62. Cruelty
Noah did not move, or to say it better, he could not do that.
The pressure released by the mountain was immense, everyone had to stay still to resist it.
Then, the mountain showed a reptilian head large seven meters that went in front of the rank 4 snake that had just evolved.
Only then Noah could make out the true form of the mountain.
It was a colossal snake more than fifty meters long and its skin was so white that it seemed to shine on its own.
Looking at it, he wondered how it was possible for a being to reach such splendor with a material body.
The snake appeared like some sort of godly existence, surpassing anything Noah had ever seen in his two lives.
The rank 4 snake looked majestic on its own but in front of the King of the valley, it was just another member of its pack.
'W-What is that monster?'
Noah managed to have this sole thought before his mind underwent another shook due to the following events.
The King and the rank 4 stared at each other for a long time before the rank 4 lowered its head in submission.
The King then opened its mouth and laid its head on the ground waiting calmly.
The rank 4 snake looked at it for a moment before entering the King's mouth on its own will!
It was thirty meters long and it took a while before its body entered completely in the King's mouth but the latter just remained still during the whole process.
When the body of the newly evolved snake disappeared, the King closed its mouth and raised its head to look at the pack below it.
It released a soft hiss that made Noah shake in the distance and that set off a change in the behavior of the snakes.
They started to eat each other violently uncaring for their own lives.
Blood flowed endlessly as the epitome of cannibalism unfolded in front of Noah.
It was only when their number was almost halved that the King hissed again to make them stop and coiled on itself to resume its sleep.
The snakes of the pack, having eaten fully, were showing signs of becoming stronger, some specimen seemed even to be on the verge
However, there was no happiness or excitement in the beast's eyes but only helplessness and fear.
Before the King settled again though, Noah noticed a hole in the wall behind its body that had a faint light coming from it.
The snakes resumed their aimlessly slithering and Noah assimilated Assea back in his body as he fell on the ground in his hiding spot.
His hands were shaking and his mind was in turmoil, it took him an entire hour before he managed to calm himself.
'Fuck, fuck, FUCK!'
Countless curses sounded in his mind as he took control of his body again.
'I could only tremble at that thing sight! Its sole presence is almost enough to kill me, and the patriarch of the Assea family fought it? How many monsters like them there are in this world?'
He was quite proud of his achievements in this life, after all, he had trained for less than five years and he was only a bit more than thirteen years old.
That pride though was shattered seeing how meaningless his accomplishments were in front of such might.
When he reviewed the previous scenes in his mind he could only find one word to describe them.
'Cruel.'
He thought.
'The world is incredibly cruel.'
He was calm when he understood the situation in the valley.
'The King forces the snakes in its pack to eat each other and it waits until a rank 4 is born between them. Then it eats it to become stronger and repeats the cycle. I believe that with the concentration of "Breath" in that area and with the forced cannibalism he manages to create one every few decades.'
A feeling of respect appeared inside Noah as he looked again in the direction of the King.
'All of this only to increase its already incredible strength by a little. Even as a beast, its determination in its pursuit of power is commendable.'
He shook his head and a complex smile formed on his face.
'I simply kill everyone in my way while it actively exploits its own kind to reach a higher realm. Our wills are on a completely different level.'
He stood still for some more time until the fire of ambition flared up from his eyes.
'I can't die now! I don't want to die after I saw such an otherworldly strength. I want to reach that level, I want to surpass it!'
He moved his gaze away and entered the closest cave he managed to find.
'First I'll complete the sixth cycle.'
.
.
.
One month went by.
Noah spent his days meditating to increase the absorption rate of his acupoints.
He also practiced in his usage of the blood companion as he needed to be perfect in his snake form to succeed in his escape.
He had seen the hole in the wall behind the King and that was the only way to the surface that he could think of.
'Uriah wrote that the passage is there and since that one is the only cavity I could see, I have to bet on that.'
The rest of his time was spent looking at the pack of snakes.
There were no changes in their behavior during the month that passed and since they had eaten recently, only some of them had resumed giving small bites to those around them.
He had looked attentively to all the rank 3 in the pack and ascertained that no one of them was ready to evolve.
When he woke up one day, he was happy to find out that his acupoints had stopped working and he felt that his body had reached a familiar limit.
His sixth cycle was complete!
He was ready to leave.