Serpents Garden

Written by Leto McGlinchey

CW: death/murder, environmental destruction, violence

The world was ending. Every natural disaster was happening, even in the Snake

King’s own kingdom. The earth rumbles, its maw eating away everything. The

sky was a bright crimson with white dust . The ocean was rapidly swallowing

coasts. It was all so unreal. He'd worked in less than desired conditions but the

end wasn't something he had done before, had ever thought he would.

It cracked and crumbled, not long after the god of the moon died. Parts of

beings’ ashes burned up or became asteroids punching into the earth as a shield

went up. He had watched the moon as it had been rendered to dust across the

sky But all too soon that fell and the Valkyries had been sent.

It was strange. Too out of the realm of reality or cognitive processing of a mortal.

There was no message from the guardians who vowed to protect the realm

which left only the Valkyrie; clearly Pan was protecting the planet with all her

might, but even her attention must of been elsewhere as the earth began eating

away at itself. Usually his job would be to lead children to safety or heal them, but

the organisation said there was nowhere safe. According to reports coming from

across the planet a part of it was bathed in flames, with ash filling the

atmosphere. The ocean rapidly rising.

It was all too alien. Surely destruction of this extreme couldn't exist with Tiamat

dead. She was killed for the murder of Ouroboros, the Snake King. Killed by gods

much younger than her, in oath to protect us all, but where were they now?

Sighing at his instructions, Lian puts on his mechanical arm.

Search and Destroy.

If he bumped into anyone, he was to tell them to go away from the side of the

planet that was burning and then continue on his way killing anything that was a

threat. Carefully, he stepped across the shattered street of a now abandoned

town. The sirens and alerts still sounded to leave.

Something else had been reported to have fallen from the sky. Some of the

Valkyries had sent images of it, but none had seen whatever the vehicle

concealed.

Searching through the building to yet another room: a child's playroom toys left

across the floor, a silent prayer that the family were alright. He sighs. What was

going on... Approaching a room, he sees the silhouette of a human sitting in a

chair.

She takes a moment to soften her footsteps. This isn't right; something is off.

Looking to a mirror showed a doll the size of a human resting within the chair. It

had to be a doll. The human’s expressionless and lifeless eyes, but it was the

proportions. Pure perfected symmetry. Not a hair was even out of place. It send a

shiver down his spine.

It looked at him and moved in a jerky way like someone tugged on the strings.

It rised up and moved around, and its head hung low, looking to their arm and

then to their mechanical one, now raised to protect his face. Its face was painted

a white shine with blush applied in two rouge circles. It didn't have pores but it

looked like almost plastic skin.

"Alright, creepy fucker, let's dance."

He swirled, and it copied his move, causing a resounding crack as the shock

traveled down his arm. The cold metal biting against his skin, causing discomfort.

He moved back. It takes a few steps back as well, clinging it's arm, its fingers

now crooked and the porcelain cracked. Chips of paint flecked off both their

arms.

Throwing a glance to his hand he feels the gentle hum of magic as a faint glow

travels along the arm; it feels almost like the heat from the sun.

But when he looked up, the doll was too. It's arm, it's fingers—just like how he

had seen his own a moment ago. He looks to his feet and takes a gamble.

How could he destroy something that copies his every move? Though its lips had

also moved when he breathed, it didn't seem to actually exhale.

Looking through the pouches along his waist, he carefully moves so they both

pick up a stone. He drops it, so it drops its own stone.

His eyes go to the grenades in his pouch. Carefully undoing it, he takes the cool

metal into his hands; they were shaking. He steps towards it until the two meet,

and he hands it the grenade. Taking part in the most eldritch game of charades,

he mimes holding the grenade and places his metal fingers around the pin.

Taking careful steps back till he nor it can go further, suddenly they stumble a

little as his back smacks against the wall. He mimes pulling it. While he does, he

watches the puppets shaking hands pull the magical grenade causing a blast.

He turns and closes his eyes as he moves to the side. After a few moments, he

looks to where the doll was. There were only ashes and melted metal with string.

He quickly reports the issue and begins to return to the street once more.

Wandering the street with a new found caution. Carefully checking along

demolished buildings tangled in vines within debris, he discovers more porcelain

dolls suddenly trying to scramble out from bars of cracked concrete. Their cage is

crushing force on top of them. A tangy taste to the air.

Some rubble clink against the building and litter the street causing her to glance

up to see a person halfway through falling over. “Please ignore me and go back

as normal.” The man was dressed in practical clothing for fighting; however

armour leather was embroidered with jade stitching and adorned himself in less

than practical earrings of alternating lapis lazuli and jade. His coat fashioned into

two tails made to resemble dragon tails. The fool of the holy court, Saphiem.

While he nonchalantly readies his rifle for the puppets, completely ignoring Liên

who cant help but let her jaw drop at his audacity before taking a small stone

about the size of the pebble and hurling it near him. A simple raised eyebrow as

he looks down at her with a multicoloured gaze; gold of the divine and pink.

“You would be better off chucking rocks at puppets.” Before he stares down his

scope and fires at a puppet. “If you are wanting to be helpful, let's scout out the

tree line there, I heard of some puppets being dropped off there.”

The two do not speak as Saphiem sticks high up and Liên stalks the streets. Both

quickly eliminate doll after doll. Red blooms from the street as spider lilies.

Eventually Liên puts their hand into a pouch to find nothing left. Saphiem in

hushed observation from above. The magic around the area becomes thick and

somehow the taste of iron is strong in ones mouth.

Dolls suddenly huddle together reaching their hands to the heavens. A woman

refined and flawless in symmetrical clothes steps out from them. Bearing a

spinning wheel turned shield and spear. Her features were faint.

Saphiem and Liên look to one another and then to the mysterious figure.

“Liên.” he speaks into Liên’s mind, causing them to look over and he smirks

before pushing them back, she does not hit cobbled ground but instead keeps

falling till the sky goes from red to blue with clouds. Her elbows hitting first off

upon reaching the ground. Sinking into marsh. The shock of cold mud and

change of scenery. They look only to see a ring of gold disappear, leaving only

the warm gentle breeze against their body.