Chapter 28: The Whispering Serpent

Lin Han's footsteps moved forward involuntarily, as if an unseen force was pulling him ahead. The bronze serpent's eyes flickered with a faint glow, like the remnants of an ancient ritual, stirring something long buried in the river of time.

"Lin Han! Jangan pergi! (Don't go!)"

Noya's grip tightened around his wrist, her strength sending a numbing sensation through his arm.

He froze, awareness seeping back into his mind. He turned to look at her—her dark eyes were filled with unease, a rare expression for someone like her. She wasn't the kind of person who showed fear easily, but at this moment, her breathing was unsteady, a sheen of sweat forming on her brow.

"What did you see?" she whispered.

Lin Han took a deep breath, but his throat felt constricted, as if something had blocked his voice. The whispers of the bronze serpent still echoed in his mind, an indescribable force gnawing at his consciousness.

—"Complete the blood pact… or you will no longer be you."

A chill ran down his spine. His palms were wet, but it wasn't his own blood. It was oozing from the bronze serpent itself, slowly staining the ground beneath them.

Noya's fingers loosened slightly. Her instincts told her something was deeply wrong.

"We need to move. Now." She muttered, her hand inching toward the kris dagger at her waist.

But it was already too late.

Boom—

The stone door behind them trembled, as if something immense was struggling to break free.

"You must choose."

The voice thundered inside Lin Han's mind, carrying a weight of undeniable authority. His vision blurred—suddenly, he could see the intertwining threads of fate unraveling before him, each leading to a different conclusion. One was darker, thicker than the rest, pulling him toward the door.

A sharp pain shot through his right eye. It wasn't just the usual karmic sight—this was something more. It felt as if a searing-hot needle was drilling into his eyeball, forcing him to see something he shouldn't.

A flickering image flashed before him—

A half-naked priest stood on the other side of the stone door, his skin marked with serpent-like scales. His lips curled into a slow, knowing smile.

"No matter the past or future… you belong to us."

A shadow slithered behind him. The bronze serpent's eyes snapped open, and the space around them was swallowed by darkness.

Lin Han's consciousness collapsed.

When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer where he had been.

The air was thick with moisture, and a distant, guttural chant reverberated from above, as if an ancient scripture was being recited by unseen voices.

—"Where… is this?"

He struggled to push himself up, only to find himself lying on an ancient stone altar. Strange symbols surrounded him, carved deep into the stone, each one radiating an eerie glow.

And behind him, the bronze serpent's statue loomed, its expression unreadable—watching, waiting, judging.

Lin Han's consciousness drifted in an abyss of endless darkness, as if he had been cast into a dimension beyond reality. A cacophony of whispers surrounded him, ancient syllables murmuring in a forgotten tongue, echoing through the void of his mind.

He tried to move, but his limbs were bound by an unseen force, rendering him powerless as his awareness spiraled deeper into the abyss.

Then—suddenly—a violent tremor rippled through the void, and a crimson light slashed across his vision.

"Lin Han..."

Who?

The voice was deep, resonant, and carried an unnatural magnetism, as though it came from beyond the fabric of existence.

"Return… accept your fate..."

In that instant, the darkness around him shattered, and streams of blood-red symbols ignited in midair, forming an enormous, intricate sigil. An unseen force yanked Lin Han downward, dragging him into an abyss that defied all logic.

And then, he saw it.

A pair of colossal golden serpent eyes slowly unfurled in the void, radiating an unfathomable aura—one that carried both divine majesty and primordial terror. This was no ordinary presence. This was something that transcended the boundaries of human comprehension.

A deity.

Lin Han's mind shuddered as his right eye burned with searing pain. The fractured threads of fate that he once glimpsed now wove themselves together in an incomprehensible tapestry, like a forgotten prophecy awakening from the depths of time.

"You can no longer turn back."

In the reflection of those golden serpent eyes, he saw—himself.

A sudden jolt struck his body like a lightning bolt. Lin Han gasped, his eyes snapping open.

He was still lying on the stone altar of the Snake Temple. The air was damp and heavy, as if the remnants of his vision still clung to reality, refusing to dissipate.

"Lin Han, you're finally awake."

A familiar voice pulled him back.

He turned his head to see Noya standing beside him, her expression an unusual mixture of relief and unease.

"You were unconscious for three hours," she said, arms crossed. "No visible wounds, but your hand…"

Lin Han followed her gaze and felt his breath hitch in his throat.

A strange marking had appeared on his forearm—a sinuous, intricate serpent tattoo, its golden hue pulsing faintly as though alive, seamlessly embedded into his skin.

"What… is this?" he murmured, a shiver running down his spine.

Noya was silent for a moment before answering, her voice heavy with meaning.

"That… is a blood pact."

Lin Han's pulse pounded in his ears. And in the back of his mind, that voice whispered again—

"Complete the pact… or you will cease to be yourself."

Drawing a slow, steady breath, he clenched his fist. Whatever this was—whatever fate had shackled him to—he would uncover the truth.

And this time, he would not retreat.

Lin Han's heart pounded wildly, his blood felt like it was burning, searing through his veins, tracing the golden serpent pattern on his arm, and surging straight into his mind. His right eye twitched slightly, as if trying to pierce through the fabric of reality—yet something unseen blocked his vision.

"Lin Han…"

The voice returned, ethereal and deep, slipping through the cracks of time itself. A call that could not be ignored.

His head jerked up. The space around him distorted, shifting in a way that defied logic. He didn't just see it—he sensed it—the hidden chamber beneath the Snake Temple, the sealed stone gate slumbering in the depths of darkness.

The sigils on his arm pulsed with heat, responding to an unknown force.

"Follow me."

Noa's voice shattered the silence. Her gaze was unreadable, calculating, as if weighing a decision. But in the end, she turned and walked toward the depths of the temple.

Lin Han inhaled sharply and stepped forward.

The temple's interior twisted with eerie complexity, the stone walls engraved with ancient murals depicting a forgotten legend: a colossal golden serpent coiled through the heavens and earth, its eyes burning with celestial fire. Countless worshippers prostrated beneath it, offering sacrifices to an unfathomable presence.

"What's behind this door?" Lin Han muttered, staring at the cracked stone gate, a strange sense of familiarity creeping over him.

Noa did not answer. Instead, she raised her palm and pressed it against the center of the door.

—Boom.

A deep tremor shook the chamber. A crimson rune ignited across the door's surface, glowing faintly, as though scanning the identities of those who dared approach.

Suddenly, the serpent mark on Lin Han's arm seared like molten fire—responding, resonating.

—Creak.

The door… began to open.

A frigid gust rushed out, thick with the stench of decay and blood.

From within the abyss, a pair of golden serpent eyes blinked awake—