw one of my arms move closer to it. Then the snake bit down on the involuntarily offered appendage. A muted pain traveled from my arm to the rest of my body. It felt like my entire body was being pricked with needles all at once. 

I tried to scream, only to find that I couldn't. Somehow that made the whole experience worse. A lot worse actually. I wasn't even sure how. But it felt more... Personal in a way that I couldn't explain. 

Then the snake removed its fangs - fangs that I only now realized we're about the size of a dagger, each - from my arm. The pain faded away shortly after that and my vision began to fade. 

But before it all went black I heard the snake speak to me. 

"I've chossen you, to be my, champion. Don't worry, it'll all be better, ssoon. Ssoon." 

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