Chapter 2 - Ravine Of No Return

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The wind here was sharper than the words that got me thrown out.

So this was the infamous Serpent Ravine. A pit where people came to die, or disappear quietly enough that no one had to feel guilty.

Perfect.

The world called it cursed. The adventurer guilds labeled it a “Class Red Zone.” Mothers used it to scare their kids straight. I used it as a last resort because I was out of money, food, beasts, friends, and dignity.

Mostly dignity.

Not that I ever had much to begin with. It’s hard to stock up on dignity when your party leader calls you useless in front of half the kingdom.

And the other half just laughs.

My boots were falling apart by the time I reached the edge. The cliffs yawned wide like a beast ready to devour the stupid. Lucky for them, I was exactly that brand of idiot.

One step and the world dropped away.

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I didn’t scream. Not because I was brave. I just didn’t have the energy.

Branches whipped across my face, something cracked in my shoulder, and by the time I landed, I was too broken to die properly.

I lay there for a while, wondering if I was supposed to cry or hallucinate first. I settled for neither.

The sky peeked through dead leaves above me. Somewhere in the trees, a crow cawed like it had front-row tickets to my funeral.

Ravines weren’t supposed to be this quiet.

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I moved eventually. Survival instinct is annoying like that—it kicks in right when you’re ready to give up. Everything hurt. My ribs protested. My legs barely listened. But I moved.

That’s when I saw it.

A small serpent coiled beneath a broken root. Pale white scales. Too clean for a monster. Too small for a threat. It hissed weakly, a thin trail of blood running from its flank.

Great. Even cursed ravines had abandoned kids now.

I don’t know what came over me. Maybe it was the pathetic look in its eyes. Maybe it was the fact that, like me, it had been left to rot. Maybe I was just too tired to think logically.

I tore some cloth from my ruined sleeve and crouched.

“…Don’t bite me,” I muttered.

It didn’t.

It watched me, trembling, as I wrapped the wound. The hissing slowed. Its breath evened out.

Then it did something strange.

It moved forward and touched its head to my hand.

A low hum. Like a heartbeat shared across two bodies.

Its scales lit up faintly. Red, flickering like fire—but not burning. My hand pulsed in sync.

The system chime I never thought I’d hear again rang inside my head:

[Beast Tame: Successful.]

[Species: Crimson Fang Serpent - Juvenile]

[Name: …Unassigned.]

Then another screen—one I’d never seen before:

[System Update: Divine Contract Detected.]

[Initializing Hidden Beast Tamer Class: 'Heavenbound Scaled King.']

Wait. What?

What the hell was that name?

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I stared at the little serpent.

It stared back.

Great. Now I was hallucinating upgrade notifications. Probably concussed. Or cursed. Or both.

Still, something had changed. The weight in my chest—that useless, dragging sense of failure—lightened by a hair.

“…You’re not running away from me,” I said.

It flicked its tongue.

“Fine. Guess that makes you smarter than my ex-party.”

I gave it a name. Something short, fitting, mildly pathetic.

“Your name’s Chi.”

The serpent blinked.

Then curled up in my torn cloak like it had always belonged there.

---

Night came fast in the Ravine.

Fire wouldn’t light. Food was a fantasy. And my body still ached in ways that promised slow infection or fast collapse.

But I had a serpent, a mysterious system message, and a tiny ember of something I hadn’t felt in a while.

Possibility.

That’s when I heard it.

Footsteps—too graceful to be monster, too sharp to be human.

A voice echoed through the stone.

“So this is the vessel the heavens chose?”

Oh no.

Not another monologue.

I stood slowly, blood dripping down my arm.

From the shadows, a figure emerged—scales, wings, and a gaze that shattered whatever resolve I had left.

“I am Athenra. Goddess of Dragon and Snake.”

…Great.

Now I was dying in the presence of divine disappointment.