Karsha, deep in his sleep, felt something poking and tracing a circle on his face. However, being deeply asleep and with his battered body failing to respond, he disregarded it and continued slumbering.


    Nevertheless, the persistent sensation of something brushing against his face kept unsettling him. Slowly, he began to exert his will over his body. Eventually, he managed to open his eyes slightly, but all he could see was a blurry figure.


    He attempted to adjust his eyes in hopes of clearing the blurriness, but no matter how many times he tried, he couldn''tpel them to obey. After several attempts, he relinquished the effort and decided to focus on his hearing instead.


    "The Annihtor." He heard giggles followed by the word he heard before losing consciousness. ''Was I dreaming, or is this all reality? What is going on?'' Seeing he couldn''t do anything, he started wondering about what he saw and heard.


    ''Was thatdy real, or am I just losing it.''


    ''I am even alive.''


    ''How long has it been since I drowned?''


    ''Did somebody save me''


    ''That is right, I escaped from the Snake Overlord. But did I survive that jump?''


    A series of questions kept popping up in Karsha''s head as hey motionless. He could tell he wasn''t dead yet—he could still feel his heartbeat, and as someone who had died before, he knew he was still alive.


    However, he just couldn''t bring himself to open his eyes and stand up. His body was bruised and battered from the 200-meter fall into the river. Right now, he was undergoing healing and tissue regeneration.


    ---


    "What the fuck?" A shout echoed from inside a cave, prompting a youngdy to run inside immediately. Inside, Karsha, who had just woken up, continued to stare at two young girls with peculiar eyes.


    "Who are you, and what do you want?" he asked, stunned. "Where am I?" He added, distancing himself further.


    He wasn''t a fool. He knew the young girls before him were not human. Although they appeared human, their eyes and the scales on their bodies said otherwise.


    The two girls, however, started giggling when they saw Karsha''s sudden behavior. It was all new to them since this was their first time seeing a human.


    "Starr, Hope, get back," a voicemanded. Ayarr, who had just entered the cave, made the two little girls halt in their tracks. Karsha, who had just seen the beautiful snakedy, spoke in a curious yet tense tone, "It''s you. You are thedy I saw before drowning at the waterfall. Who are you, and where am I?" he added, making sure he stayed far from them.


    "Get your sleep, Annihtor; there will be time for questionster," she said, and with a wave of her hand, Karsha felt dizzy again before falling back into a deep sleep, whichsted for another two hours.


    When he woke up this time, he felt more in control of his body. He stood up and did some light stretches to test how well his body had healed.


    As he stretched, he felt leaves sticking to his back. Removing one, he realized they were medicinal leaves meant to heal internal injuries. His abundant knowledge from the Legacy came in handy, so he refrained from removing the rest of the leaves. He then proceeded to search the cave for any signs of the two little girls he had seen earlier.


    Finding no trace of them, he began to move toward the entrance. As he drew closer, he could hear the sounds of people conversing and children giggling intermittently.


    "So I wasn''t dreaming. Those children aren''t just an illusion," he muttered, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the sudden light streaming in through the cave entrance.e.


    A few secondster, Karsha stepped through the entrance. Once his vision adjusted to the sudden light, he was awestruck by the scene before him.


    The entire ce resembled a cave, but it wasn''t the cave itself that was intriguing. It was the towering trees, reaching up to 200 meters high, that caught his attention. The trees intertwined their leaves to form a natural canopy, covering nearly the entire area. Karsha stood there for a few seconds, admiring the breathtaking sight.


    "You are awake," a voice spoke, snapping Karsha out of his daze. "Follow me," she added before starting to walk in a certain direction.


    "The Annihtor."


    "The Annihtor."


    "The Annihtor."


    "The Annihtor."


    The same word kept escaping the mouths of people as they saw Karsha walking behind Ayarr. They all had a reverent gaze in their eyes when they saw him.


    "Why are they calling me The Annihtor?" Karsha asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.


    "You will know in a moment, Annihtor," Ayarr answered, calling him the same name.


    "The Annihtor... that does have a nice ring to it," he muttered under his breath. Ayarr, walking two meters in front of him, let a small smile escape her lips.


    "Are you the one who saved me?" Karsha asked again.


    "Yes," Ayarr replied. "Now follow me and make sure you walk in my steps." Instead of just answering, she added an instruction Karsha had already been following.


    From the moment he saw the tree canopy, he knew he had to be cautious. The ce didn''t seem ordinary at all. The air felt differentpared to the air outside.


    ''Why does this ce feel so weing?'' Karsha wondered, feeling a strange attraction to the ce. With no answersing to mind, he continued to follow Ayarr.


    Soon, they arrived at the entrance of a white building made entirely of stone. "Follow me," Ayarr said again as she entered the door. After a moment of hesitation, Karsha followed her inside.


    "You are finally awake, Annihtor," a voice spoke directly into Karsha''s mind, prompting him to raise his eyes and look forward. The moment his eyes fell on the woman before him, a wave of emotion quickly filled his heart.


    The woman sitting there, despite her serpent-like eyes, was an exact replica of Karsha''s mother, who had died when he was fifteen years old. She had been a medic in the US Army and had died in the line of duty. Her sacrifice had been what triggered Karsha to enlist and join the army. Karsha just couldn''t get enough as he just stood there staring at thedy.


    "I am sorry, you just look exactly like my mother," Karsha said, noticing the curious gaze on him and immediately apologizing. "I am fine now, and thanks for the hospitality, but can you tell me where this ce is and why people here refer to me as the Annihtor?" he asked.


    "Before I answer that, can you tell me more about your mother?" the woman asked, surprisingly interested in his mother. Karsha, still looking at her, smiled faintly. He resisted the urge to hug her, as he really missed his mother.


    "She was a very beautiful and loving mother. Also, she was a brave warrior who, despite herck ofbat skills, never ran away from the front lines. Her caring nature wouldn''t allow her to run while others were suffering on the front lines," he said, pausing to wipe away teardrops before continuing.


    "When I was a kid, I used to hate her for always leaving us to take care of strangers. However, when I understood what she did, I started following in her footsteps. She was my inspiration and will always be my inspiration." At this point, his tears started falling like a waterfall.


    He had loved many people, but his mother was one of a kind. She was his mentor and inspiration. Everything he did was to make her proud. All his achievements were for his mother. Now, standing across from someone who looked exactly like her, memories came flooding back.


    "She sounds like an amazing woman," the woman said with a loving smile.


    "She was the best," Karsha added, forcing out a smile.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Let me tell you a story," thedy said, gesturing for Karsha to take a seat on a wooden chair. He obliged, curious about what she had to say.


    "A very long time ago, this beautiful ind was discovered by a peaceful race of snakes called the Purple Tail Anacondas. With no danger lurking in the shadows, they settled here, and for years, they lived in harmony. There was no war, no battles.


    However, all that changed when one day, the ind began to transform. It was plunged into eternal darkness, and a new breed of vicious snakes emerged from the shadows. The years of peace for the Purple Tail Anacondas came to an abrupt end. What followed was over a hundred years of war, during which many of my kind perished in the never-ending battles.


    Despite the prolonged conflict, we eventually prevailed and managed to wipe out the invaders, regaining our peace once again. But that peace was short-lived. Out of nowhere, ten powerful snake monsters emerged with their own armies. These ten savages fought for territories, and when they discovered our existence, they turned against us. Another series of battles ensued,sting many more years.


    The more they fought, the more my people died. We were helpless against them and suffered greatly. However, one day, out of nowhere, the Purple Tail Anaconda deity descended from the heavens and ced a curse on the ind. The curse restricted the strength of the ten savages to only the seventh level."


    She paused, letting the weight of her words sink in before continuing.


    "But the deity also ced a bane on us. Although we are restricted to the seventh level, we cannot attack the ten savages unless they attack us first. It was apromise the deity brought to us as a way of bringing peace to my kind.


    "But before he left, he gave us a prophecy. He said, and I quote, ''A day wille when the one called the Annihtor will appear on this ind, my children. When the one with the S mark on his back appears, protect him and let no harme to him, for he is the one who will bring this once peaceful ind back.''"


    Karsha, who heard thest sentence, felt a pull tugging at his soul, drawing him in a certain direction. He didn''t attempt to resist; instead, he surrendered to the pull without uttering a word.


    "All hail the Annihtor," thedy shouted, and as she did, the heavens rumbled. Karsha was lifted off his feet and began floating toward a veryrge statue.


    The statue, towering and majestic, depicted an imposing figure holding a sword aloft, its eyes seemingly alive with a fierce light. As Karsha was drawn closer, he felt a strange sense of familiarity and destiny intertwining. He didn''t know what awaited him, but he felt a deep connection to the prophecy and the people who called him the Annihtor.