As if the world had heard his thoughts, things went awry quickly, without warning. At first he didn't think anything of it, just a lot of water jumping high enough for people on deck to see, even without being on the edge like he was.

Only the sailors reacted. Because they were more experienced.

And because of the obvious. Water didn't jump, just like that. There was a reason for everything. The water had jumped because of the emergence of a huge creature.

Creature was the right word. It wasn't something from the sea, nothing they had ever been aware of.

It was something out of this world.

A snake, but several times larger than the boat. And white"scaled, glistening in the sunlight. It seemed almost transparent. It looked almost like a mirage. But it was terribly real and...

The panic was immediate, as was only natural. More than one ran down the stairs to the lower levels. As if by hiding from the creature's sight they would be safe. They should have tried to jump into the water and swim to shore. Maybe then they would have had a slim chance.

Desmond planted his feet on the ground, strengthening his stance. He was preparing for a fight. Of course he was. But he still had hope.

"What the hell is that?" Desmond muttered between his teeth.

It was a strange creature. Not as strange as the one they'd faced after he'd time-traveled and changed Christina's fate, but it still didn't belong in this world.

The other had been sent by the gods as a sort of test, going after Christina, who should be dead. So this was, what was it?

"Captain!" Amidst the hubbub and incoherent shouting, Desmond noticed that sailor's scream.

He was more in control of himself, but that didn't mean he wasn't scared to death. He was simply passing the buck to someone. He wanted him to tell him what to do. He wanted reassurance, in the face of something he didn't understand, in the face of a thing that could paralyze normal people's hearts with sheer fear.

But, erring on the side of optimism for a change, Desmond still hoped that this creature was not an enemy. That it was a guide to the weapon, so to speak. No other obstacle in the way.

During the vision, he had seen enough. He had seen the chamber and, as he flew off into the clouds, he had seen the temple"like building and the general area. But he didn't know the exact location.

So he hoped...

But no. No, of course not. The snake lunged forward, opening its mouth wide.

Finally, Desmond called his sword to hand, thinking that it was headed straight for him. That he was the target, this time.

It wasn't. But it was definitely an attack.

The snake's teeth sank into the side of the ship's hull. Its huge mouth practically engulfed everything. He heard the wood creaking as if it was being crushed.

That beast could reduce the ship to a pile of splinters in a few bites. And at best it would irritate his throat, it was that huge.

How had he not heard it coming, how had no one noticed anything until it was too late?

Maybe it had literally appeared right then and there. Grabbed and released there by the gods. Or created. In any case, it couldn't be fixed now. It had caught them by surprise and now things were looking very bad.

He didn't understand.

Desmond really didn't understand.

First they were teaching him that he would destroy the Empire and then the path to the weapon to achieve that. Now they were putting this obstacle in his way. What was this about? What did they want, exactly? What the hell do they want?

"Ah, I've had enough! "Desmond shouted.

Let them put whatever they want in his way. He'd wrecked it anyway. He hadn't come this far to fail now, when he was so close, so painfully close. It was just find that chamber, offer his blood to the weapon, and then it would all be over.

It would be quick. It would be terrible.

But it would all be over, finally. And that was what was really important.

He would end this war, for which so many people had died and sacrificed many things.. Gritting his teeth, Desmond ran towards the snake, which was still grinding the hull of the ship with its teeth, huge and sharp as swords.

He hoped that only Christina and Amy would come up. That Princess Charlotte wouldn't come looking for trouble. But there was no way she could avoid them when she had insisted on accompanying him on this trip in the first place instead of staying to run the kingdom and take care of its various internal affairs.

And if she died, the royal line would be cut. Charlotte had told him that she had been pressed to no end to have an heir quickly, despite her very young age. But she had always refused.

There was no successor. There were no other options.

Oh, he wished she would make things easier for him.

Which sure was just what she thought about him, most of the time.

Desmond took off again, and slammed straight into the white snake, like a cannonball.

Only without even a third of the punch. As was only natural. Not even with all his strength could he drive back such a huge creature, several times wider and longer than the ship he was on.

But at least he could distract the bastard.

Give the crew time to stop pissing themselves and regroup. To increase the ship's speed and fire at the beast with the cannons, even if they didn't do much to it. Anything to help.

Him, Abigail and the others.

Everything counted.

It's just beginning, you son of a bitch!

——

The whole ship suddenly shook. The cards, placed on the table, went to shit. They were scattered all over the cabin. Amy tried to catch some of them and did, but all of them was impossible from the start.

The whole ship suddenly shook. The cards, placed on the table, went to shit. They were scattered all over the cabin. Amy tried to catch some of them and did, but all of them was impossible from the start.

It was more of a reflex action, while the rest of her was concentrating on that shake.

On what could have happened.

Or was happening.

"What was that?"

"I..." said Christina, "I don't know. If they were soldiers, I would have noticed it."

That wasn't quite true. But I couldn't blame him for not thinking clearly.

"Not if they're out of your reach. Like in the invasion of the capital, they used that long-range cannon. Very long range."

That cannon had been able to shoot at them from miles away, with terrifying aim despite the distance. If they were using something like that, then there was no way Christina could have detected them in time.

Nor would anyone else.

"That's true... But it didn't sound... It was more like...."

Why was she so nervous all of a sudden?

After she had found out that she had died, she'd say it was the natural reaction. But she hadn't behaved that way on her first mission, after that disaster. When they had gone for the tower and later, on that base, she had been as unflappable as ever.

However, Christina's voice was trembling. Clearly, it had nothing to do with the news of her death.

With the heightened awareness of her own mortality. It was one thing to face dangers every day and another thing to know that you hadn't made it through, once, that you had fallen. That you were truly living on the edge.

But it had nothing to do with it. So...?

"What?

"Like a bite?" For a second, Amy wondered if she'd misheard. It made less sense than attributing it to what had "almost" happened. "I feel... I feel something. But it's not a human being."

It was starting to make her nervous, too. Amy gripped the edges of the table tightly. As if looking for support anywhere. She wasn't the only one looking for the same thing. After whatever the fuck had happened, there was a huge hubbub outside.

Frightened people, running back and forth. Shouting orders. Asking people to calm down. And just screaming, wordlessly, senselessly.

Whatever happened, it was obvious they'd gotten themselves into trouble, as usual.

"Whatever it is, let's go," said Christina.

Better to see it with their own eyes. Otherwise, they couldn't know what it was or how they could deal with it. They shouldn't freeze.

She wasn't afraid. She wasn't.

Not until they stepped out onto the deck and beheld a large white snake, its body casting a shadow over the entire ship, towering above the waters. Hovering.

Trying to engulf Desmond, who struggled against the beast, flying around it as he dodged its attacks.

Screaming, and punching. Giving his all. But nothing seemed to make a dent in the cursed beast. A monster that shouldn't even exist. By the gods, what was it? There was no human word with which to describe it. Not yet.

"Fuck me...! It's one thing after another." Christina expressed her thoughts most eloquently.

——

Desmond had taken flight to fight the snake in the air. It was too big to be able to dodge his blows, but they were of no use either. The sword simply bounced off the creature's scales. His efforts weren't rewarded with blood, whatever color it was, or at least a small wound.

He was used to solving his problems with violence. Perhaps it was fitting that at the end of his journey he would meet an enemy he couldn't kill or wound.

He just needed... time.

To get to that temple. To walk through the stone chamber.

And to activate the weapon.

If this thing had been put in his path to stop him from doing that, as a test or whatever the fuck it was, then it wouldn't make sense for it to chase him once he'd achieved his goal.

The snake lunged at him, again. And Desmond knew he wouldn't be fast enough to avoid the attack, not this time.

So he didn't avoid it. He received it with his whole body.

He stopped the snake, putting his hands between its huge teeth, digging them into its scales and into the creature's snout.

It managed to push him a few feet down. But in the end Desmond prevailed, stopped it.

It wasn't going to last long, though.

Simply holding the creature's weight was causing him excruciating pain, it didn't need to put any strength into it. And it was doing so. It was lunging at him with all its might.

What he had seen coming happened.

Desmond was pushed back and the creature continued to lunge, sinking deeper and deeper into the waters. Had it somehow figured that this was his weak spot?

Desmond had braced himself, holding his breath. But that wasn't going to last much longer than his attempts to stop the huge creature.

And once he breathed again, water would enter his lungs.

Once again, he was in danger of drowning. Just like when he had wandered the roads alone, intending to cross to the other side of the world and rescue Abigail, whatever it took. Roman, that son of a bitch, that vulgar criminal, had set a good trap for him.

Sabotaging the boat. Preparing a watery grave, if he didn't die in the fire first.

And now again...

No!

His back hit the ground. The bottom of this canal.

But the serpent wasn't satisfied with that. It continued to lunge, tireless. Not letting him move an inch. Desmond was barely able to stop its huge mouth from engulfing him, let alone escape.

You're not alone, he thought.

Abigail and the others are out there.

As he struggled with the creature, one of his arms ended up in the snake's teeth. And then the bastard bit, of course. From the pain, Desmond opened his mouth, letting the water in.

He would drown soon, but he didn't care. He'd lost body parts before, but now he couldn't look away. His arm. His arm, for fuck's sake... He could see the blood floating in the water.

He could see it sloughing off his shoulder, hanging on by some poor strands of flesh. Desmond felt like some animal on display in a butcher shop.

My arm. My arm.

Desmond, his mind blank with pain, rested a boot on the teeth that were grinding his arm. And kicked, pushing himself backward. The arm came completely off, sending a spear of pain straight to his brain, almost causing him to lose consciousness.

But only almost. And he was free.

I'm still in time, he said to himself, starting to swim to the surface.

With the snake close behind him, practically biting at his heels. If it engulfed him, there was no one to get him out of there alive. He had lost an arm, was bleeding all over, evidently. Drowning. The pressure of the water felt like someone was crushing his head between their hands.

The only thing that kept him tethered to consciousness was desperation and the will to fight.