Chapter 3 - Awakening of Goddess

Let me tell you something about ancient ruins. They’re never just abandoned. No, they’re either cursed, trapped, or guarded by something that thinks you're an intruder—even when all you wanted was a nap and maybe to die a little.

So yeah, imagine my luck when I stumbled across a moss-covered staircase hidden behind a curtain of waterfalls, leading down into what smelled suspiciously like doom and stale blood.

Naturally, I went in.

Because apparently, getting exiled by the Hero Party wasn’t rock bottom yet. Nope. I had to go spelunking into a forgotten temple, just to make sure I could check “accidentally wake up a forgotten deity” off the bucket list I never wrote.

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The temple walls pulsed with something… ancient. Snake motifs slithered along the stone, their carved eyes glowing faintly as I passed. A low hiss echoed every few steps. My inner voice screamed to turn back. But there wasn’t anything to go back to, was there?

My steps dragged. My mind wandered.

Misa’s sneer. Rein’s disgust. Zoldack’s mocking laughter. Leela’s silence, sharper than any insult.

"You’re not even her real descendant anyway..."

What the hell did that even mean?

I clenched my fists. My fingers brushed against the tiny serpent beast—curled in my hood, soft and warm.

It had followed me ever since I saved it. Or maybe... I followed it.

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I reached a chamber. Bigger than any so far. A hollow dome where the air was thick and the silence felt alive.

A statue stood in the center. Massive. Wings of stone, coiled tail beneath a woman’s form. Long, serpentine hair framed a face both terrifying and divine.

And then her eyes opened.

Literally.

I didn’t scream. I just… held my breath. Because some primal part of me knew: this wasn’t a statue.

This was a goddess.

Her voice slithered through the chamber, layered, ancient. “Mortal... Why have you come to disturb my slumber?”

Oh great. She talks. Maybe she also grants do-overs for pathetic beast tamers.

“I didn’t come here on purpose,” I said, voice hoarse. “Just trying not to die in a ravine. My bad for trespassing on your divine nap time.”

She blinked. Slowly. Like a cat deciding whether or not to eat me.

“You carry the scent of rejection. Betrayal. Weakness.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

Her gaze dropped to the serpent in my hood. It hissed softly, eyes glowing red.

Her tone shifted. Sharpened. “That creature... where did you find it?”

“I didn’t find it. It found me,” I muttered. “I saved it from a trap. That’s all.”

The walls trembled. Her wings unfurled in shadow, casting me under their curve.

“You dare touch my children?”

Her aura exploded outward. I dropped to one knee, the pressure in my skull like hammers against bone. My serpent shivered but didn’t flee. Brave little idiot.

I gasped, “I didn’t hurt it…!”

“You claim compassion. Yet you are mortal. Filth. Abandoned.”

“Yeah. I got the memo.”

She floated down—because of course she floated—until she stood before me, barefoot on stone that cracked beneath her steps.

She raised her clawed hand.

“I should erase you.”

Wouldn’t be the worst outcome, honestly.

But the serpent darted between us, spreading its body like a shield.

She paused.

Something flickered in her eyes. Surprise? Recognition?

And then my chest burned.

Not metaphorically. I mean literally igniting.

A searing light burst from my sternum—red and gold—and her expression twisted into something far worse than rage.

Awe.

“No… It cannot be… You… You are…”

My body arched in pain. Symbols—fanged, spiraled, celestial—scorched across my skin in glowing ink.

I screamed. Because of course I did. A normal Tuesday for me, honestly.

When the light faded, I collapsed, gasping, half-naked, covered in marks that weren’t tattoos but more like brands of something divine.

She knelt beside me. Not with pity. With reverence.

“You are the one fate whispered of… The half-blood son. The Serpent’s Vessel.”

“Great,” I wheezed. “Does that come with dental insurance?”

---

She laughed.

Which, for the record, was terrifying.

Her name—she told me—was Athenra.

Goddess of Dragons. Mother of Serpents. One of the Primal Aspects of Gaianthra.

A being older than kingdoms, buried when the world turned from dragons to divine light.

She explained the symbols. The marks. The bloodline I apparently carried from “her descendant who chose a human mate.”

So that’s what Misa meant.

Not her real descendant? Because I wasn’t fully human?

“Your ancestors forsook their birthright. Hid among cattle. But your awakening calls to the old power. I will make you whole.”

I blinked.

“Wait. So… what, I’m your great-great-grandchild or something?”

“You are the heir of the lost pact. My vessel reborn. Half-serpent, half-man. Yours is the blood of command.”

She raised her palm. A red and gold scale shimmered in her hand, then dissolved into my chest.

System Unlocked: Serpent-Dragon Tamer Pathway

Great. Now I have a system. Just like the others.

Except mine isn’t about slaying demons.

It’s about owning what they fear.

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The goddess vanished after. Not permanently. Just... sleeping inside me now. Which is somehow worse.

The serpent curled tighter around my neck.

I stumbled out of the temple, half-naked and glowing.

My head throbbed with power. My chest burned with runes.

But for the first time in years, my heart didn’t feel hollow.

Guess that’s what happens when you stop begging for a seat at someone else’s table.

And start building your own.

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