Umar didn't say a word.
Just walked right over—sword drawn, fast, heavy steps—and kicked me back down before I could even blink.
My body hit the ground. Then, just as I opened my mouth to shout, he stepped right on the wound he'd already given me.
That place. That awful, hot, still-bleeding place.
Just a little pressure.
"WHAT—!!"
I couldn't stop the scream. I wish I could pretend it was fake, that I was acting. But it really, really hurt.
"Mr. Mornez," Umar said, low and expressionless once my voice trailed off, "tell me what you found here?"
"Hh—hh… hh—" I gasped, choking it down. Pushing through the pain, teeth clenched.
"Y-you… you did all this. You staged the whole thing yourself."
"Don't talk nonsense!"
He exploded. Shouted. Pressed harder with his foot.
"Haha…"
I didn't scream again.
The wound had started healing on its own. Already. Thank the stars.
But I pretended—pretended like I was still in agony. Like I was too weak to move.
"So you're afraid," I muttered, my voice a mockery of itself. "You're scared I'll take this to the Church of the Saltmother Veriditas. Scared I'll report you."
"If the Church knew you were a fraud—what would they do, huh?"
"Mother Goddess?" Umar suddenly lifted his foot off me. Then he kicked me again, this time so hard I rolled—tumbled over the grass and nearly smashed into a tree.
"Ha," he scoffed, eyes gleaming. "Do you think I believe in the Saltmother? I believe in the Goddess Of Snakes And Mercury. 'She' is the one I serve! 'She' is my god!"
My skull rattled. Grass in my mouth. My eyes blurry. But my thoughts… they were a storm.
He just said it.
He said it. Out loud.
Umar Stanton a follower of the Mother Of Snakes And Mercury
From day one, I knew this was a world where gods walk, whisper, rule.
Six orthodox ones. Just six.
Goddess of Knowledge And Wisdom. Lord of the Sea. Twin Sisters Of Nigredessa, Nocthera and Calythera. The Saltmother. Lord Of The Burning Eye. The Masked Victor.
But not the Mother of Snakes And Mercury.
The Church of the Earth Mother calls Him an evil god.
And here I am. First real case. And it's tied to His followers.
Of course. Of course it is.
Umar muttered under his breath and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt, frustrated. "Stanton was always the devout one. The good believer. Loyal to the Mother. I had to fake it for years. Almost vomited trying to act pious."
My body felt fine. Fully recovered.
Which means he can't hurt me anymore. Not really.
Unless—
Unless he has something else.
I kept my eyes on him.
He walked forward. Calm. Not swinging his sword anymore.
Wait…
He sheathed it?
No, he slid it back into something—something that looked like a cane.
Black. Twisted.
Snake-head on top.
Creepy.
The sword and the cane—it's the same thing.
"Tell me what you know," Uriel growled, grabbing my neck suddenly, slamming me against the thick tree. "I might let you live."
"You think I'll believe that?"
He just grunted. Released me.
Then pulled out a dagger. Small. Clean. Sharp.
And cut a gash into his own arm.
Blood poured down to the snake-head. Fed it.
Then he raised the snake-staff, pointing it at me.
I froze.
I watched.
I should've moved. Run. Something.
But I didn't.
Too late—
The snake's eyes flashed red.
That was the last thing I saw.
---
Don't know how long I was out.
But when I came back—
It was cold.
Brain-freezing kind of cold. Like I'd swallowed ice cubes in a desert.
Then I heard his voice again.
"Tell me, where did you find what?"
My body was upright. Still. But my spine—soaked in sweat.
He'd hypnotized me.
The snake-staff… it's not just a cane. It's an extraordinary item.
It can hypnotize.
Wait—
He doesn't know I'm awake?
He doesn't know.
I didn't move.
Didn't blink. Just started calculating:
Mrs. Stanton… she's probably not family by blood. If she wasn't involved, maybe she was hypnotized too?
Uriel needed blood to use the staff. So he's probably not naturally an Extraordinary. Just… borrowed power.
And his question proves two things.
One: I wasn't under for long.
Two: He has no idea where it is.
The letter. The thing I came here for. He doesn't know.
Oh, gods.
I nearly cried. All this danger. All this pain. And he doesn't even know what he's looking for.
What a nightmare.
"Tell me! Where did you find what!"
Uriel's voice cracked. Louder this time. Closer.
Face-to-face, breath to breath.
"In..." I mumbled.
"Yes, where!" His eyes—wild with hope.
"In your mother's—"
I snapped forward.
Headbutted him with everything I had.
Hardening. Activated.
A flicker of black mist passed over my face.
My skull turned iron.
"AGHH—!!"
He shrieked.
Bridge of his nose cracked like brittle glass.
Blood. Tears. Everything sprayed at once. His weapons dropped.
He stumbled.
I got up.
Didn't wait.
Full force kick—straight into his—
"AAAAAHHHHHHH—!!!"
Umar collapsed.
Screaming.
A thousand dying birds in his voice.
I didn't stop.
Rolled over him. Mounted. Fists flying like they'd been waiting for this moment their entire life.
"You STABBED me—?!"
"YOU KICKED ME—?!"
"You son of a—!"
"You garbage dog!"
"You brainless donkey-freak cultist!"
"You—don't—even—know—what—you're—LOOKING FOR—!!"
Punch. Punch. Punch.
"Take my time, waste it again! I'll kill you, you kicked dog!"
"You wanna play god?! You don't even know where the letter is?!"
"You pretended?! I'll pretend to END you!"
...
Five minutes later—
I was panting.
Couldn't lift my arms anymore.
He wasn't moving much. Barely murmuring.
His face? Let's just say—Mrs. Stanton wouldn't recognize him. Probably his mother wouldn't either.
Not that I feel bad.
I had every right.
I got stabbed. Kicked. Gaslit.
But now? I was done.
"Damn it!"
Let the Church of the Saltmother other handle this.
I'm not paid enough to deal with cult freaks.
I turned around—just casually—and that's when I saw it.
The snake-staff.
It was glowing again.
The eye—redder. Darker. Alive.
Umar's blood trickled down the cane like a tiny serpent. Slid to the tree root. Then seeped inside like it was never there.
Gone.
And then—
The tree moved.
Roots yanked free from the dirt. Twisting. Coiling.
A doorway opened.
Downward.
Into the earth.
Into something like… a throat.
A snake's gaping mouth.
"What the—" I whispered.
My heart slammed. My hands started to shake.
I stepped back.
"This is..."
"Hahahahahaha!"
Umar. Still alive.
He staggered. His face—a horror painting.
Eyes full of worship.
"The great Mother of Snakes and Mercury! I found it! I found your gift!!"
He ran.
I tried to grab him.
Failed.
He tore free like something was pulling him in.
Vanished into the darkness.
I hesitated.
Stared.
I could've left.
But no. I had to say it.
"Damn it!"
Then I followed him down.