Eobard had always been crazy about snakes.

Being the young master of a branch of the Statum family, they were rather well, though not amazingly so.

When he was young, he had encountered a rare snake monster.

The footbiter.

It didn't really bite feet. Much like Toe biters, they were a misunderstood species named so because of their flattened head, as if a person's boot had crushed them.

They were known for another thing, and that was their high levels of venom.

That didn't stop young Eobard from being fascinated by the weird little critter, with it's charming black scales ladened with white studs as if the night sky had been miniaturized and wrapped around a serpent.

It was a beautiful little thing, and for a child, it was enough.

Since then, he had been fascinated by snakes, leading him to eventually open his very own snake shop, aimed at selling things for snakes, from snake food to habitats to snakes themselves.

That footbiter would follow him to the shop, being raised on a diet of pure magic stones, causing it to eventually evolve twicefold, becoming the midnight glider.

She rested over the entrance of the store, serving as a fun surprise for new customers, but a familiar sight for repeat customers.

Though it was mostly indifferent to him, the glider never bit him when he came to feed it, even allowing him to pet her. Thankfully, since the poison of a midnight glider was enough to poison a drake.

His family never blinked at his shop. Though he was from a branch family, with his parents having died young, the fact that they willingly funded his shop was his blessing.

He didn't receive many customers, but he did receive enough, with a sprinkle of eccentric customers for sure.

Beast tamers that lived locally quite liked his shop that sold monster eggs, even though he mostly specialized in snakes and things snake ate.

Access to friendly beasts was always one of the greatest difficulties for beast tamers.

As a result, local monster tamers often had snake and mice type tamiliars, making him plenty of money.

There were many memorable and weird customers.

A pair of siblings, both whom were serpent from the waist down wearing traditional Qing clothing. They almost seemed lamia though lamia never seemed apt for them.

An obvious dragon pretending to be a human, betrayed by his poor acting skills and even worse energy concealing skills.

A priest of the god Fenrir who was "looking for his brother". He always spoke in riddles.

An early bird looking for the wyrm.

A snakeman who used to break into his trashcan to eat the snakefood before Eobad finally just hired the snakemen and allowed him to eat snakefood for free.

A snakewoman seeking to liberate one of her kind. Eobard merely sold her the snakes without question.

He could say without a doubt that selling snakes had been the best choice he had ever made.

Unfortunately, he died.

Perhaps it would've been a cosmic irony if he had died by snake, but no.

He was killed in an assassination by an enemy of the family.

It made a lot more sense frankly.

Death came swiftly in the night as he had begun to close up shop.

The assassin had used some form of shadow magic to bypass the shop's door.

He hadn't even fed the snakes one last meal!

Yet before he died, he got to watch as the midnight glider whom surprised all his first time customers got to "surprise" his first time assassin with a lethal dose of poison to the back of the unsuspecting assassin. Charlie slithered up to him shortly thereafter, resting next to him.

Bypassing the door had ensured his ignorance to the very end of how he died.

Perhaps she'd eat him once he was gone, for what other reason would a snake curl up next to a dying man?

Then he would get to feed his snake.

Eobard never had any regrets. He'd gotten to take care of his snakes, take care of other people's snakes, and even gotten to share his love of snakes with others.

And he'd gotten to watch as his longest kept snake repay this debt.

It was a life well lived.

Oh dear...

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His life did not end so simply however

Crack.

Eobard found himself coming to, trapped in a hard casing, and without any arms no less.

He couldn't feel his arms, yet he was far more concerned with breaking out, an instinctive urge.

Throwing his head against the border, Eobard eventually managed to break through the hard surface, before being abruptly blinded by the bright light.

The instinct faded quickly, leaving Eobard confused in the aftermath.

And armless.

As he looked around confusedly, a familiar voice echoed.

Hello little one

Yes, Eobard knew this voice.

It belonged to the weird snake woman who often dressed in eastern clothing, often bringing along her brother to peruse and buy the snacks the snakes liked.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

He never judged of course. The snacks had specifically been tailor made for the serpent taste, so he never thought much of it when a snakeperson bought it.

He merely smiled when the pair claimed it was for the children.

Now this voice reverberated around him, louder than it had ever been before. It was booming.

Eobard soon realized that he had emerged from a shell, onto a new soft land.

Soft like skin...

As Eobard slowly began to understand the situation, a chuckling could be heard overhead.

How are you doing little Eobard? Feeling a little disoriented? The pleasant voice echoed again, causing Eobard to look up and see the large face of lady Nuwa, causing him to realize.

He was on someone's finger.

'Ah. I'm small right now.

And scaled...

am I snake?' He thought, yet there wasn't much of a ripple in his mind as he looked around.

I was hoping for more of a reaction. Came another voice as the other customer he had become accustomed to appeared, two giant faces looming overhead.

"Oh it's you two." Eobard noted looking around curiously. "Did I die and go to Hades? Why are you guys here?"

You're not dead. Fuxi responded, causing Eobard to nod in understanding.

"Oh. So I've reincarnated."

...I was hoping for more of a reaction." The snakeman complained, causing the earthshaking voice of Nuwa to boom as she giggled.

Come now. We've met him often enough brother. You know how Eobard is.

Yes Eobard, you've been reincarnated. How is your new body feeling? Fuxi prodded.

"Alien. But I'll get used to it.

Why are you guys here"

He asked bluntly, causing Nuwa to tease.

Haven't you figured it out yet child. Nuwa, Fuxi, snake people...

"You mean Nuwa, mother of the gorgons?" Eobard asked, causing Fuxi to look a little astonished.

What about me?!

"Umm, Fuxi, brother to Nuwa?"

Ugh. I used to be one of the great emperors of humanity! Now I'm "Nuwa's brother." A gigantic(normal) sized tail came out, slapping the younger brother over the head as he slinked away, grumbling about the disrespect etc. etc.

Aloof as usual child. Nuwa said warmly, chuckling as she looked at the tiny snake in front of her.

The silly aloof shopkeeper she had once known seemed to perfectly embody a snake as he seemed even more aloof and indifferent now.

I suppose you have some questions. She asked expectantly, and indeed, Eobard did.

"Is my shop fine!? Who took over my shop!?" he asked, showing strong emotion for the first time since having been reborn.

Your shop's fine.

That silly snakeman's taken over as per your will, and gotten your secret snakefood formula. Nuwa responded patiently, having already expected his questions.

Eobard sighed in relief. Despite his bad tendency to eat a quarter of what he made, Nom Nom was a good snake caretaker, devoted to his job.

"And Charlie?" he asked, concerned about the nightglider who avenged him.

She's fine right now. In fact she's here when you're ready to see her again. Nuwa said, showing a weird expression as she spoke.

I know you won't ask so I'll tell you. We are currently in the holy ground of the serpent people. From gorgons to lamia to snakemen, all snake types are welcomed here. Courtesy of the deal I made with Jorvus.

You've been reborn as a snake, per my request.

"Why me?" Eobard asked, and Nuwa smiled.

Because you were an eccentric.

It's not hard to find a child with great potential in an empire this large, but to find one so devoted to snakes that he bought a shop just for snakes?

To evolve a monster twice to the B-level just because it was a snake?

To hire no one else but the snakeman because he enjoyed your snakefood so?

So when you died and I thought of the new program proposed to revive our favored dead, who else could I pick but you?

"I'm flattered.

And a snake now. So do I just nap now or..." Eobard asked, and Nuwa's smile deepened.

That's the best part. You're a normal snake now, but I'm allowing you to choose any snake monster yo want to become, and I'll make you so.

It's within my domain after all, mother of snakes.

"Any snake!?" Eobard asked, extremely excited at this moment.

Any. She affirmed, pulling out a thick book, one he was quite familiar with.

It was his book from the store.

An encyclopedia of all the monster snakes, serpents, wyrms, and even eastern dragons ever recorded.

It was bigger than he remembered.

I turned it into a divine treasure for you, courtesy of my cauldron of creation. It now records all snake monsters to ever exist, as well as their info. My birthday gift to you if you will.

It's also you size now, and can change size accordingly.

The area around Eobard shook as Nuwa's hand lowered. placing the newborn snake down in a miniature house.

I'll leave you here for now. Medusa is probably complaining right now that I'm taking too long. When you've made you choice, just ring your bell and I'll e along to help you change your form.

And she disappeared, straight into thin air, upon which Eobard eagerly dived into the book, curious to see all that was recorded.

Quetzocoatlisk

city serpent

slithering stalactites

berrysnake

serpent of the guarden.

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He chose serpent of the guarden.

THough Nuwa was initially surprised, she burst into a grin at his response.

"I wanted to open another shop.

I'll need a garden for that. This guarden snake grows fruit, perfect for me to make my old feed."

She chuckled as she shook her head.

Even now, you are stuck on that shop. Eobard made no comment, for indeed, he had focused on what was best for the shop.

Berrysnake had been tempting had it not been for the fact that the guarden snake could raise livestock.

I am now sure I did not choose wrong.

Very well! she said, clapping her hands.

From now on, you will be a guarden snake!"

Boom!

A heavy cauldron dropped from the air causing the ground to shake.

Hop in!

Eobard lept in without hesitation, as Nuwa set forth to do what she did best.

Creation.

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It took a week for him to emerge from the cauldron.

He was no longer so small, now being 20 feet long, and Nuwa no longer seeming like a giant to him.

The change in perspective merely emphasized how small he had been weeks prior.

His scales had taken on a corn snake pattern with a small bell hanging under his neck.

There was a small pair of horns emerging from the back of his head as well, though they easily blended in with the rest of his scales.

He had a rather innocuous appearance, but that was because his abilities were closely tied to the garden he chose, and not with himself.

The bell under his head was no normal bell, with it's ringing capable of bringing great growth to plants in the area.

In fact, he saw in his book that one path this form could take was a dragon, where the bell would become a dragon ball.

He would remain a snake of course and was unlikely to take the path, but it was something interesting to learn nonetheless.

Turning to face the person who'd given him these abilities, he bowed politely to lady Nuwa.

"Thank you miss Nuwa." the young man said politely, albeit stiffly. He wasn't quite a people person.

She waved her hand in dismissal. It's nothing. Now, you said you wanted to open a shop didn't you?

Eobard noded, and she smiled. Well, knowing what you wanted, I bought you a piece of land here in the holy land of serpents, so that you could open your shop freely.

They teleported in an instance, appearing in front of a simple shop.

This shop wasn't as impressive as his old shop, but it was enough for Eobard. It fit in better too. The land of snakes was indeed just that.

He watched as countless serpents passed by them, and even gogons and lamias appearing in the crowd.

For Eobard, it was the dream.

A land of just snakes!

It was amazing!

Eobard was starting to feel excited.

Walking in, the layout was practically the same as his old house, contrary to the outward appearance.

In fact, he turned around, looking up, expecting to see a familiar shape.

And indeed,

A large, black, slithering silhouette came down, staring at him curiously.

The midnight glider greeted him, with a surprising raspy voice.

"Is it... you?" There was a glimmer of hope.

Eobard nodded. "It's good to see you again Charlie. Thanks for getting the assassin before I... passed."

To this, though she didn't say anything, she stiffly nodded, before cooly slithering up to her perch above the roof, curling up quietly.

Hmmm. Nuwa hummed, causing Eobard to worriedly ask. "It's not rude to hang other snakes above the roof is it?"

No, it's fine. Just thinking about, things. She said, her eyes flickering between the two snakes before continuing to talk.

Anyway, I copied most of your resources from the old shop and the currency around here is the same as the rest of the empire.

So, are you ready?

Eobard nodded thankfully, before slithering over into the back of the shop.

He was back, and he had so much to do.

Sadly, he couldn't sell snakes any more most likely, but that was fine.

A whole new world had revealed itself to him, and he had so much to do.

Life as a snake was looking up.