Kaiser of the New World

Kai felt like he was drowning.

All of the air had been sucked out of his lungs as he had been pulled beneath the snow that was beneath his feet. He couldn't make out anything, his eyes stinging if he tried to open them for more than a second.

Desparately, Kai tried to break free, swinging his entangled leg wildly in an effort to make whatever had grabbed him let go.

However, after a moment of doing so, he stopped, realising what the consequences of his actions would be.

Him getting stuck beneath the earth, no way for him to escape.

Nervously, Kai stopped fighting back and let the abominable creature that had him in its grasp continue pulling him.

It was a gamble, one that Kai was not keen to bet on, but whatever was pulling him seemed to have some sort of destination in mind.

So Kai focused on preserving what little oxygen he had left. If he ended up passing out before he reached whatever the beast was he wouldn't be able to fight, and Kai knew damn well that he would definitely have to fight.

He also dismissed Esurient, just in case the blade had also been nabbed by the unseen beast that had grabbed him.

Seconds passed torturously slow, each passing one making the burning in Kai's lungs even worse. Hesitantly, he used Mana Surge and sent a little into his lungs, making the pain ease up a little, but he wasn't that fond of having to start spending his Mana so early.

But finally, just as Kai felt as if he was about to black out...

The feeling of being completetly surrounded by snow disappeared.

Kai started gasping for breath as he deactivated Mana Surge, not wanting to be weakened even the slightest bit for what was to come.

Opening his eyes, Kai looked around and saw what looked like an immense chappel.

The walls were coated in dust, various paintings hanging off the walls, even thought Kai couldn't make out what they were of due to the dust.

There were dozens of cradles of fire, each one burning brighter than the last as Kai was dragged along the stone floor.

It hurt a little, but the protection his armour offered made the pain basically negligible, even if it was a really uncomfortable ride.

Lifting his head up so it also didn't crack against any rocks beneath him, Kai was finally able to see what was dragging him.

The end of a long, white, scaled tail was wrapped tightly around his ankle, pulling him without any regard for his safety.

Gritting his teeth, Kai summoned Esurient, feeling the hilt of the familiar blade manifest in his hand.

Then, using as much strength as he could possibly muster, Kai sat up and lunged at the tail wrapped around his ankle, aiming to sever it with one single blow.

However, at the last moment, the tail shifted, sliding up his body and wrapping around his torso instead. It gripped him tightly, lifting him up into the air and not dragging him along the floor anymore.

Kai cried out in pain, the creaks of his armour symphonising with his voice as the tail crushed it like a vice grip. He felt his bones tremble, his body ache, but luckily whatever beast the tail belonged to did not grip him too tightly.

Groaning, Kai sent a little Mana into Esurient and made the blade turn invisible, giving them the silent command to follow behind them.

Sadly, no matter how badly Kai wanted to give Esurient the command to free him then and there, he couldn't.

Because he had just gone around the corner and finally saw what the tail belonged to.

Kai had been lifted into a massive room that looked like the main area of a church. Pews of stone were placed perfectly symetrical leading up to a massive alter with a raging flame in a large cradle on its centre.

Kai sucked in a shallow breath.

The flame was mesmerising, it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. He had believed that his own flames were spectacular, but they just couldn't compare to the flame that was on the altar, it looked like something that did not belong to this world.

Sadly, no matter how much Kai would rather focus on the beautiful flame before him, he also had to look at the beast that had captured him.

It was long and white, the exact same colour as the snow Kai had spent the last few days watching.

It's body wrapped around the room multiple times, the bit holding onto Kai being the very end of its body.

Kai's eyes traced the long white body, watching it grow in thickness with each passing second.

But no matter how hard he looked, he could not spot its head.

But Kai did spot some other things.

Cecilia and Petunia were both in the beasts grip, the long white body of the unseen monster wrapped around them tightly. Both of then were grimacing, experiencing the same crushing pain as Kai, only they didn't have a strong suit of armour to negate some of the damage.

Just as Kai was about to speak, someone else beat him to it.

"It ssseemmsss that I have sssome intrudersss."

Feeling a gaze pierce his very being, Kai looked up and saw a large snake head descend from the darkness at the top of the chappel.

It's eyes were a bright red, like freshly spilled blood, and it's forked tongue slipped out of its scaled mouth, getting eerily close to Kai's face.

Its voice sounded like a man's, only Kai was still shocked that he had been kidnapped by a talking snake.

And once more, his mind could only think of him getting called a knock off Snow White.

"Um... H-hello Sir Snake... what can I do for you to hopefully not make you... eat me?"

The snake grinned, making Kai shudder after looking at such a strange sight.

"Who sssaysss that I will eat you?"

Kai blinked.

"Are you not?"

The snake's forked tongue reached out, softly connecting with Kai's cheek. It was a dry and unpleasant feeling.

"I will, but I am just curiousss asss to why you asssumed it."

Kai tried to pull away from the snake's tongue, but the grip it has around him was much too tight.

Wanting to try something, Kai attempted to change the topic of the conversation.

"It's, uh... it's a lovely flame you've got there... what is it?"

"Do not look at my flame!"

The snake's grip around his waist tightened, making Kai groan in pain as his armour creaked even more, some cracks now appearing in its body.

Kai inwardly cursed. What the hell was he meant to do in this situation? He had physically nothing.

Esurient was still out and about, unbeknownst to the snake, but this snake was much stronger than Kai was so he was hesitant to have his trusty blade engage it.

Luckily, Kai didn't have to do anything.

"Even though I may be a ssserpent, I am extremely generousss.

Ssso I will give you the chance to extend your life."

Kai groaned.

"And how exactly will you do that?"

The snake's red eyes gleamed.

"Riddlesss. I like riddlesss.

We ssshal go back and forth, exchanging riddlesss. Firssst one to get one wrong losssesss."

Kai stared blankly at the snake, wondering to himself why a massive snake living in a chappel underground enjoyed riddles.

Still, it was a good thing.

"I see... that does sound fun, but... I'm not exactly sure that I trust you."

The snake's expression darkened.

"Elaborate."

Kai sighed dramatically, trying to ignore the pain in his chest.

"You see, where I'm from, people normally make contracts before asking each other riddles, that way they are unable to lie or cheat."

The snake's eyes narrowed before it turned to look at Petunia and Cecilia.

"Doesss thisss boy lie?"

Cecilia paled, but she understood what Kai was trying to do.

"N-no... he tells the truth."

The snake hissed softly.

"Fine... We shall sssign a contract, then we ssshal exchange riddlesss."

Kai smirked to himself.

"Deal."

The next moment, two pieces of paper appeared out of thin air. The paper was a light brown, like it was thousands of years old. The ink on it also looked incredibly old and also looked as if it was written by feather rather by pen.

The end of the page was also on fire, but the fire didn't spread, it remained in the same spot.

"Thisss contract states that the firssst persssson to incorrectly anssswer a riddle ssshall have their heart implode."

Kai blinked.

That didn't sound like a good way to go out.

But he was still confident.

The snake offered him a little bit of comfort, allowing Kai to free his arm to sign the contract. Instantly, the pain from his ribs lessened, making him sigh in relief as he wrote his own name.

Then, with a predatory smile, the snake signed the contract as well.

It's grip then tightened around Kai once more, the body of his armour creaking again.

"Now..." The snake hissed. "Allow me to asssk firssst."