The serpent began to coil itself into a tighter and tighter bundle, its massive body folding and twisting in ways that seemed almost impossible given its enormous size and the apparent rigidity of its scales.

Then, from within the depths of that coiled mass, a thick and swirling purple mist began to rise, spreading outward until it covered the creature’s entirety in an opaque shroud of magical fog blocking vision.

When the mist finally dissipated and cleared, revealing what lay beneath.

I saw that the serpent had transformed itself into a completely different form. Standing before me now was a large giant.

A humanoid figure that towered several times higher than a normal person, with two great and curved horns sprouting from the sides of its head.

Dark sclera surrounded its eyes instead of the normal white, and purple pupils glowed faintly in the center of the dark tunnels.

The giant was dressed like some... ancient African Patriarch, with various pieces of cloth and animal hide covering its lower half in a wrapped garment.

But its upper half was left completely bare, revealing large breasts that marked the figure as female.

Across her neck and chest were draped beads and cowries and some native decorative items, hanging in layered strands that clicked and clacked softly against each other with every small movement she made.

Her long black hair fell down past her shoulders in thick waves, accentuating her face and her glowing purple eyes. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Like I said, she was still several times bigger than a person, a giant in the truest sense of the word.

But compared to the endless serpentine body she had displayed just moments ago, this new form was far more humanoid and less intimidating — though still undeniably powerful and ancient in the bearing.

She continued speaking, her deep voice resonating through the air despite its clear feminine undertones:

"How would you feel if I arrived at your domain, uninvited and unexpected, carrying a pitch fork and torch?"

"Uhm, I would probably wonder if I owed you money," I tilted my head to one side, thinking about her hypothetical scenario, all while glancing up at her deep dark sclera.

The blackness of her eyes was so complete, so absolute, that it looked like there was a dark world, an entire universe of shadow and mystery, hiding behind each of her eyes, visible through the window of her pupils.

"I am something that mortals might refer to as... an introvert," she said, lowering her massive body to sit on a huge chunk of ground, a broken section of earth that had been torn loose from the surrounding landscape during our fierce battle.

The piece of stone was large enough to serve as a makeshift platform or stage, and she settled onto it with surprising grace for someone of her size and apparent weight.

She continued; "I enjoy my time with myself, in my own company, without intrusions or unexpected visitors who may bring violence to my doorstep."

I leapt high into the air, soaring several meters upward with a single powerful jump, and landed on the same pulled stone where the serpent-woman had seated herself.

The broken platform was large enough for dozens of people to climb onto and stand comfortably, but the giant had taken most of the available space with her massive frame.

However, there was still some room remaining, enough for me to sit at a respectful distance without crowding her personal space or invading her territory further.

"I understand completely. I used to be like that before, in my earlier life," I answered her, noting as I spoke how utterly pale her skin was in comparison to her dark eyes and dark hair.

Her complexion was almost chalk-white, luminous in the moonlight, as if she had not seen the sun before.

"Solitude has its own pleasantries," I continued, "its own comforts and unique joys, that are difficult to explain to people who have not experienced being alone by choice."

"Indeed. That is a rare and refreshing understanding from someone who clearly has the power to demand attention wherever he goes. But let us not beat around the bushes any longer than necessary," she said.

Then her voice shifted slightly as she brought our small and preliminary conversation to a more focused and direct conclusion. "Tell me: what does the gods want with me this time? What message have they sent you to deliver, and what demand are they making?"

Eh? Gods?

What is she talking about?

I don’t know, how do I answer that question?

Why is she asking me about the gods as if I am their messenger or herald?

"Uhm... Maybe they think you are too powerful to ignore?" I put a finger on my chin in a thoughtful pose, genuinely guessing rather than speaking from any knowledge of divine intentions.

"And why would they think that?" she countered, her voice calm but pointed. "I have been docile and well-behaved for many centuries. Why act now, after all this time?"

"Eh? Wait a minute," my eyes widened a little bit as I looked at her more closely, "do you think that I work for the gods?"

She frowned slightly, her dark brows drawing together over her glowing purple eyes, and tilted her head at me in a gesture of confusion and curiosity.

"Are... you not a god?"

What?! A god? Me?

Ehehe.

Well, I’m pretty strong now, far stronger than I was when I first arrived here, so, honestly, I don’t know.

But calling me a god already, you rascal flatterer!

"No, I am not a god," I flatly replied to her assumption, my voice firm and clear. "I... well, just think of me as a male Amazon. That is probably the closest description available. I’m not a regular human."

"You lie to my face, stranger. That cannot be true," she said immediately, her eyes narrowing with suspicion and disbelief.

Right?

She didn’t believe me at all. Her skepticism was obvious and unguarded.

But her explanation for why she didn’t believe made a certain amount of logical sense, and I could not find a way to refute her reasoning:

"Amazons, as every intelligent being in this world knows, are a race of exclusively females. A male child has never been born from their bloodline. So your claim to be a male Amazon is inherently contradictory and impossible."

"That is correct, I will grant you that much," I waved my hand in a dismissive gesture, acknowledging the accuracy of her point. "But I was basically adopted into the tribe just the other day, so same thing. I’m not a biological Amazon. I am an honorary one. I’m not lying, though."

She squinted her dark eyes at me even more intensely, the purple pupils within those black sclera becoming unstable and shifting like moving smoke.

As if they could not decide on a single point to focus on or a single expression to settle into.

"...And Irina herself was comfortable with that unusual idea?" The giant asked after a long moment of silence and consideration. "She approved of taking a male into the tribe as an adopted member? Well, I suppose Irina has always been an abnormal woman, never quite fitting the expectations that others had for her, so she might see some benefit or advantage in taking you in that no one else would recognize."

Then she turned to me again; "Incidentally, where is Irina? It is far too rude of her to not come and greet me personally after I risked my life in the past."

Yep, this person is old.

The way she speaks about Irina, the ancient Amazon matriarch from thousands of years ago...

As if they were contemporaries, as if they had met and spoken, or maybe even been friends.