As the sky bled fire and the remaining fragments of humanity huddled together, flinching back from the overwhelming warmth in whatever bastions remained, Will was trying d his best not to fall asleep.

Look, it was nothing personal, just, he was already having trouble believing a dragon existed. So, when a giant snake started describing their feeding habits and intense dislike of the cold, he had trouble suspending his disbelief. It didn’t help that the snake was an annoyingly thorough teacher.

He was sitting in utter darkness, in an attempt to preserve the little amount of fuel remaining in the lamp, listening to the snake describe in painstaking detail how he should go about killing a dragon.

He had only really agreed to be taught this because of how boring he assumed staying in a pitch-black room for days on end would be, especially when he didn’t want to think about who this house used to belong to… or what had happened to his mother or…

He shook his head, clearing away the crushing helplessness that had begun to form in his mind and tried his best to listen to what the snake was saying.

As you know, while an obvious target, the reverse scale is an old trap. An old trick dragons use to distract attention away from their true weakness, their horns.

Nope. Will didn’t care at all; about anything the snake was saying. He had been expecting more practical instructions, perhaps a secret martial arts manual or magic ability. Not, battle tactics and the predictable habits of impossibly powerful creatures.

Ouch. It was nothing personal, he just really struggled to listen to someone talk for hours on end…

“Hey, I thought I asked you not to respond to my thoughts, even if you can read them. It makes me uncomfortable,” Will complained.

Don’t call my invaluable information boring, then, Hissed the snake, sounding more than a little offended.

“I can’t help it; I’ve never even seen a dragon before, so I have no way of putting any of this into perspective. Hell, I didn’t even know they were real until you told me,”

The snake sighed, emitting a low hiss in the back of his head. Well, I’m sorry I didn’t bring props, I had no idea I would be teaching anyone this the second I landed.

Now that the snake had brought it up, Will was curious, “Where exactly did you fall from?” He asked, deeply curious about where the snake came from.

The snake was quiet for a moment, as if thinking how exactly it should or could answer this question.

“What? Is there something you’re not allowed to say?” Will asked searchingly.

Hissing, with what Will had come to learn was laughter, the snake shifted, its massive bulk grinding against the walls and roof of the house as it moved. Nervously, Will brought another flower from the wooden box, placing it in the lamp where it quickly began to glow.

Soft purple light pushed back the overwhelming darkness, revealing the side of the snake’s massive head, where the wall had once been. Its pupil was a poisonous green, glowing in the meagre light with venom.

I am subject to nothing’s whims, the pilot of my own fate. The snake said, slowly and with complete certainty.

Will paused, he could tell this was a sensitive subject. Judging from how testy the snake had reacted, this was a sore spot for the big serpent, ‘perhaps it had very controlling parents or something,’ Will mused.

I assure you this isn’t some childish rebellion, human. I simply refuse to be controlled by anyone, God, Demon or otherwise. The snake hissed indignantly.

“Yeah, yeah, if you’re so independent and proud, why are you helping protect me from the storm?” Will asked curiously. Although he couldn’t hear the roar of the winds anymore, he could feel the abnormal heat coming from the ground beneath his feet and knew that it must be far worse outside.

Is it in your best interests to ask such a question? The snake hissed. What if I change my mind and leave you? It asked smugly, as though it held Will’s life in the palm of its hand, or was it the coils of its tail, Will wasn’t sure.

Will shrugged helplessly, staring back into the glowing green eye that had not blinked once. “Suit yourself, I have no chance of surviving out there anyway, even when the storm ends there won’t be any food or water left for me to find,” he said glibly, his casual dismissal of death was eery coming from a boy barely 15.

The snake’s eye narrowed, turning into a green slit as it took Will’s measure. Ah, so you’ve given up. Not an entirely unexpected reaction from someone in your situation. The snake hissed knowingly. Its narrowed eye returning to normal.

Will laughed, a bitter self-deprecating thing. “HA, of course, I’ve given up. I am utterly helpless, insignificant, and alone. Everything I know is gone; smoking ashes are all that remain of my home. What choice’s do I have left?” He crowed, his voice cracking slightly with mania.

I had wondered how you managed to remain so nonchalant in your situation. It seems you have simply accepted your fate. Isn’t that, right? The snake hissed curiously.

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“Pretty much, I feel like… I feel like I might go mad later, but for now, I don’t know what to do,” Will shuddered slightly, hugging his knees against his chest as he stared longingly up at the glowing flower on the table. One of its petals had already wilted and fallen off.

For a long while, the cabin was silent, the snake offering no response. The pair simply waited quietly, watching the flower petals wilt away. After every petal that fell, the light the flower glowed with dimmed as darkness crept back in, lapping hungrily at the feeble pool of light.

After a time that felt all too short, every petal had withered except one. It clung on, glowing more desperately and brighter than any that came before it. Its struggle was meaningless and yet strangely impactful.

Will watched the final petal, watched as it refused to go out, prayed it wouldn’t, he didn’t want to go back to the claustrophobic darkness that would surely return to the house. It would be cold and quiet, there would be nothing to do but think. Think about the options he didn’t have and the things he had lost.

Just as the last petal trembled, on the verge of collapse, almost ready to drift off and join the rest that had fallen to the bottom of the lamp. The snake’s poisonous green eye narrowed, and the petal exploded in brilliant emerald light.

Throwing himself back from the blinding light, Will scrambled until he reached the wall and had nowhere left to run. He opened his eyes nervously and saw the room illuminated by a toxic green glow.

The source of the light was of course that single petal. Once lilac now stained green, it glowed with a stubborn, unnatural refusal to give in.

“I- How did you do that?” Will asked, his voice barely a whisper.

The snake’s eye glittered in the strange light as it stared at Will intently. Your people call it magic. But we creatures from the in-between prefer its true name, Atma.

“Magic,” Will echoed, his pale blue eyes stained green by the light of the flower. “But how can you…?” Will asked, trailing off as he simply gestured at the glowing flower.

I am a creature of spirit, these things come as naturally to me as breathing does to you. The snake hissed smugly.

“Oh,” Will muttered, sounding slightly deflated. “I don’t suppose I could do something like that?”

No. just like killing a dragon, as you are now, using Atma is impossible. The snake hissed bluntly.

Will perked up hearing this, “I don’t suppose you have any unnecessarily detailed lectures on how to do magic?” He asked hopefully.

The snake hissed in its serpentine equivalent of a chuckle. While I’m sure I could think up a few lectures of that sort, none of them would benefit you.

“Why is that?” Will asked glumly, already half-expecting the reply.

You see, using Atma is something inherently tied to your physical disposition. Some humans, I’m sure, are born capable of such things. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are quite busy protecting big cities from the fallout of the first impact at the moment. You, on the other hand, have no such talent.

“None? Surely, I have at least a little.” Will whined, struck by how unfair that was.

No, your magical talent is non-existent. There is none to speak of. The snake hissed coldly.

“I see,” Will said sullenly, staring at the glowing flower with intense longing. “Is there a way for me to become magically talented?” Will asked quietly, he didn’t expect a positive response but thought he might as well ask anyway.

Although he couldn’t really read the snake’s monstrous face, he was almost certain that when he asked this question, it smiled. Yes. Yes, there is.

Will jumped up from where he had been lying against the wall. “Really?”

I wouldn’t lie. The snake hissed with a tinge of frustration.

“I thought that was what snakes are famous for. Tricking the god emperor and all,” Will pointed out.

What? just because one snake tricked Parammata and ruined the gods, doesn’t mean all of us our bad. The snake complained indignantly.

“I didn’t know it was that serious… hey, as an insider you might know who did it, was it one of your friends?” Will asked jokingly.

The snake chuckled again, a grating hissing that wormed its way into the recesses of Will’s psyche. But no response came.

Will narrowed his eyes, peering closely into the single glowing eye of the snake. Just as he was about to ask whether the snake was involved, it spoke.

So, do you want magic or not? It hissed urgently.

Will frowned, he had always known that this snake was a bit shady but, if it was involved with something of this magnitude somehow, and the gods were returning to earth. Wouldn’t being associated with it… be really, really bad.

Hush, didn’t you say that life and death meant nothing to you? How can you fear a few measly gods? The snake hissed anxiously.

“I’m pretty sure the gods can stop me reincarnating, and torture my soul for an eternity if they want…” Will said cautiously.

That’s true, but as long as you don’t get caught there’s nothing to fear. The snake hissed.

Will froze, backing slowly away from the snake again, “Why aren’t you denying your involvement?”

I can’t. The snake hissed reluctantly.

“So, it really was a snake you know, who was it?” He asked aghast.

The snake squirmed slightly, rocking the building on its already damaged foundations. It seemed to be trying to fight the compulsion to respond. In the end, it was forced to speak and when it did, Will’s jaw hit the floor.

It was me. It hissed sullenly.

Will’s eyes widened, staring at the snake. No. Latet, the Defector. In abject horror. He scoured the depths of his mind for a suitable response and came up short.

“I-I am going to have to turn down the magic lessons Mr Defector,” Will stuttered.

Shit! Just when I finally found a suitable apostle. Fuck this compulsion! The snake hissed indignantly, its massive body writhing outside the house, sending tremors through the ground that managed to make Will’s knees buckle.

Will froze as the snake threw its tantrum.

It is not a tantrum! How can the physical embodiment of deceit be forced to tell the truth? I swear when I find that prick, I’ll paint his throne room with his daughter’s blood! The snake screamed, its hissing screech battering Will’s consciousness.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by that, it was just a thought,” Will squeaked, his heart jackhammering in his chest.

The snake's venomous eye narrowed to a slit once again, staring at him with a new intensity. I suppose I don’t really need your consent to do this. After all, it’ll be too late once you’ve accepted my blessing.

Will swallowed hard, he didn’t like the sound of that one bit.

He watched, frozen in place by some unseen oppressive force as the snake turned its mammoth head. Edging its massive snout into the house, so close that he could smell the rotten stench that came with each breath it took.

Its mouth stopped mere inches away before beginning to open.

As he stared gormlessly into the endless darkness inside the snake, Will swore he heard someone scream, for all he knew it could have been him.

Deep within the body of the snake, something glowed green. After that.

There was nothing.