Michael smiled from one ear to another as he approached the Summoning Gate.
He had no idea what to expect from the pristine Summoning Scroll that rested in his hand, but the uncertainty transformed into even more excitement. There was no way that the Divine Summoning Scroll would summon something useless.
The Untamed Awakened, Siegfried, Tatjana, and various influential members of Arx gathered near the settlement center to witness the birth of Arx's first Divine Summon.
Michael took a deep breath as he stopped before the Summoning Gate. His eyes locked onto the Divine Summoning Scroll and the unblemished seal that contained the Divine Summon.
He didn't dare to touch the seal. Instead, he released origin energy and broke the seal with a burst of energy.
The moment the seal broke, a terrifying pressure swept through the settlement center. The pressure expanded and stretched far beyond Arx. Everyone sensed that something miraculous was about to happen. Nobody could focus on their task ahead, forcing them to stop working. Their heads flicked to Arx's center, where the pressure was the strongest.
Michael could barely breathe in the center of the pressure. His legs quivered, and his vibrant golden eyes widened in terror when the true horrors of the Divine Summoning Scroll were unleashed.
The Scroll unfolded, revealing millions of incomprehensible miniature runes. The runes were alive. They freely moved through the pristine white parchment and connected until they transformed into the humongous image of something that felt both impossible and incredibly simple.
The image disappeared from Michael's view, and a moment later, he forgot about what he had seen. It felt like his memory of the image had been ripped out of his mind.
Michael swallowed hard as the Divine Summoning Scroll disappeared inside the Summoning Gate's energy pool.
The Scroll's pressure dissipated when it disappeared in the energy pool, but Michael didn't ease up. Nobody did. Instead, Michael felt the tension all over his body rise. His Cursed Seals tremored, and a hoarse growl escaped the depth of his being. The growl was more like a whisper, but Michael heard it clearly. It resonated through his entire being, both warning and threatening him.
It was almost as if the being at the depth of Michael's being feared what was about to happen.
Michael clenched his fists and stared at the Summoning Gate as it vibrated. A semi-translucent glow coated the Summoning Gate's frame when the first stars etched in it lit up.
The following stars lit up quickly.
At first, all ten stars of the Summoning Gate lit up, and everyone observing it gasped in shock. However, the Summoning Gate changed again. The stars dimmed down again until no star glimmered in the afternoon sun anymore.
The Summoning Gate's energy pool cracked as currents of white energy spilled out. The energy coiled around the Summoning Gates, instantly illuminating eight stars. A few seconds later, a ninth star lit up brighter than any other star.
In the next few minutes, the stars etched into the Summoning Gate lit up and dimmed down one after another.
All of a sudden, the Summoning Gate's metal frame cracked. However, this time, the crackling was not just a sound that echoed through the surroundings. This time, the crackling came from the metal frame, which couldn't endure the tremendous pressure that weighed heavily on it.
A large crack formed in the metallic frame. The crack expanded rapidly, exposing the ferocious aura that the Summoning Gate should have contained.
Michael shuddered when the ferocious aura reached him, but he didn't back off. Instead, he stepped closer to the Summoning Gate and smiled lightly.
The crimson-golden Cursed Seal manifested all over his chest, his dark pupils turned crimson, and a thunderous roar escaped his lips.
Something about the Summoning Gate changed as his roar reverberated through Arx's center. The spectators retreated several steps, but Michael didn't notice anything anymore. Only the thing shrouded by the depth of the Summoning Gate attracted his attention at this point.
He expected the Link of Loyalty to be initiated at any point, but nothing like that happened. Michael should have been worried that something was going wrong, however, his instincts told him nothing was wrong. His mind screamed at him, telling him to run for his life, but Michael didn't move. He straightened his back and stared into the Summoning Gate, which creaked and twisted as the metal frame expanded.
The Gate was on the verge of bursting apart as the tip of something massive pushed through the energy pool.
The following seconds went by in the blink of an eye. A huge creature shot out of the energy pool. It brushed by Michael and shoved him aside before ascending high into the air.
Much like the winged mythical serpent, a horrifying presence – only worse – appeared in the Untamed Jungle. It swept through the outer rings in a second, only to be redirected upon Michael.
Michael couldn't move, and time around him slowed as his eyes fell upon the massive creature, whose golden elliptical eyes locked upon him.
A trail of energy pierced through Michael's forehead.
[A juvenile Curse User. No, you are not yet a Curse User, but you have been marked. Interesting. You are a Lesser Lifeform who defies the marks… It seems like I'm not the first of our kind you've encountered, young one.]
A voice, a hissing, to be precise, resounded through his mind.
Michael swallowed, falling back. He regained balance before crashing onto the ground, but the others were less fortunate. Every lifeform in the outer rings of the Untamed Jungle collapsed to the ground, unable to move an inch.
[Your willpower is not too bad. It could have been better, but I cannot sense the presence of a master upon you. All I can feel is a weak Cursed Soul attached to yours. Can you see me?]
Michael twitched. His head thrummed, and his heart palpated like crazy.
Of course, he could see the monstrosity that had emerged from the Summoning Gate. How could he not see it?!?
The massive serpent covered the sky all over Michael's territory. But that was not the true extent of the gigantic monstrosity. It also shrouded the Untamed Jungle's outer ring in darkness. One scale of the ginormous serpent covered Arx's center entirely.
[Was it destiny or bad luck that brought us together, Cursed Child] The humongous serpent asked.
The creature continued to stare at Michael, who managed to make eye contact with it.
A chuckle resounded through Michael's head.
[May the future tell us.]
The serpent lunged forth and dived to the ground. Its head covered Arx's center at once. The serpent's snout crashed heavily into Michael, who was still petrified and unable to move.
He anticipated his body to be mashed and unbearable pain to wash over him, but nothing like that happened.
There was no pain or pressure.
The serpent smashed into him…and disappeared inside him.
The picture of a massive, black-scaled serpent with golden eyes slithering across his entire back and neck was engraved into his body and weaved into his existence.
[Long time no see–...] It said, but Michael knew the serpent wasn't talking to him.
A ferocious hiss and a frightening roar reversed through Michael's body.
The World Serpent collided with Michael's Curse.
[End of Volume 11]
