Chapter 25: The Serpent’s Curse

Storm clouds loomed over the temple, casting the night into an abyss of darkness. Lin Han clenched the blood-red gemstone in his hand, his fingertips trembling slightly. He could feel a faint pulse within it, like a sealed heart, still beating with unwilling defiance.

Noya leaned weakly against the stone wall, her forehead slick with sweat. Her hands were still trembling from the overuse of her spiritual energy, her face drained of color.

"We can't take this thing with us." She lifted her gaze to Lin Han, her voice weak but laced with warning.

Lin Han remained silent. His instincts told him that this Serpent's Heart held a deeper secret, and its curse—perhaps—had already begun to seep into them.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled ever so slightly, as if something deep within the temple had been disturbed.

"Watch out!"

Lin Han snapped his head up just in time to see a shadowed figure emerging from the temple's entrance.

A man in a hooded cloak stepped forward, his presence exuding an unnatural stillness.

"Finally, I've found it." His voice was deep and hoarse, carrying a faint trace of amusement—cold enough to send a chill down one's spine.

Noya gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand, her hand moving toward her holstered gun. But before she could react, the man lifted a single finger and flicked it gently—

Snap!

An invisible force exploded outward, distorting the air. In the blink of an eye, Noya was slammed against the stone wall as if an unseen giant had seized her and thrown her aside!

"Ugh…!" She let out a muffled groan, a trail of blood trickling from the corner of her lips.

Lin Han's pupils shrank. He instinctively leaped backward, his fingers forming a rapid series of sigils to activate his protective spell. But the man's gaze remained locked onto the gemstone in his hand, cold and unwavering.

"Don't bother resisting," the man said, his tone eerily calm. "You've already been cursed."

A chill crawled up Lin Han's spine. He quickly lowered his gaze—and his breath caught in his throat.

Somehow, without him realizing it, a dark red serpentine mark had appeared on his forearm, coiling under his skin like a living thing. The intricate lines of the curse slithered and pulsed, as if drinking his very life force.

A searing pain shot through his entire body.

Lin Han's pupils contracted sharply as he stared at the serpent-like mark slithering across his arm. The blood-red symbols pulsed as if alive, sending a burning pain coursing through his veins. He clenched his teeth, cold sweat dripping from his forehead, his heartbeat erratic.

"What the hell is this thing?"

He tried to shake off the crimson gemstone in his palm, but no matter how hard he struggled, his fingers felt bound by an invisible force, refusing to let go.

Snap!

The hooded figure let out a faint chuckle, lifting a single finger. Out of nowhere, a gust of eerie wind surged through the temple, making the candle flames on the walls flicker violently, casting twisted shadows against the ancient stone.

"Do you think… this is merely a curse?" His voice was low, almost echoing from the abyss. "No—it is a lock."

Lin Han gritted his teeth, enduring the pain as he forced himself to remain standing. His sharp gaze locked onto the hooded figure's eyes, searching for the smallest hint of weakness.

"A… lock?"

A sneer curled at the edge of the hooded figure's lips. With a slow, deliberate motion, he traced a symbol in the air, leaving behind faint glowing patterns. Instantly, Lin Han felt an invisible weight slam into him, constricting his limbs like unseen chains. Even breathing felt like an arduous task.

"Haven't you found it strange?" The voice dripped with amusement. "Why are you here? Why did you find that stone? Why… does it feel like everything has been arranged for you?"

Lin Han's chest tightened. A foreboding sense of dread crawled down his spine.

He tried to resist, but each attempt only made the cursed mark burrow deeper into his veins. A haze clouded his vision, and then—

Flashes of a burning altar. A colossal serpent coiling around its base. Hundreds of hooded figures kneeling before a pool of blood, their chants rising in eerie unison.

And in the center of that pool—

A face surfaced.

His own.

Lin Han's breath hitched. His eyes widened as an icy grip clenched around his heart, suffocating him.

"No… what is this?"

The hooded figure tilted his head slightly, an enigmatic smile forming beneath the shadows of his cloak.

"You are finally beginning to see."