Zeyn should've still been in the forest.
He had only just arrived there moments ago. Yet the instant the Empress placed her hand on him, the world around him twisted apart.
Now, he stood alone in a place that didn't belong to this world.
No sound. No life. Only silence stretching endlessly into the dark.
A massive corridor extended before him, lined with black stone walls threaded by faint golden veins that pulsed like a living heartbeat.
Blue flames flickered atop iron torches along both sides, casting shifting shadows over the serpent-headed pillars towering above him. The air felt warm and heavy, filled with whispers too faint to understand.
'Come to me... brother...'
A woman's voice echoed through the corridor.
At the far end, a giant door slowly creaked open by itself. Beyond it waited an enormous chamber.
And her.
The Snake Empress sat atop her bed, calmly combing her long hair as though she had been expecting him the entire time. Unlike before, she looked completely relaxed now.
"I'm coming in," Zeyn said.
The woman gently patted the space beside her.
Her massive tail slid across the floor before curling around him, not to restrain him, but to pull him closer. Cold fingers brushed through his hair, sending a faint chill down his spine.
'My dear brother... I missed you.'
She rested her chin against his shoulder.
'How's your little school life going?'
"College, to be precise. It's different from school, big sis."
'Oh? College, then.' Her fingers continued moving slowly through his hair. 'And how's college life?'
"Nothing interesting. Same as always."
'Careful. You know you cannot lie to your sister,' A grin spread across her lips. 'Your father has been troubling you again, hasn't he?'
Zeyn's expression stiffened for a brief moment.
"…That's not why I came here."
'Oh? Then why did you come, my little brother?'
Irritation flickered inside him.
He hadn't come here to discuss himself. Right now, the bigger problem was the fact that two unknown people had entered the forest.
"You were the one who sent a message across the universe to summon me, Sister Bella. I should be asking you that."
Instead of answering, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his forehead.
Bella.
That was the nickname Zeyn gave her long ago because he refused to say her true name aloud. A name considered taboo even among astral beings.
'Must an older sister always have a reason to miss her family?'
"Didn't we just meet last month?"
'Do not compare the flow of time in your world to the Astral Realm. You already know they are different.'
Zeyn let out a tired sigh.
So there really wasn't anything important.
Bella visiting him was normal. But being summoned directly into this room was rare.
"I don't mind if you wanted to see me," he said. "But you're being unusually clingy today. Calling me into your room too. Isn't that a little weird?"
'Weird? How so? You used to play here all the time when you were little.'
"Do I still look like a kid to you?"
'Mm... compared to my thousands of years?' her golden eyes narrowed teasingly. 'You'll always be my adorable little brother.'
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
Zeyn answered with visible boredom before looking back at her.
"So? What exactly did you want from me, big sis?"
'Sshzzh... There's actually no specific reason why I had to call you into my room,'
Bella's voice carried that soft hissing undertone again.
Her arms tightened slightly around him while her golden eyes continued observing his face without blinking.
'A normal person would be terrified at this point. Are you sure you're not intimidated?'
"Maybe a little uncomfortable," he admitted honestly. "But I know you won't hurt me, so it's fine."
Slowly, she leaned closer until her lips nearly brushed against his ear.
'You are still human, little brother. Unlike the rest of us,' The coils around his body tightened slightly. 'If I wished, I could consume you here and drain every last fragment of your life until nothing remained.'
"That's enough!" Zeyn finally pushed against her shoulder in annoyance. "If there's nothing important to discuss, then release those two people already!"
*Whoop!
A horrified gaze greeted his request. Bella's expression lost all traces of amusement. Her forehead nearly touched his as she stared directly into his eyes without blinking.
'They entered my forest through their own greed.'
The serpent tail beneath them shifted slowly.
'Without permission. Without respect. They forced themselves into my kingdom regardless.'
"But they didn't actually do anything," Zeyn argued.
'They were arrogant! Besides... it has been a very long time since I last tasted human blood.'
"Isn't that too cruel, sister!?"
'Is a lion cruel for hunting a deer that willingly wanders into its territory?' her fingers gently brushed against his hair again. 'Is a spider cruel because a foolish fly trapped itself inside the web?'
Zeyn fell silent. He could not completely defend them either.
The rules regarding Vasukih Forest had existed long before him. Hendri, the village chief, and even Bella herself all protected the boundary for a reason. Not everyone was allowed to enter freely.
Because the forest was not truly a forest. Something else existed within it. An unseen kingdom hidden between realities.
And only certain people could perceive it.
'Would you like to see what has become of them?'
The moment her fingers touched him, a vision appeared inside Zeyn's mind. A man was running through the forest.
As he had seen in the vision, the man we knew as Master Pirsa was still running-
Running as if the trees behind him might grow claws at any moment.
His breath was ragged. Cold sweat drenched his back. The terrain never changed. Trees, trees, and more trees.
No road. No sign of escape. It felt as though the forest had reshaped itself to trap him inside.
"Haah… hah… hah!"
He ducked behind a large tree, clutching his camera to his chest like a shield.
His heart pounded, his vision blurred. He dared not speak.
Then... A sudden sting shot through his hand.
"Aakkhh… Ah!"
A snake had leapt out of the underbrush and bitten him. Its scales were wet- almost too wet, as if it had just been born from something unnatural.
Before he could react, a towering figure stepped out from the mist.
It wasn't human.
The thing stood tall with pale, almost translucent skin that reflected no light.
Long white hair veiled its face, and thick, oozing blood trailed from the sockets where its eyes should have been.
Its lips stretched unnaturally wide into a grin, its fangs poking through with sickening clarity.
'Groaaarr~'
He froze. His throat closed.
"No… please… I-I'm sorry I entered this forest! Just let me go-"
The creature didn't answer. It simply tilted its head… then exhaled.
From its open mouth, a wave of invisible pressure burst out.
*Whung!
Pirsa was thrown back like a ragdoll, smashing into a tree with a sickening crack.
Before he could even scream, dozens of snakes slithered from the shadows- biting into him, tearing at his flesh, burrowing into his sleeves and collar.
"Aaaakkkhhhh-!!"
His scream echoed, then was swallowed by the fog.
And that was the consequence of entering Vasukih Forest without permission. A kingdom hidden from humanity would naturally protect itself from intruders.
Zeyn quietly watched the vision unfold.
"So what you're trying to say..." he muttered, "is that fate brought him there?"
'A touch of death. I couldn't stop my hungry folk. Especially when that person looked so… delicious.'
Zeyn shook his head gently, "No. It's not their time to die yet."
'Hmm?' Bella's eyes slowly shifted toward him. 'Are you opposing my will, little brother?'
"If it isn't their time, then they won't die. Unless Sister Bella simply wants to use them."
Bella suddenly laughed. Soft at first. Then louder.
'Hahahaha... You truly understand me too well, my dear brother.'
"I've lived around all of you long enough," Zeyn replied with visible annoyance. "I know why astral beings crave human blood."
He looked directly at her.
"So don't suddenly start talking about fate. You just saw an opportunity because humans wandered into your territory."
'You still defend them?' Her nails traced lightly against his shoulder. 'You defend strangers more than your own sister?'
"Just let them go, please? I just want everything to be okay."
The atmosphere inside the chamber slowly turned silent again.
Bella's expression gradually lost its amusement. Her golden eyes narrowed slightly before finally closing alongside a long, disappointed sigh. She sounded genuinely displeased.
''Very well,' her voice became colder than before. 'I shall spare them.'
Zeyn relaxed slightly.
But then Bella's tail tightened around his waist once more.
'However... You will compensate me in exchange for their lives.'
* * * *